Chapter 53: Ch. 53 | Solo Hunting for Them

Hearing that instantly sparked their curiosity. They exchanged glances with each other, then smiled and nodded, agreeing with what Theo had said.

Theo pulled up his map and checked their current position. Around the village, the surrounding area was full of danger zones above level 1, mostly level two and three.

To reach a level 1 danger zone like the one they needed, they’d have to walk a fair distance south of the village. Out there were two level 1 danger zones they could use for solo hunting.

"Given the distance from the village, it’ll probably take us one to two hours to reach a level 1 danger zone," Theo said.

"If we head out now, we can get there by midday, then make it back before nightfall."

Thalia agreed with the plan. She said that she, Aya, and Lily would go, even if it meant a fair chunk of travel time. With them on board, Theo was ready to escort them there.

He actually had a shot at leveling up too, needing only 45 exp to hit level 5. But if he went after that exp himself, it would eat into their opportunity instead.

He’d already gotten more than enough exp from killing those nine lizards yesterday. Today, he planned to hand that level 1 zone over to them.

Thalia and the others were still getting ready in their room, while Theo was already waiting outside the inn, fully geared up.

"Are you really the leader of an adventurer party?"

His attention shifted to the side when he noticed a small child had walked up and asked him that. The young man smiled, nodded, and gently patted the kid’s head.

"Yeah," Theo answered. "I’m Theo."

"Whoa."

"Come look. He’s really the knight from that night!"

Theo glanced around and saw more kids popping up from various spots, all of them staring at him. One by one, they crept closer, as if trying to get a better look.

The young man gave an awkward smile, not quite sure how to react to being swarmed by a bunch of kids.

They kept asking him simple questions, like how to swing a sword and what it felt like to kill a monster.

W-What am I even supposed to tell them?

"You lot," someone called out from another direction, "stop bothering him and go play somewhere else."

Theo’s attention turned forward. Jack’s daughter was approaching from the direction of her house, telling the crowd of kids to clear off and leave Theo alone.

Somehow, the kids listened right away. They scattered off, leaving Theo and his group behind.

"Thanks," Theo said.

"They’re just kids. They seem pretty impressed after everyone’s been talking up your bravery," the woman said, "I haven’t had the chance to introduce myself properly. I’m Lilia."

"I’m Theo."

"Oh, I already know who you are. I really appreciate what you did for us last night," Lilia said, "At first I underestimated you, but you ended up doing way more than I expected."

"Thank you, Ms. Lilia. I just did what needed to be done. That’s all."

From the direction of the inn, Thalia and the others came walking out. Thalia stood next to Theo, her eyes fixed straight ahead.

"Theo...?"

"Oh, this is Lilia. She’s Chief Jack’s daughter," Theo said.

"Lilia, this is Thalia, one of my party members."

Thalia and Lilia smiled at each other, then shook hands firmly, their eyes locked with unmistakable intensity. Both of them tossed out compliments toward each other.

Lilia praised Thalia’s magic skills, while Thalia praised Lilia’s courage in helping evacuate the villagers.

Theo was pleased to see them getting along, but something about it felt off to him.

The two girls were still shaking hands, eyes narrowing as they stared each other down. Theo had no idea what was going on, but it clearly wasn’t anything good.

Avara turned and suddenly pecked Theo on the head. Somehow used to Avara’s crow mode pecking by now, Theo started to realize the tension between the two girls was quietly escalating.

Theo stepped in and grabbed their still clasped hands. "All right, looks like you two are getting along just fine."

Slowly, the two of them let go of each other’s hands and gave small smiles.

Theo turned and said his goodbyes to Lilia, letting her know that he and his party were heading into the forest to hunt monsters.

"Take care of yourself, Theo."

"Was that seriously just her wishing you well?" Thalia asked, clearly irritated.

"Just forget it, Thalia," Theo said.

Thalia heard what Theo said, then turned her face away sharply, arms crossed. She walked a little ahead of the group, forcing Theo and the others to pick up their pace to keep up with her.

They walked out of Neco Village, heading south, staying on the dirt road instead of cutting through the forest.

Along the way, they chatted with each other, and Thalia’s mood improved noticeably, no longer as sharp as before.

After an hour and a half of walking, they finally reached the level 1 danger zone. The place turned out to be a barren stretch of land, like an old harvested field.

The monsters living there weren’t Black Ants, but a type of medium sized worm, different from your average earthworm.

Theo counted the monsters in the area, seventeen in total. He used his Mystic Appraisal skill again, and the monster’s name, level, and potential reward appeared clearly in front of him.

[Mystic Appraisal Skill Activated]

[Status visible: General]

[Monster Status:]

[Name: Red Skin Worm]

[Rank: F]

[Potential Reward: 10exp]

He deactivated the skill again and turned around, looking at the three girls.

"That’s a Red Skin Worm, F-Rank."

"There’s seventeen of them out there," Theo said "Thalia, you’ll attack alongside Aya. Lily, focus on giving them a buff for their attacks."

"That’s the only way you’ll get credit for the kills," Theo told Lily.

Lily nodded, understanding. The three of them stepped forward, ready to attack with their skills, while Theo stayed behind, watching them closely.

Thalia summoned her magic rune and launched a fireball forward, Aya fired off her arrows targeting the worm monsters, and from behind them, Lily lent support with a buff spell for their attacks.

An explosion went off, and they all got serious. Theo drew his sword and planted it into the ground. He’d only step in if one of his party members got threatened by the monsters.

But as far as he could tell watching them, none of the worms managed to pose any real threat.

Looks like this hunt’s going to be a lot easier than I expected.