Chapter 365: Hunting In The Outskirts

ROAR!!!

The roar of a wild beast shook the forest, but was cut off when the head of the beast was severed.

[You have slain a...]

Leon ignored the message and dug out the soul crystal from the Tier Two mutated rhino he had just killed.

Standing behind him, Gwen gazed at the dead beast for a moment before glancing at Fel.

’This reminds me of when we were in the university.’

She smiled to herself, then walked up to him. "So when are you going to let us kill something?"

Leon stored the corpse, then looked around. "Sorry, I was just ensuring there was nothing too dangerous out here."

He sheathed his sword, then looked to the left. "Alright, something’s coming. Tier Two, but a little weak. You guys handle it."

Fel and Gwen exchanged glances before stepping forward. Cassie also took a step forward, eager to join them.

Giving Cassie a sharp look, Leon shook his head. The young lady obediently pulled back and stood behind him.

Leon felt the need to pat her head, but stopped himself. They were no longer kids, and the atmosphere wasn’t cozy at all.

’Were we ever kids?’

Keeping his thoughts to himself, he watched as Gwen nocked an arrow on her bow, and fired it at the charging mutated rat.

Surprisingly, it was smart enough to dodge the arrow. Gwen didn’t panic. Without wasting the arrow’s momentum, she redirected it using her Telekinesis ability and struck the rat in the back.

Instantly, it froze and screeched in pain as its soul was directly affected by the attack. Gwen didn’t pause to let it recover. She fired three rapid shots, pinning it to the ground and inflicting even more pain on the mutated rat.

In less than a minute, the rat collapsed and died, having suffered grievous injuries that left its soul in tatters.

Gwen grinned and turned to Leon. "Look! I killed it alone!"

He smiled and walked up to her, patting her head before he even realized what he was doing.

’Haa... did I get addicted to patting Clara’s head?’

At the thought of his sister, his mood soured briefly. However, he was quick to snap back, so he simply smiled again.

"Good job. You can keep its soul crystal for when you want to cultivate later."

She nodded and walked over to the corpse to collect the crystal and her rewards, while Leon turned to Fel.

"You don’t really have any attacking power, do you?" He asked, folding his arms.

Fel avoided his gaze and nodded. "I... I can still fight melee, but that’s against something of my level or weaker. And my Poison Cloud Ability isn’t potent enough to kill something far stronger than me."

Leon hummed and rubbed his chin.

"Is that so...?"

Going through what he had in his storage ring, he took out an ability scroll and handed it to her.

"Is this enough to change your performance?"

Fel quietly accepted the scroll and checked. Her eyes widened.

"This... it would do. I think it would."

Leon nodded and watched as the scroll disintegrated in her hand. She took a deep breath, then glanced at Cassie. Her friend was busy staring at Leon’s back, seemingly trying to drill a hole through him.

Fel chuckled to herself, then turned back to him as Gwen approached them.

"This is just the outer perimeter of the forest, and we’re already encountering Tier Two mutated beasts. Do you think it’s safe for us to go deeper?"

Leon considered it for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I don’t think so. I might be able to handle a Tier Three creature, but I probably won’t be able to do that effectively while protecting you guys."

"I am not a liability, though," Cassie immediately responded, causing Leon to roll his eyes.

"Sure, ma’am." He nodded. "Anyway, let’s just move around the outskirts for a while. Since we’re getting Tier Two mutated beasts here, there’s no reason to go deeper."

Gwen agreed with him as she counted the arrows in her quiver.

"Let’s go."

The group of four quickly moved around the outskirts of the Mutated Forest, hunting down any Tier One mutated beasts they encountered.

Although Fel didn’t initially have a weapon, she had managed to obtain one after killing a random mutated bird that had been affected by her poison ability.

After getting the sword, her combat ability improved. Although Leon could have provided her with a sword himself, he wanted her to earn it through her own efforts.

And just like he expected, Fel’s mood improved after earning the reward all by herself.

Soon, another Tier Two mutated beast appeared before them, and this time Gwen couldn’t take it down alone.

Her expression hardened as she realized her soul attacks couldn’t inflict fatal damage on the mutated lizard’s soul.

Its hide and scales were already hard to pierce through.

"Fel, support her."

The brown-haired lady nodded and unsheathed her sword, stepping between Gwen and the beast.

"I’ll create an opening and try to... to weaken it," she said to Gwen, then took another step forward.

The mutated lizard glanced at Leon warily, then glared at Fel. Without moving too close to the beast, she swung her sword. At the same time, a cloud of green smoke erupted from her body, quickly filling up the area around her.

Gwen pulled back quickly, her expression tight.

Meanwhile, an energy beam erupted from Fel’s slash, flying straight at the giant lizard and biting into its shoulder. Blood spurted from the wound, but the lizard barely felt any pain.

Still, it roared and rushed at her. Fel quickly retreated while Gwen fired arrows to cover her.

The arrows struck the mutated lizard’s body, causing it to pause and recoil in pain as it felt its soul being pierced.

Huffing, it took another step forward, only to receive another energy slash to the head.

Blood spurted from the wound, and, enraged, it activated its ability. Suddenly, everything turned dark.