“Well, care to explain what happened to her, Aleid?” asked Angga the first time he arrived at the Resources Guild this morning. It was the weekend for him.

 

Clara looked dejected at the corner of the Resources Guilld’s hall, staring at the wooden floor without any soul left. Some eyebags were visible, too, as she heaved a heavy sigh.

 

“Well, you see–”

“Wait, let me guess instead. I bet she tried very hard yesterday to the point that she barely got any sleep. And yet, her result was not ideal.” Angga was on fire all of a sudden without reason.

“Yeah, that’s right. Everything you guessed is spot on,” confirmed Aleid.

 

Angga laughed awkwardly in response. And so, she approached the dejected tall lady in the corner of the hall with a confident smile.

 

“Hey, Clara. You look like someone who failed a job interview at a big company. Chin up, lady. Maybe I’ve got something you want to hear today.”

“Ah, Angga… thanks. Glad to see you here. Anyway, what about this job interview?”

“You don’t have that? Then, how should a company or work owner choose their employee?”

“They usually got this assessment spell to see if the employee will fit the job.”

“So you have tried to use this spell before you joined the Resources Guild?”

“Of course I did. I also happened to like this kind of thing, as you know. But, what kind of news that you have, Angga?”

“Before we go to that topic, there’s something important I want to discuss with you.”

 

He sat across the lion girl and made himself comfortable.

 

“I want to hear from you straight about why you went by yourself last night,” asked Angga.

“About that..”

 

It took Clara a few minutes to resolve herself and honestly ask what she wanted and needed. After that, she carefully told Angga her concern while the said guy himself listened carefully. Aleid only watched them from afar and didn’t bother to join the conversation. That talk was for Clara and Angga only.

 

The human guy nodded while listening to Clara. He was trying to understand each of her words with his utmost attention. And then, a half-hour talk came to an end.

 

“That’s pretty much it is,” stated Clara, looking abashed.

“Yeah, I got everything that you meant to say. Listen to this, Clara. I’ll say this once and only here.”

 

Angga stared intensely at Clara’s gaze. It was powerful to the point that Clara almost couldn’t contain herself to maintain eye contact.

 

“I’m fully aware, and it’s my own choice to join this contest and team up with you. So, don’t worry about me doing a lot of research for our victory since it’s my way to make quality content.”

“Is that so? You really okay with everything going on now, Angga?”

“Yes, I’m really alright with it. That’s why I want you to respect our partnership with this team. Everything I do will benefit us in winning this contest, I promise. Don’t be afraid to rely on me, Clara.”

“But, mostly, it’s you, Angga. I know that I couldn’t contribute much to our video-making. Perhaps I won’t cut out of it.”

“What are you saying? Do you realize that we produce good results with a minimum budget? Let’s see for a bit–”

 

Angga accessed Clara’s livestream last night. Apparently, she alone hit 300 golds worth of Support from the Watchers. This proved that Clara was improving at acting in front of her orb. Meanwhile, his and Clara’s vlog accumulated around 450 golds, which consisted of many videos with their own view counts and Supports.

 

“I’ve got information that your livestream yesterday hit the Support counts better than our videos before the contest’s announcement. Our video was indeed better than the total Support amount you’ve accumulated. But for a single video, yours is better.”

“I-Is that so?”

“I’m not lying. So, that’s why you have to be confident with yourself, Clara. How you present yourself before the orb is much better than mine. That’s why I need you to produce our quality content since I’m much more of a behind-the-scenes person.”

 

Angga said his words in a stern, resolute tone. That way, Clara sensed how serious he was, and everything would be alright even though she would rely everything on him. It was okay because he also relied upon Clara since she had the talent to act before the orb or camera.

 

Everything Angga said lit the fire inside Clara. She cast away those gloomy faces of her and quickly smiled to do everything she could.

 

“Seems like you’re ready to go again,” commented Angga with a confident smile.

“Hehe, yeah. It is thanks to you. Thank you, Angga,” Clara replied with her usual bright grin.

“You’re welcome, Clara. Alrighty, so hear me out.”

 

And then, after their private talk, Clara suddenly found herself in the savanna, which is around one hour by a self-moving carriage, which Angga rented by paying a minuscule amount of gold (for him). Of course, they also prepared for the trip when they were still in the town, but to suddenly arrive at the savanna was something she couldn’t have imagined before. She still looked dumbfounded as to why they were there in the first place while Angga was busy with their stuff.

 

“Angga, I know we’re going to make a video about monsters. But, does it have to be in this place? We can go to the forest near the town if you’re looking for monsters.” asked Clara unsure. 

“Yes, of course. According to my theory, it’s an ideal place to observe the life of the monsters.”

“Observe? We’re not going to fight them?”

“It’s not about fighting them. Well, here is our plan. We will make a wildlife documentary video.”

 

Clara looked at Angga, dumbfounded, and had no clue what he meant. So, Angga explained in detail what kind of video a wildlife documentary was. He also explained what they need to do to take this kind of content. It could be the most tiring production and couldn’t be compared to the one while they were at the Repose Lodging.

 

“So… you need me to hunt some monsters?”

“Yes! It’s vital since we need to cover every monster’s aspect in our video–ah.”

 

It just hit Angga’s mind that Clara disliked hunting in the first place. That’s why she disputed with her father and had this contest to stand with her ideals. And yet, telling her that she must hunt was like throwing a pie straight to her face.

 

“I’m sorry. I forgot that you want to avoid hunting as possible,” Angga laughed awkwardly because of the guild.

 

Clara didn’t answer and pouted while facing another direction, so Angga could only see her back. She was definitely pissed off because Angga was trampling on her wish. Still, one thing that irked Angga was Clara’s behavior to avoid hunting monsters.

 

“I’m really sorry, Clara. I regret that I haven’t talked about this with you in detail. But, if you don’t mind sharing, do you mind telling me why you didn’t like to go hunt in the first place?”

 

She didn’t answer and was still sulking. Angga scratched his head, knowing how messed up he was. So, he maybe should stop everything here and go back to Canau.

 

“Alright, I’ll find another content that we can do. Yeah, asking you to hunt small monsters is probably too much. I should have come up with a safer idea–”

“If it’s small ones, I can do it,” Clara added faintly.

“Eh, what?”

Now, the tall lion girl looked at Angga. “I said I can do the hunt if the monsters you want are the small ones. If it’s a strong monster or the big one, then it’s out of the question. Just you know that I’m pretty bad at it, so I didn’t like it when Papa forced me to go hunt with him.”

“Yes-yes! Small ones will definitely be enough! But, are you really okay with doing this hunt, Clara?”

“Yes. I think I’m okay. This is the concept that you’ve been thinking about for a while. So, at least, I can do this.”

“Thank you so much, Clara!”

 

It may not be the only reason for Clara to avoid hunting with her family if she is terrible at it. But Angga didn’t want to press on it further and focus on the matter before his eyes instead. As long as she agreed to hunt, even though it was the small ones, then it was okay.

 

Angga laid out the plan in front of Clara. Basically, the monster that she needs to hunt is a water deer, a low-level one, and at the bottom of the monster's food chain, according to the information Aleid has provided. So, they should be harmless to deal with.

 

“That’s basically what we have to cover in our video. With your help, I’m sure that we’ll hit a good one.”

She nodded. There was a slight doubt lingered. “Alright, let’s do this. I’ll believe in your idea, Angga.”

“Thanks. Please, don’t overdo yourself.”

 

The camera was on as Clara activated her hunting skills, one of her abilities that is barely used nowadays. Her eyesight improved, her hearing became sharper, and her muscles strengthened. She needed to adjust herself to those improved senses for a bit before she was good to go.

 

“I’m going, Angga.”

“Wish you the best of luck.”

 

Before Clara left, she activated her hunting outfit–a spell common for the hunters who excelled with their physical abilities compared to other Satwa people. And then, Angga activated his camera’s floating ability and sharp zoom skill to follow Clara discreetly. That way, he can see from Clara’s and the monster’s sides.

 

It had been a while for Clara to hunt again. She took a deep breath to remember what she had learned during the earlier times of her life and became extra focused, judging from her serious gaze.

 

The lion girl moved carefully and tried to blend with the tall, dry grasses, and eventually, her sharp ears noticed a movement pattern a hundred meters beside her. Those careful muddy steps out of nowhere in this dry savanna and the sounds of crippled water because something had been drinking from it made her lion's ear move slightly.

 

“I found it. It’s the water deer.”

 

Clara moved her hands as the sign for Angga, who was watched remotely through his floating screen and moved to the right angle to shoot. And then, the human guy used this sharp zoom to fully capture the idle activities of the water deer while moving slowly to have more angles to shoot.

 

“What an amazing ability! I can see its activities so clearly here. If it were my world, I need to spend quite a fortune to have this kind of picture while controlling remotely,” he mumbled in awe while reviewing the footage he took on the screen.

 

Since Angga got the shots he needed, he moved his camera in a certain way so it would deflect the sunlight toward Clara. She noticed that and nodded while trying to sneak closer to the prey, as discussed before. While Clara was on the move, Angga carefully took the footage of her sneaking around while the water deer wasn’t aware of her presence.

 

A few good minutes passed, and Clara’s position was getting nearer to her prey. Good thing that the water deer just moved around to find the most delicious grasses to enjoy so Clara could continue to stalk and get to her strike zone.

 

Yet, its survival instinct kicked in, so it somehow noticed a predator was around, so the water deer quickly bounced to run away.

 

“Arh! It noticed me!” Clara shouted in annoyance while she launched her body to chase the prey.

 

Since it was a deer whose destiny was hunted by others, the water deer developed a way to survive in the wild to outrun the danger. It activated its ability to produce enough water so the soil would get wet, muddy, and unstable, making it harder for the predators to chase them.

 

And here we have Clara, an inexperienced hunter gifted with amazing physical feats, yet somehow struggling since it’s been a while since she went hunting the monsters. Her legs were getting heavier because of the wet soil, and sometimes she almost slipped too.

 

“Uwah–woaah!!”

 

She quickly controlled her feet and pace so the water deer wouldn’t outrun her easily. Using her enhanced instinct, she observed the path, which wasn’t getting wet yet, and rose her pace to catch up with the water deer. Clara noted not mindlessly chasing after the deer, especially following its track straight, and had an efficient detour to avoid the muddy soils.

 

Still, the water deer was not a monster to underestimate when running away from danger. They have high stamina and strong hind legs to get away from Clara. Helped by its flexible forelegs, it easily swayed the predator by swiftly changing its direction. Be it zig-zag or making a sharp u-turn to flee the danger.

 

“Uh! It’s pretty slippery! But I won’t lose!”

 

Tricked by its technique to quickly divert its running course, Clara tried her best to get her pace again. Evaded its watery, sticky mud trails, guessed where the deer went, and coordinated her body to chase the monster. Everything has been captured perfectly by Angga using a steady helicopter view.

 

“Amazing. Go for it, Clara. I don’t know if the water deer is that fast. But since all it can do is run away, it’s only a matter of time to get caught!”

 

Angga moved its floating camera and used sharp zoom skills to cover any exciting angle and record appropriately. He also managed to capture the expression of the water deers–just like the deer getting chased by a lion in his world. He didn’t actually understand the facial expression of a monster or an animal–and Clara as well, who tried not to slip away because of the velocity and the water deer tricks.

 

The monster almost got close to its herd, and a bunch of other water deers noticed Clara was also getting nearby and listened to their ears. Suddenly, Angga recalled Aleid’s warning about the water deer’s herd. Together, they could produce enough water to change the plain soils and instantly make quicksand full of mud, which was dangerous for someone alone in the savanna.

 

“A savanna usually has a little humidity and rainfall; therefore, the idea of quicksand is kinda impossible. But those monsters have the magic to do that, huh? Then, things could go bad for Clara if she got trapped with that.” Angga commented while observing the whole situation through his floating mirrorless camera.

 

Yet, at some point, Clara used her strong legs to make a different approach to get her prey–she leaped, effectively avoiding the muddy soils and getting closer quickly.

 

Her prey noticed that and would make a short maneuver to evade Clara’s attack and survive. But, the lion girl predicted that and made a final substantial jump, leaped straight to the panicked water deer. And then–

 

“Clara–”