"Good work, you girls~"

Yuna-san and Iris-san are coming over to us with a satisfied expressions.

"Well, Eve-chan’s movement is better than I thought."

"That’s right! It’s amazing how you handle the three of them with ease!"

Yuna-san and Iris-san shower me with praise.

No, no, no matter how I think about it, I just avoid them desperately because I don't want to take damage. I hate being in pain, after all. If I let my guard down for even a second, I’ll die immediately.

It’s a bit embarrassing to be praised incessantly, so I hurriedly try to change the subject.

"Irika-san you too, thanks for your hard work. Is your HP okay?"

"Yes, Eve-san! Thanks to you, I can attack with ease!"

I’m glad to hear that.

Let’s continue.

The next enemy we encounter is the Peach Swine.

It’s basically a hairless and clean, pink pig. The size isn’t too big, just as big as my thigh. Unlike wild boars, they don’t have fangs, so they’re not scary at all. I think it’s quite cute. Especially their butt cheeks that look like a peach fruit.

Well, even if it’s cute, I still need to defeat it because they are enemies.

I’m sorry, cute piggy-chan!

The way to defeat it is similar to defeating Cukcobirds. Their main way of attacking is to pound at their enemies, so I just need to dodge it and stab them in the same way.

It charges faster than a Cuckobird, but there’s a delay between its attacks. In other words, if you can dodge it, it’s as helpless as a sandbag.

For me, it’s an easier opponent to fight than the Cuckobird, and it’ll also drop delicious pork meat. I think this one is my favourite prey until now.

After experiencing a few battles together, I come to realize that Yuna-san and Iris-san have higher levels than Irika and me. Besides, they seem to be accustomed to hunting, and their instructions are precise.

I’m curious and decide to ask them about it, but they tell me not to worry about it since they are in the party because they like it. Yuna-san says that experience is not a problem for both Iris-san and her. Besides, they can get the drops they want, so it’s okay to get only a meagre experience.

Well… Let’s leave it at that and don’t think too hard about it.

"Iris-san, Iris-san, can I ask you a question?"

"Umm… what?"

"I feel like my attack speed is somehow slower than before when I was still using ordinary daggers. Do you have any idea why that’s so?"

That’s right.

I feel a little bit uncomfortable about it. Even after adding the boost from the [Dual Wielding] skill, I still feel my attacks are slower than they used to be.

"That's... most likely because of the lack of stats."

Apparently, there is a minimum status requirement depending on the weapon and quality used. I don't know exactly how many that is, but there is definitely a limit to that. It looks like when we get back to town, I have to do some experimenting with my status.

"Oh, there's a collection point over there!"

Irika finally finds a spot to gather the materials for the medicine. The place is in front of the entrance to the forest, and the grass grows up to the knees.

A Pharmacist has a unique skill called [Pharmaceutical Eyes], which allows them to find the materials, herbs, plants, and insects that can be used to make medicines.

It's an essential skill for a pharmacist.

There, Irika found materials for HP Potions. Unfortunately, it looks like you can only find that type of grass in the meadow. If she wants something else more advanced, she needs to level up her skill.

Speaking of skills, an Archer like Yuna-san has something similar called [Sharpshooter’s Eye]. It provides a boost to the player’s hit rate and attack range. It’s a must-have skill for archers.

While Irika is busy foraging for herbs, we keep our eyes on the surroundings.

We would like to help, but unfortunately, we don’t know where to collect them. But that’s okay because we’re in a party and it’s common to have a specific role like this. That’s the advantage of forming a party so we can look after each other.

Now that Irika has finished collecting, we finally enter the forest. Before that, Yuna-san gives us a warning.

"After entering the forest, our field of vision will get narrower. So, we need to move in a solid formation, so it’s easier to check each other when there is a sudden ambush from monsters. We’ll avoid moving separately from now on."

I see. That makes sense.

It’ll be troublesome if you’re beaten to death when you get separated from the party.

"Also, there are some monsters we need to watch out for. First, the Black Rabby and the White Rabby. As the name suggests, they're white and black rabbits. They have a sharp horn on top of their heads, and it’ll cause a considerable amount of damage when you get attacked by it. So, be careful."

Their sizes are quite small, so I think that I can handle them with my daggers as long as I’m careful.

"Next is Spice Rowder. It's a big spider, so it's pretty creepy. They are not poisonous, but if you touch the threads they spit out, it becomes difficult to move, so you have to be careful. Eve-chan's speed is her strong point, so you’re going to prioritize not getting yourself tangled up in the threads. You can avoid the threads even if they get us caught."

A spider?

It becomes too real that I want to run away right away.

Well… let’s make sure to avoid their threads.

"Finally, the Eye Hunter. It looks like a hawk. As the name implies, it's a terrifying monster that aims for your eyes. Basically, they come straight at you from the front, so if you watch carefully, you should be able to avoid them. Just do your best to avoid being hit by them because they’re quite nasty."

Sigh… they sound like bad news already.

We will have to keep an eye on the sky.

I wonder if hawks make noise when they fly.

I don't think it's a problem because they come from the front, but it'll be a problem if they fly silently like owls.