"Ahem, maybe I should have gotten rid of the corpses before heading towards the village...", Lucy said as she and Rina arrived near the camp of the mercenaries killed the day before and caught sight of a large gathering of beasts feasting on what remained of the mercenaries' bodies, the sounds produced by the crushing of the bones that were nearly devoid of any flesh, reminding Lucy of the nutcracker she used in her childhood on cold winter evenings, standing by the radiator to warm her body and gazing at a picture of a fireplace, strategically placed nearby, to warm her soul.

   "This isn't good... The commotion caused by these beasts will surely alert anyone approaching within a 500-meter radius of this area. If we don't eliminate these creatures, there's a good chance the people meant to meet the mercenaries will realize something's amiss and turn back...", Rina said, concerned as the first rays of sunlight were already visible through the trees, a sign that the group of people could arrive at any moment.

   "Well, although there are quite a few beasts, they're not very powerful. The only somewhat dangerous one would be that wolf near the big tree, which is at level 28...", Lucy said after activating her ocular powers and surveying the area for hidden dangers.

   "Huh, how do you know that? Don't tell me you have some skill that lets you see the status of creatures..." Rina asked, visibly surprised that Lucy might possess such a rare skill.

   "Well, my eyes can see many things..." Lucy replied, trying to sound as mysterious as possible. "Things hidden by the hands of the gods and... ouch!"

   Unfortunately for Lucy, she couldn't finish her sentence as Rina, aware that time was running short, used the only method she knew to calm Lucy down—by biting her ear.

   'This lioness is too fierce... If Rina keeps biting my ears every day, I might end up with no fur left on them...', Lucy thought, looking reproachfully at Rina.

   "Don't look at me like that... I had to do something to stop you. Have you forgotten we're in a hurry?", said Rina, avoiding eye contact with Lucy, whose eyes had become like two celestial fragments of the night sky, just as they were when Lucy and Rina first met.

   'This skill of Lucy's makes me feel strange. It gives me the sensation that she can see even the most hidden thoughts of mine...', Rina thought, trying to appear as innocent as possible.

   "Heh, that's what you say! I think you just wanted to take advantage and eat my tofu without any consequences...", Lucy said, attempting to pay Rina back in the same coin, finding Rina's ears very appealing at that moment.

    "Huh, what should I eat?" asked Rina, not understanding what Lucy meant.

   'This girl doesn't really have much connection with metaphorical speech. Well, maybe tofu doesn't exist in this world, but it was pretty clear from the context that I meant she took advantage of me...', thought Lucy, starting to calm down as she looked at the puzzled yet anticipatory expression on Rina's face upon hearing the word "eat".

   "Let's leave these things for another time... Anyway, what I wanted to say before you interrupted me is that my eyes have some special powers, among them the ability to see the level of any being. For example, I can see that your level is 31...", Lucy replied, trying to summarize the monologue she was going to give before having her left ear bitten by Rina.
​
   "Yes, you're right! That's my level... But can you find out other information about someone's status? Like, for instance, the classes they have, or some parameters? Don't get me wrong, this ability is impressive, but a being's level isn't a very accurate indicator of their fighting capacity..."

   Rina's words weren't news to Lucy, as she had noticed herself that some of the mercenaries with rarer classes were much more competent than those with common ones.

   'Perhaps I should have tried to obtain an ability that would allow me to better analyze opponents the last time I had the chance to do so. Unfortunately, I was influenced by the desire to have more impressive abilities and didn't give this much importance...' Lucy reflected.

   "At the moment, I can only see the level, but in the future, I'm likely to enhance my ability to gather information about other beings' statuses. By the way, is there anyone in your village with a similar ability? I think it's quite risky to attempt hunting a beast without knowing how dangerous it is...", Lucy finally said, realizing that crying over spilled milk wouldn't bring her any benefit.

   "Hmm, I believe there are three people with similar skills, but their classes aren't oriented toward combat; they're more support-oriented. Considering your class allows for very powerful offensive abilities, I didn't expect you to have such an ability...", Rina replied while equipping a pair of sturdy-looking gloves, the metal pieces on them being a clear indication that they weren't meant to warm hands but rather to cool down adversaries' bodies.

   "I see... So, what about those gloves? Do they help you strike harder? It seems that during our short fight, you didn't give it your all..." Lucy said, looking with interest at the gloves on Rina's hands.

    "Something like that. Additionally, the metal on them amplifies my Fire Fist skill, thus increasing the temperature of my punches threefold. As for our brief fight, I don't think these gloves would have helped me much because you're very fast, and your movements are highly unpredictable. I don't think I could have touched you if you were actively avoiding me...", responded Rina, ready to engage in battle with the beasts at any moment.

   As Lucy hadn't had the chance to test her sword-handling abilities in combat before, she decided not to use any other weapons besides the ninja sword she used to clear a path through the thorny bush area. After retrieving it from her storage space, she was also ready for battle.

   "It seems we're both ready. But before we start to fight with the beasts, I think it would be good if you offer me more details about your class so that I can synchronize better with you...", said Lucy, who had hesitated until then to ask Rina about classes and skills as she still didn't want Rina to realize she didn't have much knowledge about that world.

   "Hmm, yes, I think that would be a good thing. My class, Inferno Brawler, is quite rare, so I should have realized you wouldn't know what skills I use. So, as you saw in our fight, I excel in close combat, with skills like Fire Fist and Fire Cloak being my best ones. But I have a few skills that allow me to fight at a medium distance too, such as Fire Claw or Inferno Zone, the former being more useful against a single enemy, and the latter being handy when surrounded by multiple foes..."

   'So, Rina is an Inferno Brawler. It seems to suit her fiery personality well. Besides, Inferno Brawler sounds quite impressive, unlike the name of my class. Heh, what can I do if my system lacks imagination...', Lucy said to herself after hearing Rina's explanations.

   "Hmmm, since we're both close-combat fighters, I believe it would be best to split up and take care of the beasts in separate areas to avoid getting in each other's way. And in case one of us encounters any difficulty, the other will come to help..." Lucy said, though she didn't believe the beasts before them were a match for her. Still, she couldn't know how well Rina would handle fighting dozens of beasts, even if their level wasn't too high.

   "Fine by me. Let's start as soon as possible...", Rina said, and then she strode toward the area where the level 28 wolf mentioned by Lucy was located.

   'So, she's picking the strongest one, huh? I have a feeling Rina will treat this battle as a competition with me. Well, I better get to work as well because I don't want my future wife to think that I'm all talk...', Lucy thought, looking at Rina's determined stride, and then she headed toward an area teeming with beasts in a different direction.