"Hope it's not going to be too much for you?" I asked Phildina as we prepared to take off with four people in total. 

"No, it's fine. Sarde and Kathryn are light, so Timothy should be able to handle it," She answered confidently.

"Well, if you say so..." I hopped behind Sarde and got ready for the takeoff. What about Kathryn? She was at the front with Phildina. We probably looked like a four-person sandwich, which got me worried, but if she said it'd be fine, it'd probably be. Phildina was a lot of things, but at least she was not a liar, right? Wrong. A Floating Eye attacked us as we were approaching the town, and Phildina tried to swerve in midair to avoid it but lost control of the Pegasus instead. Thus, we crash-landed in the forest near the town. Great!

"Prepare yourselves," I said as I managed to get up. "This place is swarming with Floating Eyes." But that was when I happened to notice a slight, unnatural movement coming from one of the trees. I-it can't be... "Phildina! Get away from there!" She heeded my warning and jumped back, avoiding the tree branch that lashed out to grab her. A Treant!

"Are Treants supposed to spawn in this area?" She asked with a puzzled look on her face. Even she, with all her experience, found it strange as more and more trees started moving. Here it comes! Their branches extended to reach us, and we all scattered to avoid them, everyone except...

"Sarde!" I shouted as I watched one of the branches wrap around and drag him away. I was just about to start shooting it when I saw it. In a flash, Kathryn disappeared before my eyes, sliced the branch, and kicked Sarde away to safety. She then proceeded to make short work of the Treant that was attacking him. Taking that as our cue, we all joined in on the fray. Well, everyone except Sarde once again, who couldn't fight for... reasons.

As a long-range fighter, I was comfortable shooting them down from a distance, but that was when I saw one of them raise what appeared to be a wand. It's going to use magic?! The wand glowed brightly, and from it emanated several blades of wind that would have sliced me to bits if Phildina hadn't swooped in.

"Are you okay?!" She asked with a worried look on her face. 

"You saved me, Phildina. Thank you." I was relieved but also worried because wind-type magic was especially effective against fliers. We had to take out that magic-casting Treant and fast. I readied my bow and felt the same familiar sensation run through my veins. It was like power was coursing through me, so I took a deep breath and released the arrow. It's finished! I thought to myself, but I celebrated too early because a blade of wind sliced my arrow in half, rendering the critical hit useless. Ugh. I started to see it, the devious intelligence and ruthless adaptation that made some top players quit. I need to think outside the box!

Kathryn was practically soloing the Treants on the ground. She showed incredible footwork as she weaved through all their attacks effortlessly, almost moving like a blur as she cut down Treant after Treant. It was truly impressive, but we needed to do our part as well, and that's when it occurred to me. 

"Phildina, do you have a magic scroll?" Phildina was an experienced adventurer who had gone on several solo missions, so I wouldn't be surprised if she had one or two on her at all times.

"Yeah, but it's a lighting scroll. Would that still work?" She asked.

"Fire would have been ideal, but we could still work with that," I answered, thinking, All we need is a spark, after all. Using the scroll, I summoned a lightning bolt that struck the magic-casting Treant, who until now had been targeting us with blades of wind. Its leaves caught on fire, and that was the end of it. Wood-type monsters were extremely vulnerable to fire, so as it spread, more and more Treants met their ends at the hand of the fire, netting me a ridiculous amount of EXP. 

Four levels?! Wonderful! But even as I was rejoicing, I noticed something else: a new category I had never seen before appeared at the bottom of the panel.

I had gained a new skill: [Precision Strike]! And it also confirmed my earlier suspicions of a passive skill contributing to my accuracy. My guess was that [Accuracy+] increased my hit probability ratio, but I didn't have to guess for Precision Strike, as I intuitively knew what it did. It depended on my Dex stat to activate, but [Precision Strike] ensured that I would never miss, even if the target's speed was maxed out, and they had excellent luck. It also dealt twice as much damage as a regular attack. This is going to be so useful! I thought to myself, resisting the urge to dance on the spot. I had to appear dignified, y'know? Especially in front of a little kid. Ah, there she comes now...

"I found this," She gave me a Treant seed with an expectant look on her face, almost like she wanted me to praise her. So, I collected it, patted her head softly, and said,

"You did well in this battle." I meant that. If she hadn't moved as quickly as she did, Sarde would probably be kicking the bucket for real, I thought as I looked at him for a moment before turning my attention back to Kathryn. 

"I thought I would only slow you down, so I'm glad to hear that!" She exclaimed with a beaming smile. Slow us down? How strong were the rest of those Wujia?! It was worrying to think about, but even before that, I had to ask,

"Phildina, would she need a disguise?" I felt like we couldn't have her walking around with her cat ears and fluffy tail out in public. Some old pervert may kidnap her or something, and I wanted to prevent that. At this question, Phildina contemplated for a while before answering,

"Camelia and the surrounding countries have a strange relationship with the Wujia. They are incredibly powerful warriors, most of which average around level 80, with the chieftain rumored to be in the upper nineties."

"Upper nineties?!" I screamed in disbelief. So, the chieftain was that powerful? How scary...

" Yes. As such, we don't attack them, even with all the reports of men getting abducted, but..." She wore a complicated look as she said, "I can't rule out the possibility of a kidnapping. Most people have never even seen a Wujia before, so she may attract the attention of some slave traders we don't want to be getting involved with."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." I turned to Kathryn and asked, "Can you wear a disguise?"

"Yes! I can hide my ears and tail with magic, but I can't do it all the time!" That meant that she needed a place to stay where she could fully be herself. A sinister thought passed through my mind: She could stay with Sarde, but I rejected it instantly. He had already been traumatized enough, so keeping her away from him was the least we could do for him.

"Phildina, can she stay with you?" I asked.

"Of course," She answered with a smile. "Big sister Phildina will be taking care of you, Kathryn!"

"No, I want to stay with Daphne!" Ah, shit. Here we go again. For all my faults as a human being, I was strangely popular with kids, so I wasn't surprised. Phildina tried to hide her dejected look with an unfazed smile, but I could easily see through her act. 

"Look, Kathryn," I began, "I can't have you staying in that small inn with me. There are many other adventurers there, so I wouldn't be able to vouch for your safety. Phildina is one of the strongest people I know, and you live alone, right, Phildina?"

"Yes," She answered, still trying to hide the pain. 

"So, it's better if you stay with her," I concluded.

"Okay! But because you said so!" I knew that children could be ruthless, but I was hoping she would get along with Phildina. They are my two strongest fighters, after all, I thought as we started making our way back to the town.