The massive bird spread its broad wings before launching into the sky with a powerful flap, soaring above the endless sea of emerald trees.
The moment it left the ground, Ezra’s eyes lost focus for a brief moment.
Her pupils shifted, becoming strangely distant as though she was no longer looking through her own eyes.
Kael immediately understood what was happening.
’Vision sharing...’
She was seeing everything through her Spirit Beast.
The bird circled high above the forest, silently gliding through the air while scanning the landscape beneath.
Several seconds later, Ezra blinked.
The strange look in her eyes disappeared as her vision returned to normal.
She turned toward the group.
"Let’s go."
"There’s a wolf pack about three hundred meters ahead."
"Twelve Verdant Wolves. Levels fifteen to eighteen."
"The alpha is level twenty."
Kael raised an eyebrow.
’That’s an impressive scouting ability.’
Having someone capable of surveying such a huge area before the team even stepped into danger was an enormous advantage.
No wonder Stanley considered her a valuable teammate.
Without wasting another second, Jonathan nodded.
"Move."
The group immediately entered the forest.
Towering trees stretched high into the sky, their thick canopies filtering most of the sunlight and casting the forest into a cool green shade. Thick vines hung from ancient branches while bushes covered the forest floor, making every step rustle softly against the undergrowth.
Following Ezra’s directions, they quickly arrived near the location.
Soon enough, Kael spotted them.
Twelve wolves.
Each one was nearly the size of a tiger.
Their bodies were wrapped with thick green vines that twisted naturally across their fur, causing them to blend almost perfectly with the surrounding vegetation.
If Ezra hadn’t pointed them out beforehand, even Kael admitted they would’ve been difficult to notice at first glance.
The wolves noticed them almost immediately.
Low growls echoed through the forest as the pack slowly spread out.
The alpha stepped forward first.
Its emerald eyes locked onto the group before releasing a deep, threatening snarl.
Jonathan merely smiled.
"Stand back."
"I’ll handle this."
Before anyone could even respond, he shot forward.
BOOM!
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
The wolf pack howled as one before charging to intercept him.
Their bodies blurred through the trees with frightening speed.
Jonathan didn’t slow down.
His sword flashed.
A silver arc swept through the forest.
One wolf was sent tumbling across the ground.
Before the second could reach him, he twisted his body and drove his shoulder straight into its ribs.
CRACK!
Bones shattered instantly.
Another wolf leaped from behind.
Jonathan spun around and drove his elbow into its skull before kicking another charging beast away.
Within moments, the entire pack had been reduced to battered, heavily injured bodies scattered across the clearing.
Not a single one had died.
Every attack had been calculated carefully.
Enough to incapacitate.
Not enough to kill.
Jonathan slowly turned around and looked toward the group.
Kael stared at him for a second.
His eyebrows slowly furrowed.
’...Was he expecting applause?’
He looked so obviously pleased with himself that Kael almost felt embarrassed on his behalf.
’This guy really is a lost cause.’
Shaking his head, he turned toward Lyra instead.
He gave her a small nod.
"Go ahead."
Lyra blinked.
"Aren’t you coming too?"
Kael shook his head.
"No."
"I don’t really need the experience."
"You go."
Lyra didn’t question him further.
Instead, she stretched out her hand.
A plain-looking wooden staff appeared within her grasp.
Kael glanced at it before another thought crossed his mind.
’She’s not using the Staff of Unmaking.’
It made sense after thinking about it.
That staff radiated an extraordinary aura.
Anyone with enough experience would immediately realize it wasn’t an ordinary weapon.
Bringing something like that into a public rift was simply asking for unwanted attention.
’Good.’
’She’s being careful.’
A cautious hunter survived far longer than a reckless genius.
Lyra stepped toward the fallen wolves.
She raised her staff.
Mana gathered around its tip before several blazing fireballs shot forward.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
The incapacitated wolves were instantly engulfed in flames.
One after another, their life force disappeared.
A series of notifications appeared before Lyra.
Her eyes widened.
Then they lit up with excitement.
"I leveled up!"
"I gained three levels!"
She turned around with an enormous smile on her face.
Kael simply gave her a thumbs-up.
Jonathan nodded in satisfaction.
"Good."
"Let’s continue."
With Ezra’s scouting leading the way, the hunt became incredibly efficient.
Wolf packs.
Goblins.
Forest bears.
Even several wandering Dark Elves.
Each encounter followed the same pattern.
Ezra located the monsters.
Jonathan’s team subdued them without killing them.
Lyra finished them off.
Her level climbed steadily throughout the day.
Watching her cheerful expression after every battle, Kael found himself smiling slightly.
At least she was genuinely enjoying herself.
...
By the time the sun had climbed overhead, Jonathan finally raised a hand.
"We’ll rest here."
Everyone immediately agreed.
Kael reached into his inventory.
Then...
He pulled out seven foldable reclining chairs.
One after another.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Click.
Within seconds, comfortable chairs had been arranged beneath the shade of a large tree.
Silence.
Every member of the team stared at him.
Stanley blinked several times before pointing at the chairs.
"You..."
"You actually store chairs inside your inventory?"
Kael looked at him.
"Yeah."
"Any problem?"
Stanley stared at him for another second before bursting into laughter.
"No."
"No problem."
"It’s just..."
He wiped the corner of his eye.
"In all my years as a hunter..."
"This is probably the greatest waste of inventory space I’ve ever seen."
"Don’t take it as an insult."
Kael simply shrugged.
"No offense taken."
He casually sat down before leaning comfortably against the backrest.
Seeing that, the others quickly gave up pretending to be polite.
One after another, they occupied the remaining chairs.
"..."
"I have to admit."
"They’re surprisingly comfortable."
Betty adjusted herself before letting out a satisfied sigh.
Kael smiled.
"See?"
"I knew carrying them around would pay off someday."
Several people couldn’t help laughing.
Even Kyle, who had remained quiet the entire journey, looked slightly amused.
Kael slowly closed his eyes.
The gentle breeze drifting through the trees felt refreshing after several hours of nonstop movement.