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Chapter 304 Part 1

Alright then.
The time is 2:30 PM.
I can still go hunting.
Well, there’s more I’m looking forward to than just hunting.
I’m talking about Aotsuki.

First, I summon Aotsuki.
She looks just like a White Horse.
It’d be hard to tell her apart from a regular White Horse without using 【Identify】.
Let’s attach her new faceguard.
I guess the place where her horn used to be back when she was a Unicorn remains the same.
Is this okay?
Well, I want to check that as well.

Well then.
What should I do with the rest of the lineup?
If I’ll be moving in the air, I should have Volff step down from his position of bodyguard for the time being.
That’s a shame.

After thinking about it a bit, I decided on Obsidian, Heather, Couturier, Aotsuki, and Sputter.
It’s a shame, though.
I feel like I don’t have that many options when it comes to making parties that are completely aerial or completely underwater.
I would like Sputter to level up as soon as possible.
Let’s work hard and have him join us in our exploration.

Well then, shall we get going?
What are we aiming for?
Southwest.
I’m planning to go for the area portal in S1W5.
If it hasn’t been released yet, I’ll probably earn some Bonus Points for it.

Let’s start nice and easy with some ground combat.
Our opponents will be a herd of Panzer Rhinos.
Well then, how will this turn out?

So, what has changed?
Simply enough, her speed.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say she’s twice as fast as before.
Still, her top speed seems to be comparable to Volff’s.
At the same time, changing course feels very light and easy to do.
Everything is on a completely different level than when she was a Unicorn.
These monsters are no match for us.
We can easily hit their flanks.
And so, the herd of over 10 Panzer Rhinos has been quickly reduced by half.
The other Summoned Monsters only serve as support, but that’s good enough.
All they need to do is create an opportunity for me and Aotsuki to attack.

I use regular attacks with my jousting spear.
While I am using Rider-Horse Union, I’m not using Boosted Power.
And yet, I managed to kill a Panzer Rhino with one blow.
This has happened only once.
It was probably a critical hit.
Even then, the other Panzer Rhinos fell with two attacks.
None of them had to take a third attack.
That’s terrifying.
Truly terrifying.

《Summoned Monster『Sputter』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》

As expected, Sputter is growing quickly.
It’s nice to see that everything is going smoothly.

Sputter’s AGI increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose VIT as his second stat increase.

Sputter　Hawk Lv1→Lv2 (↑1)
　DEX　10
　AGI　22 (↑1)
　INT　18
　STR　11
　VIT　11 (↑1)
　SPI　10

　Skills
　Peck　Flight　Farsight　Wide Area Search　Ambush　Sense Danger

Still got a long way to go.
We set off as soon as I finished dehorning these heavy rhinos.
There’ll be a next herd of these guys, right?
I look at Couturier.
Can we use your Lure skill?
I’d like to try some more horseback combat against another herd of Panzer Rhinos.

I also speak to Aotsuki.
Can we use your Horn Growth skill next?

《Summoned Monster『Sputter』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》

Sputter keeps leveling up as quickly as expected.
Be that as it may…
Couturier is attracting too many monsters!
Of course we’d level up!

Sputter’s INT increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose SPI as his second stat increase.

Sputter　Hawk Lv2→Lv3 (↑1)
　DEX　10
　AGI　22
　INT　19 (↑1)
　STR　11
　VIT　11
　SPI　11 (↑1)

　Skills
　Peck　Flight　Farsight　Wide Area Search　Ambush　Sense Danger

What about Aotsuki’s Horn Growth?
As the name implies, a horn similar to the one she had when she was a Unicorn grows out of her head.
She also acts more violently.

What happened when she and I attacked the same Panzer Rhinos at the same time?
The monsters didn’t die instantly, but it did get their HP down to way less than half.
And they also got hit by status abnormalities, weakening them.
Obsidian, Couturier, and Sputter also attacked in waves, sealing the deal more often than not.
Well, since there were so many of these Panzer Rhinos, I also used AoE offensive spells and wall spells to help us, so I can’t be sure about that.

Also, Aotsuki was shooting balls of light and showering them with lightning strikes.
She also has a wide range of special abilities.
Alright.
There are no weak spots here.
If we can use this safely at night, it’d be perfect.

It’s going great, isn’t it?
Yeah.
This is perfect!
It’s a little difficult to get items from all these defeated monsters, though!
But this is fine.
Should I give up on flying for now?

Never.
Determining Aotsuki’s true value comes first.
I almost lost sight of my objective.

And so…
I tried flying on Aotsuki.
What’s my impression of it?

Whoa!

That’s all.

I’ve gotta stop.
It’s dangerous to go too high.
Let’s keep things reasonable.

What about her speed?
She’s quite fast.
Even though she’s carrying me and everything I have on me on her back, she’s fast.
As expected, she isn’t quite as fast as Obsidian and Couturier, who are expert flyers, but she’s probably on par with Sputter.
That’s good enough for me.
This seems to be more efficient than me using the Fly spell, right?
There is no doubt about that.

And right away, we get attacked by a Minor Gryphon in the sky.
However, it’s only one.
Should we try our first aerial battle?

That’s no good.
It fell in one hit.
Well, most of the credit goes to Obsidian, who restrained its movements with a feint attack, creating an opportunity for us to dive in.
This is not enough to understand the true value of aerial combat.

Should we prioritize movement now?
Let’s do that.
We head southwest while trying not to gain too much altitude.
Covering as much distance as possible comes first.
Once we enter the S1W5 Map, we’ll switch back to ground movement.
There are a lot of things to worry about when you’re up there in the air.
Let’s make full use of Call Monster and keep an eye on our surroundings as we proceed.

《Summoned Monster『Sputter』 Level Up!》
《Please add 1 point to a desired stat.》

It’s the result of dealing with a series of Minor Gryphons coming at us one after another.
Sputter is growing so quickly.
But it looks like we’ll be reaching the S1W5 Map soon.
I suppose that it won’t be long before it’d be best to switch him out.

Sputter’s AGI increased automatically upon leveling up.
Let’s choose DEX as his second stat increase.

Sputter　Hawk Lv3→Lv4 (↑1)
　DEX　11 (↑1)
　AGI　23 (↑1)
　INT　19
　STR　11
　VIT　11
　SPI　11

　Skills
　Peck　Flight　Farsight　Wide Area Search　Ambush　Sense Danger

I know it’s too early, but I wonder what kind of growth route is best for Sputter?
The one that appeals to me the most is Thunderbird.
It seems to be a monster that is extremely specialized in AGI.
But that’s the good thing.
His name is a good match for that route, too.
Well, let’s stop worrying about that for now.
I want to make some changes in our lineup.

What does the S1W5 Map look like?
Like a gently sloping hill.
That’s the impression it gives me.
I could even say it’s a rather unremarkable place.

Okay.
Time to switch back to the ground.
What’s our lineup going to be?
I’ve chosen Volff, Obsidian, Heather, Kyokuya, and Aotsuki.
Let’s check our surroundings with Call Monster.
Am I only getting readings from monsters on the previous Map?

Wait, there is one monster I’ve never seen before.
So that’s what it is…

　Scarlet Sheep　Lv.2
　Demon　Enemy Target　Active
　Battle Position: Ground　Fire Attribute

There they are.
We found them, but this is too cruel.
They’re like will-o’-the-wisps.
They may look like sheep, but don’t hesitate to attack them!
It looks like their whole bodies are on fire.
No, they might actually be on fire.

A herd of Scarlet Sheep, maybe around 20 in number.
Let’s chase after them.
Doing so feels like a hassle, and it makes me want to fly instead.
But let’s refrain from doing that.
I’ve got Volff and Kyokuya with me.

Let’s give them Resist Fire.
Would Enchanted Ice be a good idea for our attacks?
Let’s get everyone ready first.
Then we’ll see about the rest.

Hot.
Very hot!
Even trying to get close to them is really troublesome!

Should I use an AoE offensive spell to kill them from a distance?
No, I won’t do something so roundabout.
I can reduce the damage we take.
Let’s strike them all down with my jousting spear!
Otherwise, we will be in trouble.
I’m in a hurry, after all.

And these guys seem pretty tough.
Not many of them die in one hit.
This only happened for two of them.
They feel a bit inferior to Panzer Rhinos, don’t they?
Still, they have the very nice feature of dealing damage passively to us if we get close to them.
Wait a minute…
Are these guys throwing molotov bombs at us?
Sometimes, they’ll fling a ball towards us.
When those hit the ground, they engulf the surrounding area in flames.
Well, we can dodge them the moment those sheep start throwing them, so they won’t hit us directly, but still…
It’s getting hot around here.
Very hot.
Time for 【Heat Resistance】 to put in some work!

That’s right.
Yeah.
Quickly clean them up and see what items we can get from them!