Everyone's hunger has now been sated for a while. The ladies took their chainmail that had warmed near the fire. Dresses came off as the women put on their chainmail. Ethan could only stare at the scene. Gearing up and readying their gear took five minutes. Walking down the road, Maple would run to bushes and flowers; her face lit up each time she noticed a plant.
Ethan noticed that Maple took great care not to destroy the whole plant as she harvested it. Soon, they reached the road that led down to the ocean's side. From their footprints in the dirt, Ethan could see that Terry and his group passed through.
Wendy pulled on Ethan's robe as she squatted by animal hoof prints on the dirt road. Wendy pointed to the trail that led to the abyssal forest. Grace moved forward, tracking the animal as she pulled an arrow from her quiver.
Everyone remained quiet as they moved. Maple remained squatted by the plants as they stopped. She harvested as fast as she could. The forest was getting denser, and the scent of wet earth hung in the air.
Suddenly, a rabbit-like creature with fangs jumped out of the brush and rushed Maple. Wendy unsheathed her sword smoothly as she jumped over Maple, who had squatted to gather herbs. A flash of mithril separated the rabbit-like creature's head from its body, and it fell dead before Maple. Everyone stared in horror as the Blood rabbit's blood turned to a golden mist flowing up Wendy's boots, disappearing under her skirt.
"B-B-B, blood rabbit, what a find! It's a rare ingredient."
Maple cut the Blood rabbit into pieces, and it disappeared into her backpack. Maple sighed, looking at Wendy, her face calm. Grace broke the silence.
"Blood rabbits are lethal. One bite, and you're done for. They have fangs like a snake full of venom."
Wendy shivered, and Lucy did as well. A Snake struck out at Lara from a branch near her face. Zelda flew as Ethan threw one knife, decapitating the snake. Zelda returned to Ethan's hand.
"Alas, this might be a dangerous area. Be careful, everyone. Be alert, and do not let your guard down."
Grace spotted the deer, which Ethan had never seen before. Grace placed her finger before her mouth as she whispered.
"Roe Deer is delicious. Roasted, pan-fried, baked in the oven and stewed."
Stomachs growled as Grace mentioned the ways they could be cooked.
Grace aimed and fired an arrow. It struck the deer behind the ear. It stiffened and fell.
Lara ran forward at incredible speed as she grabbed the deer, dragged it to them, and hung it in a tree, Grace slicing its throat. Lara placed her backpack on the ground.
"Let us make this our first camp. For now, we can move on after lunch."
Grace patted Lara on the shoulder and knocked another arrow as she followed another set of tracks. Ten Roe deer hung in trees around the small clearing. Lara took each kill back to the camping area and hung them in a tree, cutting the main artery for the deer to bleed out. Wendy and Lucy had killed seven Blood rabbits as they rushed Grace and Ethan.
Ethan took slices of meat and handed them to Maple.
"Alas, start with lunch as soon as possible. We need to get deeper into the forest."
Ethan stood by Wendy as he spoke.
"Alas, I am going into town to call Draga. His wives can come and collect deer from us. Ting-Ting, fly me to the village, please."
Ting-Ting unsheathed herself and descended so that Ethan could step on her. The trip took five minutes, as they were still close to the village, barely a half-hour's walk. Ethan greeted Bert as he landed before the man.
"Hail, Bert, where can I find a public phone, please."
"Ethan, good morning. Down the road, make the second turn to your left. You cannot miss it."
Ethan walked quickly and found the phone. He used the number. Draga answered, and they arranged a meeting spot on the road leading down to the ocean side.
Ethan returned fifteen minutes later, and Grace and Lara were hard at work butchering the deer. Maple processed the blood rabbits and other ingredients she had found.
Ethan motioned for Wendy and Lucy to accompany him as he knocked an arrow.
He wanted Lucy to practice tanking against animals. He tracked an elk trail and found it near a grove of trees.
Lucy stumbles towards the elk as Ethan pushes her with his foot on the bum. The elk chuckles, showing its agitation. He inspects the elk, which stands five feet tall and looks like it weighs about three hundred kilograms.
The elk attacks Lucy with his antlers down. Lucy deflects the blow with her shield and strikes a blow to the elk's neck. Golden mist starts to flow from Lucy towards the elk. The elk sees the mist, panicking as it attacks again. Lucy takes the full brunt of the attack.
Wendy summersaults, her swords drawn as she cuts the elk's neck. Wendy backflips out of reach of the elk's antlers.
Lucy bashes the elk in the face with her shield and stabs her sword forward, landing a blow in the elk's throat.
Golden mists flow towards the two girls as the elk dies. Its blood turns to golden mist.
Lucy rubs her shoulder and puts her shield on her back.
"Squee, it packed a punch. My shoulder felt numb and still does. It does feel better every second."
Ethan felt exhilarated as he watched the regeneration power heal Lucy's damaged shoulder. He had them stand before him as he squatted down before them.
He ran his hand up their thighs, pulling underwear aside. He pushed his finger in each as deep as possible.
Sophia spoke in his mind.
"Alas, Wendy and Lucy have progressed. Soon, they will be level four. You are growing stronger."
Ethan pulled his fingers out slowly and hugged the two.
"Alas, you are getting stronger. I am proud of you."
Ethan stood, longbow in hand, arrow knocked. He could see that both had tears in their eyes. He initially knew how scared they were, but now he could see they were confident in their abilities.
He heard a low growl. Standing across from them was a dire wolf. The dire wolf had blue fur with white marbling and two horns that could do severe damage. He knew this would be a fight for the elk's body and their lives.