A Dragon's Curiosity

While the monsters in front of them fell into confusion, Nisha and Unico flanked the four targets and dashed forward, poised to strike.

Making good use of his dagger, Unico flashed left and right of the third [Yellow Banded Loam Monster] and aimed for its leg with every strike.

He managed to take out two of its right legs quickly enough and nicked the third one, while his accuracy suffered somewhat on the left side, only damaging one leg in total.

Still, the impairment was serious enough to slow the monster down and remove it as a threat towards Lisa, who repeatedly rebuffed two [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters] at the same time.

Content with his achievement in battle, Unico continued to add small gashes and lacerations on the monster's body, letting the creature slowly bleed out.

Compared to the young man, Nisha did not fall far behind.

The elf used a single [Taurith Short Sword] as her weapon and successfully drew the fourth and last monster away from her other two team members.

She flashed forward through using [Advance] from the [Imperial Swordplay] and her own trick of detonating an aura packet below her foot at the same time as using the movement technique.

Hitting sensitive spots near the eyes and the nose two times, the mud coloured monster rushed after the dragon with intense anger and appeared quite ferocious.

Rather than relying on her higher aura cultivation, Nisha limited herself to the middle of the second rank as well, while her sword movements and movement methods only consisted of [Advance], [Retreat] and the first offensive style, [Slash].

When she had visited the [Navis Terram] awhile ago and asked for advice from Knife Leader Tanya and Lance Corporal Hale, they emphasized that the girl had the necessary strength, but lacked the finesse and familiarity with the [Imperial Swordplay] to properly express her strength as combat power.

To train herself, Nisha decided to practice the movements one by one until she properly managed to express them at an adequate level.

Nevertheless, a dragon still had vastly greater physical attributes than a regular monster at the same level of cultivation, and the [Slashes] on different body parts quickly added up.

Combining the sharpness of her sword and the heavy blows, the elf’s opponent was the first to succumb to its injuries and keeled over, bereft of its last breath.

Satisfied with each and every small improvement, she did not have the luxury to recall the battle in its entirety right now and hurried over towards Lisa, who still struggled to keep two [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters] at bay at the same time.

The feat of holding out so long was already commendable enough for an early second aura rank warrier, though the small bruises and cuts began to add up and it was getting increasingly difficult for the blonde girl to repel the monsters.

Thankfully, the addition of another fighter meant that the pressure reduced drastically and the brown frog-like monsters kept turning back and forth between the two.

Bolstered by the confidence in the overall combat situation and the relief of pressure, Lisa bashed her shield against the head of her opponent several times, while Nisha added more [Slashes] to the two [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters].

While the two girls were beating up their targets, Unico also finished dealing with his initial target and bled it to death.

He joined his team mates and turned the siege around, with three of them circling two monsters now.

Several breaths later the first of the remaining [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters] died from a merciless stab through one of its eyes, the youth with the purple hue on his skin took advantage of its exhausted state to put a quick end to it.

After that, there was no suspense left in the fight.

The trio seized the chance to end the fight when the frog monster tired out and Nisha beheaded it with a single strike.

It did not even have the chance to issue a last death roar and slumped down on the blood soaked forest floor.

Relieved from the tension of battle, Lisa also slumped on the ground shortly afterwards and sighed from exhaustion.

“Not a bad result for our first fight. Are you alright, Lisa?”

Checking the bodies of the monsters for possible survivors first, Unico expressed his concern over the blonde girl, who had yet to get up after the fight again.

The elf similarly dragged her kill over and began to butcher the monster remains.

Although they received a set amount of points for each slain monster during a field trip, the warriors were also allowed to turn in materials they gathered from their prey, bolstering their income.

While Nisha herself did not particularly lack merit points, they were a team right now and competent adventurers never left anything of value behind.

Lisa groaned first and checked the bumps and scratches on her arms, before answering him.

“I think I might have picked the wrong weapon type. A shield is supposed to protect me from monsters, but now every time we fight, I’m the first one to face the onslaught.”

Lisa got on her feet again and inspected her weapon and shield.

Though the items no longer appeared quite as pristine as they had at the start of the fight, no obvious defects that would render them unusable were visible.

Wiping a few bloodstains and dirt off the surface of her shield, the blonde girl joined her team in procuring the materials from the monster bodies.

“You can still change your weapon. The instructor mentioned that this period of time is meant for us to get familiar with different fighting styles and pick the one that fits us best.

If you are not happy with a shortsword and shield, change to something else during the next class.

We can figure out a different combination for the next excursion until then.”

Storing away the hides and tendons harvested from the [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters], Nisha offered her advice.

While it added to the safety of their hunt, it was not strictly necessary to have a heavy fighter like a shield warrior at the front of their group.

In fact, Nisha was fairly confident to break the charge of most second and third rank monsters with the movement and defensive styles she learned.

Executing a well timed [Sidestep] after a successful [Parry] or [Block] would have thrown the four monsters they just had slain off all the same.

“It’s probably not necessary for me to change to a different weapon type, it’s still very reassuring to have a shield. At least, if something goes wrong I have a good chance to block any attacks coming at me.”

“That’s true. When Nisha and I want to attack the enemies, we have to get close without any form of protection, it’s easy to get injured when something unexpected happens.

A good shield shows its worth in an emergency, not when the plan proceeds smoothly.”

The young man complimented Lisa on her mentality and cut apart the last corpse, retrieving the materials they wanted to exchange for points later.

“Since we managed this group quite nicely, should we rest first or go and look for more enemies?”

Nisha patted a happy Accalia who returned from the undergrowth next to the trail.

As there were just enough monsters to divide between the student trio, the elf had her contracted beast guard the perimeter instead of relying on the wolf for support in battle.

If any stray [Yellow Banded Loam Monster] neared them while they were fighting, Little Lia had the mission to intercept them and take the monster down.

Fortunately, they did not have to rely on the Wind Wolf.

“As long as no one is too tired, I think we can continue. At least on my side, there’s no issue.”

The violet tinted young man indicated his combat readiness, looking towards Lisa.

“Wait a moment, I mentioned that I had something good earlier, right?

This is the perfect moment to use it.”

Fumbling around the pocket sewed into her leather jacket, the blonde girl produced a generic potion vial sold in many shops in Thurgau.

Nevertheless, Lisa had a triumphant and satisfied expression on her face.

“This is not just any potion, but something I made myself. Take a look!”

Handing the small bottle to Nisha, who passed it on afterwards, both of the other two students had a puzzled expression.

The fluid inside the vial had a pale yellow color, making it slightly unpleasant to look at.

However, neither commented on the potion before they knew what exactly it was and looked at Lisa, waiting for an explanation.

“A few afternoons ago, my dad was asked to concoct a custom order for a team of adventurers that wanted to find a particular monster in the Wilderness, but they did not manage to find it the first time they ventured where their mission stated that particular monster lived.

It is not a strong fighter either, far weaker than the team, only that it’s difficult to find.

Since the level of the potion was not too high, my dad let me help with producing the potion, which is called the [Lower Monster Lure].”

Lisa took back the vial and shook it left and right, showing off her prize.

“We managed to concoct the potion just fine, and I managed to remember the recipe for it as well.

I reproduced it on my own with materials from the shop, and now we can use it to make our training easier.

By sprinkling this potion on the ground, all monsters in the surrounding will get attracted according to the level of the main ingredient used while producing it.

The one my dad made was for a rank three monster, while my version used the entrails of a second rank [Enthrallment Spider Monster].

Due to that, any monster below the third rank will get attracted to this place, instead of us walking all over the forest, trying to find more groups.

It’s super convenient, isn’t it?”

Beaming with happiness, Lisa showed off her achievement, yet did not open the bottle right away.

Even though she prepared the potion and hoped to take credit for her actions, the blonde girl waited for the opinions of her companions.

“Is the lure safe to use? I understand that you made the potion by following the recipe you learned from your father, but the outcome might be different from the difference in materials used.

And are there any side effects? Getting swarmed to death by a horde of third rank does not sound like a pleasant experience.”

While the elf’s questions were not nice to listen to, it was nevertheless necessary to clarify using these matters before using the [Weak Monster Lure] for the first time.

“Of course, I secretly listened in while my dad explained the custom order to the adventurer that purchased it.

By spilling some of the potion, the smell spreads throughout the nearby area and attracts monsters of the rank it is targeted at as well as weaker marks.

As long as fragrance exists, a patch of colour remains, showing that it works.

Once the sign is gone, you have to apply more of the potion.

Because the range of attraction is not too wide, it is recommended to find a different spot if the target does not show up at the first spot.

When I heard that, I was convinced that this is the perfect tool for our warrior field trips.”

After hearing the details from Lisa, the other two youths were more or less convinced about the usefulness and viability of using the lure and indicated their agreement.

Lisa prepared to pull the stopper out of the vial and scatter some drops of the fluid, when her carelessness led to an unexpected disaster.

The blonde girl had fastened the stopper extra hard to prevent the contents of the vial spilling inside her pocket.

When she tried to open the vial now, Lisa pulled extra hard to get it unstuck.

Unfortunately, the previous fight allowed one of the [Yellow Banded Loam Monsters] to attack the area where the pocket was sewed into her leather jacket.

With a loud crash, the vial snapped along a hairline fissure that was hardly noticeable so far and smeared Lisa with half of the potion, all over her leather jacket and combat pants.

The other half of the fluid soaked the ground, forming a big yellow mark.