The Daily Life of the Late Bloomer Tamer

Chapter 53: An Encounter with the Predator

We went to the northern plains to raise Rick and Kumama's level to 10. The enemies are strong, but it's the best place to gain experience.

I thought about going to the underground corridor to the altar, but only Rock Ant appeared there. With only me as the damage dealer, I'd run out of MP in no time. So, it's better to go to a field where we can all fight together and gain more experience.

"OK. Orto, that's good!　Hold him there! Sakura, restrain him!

"Mumu!"

"----!"

"Kumama, Rick, finish him!"

"Kyu!"

"Kuumaa!"

"Aqua ball!"

Kumama and the others defeat Wild Dog, and the aqua ball I unleashed sends Rock Ant to his death. No matter how hard its skin, if its HP is reduced to this level, Kumama and Sakura's physical attacks can defeat it.

"OK, that went well."

The exploration is going well. It's not easy, but we can fight better than I thought.

Come to think of it, my level is at the right level. Orto and Sakura are already above the right level. With this formation, there's no way we could lose without being able to do anything. Though it won't be an easy victory.

Since I have one extra party slot, it will be easier if I tame one more monster. However, that would reduce the amount of experience for each member. Therefore, I won't tame any monsters until Rick reaches level 10. Besides, if I fail, I'll waste a lot of MP.

We continued our exploration in the northern plains. We consumed a lot of wound medicine, but we didn't have much trouble.

Moreover, because the monsters' levels are high, Rick and Orto's levels have already increased by 1. If Rick's level goes up 1 more, I'll reach the rank-up condition.

"All right, let's continue to level up at once!"

However, it's already evening. If we go too far, we'll end up moving at night. At night, the level of enemies increases, and their appearances also increase.

No matter how well we are doing, I am not confident enough to think we can fight continuously at night. So we should probably go and level up somewhere near the town while we can.

While I am thinking about that...

Ping-pong!

Oh?　I heard an announcement.

[The 4th area raid boss, Berserker Dog, has been defeated. A part of the system will be unlocked.]

Oh, so the raid boss has been defeated!　I heard the rumors, but it had nothing to do with me, so I didn't pay much attention.

The town in the 5th area has now been unlocked.

In LJO, there are towns in odd-numbered areas, and even-numbered areas are just small villages with small stores and inns.

In other words, if there is a big town in the 5th area, there is a high possibility that there will be new items and systems. This would make the bulletin board lively for a while.

I'm sure there will be information on how to defeat the raid boss, and more raid parties will try the challenge. Not that it matters to me right now!

"Mu?"

"Oops, now is not the time to relax."

The sun is starting to set, and we need to get back to the beginning town.

When we walk toward the town, Rick suddenly gets restless and starts pulling my hair.

"What's wrong, Rick?"

"Kyukyu!　Kyukyu!"

"What? What's over there?"

Rick nervously moves his tiny hand, pointing in one direction.

Although it's a field, it's not just an endless empty field. There are hills, hollows, and bushes.

Over there, the grass was too tall and thick. I couldn't see what Rick was telling me. What is that?　I am about to walk towards it, but he grabs my lips and pulls me as hard as possible.

"Kyukyukyu!"

Apparently, he meant the other way around. Does he want me to run away?

"Oioi, what on earth--!　Seriously!"

This is no time to hesitate!　Rick had been trying to warn me!　

"GYUOOOOOO!!"                                                                        

A loud roar echoed through the area as if to hurry me up.

"Let's get out of here!"

What appeared through the bushes was a giant Rock Ant. Its size is probably more than three times the ordinary Rock Ant. The giant Rock Ant is surrounded by countless ordinary Rock Ants.

I'd heard of it, but I never thought I'd see it at this moment.

"Is that a Predator?"

Predator Monster is a boss monster that roams around the field. Each field has one type of predator monster, but the encounter rate is low since they wander randomly around the vast area.

However, they are extremely powerful. I heard a team of 12 players with an average level 18 couldn't even stand up to the Predator in the 2nd area. Its strength is far greater than the boss, so it's terrifying.

The Predator on the northern plains is the giant Rock Ant. It only looks like a big Rock Ant, but that's a trap. Beginners who underestimate it will be beaten to death.

The frightening thing about this monster has a defense that far exceeds ordinary Rock Ant and will summon many Rock Ants to surround the player. If you are not careful, they will surround you, and you won't be able to escape.

Anyway, I run as fast as I can to get away from the Large Rock Ant. Since the Predator is a roaming monster, the bulletin board said I must not relax even if I could get away from it. I must keep running further away from it.

So I keep running for a while, even after the Predator is out of sight.

"Huff, huff.... are we OK now?　Is everybody

OK?"

OK, everybody's OK. That was scary!　Just when I'm finally getting used to normal battle, I run into one of those things.

"I didn't pay any attention to the direction we were running. Where are we?"

"Kyukyu!"

"Rick, what's wrong?"

"Kyuukyuu!

"Oioi, you gotta be kidding me."

Rick's reaction is exactly the same as before. Could it be that we couldn't escape from the Large Rock Ant?

I thought so, but I was wrong. A giant dog with jet-black fur and a body the size of an ox suddenly jumped out before us.

"Gururururu"

"Eh? Savage dog? Is, isn't it a field boss!"

I was so focused on escaping from the Predator that I'd stepped into the area where the field boss appeared!　The scenery of the plains looks so similar, I didn't even notice!

"Da, damn it! Everyone, get ready for battle!"