There were still a few days left before going to Lady Franne's place to tend the flower fields.
Another afternoon, after Sylutia finished tutoring Mick, Karen, and the others, she picked up a bow and arrow to practice herself.
Since she couldn't display her swordsmanship, practicing archery seed like a good alternative. After intermittent practice over this past month, her archery skills had gradually reached a quite decent level.
[Basic Archery Lv.3]: Foundational techniques for using bows and arrows, one of the ranged combat skills. (Progress 342/900)
Whoosh, another arrow flew out, accurately hitting the bullseye 60 ters away. ('Basic Archery' proficiency
1)
Unlike swordsmanship, archery seed to rely more on muscle mory and intuition, so her progress was relatively slower.
"So impressive! Tia's archery skills are almost catching up to Karen's now," Koa applauded.
"I'm still not as good as Sister Karen," Sylutia responded modestly.
"Your archery is indeed quite good, but Tia, if you have ti, you could try shooting at moving rabbits or birds in the mountains - that would help you improve faster," Karen suggested.
"I see," Sylutia thought about it. Not just archery, but her swordsmanship also needed practical combat training.
"Tomorrow's a day off. Karen, could you co with ?"
"Of course," Karen nodded. She had actually been planning sothing similar anyway.
"Then I want to go too," Koa didn't want to be left out.
"I'll go too," Mick overheard and ca over.
"If you encounter any danger, I can be quite helpful," he felt it was too dangerous for several girls to go out alone.
"I'll go too," Ray ca over at that mont.
"Alright."
It seed the five of them going together was unavoidable. Sylutia thought about it - there didn't seem to be a need to keep hiding things forever, and besides, they were all trustworthy friends. She could just ask them to keep it secret.
Currently, her various skill levels were approximately [Basic Swordsmanship Lv.4] [Military Swordsmanship Lv.4] [Basic Archery Lv.3] [Basic Spear Technique Lv.4] [Secret History Knowledge Lv.5] [Gardening Skills Lv.4]. Among these, the combat-related skills all needed practical experience to breakthrough.
After agreeing on tomorrow's joint activity, everyone grew excited. Koa chattered about what to bring tomorrow.
"Picnic basket, water, food, ergency bandages and dicine," she recited.
"No need for all that trouble," Karen couldn't help interrupting. They were going hunting, not on a picnic - bringing too much would slow them down.
"Ah, is that not allowed?" Koa looked disappointed.
"I, carry," Ray knocked on his chest with his fist, producing a deep sound.
"See, Ray agreed to carry things for us, so it should be fine," Koa raised her hand.
Faced with this, Karen could only shake her head helplessly and agree.
...
Early the next morning, the prepared group gathered at Scorchstone City's gate.
"Tia brought quite a lot too," Koa looked curiously at the black-haired girl.
Sylutia today wore a short black dress suitable for movent, revealing a bit of her healthy pale thighs, with knee-length black stockings below to ward off the late autumn chill. For her upper body, she wore a fitted long-sleeved hunting outfit with a leather corset around her waist that could hold a quiver and short sword while providing so protection.
She held a longbow in one hand, her black hair flowing, her posture light and agile, like an elf erging from the forest.
"Wow, Tia today is absolutely breaking charm limits," Koa exclaid excitedly, while the others also looked at her with surprised eyes.
The convergence of such gazes made Sylutia sowhat embarrassed, especially since she was wearing a short skirt today that felt a bit revealing.
"Let's go, let's go, stop staring," she could only helplessly urge everyone to start moving.
'Okay, okay, hehehe, if we keep staring at Tia, she'll get shy,' Koa covered her mouth with a light laugh, aware of the girl's discomfort.
Leaving Scorchstone City, they arrived at the mountain forest several miles outside the city, where morning dew still lingered in the grass and the air was refreshing.
Karen walked at the front, with Mick following - both had rich hunting experience. The other three followed behind: Sylutia holding her bow responsible for vigilance, Ray carrying lots of luggage, and Koa hopping around looking everywhere, keeping the atmosphere lively.
The journey of five wasn't boring - everyone chatted about recent interesting events along the way. Occasionally Sylutia would stop to pick dicinal herbs and mushrooms by the roadside, putting them in the basket Koa carried.
There were rarely large beasts around Scorchstone City, and any that appeared would generally be cleared out by the city's hunters to ensure safety for rchants and travelers.
Along the way, they didn't encounter any large living creatures, but they did co across so small rabbits and forest falcons.
"There's a rabbit over there, Tia~" Koa whispered to alert her.
"Mhm," Sylutia had already drawn her bow by then. Her posture was standard, her expression serious - almost as soon as she drew the bow, the arrow flew out and pinned the rapidly running rabbit in the grass.
('Basic Archery' proficiency
6)
"First shot hit, amazing!" Koa transford into a fan girl, loudly praising her. Karen, who had been ready to take a follow-up shot, lowered her bow.
If Sylutia had missed, Karen would have fired a second arrow to prevent the prey from escaping - this was the mutual cover practice among hunters.
Mick stepped through the ankle-deep grass, picked up the rabbit and arrow, and brought them back.
"Not bad, we can have at tonight," he shook the gray rabbit, smiling.
"Let's continue, find more prey for Tia to practice on."
Although it was a group of five, everyone intentionally or unintentionally let Sylutia practice archery more while protecting and reminding her to prevent any accidents. This feeling of being cared for and pampered by everyone made Sylutia sowhat uncomfortable temporarily, but she also felt a faint warmth.
Mick and Karen certainly didn't lack hunting experience and didn't need today for training, but for Sylutia, this might be her first ti hunting in the mountains, so they naturally wanted to take extra care of her.
Usually Sylutia tutored them in their studies, so today was a rare chance to repay her, which made everyone quite happy.
The five gradually entered deeper into the forest along the mountain path. Along the way, Sylutia beca increasingly proficient with her bow, and with adjustnts from her Breathing Technique, her stamina remained in good condition. This practical training gave her many new insights about archery, breathing techniques, and wilderness tracking.
Indeed, practical combat was the fastest way to improve, and her 'Basic Archery' was gradually approaching the breakthrough edge.
In the afternoon, the group found a clearing in the forest to rest temporarily.
"Finally we can rest," Koa plopped down on a rock, her legs sore and weak, not wanting to move at all.
Among the five, she was the only one who didn't know breathing techniques, with the worst physical strength and endurance. That she could walk this far was thanks to her usually active nature.
The others couldn't help but smile at the sight, no longer urging her to get up, but first patrolling the surroundings before returning to sit down.
"I rember there's animal hide cloth in the pack, we can use it as a mat," Karen ntioned.
There were limited rocks in the forest, and sitting directly on the ground would invite many insects. Besides, they were ready to eat sothing.
"Okay," Ray put down the large backpack he was carrying, then Karen opened it, found the rolled animal hide cloth and spread it out. Everyone sat around it, relieving their fatigue.
"Isn't Tia tired?"
Karen was quite curious - this black-haired girl seed to have better stamina than herself, not showing any signs of sweating, her movents still as light as when they first entered the mountains.
Could Tia really have elf blood? Karen suddenly thought of this, though unfortunately Sylutia didn't have the characteristic pointed ears of elves.
"Not tired for now," the girl put down her longbow and temporarily knelt sitting on the mat, her movents elegant.
After thinking for a mont, Sylutia also temporarily removed the glasses she always wore and placed them aside. At this mont, not only was her figure excellent, but her captivating appearance was fully revealed, surprising everyone present again.
"It feels like Tia is getting more and more beautiful," Koa voiced everyone's thoughts.
Everyone agreed, but seeing the girl's embarrassed expression, they found it sowhat cute and amusing, so they temporarily gave up teasing her.
"What food do we have? I'm hungry," Mick looked at the picnic basket covered with cloth.
"Yes, yes, food," Koa lifted the cloth covering, revealing the contents inside.
The picnic food was prepared by Koa's mother, containing pies, bread, smoked sausages, and two bottles of beer.
Clean water was hard to obtain in the wilderness, while alcohol was easier to preserve and cleaner. (The ferntation process of alcohol kills bacteria)
"Thanks," Mick first murmured gratitude, then took a pie and put it in his mouth, eagerly biting into it.
The pies contained so dried fruits and vegetable pieces, making them nutritionally balanced with the bread.
Everyone ate while discussing the mountain situation.
"We haven't seen any wolf tracks along the way," Sylutia recalled.
"That's because the city's hunter guild regularly sweeps the area," Karen explained while chewing bread.
"Scorchstone City is Lord Xuefeng's direct territory and residence, and a place for surrounding villages and towns to exchange trade. Safety is very important, so the local hunter guild must help clean the surrounding environnt. If they do well, they don't have to pay extra taxes to the lord," she had extensive experience regarding hunters.
"Ah, that makes it a bit boring," Mick had been hoping to hunt sothing larger later to verify his recent training results.
Just like Sylutia, he had been staying at Scholar Heide's place learning and training this whole month, with no chance to participate in adventure missions or suitable opportunities to test his progress.
"Isn't it better to be safer?" Koa expressed confusion.
After everyone finished eating, Koa took out five wooden cups and poured beer for each.
"Ah, this taste is really good," Mick took a hearty drink, almost emptying his cup in one go.
Sylutia on the other side drank more slowly, carefully savoring the faint beer flavor on her tongue.
The clear birdsong in the mountains and the cool late autumn breeze made people comfortable. Even without hunting, having a picnic here was a beautiful thing.
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