He wasn't planning on hunting any small game, having guessed the woods held only low-level monsters. It still meant that Pochirin would level up a lot due to the gap between them. Speaking of, he hadn’t checked his menu at all. It had been a while; he was rather immersed with everything going on, especially since he didn't use it as a mana tick as much compared to a player.

  With a thought, the red menu popped up, showing the meager stats of Pochirin. Since Han had already expected it, the reality didn't hit as hard. He was a level 8, ? Hound of Oblivion — Familiar ?, which surprised him; he'd never heard of a hound having various descriptive tags.

  The stats were probably average for a literal puppy, though level 6 was surprising. For reference, Zom's starting stats as a level 8 were abysmal, albeit better than Pochirin's for his level. Han did include Pochirin's more useful base form in his admittedly useless retrospective rating, simply because there was far more room to improve via evolution.

  These things aside, the tag "of Oblivion" gave him some hope. The passives were the ? Familial Link ? that he had experienced earlier. The vague feeling of each other’s location, and that was about it. There was another thing to note; it explained Han's ability to receive "directions," which were held as orders. So, he was akin to a wireless receiver.

  Hopefully, I won’t get ordered around everywhere—anyway!

  Finally, the other innate passive, ? Cloak Of Obliviousness ? rendered him imperceivable to any unknowing enemy until attacking or in the act of being spotted, all within a close radius. At least it explained why Kanade chose to become a scout; every mission, he was practically in no danger. Though that "imperceivable" left a lot of leeway for variables, in the end.

  It’s pretty damn good.

  Han had already thought of a few uses once Pochirin evolved. It would become a powerful tool. Han could sneak up on a boss for a free attack when it mattered most, or use it during siege missions. However, everything depended on the "imperceivable" level.

  Would a sneeze, a bark, or even a loud step alert everyone around me?

  Without going too deep into thinking, he walked to the door and waited for Kanade. She finally got ready; it hadn't taken long, but due to Han's redundant thinking, it seemed far longer. She opened the door and let him out onto the porch. This time she locked it behind her, which was odd as there was no way to unlock it from the inside.

  After seeing the ham on her, Li wasn’t as susceptible to a break-in, a kick from her would end any low-rate punk this kind of slum would have. The slum outside hadn't changed, though it was hard to dismiss how beautiful the scenery was. The painted orange sky, the small hills that one might sleep on. There wasn't a trace that a city was just behind him.

  She quickly walked around the shack and started toward the woods; it wasn't that far, maybe a good minute before the canopy shade could touch them. Han's nose was starting to run wild again, though this time he at least didn't implode. Flowers, leaves, and dung.

  How… wonderful… totally…

  Kanade kept leading him along; the barely trodden grass still held a faint hint of footsteps. Han assumed they were the ones who had made this path. The woods kept getting denser and denser. It was a tad uncomfortable, especially for Han, since he had never been the nature-going type. Various birds chirped along with the slight breeze; it was peaceful. He also noted the breeze coming from the plains, which were directly behind them, a good reference point in case they lost their sense of direction.

  The faint path ended right in front of a tree. It didn't seem any different from the others around it, but Han's nose quickly caught the faint metallic scent hidden near its roots.

  She quickly bent down near a bush and forced it aside. With a sweep of her arm, she uncovered a hidden compartment, just a dugout pocket between the roots, obscured by the brush. What came out of it was surprising.

  Isn’t she a beast-master?

  Kanade threw the quiver, sporting a dozen or so arrows, over her shoulder. In her left hand was a simple wooden bow that resembled one any low-level archer might have. The metallic scent wasn't the arrows; they had clearly been gathering the ambient scent for a while. It was the blood that had once been on them.

  “Do your magic, Rin-Rin. Let’s be quick about this.” She glanced at the quickly darkening sky, then back to Han with a smile and trusting eyes. However, it was rather misplaced.

  What am I supposed to do exactly?

  He couldn't just pinpoint the location of a sheep or something without knowing how their smell beforehand. Han didn't even know what they supposedly hunted before. There was no time for planning, so he started sprinting in hopes of finding a solution on the run. Sifting through every scent Pochirin's nose could pick up was a tad overwhelming, but at least he was learning to control it this way. Smelling every little thing at once wasn't such a good thing as one might think. Anyhow, it was time to hunt.

  Instead of over-relying on the nose, hearing came in clutch. A deep, heavy oink was the first thing he picked up that seemed promising. Assuming it was a pig, he snapped a ninety-degree turn and locked in on that direction. He hadn't questioned it before, but Kanade was keeping up with him without much issue.

  Maybe her physical stats aren’t horrid, even so. What’s with this girl?

  Everything he knew about her kept changing; she was a scout now, and her input only added more questions. She had a familiar that beast-master class could have, yet she could also use a bow. He simply hoped that her archery was from learning, like how he could use most weapons without relying on class skills. Since beast-master class focused on familiars, that much was obvious. They were a single or multi-target support class built around their familiars, which would have been handy for him to have.

  After almost running into a bush, Han stopped. One thing his modern mind had forgotten, there were no pigs in the wilderness. They hid behind a tree; by chance, they had the high ground on the sleeping hog. It hadn't been oinking for no reason. Those were snores. He was having second thoughts about all of this. His size perception had been thrown off since attaching to a hound, but it still worked well enough to judge. That hog was bigger than a whole car.

  Hogs weren’t all fat. And the fact that it was just lying out in the open meant it wasn't afraid of being attacked. It could probably crush a dozen wolves by itself, wolves that were thrice the size of Pochirin.

  Kanade was by his side, observing the sleeping hog. He tried to ignore how close she was; he could even hear her steadying her breath after the run.

  “Nice find. Though, I’m not sure how we’d bring back the carcass.” She whispered to Han, who had to take a moment to process what she had said.

  She wants to fight THAT THING?!

  “I think I know… I’ll use it after the fight. Focus on his legs; take them out, and he’ll be a rolling pile of hog meat.” Without letting him even have a second to himself, she continued.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Pfuuu!

  Han had to snicker inwardly. He couldn’t help but think about this whole ordeal from the sidelines. A literal cat-girl practically drooling to kill a hog. Whatever, Han had learned something. Risk. Without it, he would still be stuck there, all cold, miserable, and alone. The hog, the hog was EXP, EXP that was waiting for him.

  He instantly went around the tree, carefully making his way down the small natural hill. The hog's snoring kept getting louder and louder, whether it was because it was waking up or because he was coming closer. It was hard to tell with all that racket he kept picking up.

  The hog was even bigger up close; she'd mentioned targeting its legs, but it didn't seem it would be that easy. First of all, it was lying on its stomach. Once he managed to bite into its hind legs, what were the chances it would just give up?

  And second, the legs were clearly its weak point; with all that rotund blubber around its body, the legs were small and muscular by comparison. They were only small relative to the body; as he inched closer, there was no way Pochirin's jaw could even open that wide.

  The ground shook with each long snore. Han could feel his heartbeat rattled by the vibrations; since the hog was in deep sleep, he had time to maneuver behind it.

  Here goes nothing…

  He dug his teeth into the leg; it was just bone. Nonetheless, he wasn't planning to waste a sneak attack and used all the strength Pochirin's tiny jaw had. The hog barely seemed to react. Then the snoring stopped. Han took it as a chance to flee and see what it would do next. He quickly hid behind a tree directly opposite the hill where Kanade was hiding, right behind the hog.

  —Brrrr!

  All the snivel from its nostrils flew out, the force flung bushes aside and bent the treetops. It was awake. The walking car of fat stood up. Han stared at its hind left leg. It didn't even seem injured. Suddenly, a faint "hide" seeped into his mind, though not exactly a word, but a feeling that he should do it. However.

  Fuck that… I have to do it... I have to! C’mon! COME ON!

  Han rushed out from cover, aiming to bite the same leg; it suddenly moved. More of a flinch than a dodge. Without heeding it, he bit into the leg again.

  “Huaarrgghh!” The deep gurgle from the hog shook his brain; all that bass passed through its body and through Pochirin's teeth. Taking the chance while it was dazed, he repeatedly bit into the leg until viscous savory blood seeped into his mouth. Once more, he retreated. This time, he wasn't so lucky. The hog turned around, its tusks pointed right at him. However, Han was quick to notice the arrows.

  Kanade!

  He didn't have time to count how many were on it, aside from the one that mattered; it was directly embedded in its left eye. Unlike it, seeing that gave him an idea, he used his small size to leap into the bushes. The hog didn't wait for him to hide, ramming into the tree face first. The roots could barely hold; the ground split apart. And the sound, the constant gurgling that passed for its breathing, the wood being crushed right in front of him; none of it mattered to Han.

  Somehow, he bit into the right hind leg; this time it couldn't escape the pain and fell to the ground with a thump that flung grassy debris into the air. Its legs kept shaking, unable to support its own weight anymore. The battle was won, even if it was still alive for now.

  It ended far better than he would have imagined. He couldn't help but notice the arrows buried in its hide, though he wouldn't dismiss his own quick thinking either. During its onslaught against the tree, Han had used the blind eye to walk around it; the bush maneuver was just to make the hog lose sight of him.

  Kanade jumped down from the hill, her quiver nearly empty. Despite the odds that had favored the hog in Han's mind, she didn't seem all that happy. Her eyes drifted from him to the hog a couple of times, until she was close enough.

  “…Great work. Don’t… don’t do that again.” Her voice cracked in the middle. She wrapped around the hog, past the uprooted tree, right where its snout was. Her leg came up, driving the arrow that jutted from its eye completely into the socket. The monstrous hog's breathing ceased, and with that, a notification appeared.

  [STRONG ENEMY FELLED]

  [509 EXP GRANTED]

  The EXP gain was surprising, since he was used to Zom's absurd level gap between him and the enemies around him. But now that he was actually a higher level than his host, the gain was decent, the hog must have been around level 12.

  While he hadn't gained a level, Pochirin had skipped one and jumped to 8. That stark difference made him realize he got complete leftovers. With Zom it had been split into two unequal parts, since Han's actions were counted as an "assist." Now, he was getting an assist from an assist. The assist part didn't irk him that much but only when it was divided between him and his host.

  Would it have changed if I was the one getting the final hit?

  Anyway, since he didn't have much to contribute to whatever she was planning, he waited. He assumed it was flaying or gutting the hog, there was no way they could bring the whole corpse back to town. Not even adding the problem that there was way too much for two people to eat.

  Han excluded himself due to the fact that he hadn't felt hunger yet and the vague knowledge that summoned familiars used the master's mana instead of actual sustenance. Though it had to be a summoned one, or an ethereal-type, so that didn't mean you could bond with a horse and never feed it.

  “I’d say we use it. I’ll butcher everything I can, then with it, carry everything back home. What do you think?” She talked to herself whilst tiptoeing around the carcass, retrieving the arrows.

  What the hell do I say?

  “Sure, I guess.” He attempted to say but it came out as an adorable little bark. Without knowing the full context, he wasn't sure what to expect. She nodded, then gently stroked his head before taking out a small knife from a sheath on her calf. She went to the hog's stomach and promptly started slicing an arc into it.

  That… that will take a bit to get used to.

  Not the butchering, the head pats. Speaking of which, he wasn't all that put off by the blood, organs, and the like; he just preferred not to do it himself or to attentively watch it being done. Since everything aligned, and she would be taking quite some time, it was time to wait. Something he was very good at. He lay down and waited.

  Wait that, wait that… Shit, good thing I didn’t have a pet or he’d have gone insane from it.

  Han's eyes simply drifted across the sky, catching the occasional bird; the gentle wind kept brushing the lush grass around him like a restless, wordless message. The majestic feeling of peak summer brought an invisible tear to his eye. So many possibilities, the freedom. Eventually, the tangerine-colored sky caught up to their location; soon enough, the deeper peach started blending with the night sky.

  “Alright… I took as much as I could.” Kanade finally emerged from the tree shade. Her eyes darted around the dim wood patch, quickly spotting a black blob lying motionless, eyes turned up toward the sky above. A smile appeared on her face. It was enough. Who would know better than her how much they had suffered. Is peace that hard to achieve?

  A little more… push and give, push and give.

  Now, onto the problem. She turned back to the spoils, the various meats, organs, and anything she assumed or already knew were edible. They were stuffed in a thick double-layered leather bag that kept everything tight and compact; however, she filled it to the brim. The bag was far too heavy for her to carry, and adding Pochirin to the issue didn't matter.

  “Hell… I said I’d use it.” Her hand slid into her hip pouch and produced a dirty flask. The bulbous little flask was only dirtied by age, having accumulated clumps of dust and cobwebs, nothing too out of the ordinary for loot found in a dungeon. The magic was, of course, the purple liquid inside. With the help of an appraiser named Blunderlynn back in the main district, it had turned out to be a strength potion.

  The cork holding the mysterious liquid was just waiting to be popped out. Using the dagger, which she wiped on the leaves first, she stuck it into the cork and unplugged it. As a natural reaction, she sniffed it. The odorlessness made it even more unconventional.

  Nonetheless, she drank it in a single swig. Her face immediately scrunched up from the sweet bitterness. Despite having no scent, the potion's taste was a potent mix of some berry and honey. The flavor itself was pleasant enough; the sheer potency, though, made it horrid. Even after it barely touched her tongue, the aftertaste lingered. Somehow all it did was wake her up, though that was obvious since potions weren't known for their quickness.

  She tried to lift the bag immediately after the bitter backlash. Unsuccessfully. After that taste, she glanced upward; time wasn't on her side. At least Li had managed to wake her up, or else the others would've been angry at her. She slid the bow over her shoulder, already laden with a quiver and a pouch.

  “This will,” She squatted down and grabbed the hem of the bag. Using her hip as leverage, she started moving. “Cheer them up.”

  “Finally… we’re leaving.” Han jokingly added, stretching before falling in step with Kanade.

  “Yes… Yes, we… are.” She said over a couple of labored steps. Though her response sent shivers down his spine.

  Damn… she’s really close with those responses.