“Hn, turtle is best on skewers!”
Tonight we’re having a dinner of all kinds of tartaruga meat, but Hikari deems the skewers to be the best. For me, it’s the sandwiches with roasted thin slices.
The next day, we resume the tartaruga hunt, but the most difficult part is luring them.
They won’t come out of the water even if we were close to the lake, leading to us being attacked by nelshas that were supposed to be far away.
Nelshas run really fast on the water, and use that momentum for tackles. And they run back to the lake when we were going to counterattack. They know we aren’t going in the lake.
“That sucks. Should we retreat a bit?”
“No. If we go back any more, those cats won’t attack.”
Argo makes a proposal while breathing heavily, and Guilford shoots it down.
Nelshas’ attacks are fierce, but we have to get within their range to hunt them.
“They’re trouble. If you’re monsters, stop thinking and just attack.”
Argo starts complaining, but nelshas have consistent moves.
They’ll get baited by Provoke, but once they’re a certain distance away from the lake, the effect runs out and they go back.
Apparently their moves get duller when their bodies are dry, but when we chant fire magic, their wild instincts or something leads to them catching on and retreating.
Is that also why they don’t get too far from the lake? Because they don’t like being dry?
“Chris, can you blow away the moisture with wind magic?”
“Should I try?”
I nod, and cast Tornado with her.
The nelshas are cut by the wind, but escape. Their fur is painted red, but it doesn’t look like the moisture is gone.
Still, the ones caught up in it are definitely slower, so Hikari, Rurika, and Guilford take them down.
Should we take down the others like this? I think, but they immediately prepare countermeasures.
“They have a high ability to learn.”
“That’s a problem.”
So a move won’t work on them twice? At least not on the ones here.
Hikari and the others have taken down five, so that’s a minimum of six to go.
So what should we do? The best solution is still to dry their bodies and dull their movements, but they can detect magic.
…What about a throwing weapon infused with fire? Even if it doesn’t hit, I can infuse it with magic energy so magic activates after a certain amount of time.
It wouldn’t be strong or have a wide area of effect, but it should be enough to guide their moves.
I tell Hikari and Rurika what I’m thinking.
“Okay, I’ll tell Sera.”
“Thanks. I’ll tell Argo and the others.”
I do so as we fight nelshas.
“Got it. We’ll go around as we fight. Rick, you got this.”
Rick nods while blocking an attack from a nelshas.
As I watch them, I start by casting Provoke.
It works well enough if I’m not too far from the lake, so the nelshas gather. It’s too much for one person, so Rick and Harold help, and Mia casts support magic.
We focus on the nelshas while Argo and the others fight stragglers.
I block an attack, and slowly get away from the lake as I counter.
Rick and Harold do the same, and once we’re far enough away, the nelshas stop attacking and retreat to the lake.
“Now!”
I take a throwing knife out of the Item Box, infuse it with magic energy, and throw it.
Hikari, Rurika, and Sera react, and also throw their magic infused knives and axes.
What I threw explodes and spreads fire in front of the retreating nelshas, blocking their path.
The sudden explosion is enough to stop them, but I throw more, causing another explosion.
As a result, their movements are clearly duller.
Hikari uses Projectile Slash, and Rurika uses Gale to instantly clear the distance.
Argo’s party is ready to support them if needed, but focus on the nelshas in front of them when they see they’ll be fine.
Hikari and Rurika hold the monsters, and we cut them down once we reach them.
The nelshas fight back once they realize they can’t run, but their dry bodies lack luster, so they go down one after the other.
The ones fighting Argo and the others escape, but in the end, we’ve taken down twenty-one nelshas, including the five from before.
There was heavy resistance, but thanks to the throwing weapons and their explosions, most of their materials like fur has been ruined.
“Well, we’re here for the magic stones.”
“Hn, and the meat is okay.”
Argo is right, we got what we really need.
And Hikari cares mostly about the meat, as always. I’m sure she wouldn’t care about the magic stones either as long as the meat was edible.
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