Drake said he wanted to go out, so Hikaru took him outside the walls. The white drakon seemed to have tried every food there was in Dream Maker. This drakon is too carefree, Hikaru thought as he watched Drake.

Duinkler's subordinate arrived early in the morning, and Lavia and Paula went with him to go check on some properties. Hikaru left the decision on which house to buy with them.

『Hmm…』Drake had been twitching his nose nonstop ever since they left town.

「Is there something wrong?」

『It stinks.』

「I've heard that a million times already. I can't really tell if it stinks or not, though.」

Hikaru could smell the greenery, the flowers, and the fruits, but not any strange stenches that Drake sensed.

『This isn't normal. It smells so awful.』

「Are you sure your nose isn't malfunctioning or something?」

『How rude. My nose is great, okay? I can get to Zagin even with my eyes closed. I can smell the stench of the huge creature up ahead, and I can also smell Lavia's scent on you.』

Hikaru's expression turned serious. Hikaru and the girls each slept in separate rooms, but he usually woke up to find Lavia had snuck into his bed. She didn't really do anything, and she looked adorable, so Hikaru didn't really complain. Someone else pointing that out, though, was too embarra.s.sing.

「Don't tell anyone about that, got it?」

『Why not? Paula liked it when I told her.』

Oh, no. Paula knows. Hikaru covered his face with his hand.

『Anyway, forget that. Something big is coming towards us.』

「Y-Yeah… I've sensed it for a while now.」

Hikaru already knew about it with his Mana Detection. Even from a hundred meters away, his detection allowed him to see the huge creature as though it was flaring up with life force.

「A wild boar.」

The animal, big as a two-story building, lumbered towards them. The area Hikaru was in had enough s.p.a.ces between trees for the creature to walk through.

「It's really strange… People here can't use magic, and I sense very little mana from them, but monsters actually have mana.」

『Can you kill that thing?』

「Of course. One kill and I reach my quota for the day.」

They were about a two-hour walking distance from the city, but the expedition squad should be glad to pull a huge kill with their wagons.

Okay, then. How do I kill it?

【Soul Board】Hikaru

Age: 16 Rank: 49

3

【Vitality】

【Magical Power】

..【Mana】1

【Physical Strength】

..【Strength】1->3

..【Weapon Mastery】

….【Throwing】10 (MAX)

……【Heaven Shot】0

【Agility】

..【Power Burst】5

..【Stealth】

….【Life Obfuscation】5 (MAX)

….【Mana Obfuscation】5 (MAX)

….【Imperceptibility】5 (MAX)

……【a.s.sa.s.sination】3 (MAX)

……..【Snipe】3 (MAX)

……【Group Obfuscation】5 (MAX)

【Intuition】

..【Instinct】2

..【Detection】

….【Life Detection】1

….【Mana Detection】3

……【Detection Expansion】3 (MAX)

Hikaru had gone up five ranks fighting in this forest. He used two points to increase his Strength. This wasn't just a simple power-up. More Strength affected his Power Burst as well.

And of course, it also had an effect on Throwing. The knife Hikaru threw pierced through the boar's forehead, struck its brain, and went out of the back of its head.

「Ohh…」

His aim was perfect. The Snipe Skill buffed his attack, resulting in an instant kill, and the additional Strength provided more speed and power.

The earth rumbled as the boar pitched forward and collapsed. Then it turned quiet as clouds of dust rose in the air. Blood was dripping from the fist-sized hole on the creature's head.

「My rank didn't go up. It's getting harder and harder to hit rank fifty. Makes you wonder how much hunting those guys with the three-digit ranks did.」

『Wait, what?! How did you kill it so easily?! When did you get so strong?!』

「Just now.」

『Just now?! That can't be right… Then again, this is you we're talking about… Yes…』

Drake nodded to himself, as though successfully convincing himself. Hikaru was bothered about the distant look on the drakon's face as he stared at him.

Drake flew and landed by the boar's side.

『It stinks.』

「I know. It smells gamy. I don't think the meat will have the same smell, though. I just hope it doesn't have too much muscle. That would be bad. I guess depending on how you cook it, even muscly meat can taste good?」

『That's not what I meant! I smell this awful stench coming from inside this boar.』

「Your face looks awful right now too.」

Drake looked at him with teary eyes and bare teeth.『Forget about my face! There's something inside!』

「What?」

『Can you cut this thing up?』

「Uh…」

Recalling the barkeep's bloodstained figure made him very reluctant, but his Instinct told him he should just do what Drake said.

I really don't wanna do it… Hikaru thought.

「Fine…」Hikaru said as he rolled up his sleeves.

「Is this it?」

Even with three points on Strength, Hikaru couldn't lift the boar. With his Dagger of Strength, he cut the belly open, exposing its innards. As for the knife he threw, Drake used his sense of smell to find it and bring it back to Hikaru.

Among the organs was the creature's heart with a blackish stone sticking on it. The boar's heart was so huge that it couldn't be carried on even two hands, and the stone was as big as Hikaru's fist, making it clearly visible.

Hikaru hadn't seen an animal's heart with a stone on it. Of course, considering the size of the boar, a smaller animal would most likely have a stone the size of a sesame seed, if it ever had one.

『Yes!』

「What is it? Looks like a flea, but fleas and mites don't attach themselves to hearts. It might just be a rock, but it's black…」

Drake leaped and swallowed the stone whole.

「Eww…」

『Why are you cringing?! It's a dragon stone!』

「Why wouldn't I be weirded out?! I don't care if it's a dragon stone or a magic rock. You just swallowed a blood-soaked stone! Wait, did you say dragon stone?」

Hikaru got a dragon stone the size of a rugby ball from the Earth Dragon that he killed. Mana was stored in it, but it wasn't as dark as the one Drake just ate.

「A dragon stone inside a boar? Not a boar stone?」

『Yes, a dragon stone inside a boar. I smell evil from the animals here.』

「Wait, what if the other animals have this dragon stone parasite thing in them as well?」