An hour ago, the situation wasn't as complex as the current situation.

*Bang!*

Isabelle sniped another beast next to Evan as the latter punched the other one to death.

"Fu. We have finally finished." Evan let out a sigh of relief before regrouping with Isabelle.

She stayed on a hill, so no magical beasts could hide themselves from her.

"Van… Good work." Isabelle smiled. She seemed to be calling him Van instead of Evan when they were alone. At the same time, Evan also treated her the same.

"You too, Belle." Evan nodded as he was slightly out of breath after climbing the small hill.

"This is the third spot, and we need to clear around fifteen spots. It will take us a few more days for this… Probably a week." Isabelle let out a long sigh. "This is pretty tiring."

"I agree. Still, let's just thank them since they let us borrow a truck that has been equipped with many basic facilities, so we can treat it as a portable home."

"I bet it was the works of our families. They must have pressured them to give us something like that." Isabelle shrugged.

"Indeed. They have instructed us to bring the truck back to the base as they need it for another thing. I believe they are simply returning the truck to our families." Evan nodded.

"Either way, how is your condition?"

"Except slightly exhausted, my body is fine, and I still have half of my magic power left."

"The training really works heh?" Isabelle made a smug smile.

"Yeah. To think I can finally fight them from head-on after getting this exoskeleton. You might want one of these."

"I don't really need it at the moment. I can simply run to the sky with my wind magic, and my position is far from the front line." Isabelle shook her head, knowing it was just a waste of good equipment if it were in her hand.

"I will try to ask it later. Maybe we can get one more, who knows. I just want to see you a bit more protected." Evan shrugged and looked away.

"Haha. So, you are worried about me? Despite your usual poker face, to think that you have this kind of cute though." Isabelle teased him.

"Is that wrong?"

"Nope. I am thankful."

*Cry!*

Before they continued talking, they heard a loud cry from the sky as Evan immediately raised his battle stance while Isabelle pointed her weapon toward the sky while searching for the beast that let out the noise.

"Do you find anything?" Evan asked.

"Nope," Isabelle answered while looking at the details. They were on a hill, so the vision was clear, but there were a few buildings that were high enough to avoid Isabelle's eyes. When she went through the gap of the windows in each building, a shadow reflected the light a little bit, making it unnatural.

"In our three, behind the tallest building. I will snipe that bird from here." Isabelle informed Evan and tried to see where the bird's body was.

"The cry just now… It sounded like an eagle."

"Indeed. It has sharp eyes, so I need to take it out like this. If the eagle knows our position, it might be able to avoid my bullet. And you also don't have the ability to keep the bird from moving."

"Ahaha… I apologize."

"Never mind. Help me search around the building. The shadow is there, but I can't tell which floor the eagle is, and I am sure it's behind the building." Isabelle searched every window to see the eagle's body, wondering how big the actual eagle is.

"I have spotted a shadow that is not too big a few floors below the top floor," Evan informed her while looking at the building with his binocular.

Isabelle nodded and slightly raised her aim before finding a three meters eagle flying in one place as if it had no intention to move.

This was weird because an eagle would usually fly freely in the sky. Nonetheless, Isabelle aimed at the bird's white head.

"Sniping with this weapon is so good since I don't really need to worry about elevation if they are within one mile. And with my magic, it can prevent wind from getting in the way. You should also get a weapon, I think."

"I was never a sports person, let alone fighting in close quarter combat. Only after getting trained by Captain I can finally fight like this. As for my weapon, Captain gave me a pair of gauntlets for the time being, but he suggested that I change my weapon later. What weapon do you think suits me?"

"Hmm? I can't picture you using a sword or spear. A shield is also not an option. Since Lion Group has everything covered, you can't really adjust yourself to that position. Still, I think a pistol will suit you better. A dual pistol will be better."

"What is your basis?"

"Kai, Michelle, and Ayaka are holding the gate while Tasha is sniping their enemies. On the other hand, Sofia is managing the middle position, supporting the entire group from a relatable distance. I believe you are fit to be there, considering that Sofia will leave the group in a few months.

"Look, you can support them at a distance where you can heal them at any given situation. Don't you think it's a good position?" She paused for a moment and said, "Anyway, sending."

"Understood."

*Bang!*

Isabelle released the first shot, aiming toward the eagle's head. Suddenly, the eagle turned around and saw the incoming bullet. A wind barrier appeared right before the eagle, trying to block the bullet, but the eagle realized it was stronger than he expected. Hence, he only used his wind magic to deflect the bullet before soaring to the sky.

*Cry!*

Isabelle raised her aim and said, "Sending."

"Go."

*Bang!*

The second shot was released as soon as the eagle revealed itself. Another barrier deflected it again as the eagle looked at them for a while before flying away.

"Hmm?" The two immediately furrowed their eyebrows. "Target has escaped."

"Sending one last time." Isabelle informed him that she would shoot one more time, but to no avail.

"It's gone."

"Yeah. Judging from the power of that wind barrier, the eagle was supposed to be an A rank magical beast."

"Sorry that I can't stop the eagle, else you might have killed it by now."

"Don't mind it. If we meet again, we shall attack it again, but more sneakily."

"Yeah. In any case, we might want to change our position after this."

"Let's rest first. We will go to the building in our nine to clear the next area."

"Alright." Evan nodded. "Thirty minutes rest since I am pretty hungry."

"There is a boiler there. I really miss going with your group, since I will be treated with many delicacies." Isabelle pointed her finger to a portable boiler they had before sighing.

"Indeed. I should start learning how to cook." Evan nodded in agreement.

"I can cook, but we need to return to our truck first, and it's not at their level. By the way, what will we have for today's lunch?"

"Instant noodle."

"…"

"It's a new flavor."

"That's not the point… Ugh, never mind. This will do. I will make a healthy one when we return to the truck." Isabelle scratched her head.

"Thank you in advance. By the way, I think your suggestion is good. I will try to pick up a pistol for now and learn how to shoot."

"Sadly, an automatic rifle is very costly. Not only the magic bullets are costly, but the equipment to withstand that many barrels are hard to make. That's why we only have semi-automatic ones, mostly pistol and sniper rifle. There are some rifles out there, but only rich people can afford to shoot money… You know what I mean."

"I know. Though with the rise of Captain, I can surely afford it, I shouldn't throw away my money just like that. It's not like I need to use it that much." Evan shrugged.

"Yeah. I will also help you with training later."

"It's like I am too reliant on you."

"I don't mind."

Evan and Isabelle smiled as the former handed the cup to her. They ate while watching their surroundings, but luckily they didn't find anything.

When the resting time was about to end, a loud roar echoed from the west.

"Five hares and one ape spotted." Isabelle narrowed her eyes.

"They are coming from our next place, so I guess it's time to burn the calories from earlier." Evan rose from the ground and stretched his body. "I will go there to handle them while you watch over the surroundings to see if they are alone or not."

"Alright. The usual way then."

"Yeah." Evan nodded and walked down the hill, meeting the six magical beasts. His exoskeleton already covered his body as he raised his battle stance.

"Now, it's time to warm up." Evan ran toward them, planning to finish this as quickly as possible, but another problem appeared.

*Cry!*

A loud cry filled the atmosphere once again as Evan involuntarily looked back, finding the same eagle above Isabelle.

"What?!" Evan and Isabelle were surprised, never expecting that the eagle sneaked from behind the moment the six magical beasts grabbed their attention.

Isabelle immediately rolled her body and faced upward, aiming at the eagle.

*Bang!*

Another barrier appeared again, deflecting her bullet once more. "I need to use my magic."

The moment this thought appeared, a roar shook them as an ape climbed the hill and arrived next to Isabelle. The height was around three meters, but the weight himself looked to be more than a ton. The ape threw a punch that might potentially heavily injure Isabelle.

"Not good!"