While Ronny and Enzi weren’t able to do much during the day, their power-leveling conquest couldn’t be halted so easily. They hadn’t seen Alice in a while and were under the assumption that her preparations were equally intense, which was motivation enough—for Ronny, at least. Enzi seemed to be more focused on his own survival.

As soon as they were dismissed from the medical ward, the two left the palace for the night grind. On the way, they made a detour to the bazaar. It didn’t take much wisdom to realize that the approach they’d taken on the pervious night was riddled with ineptitude. If they were going to make it through the week in alive, some changes were necessary.

Combined, the two of them had a good amount of money to spend. Savings from their time as masons, coupled with their pay as Knights-in-Training (80 silver per day), meant that they could afford procure a large amount of supplies. And with their lives on the line, they spared no expense.

The plaza was still somewhat locked down, and prices were up from the pre-martial law period, but the shops seemed to be transitioning back to business as usual. They bought a heavy-duty crossbow for Ronny because the vendor explained that regular bows had a steep learning curve and two swords: a short one for Ronny and the biggest, most ridiculously impractical one they could find for Enzi (it looked like a normal weapon in his hands).

They also purchased an oil lantern, some matches, a knapsack, and a rudimentary bestiary that described the creatures native to the Dural Forest—and where to find them. By the time they had everything they wanted, their savings were burned up like papers in a flame.

Despite of the sad state of their pockets, neither Ronny nor Enzi were worried about it. With how strong they were going to be in the near future, both felt as though getting money would only get easier going forward.

After finishing, the two hurried over to the construction site. Since it was earlier than the day prior, some of the workers were still there when they arrived. One of employees called to them as the two approached.

“Mr. McKitty! And Enzi too!” Ronny recognized the kid immediately. It was the one that he and Enzi had saved in the Rockjaw attack. They seemed to be fully recovered already, “Congratulations on getting accepted into the Royal Knight Academy! It’s inspiring to see other commoners rise through the ranks!”

Ronny hesitated to respond, “Thanks.” He decided not to say that he had never wanted to be a member of the program or that he’d only accepted Risitro’s invitation to stay close to Alice. It was better to act thankful, “Maybe you’ll be there too someday.”

“I’d like to be! But I’m not that strong…” the kid fidgeted a little, “So what business are you here on today?”

“We’re going into the forest.” With that, Ronny and Enzi broke away and went towards their destination.

Ronny was glad to see that the work on the construction site was going about as well as it could, which wasn’t saying much given how the average level was five. Regardless, the people there seemed to be making ends meet.

The forest looked pretty much the same as it had on the day before, but to Ronny, it seemed much less foreboding. His Detect Life ability’s acuity had improved drastically because of the level ups, and at close range, its clarity was close to regular eyesight. At further distances, still dropped off quickly.

Enzi held the lantern as they walked while Ronny flipped through the bestiary. He was scrounging its pages for a target, but their options were limited. The book was sorted by ‘Threat Level’ which was a system The Guild used estimate how dangerous any given species was, and what rank adventurer was necessary to deal with them.

The levels were assorted according to rank, so a copper-level threat was supposed to be dealt with by copper adventures and a gold-level threat was supposed to dealt with by gold adventurers. Additionally, within each level, some creatures were classified as ‘plus’ level. That meant that it was recommended to have multiple people of a certain rank working together to defeat the threat.

To Ronny, the book was terrifying. For instance, there was creature called the King Snake, which was a 300-foot-long species of snakes that lived deeper into the forest. Even more terrifying than their size was the fact that they could release their venom as a fog. A fog that was instantly fatal to any humans that came into contact with it.

King Snakes were considered Mythrill+. For good reason, it seemed. The book listed several other creatures that were equally (or even more) imposing. On the bright side, most of those monsters usually didn’t attack humans. They were too busy killing other monsters or being killed by them. He and Enzi were part of that cycle too, he thought.

Having somewhat familiarized himself with the forest, Ronny was able to come up with a decent, though risky plan. They were going to hunt down a smaller animal like a rabbit or a deer and leave its corpse out as bait for bigger creatures. When something took the bait, they’d wait for it to start eating and then ambush it. Even though neither of the two knew much about hunting, they knew that animals had to drink.

They started along the river, creeping slowly down the path. Enzi dimmed the lamp to make their presence less obvious while Ronny, crossbow in hand, focused on using Detect Life. It was a slow, deliberate process that left both men feeling a little bored.

Hunting, as it turned out, was a very slow process—at least for beginners like them. It took almost two hours to find what they were looking for, but they did eventually succeed in their task. There was a young-looking buck stooped over by the stream, sipping water. It didn’t notice Ronny until a metal bolt was in its head. “+44 XP.”

The crossbow had already proven itself to be a good purchase. More than anything else in his arsenal, it made use of his deftness stat. A stat that among other things, gave him the steady hands and aim needed to make the shot.

After dragging it a little further from the river, they cut the corpse up. The goal was to get the blood out so that it’s scent would travel downwind. After the body was sufficiently messy, they hid. Because the scent would only travel where the wind took it, they were able to discern roughly what direction their target would come from. Ronny climbed a tree and readied his crossbow while Enzi hid in a bush. The lantern was turned off.

It took another hour so for anything to happen, but eventually, the bait proved effective. A pack of Silverback Wolves showed up hungry. They similar in appearance to regular grey-wolves, but noticeably larger and protected by quilled backs.

There were seven of them there, all taking turns on the carcass. After giving Enzi a signal, Ronny fired his crossbow into a larger one’s neck. Before the other wolves could react, Enzi emerged from the bush and struck down another one with his great sword.

Ronny continued the sequence with a cast of Freeze. It wasn’t strong enough to a creature the size of a typical Silverback, but it startled them regardless. While they were distracted by the magic, Enzi had another opening. He killed another while it was turned to Ronny.

It was a good harvest, “+622 XP, +501 XP, +555 XP.”

Now that their cover was blown, they had to fight for real. Ronny jumped down from the trees to support Enzi. There were still four remaining, and though each would have been dangerous individually, the wolves were much smarter than the wasps.

The four remaining Silverbacks quickly encircled their enemies. Their coordination was impeccable, and they left no openings for escape. If either man tried to escape, they’d be exposed from the behind, which would give the wolves a chance to go for the kill.

Like the wasps, the situation had a high chance of turning fatal. The two stood back-to-back, knowing that any wrong moves could get them killed.

Ronny didn’t think his magic would be that useful in the situation. Plus, using it meant that he’d have to sheave is sword, “Any ideas?”

“One, but it’s risky.” Enzi didn’t think his physicality would prove useful in the situation. The hard, spiky quills on the foes’ backs meant that he had to be cautious.

“Well let’s hear it.”

“The lantern. It’s in the knapsack. If we could light it and then throw it hard enough, all the oil would ignite at once. There’d be an explosion.”

His idea was solid, but executing it would prove challenging, “Not bad. But how would we light it at a time like this?”

“The matches are in the bag too; I just need an opening.”

“Right, but how do you plan on finding one?” Both Ronny and Enzi were much calmer than they’d been on the day before. They’d learned a lot from their experience with the wasps and understood how important it was to apply those lessons.

“Not sure. Any ideas?”

“Not really. Nothing good comes to mind… Maybe we could just go for it and get bit a few times if it comes down to it. I can keep you safe from the back, and you’re big enough to tank a few hits.”

“Let’s not. What about the crossbow?”

“I suck at loading it. By the time I had it ready, we’d be dead.”

The wolves tightened their encirclement, baring their long, sharp teeth as they closed the distance. A single, well-placed bite would kill Ronny.

“Well we’ve got to do something! I don’t like our odds in fair combat.”

“True. Scan puts the weakest of them at 12. The wasps averaged out at level 5. We’d get torn to bits.”

“So, think of something then!” The situation was getting urgent, as the wolves were now only a few steps away.

Ronny racked his brain for inspiration, but his mind was blank. A wolf, seeing him caught in thought, lunged at him and took a chunk out of his leg. He squealed in pain and brought his sword down on its back.

The sword bounced off and, in the recoil, flew out of his hand. He hadn’t realized how well armored a Silverback’s back was. Seeing a chance, the other wolves charged. Enzi managed to avoid taking a hit because of his long, powerful legs. A hard kick broke the creature’s momentum.

Ronny wasn’t as lucky. He wasn’t given a break after the first bite. Instead, he was tackled by a second wolf. One was on his chest while another was on his leg. Every instinct told him that he was done for, but he wasn’t going to give up that easily. He resolved to kill at least one to help Enzi survive.

It was point blank range, and Ronny knew what that meant. He raised his hands and put them against the wolf on his chest’s neck. Then, with all his might, he cast Freeze. Even something as big as a silverback was affected at that range, and it gave Enzi the chance to save him.

The demon swirled to Ronny, turning his back on the wolves that were focusing on him. With a single stroke from the great sword, the beast’s head cracked like a walnut. Ronny rolled away and rose to his feet, blood gushing from his calf as he did so.

The two wolves that were now behind Enzi reached him. They got some bites in on his legs, but before they could knock him down, Ronny jumped headfirst into one’s side, casting freeze when he made contact.

Enzi ignored the pain and beheaded the stunned wolf. That left two wolves and two injured men.

Because Ronny was on the ground again, he was an easy target. One of the Silverbacks went for his neck, but just before the hit connected, he shoved his fist down the creature’s throat. His deftness skill had improved his reflexes greatly.

Since the creature’s gag reflex was in effect, it couldn’t bite or breathe. The Silverback tried to claw at Ronny but got stabbed in the belly before it could. Enzi could be trusted to do well with a sword, it seemed.

“+571 XP, +554 XP, +499 XP, “LEVEL increased to 17. Stats increased.”

There was one left to be dealt with. Without any allies to rely on, there was little to stop Enzi crushing its skull with his sword.

“+511 XP, ENZI ETUNGSTA: LEVEL increased to 20.”

“ENZI ETUNGSTA: CLASS upgraded from COMMON DEMON to GREATER DEMON. SKILLS added accordingly.”

Enzi collapsed to his knees in pain as System after made its announcement. He then began to convulse. Ronny didn’t know what to make of it and was too wounded to do anything.

Luckily, after a few seconds, the convulsions stopped. Next, his horns started getting thicker and then some vibrant, red rings started forming on them. The new horns reminded Ronny of Risitro, but he didn’t know what to make of it. Not yet.