Chapter 34: The First Cut is the Deepest

With Abett’s weak strength, it was impossible to swing the weapon.

Lucy, who had accepted this fact early on, had no choice but to help her.

The method was to stand next to her and hold the scythe with Abett’s hand.

All she had to do was give her strength.

Although the sight of them holding the scythe together was somewhat comical, since she had already subdued the boar (demon beast) with illusion, there was no problem with the hunt.

Meanwhile, Abett was blushing, half in embarrassment and half in shame.

Whether it was strength or posture, Lucy was strong.

She thought that receiving help from start to finish was a sign of complete incompetence.

“I’m sorry for bothering you… But is this really okay?”

It was a natural question.

When you think of hunting, you usually think of it as training to build up strength and experience.

However, if you do it this way, you can’t help but wonder, ‘Where exactly will you be training?’

However, Lucy could only give a simple answer,

“Trust me first.”

Abett assumed she was being fooled and nodded.

She had seen Lucy’s urgency right before her eyes.

“Okay, let’s get started. The target area is the neck.”

“Yes…”

Abett looked at the boar standing there dumbly, under the spell of an illusion.

She had never even cut processed meat, let alone killed anything.

Therefore, she couldn’t express her tension in words.

Abett swallowed hard.

Then, following Lucy’s “One, two, three!” command, she swung the scythe down with all her might.

With all her might, the contribution was Abett: 1, Lucy: 9.

Crunch.

Finally, with a creepy sound, the boar’s neck was cleanly cut off.

Blood gushed out from the cut surface, and the body, decapitated, fell to the ground, rolling its feet.

Abett’s teeth chattered at such a bizarre sight.

The sensation of cutting flesh and bone remained intact in her hands.

Even if the opponent was not a person, the act of taking a life required a certain degree of determination, and this weighed heavily on Abett, who had just committed her first kill.

“Can you do more?” Lucy asked, looking at her as if she was about to vomit.

Abett closed her eyes tightly once and then opened them again.

Her eyes were filled with determination.

“I can do it.”

“Okay, then let’s catch all the demons here.”

There were a total of 17 wild boar demons in the meadow.

They were all under the spell of an illusion and were motionless.

Lucy and Abett continued hunting in the same way.

After about an hour, they were able to hunt all the wild boars.

Abett, who had let go of her tension, sat down with a thud and let out a faint breath.

In reality, Lucy had contributed more than 90% of the effort.

“Huh… Is this it?”

Lucy first checked to see if there had been any changes in Abett’s magic.

17 Kubos.

If Abett’s level had been less than 10, then this hunt should have been enough to raise her to level 1.

Lucy touched Abett’s wrist.

Even without the discernment skill, she could feel the presence of high-quality magical power just by touching her body.

Comparing Abett’s magical power from before with her current state…

“It’s increased.”

“Is it true!?”

Abett was delighted.

However, her joy was short-lived, as the amount of magical power that had increased was only slight.

Was there a limit to growth?

Or did the rate of increase depend on level?

One thing was certain—the beings of this world were different from ‘players.’

‘Maybe if there was no harvesting sickle, it would have been difficult to raise abilities like a player.’

Anyway, Abett seemed satisfied with the fact that there was a change, even if it was slight.

“There are no other magical beasts nearby, so let’s stop here for today.”

“Yes… Ahhh…”

When she put down her weapon, a small wound appeared on her palm.

It was the result of being too focused on training.

Abett, who felt the sting belatedly, blew on both hands.

“Ho~ Ho~”

“Here, I’ll give you some potion.”

“It’s okay now.”

“Hmm?”

Abett showed her palm to Lucy, who was about to take out the potion.

Her bright red palm was slowly returning to its original color.

Even for a demon, it was an unusual self-healing ability.

“That?”

“This is my Gift, the Protective Restoration.”

“What’s a Gift?”

“It’s an ability I’ve had since I was young, and thanks to it, I don’t have to worry about minor wounds like these.”

Gift.

It was the first time Lucy had heard the term, but the phrase ‘an ability I’ve had since I was young’ suggested it was similar to an ‘innate ability.’

“What a convenient ability. Does everyone have that Gift?”

“No…? I know it’s a fairly rare ability.”

“Hmm…”

It seemed like she needed to do some separate research on the Gift.

For now, Lucy reached out to Abett, who was sitting on the lawn.

“Let’s go back first.”

—

At Helgen intersection, Lucy and Abett stopped by a downtown area before returning to school to have lunch.

The time was 13:00.

Since the Academy’s lunch hour was already over, if they went back now, they would have to starve until the afternoon.

Lucy, who strongly opposed that idea, led Abett to a small teahouse in the downtown area.

Ding.

The interior, decorated with cute wooden furniture, was extremely quiet.

The smell of freshly baked bread and coffee filled the air.

They took a seat by the window, and a middle-aged woman approached them with a menu.

“Aren’t you a rare sight?” She grinned.

“Can we eat?” Lucy asked.

“Of course! The freshly baked bread just came out, and it’s amazing.”

Lucy ordered a sandwich and coffee, and Abett chose the same.

As they ate, Abett put down her sandwich and asked, “Will our training always be like today?”

“For the time being, but I’ll adjust it as needed.”

“Like what?”

“Strength training first, then learning aptitude magic. By the way, what is your desired class, Miss Abett?”

Desired class.

It was definitely going to be some sort of a magician, but deciding a separate exclusive class to master is necessary, such as ‘Sorceress,’ ‘Summoner,’ ‘Healer,’ ‘Boundary Master,’ or ‘Illusionist.’

“I was thinking of specializing in elemental magic.” Abett suggested

“Then a Sorceress. With your self-healing power, you should be able to handle risky magic well. Not a bad choice.”

Abett took notes while Lucy explained training techniques, magic sequences, and ideal equipment setups.

‘Hmm?’

Suddenly, Lucy sensed an unknown gaze from the edge of the table.

Five men in another booth were whispering, glancing at them.

“Do you see their uniforms?” They whispered,

“Magic pattern… It’s Edem’s uniform. Probably nobles.”

Lucy, her senses sharper than others, caught every word.

‘Hmm…’

A good idea crossed her mind as she watched them.