9

Lea decides to explore outside the cave, bringing everyone along. But before that, since the three of them look quite unkempt, they bathe in the cave's lake.

Although just with ordinary water, it's impossible to fully restore their fur's neatness, but at least they manage to clean off the dirt.

Although they looked equally dirty before, after being diligently washed, it's apparent that their hair colors are different, quite noticeable even with just torchlight.

Kelly's hair might be a bright reddish-brown color. A vivid coppery red. It would definitely stand out if seen in bright light. But, Lea might not have the chance to see it.

Riley's hair is sepia-colored, or maybe closer to burnt brown. The least striking color among all hair colors.

Remy's hair color is lighter. A sandy yellow... although not particularly beautiful, but if tidied up, it could be called a slightly dark blonde.

The most difficult to bathe is Marion. Perhaps because she's not used to bathing or maybe because she's afraid of water, she vehemently refuses. She wonders why the dirt doesn't go away even after being thoroughly cleaned; it turns out it's been that color from the start, even darker than Riley's, a darker burnt brown.

When there's a chance, I want to find oil or other products to wash their hair cleaner, but it seems this is the limit. If there are scissors or other good tools, I want to tidy up their hair by trimming or combing, but for now, we'll have to settle with this messy hair.

Now, if we're going outside, the cave has become Lea's private area, so only Lea and her followers can enter. No need to guard the door.

Thus, it's no longer possible for new players to appear in this cave.

Lea didn't intend to do such a thing, but she has destroyed one avatar monster spawn location. Nevertheless, on a continental scale, there are surely many caves this size, so no players will realize that one spawn location has disappeared.

Outside the dark cave is difficult to see. It's fully nighttime.

This is advantageous for Lea. She doesn't need to worry about sunlight, and whether dark or light, she can't see far ahead. Although the moon is visible, its light doesn't reach the ground because it's filtered by the dense foliage.

In the distance, the loud sounds of animals can be heard. It seems there are many nocturnal animals around here.

"Kelly, do you know much about this forest?"

"No, we just arrived, so not really."

"Yeah, we just found that cave this morning," I think I heard them say something like that.

Although they just arrived, it turns out the cave has become the hideout of forest cat thieves. Perhaps the cave was already planned to be their den. Both the hideout and its boss.

"Where is the boss inside the cave? When we found it, we checked the entire cave, but didn't encounter any monsters or anything."

"Oh, I don't know that either. By the time I realized it, I was already inside the cave. So when I saw a stranger with a weapon... I immediately attacked."

"Oh, I see... That's weird," Perhaps because there's a bond between master and followers, but it's somewhat naive. Or maybe it's because her INT is too low, so she has a childlike innocence.

If that's the case, maybe she needs to allocate a few experience points to INT even though she's a close-range physical attacker.

However, with the current level of experience, it still feels insufficient. After all, we have to gain experience for five people.

Although having the strength for five people in total might sound good, but if the opponents aren't strong enough, we won't gain satisfying experience.

The goal of exploration is to obtain fur, food, and experience. So, furry creatures that are edible.

After it's explained, Marion squats down and mutters something.

"Because I have the skill 'Enhanced Smell,' it might be the effect of that. 'Boss, I smell pig."

Lea instructs Marion to follow the scent, while she asks Remy to pay attention to the sounds around them. Remy has the skill 'Enhanced Hearing.' With Marion leading and Lea in the middle, they move slowly and cautiously through the forest.

Since Lea has often walked in the forest in other games, she never falls because of tree roots or slippery leaves. The bushes and creeping plants blocking their path are also cleared by Marion and Riley who are in front.

"Stop..."

Remy halts their line.

"I hear a fight. Animals fighting each other?" Marion continues.

"I also smell blood. Maybe pigs and wolves." "Riley, go a bit ahead and scout."

"Alright."

Following Kelly's words, Riley sets off alone for reconnaissance.

Riley has the skills 'Enhanced Vision' and 'Eagle Eye.' 'Eagle Eye' is a skill in the 'Bow' tree that gives a bonus to accuracy when shooting from a distance.

"Ah, sorry boss, I acted rashly. That's just my habit..." "It's okay, it's better like that. When working in a team or in situations where quick decisions are needed, my permission can come later. Actually, I'm speaking quite casually, but is it okay not to hold my breath like this?"

"Okay. They're pigs and wolves. Both have a better sense of smell than me, so when we notice, they might have already noticed for a long time."

"Ah, I see. That's how it works."

It seems difficult to launch a sudden attack on wild animals in the forest. It's reasonable though.

However, even though the race of animals seems to have sensitive senses like human wolf race, with skills that enhance smell, wild wolves still have sharper smelling senses. How would ordinary players hunt wolves? Lea, who didn't often explore the forest during the closed beta, couldn't imagine.

Not long after, Riley returns. Because of his almost non-existent sight, he suddenly emerges from the darkness.

"As Marion said, it's wolves. They might be attacking the pig we're targeting."

"Okay. Boss, what are we going to do?"

It seems Kelly's role is to give instructions to the team members or ask for opinions from Lea as the boss. It's somewhat surprising that the chain of command is so clear... or maybe more accurately, it's similar to the instincts of wild animal groups.

"Although we could wait until the pig is killed and then attack the wolves when they take the opportunity, it's better to deal with both at once while the pig is still alive. We don't want to miss out on valuable experience."

If they manage to "fight two animal enemies simultaneously," they might gain additional significant experience.

"Okay, let's do it. Let's go, everyone."

After saying that, Kelly immediately looks towards Lea, "Boss, can we go?"

"Of course. If Kelly feels ready, don't worry about me and deal with both."

After that, Kelly smiles enthusiastically and disappears into the darkness. The other three follow suit.

Lea also moves towards the sound of the fight she heard.

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