Putting aside Miyabi’s mysterious quest, we continued on our way forward.

As soon as we entered the forest, the surrounding started to feel heavier. A soft howl kept on echoing from afar, adding a creepy bit to the atmosphere—low and drawn out, the kind of sound that didn’t quite belong to any animal you could name.

Though it was more like a BGM than an actual howl from a living creature.

The girls look like they’re scared, but we didn’t slow down at all.

We are all over level 30 already, so the enemies along the way weren’t really a problem. Each one would still die from a single strike. But, of course, even if we’re literally on easy mode now, we still didn’t lower our guards.

We did the same formation as before, with Ram and Kiki at the front, Miyabi and Gwen behind them, then Eri, and lastly me.

A formation that focuses on balance and burst power than anything.

The enemies we encountered were just like any normal animals, but each had a sort of mushroom growing somewhere on their bodies—and with it came a faint, earthy smell that clung to the air around them, damp and deep, like the underside of a rotting log.

For example, the Shroom Rabbits had button mushrooms growing on their noses, pale and smooth, bobbing with every twitch of their heads.

Shroom Boars had Matsutake Mushrooms growing from under their bellies, dark and thick-stemmed, dragging faint furrows in the dirt as they moved.

And Shroom Wolves with wood ear mushrooms growing around their necks like dark, ruffled collars that swayed when they prowled.

Each had a sort of unique twist to their appearances too, pushing them further away from "normal."

"Alright, all the side quests are done now?"

After just an hour, almost all quests I have were marked complete. Looking at the girls, and seeing their nod, that meant their quests were the same too.

"So all that’s left is..."

"My and your quest." Miyabi grinned.

Of course, even though Kiki and Eri don’t have a copy of the quest, it’s not like they would be working for nothing for helping Miyabi and me. Quest rewards—other than unique items—are shared between party members, after all.

Furthermore, my quest is basically done already.

We have hunted over a hundred of the Mushroom Rabbits, Boars, and Wolves, after all. Even if I don’t lift a finger, a party kill is still considered as "my" kill by the quest.

Thus, all that’s left for me to clear is the Mushroom Bear kill, and that question mark.

Of course, Mushroom Bears aren’t normal monsters either. They are the field boss of the Howling Forest. Level-wise, it should be higher-leveled than the field boss of the Teru Plains.

’But still... Is this quest really marked for level 15? It’d be an impossible feat for someone that level, wouldn’t it?’

Idle thoughts streamed in my head as we headed deeper into the forest. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

The howling was getting louder, the shadows thicker, pressing in from between the trees like something alive.

The earthy mushroom smell grew stronger too, heavier, almost sweet in a way that sat wrong in the back of the throat. And a sickening presence behind the trees kept on bugging all of us—like some sort of ghost about to pounce on us at any moment.

The tension was rising without limit, until we found our next target.

"Monster detected ahead, Master!"

"Gwen identifies it as a Shroom Bear!"

Ram and Gwen quickly shouted, fixing their stances. As androids, their detection is definitely better than us combined. Though, of course, that’s excluding me.

I had noticed the bear’s presence long before the two did.

"GRAAAAWR!"

As if the earlier announcement by the girls were an invitation, the Mushroom Bear walked forward, glaring at us, and posing intimidatingly.

It was a black bear, massive and dark-furred, its coat matted in places where the growths pushed through. Its entire back was covered with truffle mushrooms of varying sizes, lumpy and pale against the dark fur, giving it the silhouette of something that had wandered out of a nightmare and a farmer’s field at the same time.

The smell hit sharper now—rich and loamy, thick enough to taste.

But its quirky appearance doesn’t change the fact that it was more powerful than us.

[Field Boss: Mushroom Bear Lv. 40 💀]

"Finally fighting something worthy!" Kiki grinned, bumping her fists together.

Of course, she wasn’t the only one hyped either, as the chat was going wild.

Even with the limit of displayed bubbles, there were so many chats popping up that it was honestly a little distracting.

[DefectiveRonan: God! level 40! This wouldn’t work, would it?!]

[Vivi_the_Green: Feels like the devs doesn’t want people killing the bosses...]

[ThisIsBarda!: Rather than a monster to beat, field bosses feel like map cleaners instead. 😅]

[Pepper3ig: Go! WhiteGod! Fucking die for the girls! 🔥🔥🔥]

Various reactions, some helpful, some sympathizing, and some simply wishing our failure, bashing us—especially me. A few were even directly telling me to die.

It was a little weird, but I was aware why so many of them hate me.

I mean, if I was watching myself, surrounded by such beauties, I definitely would curse nonstop too.

Thankfully, once the Mushroom Bear got close enough, causing us to enter battle phase, the chats turned transparent and barely legible. Now, it wouldn’t distract us, nor block our vision at all.

"Alright, everyone!"

At that point, I quickly stabbed my flag straight into the ground and commanded.

"Proceed as planned! Formation D version 3!"

"Yes!"

Hearing my words, the girls moved fast.

Up front, Ram and Gwen took point. Two androids with faster reaction speeds and higher action accuracy and repeatability. They were to handle the attacks coming from the boss monster.

Then, there’s Eri behind them, ready to cast heal if anyone’s HP bar drops by a certain amount.

Finally, there’s Miyabi and Kiki who took some distance.

Miyabi with her katana propped up, tip facing forward, and Kiki wielding her new gauntlets, now burning with an orange flame that cast restless shadows against the tree trunks around us. Both ready to focus fire at any given opportunity.

Then, there’s me, buffing everyone with my flag.

Everything was prepared.

"ROOOOAAR!"

And right at the perfect timing, the Mushroom Bear started running on all fours, using a "charge" skill unique to quadrupedal bosses. The ground trembled faintly underfoot with each heavy step, the truffles on its back shuddering like they might snap off from the impact.

"Ram!"

Hearing my urging, Ram took a step forward, shield raised properly, while bringing her sword down. A swift strike, drawing a perfect trajectory, and meeting the bear’s nose tip without deviation.

The effects of the charge and the effects of the sword hit mixed together fast.

Perfect Parry!

A green window appeared, showing that Ram successfully performed a parry. And along with it came the short stiffening of the boss’s body.

"Attack now!" I commanded.

And as I did, the three attackers moved even faster.

Gwen slashed her sword down, breaking a single truffle clean off of the bear’s side—it hit the ground with a dull, wet thud.

CRITICAL!

1,292!!!

On the other hand, Miyabi and Kiki were—

"Moon Waltz! Haap!"

"Moon Waltz! Douuu!"

—turning into a flicker of light, a crescent moon trace, and leaving a long, bloody gash across the boss’s body—albeit the damage being lower than Gwen’s.

849!

673!

Like kids who just found a new toy, unable to hold back and boast about it, both of them kept on using the technique since earlier. For Miyabi, it was "training" to actually use the ability to attack, while for Kiki, it was more for the flashy flair than any.

Initially, I didn’t know that it could actually be used with a gauntlet... Kiki truly is abnormal. She’s almost made the technique hers already.

Anyway, with Ram’s Perfect Parry of the bear’s attack, just landing one hit each—even a critical—wasn’t enough for the boss’s hate to shift. Though a second one was out of the question.

Ram kept a watchful gaze on the boss’s attacks.

Dodging the first few, as if trying to memorize the patterns, before performing another parry.

Perfect Parry!

The bear, having its front claw parried, staggered a step back. An opening that the girls didn’t miss.

CRITICAL!

1,378!!!

1,144!!!

1,035!!!

Three critical hits floated up on its head as its HP bar finally ticked down for the first time. Barely a pixel, about 0.1% of its HP, fell.

"This..." Eri, watching the fight, slowly lowered her hand. "Looks easier than the fight with the Grass Wolf Alpha..."

Of course, I knew what she meant too.

But it just looks easy from the side. For those fighting, especially for Ram acting as the sole tank, everything was like walking a tightrope strung from spider thread. One small step, one wrong placement of a sword swing, and everything would come crashing without delay.

But more than anything, it’s probably because of our levels.

Miyabi and I at level 35, and Kiki and Eri at 34. The level difference might be similar to the time with the wolf, but this time, the "ratio" was more forgiving.

And most of all...

"It’s because it doesn’t have a buff that deals AoE damage." I said.

Right.

Although the Mushroom Bear had higher strength, therefore higher damage, it was ultimately a single-target monster. It could only use physical attacks, with its relevant skills basically just a powerup to its attacks—no flashy area attacks or such.

"This..."

I said, smiling. Trusting the girls who were fighting up front.

"This is just a chore for us now."