Eli had his back against the big boulder and took a deep breath. Facing nine consecutive Mossbacks was no joke — he thought his lungs would give out and collapse.

Juli had brought another pile of wild berries to munch on, and while she ate like a fiend, he went to check his [Storage].

╭────-·ˋˏ-༻𖤓༺-ˎˊ·-────╮

[────STORAGE────]

Materials: x19 [Ice Fang (C)], x10 [Mossy Bark (C)], x1 [Crystalline Fang (UC)], x1 [Ironbark Sap (R)]

Cores: x2 [Mossback Core (F)]

╰────-·ˋˏ-༻𖤓༺-ˎˊ·-────╯

Not many good ingredients to cook with, but if the system were to give him the crafting feature, he could have at least made a better sword than this one. The Crystalline Fang was a good choice for a blade; reinforced with the Ironbark Sap, and he could have an Uncommon-rank sword in his hand right now.

Eli sighed, then grabbed some berries.

"How did I do?"

Juli scooted closer.

"Good."

He huffed a small laugh.

"That’s two-hundred words less than what you usually say."

She shifted even closer, nudging him with her shoulder.

"Because I’m that flabbergasted! You barely improved during our two-year training, yet now... I mean — look at you! Ten Mossbacks in just your second time!? Maybe you really are a genius."

"Maybe?"

Juli threw a berry at him.

"Uh huh. What more do you want me to say? Elise, you almighty rookie, the queen of the sword, oh~!"

Eli instantly threw a handful of berries at her, each bouncing off to different directions.

"Alright, let’s go, before my ears bleed out."

He propped himself up with enormous difficulty, every part of his body aching. He imagined waking up tomorrow when that soreness hit...

’Damn, I’m cooked.’

Juli carefully gathered the berries into a small pouch, fastened the drawstring tight, and put it in her pocket.

"Go where?"

Eli scanned the endless green, unsure where to head next. They had about half a day left, enough to cover a significant ground over the span of a few days.

"We head in deeper."

Juli gave him a dubious look.

"You’re not gonna fight again, right?"

He nodded fast and rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Yes. I know my limits. I’m counting on my knight now."

"Good! I’m itching to swing seeing you kill those pigs!"

They pushed past the clearing and into the thicker part of the forest. The trees grew even taller as they went deeper, their canopies blocking out most of the afternoon light. Moss hung from branches and trunks in long curtains, and the air smelled like nature itself.

Juli took the lead, her eyes sweeping the terrain.

"There used to be a stream somewhere around here. If we follow it north, it cuts through the densest part of the forest."

Eli’s eyes widened, surprised by her exceptional memory.

"You remember all that?"

She shrugged.

"Some things you just remember. Especially when my squad got lost here for six hours! One of my teammates thought she could navigate by the sun..."

Eli chuckled.

"How did you even get out then?"

"The professors put tracking magic on the leader, which was me."

His forehead creased.

"...Since you were the leader, why did you let someone else lead the way?"

Juli clicked her tongue repeatedly while shaking her head.

"Oh, my innocent Elise, you don’t know the first thing about leadership! If it’s just about leading a team, then mine would dominate every competition and exam. But here’s the kicker!"

Eli raised an eyebrow and smiled, amused.

"What’s the kicker?"

She lifted her head proudly.

"A leader’s duty is to help everyone improve and to trust in that process! If you can’t trust your subordinates, are you really a cohesive group? And if your teammates suck, are you really a good leader? No! There are no bad teams, only bad leaders."

Eli cupped his chin.

"So... if your teammate got the squad lost for six hours, does that mean you were a horrendous leader?"

"Oi!"

A Mossback suddenly appeared from behind a cluster of roots, startled by Juli’s voice. It locked onto them and lowered its head.

"Watch and learn."

Juli drew her sword and took a single step forward.

The ground cracked under her heel, and in that one motion, her body crossed the entire game between them and the boar. It was ten, maybe fifteen paces, but the distance simply folded in half, as if Juli actually teleported.

Her blade came down in one clean slice. It carved through the bark plates from shoulder to belly without ever slowing, until it appeared on the underside of the boar’s belly.

The Mossback’s body kept sliding forward for another two steps before it realized it was split in half. The two halves collapsed in a heap, and the severed plates clattered against the ground like broken pottery.

Eli stared, eyes wide and mouth open.

’...She cut through the armor. She just split the boar like it was nothing!?’

Juli flicked the blood off her sword and sheathed it.

"Hm! And that’s how a knight does it."

He approached her with trembling legs.

"...Did you use aura?"

She tilted her head.

"Huh? Nope. I didn’t."

’WITHOUT AURA!? That was pure physical strength!? Her stats must be absolutely insane!’

Eli swallowed hard.

"Then... how?"

Juli looked at him like he had asked why the sky was blue and why the grass was green.

"I just... swung my sword?"

He grabbed her shoulders tight.

"That’s not an answer!"

She laughed and walked past him.

"Elise, I’ve been swinging swords since I was a kid! My body just know how much force to put in and what angle to strike. It’s like how you know exactly how hard to wring a mop — it’s muscle memories!"

Eli sighed in exasperation.

’The comparison made sense. I hate that it made sense!’

He glanced back at the two halves of the Mossback, its blood leaking onto the forest floor, then hurried to catch up.

Then, another Mossback stumbled out from behind a tree, probably drawn by the noise. It lowered its head and charged straight at Juli’s back.

"Juli, behind you—"

She didn’t even turn around. Her hand found the hilt, her foot shifted, and she drew and cut in one motion. The boar’s momentum carried its now two halves past her on either side.

"Already done!"

She sheathed the blade and kept walking without breaking stride.

Eli closed his mouth.

’...I’m going to pretend I saw that coming.’