Natsuyu moved behind Yukino Yukinoshita and looked back warily, but quickly felt tickled.
Motion is relative.
Their running speed was already about 10 meters per second.
The flying spider webs, having lost their initial momentum, slowed down further due to air resistance—becoming even slower than their running speed!
Visually, it appeared as if the webs were falling away behind them, posing zero threat as they dropped limply onto the dirt.
‘Is that it?’
‘At first I thought it was something impressive, but it turned out to be just a show with no substance~’
‘You guys are weak!’
Natsuyu pursed his lips.
Holding his Stone Axe and watching the twenty-odd Round-Headed Spiders chasing behind them, he saw a giant pile of walking Exp and felt eager to fight.
Yukino, who was running in front, seemed to sense Natsuyu’s thoughts and intentionally slowed her pace.
‘Exactly what I wanted!’
Natsuyu felt a surge of gratitude—his coordination with Yukino was getting better and better.
He stopped, turned around, and saw the lead Round-Headed Spider already crossing the stream.
“You’re the most eager one, aren’t you?
DIE FOR ME!”
“Take my flying axe!”
Mustering all his strength, Natsuyu hurled the Stone Axe!
The Stone Axe spun through the air with a whistling screech.
The lead spider had no time to dodge as the heavy axehead slammed into its bloated abdomen!
SPLAT!
Its abdomen ruptured instantly.
With a faint hiss, the spider lost all signs of life, dropping a strand of Spider Silk as it collapsed onto the dirt.
Natsuyu felt a little regretful about leaving the loot behind in a rush, but the floating system notification made up for it:
[You killed 1 Low-Level Monster.
Experience +1!]
[Congratulations on unlocking the achievement “Low-Level Monster Hunter”!
Recite the incantation “Helm-Splitter~!” aloud to claim your rewards: Bow Crafting Blueprint, Arrow Crafting Blueprint, Crossbow Crafting Blueprint, Exp +15.]
[Basic Achievement Tree unlocked new node:]
[…Low-Level Monster Hunter ➔ Mid-Level Monster Hunter (Kill 3 Mid-Level Monsters) ➔ ?]
Bows and Crossbows!
Ranged weaponry!
Natsuyu stared at the swarming spiders chasing them, his lips curling up uncontrollably.
If everyone were equipped with full armor and bows or crossbows, swarms of spiders would be nothing but walking Exp buffets!
They were just a disorganized mob.
He could kill as many as came, and even venture deeper into the forest to hunt more!
Natsuyu grinned widely, grabbing Yukino’s sleeve as he turned to make a clean break:
“Yukinoshita-san, let’s go!”
Just earlier, Natsuyu had been running slightly ahead of her.
However, the moment he heard the whistling sound of ranged attacks behind them, he immediately slowed down and dropped behind her.
By the time Yukino realized the sound was a long-range web attack, Natsuyu was already shielding her back.
His reaction speed was insanely fast—it must have been a completely subconscious protective instinct.
Yukino had been worried Natsuyu might get tangled in webs or injured trying to protect her, so she had slowed down, deciding to face the danger together.
Luckily, it was just a false alarm.
However, the sight of Natsuyu subconsciously protecting her still left Yukino with mixed feelings.
“Phew…
phew…
they finally stopped chasing.”
They slowly slowed to a walk after sprinting 1,000 meters.
Natsuyu leaned against a large tree, taking a couple of deep breaths to relieve fatigue.
Two seconds later, Natsuyu stopped panting as he realized something:
‘Wait…
I’m not even tired?!’
‘Is this the stamina of a top-tier human build?
Even a 1,000-meter sprint barely gets me winded.
This is amazing!’
“Phew…”
A slightly heavy breathing sound came from beside him.
Natsuyu turned his head.
Yukino’s fair skin was flushed pink from exercise.
She raised a hand to wipe fine beads of sweat from her forehead, her thin lips parting slightly as she panted.
Her cat ears twitched slightly, and her clear cat eyes reflected Natsuyu’s face.
Natsuyu was a little confused by her intense stare, touching his face:
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Natsuyu-kun, I am not a delicate girl who constantly needs protection.”
Natsuyu replied with a gentle smile:
“I know.
You’re awesome, Yukinoshita-san.
We’re teammates and friends.”
Yukino stared straight at him:
“Then next time you face danger, don’t think about facing it alone.
Let me stand beside you.”
Natsuyu realized what had happened. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping.com.
It turned out Yukino hadn’t slowed down earlier because she realized he was going to counterattack…
but because she refused to abandon her teammate and was ready to fight by his side!
Seeing Yukino’s serious, cute cat-girl expression, Natsuyu felt both touched and amused.
“Thank you for your…
care.”
Yukino remained expressionless, but the cat ears on her head twitched, and the round, black cat tail behind her stood straight up!
Natsuyu didn’t know much about cat body language, but a tail standing straight up was clearly a positive emotional response.
It completely betrayed Yukino’s feigned indifference!
He couldn’t help but say with a warm smile:
“It’s only natural for friends to care about each other.”
‘This guy really is a natural normie…’
Yukino felt helpless.
She suspected Natsuyu was like this with everyone, yet he managed to make her feelings so complicated that she couldn’t calm down for a long time.
It was so annoying.
“I suddenly feel like the nickname ‘Central Air Conditioner-kun’ fits you perfectly.”
Natsuyu watched Yukino suddenly cross her arms as she deactivated her Cat-Girl form.
Spreading his arms, he chuckled:
“I don’t think ‘Central Air Conditioner’ sounds good.
How about changing it to ‘Handsome Guy-kun’ next time?”
Yukino shot back mercilessly:
“At best, ‘Warm Guy-kun’.”
“Warm Guy-kun doesn’t sound cool either.”
“Please don’t tarnish the praise, Warm Guy-kun.”
Natsuyu shivered, waving his hand for her to follow:
“Just call me Natsuyu, Yukinoshita-san.
Let’s go back and see how Emma and the others are doing.”
Yukino narrowed her eyes at Natsuyu’s back.
On one hand, he wanted her to call him by his first name, but on the other hand, he called her formally by her last name while calling Sakuraba Emma by her first name “Emma”…
Did this guy have a problem with her?!
Yukino touched her stomach, stepping up beside Natsuyu:
“I’m a little hungry.”
Natsuyu looked at the sun’s position in the sky (around 10:00 AM):
“It’s not even noon yet…
wait, does transforming into a Cat Girl burn energy faster?”
(note : A cat’s tail standing straight up is a friendly greeting.
It shows the cat feels happy, confident, and safe.
The cat is ready to be social, play, or say hello)