Cornflower Witch

Chapter 48 Hunting in the Mountains
There are still a few days before I go to Mrs. Fran's place to take care of the flower fields.

One afternoon, after tutoring Mick, Karen, and the other two, Siltia picked up her bow and arrow to practice herself.

Since she couldn't demonstrate her swordsmanship, practicing archery seemed like a good alternative. After a month of intermittent practice, her archery skills gradually reached a very good level.

[Basic Archery Lv.3]: Basic archery skills, one of the ranged combat techniques. (Progress 342/900)

Whoosh! Another arrow shot out, landing precisely on the bullseye 60 meters away. (Basic Archery Proficiency +1)

Unlike swordsmanship, archery seems to rely more on muscle reflexes and intuition, and her progress in archery is slower.

"Wow, Tia's archery skills are almost on par with Karen's now!" Komia clapped.

"I'm still not as good as Sister Karen," Hiltiya replied modestly.

“That’s quite good archery, but Tia could try shooting moving rabbits or birds in the mountains when she has time. That would help her improve even faster,” Karen suggested.

"I see." Hilti thought for a moment. Not only archery, but her swordsmanship also needed to be honed through actual combat.

"Tomorrow's a day off, Karen, can I come with you?"

“Of course.” Karen nodded; she had already had a similar plan.

"Then I want to go too." Komia didn't want to be left behind.

“I’m going too.” Mick heard this and came over.

"If you get into danger, I can be of a lot of help." He felt it was too dangerous for a few girls to go out alone.

“I’m going too.” Lei walked over at this moment.

"Ok."

It seems that traveling together as a group of five is unavoidable. After thinking about it, Hilti decided that there was no need to keep it a secret forever. Besides, they were all trustworthy friends, so she could just ask them to keep it a secret.

目前她各项技艺的水准大概是[基础剑术Lv.4][军用剑术Lv.4][基础弓术Lv.3][基础枪术Lv.4][秘史知识Lv.5][园艺技巧Lv.4]，其中战斗相关的几项技艺都需要实战来突破。

After agreeing to work together tomorrow, the group looked forward to it. Komia was also chattering away, talking about what to bring tomorrow.

"Picnic basket, water, food, and emergency gauze and medicine," she read aloud.

"Isn't this too much trouble?" Karen couldn't help but interrupt. They were going hunting, not picnicking, and carrying too much stuff would slow them down.

"Sigh, it won't work." Komia said disappointedly.

“I’ll carry it.” Lei pounded his chest with his fist, his deep voice booming.

“Look, Lei has already agreed to carry it for us, so it shouldn’t be a problem.” Komia raised her hand.

Karen could only shake her head helplessly and agree.

……

The next morning, the group, having made all the necessary preparations, gathered at the city gate of Jiaoshi City.

"Tia brought quite a lot of things too," Komia said curiously, looking at the black-haired girl.

Today, Hilti was dressed in a short, black dress that allowed for easy movement, revealing a bit of her healthy, fair thighs. Below, she wore black stockings that went past her knees to ward off the chill of late autumn. As for her upper body, she wore a well-fitting long-sleeved hunting outfit, with a fitted leather belt around her waist that not only held quivers and short swords but also provided some protection.

She held a longbow in one hand, her black hair flowing, her movements light and agile, like an elf emerging from the forest.

"Wow, Tia is absolutely stunning today!" Komia exclaimed excitedly, and the others stared at her in astonishment.

The attention she was receiving made Hilti a little embarrassed, especially since she was wearing a short skirt that was rather revealing today.

"Let's go, let's go, stop looking." She could only helplessly urge everyone to start.

"Okay, okay, hehe, if we keep staring at Tia, she'll get shy." Komia covered her mouth and chuckled, knowing the girl's embarrassment.

Leaving Jiaoshi City, we arrived at the mountains and forests several miles outside the city. Here, the grass was still covered with morning dew, and the air was refreshing.

Karen led the way, followed by Mike, both of them with extensive hunting experience. The other three followed behind, with Hilti holding a bow and keeping watch, Ray carrying a lot of luggage, and Komia bouncing around, keeping the atmosphere lively.

The five-person journey was not boring. Along the way, they talked about the interesting things that had happened recently. Occasionally, Hilti would stop to pick herbs and mushrooms from the roadside and put them into the basket that Komia was carrying.

Large wild animals are rare around Jiaoshi City. Even if they are, they are usually hunted down by the city's hunters to ensure the safety of merchants and travelers.

Along the way, they didn't find any large living creatures, but they did encounter some small rabbits and falcons.

"There's a rabbit over there, Tia~" Komia whispered a reminder.

"Hmm." At this moment, Hilti had already nocked her bow and arrow. Her posture was perfect and her expression was serious. Almost as soon as she finished drawing the bow, the arrow flew out and pinned the rabbit that was running fast in the grass.

(Basic Archery Proficiency +6) "One hit, awesome!" Komia praised loudly, turning into a fangirl. Karen, who was about to finish off the enemy, also put down her bow.

If Hiltiya missed her shot, she would fire a second arrow to prevent the prey from escaping; this is a common practice among hunters to cover for each other.

Mick stepped over the ankle-deep grass, picked up the rabbit and the arrow, and took them back.

"Great, we can have meat tonight." He shook the gray rabbit and smiled.

"Let's go, let's continue and find some more prey for Tiya to practice on."

Although the five of them were traveling together, everyone intentionally or unintentionally encouraged Hilti to practice archery more, and also protected and reminded her to prevent any accidents. This feeling of being cared for and pampered by everyone made Hilti feel a little uncomfortable for a while, but she also felt a faint warmth.

Mick and Karen have plenty of hunting experience, and they don't need to practice today. However, this might be Hilti's first time hunting in the mountains, so they naturally need to take extra care of her.

Hiltia usually tutors them, so this rare opportunity for her to reciprocate made them quite happy.

The five of them gradually walked along the mountain path into the depths of the forest. Along the way, Hiltiya became more and more proficient in using the bow and arrow. With the adjustment of her breathing techniques, she kept her physical strength in a good state. This kind of training in actual combat gave her many new insights into archery, breathing techniques, and hunting in the wild.

Sure enough, real combat is the fastest way to improve, and her 'basic archery' is gradually approaching the point of breakthrough.

In the afternoon, the group found a clearing in the forest and took a break.

"Finally, I can rest for a while." Komia plopped down on a rock, her legs were sore and she didn't want to move at all.

Of the five, she was the only one who didn't know how to breathe properly, and her physical strength and endurance were the worst. The fact that she was able to walk this far was largely due to her lively and active nature.

The others couldn't help but smile at this. Instead of urging her to get up, they first looked around before returning to sit down.

“I remember there was a piece of animal hide in the package that we could use as a pad,” Karen mentioned.

There were limited stones in the forest, and if they sat on the ground, they would inevitably encounter many insects and ants. In addition, they also needed to eat something.

“Okay.” Ray put down the large backpack he was carrying, and then Karen opened it, found the rolled-up animal skin cloth inside, spread it out, and the group sat down around it to relieve their fatigue.

"Isn't Tiya tired?"

Karen was quite curious. This black-haired girl seemed to have better stamina than herself, showing no signs of sweating and moving as lightly as when she first entered the mountain.

Could it be that Tia really has elven blood? Karen suddenly remembered this, but unfortunately, Hilti didn't have the pointed ears that are the hallmark of elves.

"I'm not tired yet." The girl put down her longbow and knelt gracefully on the cushion.

After thinking for a moment, Hilti took off the glasses she always wore and put them aside. At this moment, not only did she have a good figure, but her beautiful appearance was also revealed, which surprised the people present.

"I feel like Tia is getting prettier and prettier," Komia said, echoing everyone's sentiments.

The group agreed, but seeing the girl's embarrassed expression, they found her rather cute and amusing, so they decided to refrain from teasing her for the time being.

"What kind of food do you have? I'm hungry." Mick looked at the picnic basket covered with a cloth.

"Yes, yes, food." Komia lifted the tablecloth, revealing the contents inside.

The picnic food was prepared by Komia's mother, including pies, bread, sausages, and two bottles of beer.

Clean water is hard to find in the wild, but alcoholic beverages are easier to preserve and remain clean. (The fermentation process kills bacteria.)
"Thank you," Mick said, before taking out a pie and putting it in his mouth, eagerly taking a bite.

The pie contains a small amount of dried fruit and vegetable pieces, making it a nutritionally balanced dish when paired with the dough.

The group ate and talked about the situation in the mountains.

“We didn’t see any wolves along the way,” Hiltiya recalled.

"Because the Hunter's Guild in the city conducts regular raids," Karen explained, biting into her bread.

“Jiaoshi City is Lord Xuefeng’s direct territory and residence, and a place for trade and exchange among the surrounding villages and towns. Security is very important, so the local Hunters’ Guild must assist in cleaning up the surrounding environment. If they do a good job, they won’t have to pay extra taxes to the lord.” She was very experienced in the field of hunters.

"Ugh, this is getting a bit boring." Mick was thinking about hunting a bigger prey later to test the effectiveness of his recent training.

Just like Hilti, he has been studying and training with Maester Hyde this month, without the opportunity to participate in adventure missions or test his progress.

"Isn't it better to be safer?" Komia said, expressing her incomprehension.

After they finished eating, Komia took out five wooden cups and poured beer into each one.

"Phew, this tastes really good." Mick took a big gulp and almost emptied the glass.

On the other side, Hirutia drank more slowly, savoring the subtle beer flavor on her tongue.

The birdsong in the mountains is melodious, and the cool autumn breeze is refreshing. Even if you're not hunting, having a picnic here would be a wonderful experience.

(End of this chapter)