Chapter 60: Hunting as a Pack

"I see." Raiji was contemplating after hearing the explanation. He is quite confused about what he would need to tell.

"This will allow you to strategize what we can do better if we can encounter the same or similar thing the next time, we encounter it." Ryuji explained. Strategizing even with just hunts would practice Raiji and Fuji about what they can do next. Overall, it's a useful skill. Even pure magic cannot out do a person who knows how to strategize.

The two wolves looked at their master as if they were trying to figure something out.

For Raiji, he has been used to this since he was part of a hunting pack before. The sub pack alphas give out a plan of their attack on the prey and change plans during a hunt depending on the prey's movements.

Fuji on the other hand, knows this through observation with the hunt. The last hunting group he was with was actually the first time that he joined a hunting pack. He was ordered to provide some details of what they encountered. It is possible that their master is doing the same thing, but he does not find the reason why. 'Is it because he said that magic is not just the only measure of power?' Fuji thought. Their master is a mysterious goblin and based on some cryptic words that he had been saying, their master has more knowledge than them. It might be a farfetched idea but there is a faint possibility. But his thoughts were disrupted when Ryuji spoke.

"Lastly, where can we find better meat?" Ryuji asked. He had the spring bear, rabivores, snakes and wolf. He had eaten the snakes before, but he has yet to eat the wolves. It is time to get new skills from other creatures because if he keeps eating rabivore he would be relying on magic and the <Sword of Tartarus>. It would be better to get more skills because if in case that he needs to do something without magic that is what you call insurance.

"We can go and hunt tuskers master." Raiji suggested with eagerness. It has been a while since he tasted such meat.

"What are those?" Ryuji asked as he watched the slime consume the leftovers.

"A tusker is a pig creature with horns." Raiji explained. "It is the usual prey that we hunt. It has a fatty taste.

"You mean a boar?" Ryuji asked.

"Aside from the tusks, it has horns. It uses those to pierce their attackers." Raiji added. Based on his previous experience, they are quite tough. He shared those details with his master and his peers. "It is usually alone but when they attack, they lower their heads and aim for the torso of their enemies. It would be better if we aim for the neck, there is a spot at the back of their horns. That is their weak spot."

"Ohhh…. Nice. We will hunt those today then. We shall start with four." Ryuji was fired up. At least he would get some pork this time. He had eaten a bear, snake and rabivores. For once he craved for that succulent fatty meat that he was familiar with. If he had panko and oil, he would go for tonkatsu. But pork barbeque is also a good idea for lunch. "Where do we find one?"

"Further east master. There is a clearing that we usually find one." Raiji answered. The reason they moved to their master's spot the other day was because they were trying to follow one but lost it and that's when they encountered their master's familiar.

"Ok our target is four tusker boars today." Ryuji has decided. Since this will be their first hunt as a team, there will be problems, but he will review it so they can move efficiently. Ryuji praised Raiji. He seemed to be in the first step since he shared what he knew without hesitation. "Good work Raiji!"

"Thank you master!" Raiji gave a cute bark. He was excited, for once his master is asking him something and that simple matter increased his confidence in himself. The praise that came from master is something that confirms his contribution. Finally, even in this little way he felt he was useful.

"Let's wrap up then hunt our lunch and dinner!"

They quickly cleaned up and all four of them left the cave to head to the clearing. Raiji was leading them while Fuji and Ryuji followed. Pyun-Pyun was lagging behind.

"Master, what is Pyun-Pyun doing?" Fuji asked.

"Ah, it has been our protocol that when we hunt, he forages for herbs on the way." Ryuji replied. "That way we can stock up on things that we can use."

"Oh. Are herbs useful?" Fuji asked.

"They are useful. There are herbs that raise magic, attributes, some can be used as medicine and some can be used as poison." Ryuji explained.

"Oh wow. I never knew those." Fuji was amazed.

"Before I even knew <heal>, it did save my life." Ryuji remembered getting bitten by those nasty vipers.

"Oh. But isn't it a good thing? So does that mean that you don't need the herbs anymore is that right master?" Fuji asked.

"Like I told your brother, magic is not everything. It is indeed efficient, but you can cast only depending on your mana. If you are out of mana, you can use herbs as another way to heal." Ryuji explained. "and besides, it would be handy to have those because if you are out of mana, there is an herb that can replenish your mana or something to that effect." Ryuji explained. Of course, in a magical world having a large amount of mana is good. However, if you run out of it in the middle of battle or similar instance, it would be best to have a mana potion on standby. Although the scroll that Yubis gave is too simple. It only recovers 50 mana points. He needs some sort of a settlement so that he can try his hand on making a mana potion better.

Raiji was also listening while watching out for surroundings. It was something he had been trying to practice since last night. He had used it before during his previous hunts with the group. His brother has <mana sense> skill but he knew his senses were sharper even without mana. He was a part of a hunting pack before, so it is better to use it. He can feel small critters in the area and retreat as if they are avoiding them. He was used to it because it happened before with the hunting pack.

<Familiar Raiji is using <Sixth Sense>. Skill unlocked to master's familiar to view. Sight was increased to 200 meters> The chime notified Ryuji.

"Keep up the good work Raiji!" Ryuji praised Raiji again. He knew that this was not a new skill since it mentioned that it was unlocked. He knew that there were limitations with yesterday morning's experiment on the familiars. It is the first time that something was unlocked that was already innate to the familiar before they signed. He was hoping that there are more things that were unlocked as they did the hunt.

"Thank you master." Raiji was slightly embarrassed. But getting praised the second time, means he is doing it correctly. He felt that he was useful but is this ok? He felt he could do more. He recalled his master's words a moment ago that they needed to work as a team. If he used his senses and his brother's skill, maybe they can detect something much faster. He was reluctant but if it makes the team more efficient, it would be better for their master. "Fuji, brother, can you do that skill?"

"What skill brother?" Fuji asked, confused. It is the first time his brother asked something.

"The one that allows you to see the mana." Raiji was reluctant but he thinks that <mana sense> can help track down their prey. Then, it should be ok with their master. He needs to do it by thinking as a team and for the good of the team. Even if he is the older brother, his young brother has something that he does not have and that can be utilized to help their hunt.

Ryuji smiled. Raiji seemed to be moving to his expectations which is good. He plans to mold this guy as something similar to a vice-commander or so. But he was surprised that he was not asked to use his skill instead. "I'm curious, why did you not ask me instead?"

"You mean master, you have that skill as well?" Raiji was terrified. He did not know that their master knows that skill as well, and he felt he made a mistake. Like he was poured with cold water as he froze on this realization. "I did not know that you have one."

"That is alright. But that is a good call to ask your brother." Ryuji quickly assured the trembling Raiji. "I will use it for our first tusker because I have not encountered one before, then Fuji can use it for the succeeding targets, is that ok? So that your little brother can practice that skill efficiently." He was attempting to pacify the poor older wolf brother.

"Y-Yes master!" Raiji felt he averted a disaster.