Outside the city of Purwa were free hunting grounds. Large stretches of land not owned by anyone, occupied by trees, wild monsters, and animals. These places were spread out, surrounding Purwa on all sides. Free for all areas, where people could hunt in them without needing any permit. Remy and Atilia checked the map, before making their way north of the city.

The guidebook had some areas marked as red. These closed-off areas were places where people couldn’t hunt without permission. The lands had magic barriers that kept outsiders outside. There was a section of free land further up north. Arstulz cows lived in these lands. These cows looked similar to the ones back on Earth and had a brown-yellowish color. They were located not far from the city, right next to the closed-off areas. The cows themselves weren’t hard to kill, making them the perfect target for beginner outworlders looking to increase their rank.

Two things to consider, though. First was their numbers. There were many of them. Inexperienced outworlders and adventurers must make sure that they weren’t boxed in by these monsters. It wasn’t an issue for Remy, though. He felt confident that he could kill a couple of cows grazing from a kilometer away.

The second would be to make sure that they didn’t enter the closed-off areas, as it may cause some issues for them. Other than that, the targets were free for the taking.

"How far are we from them?" Remy asked. Atilia checked the guidebook in her hand, comparing their location with the map attached there.

"Not far off, I think."

They had been walking for quite a while. The cloudy skies blocked the sunlight from reaching them, and coupled with Atilia's own ice magic, Remy found himself not dropping a sweat.

Sweat was one of the things that pissed him off when traveling long distances on foot. If it was an exercise, he didn't mind. It was different when traveling. He didn't want to arrive at a place full of sweat and stink.

All that coupled with the fact that he was walking next to his wife, and he wouldn’t utter a single word of complaint. If anything, he couldn't stop feeling grateful for this chance. Seeing his husband all smiles, Atilia stifled a giggle.

"So you finally touched grass, huh?"

"Walking alone isn't fun."

"A lot of people enjoyed it, though."

"I'm not one of those people."

"It's fine. I can fix you." Atilia laughed. Remy checked their surroundings and went in for the cheeks. Atilia tensed up at the surprise attack.

"What the heck? Since when have you gotten so bold?" Not wanting to lose, though, she chased after Remy. They eventually arrived at their scouting point. The road turned left, then followed a decline down into a valley before turning back around and heading north into the plains. A forest was visible in the distance. Many cows, around thirty of them, graze undisturbed on the grassy plains. Their current location was quite far from the closest closed-off area. They shouldn’t need to worry about accidentally shooting outside the permitted area.

“Alright. Here we are.” Atilia lay down on the grass next to the road. Remy lay his weapon down, opened its case, and took the brand-new sniper rifle out. He set it down, pointing it toward the plains in front of them.

“Which one should I shoot?” he asked, making sure.

“Try the farthest one. Show me what you’re capable of.”

“Not much but sure, I’ll try.”

He cocked the weapon, aiming the center of its scope toward a cow grazing in the distance. He lifted the sniper up to account for the bullet drop. He rested his hand on the trigger.

“Ready?” he asked Atilia.

“This won’t be loud, will it?” She covered her ears.

“I don’t know. It counted as a magic weapon, right?”

“Yep.”

Remy took a deep breath, calming his nerves. He steadied his aim, keeping his sights on the target.

He pulled the trigger. A loud bang rang through the air. A purple bolt sliced through the blue sky. Like a sharp sword, it stabbed into the cow. Within a split second, the cow collapsed to the ground, blood flowing from its head.

The cows next to it shouted a loud Moo and began running for their lives, heading for the forest at the far end of the field. Remy grabbed the sniper’s bolt handle, lifting it up and pulling it back. Despite being modeled after a bolt-action sniper rifle, the sniper used magic. No empty casing was ejected when he pulled the bolt back.

Remy slammed the bolt forward and smacked it down, completing the cycle. He searched for his second target. He took a quick breath and pulled the trigger. A second bolt sliced through the air, hitting a cow that was attempting to escape. The cow crashed to the ground, sliding and screeching to a halt. The cow managed to take out another cow running behind it, causing the other cow to fall. Remy cocked the sniper and shot another bolt before the other cow could escape. Three down. The screen underneath his scope showed two purple bars.

Remy took aim, finding another target. He shot, the bolt struck, and another cow fell. He changed targets and fired. Five bolts, five dead cows.

“Nice one!” Atilia cheered. Remy swiped a sweat off his forehead. It was intense. Despite the cows posing no threat, he tried his best. His wife lay next to him, after all, and he was glad he could impress.

“Thank you.”

By that point, all of the cows, except one or two, had gotten away. They disappeared behind the trees that formed the forest in the distance. By the time Atilia finished recharging the rifle, the plains were empty. Atilia pulled herself up, kneeling next to Remy. She took out her bag, pulling a small pouch from it.

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“What is that?”

“A magic pouch.” She showed the pouch to him. From the outside, it looked like any other pouch. Atilia stood up and took a few steps away, before turning around and holding the pouch in front of her.

“Change Size, Pouch!”

A white glow engulfed the pouch. Two seconds later, the pouch had grown to five times its original size.

“Woah, impressive.” Remy stood up, approaching the pouch. He took a peek inside. Even its inside looked like a regular pouch.

“We can use this to gather the cows.”

“Will they fit, though?”

Atilia paused for a moment, looking down at the pouch in her hands. “No.”

“Then what should we do?”

“One of us can go back to the city and borrow a silver key,” she said as she shrunk the pouch back to its original size.

“Like the one we used yesterday?”

Atilia nodded.

“You go, I’ll-” Atilia hadn’t completed her sentence when they heard loud, heavy, thumping sounds, followed by slight vibrations on the ground. They turned their heads, looking toward the distant forest, and the monstrosity that came out of it. Four legs, a body similar to the cows they had killed. It was, however, three times larger. Each of its heavy footsteps sent a loud noise into the sky, shaking the earth beneath them. Its weight became clear when it crushed one of the corpses of the cow they killed, flattening it.

“... There goes our payment,” Atilia said casually, standing straight in all the shaking. The massive monster alone created small earthquakes with every step. A truly terrifying beast.

“I think we should retreat,” Remy suggested. Atilia nodded in approval. Remy was about to return his sniper to the case when the cow pulled back its head.

“MROAAAH!” It let out a scream, prompting the two to cover their ears. It brought its head down, scanning its surroundings. Smoke came out from its snouts. Then, for a split second, Remy locked eyes with it. Even without his scope, he could see the beast’s eyes all too clearly.

And the beast saw him.

The beast slammed its foot down to the ground and leaped forward.

“It’s heading for us!” Atilia shouted. Remy dropped to the floor and pulled the trigger. The bolts struck through the cow’s skin, sending trickles of blood down from where it struck. Yet, the cow didn’t seem harmed in the slightest. It charged forward, ignoring the bolts of lightning striking it.

Remy fired, cocked, and fired. He repeated the motion as fast as he could. The cow’s size made it easy for him to land hits, yet they did nothing. The cow charged as if it had unlimited blood, as if the lightning bolts hitting it were no more than mild annoyance. Like a tank charging in the middle of small-arms fire, it ignored the attacks, its eyes on its target.

“Remy, we need to go!” Atilia yelled. Remy took a look at the display underneath his scope. Within just a few seconds, he had exhausted all of his ammo, yet the cow showed no signs of stopping. Their position above the cliff overlooking the plains didn’t matter, either, as the large cow could easily reach them. Atilia took the case, pulling Remy up. The two ran away as fast as they could, the shaking on the ground intensifying with every single step.

Cracks appeared on the road, spreading like wildfire. The damaged ground began moving. Atilia handed the case to Remy, who strapped it on his back. She began recharging the rifle, the bars lighting up one by one.

SMASH

The ground beneath them shattered, throwing them into the sky. The two then fall, tumbling down the broken road. The cow, despite its ridiculous size, was fast. Really fast. It had already managed to climb the cliff.

It approached, its eyes square on the couple. Remy took a look at his sniper. Atilia managed to charge two bars before they flew. Two shots. He realized he didn’t have the time to aim properly, yet he needed to somehow make these two shots matter. He turned around, supporting the weapon on his chest, trying to pull his scope as close to his eyes as possible. But there was no time. He pulled the trigger, guessing where the bolt might land based on where the sniper’s muzzle aimed toward.

The first bolt hit the front leg. He cocked his sniper as he took another aim. He fired for the second time, this time the bolt hit the monster’s face, albeit it didn’t do anything. If anything, it only pissed off the monster further.

The cow lifted its front leg.

Guess it’s over.

“Remy!” Atilia shouted. Remy closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.

Whooosh…

Wind.

And a shadow.

Finally, followed by a roar.

Remy opened his eyes. The cow let out a deafening scream, blood dripping from a slice diagonal to its face. It took a step backward, hurling in pain. A person backflipped and landed in front of it. They wore a black cloak that covered them from top to bottom, a shining double-edged spear in their right hand.

The monster let out a second roar, before charging straight at them. They leaped forward, fearless, hurling herself straight into the cow. They jumped, dodging the cow’s snout, then sliced through the cow’s left eye. They pulled the spear out, using magic to literally fly in the sky. They corrected their course, adjusting the tip of the spear, before plunging back down. This time they stabbed into the cow’s right eye. The cow let out another scream, stepping back. It lost its footing and collapsed down the cliff. Yet, thanks to its large size, it suffered no significant harm.

It attempted to stand up again, blood dirtying its face. Countless wounds occupied its angry face, all of them trailing blood. The person didn’t give it a chance to attack. They chased the cow down and delivered countless strikes straight at its head.

Remy and Atilia came closer, watching the battle unfold. The cow let out scream after scream, all in severe pain. The person gave it no mercy. After one more minute of pure slicing, the cow finally went silent, slumped down on the ground. The person lifted the spear and stabbed it deep into the cow’s head, making sure that it was dead for good. They wiped sweat off their face and then turned around, using magic to float back up the cliff.

The cloak's hood hid half of their face. Blood covered the person's visible parts like mouth and nose. Remy felt like he recognized the scar on her neck, however.

“Are you alright!?” Atilia asked in a panic. Seeing the blood, she quickly pulled out her bag, handing a tissue to the person. The person shook her head.

“You outworlders should learn a thing or two before going out. So dumb,” the person said, their tone full of frost. Yet, it was a voice familiar to Remy. It didn’t take long for him to guess the identity of this person.

“Mimiyat?” Atilia voiced Remy’s thoughts. The person pulled her hood back, revealing her face. It was the same Mimiyat who had just lost her job.

“I’m so sick of rescuing you people.” She wiped the blood off her face and stepped past them, heading back toward Purwa.

“You told us nothing!” Atilia bit back. Mimiyat ignored her, walking away.

“What’s wrong with her?” she whispered, annoyed.

“Maybe she’s still angry she lost her job?”

“And how is that our fault, exactly? Besides, why is someone like her working as a receptionist? Wouldn’t she be better utilized on the field?”

“Maybe she’s bored of fighting?” Remy tried guessing. In truth, there were many possible reasons why a high-level, experienced adventurer may no longer be operating in the fields. It wasn’t that surprising.

“Maybe. Should we head back?” Atilia looked quite tired. Remy nodded in response.

“Yeah. Let’s go to the guild, just in case she decides against reporting it,” Remy said, before hearing the sound of thunder high above. He looked up, finding the dark clouds floating above him.

“Looks like it’s going to rain, again.”

“Let’s go, then.”

Remy returned his sniper to its case and the two made their way back to Purwa.