Chapter 109

The first test ended without much action, concluding with Mari’s defeat.

From the start, this was the result of Mari never having matched her rhythm with the spirits in combat.

Of course, this was more due to the cultural environment of the Forest Elves rather than Mari being lazy.

Unlike the city elves, who formed dry and business-like contracts with spirits, treating them like servants, the Forest Elves saw spirits as friends or family.

Thus, even to achieve her dreams, Mari couldn’t force spirits who had lived without combat to fight.

That’s why Mari kept her departure a secret from the spirits and didn’t rely on their power while living as an adventurer.

But Mari didn’t argue against it.

There was no one to listen to her arguments, and even if there were, Mari herself didn’t want to.

This test was to prove to her mother that she was no longer a young elf but an adult capable of acting as an adventurer.

Regardless of the reason, summoning spirits and borrowing their power was indeed an important ability for elves.

Summoning spirits in a crisis and borrowing their power was worlds apart from not being able to summon them.

The trials faced by an adventurer wouldn’t adjust their difficulty based on the strength of the spirits one could summon.

Arguing that she lost because the spirits she could summon were weak would only give more reason to stay in the Elf Village until the spirits grew stronger.

Saying that the adults didn’t hold back and fought seriously against their daughter only aligns with the logic that she was still a weak, young elf who should have been given some leeway.

So Mari didn’t complain about the first test.

Even if it was a subject she could have won 100%, if there was no issue with the selection of the subject, it was true that her abilities were lacking.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…It’s nothing.”

“Alright. Then next is the second subject: hunting.”

It was the same hunting competition she had once fought with Kurt.

Although she had lost the previous match due to Kurt’s overwhelming physical prowess as a transcendent, despite her knowledge and experience as a hunter and the home ground advantage, hunting was actually one of Aisia’s confident areas, having lived in the Elf Village for 260 years.

Honestly, even compared to senior forest keepers with 300 years of experience, her abilities were outstanding.

Although overshadowed by Kurt, a natural-born hunter several times better, she had exceptional talent as a forest keeper.

Plus, compared to Mari, who had only been holding a bow for about five years, she had the advantage of 160 years of experience.

She intended to crush Mari’s will by overwhelmingly winning both tests, making the third test unnecessary.

“The time limit is until sunset, same as last time.”

“How about setting points for the prey beforehand?”

“Setting points?”

“Yes! If we hunt without setting points, the terms might change later.”

“Would your mother really do something so ugly?”

“….”

“…Ahem! Fine. If you insist, we’ll set points for the prey.”

Aisia, who had once changed the terms after losing to Kurt in a hunting match, couldn’t meet Mari’s eyes and eventually agreed.

They agreed on how many points each prey would be worth, how much the condition of the prey would matter, and what abilities would be limited in the hunt.

“Hoo. You’re strict. Anyway, against me, a forest keeper, the odds are…”

“No. We won’t know until we try.”

“…Fine. If you think so, then so be it.”

With that, the two turned their backs and parted ways.

The hunt had begun.

.

.

.

Generally, the outcome of this hunting match was naturally expected to be Aisia’s victory.

One was a current forest keeper elf with 160 years of experience, and the other was a 24-year-old half-elf who had only been seriously holding a bow for five years.

Anyone would predict Aisia’s victory.

Aisia herself was confident of her victory and had prepared accordingly.

But

Mari still believed she had a chance.

Although Aisia had experience surpassing the lifespan of most human species as a forest keeper, the Forest Elves’ forest keepers differed significantly from human hunters in many ways.

Elves hunted to save the forest ecosystem from destructive sea creatures, to eliminate monsters threatening the village, and to obtain pelts and bones from monsters.

They hunted monsters for various reasons, but never for food.

And that one difference was what Mari believed to be the key to victory.

For other human species, hunting monsters was a necessity for survival, a daily routine, but for elves, it was more of an event done only for special reasons.

If the distribution of certain monsters became too dense, disrupting the ecosystem.

If an Awakening Species monster appeared, threatening the Elf Village.

Without such reasons, elves wouldn’t risk hunting monsters.

Thus, elves who hunted monsters were called forest keepers, not hunters.

Their main duty wasn’t hunting.

But other human hunters were different.

To avoid starving today, to make preserved food for tomorrow, to provide for those who buy food.

They hunted daily to survive.

The density of their hunting fundamentally differed from that of forest keepers.

And Mari, in just a few months, had absorbed techniques by observing her companions, seeking advice, and correcting her actions.

She learned combat skills from Karina, whose life was combat.

She gained knowledge from the erudite Serena.

She learned about monster habits from Kurt, the pinnacle of hunters.

These were treasures of advice not easily found even in the Elf Forest.

Of course, even with great mentors, less than a year was too short to master anything, even for an elf.

But Mari had more than just excellent companions.

She had inherited her mother Aisia’s talent as both a forest keeper and a hunter.

Just as Aisia had surpassed her 300-year-experienced seniors with only 160 years of experience, Mari had a gem-like talent sleeping within her.

And finally, the daily life in Astram, resting for a few days after completing a request, then taking on another.

The experience in Astram, a land said to be loved by monsters, was like compressing decades of experience a normal elf forest keeper would accumulate.

Thus, with all these factors combined,

Mari’s unrefined abilities

blossomed like a flower,

transformed like a butterfly breaking free from its cocoon.

Pew!

An arrow split the air.

A seemingly careless shot into empty space.

But soon, a fleeing ancient-winged owl seemed to throw itself into the arrow’s path, falling lifelessly to the ground.

“That’s another one.”

The seemingly coincidental shot was the result of learning to read monster breaths from Karina.

If one could predict when a monster would take flight, one could anticipate its path.

Then, placing a weapon in that path would make the monster seem to throw itself onto the weapon.

Applying this to archery.

Even after succeeding with this technique, Mari calmly retrieved the monster’s corpse without celebrating.

“I can’t be happy with this yet. With my mother’s skills, I can’t be complacent.”

Because her opponent was her mother, and Mari knew her mother’s abilities best.