Chapter 110

Mari, who had tied a rope to the corpse of an owl to make it easier to drag around, immediately set her sights on the next monster.

Shadow Lizard.

This monster, closer in size to a crocodile than a lizard, usually blended into the shadows like the Black Ink Wolf, waiting for prey to approach or avoiding the eyes of predators.

Unlike the Black Ink Wolf, which could move while hidden in shadows but couldn’t sense anything while doing so, the Shadow Lizard could perceive the outside world perfectly from within the shadows but couldn’t take a single step out of them.

The Ancient Winged Owl and the Shadow Lizard were natural enemies, often sharing habitats. Where the Ancient Winged Owl lived, the Shadow Lizard was likely to be found as well.

This was knowledge Mari had once heard from Serena.

And to lure out the hidden Shadow Lizard…

Mari pulled a magic stone from her pocket.

It was a light-attribute magic stone that emitted a faint glow when activated.

Using it as a portable light source in the middle of the night, Mari activated the stone and, without hesitation, threw it to the ground.

The stone, unable to withstand the shock beyond its limits, shattered.

A brief flash illuminated the forest for a moment.

It was a fleeting light, like the final breath of the magic stone.

But in that brief moment, Mari, using the dynamic vision essential for an archer, scanned the shadows of the surrounding trees.

“There!”

*Fwoosh!*

In that split second, as the shadow disappeared and the Shadow Lizard’s body was revealed, Mari didn’t hesitate to draw her bowstring. The arrow flew and pierced the lizard’s head before it could retreat back into the shadows.

“Phew. Serena’s knowledge came in handy. If only I could keep hunting like this…”

Just as Mari muttered to herself and moved to retrieve the Shadow Lizard’s corpse…

*Rustle*

*Rustle*

From above, branches shook unnaturally, and soon a green-furred beast, resembling a flying squirrel, leaped out from between the branches.

…

By the time the sun was setting.

“She’s late…”

Aisia, who had returned from hunting earlier, looked at the sunset with an anxious expression.

It was about time for Mari to finish hunting and return, but there was still no sign of her.

“If she’s too late, I’ll have to count it as a forfeit…”

Aisia muttered nervously. Even though if Mari forfeited, Aisia would win two subjects in a row and could potentially halt Mari’s adventurer career, she didn’t seem happy about it.

It was only natural.

If your child was supposed to meet you in the middle of a monster-infested forest and didn’t show up by the promised time, any parent would feel anxious first.

Just as Aisia, unable to bear the anxiety, was about to go look for Mari…

“…The test isn’t over yet, right? The sun hasn’t completely set.”

“Marisia! Why are you so late…”

Aisia turned to scold Mari, but…

In the end, she didn’t get angry.

Because her mind went blank at the sight of Mari.

Scratches and dirt all over her body, including her face. Clothes and skin stained with mud. Her clothes were slightly torn, and her hair, neatly tied before the hunt, was half undone, with leaves and twigs stuck in it.

But Aisia couldn’t even think to worry about Mari’s condition. She could only stare in shock at the monster Mari was carrying on her shoulder.

Leaf-patterned Winged Tiger.

One of the top predators in this hunting ground, even Aisia, with over 160 years of experience as a forest keeper, had only hunted a few of these threatening and swift monsters.

And here was Mari, who had only been seriously practicing archery for five years, having hunted one.

“Uh, uh…”

“Looks like you’ve never hunted a Leaf-patterned Winged Tiger, Mom. Remember, they count for five times the points of other monsters?”

“Th-that’s not the point… That monster…”

“I hunted it. I thought I was done for when it suddenly ambushed me, but then I remembered what Kurt taught me about the common habits of feline monsters. I turned the tables and hunted it down!”

Perhaps confident in her victory, Mari, though her body was a mess, recounted her heroic tale with a light expression.

It was less like an adult hunter boasting about a big catch and more like a child proudly showing off a good test score to their parents.

But what Aisia felt was…

‘Has she… grown this much?’

Her daughter, who had grown taller than she had realized.

Mari had won the second test.

While Aisia had hunted more prey, Mari’s Leaf-patterned Winged Tiger was worth several times the points of other monsters, giving her a slight edge overall.

…

Only the final test remained.

The content of the last test was simple and nothing special.

It was archery.

But even with the final test ahead, Aisia couldn’t focus properly and just looked at Mari with complex emotions.

Her eyes were filled with worry for Mari’s injuries, anxiety over whether she had failed to see her daughter’s growth, unease that perhaps she was the one at fault, and a bittersweet feeling that Mari might leave her side to become an adventurer.

But Mari, having just secured a win against Aisia, seemed oblivious to her mother’s gaze as she checked her bow.

“Hmph. If I pass this test, you’ll let me become an adventurer, right?”

“…I never said I’d allow it. I only said I’d check if you have the qualifications.”

“That’s not fair! You’re being mean!”

“I never said anything like that. You’re the one misinterpreting.”

“…Whatever. For now, it’s enough that you acknowledge my skills. I’ll definitely win this match and make you recognize my abilities!”

With that, Mari took her position.

The place they were at was the forest keepers’ training ground.

Naturally, it had an archery range for honing archery skills.

Targets were placed throughout.

At first, they were easy to hit, but as the distance increased, the targets became harder to aim at.

The rules were simple.

They would take turns shooting arrows, aiming at ten different targets.

Whoever hit the most targets would win.

Aisia shot first.

The first target was the closest and easiest to hit.

*Fwoosh*

*Thunk!*

Aisia’s arrow flew straight into the target, hitting the bullseye as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Mari followed suit, nocking her arrow.

*Fwoosh*

*Thunk!*

Her arrow also hit the bullseye.

*Fwoosh*

*Thunk!*

*Fwoosh*

*Thunk!*

The second arrow,

*Fwoosh*

*Fwoosh*

The third arrow, all hit their marks.

The fourth and fifth arrows also hit without fail.

But the unexpected happened on Mari’s sixth turn.

As she drew her bowstring, a sudden pain shot through her.

“Ouch…!”

*Fwoosh*

The sudden pain caused Mari’s aim to falter, and the sixth arrow missed the target.

“Ugh…”

The pain was from the wounds she had sustained while fighting the Leaf-patterned Winged Tiger.

Drawing the bowstring had reopened the wound, and blood began to seep through Mari’s forearm.

But Mari seemed more upset about missing the target than the pain, frowning as she glared at the target.

The shooting order was Aisia first, then Mari.

This was the first time in the match that Mari had missed, putting her one point behind Aisia.

Aisia had six points, while Mari had five.

Considering the difficulty spike at eight points, this mistake was critical.

But Aisia, despite being in a favorable position, only looked worriedly at Mari’s bleeding forearm.

“Marisia…”

“Mom. It’s your turn!”

“Uh, yeah. Got it.”

Perhaps shaken by Mari’s condition,

Aisia, uncharacteristically, lost focus and missed her seventh shot.

In contrast, Mari, despite the pain, kept her concentration and hit her seventh target, making up for her mistake.

The score was now tied at six each.