14 Efficiency

"Clovis. Three beasts at your twelve." Kanaria's voice echoed through the small transmitter hanging on his right ear.

Without hesitation, Clovis stepped forward and found the incoming beasts as he slashed them one by one. 

"Jay. Cover Clovis's right. There are four beasts coming at him!"

"Got it." Jay stationed himself not far from Clovis and noticed the incoming beasts. But before Jay engaged them in frontal combat, one of the beasts got shot down. The bullet was powerful enough to pierce through its body, killing it. 

"!!!"

Jay knew that Kanaria was the one killing this beast. After all, they were at the foot of a small hill.

Jay and Clovis were killing all these beasts in a very effective manner. That was because Kanaria was watching their movement from the top of the hill. She even aimed her sniper rifle and took down one or two beasts to lessen the burden on them.

Clovis couldn't help but glance at Kanaria, remembering what happened earlier in the morning.

…

Two hours ago.

"I have brought my equipment with me. So, we'll only buy some stuff and head outside." Kanaria pointed at the long bag behind her. It didn't seem that her bag only contained one type of gun. 

"Eh? We need this one even if it's expensive."

"We also need this."

"This…"

"And this…"

Kanaria bought a lot of items from basic survival items like spices and small tools to expensive items such as radios and binoculars. 

Back then, Clovis couldn't help but ask, "Sorry, but are you sure your friend is good at her job? Can she spend our money wisely?"

"Mhmm… I don't know about her spending habits." Jay shook his head. Even though he had known Kanaria, they weren't that close.

After joining the group, Kanaria spent a lot of money to make sure Clovis and Jay were well equipped. Unfortunately, they couldn't buy expensive clothes that were made of a powerful beast's hide. 

In the end, they spent almost 1,500 dollars. Clovis didn't mind it that much because he had registered the money, but seeing this side of her made him convinced that he should register the money first before giving it to Kanaria.

…

When he recalled what happened earlier, he felt a bit apologetic toward Kanaria. They had just begun hunting twenty minutes ago, but they had killed 12 beasts. The effectiveness increased by at least four hundred percent compared to when there were only two of them.

If they continued at this pace, let alone ten thousand, they might be able to earn fifty thousand in one exploration. 

He had severely underestimated Kanaria.

"Is there something wrong, Clovis? You look confused." Kanaria asked while looking at him with the binoculars. 

"I have to apologize to you… It seemed that I underestimated you too much."

"So, are you okay with me joining the group?"

"We'll see what happens in the next four days."

"Hahaha." Kanaria chuckled as if she were confident enough that Clovis would accept her after this expedition. "Invest everything so that we can get more money. I know that you're doubtful of my spending habit, but believe me, I'm spending it wisely."

Clovis didn't reply back as he continued moving forward. At the very least, he was aware of what kind of person Kanaria was.

"Jay. We'll be circling the hill in a clockwise direction and killing all the beasts on the way. Don't forget to get their essence." Clovis paused for a moment, changing the person he spoke to. "Kanaria. Guide us." 

"Got it." Both Jay and Kanaria acknowledged.

Under Kanaria's guidance, they killed one beast after another. He never thought that killing these beasts would be this easy.

They ended up hunting around the hill for the rest of the day. After all, Kanaria was in a good position to observe and help them. 

In just a single day, they actually acquired more than eight liters of essence. The bodies of the beasts they had killed ended up attracting more beasts. Kanaria led them and set up an ambush, resulting in more essence.

Although these eight liters of essence were not enough to get ten thousand dollars, they started quite late today. At the same time, this group had just been created, so they still learned each other's fighting styles. 

Clovis had no doubt that this group could easily break past the ten thousand dollar mark tomorrow. 

During the night, both of them stood outside the tent to discuss what they were going to do. Clovis was once again surprised by Kanaria's thoughtfulness. 

Not only did they end up in a place not far from the river, but the spice also made the dinner far better.

"So, where will we go next?" Kanaria asked while opening the map. It was just a simple Bronze Class map, so there wasn't much information on it. 

"How about we go to this area? If I'm not wrong, this area is filled with aurochs. They are the ancestors of modern domestic cattle. It seems that they are pretty aggressive and have powerful horns. But as long as we don't get hit by it, we should be fine." Jay pointed at an area northwest of them.

Clovis fell into deep thought. He recalled the information he knew from the Gold Class Map. The aurochs might be interesting, but Clovis moved slightly to the north and said, "We will hunt in this place."

"Huh?! Isn't this near Tier 1 Beasts territory?" Kanaria frowned.

"Yes, but it's not in their territory yet. What I want to kill is a lot of Tier 0 beasts, but with some occasional Tier 1 beasts. If we go slightly to the west, there is a hill, so this should be a perfect place for you as well, no?" Clovis asked.

Kanaria couldn't deny it. As long as there was high ground, her usefulness increased drastically. 

Jay also agreed. "I don't have a problem. But if we encounter any Tier 1 beasts, we have to make sure there is only one of them, alright?"

"I'm not reckless enough to challenge two at the same time." Clovis sighed. After getting some experience fighting a Tier 1 beast, Clovis was confident that they were capable of doing it. The previous wolf was quite special since it produced a beast soul, so the Tier 1 beast they would encounter shouldn't be stronger than the dire wolf.

"If that's the case, don't you think we should head to the west after that? If I'm not wrong, there is an exploration camp near this place. Usually, you can exchange some information or do raids together. Maybe we can use this place to join some higher ranking group to hunt Tier 1 beasts." Kanaria suggested. 

"That's not a bad idea. Though, if it will just end up slowing down our progress, I don't mind not going to the Tier 1 beast's territory." Clovis agreed with her but still set up a condition.

"That's settled then. We'll return on the fourth day while killing all the beasts we can find." Jay smirked while glancing at Kanaria. "In that case, why don't you take a rest first?" 

"Yeah. You two can take a rest first. I will be standing by." Clovis nodded in agreement. 

"Nah. You should rest first, Clovis." Jay shrugged. "Each rotation will be three hours. What do you think?" 

"I don't have a problem. Besides, you should go first since I want to do something." Clovis stood up. Since it hadn't been that late yet, he grabbed his swords. 

"Oi, oi! Are you trying to train here?" Jay widened his eyes in shock.

"Why not? If I slack because of the exploration, you're going to easily surpass me. So, you, genius, can rest first." Clovis shrugged. 

"After seeing you like this, there's no way I can sit still. I will be your sparring partner. What do you think?" Jay smirked while pulling out his blade. 

It was true that image training wouldn't be as effective as real-life practice. So, he took on that offer. "Fine by me."

"…" Kanaria was watching them with a dumbfounded expression. They had been moving a lot the whole day, yet they still wanted to train.

However, Clovis's action made her remember what he told her this morning. 

"By the way, I only have a 15% evolution rate, just to let you know." Clovis raised his hand and spoke nonchalantly. 

"Huh?!" Kanaria blinked a few times, not being able to process what she had just heard. "What do you mean?" 

"As he said, his evolution rate is only 15%. In fact, that number is too low to be even qualified as an explorer." Jay pointed at Clovis with a smug smile. He had seen his status after all. 

"You are joking, right?" Kanaria looked at Clovis as though she didn't want to believe it. In fact, this was a normal reaction if people knew about his evolution rate. People like Jay were the abnormal ones. 

"I'm not joking. He has seen it." Clovis confirmed Jay's words. "But… this doesn't mean I'm going to let anyone have the captain position. I'm going to fight with my dear life to get stronger even with this limitation. That includes you." 

Kanaria was speechless. This was simply too shocking. Yesterday, he managed to fight better than Jay. So, there was no way Clovis would have a low evolution rate. 

"By the way, Kanaria's evolution rate is 92%. It's slightly lower than mine, but not that much. If I'm not wrong, you have been focusing on your senses, right?" Jay revealed Kanaria's information without any thought. 

"Y-yes." Kanaria didn't know how to react at that time. 

But now that she had hunted with them and watched them like this, Kanaria couldn't help but watch Clovis. 

"15% evolution rate, huh? Normal people would have given up. Some would be foolish enough to challenge the beasts and die so easily. But…" Kanaria finally understood why Jay respected Clovis that much. She looked at Clovis gently, imagining the time when Clovis managed to overcome his limitations and become a great explorer. "…you are different, right? I hope you are different, Clovis."

They didn't know at that time, but the area they were planning to go to would be undergoing a huge change.