Having spotted a pack of red boars, we quickly moved into our pre-arranged combat formation. That said, it mostly just involved Mika and Saori-chan stepping out in front of us to face them.
The goal was to see how much they had grown over summer vacation and to serve as a warm-up before we tackled the floors further down.
"Three red boars... Can you handle it?"
"No problem," Mika said. "We've fought groups this size plenty of times."
"We'll be fine," Saori-chan added. "Some of them might try to break past us to get to you, so we’ll do our best to hold the line. Just stay alert."
"Understood. This is our first fight of the day, so stay sharp."
After giving Mika and Saori-chan a final word of encouragement, the three of us stepped back to keep watch on our surroundings. We remained vigilant, ready to jump in the second things looked dangerous.
I watched them observe the enemy’s movements, weapons at the ready. They were alert but not overly tense. Seeing them like that, I could really feel their growth as explorers. Even those nearing the mid-level tend to stiffen up during the first battle of the day, but these two were perfectly composed. By that metric, it was safe to say they had already reached the mid-level.
"Well then, let’s see what they’ve got."
"Indeed. Though just looking at their stance, it's clear how much they've improved," Yuji and Hiiragi-san remarked, watching the unfolding battle with interest. If they could maintain that level of composure against active monsters, their combat skills were likely up to par. All that remained was to see how efficiently they could handle the threats.
Under our watchful eyes, Mika and Saori-chan engaged the red boars.
"Saori-chan, I’ll take the one on the far right first!"
"Got it! I’ll stall the center and the left one!"
"Thanks! As soon as I finish the first one, I’ll take the center. You take the one on the left, Saori-chan!"
"Okay, let's do this!"
In a brief exchange, they finalized their strategy and targets.
Since they lacked a way to suppress multiple enemies at once, this was a sensible plan for being outnumbered. It was much safer than recklessly trying to kill everything in one go and risking a non-fatal blow. When outnumbered by monsters, failing to kill or mortally wound them in one hit is a recipe for disaster; a wounded beast has unpredictable patterns, which only increases the risk of taking an unexpected injury.
"Here they come!"
At Mika’s shout, the red boars began their charge. They rushed forward all at once, though not in a straight line. Instead, they formed a V-shape—the Crane’s Wing formation—with the center boar in the lead. It was a common tactic for red boars when fighting in a group.
And because it was a common tactic, it meant their movements were predictable and easy to counter.
"Saori-chan!"
"On it!"
As the red boars moved, Saori-chan quickly closed the distance, launching a series of feints at the center and left boars. She unleashed a rapid-fire flurry of spear thrusts to draw their attention and keep them in place.
The distraction worked perfectly. Startled by her harassment, the two boars reflexively slowed down, leaving the one on the far right to overshoot its companions. To make matters worse, the isolated boar became distracted by its allies’ hesitation, losing focus on the enemy directly in front of it. Which meant...
"Hah!"
The distracted red boar couldn't dodge Mika's strike. Her spear caught it right in the neck, delivering a fatal wound. The beast took a few staggering steps from inertia before its legs gave out, and it collapsed headfirst into the dirt. It was motionless. We hadn't confirmed the kill yet, but at the very least, it wasn't getting back up anytime soon.
Once Mika saw it was down, she immediately pivoted to help Saori-chan, who was still busy using hit-and-run tactics to stall the remaining two.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Saori-chan! Hah!"
"Then I’m finishing mine too! Yah!"
Seeing Mika arrive, Saori-chan shifted her rhythm. She abandoned her stalling tactics and lunged at the leftmost boar, thrusting her spear toward its throat.
Caught off guard by the sudden change in pace, the red boar couldn't dodge. Even though it tried to jerk its head away, Saori-chan adjusted her strike point mid-thrust to compensate, and the spear pierced its neck.
Mika and Saori-chan backed away from the fallen monsters, scanning the area for reinforcements while keeping an eye on the boars. Until a corpse begins its particleization, there’s always a chance it could get back up for one last attack. You can't let your guard down until the very end.
Ten or so seconds later, the red boars began to dissolve into particles. Only then did Mika and Saori-chan finally exhale and relax their stances.
"Phew... Good job, Saori-chan. Thanks for holding those two back."
"No, good job to you, Mika-chan. You managed to kill two while I was still working on one."
As they praised each other’s performance, they turned their attention to the spots where the bodies had vanished. Confirming the drop items is the final part of an explorer's combat duties.
Once the three boars had fully dissolved, two items remained on the ground.
"Oh, we got two drops."
"A good start."
"Yeah, definitely. Let's see... we have..."
"A Core Crystal and some meat."
The rewards for the fight were a Core Crystal and some boar meat. Core Crystals have been dropping in value lately, so they're a bit of a lackluster reward, but boar meat is always welcome.
Both Mika and Saori-chan looked a little disappointed, as if thinking it was better than nothing, but only just.
"Man, it would be so great if a skill scroll dropped..."
"I know, but they’re rare precisely because they hardly ever show up."
Mika and Saori-chan gathered the loot while grumbling a bit, bringing our first encounter of the day to a close. For my part, I was just glad they finished the fight without a scratch.
As we made our way back to the traveling queue, we held a brief review of the battle. Now that the warm-up was over, there was no reason to linger on the 6th floor.
The feedback was mostly positive, focusing on how much they had grown.
"First off, regarding the combat itself, I don't really have any complaints. The role assignment was smooth, Saori-chan’s stalling was effective, and Mika did a great job of capitalizing on the openings. You’ve both improved immensely since the start of summer."
I kept my evaluation brief and praised them for a job well done. Both girls beamed at the compliment.
"Your accuracy against their vitals was also excellent," Yuji added. "Especially you, Saori-chan—adjusting your strike mid-thrust to account for a dodging opponent was a high-level move. If I had to pick a weakness, your strike was slightly off the center of the vital area. You should work on your ability to predict the enemy's path. If you face a monster faster than a red boar, you might miss the vitals entirely. It might be worth studying animal movements—maybe watch some videos of four-legged animals in motion. Specifically, look for footage where they're startled or moving in ways they don't usually do."
Yuji offered his technical critique while pointing out a path for improvement. However, predicting an opponent's movements felt like something you only really learn through brute-forcing combat experience.
Mika and Saori-chan looked a bit overwhelmed by the suggestion. It was good advice, but clearly a long-term project.
"I agree, I don't have much to add regarding your technique," Hiiragi-san said with a gentle smile. "But as a fellow spear user, let me give you one piece of advice: always be prepared for your spear to get stuck. It isn't a problem with red boars, but if you face a large monster like an orc, a minotaur, or a big bear, you might find that piercing a vital area sends the head so deep into the body that it won't come out. Sometimes the hide is so tough you have to use a lot of force, only for the spear to sink all the way to the base once it hits the soft fat underneath. Stubborn monsters can throw a counterattack even after receiving a fatal wound. If you're struggling to recover a stuck weapon, you're going to get hit. Always keep that possibility in the back of your mind. Observe the enemy and decide instantly: do you prioritize your weapon, or do you prioritize getting out of their reach? You have to make the right call."
Mika and Saori-chan looked even more stressed after Hiiragi-san’s input, both of them practically holding their heads. It was true that while red boars were manageable, larger foes like orcs or minotaurs posed a real threat of trapping a weapon. Even with a pierced heart, those things are likely to swing back. In our case, we usually decapitate them or strike and retreat before they can react, but I know our style isn't exactly the standard for everyone. Though I suppose top-tier advanced explorers could pull it off.
"W-We'll be careful," the two said in unison.
Unlike when I had praised them, they now looked thoroughly deflated. They even kept shooting me wary glances, as if terrified I was about to say, "And if I had to add one more thing..." I won't, so please, relax.
As we reached the line of explorers forming the traveling queue, I decided to wrap up the conversation. I found it a bit hurtful that they both looked so profoundly relieved when I stopped talking, though.
"All right then. We’re going to join the queue and head down. The next floor is the 7th floor, which means goblins. Are you ready?"
I turned to them with a serious expression. Being able to handle goblins is a major milestone for rookie explorers. It’s a hurdle that many never manage to clear.
Mika and Saori-chan met my gaze and nodded firmly.
"We’re fine. We fought plenty of goblins during summer vacation," Mika said.
"We can do it," Saori-chan agreed.
Their answers didn't sound like bluster. There was no sign of nervous tension in their bodies, so I took them at their word. I glanced at Yuji and Hiiragi-san to get their take, and both of them gave a small nod of approval.
"All right. Let’s head down, then."
"Yeah!"
"Yes!"
With everyone in agreement, we joined the line of explorers and began our descent toward the 7th floor.