There were four horn rabbits—more than our quest required.
Having had no opportunity to shine during the battle against the goblins, Leticia-san took the lead with her magic this time.
She was a wielder of [Wind Elemental Magic].
As expected, the sheer firepower of her spells was remarkable.
"Two in a single hit...?"
Philia's magic packed enough power to defeat one target per strike.
Leticia-san, however, was capable of even greater spells, cleanly taking down two horn rabbits lined up in a row at once.
Infuriated by the sudden loss of two of their own, the remaining horn rabbits charged straight at us.
"Ngh, I can take this much!"
Having already weathered blows from goblins, Alan met their lunging attack head-on.
He braced himself and blocked flawlessly. The horn rabbits shattered their horns against his shield, tumbling instantly to the ground.
Alan immediately followed through by severing the necks of both stunned creatures. Between the two of them, all four horn rabbits were subjugated in seconds.
"Alan's shield technique being that solid was an unexpected bonus, but it looks like we can handle horn rabbits just fine."
"Heheh, that's 'cause I got a proper lesson on shield work from my bro this morning!"
Alan beamed, clearly thrilled by his own performance.
After harvesting the corpses, we officially hit our target quota for the quest.
From that point on, we decided to focus on monster combat to hone our party's coordination.
Our chosen quarry: horn rabbits.
While we would still engage slimes and goblins as they appeared, horn rabbits were easier to handle than goblins and offered far more practical combat experience than slimes.
With our plan set, we ventured deeper into the woods.
"Erik-kun, there's a group of horn rabbits just up ahead. What should we do?"
"How many are we talking?"
"Eight."
"...That's definitely a number that warrants some caution."
By then, three hours had passed since we started exploring the forest.
We had already dispatched dozens of monsters along the way, raising my level in the process.
"If you're up for the challenge, Erik, I'd like to take them on. Honestly, as our shield, I think it's best to test whether I can hold my own against that many."
"...Good point. Even if their strength varies, it's worth checking whether your eyes can keep up with a group of that size."
Convinced by Alan's logic, I made the call to engage.
After quickly aligning on a battle plan, we closed in on the pack of eight horn rabbits Garm had located.
"I was a little worried, but it doesn't look like there are any higher variants..."
Given the pack size, I had been concerned that a higher variant might be among them, just like the elite goblin before.
Fortunately, all eight before us were ordinary horn rabbits native to the forest.
They were busy grooming one another, completely oblivious to our approach.
To initiate the ambush, Leticia-san struck first with her magic.
The high-powered blast instantly felled two of the horn rabbits.
"Kyu-kyuu!"
"Kyuu!"
The remaining six screeched in an attempt to intimidate us, and four immediately broke into a charge.
"Philia, magic! Alan, hold the line!"
"Right!"
"Got it!"
Having just cast her spell, Leticia-san lacked the combat experience to fire off a second one in rapid succession.
As planned, I directed Philia to take over.
While Philia prepared her incantation, the four charging horn rabbits slammed into Alan's shield.
"Guh... Erik!"
"On it!"
Alan held firm against the impact exactly as instructed.
Dashing out from behind him, I drove my sword through the necks of the stalled horn rabbits.
"Kyuu!"
Seeing their companions drop, the rear guard launched their own assault.
"Spirits of water, grant me your strength! Water Cutter!"
Having finished her preparations, Philia unleashed her spell.
She aimed perfectly at the charging horn rabbits as they overlapped, cutting down two in a single strike.
"...We actually pulled it off."
To be frank, I had felt a knot of anxiety when we first chose to fight.
It was our first time facing such a large group of monsters, and the risk of injury had weighed heavily on my mind.
Yet the battle had concluded without a single scratch on any of us.
"Erik! Wasn't I amazing?! I completely held off four monsters at once!"
"Yeah, that was seriously impressive. Especially considering how much you used to slack off on your training."
"Heheh, I owe it all to my bro. He yelled at me, dragged me out, and forced me through brutal training every time I tried to goof off... When he saw how much I'd improved this morning, it was the first time in forever I saw him smile."
As Alan shared his joy, Philia and Leticia-san hurried over to join us.
"Erik-kun, Alan-kun, well done! You were both fantastic on the frontline."
"Yeah! Not a single monster made it past you to our side. That was amazing!"
Philia and Leticia-san showered praise on the two of us holding the vanguard.
"Your magic was incredible too, Leticia-san, Philia. And being able to focus on the front was also thanks to Garm watching over you both. Knowing you were protected let us concentrate entirely on what was ahead."
"Gau~"
While Garm hadn't actively joined the fray, it had remained stationed near Leticia-san and Philia.
Its presence served as insurance in case any monsters slipped past us or unexpected reinforcements appeared.
Thanks to that safety net, we had been able to commit fully to the horn rabbits before us.
"...Still, that took a lot out of us. Why don't we take a short break?"
"Agreed! I managed to block their hits, but my arms are stinging like crazy—I was dying for a breather!"
Alan was quick to second the motion.
After taking some time to rest, we continued hunting monsters in the forest until the evening bell echoed through the trees.
By the end of it, today truly felt like a day of substantial growth for our party.