After walking for about ten minutes, we found a stray wild boar.
Wild boars usually moved in small groups.
Spotting this lone one was entirely thanks to Garm's ability.
"It's my first time seeing one in person, but it's unexpectedly huge."
A wild boar was a quadrupedal monster about 1.5 meters in length.
It had horns, and from what I had heard, its charging attack packed quite a punch.
"Alan. Do you think you can take a hit from that thing?"
"I'd like to try."
Alan kept his eyes locked straight on the wild boar as he answered.
After discussing our plan, we engaged the wild boar in combat.
"All right, Philia, you're up."
"Got it!"
Philia replied and readied her spell.
Then, she launched a Water Ball straight at the wild boar.
"Bufoh!"
Alerted to our presence by the magic attack, the wild boar kicked into gear and charged directly at us.
"Bring it on!"
Alan braced his shield and stood firmly in the charging beast's path.
Without slowing down in the slightest, the wild boar slammed right into Alan's shield.
"Guh...!"
Though he wasn't sent flying, the impact of the charge broke Alan's stance.
However, crashing headfirst into the sturdy shield left the wild boar staggering as well.
"Haaah!"
Stepping out from behind Alan, I thrust my sword deep into the beast's neck.
In one fluid motion, I dragged the blade through, severing the wild boar's head.
"Alan. Are you all right?"
"My arms and legs are tingling, but I'm not hurt. No broken bones, either."
With the battle over, I immediately checked on Alan.
He opened and clenched his fists, rolling his shoulders in circles to confirm he was uninjured.
"To completely withstand a wild boar's charge... you're quite impressive yourself, Alan-kun."
"Heheh, it's all thanks to my special skill. Ever since that day, I've been growing at an insane pace!"
Hearing Leticia-san's praise, Alan grinned with pride.
"Still, hunting a wild boar is one thing, but lugging this all the way back to the royal capital is going to be rough..."
"True, especially given its size."
"Even if we brought a cart, we could only haul so many. Of course, that'd be a different story if we had an item bag magic tool, but..."
"A luxury like that is far beyond what we can afford right now."
An item bag.
A magic tool whose opening connected to an extradimensional space, allowing it to hold dozens of times more than its exterior suggested.
It was practically an essential piece of gear for any adventurer.
However, its price tag was utterly merciless.
At the very least, one cost dozens of gold coins, and higher-grade versions could easily run into platinum coins.
"Besides, they're barely in circulation, so just finding one for sale is a challenge."
Even if one hit the market, someone else would snap it up immediately.
You needed to catch wind of the news before anyone else, which was a tall order for beginner adventurers like us.
"And from what I've heard, item bags can only be found in dungeons, right?"
"Less that they're exclusive to dungeons and more that they've never been discovered anywhere else. They only come from treasure chests inside dungeons, or so the story goes."
Treasure chests were scattered throughout dungeons.
Whether placed as rewards for humanity braving the trials or for some other reason, treasures lay dormant within them.
They contained a wide variety of spoils, from rare ores to unique magic tools.
"Once a chest is opened, its contents never respawn. That's precisely why a newly discovered dungeon attracts so many adventurers. At least, that's what I was told."
"Huh~ So that's why adventurers travel all the way from distant nations."
"A chance to strike it rich. Find a magic tool like an item bag, and you're set for life overnight."
"Now that's the dream..."
After finishing our chat, we packed the wild boar's carcass into a sack.
Judging by its sheer weight, we decided that continuing to hunt across the plains while carrying it was out of the question.
I consulted Philia and the others, and we agreed to call it a day and head back to the royal capital.
"You're back early today."
"We tried taking on a wild boar and managed to bring it down. But hauling the carcass around made moving difficult, so we decided to return early."
"I see. By the way, how was the fight?"
"We held our own, but I'm not sure we'd make it out in one piece if a whole pack surrounded us."
I gave Reina-san an honest answer.
Afterward, we cashed in the materials from our hunted monsters to settle the payout.
Any materials that fell short of the minimum batch quotas were held over for next time.
All six horn rabbits had been cleanly hunted, earning us a tidy sum.
The wild boar had also been taken down cleanly, giving our total earnings a massive boost.
Altogether, our payout for the day came to 41 copper coins.
We split it evenly five ways and added the single leftover copper coin to the party's shared funds.
"It's a bit early, but that wraps up today's run. Alan, make sure to get plenty of rest, okay? The adrenaline might be masking the pain now, but take care of those bruises properly before bed."
"Got it, got it. Once I'm home, I'll have my big brother patch me up."
After chatting a bit in front of the guild, we agreed to meet up again tomorrow at noon and went our separate ways.