Surrounding it was a pack of lithe Assault Hounds. Their fur was pitch black, their eyes gleamed with ferocity, and their ears hung low. They let out low, guttural growls from time to time, warily monitoring their surroundings for any sign of movement.
"These guys again," March 7th muttered, nodding as a look of realization flashed through her eyes. Then, as if a lightbulb had suddenly gone off, her eyes brightened. She turned to Su Mu with a look of curiosity and anticipation. "Speaking of which, monsters should be edible, right? According to the original stories, most monsters don't taste great—usually gamey and tough—but I feel like that's probably just because the ingredients weren't handled properly or they lacked the right spices. So... why don't we try it? Let's make a dish out of these monsters and see how they actually taste."
Su Mu's interest was piqued. He nodded and replied readily, "Since you've put it that way, we definitely have to try. You two go deal with those guys. I'll think about how to prep the ingredients to get rid of the gaminess and make them taste good."
"Understood! Mission accepted!" March 7th stood up straight, her voice firm and her eyes shimmering with excitement.
As soon as the words left her lips, she grabbed Himeko's hand and charged toward the monsters lurking under the shade of the trees.
The hunt ended quickly. The Great Boar and the Assault Hounds were dealt with smoothly, leaving behind quite a few carcasses.
Himeko stood in place, looking down at the hem of her skirt. She let out a soft sigh, her voice tinged with helplessness. "Honestly... such a lovely dress, and now it's ruined."
The battle had gone exceptionally well. After all, even when March 7th wasn't particularly strong at the start, she could handle these creatures, let alone now that both of them had reached Level 50. Their strength was on a completely different level, and dealing with these ordinary monsters was child's play.
Even so, the pack of monsters hadn't missed a chance to be a nuisance before they died. During their charge, they had kicked up quite a bit of wet mud. Though March 7th and Himeko had dodged in time, Himeko was wearing a long dress. With the hem trailing near the ground, it had inevitably caught a few splashes of mud, making her look a bit disheveled.
"Alright, don't complain. We'll find a place to wash up in a bit and get that dress cleaned," Su Mu said with a smile as he walked over. He reached out and gently patted Himeko's shoulder to comfort her.
As he spoke, he used the ability shared from March 7th to condense a blade of ice in his palm. The blade was completely transparent, emitting a faint chilling mist, and the edge looked incredibly sharp.
He walked over to the carcass of the Great Boar and began attempting to butcher it, preparing the ingredients.
Although he had never butchered a monster before—and breaking down a carcass certainly required a level of skill involving specific pressure and angles to make the process smoother and easier—Su Mu didn't mind. When one possessed enough raw strength, technique became secondary.
He gripped the ice blade and gave it a light flick. The sharp edge easily sliced through the Great Boar's coarse hide with a clean, decisive motion, devoid of any hesitation.
As for the sight of blood flowing out and staining the ground during the process, Su Mu remained unfazed. In fact, "gore" and "slasher" films had always been his favorites. In the past, he could only see such scenes on a screen; now, witnessing it in reality for the first time—and even doing it himself—didn't cause him any discomfort. Instead, a faint, inexplicable excitement stirred in his heart, and his fingertips felt a slight itch.
"Himeko-san," March 7th said, walking over to Himeko's side. After glancing at the hem of her long dress, she suggested, "Maybe you really should consider switching to a short skirt like mine? Long dresses suit your personality—they make you look so gentle and elegant—but they really are inconvenient during a fight, aren't they? Look, your dress got dirty this time. What a pain."
Himeko gave a helpless smile and shook her head gently. "While you have a point about long dresses being inconvenient in combat, I'm not exactly a front-line fighter anyway. Most of the time, I focus on long-range attacks, so the dress doesn't affect me that much."
She paused, reaching out to lightly ruffle March 7th's hair before continuing, "The same goes for you, little March. The only reason we could engage in close combat so easily this time is because the enemies were too weak. If we encounter a powerful or unknown opponent, we'll still prioritize long-range attacks. We won't take unnecessary risks in melee... Speaking of which, with the new buffs from the apartment, it's become much easier to use our 'Ultimate' moves from the game even without our usual equipment, and their power has increased too. It'll give us an extra layer of security when we face strong enemies in the future."
"That's true~" March 7th nodded in agreement, her voice bubbling with excitement. "But I wonder if we'll actually get a chance to use them. Surely we won't need something like that when we meet Ghilaine later, right?"
"Of course not, but there will be opportunities," Himeko said slowly with a smile. "For instance, the situation we encountered yesterday—with so many enemies—would have been perfect for an Ultimate."
"Yesterday... Oh, right!" March 7th realized, nodding vigorously. "There were so many of them, all packed together. If we had used an Ultimate then, we could have wiped out a huge chunk at once instead of working so hard to take them down one by one!"
By then, Su Mu had finished processing the monster carcasses. He temporarily stored the butchered meat into the custom-built cold storage room on the top floor of the apartment.
He clapped his hands together and said in a relaxed tone, "Alright, the ingredients are prepped and stored away. We just finished breakfast, so we'll leave these for now. When lunchtime comes around, we'll try cooking them and see how they taste."
Himeko looked down at the mud spots on her skirt, her brow furrowing slightly. She looked at Su Mu with a questioning gaze. "So, shall we continue our journey to the Royal Capital now? Or... should I head back to the apartment first to wash my dress before we set off?"
"That's fine too," Su Mu nodded gently. "We're in no rush to get to the Capital anyway. Go back and get your dress cleaned. We can take a short break before we keep going."
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Crossover World: Why Are All My Clones Beautiful Girls?
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