For the rest of their time, the group used it to increase their level as much as possible. They destroyed one nest after another.
Theo and Laust got the most benefit from this practice because their levels went up like crazy.
Because of the previous argument, even though she somehow recovered from Theo's speech, Alea didn't talk much and focused on killing monsters. At the same time, Theo could see that she was planning something.
Meanwhile, Phyrill had been coordinating with him better after knowing how he usually operated, including his full ability.
Theo believed Phyrill's strength was far higher than this, especially during the night. Of course, like Alea, he had been training himself every now and then as if he wanted to do something different.
The same applied to Ellen. After listening to Theo's inspiration, Ellen started fighting together in the front. She might need to learn more about fighting close combat, but she didn't need to be perfect.
Her role was using her Ice Skills to cause a ruckus. Theo particularly liked how she used her Frosty Misty since it helped the group tremendously. Her positioning and timing were also perfect.
Meanwhile, Theo had been contemplating whether he wanted to rank up his Magic Bullet or Elemental Shield.
He didn't make his decision for the time being because he needed to consider whether he wanted to rechallenge the mammoth or not. They had only a few days remaining, so he needed to come to a decision fast.
His teammates had indeed improved by leaps and bounds, but he didn't know if they were ready or not.
They only had five days left and they had used one for hunting, meaning if they wanted to kill the mammoth, they needed to hunt it tomorrow.
During dinner, the group was glancing at Theo over and over again to see his plan.
Theo hadn't said anything to them but understood what they wanted to discuss.
In the end, Theo sighed and uttered a question.
"I know what you want, but I will ask you this one particular question. Will you trade five levels for something that is not guaranteed?"
When they heard the questions, they all fell silent. The first to answer was Phyrill. He had a smile on his face and said, "My level has increased many times. I believe if we move to Champion Rank monsters, we will be able to increase our pace again and ultimately complete the assignment, so I think we can afford to waste one more day for this."
Sihan agreed with Phyrill and added, "There is one more thing. If we kill the mammoth right now, it will be easier for us to challenge the others because we have experienced killing a Hero Rank monster."
Ellen shrugged. "Personally, I rather want stability, so I will choose the former."
Theo thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"I am confident in killing the mammoth, so I will choose the latter." Alea raised her hand.
Laust seemed to have made his decision. He pointed his finger at Alea, telling Theo he agreed with her.
"Then, it's four to one. We will fight the mammoth tomorrow. Phyrill, you are in charge of scouting the area… If possible, make sure the mammoth is alone just like last time. This time, we will limit our time to fifteen minutes. If we can't kill it or I can't see any chance to kill it, we will retreat and continue with our usual stuff. Okay?"
"Roger!" Phyrill gave a thumbs up while the others agreed with Theo's plan.
"In that case, that's all." Theo finished his dinner and walked to the woods, not wanting anyone to see. He also brought his bag filled with cards and his equipment.
They were curious about what he planned to do, but no one followed him. No one had ever tried to peek at each other to respect their boundary, so their secret was safe for themselves.
When he reached his desired location to practice, Theo grabbed all the skill cards he had from the hunt.
"So… After more than a week, I have gotten seven E Rank skills and forty F Rank Skills. To think it will be this hard to receive the skill cards even with the help of Alea. I don't know what to say anymore." Theo let out a long sigh and remembered how easy it was to get powerful skills from the Unending Grass Field.
"Hmm… I think there is something weird in that grass field. I don't know what, but the loot is much better than our usual rate." Theo thought for a moment and looked at the material cards. There were various materials starting from a monster's skin to claw.
"Let me see, I'm not a merchant, but if I need to roughly estimate the value of fifteen E Rank and seventy F Rank Material Cards, I should be able to get at least two hundred thousand Zils. It should be enough to buy a Champion Rank Spear, which will improve my performance greatly. And I don't need to worry about the money for rent." Theo narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Well, I can buy E Rank skills and upgrade them to D Rank, I guess? At the very least, I will be trying to gather enough money to make all my skills D Rank before the Grand Gaia.
"Then, this leaves…" Theo opened his status and looked at his skill again, using his ability from God of Mischief. "Since we are going to challenge it, I should rank up my Magic Bullet to increase my overall offensive ability."
Although his head started heating up, he endured it a bit while grabbing five E Rank and five F Rank skills.
All ten skills disappeared as if they turned into particles and Theo finally saw the change in his Magic Bullet, along with the requirement to upgrade it to the next level.
Skill: Magic Bullet (D) – Upgradeable
Upgrade: Fuse 10 rank D skills and 10 Rank E skills
"It's too much for me at the moment." Theo gritted his teeth as he didn't have confidence in gathering all those before the competition. He then checked the skill and couldn't contain his smile.
Skill: Magic Bullet (D)
Effect: Summon up to 10 powerful magic bullets. Tracking (Optional).
There was an additional "powerful" word in front of the magic bullet, meaning their power increased. Although he didn't know the tracking ability, he had gotten the gist of what it could do.
Theo couldn't help but say, "Nice."