"Mhmm…" Kanaria bit her lips.
'Tsk. Clovis and Jay have been fighting monsters the whole time?' Kanaria couldn't help but think. Her body was already hurting when it hit the ground. But she still had to maintain the position of her gun so that it wouldn't bend or hurt her.
Clovis and Jay were often getting blown away, so their situation was much more dangerous than hers.
The rodent wouldn't allow Kanaria to recover, but before he could reach her, Kanaria shot with her pistol to force the rodent to dodge it, giving her precious time to stand back up.
The beast approached her from her left, so Kanaria ran in the opposite direction. Her brain was processing all the information about all the mess around her, but there was nothing she could use to help her.
When fighting inside a building, they could throw things at the beasts to distract them. But there wasn't anything big enough or hard enough for this beast. So, Kanaria had no choice but to fight it fully with her gun.
Kanaria raised her pistol again, but the rodent had pounced on her.
"Hiii!" Kanaria hurriedly ducked down as the claws passed over her and left a huge mark on the concrete pillar. Kanaria wanted to attack the rodent once again, but she saw the tail coming at her face.
Because of her position, it was impossible to block it with her rifle, so she raised her arm.
"Kh." Kanaria gritted her teeth, enduring the pain. Kanaria rarely got hurt because of her position, but even if she was only a sniper, it didn't mean she wouldn't get hurt for the rest of her life.
There would be a time when she had to fight in close range for one reason or another.
This pain alone reminded her of how much Clovis endured this whole time.
When she thought about Clovis, it also reminded her of a certain conversation.
It was ten days ago. Back then, she was watching him train with his sword.
"Clovis. We have just gotten back from the tiring expedition and the first thing you do is train." Kanaria shook her head helplessly.
"I don't have a lot of time left to train. Once the group grows bigger, the more responsibility I will have… which means that I won't have a lot of time to practice . In addition, what if I get married in the future? I'm going to spend as much time as possible with my family. That's why right now is the best time for me to train," Clovis explained while swinging his blade.
"…" That answer somehow took her by surprise. She wanted to say that Clovis would be single if he kept that up. But it seemed that he had thought about it properly.
And this also made her realize that Clovis was simply doing his best at the moment while he still had time.
It was different from hers. While she didn't consider herself lazy, she didn't try to do much more. She believed in her ability to shoot and manage the logistics, but that was all about her.
People looked at her as a promising rookie who kept growing at high speed, but compared to these two, she looked as if she didn't put in any effort.
When Kanaria thought about it, she stood up, asking, "If this is just a bother for you, please reject this… But I wonder if you can teach me some self defense."
Clovis raised his eyebrows. "To be fair, you have an elastic body and a much smaller frame, which will allow you to have some dexterous movements for close quarter combat. It can also provide me with some experience in that area. But… if you're only doing this because you don't want to look like you're lazy or something. Then, don't bother."
"No. In a fight, it's better to eliminate the sniper first because they are troublesome. In the future, I might have someone trying to eliminate you first while the others are stalling you and Jay. That's why I want to be able to protect myself," Kanaria explained with a determined expression.
"If you have a clear goal, then I don't mind helping you. But I'm not going to hold back."
When facing this beast, that memory resurfaced in her mind, making her take a deep breath.
The rodent charged toward her, which she stopped by pointing the gun at him.
A series of shots were released, but the rodent managed to avoid all of them by looping around Kanaria.
Kanaria kept chasing after the rodent without thinking about the bullet.
After twelve shots, there was a clicking sound that marked the start of the rodent's counterattack.
Without hesitation, the rodent turned around and went straight at her. That big gun of hers might be powerful but hard to use, so the rodent was convinced that it could avoid it later.
That was why he closed the gap in an instant. Instead of changing her weapon, Kanaria actually tossed the pistol at the rodent's head.
"!!!" The rodent was surprised and stopped for a moment while covering its head.
As soon as it opened its eyes, the rodent saw Kanaria trying to kick its head. That was why the rodent jumped over her.
Surprisingly, Kanaria's kick actually reached a 180 degree angle from her other leg, showing incredible elasticity. This was her advantage. With her body's stability, she tilted her upper body to the back.
Now that her body was parallel to the floor, Kanaria could clearly see the rodent's body. She used this slight gap to aim at the rodent's head.
"!!!" The rodent lowered its head, only to find the gun muzzle facing right back at him.
"Checkmate," said Kanaria with a tired expression as she pulled the trigger, shooting the rodent on the head. Kanaria couldn't help but say, "I don't want to get carried by those two the whole time…"
However, because of her position, the recoil caused her head to hit the ground.