Kanaria released multiple shots, taking down a beast.
One beast seemed to manage to get close to them. When the beast was about to pounce on the girls, Ragna stepped forwardto and put his shield in front.
The beast's entire body pushed him back, but he had calculated the power, allowing him to stop one meter in front of Kanaria.
Kanaria could use this gap to comfortably loop around him and shoot this falling beast. He even stabbed the beast to stop its movement.
Kanaria killed it with a shot on the head. However, both of them noticed a howl coming from behind Kanaria.
Ragna swiftly spun his body and positioned his shield, but before the beast could even reach him, Melody shot the beast's body multiple times, causing it to fall down. After that, she finished it off with two shots.
Ragna widened his eyes in surprise. When he glanced at Melody, her eyes actually remained on the screen. He thought Melody was a normal operator, so the fact that she could aim so accurately despite being focused on the screen blew his mind.
When he turned back to assist Kanaria, she had actually suppressed the incoming beasts. There was one more beast that approached her, but Kanaria didn't even flinch. She kicked the beast lightly, deflecting the beast's trajectory, which caused the beast to actually hit Ragna's shield. After that, she ended it with a bullet in the head.
Ragna couldn't understand how Kanaria could actually react as though she knew Ragna was on her left. Despite being so focused on the scope, she actually retained a huge field of vision.
What he didn't know was that their affinity had improved tremendously, so it was normal for her to see it. In fact, her senses were so good that she could actually spot the beasts within five meters with the noises they produced alone.
If she reached Tier 2, it wouldn't be weird to actually create a field of vision and understand things from a third point of view.
Ragna's shock didn't stop there. He was so shocked by Kanaria and Melody that he didn't realize that both Clovis and Jay had actually taken down all the beasts in the area.
In total, Clovis killed ten beasts, while Jay eliminated twelve.
Ragna finally understood why Clovis was so confident. He sucked a cold breath, thinking, 'Is this really a Tier 1 group? Each of them possesses strength beyond their tier. In addition, their hunting speed is something I have never seen before, even among Tier 2 groups. The only one that can be compared to them will be the Tier 3 group… with at least two or three Tier 3 humans in the group.
'Kanaria and Melody are also able to fight in close combat. None of them are ordinary.' Ragna felt that his existence here wasn't necessary.
However, when Clovis returned, he said, "Nice work, Ragna."
"Huh?" Ragna blinked a few times in disbelief. He didn't do anything.
"You are letting yourself a bit carried away, Clovis. Jay too." Kanaria shook her head helplessly.
"Well, Ragna is protecting you guys, so I don't have to worry anymore." Clovis waved his hand. "Normally, I have to look out for your safety, so I can't go too far. But with Ragna, even if the situation gets dangerous, he can still buy some time. That's why I and Jay can fight without worries."
Ragna was stunned. Even though Clovis praised it that way, he couldn't really accept it. He said, "Please don't praise me. I didn't do anything."
"Not at all. Don't you see that Kanaria becomes more relaxed? Instead of engaging in close combat, she can rely on your shield and use that slight gap to kill the beast. Hence, Melody can be more focused on guiding us." Clovis shook his head as if Ragna had played an important role.
"No, I haven't done anything. Please get some rest right now. I'll be the one collecting their essence."
"Are you sure?" Clovis looked surprised.
"Yes. Please conserve your energy. I'm used to this kind of work as well." Ragna considered their overall condition, so it was only right for him to collect the essence. Kanaria would be on the lookout while Melody monitored the radar.
When Ragna was gone, Clovis glanced at Kanaria and asked, "So what do you think?"
"He is good. He understands his weakness well and adjusts his fighting style. And his awareness of the overall condition is high." Kanaria nodded. "I think we can stop the test and focus on our mission this time?"
"In that case, let's go in that direction. There are more than fifty beasts in that direction." Melody pointed to the northeast.
"Alright. We can give him more tasks then and check his limit next." Clovis agreed.
Once Ragna finished collecting the essence, the group continued. Clovis and Jay could finally unleash their full strength and become a bit more selfish, increasing their hunting speed tremendously.
Meanwhile, Ragna showed his prowess as a guardian. He kept standing in the beasts' ways, blocking them and creating an opportunity for Melody and Kanaria to kill the beasts.
The more he got used to the group's fighting style, the higher his efficiency. Even Clovis had no qualms about his ability as a guardian, despite his glaring weakness.
The group hunted the beasts for another three hours. Ragna was shocked by the number of beasts they hunted in just a few hours. It would take a whole day for a normal Tier 1 party to kill all these beasts, yet they managed to do it before lunch.
When they were about to stop for lunch, Kanaria couldn't help but notice a 3 meter tall deer standing between the trees.
"Clovis, Jay! The deer!" Kanaria shouted while pointing at the deer.
"!!!" Both of them hurriedly stepped forward, seeing about thirty beasts in their way. There were even more beasts on the radar.
A smile appeared on their faces.
"I will take the front. Don't worry about anything else, just take on the deer!" Clovis smiled before charging forward.