The ice crystals emerged one after another, piercing the mice without mercy. Blood splattered on the ground, dyeing the ice red.
Sihan turned around and ran with Theo, killing all the mice that somehow survived to ensure they wouldn't bring any more unknown variables.
After that, the ice mist disappeared, exposing the mice to the sun and warming them up again.
Sihan appeared before them to become the center of attention while Theo summoned his clone and went around, trying to hit them from the back. Ellen also supported them during the killing feast.
These three completed the job at the same time as Phyrill, Alea, and Laust.
It took them around twenty minutes to handle the rest because they didn't use big moves anymore to conserve their power.
When all mice died, they touched the mice one by one to get all the loot and Alea surprisingly gave everything she got to Theo.
"So, what do you think about your Magic Power reserve?" Theo asked Alea while receiving the cards.
"Hmm… It's not that good. We can do it one more time… probably, since my Magic Power is running low due to the Grass Field earlier." Alea shook her head before letting out a long sigh. "We should destroy another group like this and spend the rest of the day heading to the Hero Rank Monster, I guess."
"No, we will conserve our magic power and end the day." Theo shook his head. "The grass field indeed took a toll on us and I don't want any of us excessively exhausted since it will endanger our lives."
"Well… Sorry, I didn't think of that." Alea smiled embarrassedly. This was her personality, so it was hard to change it. And due to her not thinking much ahead, Theo almost died twice because of her blunders.
Luckily, she understood her weakness and followed his order, preventing any more accidents like that.
"By the way, your sword…" Theo narrowed his eyes.
"Yeah. It's a different sword with the same appearance. This sword is a Champion Rank Sword." Alea nodded.
"I guess that's to be expected." Theo felt defeated because even Alea had thought about using a Champion Rank Weapon.
"Oh, right… You don't have enough money to buy a Champion Rank Weapon… I should have realized and lent you a Champion Rank Spear."
"Nah, it's fine. It's not like I will be of any use against the Hero Rank Monster." He shrugged and said, "Anyway, you and Ellen are the ones qualified to challenge the Hero Rank Monster, so the rest of us will remain in the back while trying to create an opening for you."
"Do you have a plan in defeating the monster? It's still almost 100 levels above me, you know. I will probably level up several times once I kill it." Alea smirked.
"Yeah." Theo sighed. "I don't have any experience with Hero Rank monster, so I don't know whether we can do it or not. And it's not like the enemy is above level 500 like the one we fought last time."
"Supreme Rank monster, huh." She remembered how useless they were in front of a Supreme Rank Monster. "We will defeat one in the future. For now, let's focus on our objective."
"Sure." Theo nodded and gathered all the people, saying, "We are now to conserve our power and continue our journey. We will only hit another nest tomorrow. Phyrill, you are in charge of our path."
"Roger." Phyrill gave a thumbs up, acknowledging his request. "We should be able to reach a river in another six hours, so we will camp around there. We can wash our bodies and clothes there."
"Don't worry about Fire, I will use my Magic Power to boil water or use the lighter to do it." Alea smiled.
"Then, let's go." Phyrill raised his hand and started running. The group followed him for a few hours as they slipped past some monsters to avoid unnecessary fights because of their low Magic Power.
The Magic Power could only be recovered naturally by resting your body or sleeping, which allowed the Magic Power to reproduce like blood. This was the basis of Theo's decision to avoid all monsters.
Before the sun disappeared and darkness enveloped the world, Theo and the others used their night vision glasses and continued their journey without any change. The night was indeed beautiful, but they didn't have time to enjoy it because more and more howls echoed in their ears.
As Phyrill said, they arrived at the riverside surrounded by trees behind them and a river in the front. The sides were wide open and they could spot any monsters before reaching their place, so it was a perfect spot to set up a camp.
Theo quickly assigned each person a mission since it was already pretty late.
"Ellen and Sihan will hunt a monster. Alea and I will grab some herbs for our dinner. Laust will be setting up the tents and Phyrill will scout the area. Okay?"
"No objection."
"Understood."
After receiving the instructions, they gathered all the necessities for dinner and set up the tents.
An hour later, they all had filled their belly and the group sat down in front of a campfire.
"You two can wash your bodies first," said Theo without any change of expression and pointed to the right side. "There is a small turn one hundred feet in that direction. You can use that junction to avoid any of us spying on you."
Ellen made a sly smile as she came closer to Theo and whispered with a seductive tone. "How about you come with us? Or maybe do you want to take a peek?"
Alea was bewildered and felt embarrassed. She grabbed her best friend's collar and stopped her, but Theo's answer came with a surprise. "If I can take a picture or a video of you and sell it to people, then I will do it. I believe many will still buy it even if I sell one picture for 100,000 Zils."
"Eh?" Even Ellen slightly widened her eyes and chuckled. "Haha, you are seriously the best, Theo. This is the first time I met someone like you."
Theo shrugged and returned to the camp while Phyrill glanced at them with a serious expression.
Before leaving, Alea brought her sword to warn the only one who got excited about it, Phyrill.