Although it was only temporary, Lancer task now was to hunt a 'monster,' so at this moment, he was... on a carriage heading to the desert.
That's right, he was in a carriage.
The real world wasn't like a game where you arrived at your destination after a cutscene. Although the 'desert' wasn't far from the village, according to the driver, it would take about five or six hours to get there by the main road.
During this time, Lancer naturally chose to... pet cats!
Yes, that's right, pet cats!
Although they were three Felynes, their daily habits didn't seem to be very different from ordinary cats. After Lancer spent 1 point from his supply system to exchange for a large bag of 'small dried fish,' he successfully established a good relationship with these three Felynes.
The Felyne that was all white with only black spots on its paws and head was named 'Aruru.' It used bombs as its weapon and was the second easiest of the three Felynes to get along with. It seemed to like having its head stroked?
The Felyne that was mostly black, but with a mix of white on its limbs, was named 'Jack.' It used a long sword as its weapon. Just like its appearance, it was a bit aloof. Although it allowed Lancer to pinch its toe beans, it didn't allow him to help comb its fur.
The easiest to get along with was an orange and white tabby cat named 'Tiger.' However, unlike its domineering name, it was a foodie. It allowed Lancer to stroke its fur if he gave it some dried fish. By the way, even though they had only been in contact for about an hour, Lancer had already discovered that it liked being stroked on its back the most. As for its weapon, it was the rarest one, the 'Hunting Horn.'
"Mr. Hunter, we have arrived at the desert... Mr. Hunter?"
The driver who was in charge of the carriage had just finished shouting when a slightly lazy voice came from behind him.
"Oh~! I'm awake."
Lancer, who was lying in the carriage, also rubbed his eyes and sat up. With his movement, 'Aruru,' who was originally lying on his stomach, also stretched, sat up, and wobbled to the side to put on its equipment. On the other side, 'Tiger,' who was lying on Lancer arm with its belly exposed in a very bold posture, rolled over and continued to sleep. This made 'Jack,' who was sleeping against the carriage, feel a little speechless. After pulling the other cat a few times, Tiger finally got up.
Although he still hadn't become familiar with 'Jack,' Lancer could see that besides being a bit aloof, its personality was very meticulous. At least, there should be no problem with cooperation later.
Otherwise? Did you think Lancer was really trying to please the Felynes just for the toe beans? (Serious face!)
Although the so-called 'campsite' in the 'game' was just a tent + two boxes, the actual real campsite was not only much bigger but also had many people.
There were people in charge of healing, rescue, and supply management.
By the way, the carriage Lancer was in also had the job of transporting supplies.
When Lancer took out the 'Five-Star Quest Request,' the big hunter uncle who was in charge of campsite management looked at Lancer with a surprised face. After all, the real world wasn't like a game where quests were available at any time and monsters seemed to refresh infinitely. In reality, there were generally only a few five-star quests in a region in a month.
However, seeing Lancer unknown equipment (a set of combat clothes + protective armor provided by CCG), and seeing that he had no teammates and only brought three Palicoes but looked full of confidence (because it was his first hunt), the uncle didn't say much.
"Here are your supplies. By the way, if you don't use them all, just put them here, or here. Those are our default item storage points. When you finish the hunt, you can use this green signal flare, and these three red ones are for your Palicoes if they need rescue... Of course, I hope to see the green signal flare."
Hunters in the real world were much more realistic. Naturally, the more supplies they could bring, the better. There were even people specially in charge of transporting supplies to certain areas, and everyone generally wouldn't use them carelessly. After all, no one wanted to find that all the supplies were gone the next time they needed them.
After the uncle's tiresome 'reminders,' Lancer nodded and said goodbye to him. He was holding a map in his hand and silently put the map on the ground.
"You three, who knows the way?"
The three Palicoes also seemed to be meeting this kind of collaborator for the first time. Their expressions became extremely subtle. In the end, it was 'Jack' who took the map from Lancer hand.
If anyone happened to run into Lancer, they would probably see a very surprising scene.
A tall young man in strange equipment had a black cat sitting on his shoulder, and this black cat was holding a map and constantly 'meowing' to give directions. Behind them were two other Palicoes...
Lancer felt that his luck today seemed to be not so good. He went to two 'most likely areas for the quest target to appear,' but he didn't see the target. Because of this, he had to stop for lunch.
If there was one major difference between Lancer and the hunters in this world, it was probably that his 'supplies' were simpler. He didn't need to carry things like water and food. A bag of dried fish and a large bottle of water would appear in his palm for 2 points.
The one person and three cats sat together and ate.
But it seemed that God didn't intend for Lancer to have a good meal. Not long after they sat down, the three Palicoes next to him put their food directly on the ground and grabbed their respective weapons at the same time, 'meowing' at Lancer.
Although he couldn't understand Felyne language, he knew that this was a warning. He also threw his things away and grabbed the box next to him.
Just as the one person and three cats hid behind a huge rock, the desert beneath their feet began to tremble. Along with the 'shuffling' sound of the sand, a huge 'conch' slowly rose.
But Lancer eyes lit up! That's right! This was the target he was looking for... Daimyo Hermitaur!
After the monster emerged from the sand, it didn't do anything, but just lay there silently, as if it had just come out to bask in the moonlight?
But at this moment...
"Snap~!"
With a strange sound, the Daimyo Hermitaur lying on the ground shook violently, and then looked at the person who had disturbed it.
A strange human who had just thrown a paint ball and three Palicoes.
They made eye contact, so now they had to be killed!
"Shush~!!"
With an extremely exaggerated sound, the Daimyo Hermitaur, brandishing its giant claws, charged sideways towards Lancer and his companions!