"What?"
Smith stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Natasha, his expression sharpening almost instantly.
"If what you're saying is true," Smith continued, "then how do you explain the bifurcations in those caves?"
Natasha slowed her pace, clearly having expected this question. She lowered her voice, as if afraid the cave itself might overhear them.
"It's difficult to say for sure," she admitted. "But I have two hypotheses."
Smith frowned. "Hypotheses?"
"Either splitting," Natasha said calmly, "or giving birth. After all, since they're living creatures—whether ordinary animals or magical beasts—reproduction is unavoidable."
At those words, understanding dawned on Smith's face.
"So you think those side passages…"
"Are connected to that," Natasha nodded.
Smith exhaled slowly. "Then we should check the bifurcations first."
"Agreed," Natasha replied. "Caution is the parent of safety."
Smith nodded firmly. He already understood what Natasha wanted to confirm. Without wasting any more time, the group retreated from the main tunnel and headed toward the nearest fork in the cave.
It was only about a three-minute walk.
When they arrived, Natasha took the magic lantern she had borrowed from Cam and floated upward as if stepping on invisible stairs. Since she had displayed this strange ability before, no one was particularly surprised.
"About one meter," Natasha said after a brief pause.
She compared the distance between her feet and Smith's shoulders, then slowly descended. Next, she drifted toward the opposite branch of the bifurcation and measured again.
"This one is roughly one-point-seven meters."
She moved again, checking another tunnel entrance behind it.
"One meter," she repeated.
After comparing all three measurements, both of them reached the same conclusion.
Smith's earlier suspicion was almost certainly correct.
The magical beast they had encountered earlier had likely separated from a larger body. The original entrance to the cave had been slightly over two meters wide—far larger than these offshoots.
"Lisala," Smith said, turning to the elf, "see if you can sense anything in this direction."
Lisala nodded. Closing her eyes, she focused her senses and remained silent for several seconds. When she finally opened them, her expression was tense.
"There is," she said softly. "A Mountain Hedgehog."
That confirmation was enough.
With their hypothesis reinforced, the group carefully made their way back toward the location of the original magical beast. This time, however, their objective was clear.
They needed to eliminate the hedgehog.
"So," Smith asked, glancing at Natasha, "how do we approach this?"
In terms of combat experience and direct offensive capability, Natasha clearly had the most authority here. Smith didn't interfere, leaving the decision-making to her.
"I'll probe it first," Natasha said after a moment of thought. "If anything feels off, we retreat immediately."
Smith nodded. "Good."
He then turned his gaze toward Cam. Without needing further explanation, Cam unstrapped his backpack and pulled out several rectangular E-grade shields. He handed them out to the group, instructing everyone to hold them in front of their bodies.
Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You're well prepared."
"Roy told us to bring them," Smith replied honestly. "He said your combat power wouldn't be an issue, and that our job was simply to protect ourselves."
Smith didn't hide anything. They were collaborators, not subordinates.
Roy had clearly informed Natasha in advance—otherwise, she wouldn't have accepted such arrangements so openly.
As expected, Natasha said nothing further, only giving a faint nod.
"Then I'm going in."
She stepped forward, her posture steady.
Smith led the rest of the group back more than ten meters, quickly forming a defensive formation. Once everyone was in position, Natasha raised her hand.
Bang!
An invisible but violent gust of wind erupted from her palm, slamming directly into the Mountain Hedgehog.
The creature reacted just as it had before—its body stiffened, and its fur stood on end.
Having already witnessed this reaction earlier, Natasha didn't pay it much attention. She immediately began gathering wind elements again, preparing a second attack.
That was when something went wrong.
The quills covering the hedgehog's body began to tremble—one by one.
Then, with a sharp whooshing sound, more than a dozen quills suddenly shot out from its body like arrows, flying straight toward Natasha.
"Ah!"
"What the hell?!"
The sudden turn of events stunned not only Natasha, but everyone hiding behind her.
This move hadn't appeared before.
Was it a mutation? Or had the beast adapted after being attacked?
"Defend! Prepare for rescue!"
Smith's voice rang out sharply. Despite his surprise, he reacted immediately, fulfilling his role as captain.
The others instantly pulled out Healing Potions, their nerves stretched tight as they prepared to rush forward if Natasha fell.
Natasha, having shaken off her momentary shock, pushed her magic power to its limit. A visible wind wall formed in front of her, swirling violently.
Puff—puff—thud!
Several quills struck the wind wall and were blown off course, clattering harmlessly against the cave ceiling.
But not all of them.
A few quills, approaching from better angles, pierced straight through the wind barrier and slammed into Natasha's body.
Two more flew past her and embedded themselves into Smith's shield with terrifying force, sinking nearly ten centimeters deep.
Cold sweat broke out across everyone's backs.
But fear had no place here.
The moment the quills stopped moving, Smith rushed forward.
"Save her!"
John sprinted out and quickly supported Natasha, carrying her back as the others covered their retreat. Medicine was applied immediately, but no one dared linger.
If even Natasha, with her S-grade Talent, had been wounded so severely, then the rest of them would stand no chance.
They fled until they reached another cave bifurcation, only stopping once Smith was certain they were safe.
"Put her down here," Smith said.
John carefully lowered Natasha to the ground.
"How do you feel?" Smith asked, concern clear in his voice.
"Not great," Natasha replied with a bitter smile.
Her face was pale from blood loss. She stared at her wounds, disbelief flickering in her eyes.
"My defenses… were broken so easily."
That had never happened before.
Had things been going too smoothly lately? Had she grown overconfident?
"It's fine," Smith said, handing her a Healing Potion. "This was reconnaissance. We didn't come back empty-handed."
Seeing that Natasha could still smile, Smith relaxed slightly and sat down nearby. He picked up one of the shields and examined the quill embedded in it.
"Are we heading back now?" Lisala asked timidly.
"No," Smith replied after a pause. "Not yet. Let me think."
As captain, Smith knew he was responsible for delivering meaningful results. Otherwise, neither Roy's investment nor Lan Qingyou's trust would be justified—especially considering Roy had promised them ten percent of the profits.
He turned the quill slightly.
It was incredibly hard.
In Smith's estimation, it might have even surpassed the durability of their E-grade equipment.
But strength alone didn't complete missions.
Though Smith hadn't yet graduated university, his background in liberal arts—and political science in particular—had taught him one crucial lesson:
Completion rate determined reputation.
They weren't irreplaceable. Roy had other teams.
If they wanted to stay relevant, they needed results.
And this sudden mutation…
It was no longer just a simple hunt.
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