"Destroy the Fort?" "That's insane!" "Is that even possible?" And other such comments were thrown around as I stood there smiling with Lucia standing beside me. She was fidgeting shyly as all eyes were on her, but I stood by my statement.

  "It's just a Fort, guys. Calm down," I said with a smile.

  "Just a Fort?! H-how can you think like that?" Geiter asked, genuinely puzzled by my thought process.

  "It's simple. Destroying the Fort from here is the best-case scenario, as there'd be no casualties," I expined. "And Lucia has more than enough firepower for that!" I boasted.

  "D-Daphne, stop," She tried to whisper to me, but vishing her with praise like this was fun, so I got a little carried away and told them about how she dealt the finishing blow to a Cyclops. The story may not have been entirely accurate, but it did wonders for the morale of the Company. I'll probably buy some new Tomes for you when this is all over, I apologized to her in my heart as I continued my expnation,

  "She will unleash an A-tier spell on the Fort, creating a threat big enough for them to be lured out. On top of that, the pathetic dispy you all witnessed will probably bolster their sense of overconfidence. Taking advantage of that is all we need to win this battle." I was happy to see their newfound hope and excitement as I described the formations to them.

  After they took their positions, I signaled to Lucia with my eyes, and that's when she stepped forward to py what was possibly the most important role in all this. Distancing herself quite a bit from the vegetation, she started drawing magic circles in the air. That's an extremely complex formation, I thought to myself as I watched it all unfold.

  Once completed, the formation emitted a crimson hue as she said, "Draconic Fme!" Just then, the head of a fiery, eastern dragon emerged from the formation. From where I was, it was like I'd be burned if took a step closer, but that was only the beginning. The rest of its body, made entirely out of fire, came out of the magical formation, and it started charging towards the Fort at incredible speed. Of course, the Empire tried to counter with magic of their own, but it blew past all of their efforts and collided with a massive explosion whose shockwaves could be felt from here.

  Did she destroy the Fort? I wondered as I looked on from the forest, hoping that was the case, but it was still barely standing when the dust finally settled. Maybe 'barely standing' was too kind of a phrase. It looked like a total wreck, the ballistae were destroyed, and several Archers and Mages lost their lives from that one attack. I couldn't feel prouder at that moment, knowing I'd steered her in the right direction. Sages are awesome! I rejoiced internally, but a little too early, as I started to notice some new movements from the enemy.

  Looks like it's about time, I thought to myself with a confident smile. I honestly forgot where I kept that horse, but I wasn't scared in the slightest. Rather, I'd been feeling full of energy all this time, like I couldn't lose. It was probably the effect of [Nature's Bounty], but I'd have to test it out to truly find out. And we have quite a nice selection of test subjects here, I thought to myself with a devilish grin as I watched Lucia fire off a few more spells before coming to where I was.

  "Why are you pouting like that?" I asked, and she hit my head with a karate chop. "Oww! Why did you do that?!"

  "You know why," She answered with a cute pout, and knowing why, I apologized, saying,

  "Sorry, I'll buy you a new Tome after this."

  "Make that three," She added while looking away with her arms folded. She's so cute, I thought to myself while feeling something totally inappropriate for the situation. Focus, Daphne! Focus! But this x attitude of mine and confidence was something else. I'd never felt anything like it since coming to this world, and it only intensified as I watched the enemy rush into the forest that would become their graves

  "They're here," I said as I picked up my bow and started firing at frightening speeds. I could never shoot this fast. I'm mowing them down like a machine gun right now! I thought to myself as I watched the Empire's soldiers fall one by one. The shots themselves carried far greater power than normal, as Armored Knight defenses were like paper and trees fell from the impact.

  To find and possibly eliminate the threat that was Lucia, the Empire chose to attack the forest from all sides, so the others would be handling their fair share of troops. I needed to do my best here not to be a burden to the others, but I couldn't help getting carried away. Ooh, a Swordsman! Time to test my new speed! He lunged forward with a thrust which I effortlessly sidestepped, using his momentum against him to make him look foolish. He turned to me in anger and started coming at me from all angles, but I dodged everything without breaking a sweat.

  "You're slow," I taunted him and just before he could resume his futile attacks, I jumped back and punched a massive hole through his chest with one of my arrows. Grabbing the sword that fell from his hand, I turned to the other soldiers, who were now paralyzed in shock and asked, "What's that? Never seen a strong Ranger before?"

  The second they readied their weapons, I closed the distance and sughtered them with my sword in the blink of an eye. The scent of blood was thick, and my eyes were spinning from moving that fast, but hey, I gained a good deal of EXP from all that.

  DaphneLV 60HP602 + 40%Str332 + 40%Dex405 + 40%Spd318 + 40%Luck 261 + 40%P-DEF265 + 40%M-DEF413 + 40%Status-----CompatibilityLuciaSeven levels! And the +40% confirmed that it was the effect of [Nature's Bounty] quite early on. I was about to dramatically raise my sword and scream 'victory!' when Lucia came up to me and asked,

  "A-are you okay, Daphne? How did you do that?" Oops, maybe I was wrong to show off like that, I thought for a second before reconsidering. One way or another I'd have to tell them about this strange skill. It only seemed rational to me, so I expined, saying,

  "When I wore the Limit Break ring and became a Ranger, I got a strange new skill called [Nature's Bounty] that boosts my stats when fighting in natural terrain."

  "[Nature's Bounty]?" She asked with a puzzled look, and it was just as I'd assumed. I'm guessing it's a rare skill no one's ever heard about, so I should be careful with who I tell this to.

  "Yes, it's quite a strange skill, but I finally understand how it works now."

  "How does it work?" She asked with sparkling eyes.

  "Hmm, I didn't quite word that right. It's more like I know how to tell when it's active now." From there, I started expining how I felt as the soldiers were approaching, and she listened to me intently, absorbing everything like a sponge. I found that part of her to be quite charming, honestly. She had a strong desire to learn and understand everything under the Sun, but at the same time, it was somewhat worrying, as not all knowledge was good knowledge. Some knowledge can lead you down the wrong path, I thought with a slightly sad smile that she happened to notice.

  "What's wrong? Aren't we going to check on the others?"

  "Oh, yeah! Let's do that!" I said, quickly collecting myself as I stood. This is no time for me to start reminiscing, I thought to myself as we went to assist the other soldiers