I'm curious as to how they grasp the common detection-type abilities

I feel the light and awaken. Gently opening my eyelids, a vague face floats before me. As I gradually regain consciousness, my vision becomes clearer.

Since she slept first, she must have woken up earlier. Riza is leaning on her elbows with her chin resting, peering at me.

"Good morning, Riza."

The usual morning greeting.

"Good morning, Hiro. It's a nice day today too,"

Riza responds with a faint smile.

Weather plays a role in battlefields. Clear skies mean fewer considerations, while rain brings complications. Thinking about the battlefield during our morning greetings, I find it an unimaginable thought in Japan, which leads to a wry smile on my face.

"Aa. That face again. You make that face when something's wrong, right? Do you realize that?"

Riza doesn't approve of my smirk. I ease the furrowed brows into a slight smile.

"No. It's just good weather, so it helps. If it could continue until tomorrow..."

"This time of year is mostly sunny. Occasionally, there might be light rain."

Autumn clear skies would be nice to continue. If it rains, we'd have to fight wet without being able to wear coats... Even a light rain would make us cold and the ground muddy. I wish for good weather as if praying to something. Afterward, I think well, gods really exist so... but there's no particular response.

After finishing breakfast, as I usually hand over the stay fee to Teisha, she speaks seriously, which is unusual.

"My husband said that, but I think it's difficult to protect people in a big battle..." Teisha continues. "So first, prioritize surviving yourself. If you can protect Riza along the way... Please do so then."

It feels like she's speaking with the heavy heart of a mother.

As Teisha closes her eyes, I gently embrace her.

"You're my child too. Please come back for sure." Hearing that voice, I tightly hug Teisha back.

"Yes. I can't promise absolutely, but I will return with Riza. Here. To my home."

The reasons to return have increased. Therefore, I must not fail to come back. How can I get back here? I need to think more deeply than ever before.

I reaffirm my resolve and gently pat Teisha's back to release her. "But not yet. The main event is scheduled for tomorrow. I'll do my best today as well."

Cursing myself for being unable to say anything else, I wave goodbye to Teisha with a bitter smile.

Riza and I head to the guild. Today, we find Fia waiting as usual and exchange greetings.

"However, it's still the same, isn't it? The enemy leader is getting quite close?"

I ask, and Fia responds with a blank expression.

"If we don't go too deep, we'll be fine, right? With this team... We can escape. It'll be fine. Fine."

With a wave of her hand, she gives an overly casual answer. Her usual response reassures me.

"Today too, we won't go too deep, but we'll continue with group battle training. Be careful not to get seriously injured."

I tell the two of them.

Still being fine is already dangerous. A risk management principle, but I reflect on it again.

Without serious injuries, we must face tomorrow's battle. Otherwise, there might be casualties among the villagers. What can we do today under that condition?

Deep in thought, the three of us head into the forest.

Even at the entrance to the forest, I sense an unusual number of presences. Until yesterday, only a few 'alert' targets were near the entrance. Today, just approaching, I feel a significant number of presences. Most are scattered, but a few seem to absorb them and lead them somewhere.

Probably as heard before, the enemy main force is definitely getting closer.

It feels like a large group is pushing out and absorbing surrounding groups. Such movements.

"Fia-san, do you sense the presences?"

"Yes, so many. The movements are complex; I might not be able to catch them all."

'Alert' for me is similar to radar in games, with myself at the center and surrounding presences as dots on a map. I keep this map in a corner of my mind. Inspired by FPS first-person shooters, where you need to grasp your surroundings while focusing on what's in front.

The behavior of 'alert' is clear if I want to sense something; I can bring up the screen. If I don't think about it, the screen disappears. The sensing frequency is roughly every 10 seconds. More frequent updates are possible, but there aren't many cases where such precision is needed on the actual battlefield.

Additionally, processing information takes time away from other tasks. It's impossible to handle too much at once.

By the way, I subtly asked those with 'alert' how they perceive targets, and the answers were all over the place.

Vaguely sensing presences and matching them to experience. For example, sensing a presence and seeing a goblin—so that presence is a goblin. Wolves feel different. Through repetition, the range of detection expands with experience.

Regarding distance, it's about sensing targets and intuitively gauging distances. This seems common among those I've spoken to.

If I hadn't borrowed the game imagery, I might have perceived it similarly. To digest foreign sensations, I borrow a similar environment.

Also, humans can be targets, but in daily life, there's almost no use for it. For anti-theif purposes, I check around my house while awake, but it's tiring to keep it conscious.

So, aside from hunting or situations where I need to grasp the positions of allies and enemies, I don't actively use it.

"Do you sense any fleeing groups?"

"Some presences are moving away or stopping, but they might get mixed in and hard to catch."

Those with 'alert' generally don't seek detailed information; they vaguely grasp where prey is. Honestly, with few samples, it was unclear how the sensation worked, but last training was a good opportunity.

This 'alert' skill isn't suited for sensing multiple targets under normal use. Such opportunities are rare. Usually, when sensing a group, you either flee or take other actions.

The importance of information from 'alert' becomes clear only after personal experience. In the future, I want to convey this sensation to the two and standardize how they perceive it. But for now, it's about immediate problems.

"Is that so? Well, then I'll handle sensing. Let's start by hunting groups in sparser areas and spread them out. We'll adjust to avoid being overwhelmed by groups."

To delay the enemy, reducing their numbers is key. Reduce the reinforcement groups and, if possible, target the main force.

We set up a base slightly away from the forest entrance and lure small groups one by one. Thanks to the coordination training over the past few days, we can handle it without sudden attacks.

After processing about 30 individuals, only around 10 groups remain. These might be the main force attacking us. While keeping 'alert' active, I move around and continue checking the surroundings.

The intervals between each group are relatively wide. Sounds travel on flat ground but are somewhat blocked in the forest.

"Groups are spreading out. Let's test one approach. If it seems impossible, retreat. When I signal retreat, quickly withdraw to the outside of the forest."

I explain precautions as we enter the forest. We check unstable roots and debris while moving toward the target group.

In reality, during combat, there's no time to check footing. Occasionally, someone trips over a root or falls into a nest hole. It's tedious, but checking footing and situational awareness is requested of the two. They are the frontline runners who get around physically and learn through experience.

Every time I think this process would make things more efficient but increases the risk of injury.

"Approaching the group soon. Let's consider this area as a base. Let's lure them."

I inform them, leaving the two behind and starting to move toward the group ahead. The group seems surprised, realizes it's just one person, and gathers to come closer. Good, things are easier this time. If not, they might escape.

As the group follows, I adjust the interval while heading back to the base.

"About 10 coming soon!"

Saying that, as I pass between the two, Riza appears first, followed by Fia a bit later. After one strike, they retreat immediately. The rest is the usual pattern.

After eliminating them, I ask the two about their observations. From past appearances, I was concerned about whether goblins had been strengthened.

"Strength differences? No... There are individual differences, but... If asked if there's an extreme difference, no..."

Riza tilts her head and answers hesitantly.

Of course. Strength has no criteria; the answer is unclear. But if there's no extreme difference, it's fine.

"Do both of you think so?"

Both nod in response to my question.

Once again, perhaps I can forget about the story of goblins being strengthened...

Thinking that way while repeatedly provoking to spread out the intervals.

As evening approaches, groups gradually start moving deeper into the forest. Goblins don't act at night either; they're similar to humans.

The number of noses is already close to 100. Thinking of rounding up and starting a pursuit with three people for reconnaissance.

Deep in the forest, it's clear that groups are gathering. Honestly, 'alert' can't count them all. It gets vague around 30 or 40. High precision has its pros and cons.

Whether all will attack is unclear. But if there's such density deep inside with a group waiting, there might be 300-400. That's the impression. Still dangerous to go deeper.

During movement, we find straggling groups and eliminate them. By now, both girls have become experienced; they strike one by one. However, head-on collisions sometimes still happen.

We need to tighten this a bit more to avoid complacency. We'll discuss tactics later.

After finishing the conversation, we use 'alert' to quickly escape to the outside of the forest.

After finishing the discussion and conferring at the guild, Fia seems used to it now and doesn't react much to the amount of money. However, I'm worried she might forget that this is bonus money on top of a large-scale enemy approaching.

Current motivation is maintained, but the future is concerning. At some point, we'll need to remind her of reality.

Guild staff call us over, saying Harthis wants to talk in the meeting room. Did they wait for us? I check and find out they're informing all participating members of the current situation. We were almost last. For the two, I tell them to rest today without training to avoid fatigue and send them back first.

Now, let's confirm the current situation.