༺ The First Letter (18) ༻
The beasts approached stealthily. Silence lingered in the forest.
Come to think of it, it was strange that there was no sound in the forest. All kinds of wild animals, including birds, lived in the forest, so normally one could hear their cries.
This silence now in the depths of the forest meant that a predator capable of putting all of those living beings on their toes had appeared.
As I ran, I stopped at a glade in the forest. Fortunately here, there was enough space to wield the sword. However, I had no intention of facing the demonic beasts fairly.
There were no rules or etiquette in a battle against a beast. It’s just a battle of life and death.
I took a potion out of my pocket. It had a light gray color.
It was the item Emma gave me during our last meeting. Emma’s masterpiece, which returned to my hands because her father refused to take it.
When I opened the lid of the potion bottle, a rancid stench stung my nose. Even just smelling it, I knew it would taste horrendous, however I was already too grown up to throw a fit because of the taste.
Without hesitation, I gulped the potion down my throat. A burning sensation passed as if I was swallowing strong liquor along with the heat traveling through my veins and gradually settling down into the body.
My heart rate gradually decreased. Like a dead corpse, my breath disappeared. It felt like my very own existence was blown away, and I couldn’t even be sure of my presence.
As a side effect, my movements were a little slower, but it was at a level that could be tolerated. I recalled the last conversation I had with Emma around this time.
Emma thought that this potion would be useless because of the peculiar smell of the ingredients used in it. This meant that even this potion could not remove external odors.
My hands scooped up the damp soil. I sprinkled soil all over the uniform, crushed grass strands, and applied the liquid oozing out of them to my body.
It was strange. I, who used to be fed up with just the feeling of grass brushing against me, now was casually covering my body with soil.
I didn’t look like a noble young master. There was a slight sense of incongruity, but for now, it didn’t matter.
I pierced my sword into the tree, and at once propelled myself up to the top of the branch. My body was now hidden amidst the leaves.
An ideal hiding state in which no body odor, sound of breath, or even heartbeat could be felt.
My eyes focused like a fisherman waiting for the tide to come. This world, where I couldn’t even feel my breath, was infinitely quiet to the extent that even a small sound resounded like thunder.
A small rustling sound reverberated through the forest, submerged in silence. My fingertips stiffened with tension.
Holding my breath, I observed the glade through the gaps in the leaves. There, a large body covered in gray fur was moving.
It was a wolf. However, its size seemed to be bigger than any other adult male and it had such black eyes that probably wouldn’t even shine in dark.
The only part of the body that reflected light was its abnormally developed fangs. I couldn’t recall anything which looked like that in any of the bestiary I read.
I was observing the demonic beast.
The moment such a realization dawned upon me, my heart, which had lost its beat, started pounding again. Heat prevailed in my breath. A mild tension tightened my muscles.
Holding the sword in reverse, I waited for the right moment.
The gray wolf tilted its head and stuck its nose to the ground. I was there before, but now since it can’t figure out where I disappeared, it must be frustrated.
The squeaking sound continued all the way down. My heart was beating like it was going to explode. And the moment I made up my mind, I took a step.
A rustling sound echoed through the leaves. The gray wolf’s jet-black eyes immediately lifted up.
But in those eyes, the silver trajectory that had already drawn was being reflected.
‘Splat,’ and its brain spurted out.
The sword swathed in aura directly transferred the strength behind the slash to the beast’s skull. Due to the aura’s lack of density, it was unable to penetrate its skull, but the sword succeeded in creating a crack in the skull.
With a whimper, the giant wolf’s body that had been struck in its head squirmed. It writhed in agony like a tidal wave.
The struggle was also short-lived, akin to a candle, which was soon going to be extinguished. The flame of life gradually faded from the beast’s eyes.
The fluttering chunks of meat were the last traces of its existence. I held on to my sword with my teeth clenched and pierced it until the tremors subsided.
After even the slightest of movements disappeared from the beasts’s body, I got up while heaving a deep sigh. I pulled out the water bottle I was carrying around my waist.
Since my throat burned, I tried to quench it by drinking some water, but when I removed the lid, only a few drops of water dripped down.
If I had known it would be like this, I should have drank more sparingly. I muttered in a dismal tone.
“…… Fuck It.”
It was the first time I felt this sort of sensation. A life convulsing in my arms and gradually losing its flame.
My hand holding the bottle trembled slightly. I failed a few times to close the bottle when I tried to close the lid of the canteen.
But now, there was no time to reflect on the impressions of my first hunt. I could already feel the presence of the other beasts.
They must have heard the cry of their kin. The forest was quiet enough for their howls to resonate everywhere and, above all, this bloody stench would have stung their noses by now.
Even so, the soil, which had been damp with moisture, was soaked in blood as it squelched with my every step. It was a good thing for me.
Since my body was completely drenched with the beast’s blood. The wolves wouldn’t be able to discern my scent anymore.
As of now, the option with the highest probability of survival was to hide as I was.
I don’t know how long the potion’s effect will last, but at least it wouldn’t take long until Professor Derek noticed the oddity of the situation. A few hours at most.
However, if it did, the wolves might give up pursuing me further. As Seria’s life would be in jeopardy if even one of the demonic beasts were to pursue her after giving up on avenging their companion.
I can’t let that happen. I rolled through the blood-soaked mud and soiled myself again. Then I dragged the beast’s corpse and threw it into the nearby bush.
And I crouched down in the grass next to it. Again, after waiting for a moment.
In just a few minutes, a wolf appeared, prowling around. This guy wouldn’t be the last. I could feel the presence of several demonic beasts approaching.
There are at least five. Wolves are animals that live in packs. Even if they became demonic beasts, their fundamentals won’t change.
In order to become a ‘Demonic Beast,’ high-density mana is required, so no matter how large a pack of wolves was, it seemed that they wouldn’t be more than a dozen. Although, I still need to be prepared for a few.
Fortunately, when the beast was in front of me, my heart sank once again.
The shock of the first hunting had not even gone away. Even so, I could only feel the subtle tension of a hunter who was about to hunt.
The question of ‘why’ was unnecessary.
My eyes identified the path to take. Before the other wolves approached any closer, I had to deal with that one.
The wolf that appeared in the glade looked a little perplexed. Even if I have a lot of blood on me, it’s still fine. The wolf stuck his nose on the ground and began sniffing, just like his comrade did.
It followed the blood-stained trail and approached slowly. The closer it got to me, the quieter my breathing became.
It didn’t take long for the wolf to find the corpse of its comrade. Although it was thrown into the thickest and largest bush, the beast was so huge that it couldn’t be completely covered.
Carefully, the wolf approached the corpse of its comrade. His look was reminiscent of a cautious skirmisher.
It was a good posture, but he was up against the wrong opponent. No matter how vigilant it was, it couldn’t even notice that I drank the potion.
I gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands. The beast’s skin was on the tougher side, so stabbing was more advantageous since it can transmit maximum force over a small area.
The wolf came forward. It had a fishy stench lingering on its canine. It hadn’t noticed me yet.
And then I stabbed, a blow that shot out like a thunderbolt.
Because I stabbed while being in a crouched position, I couldn’t exert enough strength. However, it was strong enough to pierce the defenseless side of the wolf.
A high-pitched wail resounded. I clenched my teeth and vigorously cut the tough skin of the beast.
Splurt, and as such the bloody intestines leaked out little by little. An unpleasant odor from the intestines pierced my nostrils. I felt like my sense of smell was about to be numbed.
So I hadn’t noticed.
The pain I felt in the forearm with a ‘crunching’ sound.
“Ughh……!”
I forcefully swallowed the scream that almost came up to the tip of my tongue. It doesn’t matter if the wolves’ locations were discovered, but I shouldn’t make my presence known.
I had to remain an unknown enemy till the end. Ignoring the wolf’s bite on my forearm, I lowered the sword to end his life.
Its guts spilled out, and soon the wolf’s life was extinguished. Until the very end, there was pure hatred in the eyes of the beast who crouched and bit my forearm.
I stared back into those eyes and chuckled.
“Fucking dog, why did you want to fight in the first place..….?”
When I slammed its nose with my sword’s hilt, the wolf’s jaws opened wide. Those black eyes had long since lost their light.
Dead. Not even a single breath could be felt from the wolf. I staggered and grabbed my bitten forearm.
It hurts. Even the bones creaked, since my muscles had been pierced by those absurd molars. I rummaged through my pockets and looked for a remedy. The bandage was then wrapped around the wound to prevent further bleeding.
If the wounded site didn’t get properly disinfected, there was the risk of infection. But now there was not enough time to apply such a treatment.
I became dazed, having already shed quite a bit of blood. The more dizzy I felt, the more the mana circulating in my body grew violent.
It was strange. Even though my head was not even capable of working properly, I hid myself instinctively and waited for the wolves.
Like a skilled hunter.
This happened a few more times, to the point that the space for my movements narrowed because of the corpses of wolves stacking up in the glade.
My sword has found another victim. The wolf that had been pierced in its nape looked at me with wide eyes in disbelief.
It probably didn’t expect that, that I was hiding among the dead bodies of its comrades.
Another giant wolf fell to the ground helplessly. At the same time, I gasped for breath.
Huff, huff, huff.
My body was stiff and I couldn’t muster any power. The bleeding on the forearm had stopped, but my injuries were accumulating while dealing with the wolves.
Seria, where is Seria?
Has she reached Professor Derek now? I’m sure I didn’t miss any of the demonic beasts. After all, I had such a potent scent of blood on me, but then why has no one arrived yet?
Please, I hope she reached him. Because this was my best.
A musty stench lingered in my sharp breath. I was slowly reaching my limit. It was then that a growling sound was heard.
Two wolves were walking into the glade. It was natural for them as they were beasts who hunted in packs, but the problem was that, so far, I’ve only fought them individually.
There were times when more than two of them came, but at that time, I kept hiding.
But now, I couldn’t even hide, and my body was almost at its limit.
I stepped forward while using my sword as a staff gasping for breath. I fucked up. But regret always comes too late no matter how early you notice it.
My golden eyes glared at the wolves burning with hostility. My blood-soaked hair obscured my vision, but it didn’t matter.
The two wolves flinched when they met my gaze. They had no choice but to do so. There are as many as eight wolf corpses lying on the glade.
It was something I had done alone. No matter how strong of a demonic beast they were, they must have known intuitively that I was not an easy opponent.
Gasp, I caught my breath. The more hazy my mind was, the sharper my senses became. Mana pulsated and coursed through my body.
So when my body regained some of its vitality.
“……Come at me, you bastards.”
Aiming my sword at them, I smiled pretentiously.
Soon, two wolves charged at me like lightning. The battle wasn’t over yet.
****
Seria limped to Professor Derek about an hour after she had left.
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