“Ya, where are they!? I thought this place was supposed to be full of them?” Elicia complained incessantly. Though to be honest, Urie thought she couldn't be blamed.

Rifling through almost every bush she would pass, Urie was afraid Elicia might tire herself out looking for signs of magic creatures. But as she lively bounced from shrub to shrub, it didn't look like she would run out of energy any time soon.

—Elicia's right. It feels strange since the forest I'd heard about from my brothers' stories was full of magic creatures.

So far, Urie felt like he was taking a leisurely stroll at some nearby woods. Perhaps around the peripheral area of the forest it made sense that there were no magic creatures, but about half an hour passed and they were already nearing the central area. To have not encountered a single beast until now was incredibly strange.

“Celeste, hand me your bag,” Urie stuck out his palm towards the quiet girl.

“No... need... I'm fine, hah...” The sweat around Celeste's squinted eyes made it difficult for her to properly look forward, and her breathing sounded heavier than the rest of the group's. She had begun falling behind a bit so Urie offered to carry her supply pack. Although she declined, he still took the sling bag from shoulder and continued to walk across the shrubbery.

“Thanks Urie...” Celeste whispered in gratitude, and Urie smiled in reply. It was obvious that she was disoriented by the brightness coming from above.

“Ya, guys, have you seen where the old ma— where the headmaster had gone?” Elicia who was in front suddenly asked, prompting Urie to quickly scan the surroundings.

—Ah! Even though I was trying my best to be careful! It seems we still got separated from the headmaster!

Urie knit his brows in contemplation. Did the old headmaster leave them behind? He considered but didn't say anything out loud to avoid alarming the other two.

He spoke to reassure them,“H-He's probably just past those trees in front.”

As they moved forward and failed to see any signs of the headmaster, Urie grew more tense. He tried his best to conceal his nervousness but immediately, he broke out into a cold sweat. There was loud rustling from the leaves behind them, accompanied with low gutteral sounds that stopped them in their tracks.

“Y-Y-Ya, you d-d-on't think the old man's playing another prank on us, d-do you?” Elicia's pronounciation hopped repeatedly on the same letters before she quickly latched herself onto Celeste's arm while trembling.

“I don't know but—“ Urie swiftly urged them to move,”get behind me!”

Sharp fangs snarled out from the bushes, followed by large paws and a raised bushy tail. Along with its sleek, black fur bristling aggressively— the creature was an uncanny fit for a shadow wolf's description.

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“A mana beast...!?” What struck Urie the most, however, wasn't the shadow wolf's ferocious appearance but the unusual red glow coming from its eyes. It wasn't just a simple magic creature. It was a mana beast.

Mana beasts were magic creatures driven mad by mana. Even creatures with docile temperaments become aggressive and express hostility towards anyone in their vicinity.

—Is it by itself? Shadow wolves are familial beasts, it's likely that its pack is nearby...

“Celeste, Elicia, stay back! I'll handle this guy, try shouting for the headmaster!” Urie yelled to both of them and held his position against the beast baring its fangs.

—Why would something like a mana beast, which only appears around Arinndra's Forest, show itself here? And why does it...

Urie had no time to ponder as Elicia suddenly cried out in alarm, “Urie, dodge it!”

In front of his icy blue, two rows of sharp teeth were about to clamp down. Urie leaned back but it was too late. Thankfully, a powerful gust of wind flew in from behind him and collided with the shadow wolf—throwing it aross the air like a doll.

“Sorry, that was stupid of me,” Urie berated himself. Now wasn't he time to split his focus. Although the shadow wolf was pushed back, it was able to immediately recover. Elicia's timely wind magic wasn't enough to keep it down.

—I should have brought a sword!

Urie had nothing on his person to fend the beast off. And even if he'd brought along a weapon, they'd only just moved on to their second year in Daerin Academy; they've yet to receive formal training in combat.

—What should I do?

For an entire year he'd done nothing but practice mana circulation, and had gained no profit in terms of control. Due to this, he was afraid that he would one day lose control of his fire magic and hurt those around him.

“Bah—!” As the shadow wolf once more lunged towards him, Urie resigned himself to a plan of action he had in mind.

Without holding himself back, he utilized his mana roots to the fullest and devoured mana around him at a frightful rate. Just as the shadow wolf was upon him, his body instantly burst into flames, flinging the beast away with a howl of agony.

There was success in failure.

Whenever Urie got impatient during his practice, his unruly mana would spill out in conflagration. This time it worked to his advantage. The only drawback was that his body wasn't acclimated to the fatigue that would come after.

The recoil from the sudden use of mana was inevitable, and Urie felt his consciousness waver. With a hazy vision, he glanced towards where the shadow wolf had fallen and saw it quivering at the foot of an old tree. The scene felt vaguely familiar... but fleeting. Soon the thought disappeared.

“Are you okay!?” Celeste hurried over and helped him to his feet, the crease between her eyebrows was raised in agitation.

“Yeah, thanks to Elicia,” Urie answered. Elicia was hunched over—panting in quick, shallow breaths. She also felt the mana fatigue from exerting herself so suddenly.

“The shadow wolf... how is it?” Urie asked.

“It's still alive.” Celeste answered, glancing cautiously at the beast lying immobile on the ground. Despite its body being scorched by Urie's flame, its black fur still retained its glossy shine.

Examining the beast, Urie's icy blue met briefly with a gleam of intelligent purple. The shadow wolf's eyes were now clear of the earlier red glow.

“It's best we take this chance to leave,” Urie then suggested.

“What if it chases after us?” Celeste cautioned. Urie glanced once more at the still beast and noticed a weakly flick of its pink tongue wetting its nose.

“It won't... I think.”