The search party left Vulta Village with high spirits. However, as they passed by many unwanted scenes of animal carcasses and destruction-filled woodlands, they came to realize the magnitude of the devastation.
"Are you sure we can trust that cursed bird to lead us to Mira, Elder?
The hunting party leader, Mazel, asked Mira's father, Marwal.
"I don't trust black birds a bit. But, it’s the only lead we got."
Elder Mahwal said as he aired out his disdain for black birds. This outright attitude of the villagers against black-colored birds is not unfounded.
At the time of their ancestor Moulin Hiwa, Demon King Aleron created a massive catastrophe that caused the death of Saint Tarion and many powerful Beings.
After shoving itself into the atmosphere, it summoned twelve Harbingers of Death. These death bringers went throughout the land and converted avians to do their bidding.
Their demonic influence turned all avians black and filled with corruption. Whenever they go, they cause famine and pestilence as pests become unhindered by the caretakers of nature.
After six months of grueling defense, all the masters of the world banded together to find and defeat Demon King Aleron. Alas, the united forces of Tuv couldn't kill the Demonic King without any casualties.
Saint Tarion, together with many Mythical Masters and a few Legendary Grandmasters, died from the excursion that left Zulto in a state of anarchy.
The world healed starting that day, but the Hiwas, a prominent family inside of Holt Empire because of Grandmaster Moulin, had suddenly become one of the many families that littered the capital as a noble house—a grandmaster house, no more.
That's why the Hiwas disdained the black birds. Although the current black bird leading the party was not a part of that catastrophe, they could never erase the pain of that day. This proves true as they have hereditary souls that pass down skills and information, especially emotions.
An hour had passed, and the team followed the black dot faithfully. However, they needed to stop as packs of wolves wandered the grasslands with constant howling and pursuit.
They were clustered in different packs as they surrounded a bigger group of wolves with children and weakened members.
Nicco perched on the nearby shrubbery while waiting for the 15-man team to follow him back to the cavern.
However, the massive migration of these wolves proved to be a hassle.
Although the bird only took half an hour to come to Vulta Village, the humans needed to not only walk, but they needed to do it carefully as the shaking from the last night disturbed all the animals in the forest, even those dormant ones. That’s also one of the reasons why the villagers were worried for Mira, as she was alone inside a forest—awakened by the recent upheaval.
Time trickled slowly as the group waited. However, as one of the packs went to a nearby mound, a massive serpent suddenly attacked them with its huge mouth wide open. The serpent was about 20 meters long.
In a few moments, the excited pack became cornered beasts as one of the six wolves died, and a second one was wounded.
However, the snake was not alone as three snake heads stood up for all the wolves to see. They were not patrolling on unruled territory. Instead, they were prancing on trap lands as this mound served as these young snakes’ birthing nest.
The first snake’s eyes created a gaze that poisoned the nearby wolves. Nonetheless, the first wolf died on one snake’s fangs as it was seen gobbling down the carcass.
Bark. Bark. Growl.
The four other wolves barked and growled at the three slithering creatures that became walls for their journey while staying farther away to evade the power of the first snake’s eyes.
The fifteen-man team was shocked by this revelation. They were planning to go through the mound and rest there. However, with this disclosure, their path changed. They were now thinking of going a long way around—making sure to evade all of these catastrophes, especially on their minute strength of only having two Extraordinary Beings—Chief Muksa and Elder Marwal.
“We need to change our path, Chief. These monsters will destroy our path. We might as well move first."
Elder Marwal said as he looked at the fight between the wolves and the snakes, knowing well that these serpents were at least a class higher than they were.
But, before Chief Muksa could approve the plan of Elder Marwal, a massive wolf standing at three feet high rushed in to help the injured wolves.
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Beyond the physical peculiarity of the wolf, there was another odd thing they saw. A young man in his teens was riding the monster as a mount. The young man was wearing a worn-out shirt and pants. He also had long black hair with a patch of white.
His face was full of youth and pure, which was extremely out of place in the middle of this savage standoff between the snakes and the wolves.
"Wait, let's watch this first."
Chief Muksa said as he motioned everyone to lay low and observe the incident. And his decision didn't betray him as the young man raised his hand, and two furry iron gauntlets with sharp fingers appeared on his hand.
The young boy said something, but the group couldn't hear him from afar.
"It seems that the teenager wanted to talk with the basilisks. Is he crazy?!"
Mazel murmured as he saw this impossible scene unfolding before his eyes.
"I think that young man is not an Ordinary Being."
Chief Muksa said as he gripped his hands on his pants, clearly showing his growing excitement and fear.
"I think that young man is an Elite Warrior—a Fabled Being! He can materialize the Hum into an item already! But, there’s something wrong here."
He explained his point but aired his suspicion as everyone in the team listened to his voice.
"You know that our ancestor was a Legendary Being. He was a Grandmaster Warrior, but before he reached that level—he was an Elite Warrior. However, when the Patriarch Moulin reached that level, he was already in his sixties!"
Chief Muksa revealed a bomb for everyone to ponder.
"Furthermore, that child looks like he’s just twelve or thirteen. That is impossible!"
He explained more, and now everyone caught his point.
"Age loosens its power when one becomes a Master. However, people usually reach there in their fifties."
Chief Muksa revealed his absurd hypothesis and how the scenes before him were impossible. It is outright illogical—something that people can read from the storybooks of the nobles.
"The youngest Elite Warrior in the Continent to date was the 23rd Emperor, Holsan IV the Wise. He became an Elite Warrior at the age of 35."
Chief Muksa revealed what he knew as he carefully checked the boy with extreme caution. He was thinking about the implications if the young man turned hostile. The only way they can survive is to run fast to Napsaki City.
However, even before he could finish his discussion with the team, an absurdity happened in front of their eyes.
The boy attacked the basilisks with his furry iron gauntlets.
The young man made a fist and punched the basilisks from a distance as the boy was at least twenty meters away from the massive snakes. However, this was a distance that he didn’t need to bridge as a strong winter breeze suddenly appeared before the young man.
The basilisks were now facing a minor storm head-on—a storm that the young man generated from his fists.
“This is really absurd! He is mocking us. We’re already in our forties, but we’re still Extraordinary Beings. We might become Superior Beings before our life ends.”
Chief Muksa said as he saw the fight ahead was one-sided. The boy was toying with the 15-meter-long massive snakes like they were worms and insects that he could easily pin to the ground.
“However, that young man may not be as simple as well. I think he is not even an Ordinary Being, to begin with.”
Elder Remona suddenly interrupted their bliss of defeat with another hypothesis.
“I think that young man is a Fenrir.”
He said as he looked at the unfair battle between the young man and the snakes.
“I’ve read from an old book in the Imperial Library back at Holtia that Mythical Beasts can change into humans. Transformation happens if they will it. However, this can only happen once they reach puberty.”
He explained further.
While the team deduced the battle on the sidelines, the young man’s victory became imminent. Furthermore, after the bulkiest serpent of the three fell, his head exploded, and from it, dark smoke poured.
It was a poison cloud as the four surviving wolves, with the young man and his massive wolf mount, fled from the scene fast.
Moreover, the young man punched the poisonous smoke as a strong wind pushed it away from them and the other packs.
Then, he howled. This time, all the wolves howled as their victory cry to the heavens.
Elder Remona’s hypothesis proved true, as well, through the young man’s howl.
“He was the ruler of these wolves.”
Elder Remona said as they lay flat on the ground, hiding behind the bushes.
On the other hand, Nicco looked at the battle that unfolded before his eyes and thought of him becoming human again.
‘I hope I can reach that level of power.’
He thought as he laid low with the 15-man team who didn’t absolutely trust him.
***
Mira opened her eyes. The cavern was still dark, while the campfire from last night burned out. Hulkis sat beside her to keep her warm as she had coughing fits and experienced a terrible cold. Her mouth chattered occasionally whenever the wind from the newly created cliffs moved.
“I hope Nicco can lead them here, fast.”
Mira said while still wearing her dirty clothes full of mud and mire from being buried last night in debris, dust, and dirt.
“Hulkis is here.”
The wolf pup said as he tried to get closer.
Mira hugged Hukis like a ball as she tried sitting up. She checked her pockets for anything to help her but couldn’t find anything useful. However, she still found the knife she hid underneath her pants.
She took it and checked if the quicksand from last night dulled it, but it was still good.
“Thank you, Hulkis. At least I still have something to defend myself.”
She uttered.
***
While Mira was holed up inside the cavern with Hulkis, the Weathered Forest woke up for another day. All the monsters started their savagery again as if the stirrings last night didn’t exist.
However, far be it from the usual hunters, all monsters woke up this day.
The massive beasts and the hidden predators went to hunt and dominated the space.
One of these woken-up monsters was an Extraordinary Being grizzly bear. It went out to find a new cave to occupy. It went through the forest to find a perfect hiding place. However, a massive ravine with novel cliffs caught its attention.
The bear found this miniature canyon to its liking. The land was still mushy, but the caverns were grand. And the bear liked it.
He smelled all around to check for any monsters that could hinder it from having a good rest but found none. So, the bear chose a nearby cave large enough to sleep in. However, as it started to enter into one, it heard a roar from the nearby cave.
The roar was rushing in, occasionally sounding massive.
The bear, feeling threatened, started to move. It climbed on the new cliffs to find the monster eager to call out its attention.
Roar. Roar. Roar.
The bear went in to fight for sovereignty and territory. But, far be it from a massive monster, the bear saw a young girl cold and weak with a young pup on her lap. The coughs of the girl were echoed by the walls as it avalanched into a massive roar.
In reply to this massive disappointment, the bear snorted and went out from the small cavern of the girl back into his chosen abode.
***
When the bear appeared, Mira was still closing her eyes. However, the sudden appearance of the bear caught her off guard. She opened her eyes and got scared. Nonetheless, she felt relieved after the bear snorted and didn’t attack her.
Looking back at her dagger, she said: “I don’t think I need this stick.”
She said as she slumped back and fought off the cold. Thinking that the dagger would only become a stick in front of a monster as massive as the bear.