Under the elder’s guidance, Leya and her companions gained a basic understanding of the village’s current situation.
Firstly, after the recent attack, most of the young men in the village had perished. What remained were primarily the elderly, the weak, women, and children, totaling 368 people.
Secondly, the village’s state was dire. Unsure when the wolf pack might strike again, everyone lived in constant fear, their hearts taut with anxiety. They huddled together in the church, barely surviving, not daring to venture even a single step outside.
However, this precarious existence brought a cascade of new problems. The most immediate concern was the severe lack of food.
Historically, this village had always been impoverished. Their harvests typically provided just enough to feed themselves, yet they were compelled to surrender forty percent of their income to the nobles who governed the region. This made even basic sustenance a struggle. In the past, they could forage for fruits, dig for wild vegetables, and hunt in the forest, but now, that option was gone.
With no food reserves and too terrified to venture out, the villagers resorted to consuming the corpses of the wolves killed in the previous day’s attack. Yet, this was merely a temporary solution. If they failed to escape within three days, even the last scraps of wolf meat would be gone.
Finally, and most pressing in everyone’s minds, was the question of the wolf pack’s whereabouts.
According to Elder Ingmar, the wolf pack had retreated eastward, deeper into the Netherworld Forest. However, they hadn’t gone far. Several villagers had previously attempted to test if escape was possible, only to be slaughtered by the wolves that suddenly ambushed them just beyond the village entrance.
This grim account made Leya recall the dismembered limbs she had seen on the forest path. She presumed some of those belonged to these unfortunate villagers.
As it was still early, and remaining idle in the village was not an option, the group unanimously decided to scout the immediate surroundings outside the village.
Leya and Angela, being the only two women in the group, were naturally assigned to the same team. They were dispatched to the northern side of the village for reconnaissance. The remaining three men each took a different path, agreeing to reconvene at the church in two hours.
“…………”
“…………”
The journey was, undoubtedly, a tedious ordeal.
Since Leya remained silent, the already somewhat introverted Angela also refrained from speaking.
The two walked quietly through the forest.
They observed the scenery, listening to the rustling whisper of the wind through the leaves.
“Um…” Finally, Angela could no longer bear the awkward silence. She broke the quiet, attempting to start a conversation. “Miss Leya, you’re not from Volantis, are you?”
“…………” Leya glanced at Angela with a hint of surprise, though she couldn’t fathom how Angela had discerned this. Nevertheless, she hummed in affirmation.
“How did you know?”
“Oh? Well…” Angela hesitated for a moment before replying, “Because if there had been someone like you in the city years ago, I imagine I wouldn’t only be finding out about it now…”
“Uh… that’s quite true!”
Leya recalled all the extraordinary things she had accomplished so far, and couldn’t help but nod with a smile. It was true. Given a few years—no, even just a year, or a few months—she was absolutely confident she could make the entire city of Volantis remember her. “Hahaha—”
“So, Miss Leya, where are you originally from?”
“That’s a bit of a question…”
‘Could I tell her I’m from another world?’
Honestly, it was a rather difficult question to answer.
“Ah, no, well, if it’s inconvenient…” Seeing Leya’s troubled expression, Angela, fearing she had asked an inappropriate question, hastily began to explain.
“It’s not that it’s inconvenient…”
With that, Leya extended her arm and pointed towards the sky.
“As for me, I suppose I come from a very, very distant place…”
Angela: “…………”
‘That sounds impressive, but it doesn’t answer my question at all!’
A deafening boom—
Suddenly, just as Angela was considering what topic to raise next to ease the tension, a deafening explosion ripped through the air from a distant direction.
“Awoo!—” It was accompanied by the howls of a wolf pack.
“Miss Leya!”
“I can hear it without you reminding me!”
****
A tremendous roar—
At the sound of the colossal roar, everyone knew their Grand Mage, Jason, had not disappointed them. He had successfully unleashed the Lv2 Saint-tier Grand Magic, [Myriad Prison Thunder Summon]!
The spell had blasted a no-man’s-land several tens of meters in radius into the jungle ahead. Countless Netherworld Wolves had been incinerated in the explosion.
Yet…
“Damn it, damn it, damn it!—”
Heaven knew how many of these beasts had been lying in ambush! Hundreds must have just been annihilated, yet in an instant, the endless tide of wolves surged forward, filling the void and pressing on relentlessly.
Within the jungle, Chapman wielded a finely crafted scimitar of tempered steel, fiercely cutting down the wolves that steadily advanced, pressing ever closer.
“Daina, protect Jason! Not a single one of these beasts must break through our defenses!”
“Yes, Captain!—”
While the words were brave, facing such an overwhelming, ceaseless horde of wolves, everyone couldn’t help but feel a prickle of dread.
“Jim, cover me! I’m going to help Jason!”
“Heh heh, alright!— It’s finally my turn to shine! Take this, you little beasts, a spear from your grandpa, ha!—”
The young blonde spearman chuckled as he swiftly moved into Daina’s former position. With a sweeping motion of his long spear, he conjured a streak of lightning in the air.
In an instant, over a dozen Netherworld Wolves collapsed. A distinct crackling of electricity could be heard from their fur, accompanied by the surprisingly pleasant aroma of roasted meat.
‘Was this truly an A-rank adventurer team?’ The coordination between their members was beyond reproach. Furthermore, considering their individual prowess, these adventurers, who constantly walked the line between life and death, were undoubtedly among the best of their rank.
“Jason! I’m here!”
Daina, rushing to provide aid, saw Jason already encircled by three charging Netherworld Wolves. He immediately let out a furious roar, his eyes blazing crimson. With one elegant swing of his sword, he struck down all three wolves threatening Jason.
“Hah… hah…” Jason panted, drenched in sweat and seemingly on the verge of collapse. “Tsk, these damned beasts. That last move, I unleashed my most powerful magic! Now…”
“Mm… Alright, Jason, don’t speak for now. Focus on recovering your stamina quickly,” Daina instructed.
‘Though inwardly, he couldn’t help but think: ‘Isn’t this a bit useless? He cast one spell, and it wasn’t even that impressive in my opinion, yet he’s completely exhausted… And he calls himself an Lv2 mage!”
Of course, these were merely fleeting complaints. Everyone knew Jason was a commoner mage. Unlike noble mages, he lacked sufficient magic circuits (magic meridians). His achievement of Lv2 was solely due to his relentless, self-taught efforts.
It was a harsh reality, yet undeniably, this very situation reflected the plight of most humans in their current era.
“Damn it!—”
With another swing, his sword tore through the belly of an attacking wild wolf.
Crimson blood, along with internal organs, sprayed through the air, splattering directly onto Daina’s face below.
“What the hell! That’s disgusting! And what in the actual hell is this?!” Daina, utterly speechless, plucked a lollipop-shaped organ from his face. Upon closer inspection, his entire demeanor shifted dramatically.
Immediately, he roared in a fit of rage: “How dare you throw this *thing* onto my handsome face?! Dammit! An uncle can endure, but an aunt cannot! If I don’t slaughter every last one of you today, I’ll—”
“Awooooooo!—”
Suddenly, a deep, sharp, and proud howl erupted from the depths of the jungle, rippling outwards and echoing throughout the entire forest.
It was an untamed, defiant cry, seemingly imbued with magic, an outpouring of contempt for all the suffering in the world.
This, however, was not the reason for their astonishment.
The crucial, truly critical detail was what happened after that howl! All the Netherworld Wolves… they had ceased their attack!
“This… this is…”
Daina’s mouth hung open, a look of utter disbelief on his face.
“No, this can’t be…” Jason, too, looked as if he’d seen a ghost. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no—this is absolutely impossible! The Netherworld Wolf King… it should have been killed ten years ago by more than a dozen A-rank adventurer teams dispatched by the Guild…”
“Tsk, look at yourselves! Snap out of it, all of you, gather!—”
Chapman gripped his scimitar tightly, his face grim as he roared at the people behind him.
Although unease and fear gnawed at him, Chapman knew that as their captain, he absolutely could not show even a hint of his own terror at this moment.
“Captain…” The first to reach the captain’s side was the blonde spearman, Jim.
Following him were the other two members: Kennedy, the archer, and Kenneth, the healer.
“Jason, get up. We also…”
“Whoosh!—” Once again, that piercing wolf howl resounded!
A whoosh—
“No! Daina, Jason, get down now!—” Chapman’s expression suddenly contorted.
‘That tearing sound, that sheer power…’
“Huh? Captain, what are you saying… Pfft!—” Before Daina could finish his sentence, his vision went black, immediately followed by a gush of crimson liquid erupting forth.
In his final moment before collapsing, Daina stared blankly at his own chest.
What met his gaze was an empty, gaping hole near his right hip, with only a few tattered remnants of cloth clinging to the edges.
Looking past his own chest, he saw Mage Jason, who appeared even more grievously wounded than himself, literally split in two.
“No! Daina! Jason! Nooooo!—”
“Cap… Captain… I…”
Witnessing his captain’s concern, his genuine care for his subordinates, Daina couldn’t help but shed two streams of clear tears.
‘Indeed… Captain is the best captain in the whole world, I knew it…’
“Thank you… Captain!” Smiling with an incredibly genuine and innocent expression, Daina’s last second of life was forever frozen in that moment.
“No!——————”
“Awooooo!——————”
As if deliberately mocking Chapman, or perhaps flaunting its power and ridiculing humanity’s overreaching challenge…
That majestic wolf howl once again echoed throughout the jungle.
“Kill… kill, I’ll definitely kill you, you beast!—” Chapman declared, immediately adopting a posture as if to charge forward with his scimitar, ready to fight to the death.
However, at that very moment, a highly discordant sound suddenly emanated from not too far away.
“Noisy!—”
Everyone, including Chapman, froze on the spot in an instant.
‘Who… who could be so bold?’ They all involuntarily turned their gazes towards the source of the sound.
Even the “Wolf King,” which had been howling continuously, fell silent at this moment.
“Truly noisy!—”
‘This… is it her? Is it really her!!?’
‘No… this place… it’s not somewhere an Lv1 can just waltz into!!!’
“Merely a low-tier card, yet it dares to jump around like this. Is it perhaps too arrogant, huh… Oh?”
Leya, who had been following Angela out of the forest while mentally reminding her system to prepare a mid-tier transformation card, was suddenly startled by the scene before her.
Of course, Leya wasn’t frightened by the dead bodies, nor by the wolf pack, and certainly not by the so-called Wolf King.
Instead, the source of the wolf howl, the direction of the sound, was brimming with dark energy, just like the village—no, dozens of times more intense than the village. From afar, it resembled the aura of a supervillain!
It was simply epic!
“Release that Wolf King, let me handle it!”
Everyone: “…………”
‘She looks pretty, but is this girl crazy?’ they thought. ‘Does she even realize she’s just an Lv1 mage?!’
‘Honestly, those two lying on the ground, they were much stronger than you, yet they didn’t even last a single round before being taken out. So, are you, an Lv1 mage, here to be a joke?’
‘Tsk tsk, hopeless, utterly hopeless. She must have been traumatized by this cruel scene. Alas!—What a pitiful child, to suffer such a devastating blow to her spirit at such a young age…’