"Huff… huff…!"

Echoes of rushing footsteps radiate from the lush green forest as a young man, about the age of fifteen, runs with as much energy as he can possibly muster.

Thick, musty breaths proceed from his lips, and the dense foliage around clouds his vision, but he has traversed these regions many times before. Navigating his path isn't a problem at all. The only issue, as well as the source of his panic, is—

"HOWWWWWWLLL!!!"

The loud howl of a Midnight Charm Wolf rings loudly, piercing the night sky with its high pitch.

Before long, accompanying howls reverberate all around the vicinity.

Everywhere seems to tremble all at once, with his vision seeming to warp as his senses disorient in an instant. Vertigo hits his body, and he feels the urge to slow down his pace, but he knows he dares not.

The moment he stops, the pack of wolves will catch up to him.

After… he is sure to die.

'A-ahh! This is bad! This is really bad!'

This young man, not even an adult, feels the hot sting of tears in his blurred eyes as he struggles against the creaking branches that whip against his face.

He knows how precarious his situation is and how minuscule his chances of survival are.

After all, Midnight Charm Wolves are Cadre 2 Magivores, and right now… an entire pack is on his trail. A pack of Midnight Charm Wolves consists of at least six of those creatures.

Six Cadre 2 Magivores—that is undoubtedly a death sentence!

'Midnight Charm Wolves usually leave their caves around midnight. I only stayed at the periphery of their den, and it was only a little past sundown. Why did they appear so suddenly?'

Nearly out of breath, this man has many questions coursing through his mind at the same time.

'Why are they chasing me so far away from their habitat?' He asks with sheer exasperation and deep frustration. 'Why? Why now? Why me? Why am I always so unlucky?!'

He can hear their steps getting closer.

Their growls grow louder in his ears as his nose also picks up their intense musk.

Despite his immense drive to survive, his body can no longer keep up. He is noticeably slowing down, nausea and pain hitting him from different locations. The snarls and barks around tell him the end draws near.

"Damnit!" The man grits his teeth as he pushes his exhausted body forward. "Damn it all!"

At this moment, he trips on an exposed root and falls.

"Gahh!"

Tumbling over, his aching body is pushed forward by the momentum, causing him to collide with a nearby tree within the dense forest. The instant his back makes impact with the thick tree bark, he feels indescribable pain assail his body.

His head rings loudly, and he slowly feels his consciousness fading away.

Blood trickles from the back of his head, and he feels sprains all over his joints. Everything hurts, but he also feels numb all over.

One thing that remains vivid, though, is the danger.

He feels his heart racing, beating very loudly, as silhouettes of the beasts slowly appear from the shadowy pillars of trees around him. Their eyes glow purple, as do the several markings on their fur that resemble tattoos.

Saliva drips from their open maw, and the stench of death grows stronger.

'Move! Move, goddammit!'

Unfortunately, despite the boy's pleas with himself, his body has already long given out. He is unable to lift a single muscle, powerless before his very doom.

These things, they resemble normal wolves, but with the glowing purple eyes and patterns on their bodies that resemble those of a jaguar. They also have two horns on their heads, giving them the appearance of devils in the night.

Normally, these creatures only appear in the dead of night to hunt, but the ones creeping around him have become exceptions—much to their prey's dismay.

Surrounding the boy are seven Midnight Charm Wolves: six ordinary members and one Alpha.

Even though they are all Cadre 2 Magivores, the Alpha is considerably larger than the rest, with his horns being twice as long. He also takes the lead, his eyes especially ferocious as he glares at the lone young man.

If he wasn't certain before, he is now a hundred percent sure after gazing at this beast.

He… will be dying here.

'All I wanted… was to pick some Midnight Purple Shade Grass to make a Potion for my mother… but to think I'll be dying here.' Tears stream down his face as he raises his head, his bleeding face directly gazing upon the wide sky.

The canopy of darkness stretching unimaginably far presents him with a strange kind of beauty.

Stars sparkle high above, and the moon gives its low, serene light.

To think he would perish on such a beautiful night—even the young man is distraught.

After all, without him to take care of his mother, she will join him in the afterlife not too long after. With no father and everyone else concerned about their own livelihoods, no one will care to look after a poor, disabled widow like her.

His death would spell her doom.

'I have… to stand!' More tears roll down his trembling face as his lips quiver in both fright and sadness. The thought of his sick mother dying complements his fear of being ripped apart by the beasts around him.

The agonizing feeling paralyzes him to the point of despair.

This—truly—is the end.

Then—

WHOOOSH!

With the flash of silver, like the darkness itself was severed by a thin, sharp brilliance, something enters the scene.

No, not something.

Rather, it is someone—a man!

The man has long, raven black hair nearing his shoulders, with a traveler's attire that has small pieces of armor around his arms, shoulders, and other effective regions. His boots, despite being stained by the forest's moist soil, have a polished allure to them.

His dark traveler's robe flaps around with the cool night breeze as he draws a weapon without an ounce of hesitation. The blade sends shivers down his spine upon sight.

Sparks of silver dance around it like stardust, and it echoes with misty reflection.

Beautiful!

The dark silver blade is pristine, oozing elegance.

With an icy chill, accompanied by a biting sting, the mere sight of the weapon sends the spectator into silent admiration at its beauty… as well as its lethality.

Then—

SWISH!

Refusing to stand on ceremony, the traveler marches forward, slicing into the air to create a blinding flash akin to lightning. Bursts of brilliance accompany every swing, and thunderous sounds echo right after.

The blade, at this moment, has become a living embodiment of lightning and thunder.

Against such a power, even the Cadre 2 Magivores are helpless.

Their Special Trait grants them immense speed and durability, as well as improved vision in the night. The brighter the patterns of their fur glow, the more enhanced their body become, granting them far greater base abilities compared to regular Cadre 2 Magivores.

This makes them the perfect predators—especially at night.

However, against the blinding lights and the sonic discombobulation attacking them, they are helpless. Unable to retaliate, they can only shriek and howl as their numbers drastically reduce one after the other.

The Alpha, seeing its subordinates falling one by one, softly whimpers in fear and attempts to escape. However, the moment it runs off, a loud explosion erupts from where he stands, and plumes of flames consume its entire body.

'A-A trap?!' The dazed man is even more astounded by the stranger's resourcefulness.

"AWWWUUUUU!"

The Alpha doesn't immediately die as a result of this explosion.

The protection of its markings is simply too strong, so its body resists the flames with all its strength. However, the searing pain causes the Alpha to cry out and writhe in agony, most likely wishing it were offered a quick death.

Eventually, after its pain has reached a crescendo, the wanderer finally sends it off with the silver blade… ending the battle in a final flash of absolute radiance.

"Huu…"

A soft breath leaves the lips of the man as he softly relaxes his stance while standing above the roasting body of the Alpha. At that moment, under the brilliance of the blade, the olive skin under his traveler's robe has a faint glow to it.

He looks majestic, ethereal, like an angel, yet possessing the aura of a mysterious spirit.

Lost for words, the half-passed-out boy watches his savior empty a small vial on the Alpha. Only then does the creature stop burning.

'Potion… huh?' He thinks to himself. 'The explosion must have also been caused by a Potion. Since it was able to affect the Midnight Charm Alpha to such an extent, it was likely a Grade 2…'

Thinking down this line, the man can't help but widen his eyes.

'To use a Grade 2 Potion so easily… this man is incredibly wealthy!'

As someone who has lived his whole life in one of the many villages that exist around the Dark Shade Forest, it's rare to see anyone with Grade 1 Potions, not to mention Grade 2.

Potions are simply too expensive.

Instead, they have Apothecaries who make medicines.

'But… medicines won't help my mother. That's why I need a Grade 1 Potion to save her.'

But Potions are simply too expensive.

The reason for that is partly the Alchemist's workmanship, but also the Special Resources involved in making the Potion. For the kind of Potion he seeks to use, Midnight Purple Shade Grass is the main ingredient.

By gathering the Special Resource himself, he would only need to worry about the Alchemist's fee. Thankfully, he has been working very hard, saving up as much as he could all this time for that very purpose.

The last piece of the puzzle is simply the Midnight Purple Shade Grass.

'And didn't even have time to harvest enough because of those wolves! Damnit!' He knows that the few strands of grass in his pockets won't be enough to save his mother.

But, now that the wolves within the den have been killed, wouldn't that mean he can harvest the Midnight Purple Shade Grass with no problems at all? Thinking along those lines, the young man can't help but feel a surge of hope.

A small smile plays on his face, and he clenches his fist in determination as—

"Hey, young lad…" A voice calls out to him, snapping him out of his thoughts almost instantly.

"Y-yes!"

He jerks forward, but quickly winces as a result of the pain and lightheadedness that assails him.

"Relax. Don't push yourself so much."

With a groan, the young man nods, while maintaining his gaze on the man as he sheathes his brilliant weapon. Not even stopping to think, he points at the weapon and mutters.

"Is that… an Armament?"

The mysterious traveler smiles softly, approaching him with a gentle stride.

Then, he nods.

"You have a good eye. This is a C Grade Armament… Silver Lightning Thunder Sword."

"C-C… C Grade?!"

The mysterious man's smile grows broader, almost like he expected that reaction.

"Here… have this." He brings out a vial from underneath his robe. The thick crimson liquid within it sloshes around, sparkles dancing within its container.

It's a Potion!

A Grade 1 Potion… but a Potion nonetheless.

With trembling hands, the young man receives it with immense gratitude.

"I'll keep it and forever cherish it, sir…"

"I meant you should drink it now." Sighing with exasperation, he force-feeds the Potion to the boy, alleviating him of his lightheadedness and pain.

"You feel better now, right? With sufficient rest, all your injuries should be healed."

"T-thank you…"

Tears descend from the young man's eyes as he utters those words with shaky breath.

The tears are partially due to his gratitude towards his mysterious savior, but also because he recognizes the severe waste that just happened before his very eyes.

'Why did you make me drink it? Do you know how expensive a Potion is?! I would have recovered on my own eventually! But that Potion… I could have sold it for a lot of money!'

More tears flow down his face as he thinks like this.

What has he been working so hard for all this time? Isn't it a Grade 1 Potion?

To think he would end up consuming one himself.

The irony isn't lost to him.

"What's your name, kid?" The mysterious traveler suddenly asks, his voice smooth and kind.

This young man, in all his life, has never heard such a kind voice before.

It feels like an angel is speaking.

This could simply be due to his lightheadedness, but he is genuinely in awe of the person before him. His mind flows with all kinds of warm sensations as he responds with an awkward, but friendly grin.

"It's Kelvar… from Cradle Village."

"Kelvar Cradle, huh? Nice name…" The man nods slowly. "Now, Kelvar, my task from the Lord of this Territory was to eliminate the pack of wolves causing trouble in this forest. I believe I just took down most of them, but I can't be too certain unless I go to their cave and find out."

"I-I know the place!" Kelver quickly raises his hand, his eyes beaming with passion.

After all, he sees this as a rare opportunity.

With his man as a guard, he'll be able to gather as much Midnight Purple Shade Grass as possible.

Not just for his mother, but also to sell.

Special Resources are quite expensive, and with most people being wary of the Midnight Charm Wolves, the retail price of the Grass is even higher than average Rank 1 Special Resources.

'I can only imagine the great profit I can reap from this!'

Kelvar stares at his mysterious savior, a much greater appreciative glow now in his eyes.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Since those wolves were chasing you, it means you came close to their cave, so I figured you'd know the place and save me the trouble of finding it myself…"

"It's no problem at all… erm, sir."

"Haha!" The man smiles and waves his hand politely. "No need for the honorifics."

"T-then… what should I call you?"

With a deep gaze that seems to reflect something deeper than the grayness in his eyes, the mysterious wanderer laughs softly and utters his name.

"Javier. Call me Javier."

**********

'Looks like this is it…'

As I stand before the cave, a small sigh leaves my lips.

I had to wait for about an hour for the boy, Kelvar, to recover. Since I needed to cut off the horns of the Wolves as well as pluck out their eyes, I had no problem waiting that long.

Harvesting the vital organs of Magivores is important, since they can be sold off as Special Resources. They're mostly used to brew Potions, but they serve as important ingredients that Shamans employ in their Spells.

It would be too wasteful to have them lying around in the forest.

After the boy recovered, he took me to the cave, and we encountered no problem on our way there. Now that I stand in front of the wolf den, I have confirmed my suspicions.

'Looks like there are wolf cubs and a few females inside. No wonder the Midnight Crown Wolves left their territory at the slightest hint of an intruder…'

They were simply protecting their offspring and mates, a natural reaction to have.

Oh well…

My task involves clearing this entire Dark Shade Forest of these wolves, and that includes the cubs. If I leave them be, they'll grow up to become Midnight Crown Wolves themselves. Plus, since I get to keep the proceeds obtained from harvesting their corpses, I would be shortchanging myself if I didn't eliminate these ones, too.

"I'm going inside to investigate. You wait here…"

"Y-yes, sir!" The boy sounds very excited to be left alone outside, even saluting enthusiastically.

Is he simply relieved that he won't have to venture in and face any potential danger?

No, there's something else.

'Ah…' My thoughts trail the moment I spot him glancing at some Midnight Purple Shade Grass lying around. A small smile forms on my face almost immediately. 'I see. So he wants to gather the Special Resources to sell. That explains what he was doing here in the first place…'

It's none of my business anyway, so I leave him alone and venture into the cave.

Naturally, I get attacked by the mothers, but they aren't a match for me, so I finish them off very quickly. The cubs already have the survival instincts of Magivores within them, and they try to run, but with their escape route blocked, they resort to attacks.

However, they are also no match for me, so I kill them very swiftly.

Once I'm done, I harvest their appropriate parts and place their horns and eyeballs in the large pouch strapped around my waist. The cubs don't have developed horns yet, so they're pretty useless in that area. However, their eyes contain far higher purity compared to the adults, so the value balances out considerably.

No, it can even be argued that the Cubs have even more value simply based on how expensive their eyes are. The bare minimum price is worth more than three pairs of those of an adult.

Overall, I have about eleven pairs of horns and nineteen pairs of eyeballs.

Not a bad haul…

After I'm done with my harvest, I return outside the cave and find that Kelvar is also done gathering the Midnight Purple Shade Grass. A look of guilt forms on his face the moment he sees me, and he tries to explain himself.

However, I smile and simply stop him before he goes on.

What is there to even apologize about? He led me all the way here anyway, so it's only right that he obtains some benefits. I was going to reward him for his task, but it seems he has already gained enough to cover any potential loss he could have incurred.

I also saved his life and even gave him a Grade 1 Potion for free, so I suppose we're square.

Regardless, my task here is complete.

I should report back to the Lord of this territory so I can get my reward and be on my way.

"This is where we part ways, Kelvar." I pat his head and emphatically nod. "I assume you know your way out of the forest and into your village."

"Y-yes, Sir Javier! Thank you… so much! I owe you everything!"

I sigh.

This boy keeps saying that, and I can certainly feel his sincerity, but he doesn't realize that this is a pretty normal experience for me. In fact, I didn't particularly go out of my way to help him, so my actions weren't benevolent by any means.

It was just a coincidence that I happened to be there when he was about to die.

If he should express gratitude at all, it should be to his good luck.

But I make no attempts to stop him. People will always have different perspectives when it comes to certain matters, and I simply have to let them be.

Besides, I doubt I'll ever see him again… so there's no need for any further conversation.

After we part ways, I head northeast, where the Lord's Manor is.

His territory pretty much covers the entire Dark Shade Forest, as well as all the surrounding villages. However, even such a man merely belongs to the Low Nobility and isn't all that important in the Randalorion Kingdom.

In fact, there are several thousand Lords just like him in the Kingdom.

Even though I'm currently working as a Mercenary, my status as Heir of a Mid-Rank Knight Household isn't inferior to his. Coupled with my First Rate Scholar Status and three Royal Seals of Excellence, I'm actually his superior.

It's no wonder he trusted me enough to handle the subjugation mission and didn't shortchange me in terms of rewards.

In fact, he wanted to form more connections with me, but I politely declined all his efforts and left once I received my reward.

'Onto the next place…' With fleeting thoughts and an adventurous spirit, I go on my merry way.

Kelvar Cradle… I had already forgotten the name.

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