"Brother, Serie and Gut have been gone for quite a while now."
"The sky is getting dark... should we stop and wait for them?"
Outside the Fortress City of Vorig, on a path at the outskirts, Sola sat beside her brother on the carriage, driving the horses, and asked quietly.
"Stop?"
Hafka frowned slightly, gazing toward the distant outline of the city, lost in thought.
There was an old saying: "The horse dies running toward the mountain." But as long as they kept going, they should be able to reach the city by late night.
Should they push through and rest in town tonight?
Or should they stop here, pitch the tent, and wait for Serie and Gut to return before heading in at dawn?
But before Hafka could think too much, Zenn, sitting cross-legged in a corner of the carriage meditating, suddenly opened his eyes wide.
In the next instant, even before he could call out a warning, all the mages on the carriage instinctively summoned their staves.
Outside, Hafka gently pulled the reins to halt the carriage as smoothly as possible despite its motion.
Sitting beside her brother, Sola had already caught sight of the glowing red beast-eyes lurking in the forest flanking the road.
Without hesitation, she scrambled into the back of the carriage, knowing full well that her only role in this situation was to stay out of harm's way so her brother wouldn't have to worry about protecting her during battle.
"Everyone, based on my magic detection, we're surrounded both ahead and behind. We have no retreat."
Hafka calmly infused his magic into his staff while analyzing the situation aloud.
"Be careful — it's winter and food is scarce. These beasts and monsters are far more vicious than usual."
"Focus on defending the carriage together first, then strike back when the chance arises."
"Understood."
"Mm."
Zenn and Ross nodded.
With the combined efforts of the three mages, layers of pale-blue Defensive Magic quickly encased the entire carriage.
In the next moment, beasts and monsters burst from the treeline, crimson eyes fixed on their prey — their heavy breathing betraying their hunger and readiness to attack.
But their brief hesitation before ambushing cost them the best opportunity.
The fully shielded carriage was no longer an easy target, and even the identity of prey and predator had subtly shifted.
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
"You mean that was a Chaos Flower just now?"
"Was it small because it was still young?"
Gut stared at the charred patch on the ground, only now realizing the nature of the monster Serie had just incinerated.
Since it had appeared in the story before, Gut remembered that this was a plant-type monster. Even Frieren and Zan had struggled against it in the manga — one of the few monsters with battles spanning more than three panels.
Its colossal, sky-obscuring form remained in Gut's memory.
"Judging by your tone, you've seen larger Chaos Flowers before?"
Serie asked as a teacher would, explaining patiently.
"There are two main troublesome traits of the Chaos Flower:
First, its Sleep Curse;
Second, its fearsome ability to hybridize."
"Since it can crossbreed with many plants and produce fertile offspring, it spawns various Chaos Flower Subspecies:
Some larger;
Some with smooth surfaces;
Some even carrying other plants' toxins."
"But fortunately, both Chaos Flowers and their subspecies grow very slowly. Only a tiny fraction retain the Sleep Curse after hybridizing, so their threat to human settlements is still controllable."
Gut nodded thoughtfully.
"So that one just now was a smaller hybrid subspecies?"
"No — that was an extremely rare Original Chaos Flower."
Regret flashed in Serie's eyes.
"My attack was a bit hasty. I should've captured it instead."
"An Original Chaos Flower itself is a precious magic material."
"Oh?" Gut rubbed his chin, then chuckled as he remembered Serie's urgency.
"Teacher, it seems this disciple of yours occupies an important place in your heart."
"That's why you instinctively prioritized my safety, right?"
"Heh."
Serie let out a mocking laugh, as though amused.
"The fastest way back was simply flying, and I didn't want to drag an impulsive fool of a disciple back with me."
"Is that so, teacher?"
"What else?"
A few moments later.
Back at the road near the Fortress City of Vorig, the battle between the mages and the monsters had reached its climax.
Zenn and Hafka struggled to maintain the stability of the Defensive Magic, while Ross, freed from defensive duties, seized every opportunity to cast devastating offensive spells at any beast or monster approaching.
With each clash drawing blood, some of the more intelligent beasts quietly dragged away the corpses of fallen kin and retreated.
But those that remained were savage creatures with bloodlust carved into their bones.
"Ross! Seven o'clock! Prioritize that charging Lion Boar!"
Hafka shouted urgently.
Defensive Magic was never great at withstanding raw mass attacks. If that heavy, bulky Lion Boar smashed into the barrier, even if it didn't break, their magic reserves would be severely drained.
"Got it!"
Ross inhaled sharply, pivoting his staff toward the beast. A torrent of magic power gathered at its tip.
The more dangerous the situation, the calmer Ross had to remain, ensuring every spell hit true to reduce his allies' burden.
Boom!
A beam of tightly condensed magic pierced the charging Lion Boar, instantly neutralizing the immediate threat and wounding a few monsters behind it as well.
But just as Ross allowed himself a breath of relief, another shout rang out:
"Careful! That was a feint — there's a whole pack coming from behind!"
"What?!"
Cold sweat drenched Ross's back as he turned to see five or six more Lion Boars barreling toward them, kicking up dust.
"This is bad!"
All three mages felt their hearts sink.
Close-quarters combat against beasts and monsters was never a mage's specialty.
Normally, warriors would hold the line while mages provided lethal ranged support.
The fact they had survived this long against a small beast horde was already remarkable.
"Teacher... aren't you back yet...?"
Gritting his teeth, Hafka made a desperate decision.
He dispelled the wide-area Defensive Magic, preparing for a final gamble.
First, he fired a quick Attack Magic spell at a Lion Boar's eye, blinding it and causing it to stumble and trip another beast.
Ross likewise unleashed a close-range blast to finish off a wounded Lion Boar.
As the remaining monsters grew fewer, Hafka whipped his reins to drive the horse straight toward the beasts, hoping to draw attention.
Then he hoisted his sister onto his shoulder and snatched Zenn, who was still casting Defensive Magic, throwing him toward Ross.
"Stop fighting — run!"
"Understood!"
Ross responded grimly, preparing to flee with Zenn using High-Speed Movement Magic.
But just as he began to channel mana, he froze.
"Why aren't you running?!"
Hafka's shout died in his throat as he too stopped mid-sentence.
Because in that instant—
The sky turned black.
All the attacking beasts were instantly reduced to ash.
Only one bewildered Lion Boar and their earlier horse remained intact.
The next second, Serie descended gracefully from the air.
Beside her, Gut appeared carrying the terrified horse and dragging the massive carcass of a Lion Boar.
"You all did decently against the ambush," Serie remarked, hands on her hips.
"Your teamwork was acceptable."
"Especially you, Hafka. Good judgment at the end — but poor timing on the retreat."
"And Ross — decent aim with your spells, but your charge times are too long. You wasted many good opportunities."
"And lastly, Zenn..."
"Hm... your problem remains your combat style.
Fine. I'll arrange special training for you once we reach Äußerst."
While Serie critiqued her disciples, Gut summoned his Kalia Radiant Sword-Staff and, with a few clean strokes, butchered the massive Lion Boar.
Sola, not being Serie's disciple, escaped this "lecture" and obediently gathered branches nearby at Gut's gesture.
Soon the lecture ended, and the group worked together to prepare dinner and set up camp.
Luckily, the weather was fair — no snow and little cold wind tonight.
With his Otherworld Chef skill active, Gut carefully tended the flames.
Before long, he handed a freshly grilled Lion Boar skewer to Serie.
"Teacher, please try it — how's the seasoning?"
"Mmm..."
Serie took a bite. Rich, fragrant juices burst forth, followed by a unique aroma characteristic of Lion Boar pork.
In the face of this intense natural flavor, the salt sprinkled on top seemed unnecessary.
So Serie declared:
"Strong taste! No extra salt needed!"
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Powerstones?
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