Fay was finally able to finish boot camp after three days—three whole days that went by in a flash.
Now, they were where the beast had last been spotted.
It was a little after sunrise when Elaruîn told him to follow into the depths of the dark forest.
His master had entered this place many times before and had even sent out a few elves who reported sightings of new creatures.
Those elves moved fast, leaving behind afterimages.
Fay didn't know which element they used, but they were deadly—definitely not the kind of people he would want to cross.
Elaruîn called them the Nir'hael, or Mistwalkers, an elite scouting unit said to vanish like fog between the leaves.
They were the ears and eyes of the forest, moving in absolute silence.
The two were currently following a group of three Mistwalkers, who were leading them to the wyrmling—one of the creatures responsible for destroying a good portion of the forest, devouring aether beyond its limits and leaving the woods to rot.
They didn't walk.
Fay was being pulled along as Lirosyl used its vines to swing him swiftly through the trees.
As for his teacher, he was in the sky, gliding while holding on to the talons of his large eagle.
[Alright Fay, we should be arriving! Ready yourself.] Fay was warned.
The small lizard, Lirosyl, finally placed him atop a thick branch that creaked slightly under the added weight. Like everything in this part of the forest, it seemed dead—hollow inside and likely on the verge of breaking.
Fay didn't care about that, though.
He was too focused on what appeared to be their target: a three-meter-tall monster, winged, with a face full of sharp teeth.
He began to assess its weak points—no arms, short legs, and possibly poor eyesight.
The creature smashed through the woods without hesitation, barreling through trees as if it couldn't even see them. In a way, it seemed blind.
That, and the way it moved without purpose… Fay was no stranger to this kind of behavior.
He began recalling something from Earth.
A few memories rang out—memories of creatures not just large, but ones that moved just like this.
Mindless, lost, almost like zombies.
"It can't be!"
Fay quickly clapped his hands over his mouth.
He had shouted just loud enough for his teacher to scold him.
[Seems you know something. What is it, Fay?]
"That creature… I think I know it. You see, when my sister and I arrived here, there was a large dragon-like creature that saved us by eating a dog that was going to attack us… I believe it somehow got the disease the dog carried—a type of mutation the animals of my world had…"
Fay's thoughts suddenly scattered in all directions, wondering if the disease could spread to the people and beastfolk living here.
He looked up at his teacher, but before he could say more, the Wyrmling turned its head and looked in his direction.
[Tell me more about it after you defeat that. Hurry up and ready yourself—it won't wait for you.]
Fay did as he was told and summoned Jolt. He still wasn't proficient enough to cast magic without the creature's help, so he had to rely on his summons to jumpstart the process.
"Jolt, stay here. I'll start the attack—we'll need to work together after that. Make sure you strike at the right moment. I'll set things up for you, buddy."
Fay suddenly wrapped lightning around his hand by using Jolt's electrical mana to turn his own raw mana into that element.
Suddenly, his hand began to spark with a purplish-blue light.
The large creature was already rushing toward him—it wasn't going to wait idly. Each of its steps covered a distance of at least five of Fay's.
The boy dashed forward, his aim set on one of its legs. If he could stop it from walking, he could overwhelm it with his summoned creatures.
[Lirosyl, keep an eye on the boy. I'll be handling the other monsters nearby with the Mistwalkers. Whatever's here is spreading—and I need to make sure it doesn't reach our village.]
The small lizard moved to Fay's side, knowing the boy was in the middle of a test. It didn't interfere.
Fay, who had no weapon besides the arcs of electricity, used the whip not to destroy the trees around him but as support.
Like the web of a certain hero, he grabbed onto a tree and adjusted himself to avoid the creature's charge.
Then, using the same lightning-threaded whip, he latched onto the Wyrmling's leg—an action that made the beast roar in pain.
He didn't hold on for long. Instead, he used the connection to launch himself closer, lashing out with the plasma-like whip.
Each strike tore into the creature's flesh.
"Come on, fall over!"
The Wyrmling's head snapped toward him, forcing Fay to summon Grin to pull him out of danger.
Half the work was already done.
It was then, while the creature's attention remained fixed on him, that Jolt rolled in unannounced.
The electric lizard tore through the Wyrmling's other leg with a deeper cut than Fay could have managed himself, sending the large carnivore tumbling to one side.
Fay didn't waste a second.
He returned, riding atop Grin, and continued his assault.
Electricity surged through every hit, each one aimed at vital spots—the eyes, the neck.
Wound after wound began to accumulate, but still, he hadn't landed a direct strike that would finish it.
That was when he concentrated all the electricity into a single point—a spear shaped like a bolt of lightning.
With a sharp breath, he hurled it straight at the creature's neck.
He knew going for the heart wouldn't do much, not with something this size.
The lightning spear pierced clean through, arcing through the beast's throat and disrupting its ability to stand.
The Wyrmling crashed to the ground with a heavy thud.
Fay, who only had enough energy for one more attack, readied himself—but then paused. The creature wasn't moving. Its body twitched once, then went still.
It was already dead.
Likely weakened from the mutation that had been spreading through its body.
Fay stood there, unsure of what to do next.
Unlike the monsters he'd fought before, this one didn't seem safe to consume.
It gave off a strange feeling, and Fay feared it might be dangerous for his summons to eat.
Still, like him, some of them were already immune to the disease… at least partially.
That was when his teacher returned.