Ednell Lindhenyt
"So, is this the place? It looks kinda… barren? Is that just me?"
"This whole area is barren. We came out here to get away from all the stuff happening in the south, remember?"
"Oh yeah, you're right. Doesn't make it any easier, though."
"Focus up, they should be passing through here anytime soon," I firmly cut through the noise. "We'll use the ridge as natural cover. I'll keep watch."
"Yes, yes, Leader," Shati echoed back, sighing.
Crouching low, my team and I settled ourselves into the snow, weapons still in arms reach.
Shati leaned against a rock, her boisterous figure and slightly revealing armor showing off skin raised with gooseflesh, barely noticeable. Her steel gauntlets sank like stones in the snow.
To my right, Emila and Caldron tended to their weapons, the latter's pale blonde hair crowned by a ring of ice. I gave them both a knowing look, receiving a nod in return before turning my attention inwards.
The mission board mentioned that the Storm Wolves we'd be hunting would travel through this area sometime soon, and so we'd moved to intercept them.
It was much better to be ahead of your prey than to be left in the tailwind of.
That was something important I'd learned throughout my four years spent as an adventurer.
So, the only thing left for us to do was wait.
I wasn't sure how long we waited, but the minutes soon bled into one another as the sun began to peak in the horizon, its rays casting a soft golden glow on the blankets of snow covering the land.
Winter… It did come quite early this year. By a decent margin, too.
Before I could further explore this line of thought, movement in the distance caught my attention.
I retrieved a pair of binoculars from my storage ring, instantly pressing them against my eyes.
"...At last. I guess Boss has finally found something," Caldron quipped in his usually cool voice. "I was this close to taking a nap, as well."
"It's about time, dammit. My limbs are getting stiff from sitting here too long, and not being able to at least keep us heated sucks, too. Even my gauntlets have sheets of ice on them."
"Well, if it makes it any better, you'll have plenty of time to loosen up once the battle starts," Emila chimed in, responding to Shati.
"Quiet. They're getting closer," I shot back, receiving more than a few sighs.
Just east of our position, I could make out the shifting forms of gray wolves with rime-lined coats of fur. In total, there were one… three… six… nine… thirteen… twenty-five…? No, that couldn't be right.
That should be almost double their typical pack size. I shook my head.
"Dammit, I must be seeing things…"
"Mind if I take a look, as well? I'm eager for stimulation, and well… four pairs of eyes work better than two."
Caldron was the first to speak. I considered something distant for a second before giving him a hardened look. It soon gave way to a reluctant approval, though, and he was within shoulder's reach of me shortly after, peering over the ridge with the binoculars pressed to his face.
Emila and Shati perked up seeing this.
"What's going on? Something happen?"
"...No. We're trying to fully discern the enemies capabilities—"
"What the hell? I'm counting twenty-seven of them… all traveling together, including the pack leader. That's way too unusual."
Surprise and concern immediately filled our group, before quickly giving way to something else. Our eyes met each other in turn, half understood looks bouncing back and forth.
Shati was the first to speak.
"...Well, at the end of the day, they are just wolves, aren't they? C-tier ranked magic beasts, at that. Even if they are magic beasts, dealing with so many shouldn't be too hard, right? So long as we keep a cool head."
I turned to her, uncertain, and she pressed on. "I mean, come on, think about it. We don't get many opportunities for a quest bigger than this, especially being so far out. Up until now, we'd been stuck turning in goblin and maga tortoise parts! Imagine the amount of eris we could get by splitting the rewards, Ednell. We need this."
It wasn't long before her words seemed to fully wash over the others. We discussed it briefly, alongside the dangers this could entail, but that only seemed to motivate everyone that much more—even Emila's usually composed expression was alight with intrigue.
Soon, all of their eyes settled on me.
"Boss? What do you say?" Caldron asked. I fought the urge to shake my head, responding in a measured tone.
"...Fine. If that's what you all desire, then we'll do it. But we do it my way, you hear?—no slacking off, and at a smooth pace. Plan our routes, our engagements, and our retreat. Should anything go wrong, you all know what to do. Nothing less will suffice."
"Bah. When haven't we done it your way?" Caldron quipped, eliciting chuckles.
"Come on, this'll be a cinch."
I pushed off the ground, rising from a crouch, eyes lingering.
An intricate stone shield suddenly materialized from a whirlwind of sparks, equipped around my right arm.
Half-spinning on my heel, my gaze met everyone equally.
"Don't take them lightly."
We spent a few minutes discussing strategy before finally dropping into the clearing, making use of a densely woven canopy to hide in.
Our boots found firm footholds, making our descent smooth. The entire time, potential outcomes flitted through my mind.
We'll be fine, so long as we don't get overconfident. They're lower ranked. Things won't be like last time…
"Assume positions," I murmured once we were close enough.
The crunches in the snow following their footfalls and low growls carried plainly through the air.
Shati was the first to move up, circling wide to our left, as Emila took up a position in our rear, her dark-gray bow already half-drawn. Meanwhile, Caldron moved to my right flank, hands clasped so tightly around the handle of his blade his knuckles grew white.
Ahead of us, the Storm Wolves marched in a formation.
They didn't wander, jostle, or snap at each other like the ones we'd grown accustomed to, but rather they advanced in a loose crescent, the bulk of the bodies forming a front line, while a handful of leaner wolves lingered around the sides.
At their center was a larger beast, its coat more heavily rimed with frost than the others, as well possessing one single distinguishable feature from the rest: a single curving horn pointed in the direction of the heavens.
Its eyes seemed to scan more than just the terrain, a hint of fierce intelligence lying underneath.
"They're pretty organized," Caldron whispered.
"Almost like a proper vanguard. A far cry from the ones back north…"
"They're magic beasts," I emphasized. "It's expected."
We waited until they drew close to a small dip in the ground where the snow had packed unevenly, creating a naturally low point. Hitting them when at least half crossed would put their own momentum against them, theoretically speaking, and allow us an initial advantage.
"On my mark," I began, "Emila will start us off. Shati and Caldron, you two will work your own lanes. The goal is to cut in from the edges and make a direct path to their leader—they'll be significantly less coordinated without him. From there, we'll stabilize and clean up the rest."
Three sets of quiet acknowledgments answered me.
And so, we waited… and waited… until—
"Now!"
Emila's arrow flew, wrapped in a thin layer of frost, striking a side-liner clean in the shoulder and spinning it sideways.
As its limp body hit the snow, Shati burst forth, gauntlets set aflame.
She landed deftly, her body turning into a blur as her fists crashed into another wolf's jaw with a wet crunch that echoed off the trees.
At the same time, Caldron's spell shot forth from his blade, a crescent of compressed wind that tore through their formation on the right. He dropped from his vantage point.
"Good!" I called, dropping into the open as my shield flared.
"Keep this pace! We'll work our way in!"
Our skirmish continued exactly like this for quite some time.
When the wolves responded with lunges and snarls, we met them with impeccable timings, never allowing them past a certain boundary. My shield not only absorbed the worst of the impacts, but was also responsible for them.
When empowered by my mana, its weight could change at will.
I made use of the runic inscriptions by swinging it around as if it was as light as a stick, and increasing its weight just before impact. Whatever I didn't—or rather, couldn't, out of circumstance—kill was finished off by Emila.
Shati stayed just at the edge of danger, almost throwing caution to the wind. Her gauntlets dealt a devastating amount of damage to the front-line, but I had to remind her more than a few times to stay in line. She was managing, for now.
Caldron, on the other hand, worked his magic as he usually did.
The right flank was a mess of half-frozen snow, turned up terrain, and slick patches that punished any storm wolf careless enough to lunge wildly.
At first, we had only a handful of blood on our hands, but that quickly began to snowball as the fight continued.
…Still, the alpha had yet to make a move other than pacing around observantly.
Keep this pace…
Don't let the battle ignite you. Let things go as surprisingly well as they have been.
This time—this risk—has to end differently.
The words echoed through my mind.
As if to mirror that, Caldron, having finished another short wave, quipped with a hint of relief tinging his voice.
"See? They may have numbers and an oddly intricate formation, but they're still just C-tier beasts, at the end of it all. We were worried about nothing!"
"Hah," Shati scoffed with a fierce grin, "Just this once, I'll have to agree with you!"
"Cut the chatter!" I roared.
As much as I wanted to agree with them, to dismiss things, and to give in to the temptation of premature relief—I couldn't. Not as their leader.
…Still, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't agree with them, in some parts. Without even knowing, I might've relaxed ever so slightly—even for just a second.
Which is why I hadn't foreseen what would come next.
"Guys, they're adjusting!" Emila called out, voice tight but steady.
"I can tell from up here that there's less of them throwing themselves at you all. Be careful!"
She's right.
If I took a closer look, I would be able to see that the wolves were no longer hurling themselves at us in messy bursts.
Instead, they were arriving in pairs, sometimes trios, seemingly aimed towards testing the edges of our formation, rather than crashing directly into the center like before.
"They're probing!" I called. "Hold your positions and don't overextend! We're still winning this exchange—"
Just at that moment, the alpha roared, raising its head.
The sound it made wasn't a wild howl, but rather something sharper. A single bark that instantly tore through the clash and churn of combat.
Suddenly, everything changed.
Bursts of electricity jumped between their limbs, highlighting their features in a soft azure glow, and speeding up their movements.
But even more appalling than that was the fact that—despite the obvious turn around they had just been given—they pulled back, rather than pressing forward.
The leaner ones that had been hanging behind fanned out and taking almost familiar positions near us all.
Three on the left and right flanks, and three positioned on me.
"What are they…?" Shati started, trailing off.
"Ednell! They're matching our formation!" Emila's warning ripped through our confusion. "We need to—"
…Only it was a second too late.
A "staggered" wolf broke off, turning its tail towards Shati as it bolted for a retreat.
She instantly reacted, following behind it. It wasn't even an overtly reckless move, but rather the kind of self-assurance born from an encounter with a hundred similar openings. "Not on my watc—!"
"—Shati, don't!"
A burst of pure azure light moved from the far end of the battlefield… the center. The rest happened in a blur of motion.
The alpha barreled forward with an extreme speed, using the withdrawing wolf as a partial distraction.
At the same time, a pair of wolves lunged at Caldron, interrupting a spell he had been silently casting, and causing a crack in our formation.
Shati stepped forward to engage the "retreating" wolf, only for the alpha to slam directly into her mere moments later.
She brought her gauntlets up in time to absorb some of the force, but not enough—a sickening impact sounded as she was thrown off her feet and sent rolling through the snow.
I shouted her name, pushing off hard and breaking into a sprint, only to be met with the force of two wolves slamming into my shield, the third circling not too far away.
"Damn it!"
From the corner of my vision, I observed an arrow shoot towards the shoulder of the alpha, only for another wolf to intercept it, its body falling limply.
Soon after, Emila yelped as a pattering of paws that built up into a release went off near her.
Through a short lull in my scuffle, I was able to see a storm wolf jump up and reach Emila from her perch.
In just that short time, we had lost the momentum and our advantage. Everything was happening too fast for me to even properly assess it.
How…? These C-tier beasts… outsmarted us?
I pivoted my foot, hurling my shield at one of them, releasing the rune enchantment, and crushing it underneath in a wet splat.
Throwing all caution to the wind, I continued towards Shati, fighting along the way, desperation and adrenaline fueling me. Their jaws crunched through my armor, denting it and ripping some skin, but I spun, kicked, and punched as best I could. The pain was an afterthought, she mattered more.
"Shati!"
I whipped my head around in time to see the alpha's frost-laden breath spilling out as it reached for her exposed neck—only to be met with steel, lashing out with whatever strength could be mustered.
She was still trying to push herself up, one knee sinking into the snow, before being thrown off balance by a lunge.
This continued for what felt like forever, as I struggled in my own battle, but it was clear that their scuffle wouldn't last much longer.
And for the very first time since I'd ever met her… she looked small. Helpless. Fragile.
A torrent of emotions fueled within me—frustration, anguish, despair… and regret.
If only I hadn't agreed… If I'd just let the last time teach me.
If I hadn't tried to move on from what happened all those years ago, and let the past consume me.
Maybe things would've turned out differently.
I'm sorry, Yaelan. My dear wife. I failed you once again… Now, because of me, your sister, too, will…
Memories of my life surfaced, ranging from the day when I stepped away from home and became an adventurer—only to come to terms with the fact that heroes didn't exist in our world, contrary to belief.
If they did, I certainly didn't have what it takes to become one.
Today would yet again be proof of it.
My voice was raw and hoarse.
"Shati!"
The words went out like a prayer, echoing clearly across the plains, and ringing loud with dread.
Only, there was no god, nor messenger to answer.
…Instead, there was a dark beast.
It cut across my vision, too fast to track as even the alpha wolf stopped in its tracks, seeming to notice.
Everything and everyone paused, feeling a change.
It was far too late by then, though. For one heartbeat, the alpha wolf hesitated, stepping back carefully.
The next, a black blur struck—leaving its body limp and lifeless.
A form stood over it. It was a wolf, its cloak so black it seemed to drink in the light itself, fur gleaming with an unnatural sheen.
Azure light danced between its limbs, arcing faintly, and soft, magenta eyes gazed around the field levelly; a keen sense of intelligence reflecting back at me.
"...What…?"
The words died in my throat as the world seemed to resume itself, the next few moments blending into a symphony of action.
Two wolves lunged in the direction of the foreign invader, the ones closest to him, but frost spread right at that moment.
Thin, branching cracks spidered through the ground beneath them, white light running through them like veins.
Vapor rose upwards like a manifestation of the breath of the cold, instantly freezing over and encasing the duo in tightly compressed packs of ice.
From then on they were sculptures, forever captured in the heat of the moment.
The presumed wielder of the spell stepped into view mere moments later.
It was a young boy.
His hair was tousled by the wind, threads of faint lavender clinging stubbornly to the ends of the otherwise near-ghostly color.
A white, fur-lined overcoat hung over his shoulders, pinned closed by an intricate brooch, and underneath it were layered black robes inked with runic spire on the sleeves.
In his hand, he held nothing more than a straight black stick that I found unusually difficult to focus my attention on—not that it was hard, but rather it was the kind of uninterest that came from attempting a menial task. The one that made you less inclined to focus on.
…That's definitely more than just a stick, I mentally noted.
His footfalls hit the snow with a solid crunch, winter's breath left in his trail, and his golden eyes swept the field.
Suddenly, I felt a chill.
"That makes three," he said in a casual, almost plain manner. "Keep this up and you'll be chasing my coat tails for the rest of our careers, Ignis."
***