The Magical Beast at the Quarry (1)
Woojin walked out of the village. After a single whistle, the red wolf dashed out from the shade of the forest.
Rex kept twitching his nose. As expected of a keen snout, he quickly caught the delicious scent clinging to Woojin.
"Here. You eat some too."
Woojin pulled a chunk of meat off the skewer and tossed it. Rex snapped it up, and his eyes widened instantly. Apparently, the taste of turkey was quite the shock for a first experience.
Pant, pant—
Rex stared up at him with his tongue hanging out. His tail wagged nonstop from side to side. He looked exactly like a dog, as if he had thrown his wolfish dignity into the dirt.
Woojin tossed the remaining meat from the skewer. Rex gulped it down eagerly. Before long, he had devoured every last piece.
Even then, it didn't seem enough—Rex smacked his lips and looked up expectantly.
"Hey, I only ate one myself."
Saying that, Woojin carefully picked off the remaining scraps stuck to the skewer.
…To be honest, it wasn't quite enough.
For someone Rex's size, it must have been even less satisfying. He would've liked to buy more, but he didn't have that much money to spare.
As repayment for saving his life, Hector had handed over half of his fortune—thirty silver coins and a werewolf hide.
Ten of those silver coins were set aside as emergency funds. You never knew what might happen, so it was necessary to always keep some reserve.
That left Woojin with roughly twenty silver coins to actually spend. Not exactly abundant.
The hide's potential value was forty gold coins—but that was the bounty placed on the werewolf by the Ecclesiastical Alliance. Since it served as proof of subjugation, it wasn't easy to sell to the expedition corps.
If he wanted a comfortable journey, he needed to take on a job that actually paid.
'…Seventy gold coins.'
Woojin recalled the bounty he had just heard. Hunt one magical beast, and he would immediately have seventy gold coins in hand.
He didn't particularly want to fight a troublesome creature like a Madskull, but such high bounties were rare. Perhaps it was best to earn as much as possible while the opportunity was there.
After a brief moment of thought—
"…Hey."
Woojin jerked his chin at the wolf.
"Let's take on a job together."
They headed toward the quarry where the magical beast had appeared.
Beneath a desolate rocky mountain, massive crimson stones jutted out of the earth like boils. Each one was a giant bloodstone.
It seemed he had come to the right place. But he wasn't the first to arrive.
'Judging by their appearance… mercenaries?'
Dozens of men in chain mail moved busily around the bloodstone quarry. They appeared to be making preparations to hunt the beast.
The presence of competitors was something he had anticipated. The bounty on the magical beast's head wasn't small.
'How are they planning to handle it?'
If they were preparing, they must have some sort of strategy. Woojin found himself curious about their hunting method.
There was only one way to find out.
'I'll have to get closer.'
He started toward the quarry—but there was one problem.
"Grrr…"
Rex hesitated. He clearly disliked heading toward a place packed with people.
Woojin paused to consider. Rex was bigger than most pack horses. If the mercenaries saw him, it would likely cause quite a commotion.
'Should I leave Rex here?'
But there was a more fundamental issue.
'…Even if I go alone, I doubt they'd welcome me.'
From the mercenaries' perspective, a magical-beast hunter was a competitor tied to the bounty. If some unfamiliar man loitered around, they wouldn't greet him kindly. They would surely try to drive him off.
But Woojin had no intention of backing down. He hadn't come all this way just to leave empty-handed.
'It's better to move together with Rex.'
Conflict with the mercenaries was practically inevitable either way. His goal was simply to prevent it from escalating beyond an argument.
To achieve that, going with Rex seemed more effective. Even the boldest mercenary would hesitate before recklessly provoking a massive wolf-type magical beast.
'Still, I should put some safety measure in place.'
Even when walking a dog, it was proper etiquette to use a leash. Woojin gave Rex an order.
"Lower your posture. More—lower. There you go."
When the wolf crouched low, Woojin mounted his back as if riding a horse.
There—his safety measure.
If Rex caused trouble, Woojin intended to smack him on the back of the head.
"All right, let's go!"
"…."
Rex wore a reluctant expression. Woojin gestured forward impatiently. With no choice, the wolf trudged ahead.
The quarry drew closer. One of the mercenaries working there noticed them.
"Uh—uhh?"
"What's with the stuttering?"
Instead of answering, the mercenary pointed at Woojin. The next man who turned his head widened his eyes as well. Another stutter joined the chorus.
The mercenaries hesitated, unable to act rashly. Judging by their fearful looks, it seemed unlikely a fight would break out. As Woojin approached on wolfback, they stepped back and opened a path.
'Good thing I brought Rex.'
The situation was unfolding favorably.
But at the same time, a question lingered.
'With guys like these… how are they planning to kill a magical beast?'
At a glance, they seemed like fairly experienced mercenaries. There were plenty of them, too.
But hunting a magical beast was an entirely different matter.
As Woojin was thinking that, the flap of a tent erected at the center was pulled aside and three people stepped out—two men and one woman. It appeared they had come out to assess the commotion outside.
One of the men approached him.
Dark crimson hair, deeply tanned bronze skin. Larger and sturdier than the others. Judging by the atmosphere, he was likely the leader of the mercenaries.
"I am Jonathan of the Sailfin Mercenary Company. May I know your name?"
Jonathan spoke politely.
Looking down at him from atop the wolf didn't seem proper, so Woojin dismounted Rex before replying.
"Call me Jin."
"Hmm, a name I haven't heard before. From your appearance, you seem like a magical-beast hunter… You're here for the bounty as well, I assume?"
"That's right."
Jonathan scratched his forehead, looking troubled.
"That puts us in an awkward position… You see, we've nearly finished preparing to capture the beast. We'd like to attempt the hunt first. Would that be acceptable?"
"That's fine."
It was only natural that those who arrived first would have priority. Woojin readily agreed, then stated his own request.
"May I observe the hunt from nearby?"
"Of course. In exchange… please move the wolf farther away. It may affect my men's morale."
Jonathan asked cautiously.
…Thinking about it, from the mercenaries' perspective, it was only natural to be wary of Rex.
If they were engaged with the Madskull and a wolf-type magical beast attacked from behind, their formation would be split front and back.
If Woojin harbored ill intent, the entire company could be wiped out. That was likely why Jonathan was trying to accommodate him as much as possible.
In that case, Woojin ought to concede a little as well.
"Rex, stay back."
At the command, Rex retreated far into the distance. Jonathan nodded in satisfaction.
"A very well-trained magical beast. Thank you for complying so readily. If the hunt goes smoothly, it'll be a fine day."
"When do you plan to begin?"
"Well… probably within the hour. Claire, are preparations complete?"
Jonathan addressed the woman beside him. The young woman called Claire nodded.
Light brown hair and eyes reminiscent of peanut butter. For some reason, instead of armor, she wore a loose-fitting robe.
"My part was finished quite a while ago. I saw that the net setup is nearly complete as well—shouldn't we prepare to begin?"
"Perfect timing. All right, you bastards—let's earn ourselves a fortune today!"
Jonathan laughed heartily and advanced toward the quarry. The mercenaries followed in orderly formation. It was hard to believe they were the same men who had been intimidated by the wolf earlier—there was no hesitation in their movements.
From that alone, one could infer that Jonathan was a capable leader. With a strong center to rally around, subordinates' abilities rose several levels.
Before long, they reached the hunting ground. Woojin swept his gaze across the surroundings.
'…They've built quite a large and usable trap. Not bad at all.'
He could roughly guess their intentions. A trap that must have required considerable time and effort.
Would their preparation bear fruit?
"Claire, begin."
"Yes."
Claire placed her right hand atop an open book. The inscriptions began glowing in pale green. Rune letters and geometric symbols trembled and pulsed.
Soon, she slowly lifted her hand from the page.
Tick, ting—
The letters on the paper floated into the air, following her hand. Like a conductor leading an orchestra, Claire moved her fingers. The runes rearranged themselves in midair.
Woojin's eyes widened.
'Oh, damn… is she casting magic right now?'
He had only heard of it before—this was the first time seeing it. It looked as though cinematic special effects had been layered over reality.
Claire extended her hand forward. Pale green, feather-shaped clusters of light settled onto Jonathan's body.
Thump, thump.
Jonathan jumped in place twice, as if testing something. His body seemed noticeably lighter.
"Feels good. As usual, I'll leave command to Harley."
"Captain, be careful."
Wrapped in light, Jonathan sprinted toward the bloodstone quarry. Each time his foot struck the ground, his body shot forward two to three meters, like a long jumper accelerating down a runway.
The phrase "running as if flying" fit perfectly.
Woojin watched, inwardly impressed.
"…It's a spell called Feather Step. It makes the body lighter and faster."
Claire, standing beside him, offered the explanation. It seemed his amazement had shown despite his attempt to hide it.
Since he was already asking, he voiced another question.
"How long does it last?"
"About ten minutes."
"Not very long."
"No. That's why the timing is tight. We can only hope the beast responds quickly…"
Jonathan's role was that of bait.
He would draw the beast's attention and lure it into the trap. Naturally, it was the most dangerous and difficult role—yet the captain of the mercenary company had taken it on as if it were only natural.
Crash!
Jonathan pulled glass bottles from his pack and hurled them one by one. The bottles shattered, splashing bright red liquid across the dirt.
Woojin sniffed.
'Blood.'
The bottles contained animal blood—clearly brought to attract the magical beast. But Jonathan didn't stop there. He began causing a ruckus.
"Come out right now—! You wretched beast!!"
Like a madman, he threw bottles and shouted at the top of his lungs. Even from a distance, Woojin's ears stung.
The roar echoed across the mountain ridge, carrying far into the distance.
Deep within the quarry, inside a cave shrouded in thick shadow—
Blink.
…the sleeping magical beast opened its eyes.