Kael stood atop the cliff, the wind brushing lightly against his face as his eyes remained fixed on the group below.
They were human—not monsters, not beasts. Real humans… the first he had seen in an entire month.
For a moment, he said nothing. Then his gaze sharpened, carefully observing what kind of people they were.
"They're armed…" he muttered under his breath.
Swords. Daggers. Rough armor. Some carried bows, while others wore cloaks that hid their movements. Their movements were not disciplined like soldiers—but they weren't ordinary people either.
"They look more like bandits, based on their appearance and behavior."
Kael crouched slightly, observing them more carefully.
There were seven of them. Nothing seemed particularly special about them.
The particles around him drifted faintly, responding to his focus—something he still couldn't fully control.
Lines began to form—positions, movements, trajectories.
"…Tch."
He immediately stopped using it and placed his hand over his eyes, preventing more particle lines from forming.
"I can't really control it…"
His eyes returned to normal as he lowered his hand, but his expression remained cold.
This was his first encounter with humans in this world—and that made them more dangerous than any beast.
"They could have information…" he thought.
About this world. About magic. About the gods.
His fist clenched slightly.
"…Or they could try to kill me."
Silence.
The group below laughed among themselves, unaware of the presence watching them from above.
Then his attention shifted—not far ahead.
In front of the armed men, a woman with cat ears came running toward them, panic written all over her face.
"Help! Help me!" she cried out, her voice trembling. "A Quadra Wolf is chasing me!"
She stumbled slightly, glancing back—just enough to make it believable.
"It's right behind me! Please, I can't outrun it alone!"
The ground trembled as the massive four-horned wolf burst through the trees behind her.
For a split second—her expression changed, a faint smile, gone as quickly as it appeared.
"Please… save me!" she shouted again, rushing straight toward the armed men.
"Hey! Fool! Don't come here! Change direction—not here! Are you out of your mind?!" a bald man shouted, his sword already in a ready stance.
"You guys! Find cover and hide!"
The other men immediately scattered, rushing toward trees and rocks for cover.
The ground trembled harder with each step of the approaching Quadra Wolf.
The cat-eared woman kept running forward, eyes wide with panic—but her speed never truly faltered.
Kael, watching from the cliff, narrowed his gaze.
"…Hmm. That acting is poor."
When the Quadra Wolf and the woman were nearly upon the bald man, he quickly hid behind a tree.
Kael grabbed several horns tied together and stood up, stretching his hand.
He stepped forward and jumped off the cliff without hesitation.
The wind rushed past him as he fell, his body adjusting mid-air, while he held the tied horns tightly in his hand.
He descended fast, controlled.
Below, the armed men were panicking, not knowing what to do as the Quadra Wolf charged forward.
Then—BOOM!
He landed on the Quadra Wolf's back.
The heavy impact cracked the ground beneath them, dust bursting outward in a wide circle.
Everyone froze, not understanding what had just happened.
The bald man peeked from behind the tree, his eyes widening.
"…What the hell—?"
When the dust faded, they could clearly see Kael standing on the back of the motionless Quadra Wolf, countless horns in his hand.
The cat-eared woman froze in shock at what she was seeing.
"…What!? That's a Quadra Wolf… he killed it in an instant…" she muttered to herself.
The silence stretched for a moment.
No one moved—neither the armed men, nor the cat-eared woman, nor even the massive body of the Quadra Wolf beneath Kael.
Even the wind felt quieter.
Kael slowly stepped down from the beast's back, the horns in his hand clinking softly as he landed.
He looked at the surrounding group—still frozen, still unsure whether what they had just witnessed was real.
"…This is the Truth," he muttered quietly to himself.
The bald man slowly lowered his weapon, his grip unsteady.
"Who… the hell are you?"
Two hours had passed.
They moved together as a group, the atmosphere still tense, though quieter now.
The bald man glanced back at Kael, studying him for a moment before speaking.
"Hey… you said your name is Kael Virent, right?"
"Yeah," Kael replied calmly, his expression unreadable.
"And you can't remember anything?"
"Yeah."
The bald man frowned slightly, then continued.
"And you're just… passing by?"
Kael didn't even look at him.
"Yeah."
"How strange… It's rare for someone here to not remember anything. First time I've seen that," the bald man muttered.
He glanced at Kael again before continuing.
"Are you okay with it? Our party taking the Quadra Wolf's corpse, I mean."
"Yeah," Kael replied without hesitation.
In their back, the woman with cat ears watched Kael cautiously, suspicion in her eyes.
"…That man said he's just a passerby… yet he killed a Quadra Wolf like that—by crushing it," she muttered.
"Even I can't see his level… and he has a power like The mist… Who the hell are you?" he muttered to himself.
He quietly walked up behind Kael, then leaned in and whispered cautiously.
"I've got a question for you," he said.
"There are less than a handful of Grandmaster-Class individuals in the Deep Abyss… people who can kill a Quadra Wolf with just a crush."
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Tell me who you are. Where did you come from?"
Kael looked at him, his expression unchanged.
"…Deep Abyss."
"...What is the Deep Abyss?"
"Are you messing with me right now?" the woman said, her tone sharp with irritation.
"No," Kael replied flatly.
"Then why did you ask that?"
Kael didn't answer immediately. He simply looked at her, expression unreadable.
"…Is it because you have amnesia?" she continued, narrowing her eyes. "With amnesia, it would make sense if you can't answer properly."
"I didn't say I have amnesia. I just don't remember anything."
"I see… oh my!" the woman said, her expression softening slightly.
Then her face suddenly shifted back to irritation.
"You think I'm a fool? What's the difference between amnesia and not remembering anything?!"
"Are you a Grandmaster or a Peak Mortal of the Great Land, or something?"
"What the hell is that?" Kael muttered to himself.
The woman narrowed her eyes, clearly not satisfied with his reaction.
"…You really don't know?" she asked, studying him more carefully.
Kael said nothing.
"…What a waste," the woman muttered under her breath. "Even after risking my life for that plan… it all failed because of this clueless man."
Kael's gaze shifted slightly toward her.
"…Plan?" he asked quietly.
The woman froze for a fraction of a second—just long enough for her expression to tighten.
She had said too much.
"Tch…"
She clicked her tongue and quickly turned her head away.
"…Forget it," she said, her voice sharpening again as she regained control. "It's none of your concern."