Magnus here, I recall when Ragos started creating the first mortals in the world, there was something he added in that well all decided to pitch in about. It was called evolution. It worked wondrously, especially since at first there was only one type of each creature but because of evoltion thousands and thousands of variant creatures appeared. For example, I know it's basic knowledge but dogs are the domesticated form of their ancestors, the wolves. Just like how the Vurm Dragons appeared, they were also a product of evolution, albeit a horrible one.

[Fortify]!

A familiar skill translates again in my mind as my sword swings with almost supernatural strength. My eyes focus on my target's weakened point and I immediately bring down my sword towards it.

*Clang!*

The sound of two metal objects hitting each other booms throughout the area, as my blade accurately hits the wolf's weak spot.

*Drip*

Sweat starts to drop from my forehead like bullets.

I knew it...

My blade is on the spot where I continuously attacked earlier. With my enhanced strength, I thought I'd be able to finally pierce it but...

It didn't work.

The spot has a small wound. I back away immediately and I stare at the wolf with caution.

The wolf charges with the same speed as before.

I use [God's Stare] again but...

[Fear Immunity]

It seems I'm not the only one who learned a new skill.

The white wolf charges at me with great ferocity while ignoring my skill.

I try to back up.

I grown in extreme pain as my body is literally snapping in two.

The repercussions of [Limit Break] is appear and my body is starting to tear itself in two.

The wolf lunges towards me and knocks me prone. I hear an imaginary crack as my bones start to shake under the pain.

*Howl!*

The white wolf stares at me, as the other wolves howl proudly.

For a moment, we both stare at each other.

The eyes of the wolf appear different and instead of a beast, I see another mortal soul.

Were we unfair?

I can't help but ask myself that.

That moment lasts for only a second and the next thing I see is the large opened maw of a horse sized wolf.

*Crunch*

"Ahhhh!" My shout fills the area, as I feel large and sharp teeth pierce and rip my skin apart.

The wolf continues to grind, bite and rip my skin with its extremely sharp teeth.

My vision slowly fades as I feel my strength leaving my body.

"Ahh... I... Don't... want to go yet."

I can't believe this... I feel so weak...

*Howl!*

Suddenly, I hear the dire wolves howl in pain and the grinding teeth frees my shoulder.

I weakly open my eyes and see the wolves ferociously charging towards a different direction.

I pan my head as slowly as I can and see a group of people clashing with the wolves.

No... I can't stay here...

I try to move my body... but it feels so heavy...

The last thing I see is a heavily armored person approaching me.

He failed...

Yes... he did... a shame...

I can't help but feel slightly depressed after seeing the fur man getting eaten.

I expected too much... He's not a worthy meal

I told you, we can't eat humans!

I... Don't... Think... It's human...

What? That's impossible... But you have never been wrong before...

I can't feel my body.

Everything is so dark.

*Gnash*

*Grind*

I hear the gnashing of teeth and grinding of claws.

... They're so close

A large claw appears in front of my face and it quickly lunges towards me.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" I suddenly sit up with my hand outstretched, as I try to block the claw going towards me.

Immediately, I take notice of my surroundings and notice that I'm sitting on a wooden caravan.

What?

I look around and see the other people riding the caravan go away from me.

I must've scared them.

Before I tend to the scared people, I need to check my situation.

I touch my face and thankfully they haven't removed my mask.

I look at them and they flinch.

I must look savage.

I cough and start to speak but find my throat dry.

With a husky and pained voice, I call towards the people.

"Water... Please..."

Once my voice reach the other people, they start to move.

An older woman goes forward and gives me a small cup filled with slightly dirty water.

It's not like I'll get anything better, so I take the cup and drink it.

"Ahhh" I sigh in relief as I down the water.

"Thank you"

The woman and the others smile. It seems they're thankful.

"What you did was nothing short of amazing" I hear a cheery voice besides me and see a young man sitting on the caravan as well.

I take a quick look at his apparel.

He's wearing leather armor and has a steel longsword besides him. On his armor, I notice a small iron tag hanging from his neck.

I activate [God's Eye] and check his capabilities.

He's level 16. He must be an adventurer.

He must be one of the people who saved me.

I touch my shoulder and find that it's completely healed, ignoring the fact that it's caked with my own blood.

"You were bleeding a lot, so we had Aria fix you up" The man says with a cheery attitude after noticing that I'm checking my wound.

"Did you manage to kill that stupid white wolf."

The man shakes his head.

"It escaped with some of its pack members. We brought the dead bodies with us so we can sell them at the market. We'll gladly compensate you for your work!"

I nod.

I remember that I don't have any funds, nor do I look presentable in any way, so the extra money will help.

"Hey what's your name?" The man happily asks. "You're obviously not an adventurer but you seem too articulate to be a savage."

"A savage?"

"Yeah, they're another offshoot of the human race. They lived too closely to beasts and they've gained beastlike abilities." I nod and keep that in mind.

I can't believe that there's more than one type of human...

"My name is Jonathan Carthus" Jonathan introduces himself and stretches his hand towards me.

I take his hand and shake it. Despite my hand's dirtiness, Jonathan ignores it and gives me a strong handshake.

I can't help but smile. This is a very good man.

"My name is Magnus." Jonathan mulls my name and nods.

"Well Magnus, you've shown me that heroes do exist. You jumped in that battle despite being weaker than that wolf and saved everyone."

"Not... everyone" Me and Jonathan turn to look at another passenger.

A young man is tiredly sitting while tending to the bodies of the dead.

"Well... it's a dangerous part of the work. Sometimes, people die" Jonathan says weakly. He apologizes to the young man.

"Are you one of the guards?" The young man looks at me and nods. "What's your name?"

"Carson..."

I quickly take a look at his status and notice that he's a level 2 person. He's weak.

I agree with Jonathan's sentiment. I think I gained a little more appreciation towards adventurers now.

"Why did you take the mission?"

Carson looks startled by my sudden questioning. Jonathan nods, interested as well.

"Well... the mission pays well and my leader... Jordan-" He takes a quick look at Jordan's body and continues "Was a former steel rank adventurer, so I thought we'd be okay."

I nod and add.

"Will you still be paid?"

Carson nods.

"If you don't want to continue risking your life, take the reward and peacefully enjoy life" Carson looks at me with slightly angry eyes but he relents.

Jonathan agrees and says.

"He's right Carson... Some are not fit for this type of work" Carson doesn't reply and just stares at the bodies of his dead friends.

"Where is this caravan heading?" I ask Jonathan.

"It's heading towards Barkenvall."

I tilt my head in confusion.

"Where's that?"

Jonathan looks confused but realizes something.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you might not know about this type of stuff. Barkenvall is a village and these refugees will be living there."

The refugees look a little worse for wear and they seem a little down once they remember their situation.

"I see... What happened to them."

Jonathan looks uncomfortable but the older woman earlier gave him a go signal and he smiles.

"Well... their village was ransacked by demons and they're the only survivors. The kingdom assigned them to Barkenvall."

The faces of the villages look grim, as they remember the past. I give them a small apology and take note of Barkenvall.

"So you and your party is going to Barkenvall?"

Jonathan smiles and nods earnestly.

"Yeah! That's where I grew up and my party will be visiting."

"I see." It must be a momentous event.

"Also Barkenvall is reputed for producing great blacksmiths!"

Oh! That could be good.

Unfortunately, I never learned blacksmithing the proper way. Usually I'd have Remries create a powerful vessel for me and I'd do the enchanting.

This could be a good time to learn to smith!

Jonathan smiles proudly "I actually come from a reputed line of blacksmiths and I can... help you get a weapon you need. After all, that iron sword doesn't really belong to you."

I laugh and nod.

"Yeah, you're right. So you're a blacksmith?"

Jonathon's face suddenly becomes gloomy, as he covers his face.

He practically sobs as he says.

"I'M NOT!"

"Ummm?"

"Hey Jonathan! Stop Crying" I hear a muffled voice beside the cart and notice a heavily armored person riding a horse.

"I'm not crying! I've got sweat in my eyes!" Jonathan laughs as he wipes his tears away.

"Sorry about that. Jonathan is a crybaby when it comes to blacksmithing. He has no talent at it." The person on the horse says with a slight chuckle.

"Hey! At least I'm a talented warrior!"

"Yeah but blacksmithing is a more profitable and safe profession!" Jonathan gives up and sighs.

I smile and appreciate the camaraderie between the two adventurers.

"Hey!" he calls to me and I look at him.

"The name's Aria" The heavily armored man is not actually a man but a woman. Aria removes her helm and she reveals her face, a brown haired girl. She has a very simple and kind look.

She's definitely the type of many men, just like Kin.

I raise my eyebrow and she must've sensed it.

"It doesn't mean I wear plate armor, I'm a man!" she says chuckling. I notice that she has a shield behind her a mace on her side.

I take a careful look at her and study her appearance.

Weirdly enough she doesn't shirk from my attention. She seems to be proud of herself.

I notice an insignia on her breastplate.

She smiles and says proudly "I am a trained paladin of the church of Supremas."

Ahhh, so that's why. She's an adherent of the High god Supremas, the self-proclaimed god of humanity.

I can't help but frown. I always thought he was a snotty brat.

Always thinking he's above others. He only chooses to be responsible because he believes it's his divine right to rule humanity.

Aria frowns at my reaction and says "I understand, not everyone believes in my lord's infinite compassion. But I believe, as a follower of his divine will, that I must educate others."

Kin wasn't this pushy when it came to her belief.

"Also, I removed my helm to introduce myself."

Is she suggesting I remove my mask?

"Why don't you remove your mask?"

...

I start to panic a little.

I don't have enough mana to cast an illusion and keep it running.

A sudden idea pops up in my mind.

"I cannot..."

Aria frowns a little.

"Why not?"

Jonathan is interested and is listening as well.

"I am a follower of another deity and one of his tenets is to forever keep ourselves masked."

Aria looks unbelieving, so I continue.

"We, his disciples, act as an extension of his will and we must remain masked, lest we be venerated instead of our god."

Aria nods. "Who is your deity then?"

Well, I haven't thought of one yet.

"My lord's name is Gardinal and he is a deity that wishes to protect the weak, downtrodden and defeated."

I start adding a little bit of zeal im my words, as I pretend to enter a fervent state of belief.

I manage to convince Aria, as she seems to be listening intently with very intense eyes.

Aria starts to speak but a voice behind me speaks up.

"Ei, don't start now!"

I turn around and see a bald man manning the caravan.

He's wearing light leather armor like Jonathan but instead of a sword, he has a bow beside him and a quiver full of arrows.

"Ello there mate! The name's Pep"

He turns around just to take a good look at me. He has a toothy smile and a very bright face but I believe he's not a very bright person.

I ignore his accent and try to piece together his words.

I nod and introduce myself.

"I'm Magnus and like earlier, I am a follower of-

"Ta ta ta-" Pep shushes me and I raise my eyebrow.

"I understand you have yer fancy religion and stuff but you don't have to tell me that. I believe that yer only worth your salt if yer strong."

I take a long hard look on Pep's face and notice only one thing.

This man has experienced so much hardship that he's almost insane.

Aria sighs and says "Ignore him Magnus. Pep is not a man of faith or any religion but he is undoubtedly a good man."

Aria seems slightly dejected at that.

"Of course! I ain't no stinkin sack of horse turd to believe in any selfish god."

Aria frowns a little and Jonathan just laughs. The other refugees seem a little peturbed at Pep's way of words.

I have to admit, I'm slightly disturbed as well.

I take a good long stare at Pep one more time and for a moment, he loses his smile.

"Yer a diffrent fellow are ya?"

Pep just nods and returns to his post.

A quick look tells me that Pep is level 14.

Jonathan seems silenced by Pep's sudden change.

"That's not usual..." I hear another different voice and notice a young male riding a horse beside the caravan.

He has very deep and simple eyes, yet they shine with the brightness of a genius.

I take a quick look at his status and notice that he has a [Genius Mind] skill under his innate skills.

He takes a look at me and says "Pep usually doesn't give up on just one sentence... What did you do?"

Very inquisitive.

"I did nothing. He must not find me interesting."

He doesn't reply. He just stares at me and suddenly looks back to the road.

"Sorry about that. Viktor is a very quiet person and he usually prefers his studies over any social interaction but he is definitely a good person!" Jonathan says trying to convince me.

I take a look at Viktor and notice that he's already level 18 and he's growing fast.

I take a quick check and notice that there's no other party member to be introduced, so I make my evaluation.

They must be an upstart adventurer group that formed when they finished their official training from whomever they learned, except Pep.

I sense that, despite his lower level, he constantly trains.

I continue chatting with the trio, since Viktor decided to keep quiet.

I'm going to miss that cave. I almost made it my home. Thankfully, the alchemical circles I put there will prevent it from being ransacked by animals.

While enjoying the presence of the adventurers, I remember to ask them a question.

"Is there an adventurer's guild in Barkenvall?"

Jonathan smiles "Yeah, it's common practice now for every city, town and village to have an adventurer's guild branch. After all, adventurers travel a lot. We just finished a misson and since we have business in Barkenvall, it's easier if we just submit our mission there."

I start to think of adventurers. Their profession is so risky, yet they all do it. Mortals are truly a fascinating and exhilarating race.

I wonder... Would it be better if I become an adventurer, or should I stay as a wanderer?

Well, that'll be a question for another time, I guess.

"Hey Magnus, does your belief's tenets say that you should wear animal fur?"

Aria approaches me and starts asking questions about my false faith and I start indulging her.

Me and the others continue to chat and talk, as we safely travel towards Barkenvall.

I just hope we continue this trend of safety.