From within the rustling leaves, a creature with a dusty white fur covering its body walked out. Its tail wriggled left and right, the beast’s excitement clear by its movement. Opened its mouth, revealing a set of razor-sharp canines as it licked its mouth. Standing tall on its four paws, it easily reached a height slightly taller than Samuel’s.

However, what struck out the most was a patch of dull crimson staining its furry back, giving off a familiar metallic scent.

Its ferocious eyes glared at the both of us as it made a nasal sound. The glint in its eyes was intimidating, as if declaring any resistance to be no more than a fool’s errand.

“A… Direwolf?” I muttered, squinting my eye.

Samuel nodded in response without turning back his head, his eyes not willing to leave the direwolf’s body for even a second.

Direwolves — one of the various types of beasts one could find, be it in the wild or in a dungeon, characterised by their builds and commonly known for their sharp teeth as well as their stinging claws. They usually require a mage at Tier-8 or above to be dealt with, classified as a beast within D class.

The classification for mages ranges from ranks 9 to 1, 9 being the lowest and 1 being the highest, with the rankings determined by The Tower of Magic, the central organisation that protects the rights of and governs over all mages as well as aims to raise people’s awareness regarding magic, promoting ethical use and research.

On the other hand, beasts are classified on various scales, of which one of the most commonly used scales is the scale issued by Adventurers’ Guild, the other ones being from other major organisations like the Tower of Magic and Researchers’ Regime and many more.

Being an Adventurer is an occupation for people who work for thrill, freedom, or due to their own unique circumstances, doing odd jobs and commissions posted by both people as well as various organisations, all working under a common front — The Adventurers’ guild. And, the Adventurers’ Guild is an organisation that works in the interests of all the individual adventurers by maintaining a record and issuing quests and bounties to the adventurers as well as ensuring their fair treatment.

Within the scale issued by Adventurers’ Guild, they rank beasts similar to adventurers, their ranks ranging from E class to SSS class, E being the lowest and SSS being the highest, with ranks D, C, B, A, S, and SS in between, the rankings themselves being based on the strength of a beast in combat.

In short, the beast in front of us was something we could not beat or escape from.

My heart chilled as I took a step back. Sweat formed on my back as I felt a pressure by simply staring into the beast’s eyes — as if it would devour me whole.

Samuel put a hand behind his back, gesturing me to calm down as he monotonously said, “Go and call mom. I will take care of this in the meantime.”

“B-but what about you? Will you be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Now, go.”

Samuel’s voice was calm as a lake, never turning his head back to look at me. His shoulders looked broad like an adult’s, and he gave off a reliable air, unlike his usual playful atmosphere.

My breath got caught in my throat as a familiar figure of a woman superimposed with his in my mind, the figure of my late mother.

Is it all going to be the same way? Is Samuel going to d-die? Because of me? To protect me?

My eyes lost all focus as the world around me became a blur. All strength left my limbs, making it harder for me to stand up. A chill seeped through my heart, turning my whole body colder, whereas my heart beat like a drum, as if beating against my chest to tear it open and escape.

A grab at my collar jolted me awake.

When my eyes focused, Samuel’s face was inches away, fury evident in his eyes.

“Have you gone deaf?! Leave already. You’ll be a burden. Now, GO!”

Finishing his piece, he pushed me away, turning back to face the direwolf, rendering me speechless.

However, what got me at a loss for a word wasn’t his anger or concern. Rather, it was a certain fire in his eyes. A fire that he wouldn’t abandon. Something he just couldn’t give up on. Something he treasured more than his own life.

Having my heart shaken from the depths of it, I muttered under my breath, “Is this the… ‘weight behind a punch’ he talked about?”

An inexplicable feeling filled me, making me unable to take a step away.

“DAMN IT! LEAVE ALREADY!” Samuel screamed.

As if taking it as a provocation, the direwolf made its move, using its hind legs to push against the ground, charging at Samuel.

A cold glint flashed across Samuel’s eyes as he muttered, “Embers of my heart, turn to flames and devour the world before my eyes — INCINERATE!”

A bright red light flickered around Samuel before turning to flames. The flames wrapped around his arm, burning bright as a sun. As he pushed out, the flames leapt onto the direwolf like a den of snakes, wrapping it entirely before beginning to burn it.

An open maw enough to fit two watermelons protruded out of the cloud of flames, aimed straight at Samuel. The set of teeth within shone under the light from flames, looking like knives of a butcher in a butchery.

However, in the next instant, the direwolf roared, dissipating all the surrounding flames. Still, it wasn’t able to go unharmed, made clear by the burnt tips of its fur. Yet, that was the extent of the damage Samuel’s spell caused, unable to inflict any damage or affect the beast’s plunge in any way.

With an open jaw barely a few inches away from Samuel’s head, I couldn’t see any way he could get through that.

My impulses wanted me to move, but my instincts held me back, making me tremble in fear instead. My teeth dug into my lower lip, all to no avail. My feet wouldn’t move, as if frozen by fear. At the same time, my eyes wouldn’t leave the scene before me. My fists clenched, yet all I was capable of was to watch him fight.