Wolf materialized inside a vast cavern. Teleportation was soundless, and the youth appeared out of thin air in a mind numbing change of reality. One moment he was in the Mage Academy’s basement. In the next instant, space folded, and Wolf experienced a gut-wrenching pain in the pit of his stomach, followed by a strong bout of dizziness.

The young Mage closed his eyes. He breathed in and out two dozen times until the world stopped spinning and Wolf’s ears no longer buzzed.

Wolf opened his eyes once the sensation had passed. The sharp pain became a dull ache in the back of his head.

After calming down and regaining his senses, Wolf looked around the cave.

The underground chamber was very spacious and illuminated by magical lighting. Countless silvery lines and clusters of arcane runes covered the smooth, man-made walls forming complex diagrams.

Wolf found the sight fascinating. Archibald had never taught him how to scribe teleportation Spell Formations.

Dad probably didn’t know how to scribe them, Wolf thought. I’ll ask Smith about it once I get back.

Even though he couldn’t decipher the teleportation bit of the Spell Formation, that didn’t stop Wolf from examining the marvelous thing which covered several hundred square meters.

He divided the giant schema into pieces which had specific functions. Defense, stealth, repulsion, unknown and unknown. The more Wolf looked at the squiggly lines and sharp angles, the more impressed he became. He also realized how little he knew.

No time for that. Wolf tore his gaze away from the walls. Deciphering and cracking this Spell Formation would take months. I’ve already wasted eight days before coming here.

Wolf got up, casting longing glances at the arrays of runes. Maybe just half an hour…

Half a day later, Wolf left the underground hall. He had a guilty, yet satisfied smile. His gains weren’t substantial, but he’d seen some new concepts, which helped advance his stagnant art of scribing.

Wolf left the stone tunnel and found himself smack in the middle of a primal forest. The young man took a deep breath and closed his eyes. A light smile bloomed on his face out of nowhere for the first time in days. Memories of a forest from his youth appeared before his eyes and made him forget his troubles for a moment.

Would you like Father to instruct you on the subject of magic? Those words, which seemed like they happened a lifetime ago, made Wolf’s heart ache. The pain and sadness were worse than what he felt when carving the tenth column.

“Life is strange,” Wolf whispered, recalling his father’s seemingly random words.

“I’ll bring you back Dad. I promise,” Wolf said, but oddly enough he didn’t feel those shackles form.

Wolf didn’t linger on the thought. He just breathed in the familiar scent of primeval wilderness. The smell of vegetation, with a heavy undertone of damp earth mixed in the clean air, untouched by the sewers of civilization.

Wolf didn’t drown in the feeling. Something was strange. The mixed smells were fine. Wolf noticed a higher concentration of World Energy here, but it wasn’t all that much greater than in the rest of the Empire. No, there was something else in the air. The youth paused. After a moment, he confirmed that the feeling came from his entire being, not just his nose.

He gradually awakened his senses. With his eyes closed he heard the chirping of birds and the rustle of leaves. As his senses strengthened, sounds of myriad tiny chitinous legs scratching against leaves and bark entered his ear. The unified smells broke down as well. They became sap oozing out of broken and bitten-off leaves, releasing the smell of plants. Pollen’s sweet aroma entered Wolf’s nose, as did the earthen tones. The musky scent of decomposing flora mixed with manure, old dried blood and countless other smells.

However, Wolf failed to detect the source of his unease until his senses were only ten percent from being fully awakened. Then he felt it. A faint oppressive feeling, akin to murderous intent hung in the air. It was hard to notice, because it was diluted, and it didn’t target him. Instead, it seemed as if the murderous intent targeted the entire world.

How can a forest have a murderous aura? Wolf wondered.

As far as he knew, only sentient beings could have a murderous aura. Yet, it was undeniable that the surroundings had something which resembled it.

However, as Wolf’s senses fully awoke he realized something else. This oppression wasn’t the only peculiarity. He vaguely detected his enemy’s direction.

Wolf didn’t even know he had enemies here, but now he knew their general direction. As moments passed, the feeling crystalized. Hatred welled up inside Wolf’s heart, and he felt a powerful urge to destroy his enemy.

This is strange. Wolf dulled down his senses. I should ask the Headmaster about what’s going on in this place. No. I should’ve bothered old man Richard about information regarding this zone when he brought me to the teleportation Spell Formation. The Headmaster is useless, but his secretary seems surprisingly capable.

While Wolf considered the peculiarity of the environment, he felt his enemy even with dormant senses.

The Demonic Beast approached rapidly, roaring in madness. Wolf took out a random sword from his Ring of Holding and assumed a defensive stance.

However, even before the Demonic Beast reached him, he sensed three other unknown enemies from various directions. The youth frowned, four enemies of unknown power converged towards his location.

This is supposed to be the outermost layer of the danger zone. Their Orders can’t be that high.

Wolf’s guess was correct. A moment later the first enemy charged out of the bushes. It was a Blue-Scaled Bipedal Land-Drake. The same species which pulled Alchemists’ carriage to Mirkwood. Unlike the tamed Land-Drakes, this savage creature didn’t have its claws cut and teeth filed. The claws of its forelegs glistened like vicious curved daggers, while its teeth were miniature stakes, the size of a man’s pinky.

But that wasn’t the most eye-catching difference. What drew Wolf’s attention the most was the Demonic Beast’s berserk gaze and its bloodshot eyes.

Wolf recognized that look. It was the same hatred which raged in the pit of his stomach. Wolf sensed an urge to tear the lizard to shreds. Fortunately, his will was strong, and he immediately shrugged off the compulsion.

Is this a spell? He wondered. This feeling would instantly invade Anna and Barbara. Maybe even Wayde. I think most Fifth Order Mages would fumble their spells under this pressure.

Wolf observed the mindlessly pouncing Demonic Beast, leisurely analyzing the danger posed by these potent emotions.

The terrifying drake soared through the air, its maw wide. However, Wolf remained relaxed. He noted that the Land-Drake wasn’t alone, which wasn’t strange, since these creatures were pack hunters. The odd thing was that Wolf only sensed one “enemy”, but this group had four beasts.

Wolf jumped to dodge, getting high enough to slash the piece-of-trash long-sword at the Demonic Beast’s neck. The blade failed to cut the tough scales, but the force of the blow crushed the oversized lizard’s neck. It was enough to deliver a killing blow, and a limp body fell to the ground.

Unfortunately, Wolf’s blade fared no better. It was bent at a comical angle, and Wolf could only discard it for now.

Damnable piece of junk, Wolf thought as the sword disappeared into his Ring of Holding. I can’t believe regular weapons can’t handle a single exchange with a mere Fourth Order Monster Beast?

The ruined sword was just one of many pieces of junk Wolf collected along the way, but never sold. Ever since killing Van Dale, selling bandit weapons had little impact on Wolf’s wealth, while he might find a use for them one day. That being the case, Wolf stashed an ever-growing mound of weapons in a corner of his Ring of Holding.

It seems I’ll have to use maneuvers. But spending Internal Energy and recovering it with potions is more wasteful than destroying ordinary weapons.

I’ll try once. Just to see how quickly I can recover my Internal Energy here. But I really need to buy a decent replacement sword when I get back to Silver City. Van Dale’s doesn’t cut it.

As those thoughts passed through Wolf’s head, a spear appeared in his hand. He placed the butt end on the ground and kept the spear stable just long enough to let a leaping Land-Drake impale itself. The wooden shaft shattered, but Wolf didn’t pay any attention to the spear.

A javelin appeared in his hand. Wolf heaved and sent the weapon soaring through the air. With a thud it sunk into the third lizard’s eye-socket, killing the Demonic Beast on the spot.

Wolf sensed enemies approaching from all directions, but only the final Land-Drake was within sight. A great-sword materialized in Wolf’s hand, and with a Sundering Strike, the youth cleaved the Land-Drake in two.

Wolf glanced at the blade and confirmed the edge was as good as it was before the strike.

Just enhancing the weapons with Internal Energy ought to be enough for lower Order Monster Beasts. It’s more convenient and uses up less Internal Energy… But it’s still wasteful. The youth’s mind churned, as he tried to figure out the optimal approach to eradicating Demonic Beasts.

Two hours later Wolf had barely moved a kilometer away from the cave entrance. He’d killed two dozen Fourth Order Demonic Beasts, a pair of Fifth Order ones and a bunch of Third Order ones.

Wolf tested various types of weapons. He ruined most after a single exchange, but there were some conclusions.

He could reuse a javelin as long as it struck the eye. Great-axe and a war-hammer lasted the longest. After a couple of blows, the axe-head bent out of shape, but the weapon was still heavy enough to bludgeon monsters. It became an oddly-shaped hammer.

Same went for great-swords, which became lumps of steel used for battering. As for light weapons, Wolf gave up on those. A rapier he tested couldn’t even break the monster’s tough hide, and given his height, the only weak spots Wolf could reach were buttholes.

Wolf believed this was because he only encountered saurians. Their defenses were on the higher end among Monster Beasts, second only to insectoids in chitinous exoskeletons.

Even so, they seem tougher than they should be, Wolf thought about what had happened, deciding not to force his way forward. He cleared the surrounding enemies and thought it would be a good time to reflect on the experience. The gang can wound and fend off Fourth Order Monster Beasts by using normal weapons. Weapons get damaged over time, but they don’t break apart as miserably as these.

Hmmm… What the gang buys is higher in quality, and they don’t use as much force as I do. But, I don't have a choice. Holding back in a life or death battle is dangerous, and weapons aren’t worth the risk. Especially these ones.

Thinking about the gang, Wolf faltered for a moment. Barbara was no longer a part of the gang. Even her long-awaited birthday party became an engagement announcement. She’s quitting the academy and getting married in two months.

Wolf took a deep breath and drove away these useless thoughts.

It sucks not having a decent weapon. Axe and hammer handles creak whenever a blow connects. Spear shafts seem ready to turn into splinters with every thrust, and swords dull or bend after a single slash, even though I’m aiming for the soft spots. It feels like I’m exchanging junk weapons for Monster Cores.

Now that there were no enemies in sight, Wolf took out Van Dale’s sword. He infused it with a modest amount of Internal Energy, then began extracting the Monster Cores.

This sword was currently Wolf’s highest quality, and it could substitute Wolf’s old sword for the moment. The issue was that Van Dale’s sword was the perfect size for Van Dale, a two meter tall man, not so much for a meter and forty centimeters tall Wolf. The youth looked like a caricature, extracting Monster Cores from two meters away with a fully outstretched arm.

Unsurprisingly, Wolf felt silly. I have limited time, and a finite number of weapons. To buy a decent sword, I’ll either have to earn a lot of money now, or sell off most of the items I kept from Van Dale. I might end up exchanging my Academic Credits for gold, since the academy doesn’t sell high-quality weapons.

After fighting these dozens of Demonic Beasts, Wolf had to readjust his plan. He didn’t have enough resources to tour the periphery of the danger zone.

I should head north-northeast, towards the center of the danger zone. These small fries aren’t worth my time. But this could be a good training ground to temper Frida once she’s ready to go adventuring.

After collecting his meager gains and cooking up some plans, Wolf headed towards the center of the danger zone.