Overwhelming Firepower

On the morning of the third day of his stay in Valerious Village, Lucen headed out early to catch the first train ride back to Caelhart.

Today was the day he would be meeting with Principal Aldren Nikon to ask about becoming an instructor in the Royal Academy, so that he could better watch Alexander’s progress.

As he was walking to the train station, he spotted Alexander doing his morning runs. Lucen quickly hid as he did not want his second meeting with Alexander to be here and now.

Lucen watched from the corner of a nearby building, his presence completely suppressed and unreadable.

Alexander, wearing a bit of armor with his sword at his back, ran past him without noticing, and after a while, Mina, also fully armed, came running by.

Once they were no longer in sight, Lucen jumped on top of one of the buildings. He looked at the distance and saw the destination that the two were running towards. They were heading towards the forest where he sensed a few monsters were nearing.

’Heh, as expected of the hero, he noticed that. Well, I hope you level up a bit before we meet again.’

Lucen chuckled as he leapt down from the rooftop and landed lightly on the ground. Without another glance toward the forest, he adjusted his coat and continued walking toward the station.

A few shopkeepers were opening their stalls, the faint sound of wooden shutters creaking, mixing with the distant hiss of steam. The morning air was cool, carrying with it the scent of damp earth and iron.

The faint noise of people beginning their day added a quiet sense of life to the place.

By the time Lucen arrived at the station, the train was already there, its massive form exhaling white steam into the air.

Passengers were slowly boarding, some carrying goods, others simply traveling between towns. Their conversations blended into a low hum that filled the station. Some spoke about trade, others about travel, while a few complained about the early hour.

A few people glanced Lucen’s way and started whispering or giggling at one another. Lucen, whose looks were already quite handsome, became even cooler and caught the attention of several young women.

Lucen went inside the train and headed to his special seat, which he had made for himself and his family when he created these trains.

Lucen slid into his seat by the window. Lucen rested his arm against the window frame, his gaze drifting outside.

Lucen was now leaving Valerious Village very satisfied with his visit. He had gained a lot from coming to visit this place.

***

While Lucen was leaving the village, Alexander was dashing toward the area where he heard people say they spotted monsters. His pace was steady, as his mind was focused on what needed to be done.

Normally, monsters near villages would be dealt with by the knights of the noble who controls the area; their village was under Viscount Rother.

But to make that happen, their village needed to report the sighting to any official under the Viscount, in their case, the Bailiff.

After that, the Bailiff will report to the Guard Captain, and then, once a vacant time is found, and only then, will someone deal with the monster.

The process, at its fastest, would take around three days, and at its slowest, a week and a half, which was far too slow in urgent situations like this.

That was why Alexander volunteered to deal with the monsters. He was already an aura user at the second mantle, which was just as good or even better than the guards they might send to deal with the monsters.

Of course, learning about his plans, Mina decided to come with Alexander. The two, after telling the Village Elder their plans, headed out to deal with the monsters.

Alexander stopped running just outside the forest, and Mina, who was running slightly behind him, finally caught up.

”Why did you suddenly run like that?! You should have told Auntie first before heading out.”

”I don’t want my mom to worry, and the longer we wait, the closer the monsters will come to the village, and someone might get hurt or worse, killed.”

”I understand that, but still...”

”Don’t worry, I’m sure the two of us can handle this,” Alexander said without hesitation. To him, this was simple. If someone could act, then they should act.

Alexander had a bright smile filled with confidence that felt rather reassuring. Seeing him answer like that lightened Mina’s tension and made her sigh.

Mina let out another breath before tightening her grip on her spear. ”Alright... But if things get dangerous, we fall back immediately.”

Alexander nodded without hesitation. ”Got it.”

Despite hearing Alexander’s answer, Mina was sure that this person was not going to do that, no matter what he said. Since that was the kind of person her childhood friend Alexander was.

”Still, I wonder why any monster would go near the village? Normally, their hunting grounds were much deeper into the forest.” Mina asked the question that had been bothering her for a while.

”Something must have happened deep in the forest. Like a new monster had arrived, or a territorial war had happened, making the smaller monsters flee here.”

Alexander answered, unaware that his answer was the closest to the truth. The battle between the Forest Ravager and Lucen had actually made a few of the weaker monsters flee from the area.

”No matter what the real reason is, we need to deal with the monsters that are getting too close to the village. Let’s go, Mina.” Alexander entered the forest, and Mina followed behind.

As the two walked into the forest, the sounds of the village began to fade behind them. This was not the first time the two of them had gone into the forest, but unlike before, the tension was rather high.

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The trees were spaced enough to let sunlight filter through, and the ground was still clear of thick undergrowth. The occasional rustle of leaves and distant chirping of birds filled the air.

A few times, Mina jumped because of those sounds, which made Alexander smile, and Mina turned red in embarrassment, quickly looking away as if trying to hide her reaction.

”That didn’t happen,” she muttered under her breath. That had lightened the rather heavy mood they had been in.

Still, Alexander did not lower his guard as he gripped his broadsword tightly. ”Stay close,” he said quietly. Mina nodded, her spear held firmly as she followed just behind him.

The deeper they went, the thicker the trees became. The light dimmed bit by bit as the canopy above grew denser. The ground became uneven, roots spreading across the path like natural obstacles.

After walking for some time, Alexander heard a cackling sound. He had sensed numerous presences near them.

”...We’re surrounded,” Mina said under her breath.

Alexander and Mina quickly went back to back, covering each other’s blind spots. The monsters that appeared from the forest were large dog-like monsters with large hunched backs and long claws.

These monsters were gravebacks, monsters who usually eat the meat of deceased monster scraps they found.

They would also hunt down larger monsters when extremely hungry; they had good coordination and were quite intelligent monsters.

They were creatures known for their pack coordination and relentless hunting patterns. Once they locked onto prey, they would not stop.

Alexander and Mina, who had studied various monsters to pass the entrance test of the Royal Academy, knew that, to safely kill a pack of Gravebacks, you need at least seven aura users at the first mantle, and a mage good at using Fire spells.

”Alexander, there’s still an opening over there. Let’s retreat for now,” Mina suggested.

”... Sorry, Mina, I can’t do that. This is too close to the village, and hunters usually come here. If we leave these monsters be, they might kill a few hunters that have already headed out. Not to mention, they might head straight to the village.”

Mina clenched her teeth. She already knew that answer was coming. ”You really are impossible.”

Alexander gave a small, apologetic smile, but his grip on his sword tightened. Alexander stepped forward without hesitation, placing himself slightly ahead of Mina.

His stance lowered, steady and grounded. He was ready for whatever was about to come.

”I’ll keep them here,” he said calmly. ”You find an opening and break through. If things get bad, you run back and warn the others.”

Mina’s eyes widened. ”What? I’m not leaving you here alone! If you think-”

Mina was unable to finish her sentence as one of the Gravebacks lunged at them.

Alexander reacted quickly as his sword moved in a clean arc, forcing the creature back as the others closed in.

The other Gravebacks then cautiously walked towards the two of them.

”We’re really not going to retreat for now?” Mina asked again, her aura mantle enveloping her body. ”You should know that with current abilities, we really might die here.”

”If you want to retreat, I’ll make an opening for you, but I can’t leave until I defeat these monsters.”

Hearing Alexander’s reply, Mina once again sighed as she got into a fighting stance. ”As I said, I’m not leaving you behind. What will Auntie say if I do that?”

Alexander was momentarily stunned by Mina’s response, but then he could not help but smile. ”Then let’s deal with these monsters so we can go home and get scolded together.”