It turned out that the demi-humans were not completely devoid of their own heritage.
While most of their children lacked the magical talent required to become wizards, they still inherited the unique, innate abilities of their respective bloodlines. Sherry, for instance, had undergone specialised training since she was a child.
'Thirteen years old, effectively a Level 6 rogue, and entirely specialised in stealth and sneak attacks...' Ted mused, genuinely impressed as he evaluated her. 'Since when did the Rat-Eared Tribe moonlight as an assassin's guild?'
The three of them slipped out of the village quietly after lunch. Sherry knew of a secret passage that led directly past the perimeter, bypassing the main gates entirely. The tunnel was incredibly well-hidden but painfully narrow. Ted found himself constantly brushing against the earthen walls, collecting mud on his robes. Jerry and Sherry, on the other hand, navigated the low, cramped space with effortless comfort.
Fortunately, Ted was able to cast a quick Scouring Charm the moment they emerged, otherwise he would have started their expedition covered head to toe in dirt.
Once outside, Ted pulled a few vials of potion from his magically expanded bag. "The red one heals both internal and external injuries, and the green one cures low-level toxins," Ted explained, handing them over to Sherry. "You won't need the blue one; that's a mana potion for Jerry."
Sherry had teased him earlier about potentially getting stuck in the tunnel, so he figured showing off his alchemical preparation was a fair bit of retaliation. After distributing the supplies, Ted sent Anzu launching into the sky to act as their aerial scout. With their perimeter secured, the trio cautiously advanced into the dense woods.
Nestled behind the rugged peaks, a vast forest sprawled across the foothills. As it was the height of July, the midsummer vegetation was unusually thick and lush, casting deep, verdant shadows across the forest floor.
"A faint mist settles here every morning and evening, which is why it's called the Misty Forest," Jerry explained in a hushed tone. "A few years ago, some Muggles tried exploring the area, but they got hopelessly lost every single time. It didn't take long for them to stop coming altogether."
Sherry let out a quiet scoff. "That's only because the wizards from the Ministry of Magic blanketed the entire area in a large-scale Muggle-Repelling Charm."
Due to the absolute lack of human interference, the Misty Forest typically teemed with wildlife. Right now, however, the ecosystem was in complete disarray. Ted watched in bewilderment as a snake and a rabbit sprinted past them, running side by side without a hint of predatory instinct between them.
Through their mental link, Anzu reported that the canopy was completely devoid of birds; every single flock had already fled.
'What exactly happened to scare off the entire food chain?' Ted wondered grimly. He noticed that even the insects were crawling about in blind panic. Lacking the intelligence or endurance for a true migration, they were simply swarming the undergrowth in a chaotic frenzy.
Suddenly, Sherry's nose twitched. "Be careful," she hissed, dropping into a defensive crouch. "There's something ahead!"
High above, Anzu simultaneously locked onto the anomaly. It was a bizarre creature, roughly the size of a large dog—perhaps an Alaskan Malamute—but with a heavily disproportionate build. It had a narrow front and a massive, heavily muscled rear, covered in coarse black fur marked with white stripes and spots. Its fangs were terrifyingly overgrown, and its rabid expression made it perfectly clear that it was completely berserk.
Ted's System immediately provided an appraisal.
[Ferocious Badger]
Violent Beast, Level 6.
The badger possessed absolutely no magical core; it was simply driven by pure, uncontrollable fury.
These highly aggressive mundane beasts had begun appearing sporadically over a decade ago. Back then, Muggle newspapers had been flooded with reports of wild animals spontaneously attacking hikers, which had even sparked a brief hunting frenzy across the countryside. Despite lacking magical abilities, this badger's absurdly reinforced physique and sheer aggression placed it at Level 6—making it arguably as dangerous as a fully grown Acromantula!
Right now, the beast was viciously mauling a stag. It clearly wasn't hunting for food; this was an act of pure, brutal slaughter. The stag's neck was already snapped, yet the ferocious badger continued to tear into the carcass frantically, spraying blood across the forest floor.
Ted opened his mouth to instruct Sherry to take cover, not bothering to worry about Jerry—the Gryffindor boy was exceptionally sharp and had undoubtedly already found a hiding spot. But to Ted's surprise, Sherry was even quicker than her cousin.
While Jerry had quietly ducked behind a massive oak, Sherry went straight up the trunk. Using both hands, she scaled the rough bark as effortlessly as if she were sprinting across flat ground.
'Merlin's beard,' Ted thought, momentarily taken aback. 'Are you sure you're a rat-eared demi-human and not a squirrel?'
With his party safely hidden, Ted felt entirely relieved. He confidently strode forward into the clearing, wand at the ready.
Despite its blind frenzy, the massive badger possessed frighteningly keen senses. It immediately snapped its head up, spotting Ted from twenty metres away. Letting out a guttural snarl, it abandoned the stag and charged straight at him without a second of hesitation. Its jaws snapped wildly, clearly intent on tearing Ted to shreds!
Just as the beast closed the distance, Jerry—who had been patiently waiting behind his tree—struck. "Impedimenta!" he shouted, hitting the badger squarely with an Impediment Jinx.
The creature's movements instantly bogged down, its terrifying sprint reduced to sluggish slow motion. Simultaneously, a twenty-centimetre crossbow bolt shot down from the canopy directly behind the beast, aimed flawlessly at one of its rabid eyes. Had the badger not jerked its head at the very last second, the bolt would have pierced its brain and killed it instantly.
It was clear that Jerry and Sherry had spent the last few weeks exploring the mountains together; their tactical coordination was brilliant.
The thin crossbow bolt lodged firmly into the badger's eye socket, sending a spray of dark blood over its fur. However, the grievous injury didn't trigger any survival instinct to retreat; instead, it only amplified the beast's fury. Its muscles bulged hideously as it forced its way through the magical resistance. Bleeding heavily from its eye and frothing at the mouth, the badger lunged at Ted, completely shattering the lingering effects of the Impediment Jinx!
Ted didn't even flinch. He extended his left hand, curling his fingers into a claw-like grip, and violently wrenched his arm upward.
The charging badger was suddenly seized by an invisible, crushing force and hoisted directly into the air. With a casual flick of his wrist, Ted sent the suspended beast slamming violently into the trunk of a massive tree. He had modified this specific D&D cantrip after being inspired by the Weasley twins' pranks, developing a custom variant he privately called Mage Hand: Altered.
'A rather brilliant effect, really,' he noted with satisfaction.
The impact was so severe it visibly shook the thick trunk, leaving the badger thrashing on the ground as blood spurted from its jaws. Yet, the creature's vitality was absolutely terrifying; it was actually struggling to stagger back to its feet! Its remaining eye burned blood-red, its fighting spirit entirely unbroken.
Ted had no interest in playing with his prey. He raised his left hand to pin the beast with telekinetic force once more, then drew his wand with his right. "Diffindo!" he cast cleanly. An invisible blade of magic cleanly severed the immobilized badger's neck, ending its frenzy instantly.
[System Message]
550 experience points awarded.
'If I hadn't had the assist from my party members, it probably would have yielded 600 points,' Ted calculated. A soft glow emanated from the carcass, depositing a loot card directly into his inventory.
[Ferocity (Green)]
Material Card.
Jerry stepped out from behind the oak, looking thoroughly relieved. "It's a good thing we had the mobility advantage. My search party encountered a ferocious beast much smaller than this a few days ago, and it still took us over ten minutes to bring it down. They're so wildly aggressive they literally have no concept of death!"
Sherry dropped lightly from the canopy, staring at Ted with wide, appraising eyes. Jerry had warned her that Ted was no ordinary wizard, but seeing him casually manhandle a monstrous beast with wandless magic was entirely different. 'Not an ordinary wizard is the understatement of the century,' she thought incredulously.
After briefly recovering their spent bolts, the trio continued their trek along the established route. Before long, they encountered a pack of massive timber wolves. There were about seven or eight of them, each heavily muscled and imposing. The pack's alpha was a strikingly handsome beast, marked by a vivid crescent-moon patch of white fur across its chest.
Unlike the rabid badger, the alpha wolf possessed a remarkably high intelligence and a sharp survival instinct. When the rest of the pack lowered their heads to attack, the alpha barked a sharp, commanding order to stand down. Keeping a vigilant, wary eye on the three humans, the alpha led its pack in a wide arc, slipping quietly back into the underbrush.
Ted and his companions were explorers, not butchers. Seeing that the pack was smart enough to avoid a conflict, they simply let them retreat without initiating hostilities.
Their peaceful progress was shattered twenty minutes later when they stumbled across a giant bear. Its thick fur was heavily scorched, covered in raw, blackened burn marks that constantly emitted thin wisps of green smoke. One of its eyes was completely blind, and half of its face had been burned so severely it looked as though hot coals had been violently embedded into its skull. The eerie green smoke plumed relentlessly from its wounds, making it seem as though the creature were perpetually burning from the inside out.
Ted swiftly activated his System's identification.
[Scorching Brown Bear]
Level 7 Mutant Beast / Level 1 Flame Erosion / Level 1 Magical Creature.
The bear had clearly been driven completely mad by the agonizing pain of the fiery magic eroding its body. Before Ted's group had even arrived, it had been blindly smashing through the surrounding trees. The moment it laid its one good eye on them, it let out a deafening roar and charged with terrifying speed.
Left with absolutely no choice, Ted and the others were forced to put it down, a grueling fight that dragged on for several intense minutes. The beast's vitality was downright monstrous, aided by a neck as thick as a boulder. It took Ted several heavily overpowered Severing Charms to finally hack through its thick hide and decapitate the raging beast.
When the bear finally collapsed, the blood that sprayed from its stump was literally boiling, sending thick clouds of steam rolling into the midsummer air!
[System Message]
922 experience points awarded.
Another loot card materialized from the steaming remains.
[Boiling Blood (Green)]
Material Card.
Jerry unrolled his leather map and quickly checked their coordinates. "Less than two miles ahead," he panted, wiping sweat from his brow. "We're just about to clear the edge of the Misty Forest."
It had taken them less than two hours to traverse the entire forest. This unprecedented speed was entirely due to Ted's overwhelming combat power; any crazed beasts that dared block their path were systematically destroyed in a matter of minutes, completely eliminating any delays.
If Jerry's village search party had attempted this exact route, they wouldn't have made it through in under six or seven hours—assuming they survived at all.
Just beyond the edge of the Misty Forest lay the low-lying Red Maple Valley. Prone to heavy flooding during the rainy season, the valley floor was a sprawling expanse of smooth, pebble-strewn riverbeds...
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Word count: 1971
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