In a region with vast grasslands, there stood a single tree far larger than an ordinary one. There lived 30 Horned Wolves—wolves with a single horn on their heads.
All members of the Beast Hunters began to dismount, then Lloyd stepped out of his carriage and spoke in a cold tone, "Move forward and kill them."
The Beast Hunter members nodded; they began to run toward the Horned Wolves, drawing their respective swords.
The Horned Wolves advanced toward them; three Horned Wolves surrounded one of the Beast Hunter members. That Beast Hunter muttered, "Wind Step." He easily leaped into the air, then uttered, "Wind Slash." With one swing, a gust of wind erupted from his blade, killing the three Horned Wolves.
Seven Horned Wolves ran toward another Beast Hunter member. That Beast Hunter pointed his sword upward and uttered, "Lightning Strike." He swung his sword down vertically; a flash of purple lightning appeared and struck the seven Horned Wolves.
As the Beast Hunters were about to kill all the Horned Wolves, suddenly, the Wind Magic user was bitten by a giant-sized wolf. It was a Giant Horned Wolf. The Giant Horned Wolf tossed the Beast Hunter, which was biting away with its mouth.
The Wind Magic Beast Hunter was thrown and fell near Lloyd. Another Beast Hunter shouted, "Fire Blast!" He pointed his sword at the Giant Horned Wolf; a burst of fire appeared at the tip of his sword, hitting and enveloping the Giant Horned Wolf.
However, the Giant Horned Wolf emerged from behind the flames and, with its massive mouth, tried to bite that Hunter Beast. Another Hunter Beast, the Lightning Magic user, pushed him aside, and they both avoided the Giant Horned Wolf's bite.
Another Beast Hunter began to utter, "Earth Spike," as he plunged his sword into the ground. The Giant Horned Wolf, seeing this, leaped to the side as a giant earthen spike erupted beside it. The man was shocked, and just as the Giant Horned Wolf was about to bite him, its mouth was forced shut, and it stopped inches in front of him.
The Giant Horned Wolf was bound by four yellowish-white chains emerging from Magic Circles floating around them. This was Chain Magic, one of the best non-elemental spells, because it can synergize with all elemental magic. Lloyd began to walk forward, "Step back, let me kill it."
The Beast Hunters nodded and immediately retreated. The three remaining Horned Wolves ran toward Lloyd.
Lloyd drew his sword, and his blade began to be enveloped by fire. This was no ordinary fire, but Eternal Fire. As the Horned Wolves leaped toward Lloyd, he split them with a single slash, and the three Horned Wolves began to burn with orange flames tinged with blue, turning to ash instantly.
Lloyd now stood before the bound Giant Horned Wolf. He pointed his sword at the Giant Wolf, "I will not kill you with my sword."
Lloyd returned his sword to its scabbard, then uttered, "Eternal Fire Magic... Chain Burning."
The chains binding the Giant Horned Wolf began to burn with orange and bluish flames. The Giant Horned Wolf started to burn, and its body immediately turned to ash. Seeing this, Lloyd turned around, and when he was near the Beast Hunters, he said in a cold tone, "We will return to Noblesser and report this to Archduke Lawstone."
In the city of Noblesser, Yuira and Nurveus were in a fairly large courtyard. Yuira summoned the miniature shop, placed it in the center, and stepped back several paces as the shop began to expand.
Yuira and Nurveus entered the shop. Yuira opened the door to the Production Room, where they saw 20 Worker Dolls stirring water containing drops of Yggdrasil Tree Sap. Three other Workers began lifting crates of Yggdrasil Healing Potions and placing them on shelves.
Yuira turned around, "You may go explore the city; I will look after the shop," Yuira said to Nurveus while handing her a bag of money.
Nurveus nodded and left the shop. Watching her go, Yuira took a chair and sat down. The Beast Hunters and Lloyd's carriage passed in front of Yuira's shop; Lloyd caught a glimpse of the store.
At the residence of Archduke Lawstone's family, Lloyd and the four Beast Hunter members knelt before a man in his 40s, Fenedy Lawstone.
"We have successfully killed the Giant Horned Wolf, Sir," Lloyd said in a cold tone.
Fenedy, hearing this, asked, "Is that so? You truly killed the monster that has been threatening the city?"
Lloyd remained silent and simply nodded. Seeing this, Fenedy stood before Lloyd and touched both of his shoulders with a proud smile. He then turned around, "Invite the other nobles; we are holding a banquet tonight!" Fenedy said with great pride.
Outside, Lloyd and the four Beast Hunters began to walk. Lloyd, without turning back, said in a cold tone, "Go rest at the inn; there is a place I want to visit." The four Beast Hunters nodded, but instead of resting, they continued to follow Lloyd even though they were seriously injured.
In the city of Noblesser, Nurveus was taking a walk. Around her were blacksmith shops, restaurants, and markets. Although Noblesser was known as the City of Nobles, Nurveus saw that the average residents were commoners.
The reason Noblesser was known as the City of Nobles was not that its average population was noble, but because there were more nobles living in that city compared to others.
Nurveus saw a very large library and entered. The library was massive and spacious. Nurveus began to wander through the various shelves and saw a book that was a Magic Book. Nurveus took the book and sat in a chair. She opened it, and the book contained explanations about magic.
In this world, there are two types of magic: Elemental Magic and Non-elemental Magic. Elemental magic consists of seven types: Fire Magic, Water Magic, Earth Magic, Air Magic, Electric Magic, Dark Magic, and Light Magic. These are all called Basic Elemental Magic.
Basic Elemental Magic can become Evolution Magic: Fire Magic becomes Magma Magic; Water Magic becomes Snow Magic, then Ice Magic; Earth Magic becomes Stone Magic, then Iron Magic, and finally Crystal Magic; Air Magic becomes Wind Magic; Electric Magic becomes Lightning Magic; Dark Magic becomes Shadow Magic, then Curse Magic; and Light Magic becomes Holy Magic.
However, there are several Elemental Magics that almost no one can master: Eternal Fire Magic, which is the Evolution Magic of Magma Magic, and Divine Magic, which is the Evolution Magic of Holy Magic. Eternal Fire Magic has two types: Phoenix Flame and Hell Flame. A person obtains Phoenix Flame-type Eternal Fire Magic by eating a Phoenix Heart, whereas the Hell Flame type cannot be possessed by anyone unless destiny chooses them.
The Phoenix Flame and Hell Flame types have differences. The color of the Phoenix Flame is orange with a hint of blue, while the Hell Flame is pure blue with no other colors. Phoenix Flame users are already powerful and cannot feel heat, whereas Hell Flame users can still feel heat, even the fire from their own magic. The power of the Hell Flame type can grow stronger if the user kills other creatures, but Hell Flame can control the user to kill indiscriminately and can kill the users themselves by burning their consciousness.
The reason Divine Magic cannot be mastered by almost anyone is that Divine Magic is an Ancient Magic whose existence is almost unknown to everyone; even if they knew of it, not everyone could master it.
Nurveus turned to the last page. "Hm? There is no explanation about Diamond Magic in this book... Could it be that it is magic created by the Master?"
Nurveus smiled, closed the book, and stood up. "I should head back."
Inside the shop, Yuira was currently drinking Terqio poison like a drunkard. Then, the sound of the opening doorbell was heard. "No wonder I felt strange about this shop... It turns out you are the owner of this shop," Lloyd said in a cold tone. Yuira, seeing him, smiled and asked, "In that case, what do you want, Brother?"
Lloyd pulled a large bag of money, bigger than himself, from his inventory. "Give me 300 of your best Healing Potions," he said while throwing the bag at Yuira.
Yuira caught the bag, but he fell because of its massive size. Yuira was pinned under the bag, then he snapped his fingers. Several Worker Dolls emerged from the Production Room carrying crates containing 30 each. The Worker Dolls began placing all the crates in front of Lloyd.
Lloyd touched the crates, and all of them moved into his Inventory. Lloyd saw a chair nearby, immediately pulled it over, and sat with his right leg crossed and his right arm behind the backrest. "Archduke Lawstone is holding a party at his mansion tonight, and since the Beast Hunters and I have killed the Horned Wolf and Giant Horned Wolf..." Lloyd said with a flat expression. "Is that so? That's good then," Yuira said nonchalantly while continuing to drink the poison. "You must attend, because I was the one who killed the Giant Horned Wolf, and all members of our family are required to attend," Lloyd added. Hearing that, Yuira began to choke.
Shortly after, a blonde young man with two guards entered and stood behind Lloyd. "I saw a shop that just opened here; I didn't expect the owner to be a commoner," the young man said in a condescending tone. The young man was Dirtus Arslen, a child of Count Arslen's family.
Lloyd, hearing that, just remained silent and closed his eyes. Dirtus ordered his guards to take one of the potions. One of his guards approached the shelf containing the Yggdrasil Healing Potions and gave one to Dirtus. Dirtus took the Healing Potion and asked condescendingly, "Did you make this?" to which Yuira replied, "Yes, this is a high-grade Healing Potion."
"Healing Potion? This looks more like cow's milk," Dirtus said insultingly. Dirtus began to throw the Healing Potion forward, but Lloyd caught it. Dirtus asked, "What family are you from?" Yuira, with a smile, replied, "I am from the Frontsen family."
Dirtus began to smile, "The Frontsen family? I've never heard of that family; besides, I don't care about a Commoner and a poor family like yours," he said condescendingly and arrogantly. Lloyd, hearing that, opened his eyes and looked back. Yuira and Lloyd began to stare at Dirtus with sharp gazes.
Outside the shop, Dirtus was thrown out, shattering the glass. Both of his guards were injured with broken bones in some limbs. "How dare you insult the Frontsen family in front of me?" Lloyd said in a cold tone full of anger.
Lloyd walked out and approached Dirtus, saying, "I will burn you." Dirtus frantically shouted, "I-I will report you to my father! My father is a Count, you know!" Lloyd, hearing that, pointed his right hand, "And?"
Yuira walked out. The four Beast Hunter members who saw him were shocked because they saw the person nicknamed the Artifact Maker at the Frontsen Magic Tower. The reason Yuira was nicknamed the Artifact Maker was that the majority of the Frontsen family's artifacts and those exhibited in the Magic Tower were his creations.
Just as Lloyd was about to burn the terrified Dirtus, Dirtus's father, named Alsto Arslen, appeared beside them. Dirtus, seeing this, felt delighted. "Hey, look! You're going to die!" Dirtus shouted at Lloyd. Alsto saw Lloyd and was terrified, because Lloyd was nicknamed the Mythical Beast Hunter and would not hesitate to kill anyone.
Alsto began to kneel. "M-Master Lloyd, p-please forgive my son... He is indeed a foolish child; let me punish him."
Lloyd, seeing this, looked at Dirtus again. Then he said, "Fine, I will not kill you." He drew his sword from its scabbard and severed Dirtus's right arm, making Dirtus scream in pain. Alsto's guards began to take Dirtus and his severed arm back to the mansion.
Lloyd gave the Yggdrasil Healing Potion he was holding to the Beast Hunter member who was injured by the Giant Horned Wolf's attack earlier. Then he pulled out a bag of money, but Yuira said, "No need." Lloyd, hearing that, said, "Come there tonight," and then he departed, followed by the Beast Hunter members.
To be continued...