The forest seemed particularly lively tonight.
Si could hear the sounds of monster activity even in her dreams.
This situation was truly annoying.
One can't even get a peaceful night's sleep.
She had narrowly escaped death today and later consumed a lot of energy fighting monsters to level up.
Couldn't they just let her rest?
Si rolled over and shouted crossly, "Mou, how annoying!"
She covered her ears with both hands.
She curled up, hiding inside the tree hollow.
It was as if this would allow her to ignore the howling of the wolves outside.
"Why isn't there a magic that can solve this problem?"
"How great would it be if I could learn Space Magic..."
She fantasized about the housing Space Magic that most protagonists in novels possessed; even in the middle of nowhere, one could enjoy a top-tier lifestyle. That was the kind of magic she wanted. As a noble Mage, her current treatment was clearly abnormal.
"Awoooo~~~"
The wolf howls continued.
Where on earth did these wolves come from?
She hadn't encountered any sign of a wolf pack while exploring the area before.
Why were there so many wolf howls tonight?
"And it sounds like they're attacking something. Life in this forest is truly restless. I hope this doesn't spread to my side." Although the wolf howls were annoying, Si's rationality remained; hiding in the tree hollow, she had concealed almost all her presence.
Although her strength had improved a lot through today's efforts...
...it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Moreover, she had no idea what was going on with that pack of wolves.
Having never attended school in this world, she lacked the ability to judge what kind of monster the opponent was or how dangerous they might be just by sound.
So, with her cautious personality, she naturally chose to hide away like a turtle in its shell.
Although she was curious about what was happening...
...exploration of the forest would have to wait until daylight... Deep in the forest.
Pairs of eerie green eyes stared at the large creature in the center.
If Si were here, she would be able to recognize this large creature.
Because this large creature was the one that had almost killed her—
The overlord of this forest.
[White-Eyed Tiger]
And the monsters surrounding the White-Eyed Tiger were a type of wolf-like monster.
[Moon-Devouring Wolf]
Moon-Devouring Wolves are pack-dwelling monsters.
Like the White-Eyed Tiger, they are one of the overlords on the outskirts of this mountain range.
Because a group of very powerful Adventurers had recently come from the human race...
...the White-Eyed Tiger's family had been wiped out, with only one tiger surviving.
Meanwhile, the Moon-Devouring Wolf pack had also been mostly annihilated.
Having lost most of their pack, the Moon-Devouring Wolves failed in their struggle for territory and were driven out. They arrived at the White-Eyed Tiger's territory and happened to run into the weakened White-Eyed Tiger; thus, a battle between the two kings began.
The White-Eyed Tiger had a higher level and better attributes.
The Moon-Devouring Wolves had a significant numerical advantage and were skilled in magic.
Compared to a White-Eyed Tiger, which cannot use a single type of magic,
a Moon-Devouring Wolf possesses two or even three or more magic skills.
Even if the individual attributes of a Moon-Devouring Wolf are lower than those of a White-Eyed Tiger,
it is not impossible for a pack of such magic-proficient Moon-Devouring Wolves to kill the now heavily injured White-Eyed Tiger. Hiding within the pack, the Wolf King had even imagined Eating the White-Eyed Tiger's flesh to level up, as the Eating skill allows one to acquire a portion of the opponent's attributes or even their skills.
〈Eating〉
is the fastest way for a monster to grow.
However, the Greedy Moon Wolf King underestimated the White-Eyed Tiger's strength.
Currently, several of the Moon-Devouring Wolf's vanguards had already been lost.
Yet, the White-Eyed Tiger King still stood there majestically, looking down upon the wolf pack.
Compared to the tall and sturdy White-Eyed Tiger King,
the size of the Moon-Devouring Wolves was simply pathetic.
Although the Moon-Devouring Wolves were not small,
the gap between them was clear at a glance.
Hiding in the pack, the Wolf King continuously issued orders through howls.
This was the root cause of the disturbance.
The White-Eyed Tiger tore at the corpse of a Moon-Devouring Wolf in front of it, its mouth stained with blood and its fur dyed red. Meanwhile, its aura seemed to have recovered quite a bit due to Eating.
Evidently,
the Tiger King was healing its injuries by Eating the flesh of the wolf pack.
However, the Wolf King naturally wouldn't watch the Tiger King do this without acting.
Just as the White-Eyed Tiger had barely taken two bites,
the wind whistled.
The movement speed of the wolf pack suddenly increased.
"Awoo!"
The Wolf King issued the command to attack.
The Tiger King stopped Eating and looked at the gray wolf that stepped out from the pack. Compared to the other Moon-
Devouring Wolves, its aura was much more powerful. This fellow was the Wolf King!
With a wisdom no less than that of a human youth, the White-Eyed Tiger naturally understood the principle of capturing the leader to defeat the followers, but the Wolf King's speed was faster than its reaction, and it had already prepared a response.
Light Magic.
〈Moonlight Ray〉
The Wolf King's single horn attracted the moonlight.
A beautiful light flashed.
A straight beam of light instantly shot toward the Tiger King.
The Tiger King, with its high Agility speed of 500, dodged quickly.
It was not hit by this strike.
But by then, the Wolf King had already hidden itself again.
And the wolf pack seemed to have received an enchantment, their bodies filled with intense Battle Aura.
Their speed was more than twice what it was before.
But to the Tiger King, this speed was nothing special.
Facing the attack of the wolf pack,
the Tiger King launched a fierce assault with even greater speed.
Even with injuries, its ferocity did not diminish in the slightest.
If anything, it became even more aggressive.
Because it could not afford a war of attrition,
it wanted to end the battle quickly.
The wolf that pounced on the Tiger King didn't have time to react before it was sent into a backflip by a claw. Its belly was torn open, and its intestines spilled all over the ground.
The next moment, a wolf rushed out from the left and bit into the Tiger King's body.
Just as it tried to tear the Tiger King's flesh,
the Tiger King shook its body a few times and slammed the wolf away heavily.
The Wolf King howled urgently at this moment.
It finally realized its mistake.
Though the Tiger King was injured, its majesty remained undiminished.
Even a heavily injured Tiger King was not so easy to deal with.
"Awoo!"
The Wolf King issued a desperate command.
It wanted the wolf pack to go up and sacrifice themselves.
If this were in Tsukasa's previous world,
a wolf king among wild animals would never make such a decision.
But a Moon-Devouring Wolf was, after all, a monster.
The so-called wolf pack was merely something it had forcibly conquered and dominated using a King's skill when it evolved into a Wolf King. It was the effect of a skill; it had no deep feelings for the pack.
When it was time to sacrifice the pack, it wouldn't hesitate for a second.
Now that the battle had begun,
given the White-Eyed Tiger's speed, it was impossible for them to retreat.
Moreover, if it left this place, it might not be lucky enough to encounter a heavily injured overlord again next time. So, it had decided to conquer this territory of the White-Eyed Tiger.
Besides, the White-Eyed Tiger was so powerful;
it naturally coveted the White-Eyed Tiger's experience and flesh.