The Magical Beast at the Quarry (2)
Feather Step.
A spell that made its target lighter and faster for about ten minutes. Its performance was undoubtedly impressive—but in the current situation, it had no chance to shine.
Woojin glanced sideways at the overturned hourglass Claire had brought to measure time. Most of the sand had already fallen.
During that time, Jonathan had shouted himself hoarse.
Yet the magical beast had not shown even a trace of its snout.
'As expected… ten minutes is too short.'
Even when fishing, it was hard to catch a single fish in ten minutes. The odds of a magical beast appearing and taking the bait were far slimmer.
Claire cupped her hands around her mouth and called out.
"Time's almost up! I'll cast the spell again—come back this way!"
Apparently, she could use the magic a few more times. Whether he heard her or not, Jonathan turned toward them and flashed an okay sign.
And then—
A sudden chill ran down his spine.
"…What?"
Puzzled, he turned his head.
His eyes locked with a massive magical beast.
A boar with a forehead protruding forward like a battering ram. Its body was larger than a full-grown bull, and the long tusks jutting from its lower jaw curved like bent greatswords.
Grrrk, grrrrk…
The Madskull's eyes glowed red. Its hooves scraped against the ground.
"…Run—!"
Claire screamed.
But Jonathan was already sprinting. After roughly seven strides, the Feather Step spell expired.
He hadn't gained much distance.
The boar charged.
The gap between them shrank at a terrifying pace. At this rate, he would soon be caught.
Jonathan roared at the top of his lungs.
"Get ready!!"
It sounded like a cry for help—but the words were unexpected.
Ready for what?
Woojin looked around in confusion. Despite their captain being in mortal danger, the mercenaries' atmosphere remained surprisingly calm.
Smack!
Suddenly, Jonathan veered sharply to the side. The boar twisted its head to follow.
But its enormous, heavy body couldn't change direction easily.
The boar's speed dropped abruptly.
Seizing the moment, Jonathan zigzagged repeatedly, changing direction in quick succession—like a seasoned football player dodging defenders.
Of course, the magical beast wasn't stupid enough to fall for the same trick forever.
The Madskull's reaction speed gradually increased. It began reading the timing of Jonathan's turns.
The distance he had created was closing again.
…But Jonathan had already completed his task.
"Lift the net!"
Deputy captain Charlie shouted.
A net buried beneath the dirt shot upward.
It stretched tight like a badminton net—formed like a double trawl pulled from both sides.
Jonathan threw himself forward in a sliding motion, slipping beneath the net.
The boar slammed into it an instant later.
The net shuddered violently under the brute force.
"Waaahhh—!"
"Hold it! Hold it!!"
Dozens of mercenaries on both sides strained with all their might, gripping the ropes as if in a tug-of-war.
The boar, its body entangled in the net, thrashed its head wildly from side to side. The men holding the ropes were dragged off their feet repeatedly, stumbling and rising again under the monstrous strength.
"Javelins!"
The mercenaries waiting nearby hurled their spears with full force.
Thud! Thwack!
Sharpened spearheads struck the boar's flank. Though they didn't pierce deeply, the blows were meaningful.
The boar let out a pained groan.
The mercenaries continued throwing without pause. The beast's wounds multiplied.
Watching this, Woojin tilted his head slightly.
'Why isn't the net tearing?'
He had expected it to rip apart during the first clash of strength.
But even as the magical beast rampaged at full force, the net showed no sign of breaking.
It must have been some special material—or reinforced with magic.
As a result, the boar was trapped, unable to advance or retreat, taking blow after blow.
"Grrrkk, gwooorrk—!"
The boar let out a sorrowful cry.
Seeing that, Jonathan burst into laughter.
"Haha! Crying like a frightened deer! This might end easier than expected."
"Is that something the man who was just running for his life should be saying?"
Claire grinned and jabbed Jonathan in the side with her elbow. She, too, seemed confident the hunt would conclude successfully.
…In contrast, Woojin's expression darkened.
'Something feels off.'
There was a sense of dissonance.
True to its name, the Madskull was aggressive and reckless. It lived alone without issue and would attack even its own kind if its territory was violated.
Though individual differences existed, Woojin had never seen one cry out so weakly.
The cry sounded almost like a plea for help.
Typically, magical beasts that lived in groups made such sounds when in danger.
But the Madskull pursued solitary life its entire existence.
The more he thought about it, the less it made sense—
'…Even they must mate eventually.'
The thought struck him suddenly.
As if in answer, one of the mercenaries screamed.
"T-there's another one!"
At the entrance of the quarry—
A female boar had appeared, scraping the ground with her hooves.
Perhaps enraged by her mate's cries, her eyes burned fiercely like flames.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The Madskull charged.
The mercenaries panicked and fled in terror.
"Don't drop the ropes!"
Jonathan shouted desperately.
But it was too late.
As the mercenaries threw down the ropes and ran, the bound male boar tore free from the net and regained its freedom.
Two enraged magical beasts rampaged across the quarry.
Jonathan stepped forward to salvage the situation.
"Even if I have to— I'll draw their attention somehow! Claire, quickly cast Feather Step on me again!"
"Y-yes, yes—!"
Claire hurriedly pulled out her spellbook. Having lost her composure, her fingertips trembled uncontrollably. Somehow, she began chanting.
But perhaps the female boar found that suspicious.
It suddenly charged in their direction.
The mercenaries dove left and right to avoid it. Claire, however, was too focused on the spell and reacted too late.
"Uh— w-wait… aaah—!"
A sharp scream rang out.
For one mage, the world went dark.
Woojin frowned slightly.
"…She's unconscious."
He shook Claire a few times, but she didn't respond. Just before the boar could trample her, Woojin had snatched her away and pulled her aside.
Though she had fainted, she didn't appear seriously injured.
After confirming that, Woojin turned to assess the situation.
At some point, the red wolf—Rex—had appeared.
He ambushed the male boar, clamping down on the back of its neck. Two tendrils protruding from the wolf's back lashed out, violently tearing into the beast.
The male had already been exhausted from struggling in the net and taking repeated hits. It couldn't properly respond to the sudden attack.
Thud.
The Madskull's massive body collapsed with a heavy crash. Lying on the ground, it flailed its four legs wildly. Rex deftly avoided the kicks and lunged again.
The hunting dog was earning its keep.
Thanks to that, only one magical beast remained for Woojin to deal with.
"Still want to continue?"
Woojin addressed the female boar.
Even if it didn't understand the words, it surely sensed the situation had turned against it.
A typical Madskull would never retreat in such circumstances. They hated losing territory more than death itself.
"…Guuurk."
But this one let out a trembling sound and slowly stepped backward, cautiously retreating as if looking for a chance to escape.
"Go."
Woojin released his grip on his sword hilt.
Sensing his intent, the boar turned and ran. It headed straight for the cave in the quarry.
Not long after, it burst out again.
Four small piglets followed at its side.
'As I thought. If I hadn't let her go, this would've been troublesome.'
Strong maternal instinct had suppressed her inherent ferocity.
Hunting that boar would not have been easy. With young to protect, she would have fought desperately to survive.
Woojin watched silently as the boar family disappeared into the distance.
"…Mm…"
A groan sounded behind him.
Claire slowly opened her eyes—though only halfway. With unfocused vision, she looked up at Woojin.
"…Am I still alive?"
"It appears so."
"Really? That sounds like a lie…"
"Would you like me to slap you to check?"
"…Uh. Yes."
Claire obediently offered her cheek. She still seemed dazed.
Woojin raised his hand—then decided actually slapping her wasn't ideal and lightly pinched her cheek instead.
"Wake up."
"Ah—?"
Claire touched her cheek, startled by the sensation.
Blink. Blink.
Her mind gradually returned. With each blink, different emotions passed across her face—confusion, embarrassment, surprise… and finally, shame.
"…Aaaah!!"
As if recalling her earlier disgrace, Claire scrambled to her feet and ran off somewhere, perhaps in search of a hole to crawl into.
Woojin let out a faint chuckle and stood up.
'Let's sort out the situation first.'
To do that, he would need to speak with Jonathan, the mercenary captain.
But Jonathan seemed overwhelmed at the moment. Several mercenaries had been injured when the two beasts rampaged. He was tending to that—and scolding those who had disobeyed orders and fled.
Naturally, beasts chased those who ran first. The ones who had dropped the ropes and fled had suffered the most injuries.
'I should look around elsewhere first.'
Just then, Jonathan turned his head and noticed him. He left what he was doing and hurried over.
"Jin, thank you for saving us all. I don't know how to repay this debt."
"You don't need to be so deferential. Thanks to you, I was able to finish the hunt easily."
The mercenaries' contribution was not insignificant.
Jonathan had drawn the Madskull here, bound it in the net, and drained much of its strength before Rex delivered the final blow.
For Woojin to claim the entire bounty alone would be against basic fairness.
"How about we split the bounty fifty-fifty?"
"If you're willing, I'd be grateful… but are you sure?"
"I don't mind."
Many had been injured; they would need that money to cover losses.
There was, however, one thing he wasn't willing to concede.
"In exchange, I would like to take the inner core of the hunted Madskull."
"Of course. I'm not that shameless. You can have all byproducts from the corpse."
Jonathan agreed readily.
Since the matter was settled, Woojin headed straight toward the beast's body.
But someone had beaten him there.
A wolf was busily tearing into the carcass.
Rex had buried his head deep in the boar's abdomen, chewing flesh.
"Rex?"
Woojin called out.
Startled, Rex lifted his head. He looked exactly like someone caught sneaking food.
Suspicious, to say the least.
Woojin approached to inspect.
'…This bastard already swallowed the inner core.'
No wonder he had been so eager in the hunt. Had he charged the Madskull for this from the very beginning?
It was hard to scold him. After all, Rex had single-handedly delivered the killing blow.
'Next time, I'll have to move faster.'
You don't entrust fish to a cat.
He had lost the core—but gained a lesson.