Entangled in the Mist's Genesis

Eisole Forest—a forest dominated by beech trees, with a well-ordered distribution of vegetation. The Rose Month has arrived, and the original colors of the trees' bark, roots, and leaves are gradually fading, uniformly transforming into black. The forest, undergoing this change, is not peaceful. Evidence of this is a messy trail, clearly trampled by a group of animals, appearing conspicuously within the forest.

This trail has almost become a road.

Near the trail, in a patch of bushes, a still-active wild rabbit hops and stops. Its three-lobed mouth twitches, and it pokes its head into the grass, searching for food not yet completely blackened by the darkness. As it moves, blades of grass fall, making rustling sounds—even its fur has some clinging to it.

Suddenly, in the silent environment, a hand emerges from the bushes. The rabbit, startled, darts away, quickly disappearing into the forest.

The hand has distinct knuckles, wrapped in thick calluses and scars, with veins faintly visible on its surface. It brushes past the grass the rabbit had been near. In the dark, the distorted air around the hand might be invisible, but the grass blades it touched are instantly scorched into ash.

Rustle…

Soon, a person emerges from the bushes—a robust man. The smile that usually graced his face is gone, and he now resembles a silent warrior. The air around his hands, for nearly a foot, is distorted like gnarled deadwood. However, he is not a warrior, but an adventurer.

He wears adventurer's attire: a somewhat tattered leather armor from a bygone era. He has also rolled up his sleeves, revealing firm, taut muscles.

"Wickel, it's been a long time since I've seen you use that power." An old man slowly walks out from beside him. The old man has white hair and a face full of wrinkles, appearing to have difficulty moving, and he grips a wooden staff that seems intended for easier progress. In reality, this old man only appears slow; he is by no means immobile—he easily leaps over a bush that would be somewhat difficult to cross. "It's been twenty years."

"It is indeed nostalgic, Forresten, but you're as old as you were then." Wickel's expression shifts subtly upon hearing Forresten's words, and he speaks in a somewhat relaxed tone, "Let's hurry, Helise won't be able to hold on like this."

They had been traveling rapidly through the forest for an entire day, searching for the tracks of that pack of wolves.

"You already know, don't you?" Forresten doesn't seem rushed. He speaks slowly, "The odds are not in her favor."

As soon as he finishes speaking, Wickel punches a beech tree. It seems like an insignificant blow, but as time passes, his fist gradually "burrows" into the wood.

Cracking sounds erupt from within, accompanied by heat, making it terrifying to behold.

"There haven't been many things causing anxiety these past years. Come to think of it, it's been twenty years since I've felt this way, hasn't it, Wickel?" Forresten, accustomed to such scenes, walks forward, tapping the ground with his staff. "Let's go."

Wickel withdraws his fist. In the darkness where nothing can be seen, people can only sense the terror of this punch from the heat emanating from the beech tree. And it's not just terrifying on the surface—after several minutes, a crisp cracking sound suddenly rings from within the beech tree. Then, the tree, with a diameter of at least ten feet, breaks from the middle and slowly falls to the side, kicking up a cloud of dust. It creates a dull thud, neither too loud nor too soft, in the forest.

Wickel and Forresten pay it little mind. They continue tracking the wolves' footsteps from the swamp northward.

"It looks like a pack of wolves that has been **driven… Look at these footprints, ordinary wolves wouldn't do this." They advance, following the messy but clear footprints—Forresten carefully discerns them. "The wolves are still in a berserk state… If our enemy is responsible for this, they are a formidable foe."

"We have overcome enemies far more powerful than this—is this a Beast Speaker? Does Fatenai have a grudge against Beast Speakers? I heard from Helise and Hubert that she's an orphan who once had parents—perhaps there's a connection here," Wickel frowns.

"My friend, calm yourself. There is only one old relic of a Beast Speaker left in Starlight. The rest of the Beast Speakers were long ago…" Forresten reminds him. "Of course, perhaps a new Beast Speaker has appeared in the forest I watch."

Wickel falls silent. He knows what Forresten means. Forresten smiles kindly.

"Hubert! You've really had enough!" As the two walk forward, they suddenly hear Helise's almost uncontrollable scream from behind. If her words weren't so clearly directed, even Wickel would have thought they had encountered trouble.

Helise insisted on finding Fatenai, but her physical strength clearly couldn't keep up. After all, she is only a mage, not a warrior, especially an ungraduated one. Thus, she and Hubert lagged behind not too far away.

"Helise, you've had enough," Forresten and Wickel walk back to see what happened, and then Hubert's voice rings out. "These footprints indicate she was taken by a Beast Speaker, but Beast Speakers are almost extinct. Since she is a Forest Hunter, she must possess some of the Beast Speaker's abilities, otherwise, she couldn't live in the forest—don't you understand yet, Helise?"

"What do I need to understand? All I know is that after she was seriously injured saving me, she was taken by wolves. And all I see is you constantly complaining to me that this is a conspiracy—how can you be so arrogant?!" Helise's face is streaked with tears, her eyes dark. The radiance is gone from her beautiful, confident face, and she now looks pained.

"She was merely seeking refuge, wanting to use the Principal's presence here to have us take her to the academy—but she is a 'Deficient' without magic!" Hubert feels he has endured Helise's unreasonable behavior enough, and is also angered by her words.

Helise is on the verge of collapse: "Is this how you treat the person who saved my life? Then would it have been better if I had been killed by a wild boar?"

"That was clearly you…" Hubert starts.

"It was indeed my foolishness!" Helise interrupts him. "But I don't need to be scolded by someone as arrogant as you! Where were you at the time? Hubert, people are right to think you're unreasonable. I really don't know what I owe you to be mocked like this! Since you're so unwilling, you should find a better companion!"

With that, Helise turns and walks away, her departure resolute.

Hubert frowns: "You'd best not conflate the two matters…"

But Helise doesn't want to listen to him, quickening her pace and passing Wickel and Forresten.

"Oh, child, what makes you think that?" Forresten nods to Wickel, then walks towards Hubert. He places a hand on Hubert's shoulder, feeling the tension in it. "Everything will be alright."

"It was the night we came to the tavern. Helise was already asleep, I couldn't sleep, and I noticed that girl was still awake—she was suspicious from the beginning, and that mage who appeared from nowhere…" Hubert feels a splitting headache, his voice somewhat dazed. "She was asking that mage about Beast Speakers… I only heard fragmented things, 'Beast Speaker,' 'summoning,' and the like… She discovered me later, and we chatted—she told me she was an orphan… but we had already guessed that… As she was talking, she fell asleep. I took her to bed and heard her sleep-talking…"

A glint flashes in Forresten's eyes.

Hubert walks forward somewhat listlessly, his steps unsteady, yet each step seems heavy.

"What did she say?" Forresten asks, looking up at the dark night sky.

"She said… 'Mom, I'll find a way to become a mage'…" Hubert's face turns pale.

Bang—! A muffled sound breaks their conversation. Forresten abruptly looks in that direction.

"Fatenai!" Then Helise's voice rings out.

Forresten waves his staff and moves forward quickly. With each step, he seems to leave a faint afterimage, pulling the pale-faced Hubert along with him.

Until they see, in the clearing ahead, a girl cornered by a large rock. Flames burn in the forest not far from them—the red light reflects on the girl's face.

They can see the bloodstain on the girl's abdomen by the firelight. Fatenai struggles to open her eyes wider. Blood loss could cause her to lose consciousness at any moment, yet the sight before her keeps her awake—a wolf as tall as a person, its mane gleaming, showing a unique luster in the firelight. At the same time, they can see its eyes looking at Fatenai with the gaze of one looking at food.

"Don't… don't…" Fatenai mutters broken words. She tries to retreat further, but there is no way back. As she hastily retreats, she also pulls at her wound, causing her pain that makes her unable to move.

"Damn it—!" As Forresten clearly sees the scene, Wickel spits out a word from between his gritted teeth, his body already lunging forward with the sound.

The wolf notices Wickel. Without turning, it lunges towards Fatenai—the distance allows it to crush Fatenai first before dealing with Wickel.

"No!" Helise screams, then her vision goes black, and she faints. Forresten moves behind her, catching her, which prevents him from casting a spell immediately.

Fatenai trembles as she looks at the wolf, and also screams, as if with all her might, pushing out her hands.

As if by a miracle, white light bursts from her palms, brilliant and awe-inspiring.

"How is this possible…" Hubert mutters, deeply shocked, retreating backward somewhat clumsily.

"This girl is actually a mage?" Forresten is also somewhat surprised, staring blankly at everything unfolding before him.