Battle

The dense forest blocked even the sunlight, and towering trees, each so large it would take several people to encircle, stretched into the clouds.

Garen cast a wind spell on himself, allowing him to walk over the thick layer of dead leaves without making a sound.

He slowly approached the red dot on the System Map.

"Damn, it's just another level-four Magical Beast."

He had already ventured more than ten kilometers into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, yet most of the creatures were only level three or four. Garen couldn't even bring himself to fight them.

That was because he lacked experience. The Magical Beast Mountain Range was seven or eight hundred kilometers wide and over ten thousand kilometers long. He had only gone a little over ten kilometers in, which seemed like a long way, but was still barely within the outermost reaches. The beasts there were generally only level four or five.

"Given my current situation, I'd be better off heading to an area with level-six or level-seven Magical Beasts. I wonder how much farther it is."

Picking a direction, Garen headed straight for the center of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. He ignored the red dots displayed on the System Map along the way, unless some beast foolishly came after him—in which case, he took it out with an arrow.

After walking for a full hour, nearly fifty kilometers, he finally came across a level-six Fang Wolf.

Garen had spotted the red dot long ago and assumed it was just another level-four or level-five Magical Beast.

He had been planning to go a little farther, but then noticed that two of the more than thirty Fang Wolves in the pack were especially large. They were probably level six, so he decided to collect the experience from them.

Instead of using his bow, Garen took the Alloy Blade out of his Space Ring. He wanted to practice his swordsmanship.

Both pieces of equipment gifted by the system were excellent items that could be upgraded. Perhaps they could even evolve into Supreme Artifacts later on. For now, he needed to get more familiar with his swordsmanship.

After casting Extreme Speed on himself, Garen charged at the two Wolf Leaders before the Fang Wolves could attack. He moved incredibly fast, almost as fast as a level-seven warrior.

"Awooooo!"

The Wolf Leader howled, and the entire pack charged at Garen.

Several Fang Wolves near the Wolf Leaders leaped at him as soon as they got close, swiping at him with their claws.

Garen didn't retreat. As he charged forward, he cast the level-five Fire-style spell Fire Shield Technique on himself.

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Using his speed, Garen dodged at the very limit and counterattacked swiftly.

In the briefest instant, his Alloy Blade cut several level-five Fang Wolves in half. Blood and entrails spilled across the ground.

But just then, the pack leader charged up close, smashed through the Fire Shield Technique, and swiped at Garen with a claw.

Garen reacted instinctively, flicking up his Alloy Blade. The blade cut off the pack leader's foreleg.

Before he could follow up, the other pack leader came right after it and slammed into Garen's chest, sending him flying five or six meters. He spat out a mouthful of blood in midair.

Sensing more than a dozen level-four and level-five Fang Wolves leaping at him from behind, Garen instantly cast the level-four spell Explosive Fireball.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

More than a dozen half-meter-wide fireballs exploded. Seven or eight level-four Fang Wolves were killed outright, while the level-five ones were blasted backward, their fur singed black. They were in a sorry state.

Before the Fang Wolves could attack again, Garen flashed over to the pack leader he had injured earlier.

With just one slash, he cut half the wolf's head away, killing it instantly.

Ding! You killed a level-six Wolf Leader. You gained 274 experience points.

Garen instantly cast another level-four Explosive Fireball, scattering the pack as it charged at him.

He had already flashed over to the last pack leader. With a swift slash, he used Sweep Across the Army.

The Wolf Leader couldn't dodge in time. Its head split in two from top to bottom, and it collapsed to the ground, dead beyond any doubt.

Ding! You killed a level-six Wolf Leader. You gained 268 experience points.

Seeing how powerful the human was and that their leader had been killed, the remaining Fang Wolves scattered and fled, no longer held in check.

Garen didn't chase them. They wouldn't give him any experience.

Using the Alloy Blade in his hand, he pried the Magic Crystal Cores out of the dead Fang Wolves and put them in his Space Ring. Then, ignoring his injuries, he carefully examined the Alloy Blade, his eyes shining.

"The system description says it can inflict massive damage on Magical Beasts below level seven? Massive is an understatement. It cuts through them like vegetables. Is the system being too modest? Does it measure defensive levels against creatures like the God-Slaying Rat, which are in the same category?"

Garen had learned a great deal about Magical Beasts at the magic academy. Fang Wolves couldn't use magic, but their bodies were stronger than Wind Wolves', which meant they were naturally tougher. Among Magical Beasts of the same level, they were far from weak.

Besides, wolves had iron-hard heads and tails but soft waists. During the fight, he had swung his blade in a hurry and hadn't had time to think things through. He hadn't expected to cut off a wolf's head with a single strike, and the surprise had thrilled him.

"A Divine Artifact, a Divine Artifact! The system description says it can inflict massive damage on level-six beasts, but the system is always cautious. It probably means the toughest level-six Magical Beasts. If so, it should be able to hurt ordinary level-seven or level-eight Magical Beasts, too."

"If I upgrade it a few more levels, it'll probably be sharper and more durable than ordinary Divine Artifacts."

Garen grew even more excited.

One of the Wolf Leaders had slammed into his chest with full force. He had been all right while fighting, but once he stopped to rest, waves of pain began to radiate from his chest.

A few minutes later, Garen found a huge hollow in a tree and crawled inside. He began cultivating Tiger Blood Battle Qi.

"Fizz, fizz..."

The tiger blood surged through his body.

The swelling in his chest visibly subsided. There was no denying that the bloodlines of the Four Ultimate Warriors were truly extraordinary.

After reviewing the battle, he reflected on what had happened.

"I still can't afford to be careless. Even a pack of dozens of Fang Wolves left me badly injured. I'll have to make better use of my speed advantage. Next time I encounter a group of Magical Beasts, the Map Function will warn me, so I can attack from a distance first with arrows or magic and kill the leader. Then I can slowly wear them down while keeping my distance. Once I'm sure it's safe, I can practice close-quarters combat."

He set out again, but hadn't gone far when he spotted a red dot motionless not far ahead.

"Could it be an assassin, or a Magical Beast that specializes in ambushes?"

As Garen cautiously approached, he discovered that it was an Earth-Walking Dragon asleep on the ground.

"How can this guy be so careless? He's sleeping in such a dangerous place as the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

What Garen didn't realize was that, to Magical Beasts, the Magical Beast Mountain Range was where they were born and raised. It was their home. Sleeping there was like a human sleeping in their own bed.

Besides, the Earth-Walking Dragon was covered in scales. In this part of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, there really weren't many creatures that could threaten it.

The level-six Earth-Walking Dragon was an earth-style Magical Beast. It was over ten meters long and stood a full five meters tall. Like the level-seven Velociraptor, it had strong defenses but wasn't very fast. It was exactly the sort of Magical Beast Garen thought would be ideal for practicing his swordsmanship.

"If I get hurt in a one-on-one fight this time, I'll have no excuse."

Garen thought to himself.

He drew his Alloy Blade and charged at the Earth-Walking Dragon.