"Monster"?

The thought of a grown man being bullied to tears by a pig nearly made Ul laugh out loud.

But!

After he finished listening to the short, stout middle-aged man's account, he couldn't laugh anymore.

"You're saying over a dozen of you failed to surround and capture this wild boar?"

"Yes, at the time the boar had already fallen into the trap we set, but who would have thought it could leap straight out of that pit several meters deep? Not only did it escape our encirclement of over a dozen people, it even injured several of us... If it weren't for this, we wouldn't have thought to go to the guild to seek a Mage's help!" As if recalling the scene, a trace of lingering fear crept across the middle-aged man's face.

The middle-aged man had encountered wild boars before—after all, with a farm this large, the occasional boar wandering in was practically routine.

But a boar like this one? He truly had never seen the likes of it...

After hearing the middle-aged man's words, Ul's expression gradually turned serious.

After all, according to what this man said, that boar could leap several meters into the air—that hardly seemed like something a normal pig could do.

"Could this be a monster?" Ul's heart wavered with uncertainty.

If this wild boar really was a monster, then it was beyond Ul's capabilities.

Magic Power was a strange and powerful thing!

Since humans could use Magic Power to make themselves strong, other creatures besides humans naturally could too...

And such abnormal creatures were mostly referred to by humans as "monsters"!

Monsters varied in strength, with no fixed standard.

But one thing was certain: whenever a task involved a monster, most guilds would send B-rank Mages or higher to handle it.

Not because all monsters were as strong as B-rank Mages or above.

But because every monster possessed some special traits—traits that set them completely apart from ordinary beasts and gave them the ability to threaten the lives of low-rank Mages.

"Aside from that, does this boar have any other unusual traits—like great strength or high speed?" Ul asked the middle-aged man with a serious expression.

Realizing the boar might be a monster, Ul found himself unconsciously growing tense.

Back when he watched anime, he never thought much of these so-called "monsters"—they were always one-punch fodder.

But only after truly coming to this world and learning about these monsters

did he understand just how formidable they really were.

"Hmm~" Hearing Ul's question, the middle-aged man lowered his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No, that boar's strength and speed seem no different from an ordinary wild boar..."

The middle-aged man's voice wasn't very loud, but his tone was certain.

After all, though he had never dealt with monsters, he had plenty of experience with wild boars—on that point, he was confident.

"Is that so?"

Ul murmured, rubbing his brow in thought for a moment, then asked, "Will this boar come again tonight?"

"Yes, ever since that damned beast injured someone last time, it's been coming almost every night since... Mage, you have to help me get rid of this creature, or my farm won't survive!" As he spoke, the middle-aged man grabbed Ul's hands again, tears and snot threatening to spill once more, forcing Ul to quickly step back and say.

"Uncle, don't worry. Since our guild accepted your task, we will complete it..."

Ul's tone was firm, because what he said was true—since the guild took the job, it would be done; it was a matter of the guild's reputation.

But after saying that, Ul silently added in his heart: "Whether I'm the one to finish it, though, is another matter."

Even though Ul, with his cheat-like advantage, believed he would become a powerful Mage in the future, that was only if he didn't get himself killed first!

If he accidentally bit the dust, then no matter how amazing his cheat was, it couldn't turn a corpse into a powerful Mage!

Based on the middle-aged man's description, Ul decided to scout the situation tonight before making any decisions.

If the boar really was a powerful monster, Ul would head straight back to the guild, abandon the task, and have them send a stronger Mage instead...

Though the guild's reputation mattered, in Ul's eyes, his own life was clearly more important.

Besides!

"Fairy Tail" was never a guild that made "task completion the top priority."

Of course!

If the boar really wasn't much different from what the middle-aged man described, then Ul wouldn't mind fighting it.

After all, Ul himself was curious what it felt like to fight with magic.

Night fell quickly!

Once the sky was completely dark, the middle-aged man led Ul to begin "patrolling" the farm.

Through the dim light, Ul also saw the sorry state inside the farm—nearly half the vegetables had been destroyed. No wonder the middle-aged uncle was crying so bitterly!

According to what the uncle said, ever since that wild boar had injured someone last time, its audacity had only grown. Before, it would sneak into the farm to steal vegetables and such, but now, even if it saw people in the farm at night, it would still barge in openly and chow down without a care. Even if someone tried to drive it away with a stick, it paid no mind, only leaving after it had eaten its fill...

To be honest!

When Ul heard this, his expression could probably be described as "dumbfounded."

Because in all his years, he had never seen such an arrogant pig.

As the middle-aged uncle "patrolled" and looked over the nearly half-ruined farm, his tears and snot involuntarily surged again, giving Ul quite a fright.

Luckily!

Just then.

A sudden commotion came from outside the farm. Ul focused his gaze and vaguely saw, in the darkness, a shadow hopping rapidly toward the farm...