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Six men and women were walking through it.

Towering trees stretched endlessly overhead. The gray winter sky peeked through the dense branches now and then.

“We’ve been walking for almost half a day…”

Karnak clicked his tongue as he walked.

“Honestly, the scenery hasn’t changed at all.”

“There’s a reason they call it the Great Forest,” Serati replied nonchalantly, adjusting the backpack slung over her shoulder.

‘It’s not heavy, but the sheer size of it makes it rather cumbersome.’

They were on a journey through the Great Kalenta Forest, teeming with monsters. Since there was no lodging to be found, camping was essential, and so were the many supplies they had to carry.

Ropes, food, blankets, and various other necessities.

The problem was that there was no place to bring horses, so they had to carry everything themselves.

Traveling through the forest wasn’t particularly difficult.

Most of the branches were well above a horse’s head, so they could move freely.

But it was too difficult to keep the horses safe.

For the starving monsters, horse meat was a rare delicacy.

There was no choice but for the group to carry everything themselves.

Even after packing only the essentials, the load was still considerable.

Serati glanced longingly at Karnak.

[…When are you going to reach the 9th Circle?]

Karnak smirked and replied.

[Why? You want me to store your backpack in an illusory space?]

[But it’ll get tainted with the aura of malice, won’t it?]

[You’re the subject of a necromancer. A little malice shouldn’t be a big deal.]

[So you’re saying it’s still a problem, just not a big one?]

[Well, since you’re still alive, maybe?]

Serati’s expression hardened instantly.

[“Still”? What do you mean by “still”? Hey, what do you mean by “still”?]

[It’s fine. I’m constantly regulating it, so you won’t turn into an undead.]

[What if you stop regulating it?]

[…]

[Why aren’t you answering?]

Watching the two, Laficel thought to herself.

‘Oh, Unnie and Lord Karnak are having another staring contest!’

The small, ashen-haired girl with a backpack as big as her kept tilting her head curiously.

‘Why do they sometimes do that without saying anything? Is this what adults call “locking eyes”?’

Millia noticed and asked suddenly.

“Is your load heavy, Laficel?”

“I’m fine, Unnie.”

Judging by her expression, it didn’t seem like an empty response. She really wasn’t struggling.

“You’re stronger than you look. I guess that’s why you’re aspiring to be a knight.”

“Isn’t it heavy for you, Lord Karnak?”

Millia chuckled.

“We’re not even carrying half as much as you. We have no right to complain.”

In reality, while everyone else carried large loads, Karnak and Millia only had light backpacks.

Unlike warriors, mages and clerics typically carried light loads. It was done to not waste their stamina, so later they won’t be able to claim, “I have plenty of mana and divine power, but I’m too tired to fight!”

Overhearing their conversation, Karnak pondered for a moment.

‘Now that I think about it, Laficel is carrying that much as well?’

For some reason, it felt a bit odd to let a child carry so much.

[Should I offer to carry it to seem more decent?]

Serati snickered.

[You’re finally developing some awareness?]

[Really?]

[At least pretend to offer. Just don’t actually take the load.]

Baros chimed in.

[If Young Master tires out from carrying too much, I’ll be the one who suffers.]

In their previous life, Baros had often ended up carrying both his own and Karnak’s load after they escaped on the run.

[It’d be easier if the load had legs and walked by itself.]

[No one expects anything from mages anyway. Just buy Laficel something tasty later.]

Through a covert magic transmission, the three engaged in a trivial conversation.

Laficel, observing them, noticed something.

‘Ah! Now the three of them are locking eyes!’

She then fell into deep contemplation.

‘But can three people lock eyes at once? Is it because they’re adults?’

It was a na?ve thought, something only a child unaware of the true meaning of the expression could think.

Meanwhile, Millia was puzzled.

‘What’s she thinking to have that kind of expression?’

At the front, Laven continued to guide them.

“If we keep heading northeast for a while, we should be good.”

It was a monotonous, lengthy journey.

The forest was mostly flat, but with continuous rises and falls.

At every dip, snow piled up, and cold winds blew.

On such cold days, even wild animals wouldn’t wander about.

But monsters were different. For them, winter was the season to hunt humans.

As they walked in silence, Baros suddenly glared into the depths of the forest.

“Of course, something was bound to show up.”

Karnak nodded, not at all surprised.

“Naturally, it’s winter.”

Focusing her senses, Serati asked.

“Seven… No, eight of them?”

Laficel replied cautiously.

“I think there are ten. Two more are a little farther back.”

“Your senses are sharp, Laficel.”

“Hehe.”

Everyone calmly began preparing for battle.

Only Laven, bewildered, seemed clueless about what was happening.

“Uh? Why? Is something going on?”

Watching him, Millia gripped her wand with a serene expression.

“Just go with it. These people are always like this.”

***

“Awooooo!”

With a loud howl, giant shadows emerged from various points in the forest.

They resembled centaurs at a glance, with wolf bodies and the torsos of werewolves, but they were far more ferocious.

Laven gripped his longsword, startled.

“Wolfentros!”

The pack of Wolfentros charged at Karnak’s group, encircling them.

Despite standing over 2 meters tall at the shoulder, they moved as nimbly as real wolves.

“Kaaaak!”

As one of them lunged at Laven’s head with a spear, he let out a battle cry and swung his sword in return.

Clang!

Their weapons clashed, deflecting the beast’s attack.

But the sheer weight difference was crushing, forcing Laven’s shoulders down with immense pressure.

“Ugh!”

Groaning, Laven focused even harder.

Wolfentros were powerful monsters that could challenge even 3-4 trained knights at once. They were not to be underestimated.

“But!”

That didn’t mean he should be afraid.

Although overshadowed by his older brother’s accomplishments, Laven was still the son of a great knight from a renowned family.

“Take this!”

The refined swordsmanship he had honed through years of training was unleashed.

His sword danced, slicing through the winter wind.

“Graaaah!”

The sharp blade severed the Wolfentros’s throat, spraying blood everywhere.

He had precisely struck a vital point, causing massive bleeding.

His swordsmanship was flawless.

After taking down one of the beasts, Laven quickly surveyed the scene.

‘What about the others?’

Of course, he didn’t think anything would happen to Karnak’s group. They had a high-ranking mage and aura users, after all.

But there was a child among them.

‘Is Miss Laficel safe?’

He didn’t understand why such a young child had been brought to a battlefield, but as an adult, he couldn’t help but worry.

As he searched for Laficel, he suddenly froze in disbelief.

“Uh…”

The ash-haired girl was standing on top of Wolfentros’s head.

Somehow, she had jumped over twice her height, taking control of the air, flipped over, and slashed her sword horizontally!

Swoosh!

Red blood splattered onto the white snow.

As Laficel landed gracefully, another Wolfentros lay behind her, already felled in a similar fashion.

Both of them had had their cervical arteries severed—just like Laven’s kill.

‘How can someone that young move like that?’

Noticing Laven’s stunned gaze, Laficel turned her head.

“Ah?”

She then smiled awkwardly and bowed politely.

“Thank you for your teachings.”

‘…What teachings?’

Before Laven could process what was happening, a red-haired beauty dashed past him.

She moved like the wind, flowing between the Wolfentros.

Whoosh!

With a whistle, a red sword light cut through the air, leaving a trail of brilliance.

For a brief moment, it felt like time had stopped, before the massive monsters were split and shattered, blood spraying everywhere.

“Graaaah!”

Laficel’s swordsmanship, at least, could be followed.

But Serati’s was on a whole other level.

She simply walked forward.

It didn’t even look particularly fast. It seemed leisurely, like she was taking a step at a time.

Yet in the blink of an eye, she had closed the distance with the Wolfentros, slipped past them, and occupied their blind spots, lightly scattering her sword light.

Each time she did, the Wolfentros’s blood and screams filled the air.

“Graaaah!”

“Kraaak!”

The only way to describe it was “playing with them.”

It was a display only possible with an overwhelming gap in skill.

After dispatching three of the beasts, Serati nodded as if understanding something.

“It’s important to occasionally experience overwhelming weaker enemies.”

Baros replied with a bright smile.

“Exactly.”

His blade, however, remained perfectly clean. Not a single drop of blood had stained it.

Naturally so.

He hadn’t even unsheathed it.

All he did was grab the wolves by their snouts and slam them into the ground as they charged.

Simply by slamming them into the ground, the Wolfentros would spew blood from their eyes, nose, mouth, and ears, dying instantly. How or why that happened was beyond comprehension.

The entire group of ten Wolfentros that had attacked was wiped out in less than a minute.

The combat prowess of Baros, Serati, and Laficel was overwhelming.

Even Karnak and Millia didn’t need to step in.

“I understand what you meant about them now, Priestess Millia.”

Laven chuckled in disbelief, a wry smile on his face.

“I guess I should just get used to it from now on, haha.”

Millia, however, wasn’t able to brush it off so easily.

She was used to seeing Baros and Serati fight, so their power didn’t surprise her. But seeing Laficel fight like that was a first.

‘My goodness, was she always that strong?’

***

At the same time, in a stone chamber deep within the Maleficus Dungeon.

“Strauss has made his move.”

Hugot, the archbishop and head of the Wellard branch of the Dark God’s cult, was respectfully delivering his report.

“The visit from the Yustil King’s Order has provided an unexpected opportunity. Sometimes, unforeseen coincidences work to our advantage.”

A rough voice, like iron scraping, echoed from the pitch-black darkness.

“What is the strength of the Yustil King’s Order?”

“A high-ranking mage of the 6th Circle, a 2nd-grade inquisitor, two Red Knights, and one squire. If we had encountered them outside, they would have been rather troublesome opponents.”

Hugot shrugged as if it were amusing.

“But here, they won’t pose much of a challenge.”

A faint shadow began to emerge from the darkness.

“It cannot be helped. I am not in a position to leave this place…”

A human figure, shrouded in black malevolent energy, hovered over a pale skull. Underneath the tattered robes, cold air seeped out, and a powerful aura of darkness enveloped the surroundings like mist.

The Arch Lich—the most dreadful of undead, having mastered corrupt magic.

“Then, let us prepare to greet our guests…”

Raising a skeletal hand, the lich gave his orders.

“We must not neglect the proper hospitality for such esteemed visitors…”

Hugot bowed deeply in respect.

“Yes, Lord Demphis.”