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Chapter 10: The Prey

The night in the swampy forest was pitch black and freezing cold.

Envie sat alone, staring at the campfire, cursing this damn task for what felt like the millionth time.

If it weren’t for the overtime pay from the tactical training, who the hell would come freeze their butt off in this hellhole?

Isn’t it better to just order a barmaid?

Not all teachers are dedicated to educating and nurturing the next generation.

Most Extraordinary Beings who aren’t nobles and aren’t keen on becoming Adventurers or Mages just choose to waste their days at the Academy.

With no goals, no dreams, they hide behind the pretense of enjoying an ordinary life while secretly lusting after wine, food, and pleasure—lost in that chaos, wasting their youth.

Going after Ice Rose was, deep down, Envie’s way of looking down on ordinary women, wanting to impress the cold and proud beauty to prove his superiority.

People like him, upon seeing those spirited young boys and girls, reflect back on their own failures.

The cold wind blew, and as he thought of that pair of master and servant, Envie’s face twisted.

“Damn brats only know how to fall in love and slack off!”

“Indecent! Useless! Uncultured, disrespectful to their elders!”

“Better not let me catch them in the act…”

Just the thought that the boy and girl might be huddled together by the campfire or spending a long night in the tent filled him with jealousy.

But cursing aside, he was just a teacher for this training, not their homeroom teacher—he had no opportunity to make them suffer.

Just then, an owl swooped down, delivering a letter.

“A letter from the Mage Association?”

“Incorrect intel—suspected Sequence 6 beast has escaped with the Dark Demon Bird. Please terminate the tactical training…”

Envie’s mouth was about to let out another curse, but then he thought, isn’t this a chance?

According to the rules, if an unexpected situation arises, the teacher in charge of the tactical training needs to promptly dispatch a familiar to notify the students.

But against a powerful Sequence 6 beast, it wouldn’t matter if the familiar died; as long as he didn’t notify them in time, who would care?

Of course, the students had distress signals with them—he could wait until it was time to save them.

Envie couldn’t help but show a malicious grin: “Roy Ainbrad, it’s time for you to learn how to respect your elders.”

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The next morning, not long after setting off, Alice found the trail of the Dark Demon Bird.

But the bad news? The jet-black feathers and large patches of blood were enough proof that something was hunting the bird.

“Master, this is…”

“Looks like it’s a beast from the forest. If it could chase after the Dark Demon Bird, it must be a Sequence 6.”

Looking at the bloody and chaotic grass, Roy’s expression grew serious.

The Dark Demon Bird was a very intelligent beast; it knew better than to provoke powerful creatures. Even if it ran into a Sequence 6, it should have escaped in time.

From the looks of it, it seemed to have an unfortunate encounter with some crazed beast.

But something felt off.

Though many vicious beasts roamed the swamp, they typically only appeared in deeper areas. Plus, reports indicated no Sequence 6 beasts in this vicinity recently.

But anyway, caution was essential now.

“I’ll take the lead. If the Dark Demon Bird is dead, as long as we confirm the corpse, we can leave without getting entangled with more enemies.”

“Okay.”

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Alice obediently nodded and followed behind him.

Roy traveled further along the blood trail and finally heard a piercing roar.

They ducked behind a distorted giant tree, and from a distance, they saw flashes of lightning and never-ending thunder, as a giant creature with sharp fur continued pecking at a creature as black as an ostrich.

Great, the Dark Demon Bird was toast.

The Sequence 6 Thunder Hunter was one of the most dangerous beasts in the swamp and was one of the targets mentioned in the training intel. This beast was incredibly fast—any low-tier creatures targeted by it had no chance of escape.

Strangely, this thing wasn’t aggressive at all and usually only inhabited the deepest parts of the swamp.

But now, it seemed to be mercilessly mutilating the Dark Demon Bird, not to eat it.

“Master, what should we do now?”

“Let’s retreat.”

That Dark Demon Bird was practically reduced to a mushy pulp; it was definitely dead.

Moreover, that crazed Thunder Hunter gave Roy an ominous feeling.

Just as Roy was about to stand up, he suddenly felt a rustling behind him, like something was tugging at his clothes.

“Alice, don’t touch me.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Master?”

Roy slowly turned around, only to see what looked like an octopus tentacle, covered in suction cups, trying to burrow into his clothing.

Then, behind it, an uncountable number of similar tentacles slowly spread towards him and Alice.

“What the hell?!”

Just when those tentacles seemed to sense something, Roy felt a chill down his spine. He quickly grabbed the blonde girl and darted out of the bushes.

By a hair’s breadth, they dodged those unnerving things.

But now, they were completely exposed to the Thunder Hunter’s gaze.

With its fur standing on end, the lightning-wrapped yellow bird screeched and charged at them, like an arrow let loose!

It was simply too fast.

Roy had just enough time to push the boy aside before he was caught in the air with a loud crackle by the Thunder Hunter.

“Don’t worry about me! You be careful…!”

Watching the boy disappear amidst the lightning above him, Alice froze for a moment but quickly forced herself to calm down, clutching her chest.

With her master’s strength, a Sequence 6 beast would be no issue; what was there to worry about?

Alice casually shot out a red flare; according to the rules, the teacher in charge of the training would rush to rescue them soon.

But Alice never counted on that unreliable guy.

Endless tentacles surrounded them like a bizarre and glamorous flower. Emerging from the forest was a tall, grotesque figure.

The monster appeared human but had a head resembling an octopus, with countless damp, sticky tentacles trailing behind, exuding a murky light that sent chills down your spine.

Even scarier was its oppressive aura, equal to that of the Thunder Hunter—it was also a Sequence 6.

A beast, a Mind-Eater. With the ability to condense illusions, they were rare and definitely not the kind of creature that would show up in swampy areas. Even the Magic Academy knew very little about them; in terms of danger, this unknown beast was far beyond what the Thunder Hunter could match.

In fact, Alice suspected that the earlier Thunder Hunter had fallen under the Mind-Eater’s illusion and been utterly toyed with.

However, facing this terrifying creature that provoked instinctive fear, a glimmer of excitement sparkled in the blonde girl’s eyes.

A more dangerous foe than the usual Sequence 6.

This was the prey she wanted.

If she could kill this guy, her master would surely praise her!

 

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