[Practice Day 1, 7 AM. The Northern Demonic Land of the Marquisate of Ludvecia, near the Grand Wall.]
“Wow.”
As soon as Yunia stepped off the carriage, she let out an exclamation.
“This is amazing. At this height, it seems like it could handle even ten thousand wolf-type monsters charging at once.”
“…Indeed. I can only imagine how much the budget must have been.”
Ludmila observed it from a hunter’s perspective, while Evangeline examined it through the eyes of a princess.
The Grand Wall, towering over 30 meters high, seemed capable of holding back the monsters.
However, the question lingered: would this colossal structure justify the immense expenditure?
“You all seem well-rested.”
Amidst mixed concerns, Instructor Esta, who had been seated on the coachman’s perch, stepped off the carriage and approached.
“Normally, practicums start in the city’s central district, followed by a tour of the town, and then meeting the local nobility at a designated time. But this time, we’re skipping all that and heading straight to the Great Wall.”
The reason, of course, was the monster outbreak.
“We will start from the western end of this wall, walking along it toward the central section. There, we will meet with the ‘Marquis of Ludvecia.'”
“I have a question, Instructor.”
“What is it, Student Phoenix?”
“After the introductions, are we heading down the wall to confront the monsters ourselves?”
“Most likely, yes.”
To catch a tiger, one must enter its den. Likewise, in a monster-infested zone, the only option is to face them head-on.
“Don’t worry too much. Currently, ‘hunters’ from all regions have gathered here.”
Instructor Esta activated a magitech panel and played a recorded video.
[Screeeeech!]
Below the wall, black storm wolves clamored over one another in a frenzy, using their comrades as stepping stones to leap upward.
Some clawed at the wall, trying to climb, while others jumped over their struggling peers to propel themselves higher.
[Stop them from climbing up! Kill them!]
[Shoot magic! Fire! Aren’t there any fire magic experts?!]
[Tear up a scroll and throw it! Fireball!!]
Above, hunters unleashed their attacks on the wolves using various methods.
Most appeared to be around C-rank, but being on top of the wall provided significant tactical advantages.
“As you can see, the hunters here have already engaged in intercepting the ‘Black Storm Wolves.’ These monsters are currently classified as around C-rank, and fortunately, their weaknesses have been identified quickly.”
Boom! Boom! BOOM!
Explosions rippled through the video as the magitech panel continued displaying the recorded scene.
“Miss Yunia, can you deduce two things from what you see in the video?”
“Um… are we going to have lessons like this even during field training?”
“It’s part of the training. Don’t worry; this is graded on an absolute scale, so getting it wrong won’t cause you to fail.”
“…The first is that the Black Storm Wolves, those monsters, are C-rank with a weakness to fire.”
Yunia quickly analyzed the scene, recalling the in-game name Darkwind Spiritwolf for the Black Storm Wolves.
“Why do you think their weakness is fire?”
“The hunters engaging them, who aren’t mere students but professionals, are only using fire magic.”
“Correct, Yunia. What’s the second observation?”
“Physical attacks don’t work on them.”
“That’s also correct.”
Esta nodded approvingly and moved to the next scene.
[Aagh!]
Slash, slash.
The footage showed an adventurer in light armor wielding a steel sword against a Black Storm Wolf. The attacks had no effect, and the adventurer cowered in fear.
“They’re slicing through the wind itself. Arrows shot by soldiers just pass through them.”
Soldiers, likely from the Marquisate of Ludvecia, fired arrows relentlessly from atop the wall.
But the arrows simply phased through the wolves, embedding themselves uselessly in the ground.
[Aagh! These damn things can’t be hit with arrows!]
[Don’t just fire arrows! Infuse them with mana! And keep the mana stable until it reaches them! Otherwise, you’ll never damage their cores!]
[Easy for you to say!!]
Occasionally, though—
Whizz.
The soldiers tried hard to shoot arrows, but it’s useless.
Occasionally, though—
CRACK!
—Some arrows struck a wolf’s core, causing its body to disintegrate.
“That’s core sniping.”
The sharp-eyed Ludmila observed keenly.
“Correct, Ludmila. These creatures are primarily composed of magical wind, but a direct hit to their core can destroy them.”
“That’s a high degree of difficulty.”
Evangeline remarked, gesturing to her own body.
“From what I saw, the cores of the wolves vary in location. It’s not consistent.”
As Evangeline said, the demons whose flesh was scattered by arrow (physical) attacks and whose shapes were disrupted by arrows in their cores all had different locations for their cores.
Evangeline was right. The cores of the slain beasts were located in different parts of their bodies—some in their hearts, others in their heads, foreheads, or even lower body areas.
If they were ordinary creatures of flesh and blood, most would have their cores in their hearts.
But the Black Storm Wolves were different.
They seemed to deliberately conceal their cores, wrapping their magical wind forms like armor to obscure their weak points.
The only way to identify the core’s location was to observe their behavior under targeted attacks and deduce patterns to reveal areas they instinctively protected.
In this situation, we must deal with it.
The power dynamics between the Marquisate of Ludvecia and the hunters who have come to this area for resource hunting were evident as the numbers of Black Storm Wolves multiplied into the hundreds and thousands.
“Special class, focus. How should we approach solving this issue?”
Instructor Esta posed the question.
“Well…”
“[Cutting Wind], you’re forbidden from answering. You already know the answer.”
“…Understood.”
Ludmila attempted to answer on behalf of the class, but Instructor Esta immediately stopped her.
“Evangeline. Do you know the correct answer?”
“The source producing these monsters… Shouldn’t we eliminate the being codenamed [Wolf Boy] first?”
“And why is that?”
“Because eliminating [Wolf Boy] will end this Monster Outbreak.”
It was a straightforward answer.
Clean and concise.
“Exactly. That is how the Ercy Empire would handle it. When a Monster Wave occurs, the root cause is removed as quickly as possible to ensure the safety of the citizens.”
But the world is rarely so clean-cut.
“It’s tragic, isn’t it, that the most righteous often fail to benefit the most? Yunia, do you understand what I mean?”
“…Uh.”
Yunia glanced between Evangeline and me, swallowing nervously before responding.
“It’s… not because of ‘farming time,’ is it?”
“……”
“It’s not that they’re deliberately letting the monsters multiply until the point that the situation becomes nearly uncontrollable, just so they can—uh, how should I put this—”
“In other words.”
I spoke in her place.
“They’re deliberately delaying the boss hunt for magic stone farming, right?”
“Correct.”
“That’s absurd!”
As soon as Instructor Esta affirmed, Yunia cried out in frustration.
“People could die because of these monsters!”
“If civilian casualties were imminent, of course the monsters would be dealt with immediately. Calm yourself, Yunia.”
I approached Yunia, standing behind her, adopting a supportive posture while helping her regulate her breathing, as usual.
“In situations where everything is under control and there’s no threat to civilians, any risks are limited to hunters alone. Considering the potential benefits of magic stone farming, the decision is evaluated comprehensively on-site.”
“…”
“This is the reality of monster hunting.”
It’s the way of the world.
“A Monster Wave is akin to raising chickens. When a chick hatches and grows into a chicken, the difference between capturing it prematurely and after it’s fully grown and fleshed out is substantial.”
“…So the flesh of the chicken represents the magic stones, then?”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“But monsters aren’t chickens. Even if some monsters resemble chickens…”
“True. I lean towards that opinion myself.”
Risk and reward.
If I had to choose between the two, I’d always prioritize minimizing risk.
And as for the reward of magic stones, I have my own methods of harvesting them infinitely.
“Instructor Esta. How long will this magic stone farming be allowed to continue? Specifically, when will you eliminate the boss, [Wolf Boy]?”
“…Once confirmation is complete.”
“Excuse me?”
“It’s not exactly confirmation, but… This Ludvecia territory was once part of Habsderk, wasn’t it? Ten years ago, there was a single heir—a young boy in the Count’s family.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“That’s what some seem to believe.”
Instructor Esta shook her head, exasperated.
“They think the deceased young master has returned as the king of the Storm Wolf pack, leading the monsters.”
“…”
He is holding the Storm Wolf in his arms, that person is here.
[Wait, should I go check it out?]
The Storm Wolf, silent until now, subtly asked.
‘No.’
There’s no need to reveal my magic unnecessarily.
“And what will you do with him? Elimination? Or perhaps some other method, like sealing him?”
“We’ll eliminate him.”
Someone answered from atop the city wall.
“So he can finally be laid to rest.”
“…It’s been a long time, Marchioness.”
Marchioness Ludvecia.
Regif’s mother.
“By elimination, do you mean…?”
“Through exorcism.”
The Marchioness shook her head with a bitter smile.
“That’s not my son.”
“…”
How did she know?
