Chapter 21: Chapter 21: Magical Beast Riot
The moment they crossed into the territory, the excitement and chatter of the freshmen from the carriages were instantly swallowed by a deathly silence.
Fear spread through the crowd like a plague.
Elena Klein walked at the very front of the five-person squad.
The so-called "Ice Rose" gripped a mithril staff inlaid with a high-tier ice crystal, her entire being radiating a frigid aura that screamed do not approach.
Every time her delicate leather boot pressed into the rotting leaves, a thin layer of frost immediately crystallized on the ground.
This wasn’t just for defense; she was using her astonishing S-tier affinity for Ice Element to forcibly dispel the toxic miasma rolling around them.
From the moment they disembarked, Elena hadn’t once turned to look at Arthur.
To her, completing the mission and staying alert took absolute priority. As for the secrets Arthur was hiding, she could figure those out after they made it out of the forest alive.
However, Arthur, walking behind her, stood in stark contrast to this terrifying environment.
With both hands tucked into the pockets of his wide black mage robe, he strolled at a leisurely pace, his gaze lazily scanning the poisonous mushrooms and glowing moss around them.
That carefree demeanor was almost comical, like an old man out for a spring picnic.
"Arthur, aren’t you afraid??"
Still clinging to Arthur’s left arm like a koala, Lilian lowered her voice, a hint of curiosity flickering in her golden eyes.
Though she was an A-rank Wind Element prodigy, the eerie atmosphere triggered her natural instinct to stay close to the person who made her feel safest.
"Afraid of what?? The air smells a bit stuffy, but honestly, the ecosystem here is pretty nice."
Yawning, Arthur evaluated the thorny vines to his front-left, his mind quietly wondering if the ’Entangle’ spell from those old DND manuals actually worked the same way in reality.
Stunned by his naive reply, Lilian’s round apple face quickly shifted to an extremely serious expression.
"Arthur, tell me secretly. Back in the academy plaza yesterday..."
"When you shattered the Awakening Stone, and cast that so-called Forbidden Spell... is it really just a magical accident caused by luck, like everyone says??"
Tilting her head back, Lilian’s warm breath brushed against Arthur’s arm. Her eyes held an urgent desire to uncover the secret of the person she admired.
Though she wasn’t looking back, Elena’s slightly pointed ears twitched almost imperceptibly.
Clearly, even the aloof Ice Rose was hanging on every word.
As for Simon and Chloe, the two commoner novices trailing at the back, they had completely stopped breathing, terrified of missing a single syllable.
Arthur stopped walking, lowered his head, and looked down at the princess nestled against him, her eyes full of admiration.
A slow, meaningful smile tugged at his lips, carrying a hint of mystery.
"You guess??"
Those two words immediately deflated Lilian. With a pout, she gently punched his chest with her tiny pink fist, feigning annoyance.
Up ahead, Elena let out a derisive snort, secretly thinking he was just putting on a show.
Suddenly, everything changed!!
Boom rumble...!!
A deep, muffled roar suddenly echoed from the forest’s depths, violently shaking the black earth beneath their feet.
The blood crows that had been quietly perched on the branches erupted in piercing shrieks, swarming up into the sky in a terrifying, churning cloud.
Then came a bone-chilling cascade of splintering trees, as if a massive meat grinder was violently tearing through the woods.
"Wh...what’s happening?!?"
"There are Magical Beasts!! A huge herd is charging toward the outer perimeter!!"
From the distance came the absolutely panicked screams of other teams, pushed to their breaking point.
The previously orderly freshman ranks collapsed instantly. Countless students cried, cursed, and scrambled like headless flies through the tangled undergrowth.
Magical Beast outbreak!!
This was the most terrifying disaster in the Shadow Forest. Even high-tier mercenaries could only pray for survival when encountering one.
In this vortex of chaos and panic, Elena instantly raised her staff, ice-blue Magic Power swirling frantically at the tip.
Pale with fright, Lilian instinctively summoned a pale cyan wind barrier.
The two commoner students went straight to their knees, collapsing into the muddy ground, weeping in absolute despair.
Right in the center of them all stood Arthur Voss.
The school’s widely recognized F-rank trash still had his hands in his pockets.
He didn’t even blink, only calmly tilted his head up, facing the sky full of dust rolling in from afar, making a minuscule adjustment to his stance.
"Hmm. Northwest wind, speed three. Perfect tailwind."
In this life-or-death moment, Arthur muttered something that left everyone around him completely bewildered.
A bloody wind rushed toward them.
The first to burst through the black bushes ahead was a dozen pairs of vertically slit pupils glowing with bloodthirsty red in the gloom.
"Woof...!!!"
Accompanied by a deafening howl, a massive wolf over three meters long, its body covered in steel-needle-like silver-gray fur, leapt into view.
Bloody remnants of unknown Magical Beasts clung to its fangs, its foul-smelling saliva dripping wildly from its jaws.
"It’s an Ironback Wolf!! Oh god, that’s a 3rd-Rank Magical Beast!!"
Simon screamed in despair, his grip failing entirely. His earth-element staff clattered to the ground.
Within Elderia’s power system, a 3rd-Rank Magical Beast’s strength was equivalent to that of a respected mid-level human mage!!
Moreover, Magical Beasts were born with thick hide, blinding speed, and if a mage of the same rank encountered one in the wild, death was practically guaranteed.
What made it even more desperate was that it wasn’t just one.
With a rustling, scraping sound, Ironback Wolves emerged from the shadows one after another.
Ten!!
Twenty!!
A full thirty-plus massive Ironback Wolves formed a tight fan-shaped cordon, completely surrounding Arthur’s squad while trapping Andrew’s group nearby.
Their eyes burned with frantic aggression and madness, clearly driven out from the depths of the forest by something far more terrifying.
But now, these tender human students were the perfect outlet for their pent-up frenzy.
"Don’t panic!! Hold formation!! Chant with me!!"
From a short distance away, Andrew’s face was ashen, but he clung desperately to his noble prestige, wildly brandishing his priceless ruby-tipped staff.
"O great spirit of the earth, heed my call and rise as an unbreakable barrier..."
Accompanied by his three lackeys, Andrew spent a full ten seconds before a thick earthen wall finally erupted in front of them.
Yet, what they considered an impregnable defense was as fragile as paper in the face of the Ironback Wolves.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Three Ironback Wolves leapt into the air, slamming their steel-hard backs against the wall. With a deafening crack, the earthen barrier shattered into a thousand pieces.
"Ahh!!!"
Caught off guard, one of Andrew’s noblemen lacked time to dodge before a wolf clamped its jaws onto his shoulder. Blood sprayed into the air like a geyser.
The scene instantly spiraled out of control. The coppery scent of fresh blood only drove the pack into an even greater frenzy.
"Damn it!!"
Cursing under her breath, a frosty killing intent descended across Elena’s flawless features. She stepped forward, placing herself directly in front of Arthur and the others, her terrifying S-rank talent blazing to life.
"Wrath of Winter·Ice Spike!!"
Unlike Andrew’s drawn-out incantation, Elena merely swept her staff, and dozens of razor-sharp ice shards lanced forth like a hailstorm.
Thwack! Thwack!
The vanguard of Ironback Wolves were instantly pierced through their eyes and throats, howling as they collapsed into pools of crimson.
But rather than scattering, the display only stripped away any remaining restraint from the pack. With enraged roars, the remaining twenty-plus wolves abandoned Andrew’s direction entirely, throwing themselves at Elena like she was a bone worth breaking their teeth on.
Teeth clenched, Elena’s ice-blue eyes locked onto the charging pack, unleashing wave after wave of Ice Element magic.
Frost Nova. Polar Ray. Ice Wall...
She fought like a mobile artillery piece, holding the line with ruthless precision.
Yet this world’s magical system harbored a fatal flaw: the toll it extracted on Mental Power and Magic Power was monstrous. In just two minutes of relentless, high-intensity casting, a sheen of cold sweat clung to Elena’s forehead, and her face had drained to the color of parchment.
Her staff began to tremble uncontrollably, and the Ice Walls she conjured grew thinner and more brittle.
"I can’t hold them... there are too many!!"
