Chapter 17 - Saberwolf
Almost instinctively, Zwei sent a Mage Hand flying at the wolf. Surprisingly, it actually stopped the massive creature's charge!
However, blocking the beast's attack had instantly consumed half of Zwei's mana pool! If he were to allow the wolf to push him down, the impact itself would probably kill him.
The wolf's size exceeded Zwei's estimate. It was actually nearly four meters in length. With the two fangs, which gave off a cold glint, protruding from its mouth, it reminded him of an ancient creature called the sabertooth tiger. Its powerful limbs, which were pushing against the ground, also caused Zwei's mana to deplete at a rapid rate. And despite the glossy blue-and-white fur covering its body being just ordinary fur, it gave the impression of indestructibility.
As Zwei blocked the giant wolf's advance, he noticed a thin layer of frost forming on the ground around the wolf's feet. Given this situation, the wolf most likely possessed the innate magic Freezing Fur, which allowed it to corrode its surroundings with ice elementals, creating a freezing effect. The magic could even directly freeze the blood of the wolf's opponents.
If that was the case, even if a small team of regular soldiers came to subjugate it, the wolf could still slaughter the soldiers easily. After all, it could rely on its fur to stop ordinary arrows and its freezing ability to attack.
Judging by this strength, Zwei deemed that this saberwolf's hunting level should be at Level 9. Moreover, it could most likely break through to Level 10 at any moment!
When the saberwolf barked at Zwei, it revealed jagged canine teeth that resembled small daggers. The foul saliva dripping from its mouth released a chill that invaded his body. If he allowed the wolf to bite his frail body, only death would await him!
Currently, Zwei was relying on his Mage Hand to suppress the saberwolf. If he had a weapon like a crossbow right now, he might be able to slay it. Either that or the assistance of another magician should be enough to deal with the beast.
Unfortunately, Alyssa wasn't a magician yet since she still couldn't sense mana.
Meanwhile, as an Apprentice Magician, Zwei couldn't dual-cast, which was a high-level technique. Hence, the current situation was rather grim for the student-teacher duo!
However, Zwei wouldn't have stepped out of his tower without sufficient preparation. Turning toward Alyssa, he shouted, "Get down!"
Immediately afterward, he pulled out a fingernail-sized red crystal from his pocket and injected mana into it. He then stuffed the crystal into the roaring saberwolf's mouth!
After doing so, Zwei canceled his Mage Hand, turned around, and threw himself over Alyssa, shielding the girl with his body.
A moment later, an intense explosion occurred.
Unlike when Zwei used the Fire Elemental Shard in the dungeon, the explosion that occurred this time was much more muffled. The resulting shockwave was also more subdued. However, the blazing flames that followed were much more intense. If the flames were not extinguished quickly, they might even spread to the trees and cause a forest fire.
Standing up, Zwei rubbed his sore back, which got pelted with dirt and stones. When he saw the destruction he caused using the Fire Elemental Shard, he nodded in satisfaction.
At this moment, a strange sense of emptiness filled his heart.
The mysterious predator that had troubled him for the past two days had actually been dealt with so easily.
However, with this, there were no longer any external threats endangering him. He also wouldn't have to rush in clearing dungeons and could calmly explore them instead.
A sense of relaxation and accomplishment immediately replaced the emptiness in his heart.
In reality, though, he still had many things to do.
Once the Dean's Mage Tower was completed, he would activate a new dungeon. Besides that, he still hadn't obtained an A-rank evaluation for the Night Forest's Depths. Once he did, he might activate a new dungeon. Just the better clear rewards available made it worthwhile for him to work harder.
In addition, constructing the Dean's Mage Tower had depleted most of his resources. He would have to collect resources desperately to replenish his stockpile. Otherwise, he would be in a bind if he obtained new construction blueprints.
Moreover, there was still the feather he got from the Night Forest's Outskirts that remained unidentified. And if possible, he would also like to collect more Skill Crystals to max out his mastery of the Exploding Flame Arrow.
Now that Zwei thought about it, he discovered that he actually had a lot of things he needed to deal with. The way ahead was still very long.
However, the most important thing Zwei needed to do right now was to send Alyssa back to the village.
Alyssa, who hadn't actually seen the battle's process, naturally didn't know that Zwei had relied on an item to kill the saberwolf. On their way back to the village, she stared at her teacher with reverent eyes.
In her opinion, her teacher must've detected the saberwolf in advance, and then suppressed it without even moving his hand. Eventually, he must've used powerful magic to blast the mighty wolf into smithereens.
From beginning to end, Zwei had acted calmly and unhurriedly, his behavior making it seem as if his opponent was mediocre at best. Given his record of slaying the opponent in seconds, he could be regarded as an expert.
After reaching the village, Alyssa promptly announced to the villagers that Zwei had slain the giant wolf that had recently migrated to Rockdoor Mountain. Based on the little girl's description of the battle, it didn't seem like she was lying.
The villagers who relied on the mountain for survival were naturally overjoyed by the news. Even the farmers or those with other livelihoods breathed out a sigh of relief. With this, in case of any emergencies that required them to leave the village, they wouldn't have to worry about getting attacked by that beast.
Hence, in addition to his reputation in the village increasing once more, Zwei also received several dozen silver coins as remuneration from the villagers. After losing his Fire Elemental Shard, Zwei gladly accepted the money offered.
Meanwhile, after this incident, Zwei had vaguely become the patron saint of the village. In fact, paying tribute to Zwei was much better than paying tribute to the lord of the area, who had never once sent his troops to help on time.
Just when Zwei was about to return to the mountain, Alyssa, who had gone home to change her clothes, ran over and grabbed his hand. She then pleaded, "Teacher, come join the banquet!"
Unlike the casual clothes Zwei was used to seeing, Alyssa was currently wearing a simple but well-tailored waitress's dress. Although her immature body still didn't possess any womanly curves, it had already begun taking shape. Her golden pigtails also leaped around in a lively manner along with her coquettish movements. Coupled with the bright smile on her face, she gave others a feeling of flourishing youthful vitality.
Due to his student's appearance, Zwei couldn't resist patting her head. Although Alyssa was only a village girl, the quality of her hair was much better than that of women who cared for their hair all day; it felt soft to the touch.
When the girl puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction, Zwei smiled reflexively.
"Since it's an invitation from my top student, I'll reluctantly set aside my work and participate."