I ran towards the direction of the scream. I instinctively used"Detect"while running. However, I immediately stopped when I sensed the presences.
28 beasts!?
I gasped in my mind. Although I couldn't make out what type of animals they were, they were surely hostile creatures. I quickly tried to turn around and run to report to my father. But before I could, I sensed another presence that seemed to run ahead of them.
A human? No, it feels like a human but something else at the same time.
What to do? I could leave him behind as the pack seemed to have almost caught onto him. He might as well be dead by now. I apologised to the person and was about to run away when-
「I don't want to die!」
I stopped when I heard his cry once more. A cry of desperation.
Dammit! What am I thinking? I should run. I should but.....
I contemplated for a few seconds but then I quickly turned around and started to run in his direction.
.....I never learn, do I?
I was slowly closing in on him. Little by little I could sense them better. When I finally reached him, I saw him fallen on the ground with wolves about to pounce on him.
So they were wolves, huh?
This was my first time seeing a wolf. However, I didn't have time to admire it right now. I quickly look towards the fallen boy. He seemed to be about to lose his conscious. I quickly extended my hand while pointing towards the wolves in front of him and yelled-
「"Electro Ball"!」
A lightning ball was formed in my hand. I quickly hurled the electric orb at them.
It hit the 3 wolves in front and while electrocuting, pushed them until they hit a tree. I quickly rushed toward the boy.
「Oi! Are you alright?」
However, he fell unconscious right after I asked him. It seemed he was greatly injured and if he didn't receive medical assistance soon enough, it might become deadly.
I quickly turned around to face the other wolves that were behind me. They were starting to surround us. I can't let them do that as it will become insanely difficult for me to defend from all four sides.
I quickly cast another spell at the wolf that was trying to go around me.
「"Sand Arrow"!」
It hit and he started to bleed. He might not be able to move around anymore as I had hit his vital organs.
I continued this for some time until they realised that trying to get around me was going to lead to no avail. There were now about 15 wolves that could fight me head-on. The others were either dead or injured to the point that they may no longer be able to move.
As they were slowly closing the distance between us, I started to be pushed back. If I was on my own, I could have escaped long ago. But currently, I was protecting the boy while keeping an eye in front of me. It wasn't going well.
Dammit! Have I not got any wide range spells?
Although effective, the spells I was using were preferred for single targets. The wolves were now even able to dodge most of the spells that I was casting. They were quick to adapt.
「I guess I have got no choice but to use the new spell, huh?」
I hadn't had the chance to use this spell even once yet. This might be risky, but this is the best chance for both of our survival. If even that fails......I would have no choice but to abandon this boy.
I take a deep breath and extend my hand towards the pack of wolves.
「I pray to God that this works,"Flame Spin"!」
This spell was a"Attack Type","Fire"attribute,"Dino"level spell.
A 2-foot diameter vertical wheel of fire was created in the air in front of my hand. The wheel remained stationary in front of me.
The wolves started showed signs of agitation.
Hmmm....they did the same when I had cast"Fire Arrow". Are they afraid of fire?
But that didn't matter right now. I thrust the wheel forward and it started to envelop the wolves that were closer to it. Cries of pain could be heard from the ones that were inside the wheel.
The other wolves started to run back to the forest and realizing that they couldn't win.
Out of 28 wolves, only about 7 survived.
I was panting profusely and also feeling sluggish. Both my mana and stamina were about to be exhausted.
I quickly looked at the young boy and healed him a little using"Heal". Then I put him on my back and started to run back to the house.
I reached the house in about 15 minutes. My parents and brothers panicked when they saw my condition but I just entrusted them the little boy before hearing them out.
「He is injured more than I am....help him first.」
After saying that, I collapsed from fatigue and mana deficiency.
──────────────────
I opened my eyes to look towards a familiar ceiling. I gently raised myself and looked around me. I was on my bed. The same bed that I have been sleeping on for the past many years. I was at the mansion. Bandages had been tied at quite a few places but it could be seen that I wasn't gravely hurt.
「Oh yeah, that boy.」
I quickly got out of the bed and walked out of the room. I then saw the guestroom, which was rarely ever used, to be open. I looked inside and saw the boy lie down on the bed.
He looked quite tall, with shaggy white hair and bright crimson eyes. He also has a scar over his right eye, probably inflicted by some wolf in the previous battle. He had many bandages wrapped around him and he was still unconscious. I gave a deep sign of relief.
Yeah, you better be alive. It took great pains to save you after all. You better repa-
But I suddenly felt a presence behind me. I slowly turned my head around and laughed awkwardly.
「Finally awake, huh? Claude.」
「M-mom! Hahahaha, I was just about to look for you too.」
「You better be. You have got some explaining to do, young man.」
「Y-yeah.....」
What do I do? I am going to die today for sure. SAVE ME!
──────────────────
We were at the dining table. The atmosphere was looking tense and everybody was looking at me and observing my every move.
「So? ....Wanna explain?」
My father was the first one to break the silence. He was folding his arms and looking at me with an expression that showed that he was surely pissed.
「Ummm...I don't exactly get what you mean, Dad?」
I tried to play dumb but that only pissed him off even more.
「Don't play games with me here, Claude! I am asking about this afternoon when you came back injured with that white hair kid.」
「Oh! A-about that...I see. Well, you see what happened was....」
I narrated him the entire incident. Of course, I left out the part about magic though.
「So....what you are trying to say is that a pack of wolves were chasing that little kid and he fell unconscious so you carried him on your back and tried to escape them?」
「P-pretty much.」
「I see.」
After looking at me and all the other family members, father stared at my eyes with a gentle expression.
Scary.
There's no smile in his eyes.
And I continue to focus my faltering eyes on father with all my might.
Then my father spoke.
「Is that so? It's interesting though, as when I went to investigate the forest, I found the corpses of many wolves there too. Do you happen to know anything about that, Claude?」
I froze at my spot. I still tried to reject my involvement with the matter.
「I-I wonder about that now! Hahahahhha.」
I lied and tried to laugh it off. Everybody was looking at me suspiciously even more now. Suddenly mother spoke-
「Claude, when you did something wrong, a stubborn attitude will only make things worse. This is a moment when a sincere attitude is needed. When something wrong was done, it's best to simply apologize. After all, we all know that only you, nobody else, could have done this.
If you are to come up with a shoddy lie, your trustworthiness will decrease. You may lie as much as you want but you would become untrustworthy as a result.」
I nodded. I can't meet any of my family members eyes.
「If you still want to lie, go ahead. But just get that we won't be able to trust you anymore in the future.」
「.......I am sorry, I lied.」
I confessed and apologized. My father spoke again-
「So? What actually happened?」
「...I was the one to defeat and kill those wolves.」
After I said that, silence followed. It seems everybody wasn't expecting this answer. My brother Karl spoke this time-
「.....What are you saying? I went with father to investigate the forest too you know. There were about 15 wolves that were killed there. Are you trying to say that you single-handedly defeated all of them?」
「....Yes.」
This time my father spoke.
「.....Could you tell me how you did that, Claude? As much as I think that you are powerful compared to your age, but I still can't picture you fighting them off with your skill level.」
「That.....I didn't defeat them using the sword.」
「WHAT!?」
My father, Karl and Ralph both yelled at the same time.
「Then how did you defeat them?」
「......with magic.」
「What?」
「By magic. I can use magic father.」
After I gave that declaration, nobody made a sound and the silence continued. Well, that's a given though. After a while, Ralph asked me-
「.....But I thought you said that you didn't have the aptitude for magic?」
「I know. But when I checked again, I did. I don't know how it happened but it just.....happened.」
I tried my best to explain it to him. My father then asked further.
「From how long have you been using magic?」
「About 2 months now.」
「Why didn't you say you could use magic before?」
「I wanted to do so but I didn't find the right opportunity. I'm sorry.」
「What level of magic can you currently use?」
「Beginnner and Basic Intermediate level.」
「.....I see.」
My father then became silent again. As I prepared for my beating, as my father was about to say something I heard my mother's joyous scream.
「Kyaa! Did you hear that, darling!? Our child's a genius after all!!」
Father's words were overpowered by Mother's scream.
She grabbed father's hands and jumped around in exhilaration.
How energetic.
Was my apology ignored?
「Woah! Claude, you better not hide such things you know? I see....yeah, that explains how you were able to defeat the wolves.」
My brother Karl said in excitement.
「Yeah!」
Ralph followed.
It looks like they exuberant over the fact that I used magic.
Am I considered a genius for being able to suddenly cast magic?
Is it my parents' doting on me too much? Or that using intermediate magic spells is considered amazing? I'm unable to tell.
No, perhaps it's really my parents doting on me.
I never used magic in front of them before.
Suddenly my father banged the table and everybody became quiet. Everybody looked at him and after a brief pause, he spoke while looking me at the eye.
「Have you told anybody else about this?」
「O-only Aiden. You are the first ones to know after him.」
After hearing me say that he gave a sigh of relief.
「Good. Keep it that way. You must refrain from telling others about your talent. Got that? You are still young so you might not understand what consequences it will have on you.」
「Yes.」
After that, he started laughing heartily.
「But still, this is an occasion for a celebration! Let's have a big feast tonight!」
All of them agreed. That day, we had an enthusiastic celebration. I was also praised by my family for helping the little boy.