Seun-mi Ho stepped out of Lysander's castle, the cool night wind brushing against his face. The contrast between the stifling atmosphere of the castle and the peaceful calm outside was striking. Yet, within him, a storm raged. Lysander had been neutralized, but one task remained before Seun-mi could finally shift his focus elsewhere.
He glanced back, watching as Lysander, now in chains, was dragged away by Caelum like a common criminal. The knight in silver armor hauled him off to some unknown destination, likely to deliver him to justice or something similar. That was settled. Lysander would no longer pose a threat. But Seun-mi Ho's mission wasn't over just yet.
"I need to find Aven… and those mercenaries," he muttered under his breath, his eyes narrowing in the darkness.
Aven, the cunning mercenary, had been instrumental in his capture. He and his group had betrayed Seun-mi Ho, selling him to Lysander. And Seun-mi had no intention of letting them get away with it. They would pay.
Standing at the edge of the forest surrounding the castle, Seun-mi took a moment to gather his thoughts. The moon shone brightly in the sky, casting a faint glow over the landscape. Tracking the mercenaries wouldn't be easy—they were professionals, skilled at blending into their surroundings and vanishing without a trace. But Seun-mi had one advantage that others lacked: the interface.
Closing his eyes, he focused on his internal system. Scan. He activated the interface's scanning ability, a faint energy pulse radiating from his body as his senses expanded in all directions. Data streams formed in his mind, creating a virtual map of the surrounding area.
[Scan active...]
He waited a few seconds as the scan covered several kilometers around him. The life forms in the forest appeared—birds in the trees, small mammals scurrying through the underbrush. But mercenaries? Nothing. No sign of them.
"Damn," he muttered, reopening his eyes. They were either too far to be detected or using artifacts to cloak their presence. It wasn't surprising—those mercenaries were no amateurs.
But Seun-mi Ho had other tools. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of metal—the broken fragment of the mercenaries' energy shackles, shattered earlier by Caelum. The fragment still carried traces of the mercenaries' energy, and Seun-mi knew he could use it to track them.
"Alright," he whispered, gripping the fragment tightly in his hand. He remembered a particular skill that would give him an edge.
[Wolf Pack.]
He closed his eyes again, delving deep into his interface to access the summoning system. The wolves had always been his most reliable allies in this world, especially when it came to tracking prey. He focused his mana, channeling it into the summoning spell. 250 mana points available.
[Summon: Wolf Pack.]
A surge of magic radiated from his body, and the ground beneath his feet began to tremble slightly. He felt his mana shifting, transforming into a primal force. Shadows emerged from the forest's depths—one by one, then by the dozens, until a hundred wolves surrounded him, their glowing eyes gleaming in the darkness, their muscles coiled and ready to follow his every command.
[Remaining mana: 0/250.]
Seun-mi didn't care about the depletion of his mana; he had what he needed.
The wolves stood silently, their ears perked and noses sniffing the air. Seun-mi knelt, holding the fragment of the energy shackles out before them.
"Find them," he ordered in a low voice. "Find those marked by this."
The wolves, as one, moved in closer, sniffing the metal fragment. In a heartbeat, they scattered in every direction, their paws pounding the earth with swift and determined strides. Seun-mi watched them go, knowing it wouldn't be long before they found their targets. The mercenaries couldn't run far enough to escape them.
As he waited, Seun-mi's thoughts drifted to the past, to the moment when everything had fallen apart. The road to Naraheim. He recalled the convoy he had traveled with, a group of merchants and adventurers. The journey to Naraheim was supposed to be uneventful, but the mercenaries he had hired—those he had trusted—had other plans.
Aven, their leader, was a rugged man with a confident demeanor. While his combat skills were impressive, it was his cunning that set him apart. He had manipulated Seun-mi, lulling him into a false sense of security with reassuring words and promises of protection. Seun-mi had trusted him, believing the mercenaries to be just professionals looking for a payday.
But the truth had been far darker. They sold him out to Lysander.
The mercenaries had waited for the perfect moment to strike, isolating Seun-mi from the rest of the group before betraying him. He could still feel the cold snap of the energy shackles locking around his wrists, cutting off his abilities and leaving him utterly vulnerable. After that, they had delivered him to Lysander for a hefty sum of gold. Traitors.
Seun-mi clenched his fists at the memory. It wasn't just the betrayal that ate at him but the shame of having fallen for their deceit. He wouldn't make the same mistake again.
A distant howl pierced the silence of the night, pulling Seun-mi back to the present. His wolves had found something. He listened carefully as more howls echoed from different directions, converging on a single point. The mercenaries were nearby.
Without hesitation, Seun-mi set off, following the howls through the forest. Despite the fatigue weighing on his body, he moved with relentless determination, his steps light and sure as he dodged branches and roots that threatened to trip him.
After a few minutes, he arrived at a small clearing. His wolves were already there, forming a circle around someone.
As Seun-mi stepped closer, he recognized the figure. One of the mercenaries. The man, injured and out of breath, knelt on the ground, his eyes wide with terror as he faced the pack of wolves surrounding him. He had tried to flee, but he never stood a chance.
"Please... I-I was just following orders," the man stammered, his voice trembling.
Seun-mi Ho approached slowly, his eyes as cold as the night around him. There would be no mercy.
"Where is Aven?" he asked, his voice calm but icy.
The mercenary shook, searching for the right words. "H-he went east, toward the mountains. He knew you'd come… He took the others with him."
Seun-mi nodded. Aven was a clever man—he had known Seun-mi would come for him. But that wouldn't change anything. He couldn't run forever.
"Thank you for the information," Seun-mi said, turning away. "You're free to go."
The man's eyes lit up with surprise, but before relief could settle in, Seun-mi added softly, "You'll just have to convince them."
He gestured toward the wolves, who still circled the man, waiting patiently for their master's next command.
Without looking back, Seun-mi Ho walked away. The hunt had only just begun.
End of Chapter 20.