The passageway was small, dark, and narrow, but after a few seconds of walking, Arlo finally emerged outside the city walls. Before him, a vast wooden forest stretched as far as the eye could see.
"So this is what it's like outside the walls…" Arlo muttered, his gaze fixed on the path leading into the woods.
The path seemed to be designed for incoming and outgoing carriages, but with the gates closed, there were no signs of any passing by.
Arlo confirmed that his barrier was still active and working as intended before beginning his journey down the pathway. Since he was on his own, he wanted to ensure that if any monster snuck up on him, he'd be safe. However, he didn't know how durable the barrier was, so all he could do was wait until the opportunity to test it arose.
"Man… I know I should be scared, but right now, for some reason… I can't stop smiling," Arlo muttered to himself, grinning joyfully.
His heart raced, not because of fear, but because the opportunity to test the power of the intermediate and advanced class spells was approaching. Filled with joy, Arlo walked down the path on his own, clutching the grimoire tightly in his arms as he ventured into the unknown.
Arlo walked along the well-maintained path, free of any trees growing on it. After about twenty minutes, he noticed the surrounding trees growing denser, their towering heights blocking the moonlight and casting the area into darkness.
Reacting quickly, Arlo began chanting a spell to brighten his surroundings.
"Elementary-Class Light Magic: Illuminate," He said.
[MP: 69% -> 69%]
The once pitch-black surroundings suddenly lit up as an orb of light manifested in the air before him. The ability to see clearly made the situation far more manageable.
As Arlo continued down the path, he spotted a group of adventurers approaching from ahead. They appeared battered and worn, with some sporting injuries and damaged armor. The adventurers carried torches to light their way.
When the group passed Arlo, they made eye contact. Without exchanging words, Arlo bowed his head respectfully and continued walking. Although it seemed like the adventurers wanted to say something to him, Arlo carried on without turning back.
Once all signs of the group had disappeared, Arlo looked ahead and then back down the path he had walked.
"I've traveled quite a bit… no one should have any complaints if I were to unleash my magic here, right? I should finally be able to practice my intermediate and advanced class spells in peace, right?" he asked himself, blushing and grinning. "Is what I'd like to say, but…"
His grin faded, replaced by a nervous expression as he began to tremble, looking around. Countless pairs of red eyes stared at him from the darkness of the surrounding trees.
"Looks like I'm surrounded," he muttered, his voice tense.
The sound of growling resonated around him as large, furry beasts emerged from the shadows, walking on all fours towards him.
At first glance, the creatures resembled wolves, but Arlo quickly realized that was far from the case. These beasts were at least triple the size of normal wolves, their fur pitch-black like shadows. Most unsettling of all, each possessed three eyes, with the third situated on their forehead.
[New Quest Unlocked]
[Quest Title: Shadow Wolf Slayer.]
[Objective: Slay all the wolves standing in your path.]
Approximately six of these monstrous wolves slowly approached Arlo, their movements calculated and menacing.
"So I finally got a quest… that being said, I didn't think they'd look so scary… these look way scarier than the types of monsters you find in an F-Rank gate back in my wor—" Arlo's words were cut short as the nearest wolf lunged directly at him, its mouth wide open, revealing razor-sharp teeth.
Arlo's eyes widened, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest as he instinctively stepped back, staring into the beast's gaping maw. Fortunately, just before the monster could tear through him, it crashed into an invisible forcefield, stopping its attack.
The impact caused the barrier to reveal itself, a bright yellow sphere surrounding Arlo. He let out a sigh of relief as he examined the barrier, which showed no signs of damage or shattering from the single attack.
"Ah… thank god. I-It's not like I was scared or anything. I was just worried the barrier might've deactivated on its own or something—" Arlo's words were interrupted once more as the other wolves began to lunge at him one by one, slamming into the barrier, attempting to wear it down with their relentless attacks.
Although the barrier seemed to be holding up well, Arlo wasn't sure how much it could withstand. Hastily, he opened his grimoire, flipping the pages to the [Intermediate Class Magic] section.
"L-Let's see here, this should do…" he muttered, his voice tinged with urgency.
In a hurry, Arlo turned to the first intermediate class spell. Without wasting any time, he stretched out his left hand and began his chant.
"O mighty goddess of the ocean, surge forth from the waves of life…" Arlo chanted, his voice resonating with power.
As he spoke, the air around him began to change, his hair slowly levitating as a bright blue magic circle manifested before his outstretched hand. He aimed his hand at one of the wolves attacking his barrier in a frenzy, their focus so intense that they failed to notice him chanting from within.
"Heed my call…" Arlo continued, his words filled with determination.
A surge of water began to manifest in front of the magic circle, rapidly expanding and rotating with incredible velocity.
"Intermediate Class Water Magic: Water Cannon!"
[MP: 69% -> 68%]
Va-BOOM!
The instant Arlo finished the incantation, a bright light flashed from the magic circle, and the water shot forth like a missile. It passed through an opening that had appeared in the barrier and struck the targeted wolf with immense force.
Crash!
The water sphere collided with the wolf, sending it flying through the air. The beast crashed against the trees in its path, breaking them down one after the other until it finally came to a stop after destroying around five trees within the forest.
Arlo's eyes widened, staring in disbelief as the opening in the barrier quickly closed.