Pups Beyond the Boundary
"From here on, it's outside the forest boundary."
Looking around, the landscape had changed starkly. I hadn't noticed a thing while traveling with the search party, but the trees had thinned out noticeably at some point. The view had opened up just enough to faintly glimpse the horizon in the distance.
"It's not suffocating thanks to that, but with the visibility cleared, I need to be even more careful."
This was the area beyond the World Tree's blessing, in the elves' words. Magic beasts could pop up from anywhere at any moment, so I had to keep my guard up in all four directions.
When patrolling outside the forest, check for cover nearby and move quietly, right?
I might forget every other lesson from Ivelin, but not this one. What had he said back then?
"When you take a step, you must always be prudent. Assess all potential dangers around you and prepare fully to respond to any ambush. What do you think 'full preparation' entails?"
"Um... keeping footsteps quiet, or sticking to cover?"
"Indeed, that's a worthy answer. There are a few more specifics, but they don't apply to you."
For reference, "worthy answer" from Ivelin was as good as high praise. If there was even a slight flaw, he'd immediately yell, "Wrong!!!" and chew me out.
Up to that point, I'd nailed the answer and was feeling pretty smug on my own. But the problem came next. Ivelin's offhand comment bruised my pride just a little.
"In principle, you should crouch low to avoid detection while moving. But you can ignore that—forget it."
What did he mean I could ignore it? In short: You're a kid, so even if you strut around openly, no one will notice. Others might crouch, but they'd still be taller than me, so yeah, it didn't matter. The fact that there wasn't a hint of malice in his words made it sting even more.
"Think saying that would make me stroll around all bold?"
Doesn't everyone get that urge to do the exact opposite of what someone tells you not to? Despite that, I decided not to follow Ivelin's advice to the letter and crouched low as I moved.
Rustle—
A sound from far off—something moving. I jolted in surprise and ducked behind a massive boulder, steadying my breathing.
For now, stay calm and figure out what happened first.
The sound came from the bushes. To spot whatever had startled me, I peeked out just my head from behind the rock.
Hm... nothing in sight?
No, wait—something suspicious caught my eye. A wolf-shaped shadow slinking around. The actual body was blocked by a tree, so I couldn't see it.
Judging by the shadow's size, it's gotta be a few meters at least.
Was this one of those magic beasts the elves mentioned? They grow huge and vicious feeding on magic, right? For now, I'd wait patiently until I could ID the mystery target.
Tension made my heart pound so loud it rang in my ears. I synced my mana to the rhythm, ready to cast a spell at any moment.
Breath held, I watched quietly. Finally, something crept slowly out of the bushes. I spotted its true form and let out an involuntary chuckle.
It's just a regular wolf pup.
To compare sizes, it was somewhere between a medium and large dog. Pathetic and tiny compared to what I'd tensed up for.
Well, a big shadow doesn't mean the real thing is big.
Basic common sense anyone who'd gone to elementary school would know. The closer the light source to the object, the larger the shadow. Here, the sun wasn't high yet, so the shadow loomed bigger than the pup itself.
To think I'd been sweating over something so elementary. If anyone knew, they'd tease me endlessly.
To shake off the embarrassment, I kept observing the clueless pup wandering around.
Fierce eyes, but overall, a surprisingly dopey, round face. Unlike the typical carnivore image, it looked like it'd obey well once tamed and put on a cute show.
Back in Korea, that escaped zoo wolf won the public's heart, right?
I'd thought back then, What's the big deal over a wolf? But seeing one in person made me want to toss it some food and pet it.
Anyway, mystery rustle solved. Time to resume scouting?
My tensed body relaxed, ready to shake off and search for clues to clear 2F. Just as I stood—
Another sound. I dropped low again, hiding behind the boulder.
Now what?
A bell chime from the wolf pup's direction. Tinkle-tinkle, spreading through the air.
Did the pup have a jingly collar? No, no bell when it moved earlier, so impossible. Besides, the sound came from farther away.
It vanished so fast I couldn't pinpoint details, but I gauged the distance. Unlike before, no clue what was happening, so I stayed hidden and waited. The bell rang again.
Woof-woof! The pup howled in response and bolted toward the sound.
What's going on here?
No repeating that earlier mistake. I'd shadow-boxed alone trying to ID the pup past the trees. This time, the bell was distant—no need to hide, and I could investigate more actively.
Scanning around, a particularly huge tree stood out.
This one's climbable.
Not straight up—the twisted trunk made it perfect. Especially after Ivelin's rock-climbing drills; this was a piece of cake.
Careful not to cut my hands, I climbed slowly. Finally, a wide-open view.
"Phew, clear sightlines—feels refreshing."
Elves' village or here, trees everywhere had felt claustrophobic. I got their nature-loving nobility, but dense woods nonstop were stifling.
Bonus of the high perch: a cloudless blue sky greeted me. How long since I'd seen open heavens like this?
No, no time to lounge. Focus on scouting.
I'd climbed to trace the bell's origin. Calming my excitement, I scanned around.
No obstructions—easy to spot the pup. And beside it stood who I assumed rang the bell.
"Can you even call that an elf?"
Delicate features, sharp nose, and crucially, pointed ears. Every trait matched the elves I'd seen. But one difference: darker skin than regular elves.
"Right! That's a dark elf!"
I froze briefly at my first dark elf sighting. Ivelin had said they lived outside the forest. He'd claimed they escaped the World Tree's blessing, left with dim reason and savage tempers.
But from afar, even blurry, it didn't match his description at all.
The dark elf wandered, shaking the bell repeatedly. Chimes filled the quiet woods. In response, wolves I'd never seen flocked to the dark elf.
"Whoa~ So many pups."
Seven fluffy-coated wolf pups lay belly-up, meekly beside the dark elf. Surrounded by cute pups? Enviable enough. But the dark elf topped it.
"Petting their bellies too!"
I caught the dark elf stroking a pup's exposed belly, murmuring something. Lip-reading suggested a lullaby to soothe it to sleep.
"Ferocious, my foot."
Dogs and wolves never show their bellies lightly. They flip only for total trust, signaling safety. If dark elves were savage like Ivelin said, no pup would do that.
"Maybe dark elves are nicer than we heard."
Trusting animal instincts over elf words seemed smarter. Not that I was biased by finding the pups adorable.
As my view of dark elves shifted, I sensed movement behind me. A chill down my spine. I whipped around in shock.
"Wah!"
"Gyaahhh!!!"
Startled by the sudden prank, I lost my balance and tumbled from the tree.