The Cat Beastkin in the Forest
The dense canopy of Zairan Forest blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving the woods steeped in a chill that felt far too cold for the hour. The ground was littered with the corpses and blood of Arc Wolves, giving the entire area an eerie, unsettling atmosphere.
And at the center of it all stood Bagan, quietly absorbing the mana from the fallen wolves.
“Another quota filled,” he muttered.
Ever since his encounter with Palamus, Bagan had spent nearly every waking moment in Zairan Forest hunting monsters. He believed that even this small, steady effort would help him close the gap between himself and his creator.
He turned in the direction of the mansion and focused power into his legs before kicking off the ground.
Bang!
The sound of exploding air echoed as his body shot high into the sky. From above the treetops, he confirmed the location of Palamus’s mansion on Persona Mountain, then descended. He used Release on impact to neutralize the force of landing, just as smoothly as he had jumped.
His growing mastery over these traits was entirely thanks to relentless practice. From morning until well past noon, he hunted without pause. Once back at the mansion, he devoted himself to researching his unique traits and every possible method of growing stronger.
Recently, however, one problem had begun to weigh on him.
“I’ve got plenty of mana, but I still can’t figure out how to form a circle…”
Why did Bagan need circles? To cast the high-level spells known as class magic, of course. Without circles, he could only manage basic elemental magic. Anything beyond that remained out of reach.
Basic elemental magic has its limits.
His opponent was a dragon—the very master of magic. What good were beginner spells against something like that? Even if he learned class magic, it might not create a decisive variable in battle. Still, some of those spells were incredibly effective in specific situations. It was worth learning them.
“It’d be nice if there were any books on magic in that house.”
After all, it was the lair of a dragon. Bagan had searched Palamus’s mansion thoroughly for anything that might help him, but he had found nothing. Either the books were hidden extremely well, or they simply didn’t exist.
If there were no books, another option was to gain insight directly from a high-ranking mage. That was essentially the same thing, since books were written by such mages anyway.
And there were two perfect candidates living in the mansion: Palamus and Barret.
He hadn’t even tried asking Palamus. The dragon would never teach him, and Bagan had no desire to learn from him. So he had turned to Barret instead.
“The method to form a circle, you say?”
“Yeah. You’re a 6th-circle mage, right? I was hoping you could teach me.”
“Hmm. You gather mana like this around your heart, then bind it firmly like so.”
“I-I see. Thanks! That was helpful.”
Her teaching ability was so abysmal that Bagan’s desire to learn had vanished on the spot. When she had suggested heading to the space beyond the back door because he couldn’t understand her explanation, he had genuinely felt a chill run down his spine. It seemed she truly believed in learning through the body—by doing, not by theory.
In any case, just like when she had tried to teach him Wind magic, she could only offer vague, instinctive advice. There was nothing more he could learn from her.
Pushing the disappointing memory aside, Bagan made his way back toward the mansion. He was wondering what he should research next when—
“Kyaaak!”
A sound that should never have been heard in the depths of Zairan Forest pierced the air. It was a woman’s scream.
Since his reincarnation, Bagan had met almost no one outside the two residents of the mansion. His curiosity was instantly piqued. And it was a scream. Whoever it belonged to was clearly in desperate need of help.
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the source of the cry.
When he arrived, he found an adventurer surrounded by the very Arc Wolves he had grown tired of hunting.
A beastman. First Barret, now this one. Are beastmen really this common?
In the game, other demi-human races had been plentiful, but beastmen were relatively rare. Most either lived hidden in remote villages deep within forests or had been captured and sold into slavery.
Yet here he was, encountering two beastmen before he had even met many other races. Among the demi-humans, beastmen held a special place in his heart. They were a race that naturally inspired pity.
For Bagan, with his affinity for other races, this was yet another reason to save her.
“Hey! Cat beastman, you okay?”
The words slipped out in casual speech, a habit formed from speaking with Barret.
Grrrrr—!
Thanks to that, he successfully drew the Arc Wolves’ attention.
Now.
The moment their focus split, Bagan shot forward like a bullet, slipping between the wolves surrounding the beastman. In the blink of an eye, he took up a defensive position beside her and quickly counted the enemies.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a large pack. Arc Wolves could roam in groups of up to ten, but there were only five here. Easy enough.
While Bagan thought nothing of it, the cat beastman had fallen into despair. All the wolves’ eyes were now locked onto him.
Grrrr!
Arc Wolves were pack hunters with decent coordination. From her perspective, the situation still looked overwhelmingly unfavorable.
But Bagan didn’t care. These were monsters he killed as easily as eating a meal. He had never once considered himself at a disadvantage.
“Come at me.”
The moment the words left his mouth, one of the wolves lunged at him.
Bagan didn’t miss the opportunity. Arc Wolves were much larger than ordinary wolves and boasted speed that belied their size. Their most infamous trait was their powerful jaws and bite force—they never let go once they sank their teeth into prey.
However—
Iron Skin!
He coated his skin with the metallic mana he had absorbed and shoved his arm straight into the wolf’s gaping maw. Creatures like these were instinctively vulnerable to the unexpected.
Crunch!
The situation should have ended with his flesh being torn apart, but that didn’t happen. The Arc Wolf froze in confusion. Its bite weakened for a split second before it adjusted and clamped down even harder.
But no matter how strong its jaws were, could it really chew through steel like meat?
Bagan had expected as much. The wolf didn’t let go. Instead, it shook its head violently, trying to tear through with all its might.
Skreeeech!
The horrifying sound of teeth scraping against metal filled the air as they struggled. At that moment, Bagan grabbed the wolf’s scruff with his free hand.
Release!
Boom!
Red-tinged mana materialized and detonated. The wolf’s head and body separated cleanly. It wasn’t some clever trick—just a simple release of the mana still lingering in its heart. He had simply added an attribute to it. Most beast-type monsters were weak to fire, so he had exploited that weakness for a critical hit.
The other wolves hesitated, unwilling to charge after seeing their comrade die so instantly.
“H-how…?”
The cat beastman stared at Bagan with wide, vertical pupils. He had taken a bite from an Arc Wolf yet remained completely unharmed. She was visibly shocked.
“Get up. You can still make it.”
“…Yes.”
She seized the hope she had already given up on. Gratitude and trust toward the man who had appeared like a savior filled her eyes. She pushed the dizzying fear aside and slowly rose to her feet.
She wielded a pair of daggers perfectly suited for thrusting, a style that complemented the agility of cat beastmen. Her stance and the way she stayed on the balls of her feet made her look like a seasoned warrior.
“Let’s go.”
She nodded, focusing intently. Four Arc Wolves remained. The roles of hunter and prey had completely reversed.
Tap!
The cat beastman moved first. What she had done with her heels wasn’t a bluff—her speed was so great that even Bagan lost sight of her for a moment. The next instant, she had buried a dagger deep into one wolf’s neck.
She’s fast.
Bagan was impressed, but he quickly noticed her weakness: she lacked power. The wolf let out a pained howl but did not die. Its eyes still burned with life. The wound had been too shallow. Blood poured from its neck as it opened its jaws wide, trying to bite her.
She retreated with a perfect hit-and-run step, moving well out of range of its maw. It was textbook. The enraged wolf charged at her without thinking. A reckless, linear attack was easy to read. She seemed to know this well—she slipped lightly to the side and slashed its flank with her dagger.
Grrrrk!
Another long gash opened beside the first wound. This time she had torn through muscle. The wolf began to limp. Once again, she rose onto the balls of her feet, preparing the same technique Bagan had lost sight of earlier.
“Kyaaow!”
A cat-like battle cry rang out. When her body reappeared, she was far beyond where the limping wolf had been.
Thud.
Blood sprayed from the wolf’s neck like a fountain as it collapsed.
Even while dealing with the remaining wolves, Bagan never took his eyes off her fight.
She’s skilled.
Now that he watched her properly, it was clear she hadn’t needed saving at all. If she had kept a clear head, she could have handled five Arc Wolves on her own.
She walked over to one of the already-dead wolves and stabbed it repeatedly, as if venting her anxiety.
Stab. Stab. Stab!
“Die! You filthy mutts!”
Bagan finished off the last wolf and approached her. She seemed furious at having nearly died. As she poured out her rage, he extended a hand.
“It’s over.”
At the sound of his voice, she pulled her dagger free and looked up at him with teary eyes. Realizing the fight was truly finished, she wiped her tears with a black leather glove—now soaked in blood. In doing so, she accidentally smeared more blood across her face.
Bagan, curious about what circumstances had brought her here alone, asked gently.
“Why were you out here by yourself?”
No adventurer hunted alone in dangerous Zairan Forest. Not unless they had a very special reason. There had to be a story behind this.
“Th-thank you for saving me. My name is Natalie.”
She offered her thanks first. It made sense—she would have become an Arc Wolf’s meal if not for him.
“I was part of a party called Dawn’s Wolf. During a request, we ran into an ogre and had to flee…”
She began to sniffle again, clearly fighting back tears with everything she had. There was nothing Bagan could say to comfort her.
“And then?”
“I got lost in the forest. I was separated from my companions. They… they won’t come looking for me, will they?”
Come looking for her. Bagan thought about adventurers. They called themselves adventurers, but they were essentially odd-job workers who took any request that paid. For people like that, their bodies were their only assets. Safety came first. The chances that they would risk themselves to search for a lost comrade were slim.
Still, he spoke in a way that might ease her mind.
“If they’re your comrades, there’s no reason they wouldn’t look for you.”
“You think so?”
Her hopeful expression was admirable, but Bagan couldn’t shake the feeling that they wouldn’t come.
“Did you come from De Meca?”
De Meca was a city in the Seiros Kingdom that bordered Zairan Forest. Aside from the capital, De Seiran, it was the city with the most developed guild culture.
Natalie nodded at his question.
“Paul will come. I’m sure of it.”
Bagan didn’t believe her. If necessary, he was prepared to escort her all the way back to De Meca himself.
“I’ll take you—”
That was when they heard voices.
“I’m telling you, it definitely came from this direction!”
“Quiet. There could be monsters.”
“How can I be quiet when Natalie might be in danger?!”
A sharp female voice and a cautious male voice alternated from beyond the bushes.
“It’s Paul and Reina! Over here! Over here!”
With her animal-like senses, Natalie recognized their voices immediately and shouted with joy. She had hoped for it, but she hadn’t truly believed they would come looking. Her happiness doubled.
“There! The sound came from over there!”
They began moving toward Natalie’s voice. The sound of rustling bushes grew louder until a man finally stepped into view. But the moment he saw Bagan and Natalie, his face turned pale.
“Natalie! Get away from that man! I’ll save you right now!”
He had clearly misunderstood the situation. The woman who followed immediately cast a spell.
“Water Bullet!”
Moisture gathered in the air, forming a bullet of water that shot straight toward the motionless Bagan.
“No!!”
Natalie cried out desperately, but the spell had already been cast. There was no stopping it.
Bagan watched the incoming magic and raised his left hand.
Absorption.
Absorption
The water bullet vanished without a trace.
“What?!”
The mage was stunned to see her own spell disappear so effortlessly. She quickly regained her composure and began forming another spell.
“Stop! Stop it, Reina!”
Natalie shouted, but actions often spoke louder than words. Bagan had no intention of simply taking the hits. To clear up the misunderstanding, he decided a bit of suppression was necessary.
Before the next spell could form, he moved with blinding speed and appeared directly in front of them.
“W-what?!”
Paul reached for his longsword, startled by Bagan’s sudden appearance. Bagan looked at him calmly.
“Didn’t I tell you to stop? That’s what your comrade wants.”
Sometimes, saying it from up close was far more effective than simply speaking.