― GRRRRR....
Yellow eyes shone in the darkness. My legs went weak at the werewolf's spirit.
My legs stiffened and wouldn't move properly.
"I've never heard that werewolves appear in the Moonlight Forest."
That's only natural. No matter how crazy the Magic Tower is, they wouldn't put students in a forest swarming with demonic beasts.
"It came over from the Dufarc Mountains."
According to the original novel, that was the case. Since a student dying while receiving punishment was a serious issue even for the Magic Tower, an investigation was conducted later.
The conclusion drawn then was that it was a young individual that lost its way and wandered in from the mountains connected to the back of this Moonlight Forest.
'You said it was a young one!'
The werewolf in front of my eyes had a build twice the size of an adult male. Just looking at it made my hair stand on end.
It seemed to be gauging us, prey it was seeing for the first time. Whether it could hunt us or not.
"Russell Blair. When I give the signal, run towards the entrance."
"Leave you behind and run away?"
"I don't expect human decency from you at this point, so don't worry."
I think his treatment of me is a bit too much.
"You'll only be a hindrance if you stay."
That statement is probably true. The genre of the original novel was 'Power-hiding Loser'. Yes, naturally, the protagonist Flamel is also an incredible munchkin.
'Since he can't reveal his power, he's sending me away first.'
Not a bad strategy. In the original novel, he acted this way too.
But the result? The werewolf fighting him runs away, discovers Russell Blair, and slaughters him!
"Go, quickly!"
"I can't!"
That's a death flag!
"Damn it. Take this!"
I grabbed a handful of something from my bag and handed it to him.
"This is...."
"It's 'Sun Halo Herb', a deadly poison to werewolves! They run away just from smelling it."
I barely found and picked it from the dormitory backyard. It wasn't hard to find because its red buds were distinctive.
Of course, I was a bit late for the appointment because I was filling a whole bag.
"How is it! Your appetite disappears when you smell this, right?!"
As I waved the Sun Halo Herb in front of the werewolf, I saw its nose twitch.
'Success?'
Just as hope was about to appear that I had cleared the first death flag.
― AWOOOO!
The werewolf howled roughly and lunged with its mouth open to bite off my hand.
CRASH!
"Whoa!"
I barely dodged by rolling my body to the side. The werewolf's teeth marks remained clearly on the ground where I had been standing.
"What the hell. Why isn't it working!"
"Stupid fool. Did you forget what we learned in Magical Material Gathering? You have to distinguish Sun Halo Herb from Roe Sleep Herb carefully because they're similar!"
How am I supposed to know that!
"The Sun Halo Herb and Roe Sleep Herb are mixed together, so it's not working properly. If you just pick out the right ones, it will definitely have an effect."
Then Flamel divided what was in his hand into two.
"This side is Sun Halo Herb, this side is Roe Sleep Herb."
They look identical. What on earth is this guy looking at to distinguish them?
To my eyes, they were just identical red flowers.
"Dammit. I don't know. Hey, take this!"
I threw the entire bag to him.
"I have absolutely no idea what's different, you know? So you distinguish them! I'll buy time until then."
"...."
He stared at me with an unreadable expression. He seemed to be gauging something.
But there was no time to explain further. Because the werewolf, spitting out dirt, was looking this way again!
"Over here. Over here!"
I shouted loudly and ran to the side. I felt the werewolf's gaze shift towards me.
― GRRRR!
"Yeah. Come at me...!"
Is this how a herbivore feels in front of a massive beast? My legs trembled uncontrollably.
'But, I have to do it.'
If I backed down here, I might really die. I don't know about anything else, but I can't die here.
I have a world I need to return to!
'My brother will be waiting!'
CRASH!
The creature lunged at me once more. It was fast, but not to the point I couldn't follow it with my eyes.
'Besides, this guy can't change direction once he starts charging, right?'
Then dodging becomes much easier.
'Though if I make even one mistake, I'll be turned to pulp....'
Looking at the marks left on the ground, it really wasn't a joke. The beast shook its head, which had been stuck in the dirt floor, and stood up.
Its breathing was rough, perhaps angry that it had bitten empty air twice.
― AWOOOO!
"Right. Come again!"
The werewolf panted but didn't rush in abruptly like before. According to the book, its intelligence is quite high, so maybe it learned something from a few failures.
'That's not a good sign.'
The creature tilted its head this way and that, then soon took a stance to pounce.
'Left!'
CRASH!
'Right!'
CRUNCH!
'Left again...!'
THUD.
But the moment I tried to run, I hit a tree with my back. Looking back, I saw a thicket of trees so dense it would be difficult for even one person to pass through.
'I'm trapped...!'
― AWOOO!
The beast let out a cry of joy as if sensing victory. Did it drive me here on purpose?
'Nowhere to run....'
The werewolf increased its speed. Its wide-open mouth lunged towards me!
"Hyaaaap!"
CRUNCH!