The next day, Dash, carrying the dimensional backpack, walked behind Shel, Marle, and Lilin, who all seemed cheerful. They were still inside the forest but were walking toward the exit, heading for a village named Farwood according to a wooden signpost they passed. Dash opened his map. The village name wasn't on the map, but it was on the signpost. Marle stepped back and looked at Dash's map.
"Oh, that map doesn't include villages, so it's normal for hardly anyone to know a village's name," Marle said.
"Hmm, I see," Dash replied, rolling his map back up.
"Yeah. Usually, we hunters understand. So even if someone gives us a mission at the Guild, they just list a major landmark, like Golddale City, and then say there are three villages nearby—one to the west, one east, and one south. Something like that. But villagers usually write their village name on the street signs so we know their village has a name," Marle replied.
"That's kind of a pain," Dash mumbled. "If I didn't have GPS, I'd definitely get lost somewhere if I wandered alone," Dash thought to himself.
"Relax, you've got me," Marle said proudly.
Suddenly, "Heeelp!" Dash, Shel, Marle, and Lilin immediately stopped walking. They saw several people who looked like villagers running in droves toward them, rushing through the forest. The villagers carried belongings, held hands, and some were carrying their children. Their faces were all terrified as they hurried past Dash, Shel, Marle, and Lilin.
The four of them looked ahead. They saw a gigantic black wolf, its body crackling with lightning that sparked everywhere. A lightning-shaped horn glowed on its forehead, and its eyes seemed full of electric sparks. The wolf walked slowly through the forest; lightning from its body struck the trees and destroyed them. The wolf looked like a natural disaster currently sweeping through the world and devastating its surroundings.
"Hey, hey, there's no way a Fallen Shadow like that is out here," Shel said, preparing to shroud her body in her Nature magic aura and create a gigantic stone axe.
"Hmm... that's not a Fallen Shadow, that's a Rank S Mystic Beast... the Thunder Wolf," Marle said, preparing to draw her twin ice swords and shroud herself in a white Ice aura.
"Oh... a Mystic Beast, huh? Looks strong," Lilin said, spinning her spear and standing ready, enveloping herself in a Fire aura.
"Hmm... like the Giant Boar yesterday?" Dash asked.
"The Giant Boar was a Rank A monster. The one in front of us is Rank S," Marle replied.
"Okay, so that means it's more valuable than the Giant Boar, right?" Dash asked one more time.
"Of course. If we can sell its horn, we'll be rich instantly," Marle replied.
"Okay, wait here," Dash said.
"Hah... what are you going to do—"
Too late. Dash had already darted forward and stood in front of the Thunder Wolf, looking up slightly, as the Wolf, much larger than Dash, looked down at him.
"Yo," Dash greeted, raising his hand.
"Groaaaaaar,"
The Thunder Wolf immediately opened its mouth and lunged at Dash, but "Bwaak," Dash threw an uppercut that slammed the Wolf's mouth shut and sent its head flying upward. Dash leaped and grabbed the Wolf's horn, which was full of electrical energy. "Crackle," Dash severed the horn with a chop of his hand, causing the Wolf to roar loudly and crash down. However, the Wolf immediately stood up just as Dash landed in front of it. It leaped backward and charged Dash again, its lightning-covered body sparking all over toward Dash.
"Heh... this horn is pretty cool," Dash said, looking at the horn in his hand, completely ignoring the Wolf lunging at him.
"Look out, Dash!" Shel, Marle, and Lilin yelled simultaneously.
Dash glanced up at the gigantic Wolf now directly above him. Then, with a quick movement, he slipped beneath it and "Dwaak," he kicked upward. He then spun, turning his foot into a kind of fast-moving drill that dug violently into the Wolf's stomach, creating a massive hole. Dash landed again and instantly threw a punch. The light wave from his fist shot into the Wolf's stomach, and "Blaat," the light wave exploded inside, causing the Wolf's body, still airborne, to violently shatter. "Splaat," the Wolf's blood splattered everywhere, including onto Dash standing below it.
"Ugh... gross," Dash muttered, his body splashed with the Wolf's blood.
Dash turned to look at Shel, Marle, and Lilin, then held up the horn with a big, relaxed grin. Meanwhile, Shel, Marle, and Lilin stared dumbfounded, their mouths wide open.
"I know he's crazy, and I've seen how great he is plenty of times, but... I'm still blown away," Shel said.
"Yeah, I feel the same way. He defeated a Rank S monster without even breaking a sweat, and... alone," Marle added.
"Are Dragonkin really that strong?" Lilin asked, also astonished.
Dash, seeing Shel, Marle, and Lilin standing still and speechless, finally walked up to them. After standing in front of the three of them,
"Hey, would it be okay if we went back to the lake for a quick bit? I need to wash myself off... this is disgusting," Dash said, wiping the blood from his body while his hand gripped the zigzag lightning-shaped Thunder Wolf horn.
No one answered him. Dash waved his hand in front of the girls' faces.
"Hey, what's wrong with you guys?" Dash asked, confused, waving his hand.
"Huh," the three of them snapped out of it. They looked at Dash in front of them, and then at the blood-soaked horn in his hand.
"Why are you looking so confused? Here, hold this. Sell it in the village later," Dash said, handing the horn to Marle.
"Oh... right," Marle replied, taking the horn.
"Um... let's go, but... the road's a mess now, huh, haha," Shel said, looking at the puddles of blood and the scattered pieces of the Thunder Wolf carcass.
"Let's go... come on... to the village," Lilin said, hoisting her spear and walking straight ahead.
"Wait... I wanted to clean myself off at the lake earlier," Dash said.
"Too late, let's go," the three girls immediately dragged Dash along.
They started walking again. Shel gave Dash a towel to wipe himself down, and Lilin also handed him a bottle of water to wash his body. Without thinking twice, Dash immediately opened the bottle and poured the water over himself to rinse the blood off, then dried himself with the towel, which instantly became soaked with blood, before tossing it aside. They continued walking, completely unaware that the villagers who had run past them were now following them from a distance, looking confused and amazed.
A short time later, they exited the forest. Dash could see a large ice mountain range in the distance directly ahead. Closer, they saw a village not far from where they stood. There were many fields and gardens surrounding the unfortified village, and a river used to irrigate the fields flowed in front of it. There were many houses in the village, and a few buildings that looked about four stories high. A farm was visible next to the village, but not a single person was in sight in the village itself.
"Is that Farwood village?" Dash asked.
"Yep, that's our destination. The ones who requested the quest are the owners of that farm," Marle replied, pointing to the farm next to the village.
"Let's go there, but why does it feel so empty?" Shel suggested.
"Yeah, where is everyone? It's quiet," Lilin added.
"Hmm... I don't know. Let's just walk. We'll head straight to the Guild to sell this horn and report that we took the quest," Marle said.
"Yeah, hurry up. Hopefully, the Guild has a bathroom. I really need a shower," Dash replied.
They walked cheerfully toward the village, completely oblivious to the fact that they had already completed the mission they were supposed to be doing.