A NEW ENCOUNTER

"Alright, it seems I can cast spells smoothly," I thought to myself.

As I was lost in my thoughts, I suddenly snapped back to reality and turned around. Judging by their expressions, they seemed relieved and amazed.
"Uh, sorry... hehe," I said.
"Sister! Please be my teacher!" exclaimed the young mage.

I was startled by her words. Before I could respond...
"Phina, you're being rude to her. Sister, I'm sorry about her; she gets like this when she's too excited. Come on, apologize," said the healer girl.
"Sorry, sis. Hehe," Phina apologized.
"Ah, it’s okay."
"Oh, right. My name is Elise. I’m a healer, 16 years old. This here is Phina, a mage, also 16. And lastly..." Elise said.
"Greetings, my name is Lynn. I’m an archer and an elf. I’m still young, only 52 years old. I apologize for my friends’ impoliteness," Lynn said.
"Hey!" exclaimed Elise and Phina.

Wait, I agree with them. You’re much older than me. You’ve lived way longer than I have. But of course, I couldn't say that.
"You don’t have to be so formal with me. Just speak casually."
"Wouldn’t that be rude?" Lynn asked.
"It’s fine. Speaking casually is more comfortable. Besides, we’re not in the elf village."
"Alright then," Lynn replied.

"Ah, right. My name is Luna. As you can see, I’m a mage. Nice to meet you."

After introductions, the atmosphere became a little awkward as they whispered to each other.
"Elise, why don’t we ask Sister Luna for help? If she’s with us, we can definitely save Al and Kyle," whispered Phina.
"But isn’t it rude to ask for help from someone we just met? Plus, she already helped us earlier," Elise replied.
"I agree with Phina. With Sister Luna’s help, we can resolve this quickly. Besides, we need to move fast," Lynn said.

Although they were whispering, I could hear them clearly. I saw the unease on Elise’s face.
"Um… Sister Luna, may we ask for your help?" Elise asked.
"Sure... What do you need help with?"
"We need your strength to save our other group members who are still behind," Elise explained.
"Yes, Sister, please help us," Phina pleaded.
"Alright, I’ll help."
"Yay, thank you, Sister!" Phina cheered.
"Alright then, Lynn, lead the way!" Elise commanded.
"Mm!" Lynn nodded.

With that, we all began running again, Lynn leading at the front.

· · ·

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the forest...

Two young men were surrounded by a pack of silver wolves. Their clothes were tattered, and their bodies bore claw and bite marks.
GRRRR
"Damn it! They just keep coming!" said the first man.
"Exactly... It’s like their numbers don’t go down," replied the second man.
"Why didn’t you go with them?" asked the first man.
"I couldn’t just leave you here alone, could I?" the second man replied.
"True. If I were alone, I’d probably be dead by now," said the first man.
"Don’t worry. With Lynn there, they’ll surely find their way out of the forest," said the second man.
"I hope so..." the first man muttered.

· · ·

We had been running nonstop for half an hour. I was surprised I could manage it without feeling tired at all. Meanwhile, in front of me, Elise and Phina were visibly out of breath, though Lynn still seemed fine.
"How about we take a short break?"

Lynn, leading at the front, gradually slowed down and eventually stopped.
"Hah... hah... hah... no... let’s... keep going..." Elise gasped.
"Yeah... I can... keep going too..." Phina added, her breathing uneven.
"Are the other group members really in danger?"
"Mm..." Lynn nodded in response.
"Alright then, how about this: Lynn and I will go ahead. You two can catch up after resting for a bit."
"I agree," Lynn said.
"Okay, let’s go, Lynn."

Without hesitation, Lynn and I continued running, leaving Elise and Phina behind.

· · ·

Back where the two young men were cornered, they had been pushed against a stone wall. With no escape route, they were completely surrounded.
"Hah... hah... hah... I guess this is it..." the first man said.
"I’m out of strength too..." the second man added.
"Sorry for dragging you into this," said the first man.
"Hey, we promised to stick together, remember?" the second man replied.
"Thanks, Kyle," the first man said.
"Anytime, Al," Kyle responded.

As they slumped against the stone wall, battered and waiting for the end, a wolf leaped at them. But suddenly, an arrow pierced the wolf mid-air. Everyone turned toward the source. There stood a green-haired elf girl holding a bow, accompanied by a beautiful woman with a staff.
"Thank goodness we made it in time," Lynn said.

The situation was dire. Two men, barely alive, surrounded by at least 15 silver wolves. Among them, a larger one stood at the back—was it the Alpha? We moved toward the two men. Seeing their injuries, I retrieved two silver-white potions from my inventory and handed them to Lynn.
"Lynn, give these to them."

Lynn hesitated at first, seeing the unusual silver-white potion. But realizing there was no time for doubt, she handed it to them. Shortly after drinking, their bodies heated up, emitting steam, and their wounds began to close rapidly.

Not only the two men but even Lynn was astonished by this phenomenon. The two men no longer felt any pain from their injuries. Just as they were about to express their gratitude...
"Save your thanks for later. We still have work to do."

The two men stood and picked up their swords again.
"Brother!" Elise called out as she finally caught up to us.

Elise ran to one of the men and hugged him tightly.
"Brother, are you okay?" Elise asked, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Yes, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry," the Al replied.
"Guys, save the chat for after we take these guys down," the Kyle interrupted.
"So, what’s the plan?" Elise asked.
"Can you all fight?"
"Yes, we can fight," everyone replied.
"I have a suggestion. How about splitting up the pack? You guys handle this group, and I’ll deal with the Alpha."
"Miss, are you sure you can handle them alone?" the first man asked.
"Yes, leave it to me."

Despite his doubt, the man decided to trust me, knowing Elise had faith in me.
"Alright, leave the wolves to us. We’ll clear the way. Miss, please take care of the Alpha," the first man said.
"Got it."

We broke through the wolves’ formation, positioning ourselves between the two groups: 8 wolves behind and 8, plus the Alpha, in front.
"Hold your ground," I instructed.
"Understood!" they replied.

The Alpha let out a roar, prompting a wolf to lunge at me from the left. I quickly cast a fireball to eliminate it. Suddenly, another wolf charged from the right. Reflexively, I swung my staff, striking it hard enough to kill it instantly.

I struck my staff on the ground, summoning sharp spikes that erupted from the earth, skewering the wolves. Most were killed instantly, except for the Alpha, who dodged but was injured.

The Alpha growled fiercely, evading my Earth Spikes as it charged toward me. As it leaped, I swung my staff forward, chanting a spell.
Aeroblast.

A large, high-speed wind ball shot out, slamming into the Alpha from less than 5 meters away. The blast created a powerful gust, throwing the Alpha into a tree. Wasting no time, I raised my staff skyward, summoning a massive spear of ice. Once it formed, I launched it at the Alpha, still on the ground. Unable to evade, the Alpha let out a final howl before succumbing.

The remaining wolves fled after realizing their leader was defeated. Looking back at the others, they had managed to take down six wolves, though two had escaped. With that, the battle was over. Cheers erupted as they approached me.

"Thank you for saving us, Sister. If it weren’t for you, we’d be wolf food by now," Elise said.
"You’re welcome," I replied.

(Not only did she defeat them effortlessly, even alone, but she can also use four elemental spells. And that potion... it healed us so quickly. Who is this woman?) the first man thought.

"Sister! Was that last spell the third-rank Ice Lance?" Phina asked.
"Yes, that’s correct," I answered.
"And the one before that... the large transparent ball that exploded into wind—what was that?" Phina inquired further.
"Oh, that was a fifth-rank wind spell, Aeroblast."
"Wow! You can use fifth-rank spells? You must be an experienced adventurer!" Phina exclaimed.
"(Adventurer? Does she mean that kind of adventurer?) Oh no, I’m not an adventurer."
"Ehh... There’s no way someone as skilled as you isn’t an adventurer," Phina said.
"She must be a noble; of course, she’s amazing," Lynn interjected.
"Are elf nobles as skilled as Sister Luna?" Phina asked.
"We rarely have nobles, but if a High Elf is born among us, they’re bound to be exceptional," Lynn replied.

(A High Elf?!)

"Sorry for the late introduction. My name is Aldian, and this is Kyle. Thank you for saving us, as well as Phina, Lynn, and my sister Elise. I don’t know how to repay this debt, but I promise to do so someday," Al said.
"My name is Luna. Nice to meet you too. And there’s no need to worry about repaying me. I’m just glad I could meet you all."
"There must be something we can do to repay you, Miss Luna. While we don’t have money right now, if you give us time—" Kyle began.
"Oh, no need. If you insist, you can repay me with information."
"What kind of information do you need?" Kyle asked.
"Information about this world," I replied.