Conflict With Humans

In the silent forest, he tread under a mosaic of light created from the gaps in the forest canopy. The scent of fresh leaves filled his lungs. The chirping of small birds accompanied his steps.

The small, weak monsters immediately stepped aside when they sensed the aura of his presence. Only a few monsters dared to stare directly into his eyes.

Several months had already passed. His small body had grown larger than a bison. Hidden behind his thick fur were muscles harder than steel. All of it was obtained from the results of his hunts so far.

While he was enjoying the tranquility offered by nature, the forest seemed unwilling to offer him a sight beyond his sanity.

Dark beads suddenly appeared and floated around him. The birds that witnessed it immediately flew away.

He tilted his head as the beads merged to form a large shadow in front of him.

What is that?

For some time, he had explored the forest deeply and had begun to accept the fact that this was not his world. Monsters and magic filled this place. But this was the first time he saw something like this.

Not long after, skin and flesh began to form, making him approach out of curiosity. His eyes widened as the darkness began to form the face of a monster with fangs protruding from its lower jaw.

This... don't tell me...

Right after the monster was born from nothingness, he jumped, staring around with full of questions.

The wolf grinned, staring at the newly born monster in front of him. That monster was very different from what he usually saw.

Its skin was a dull blue with a hunched body and a lizard-like tail. Its body was muscular with claws that jutted out almost touching the ground.

That explained why he sometimes found very unfamiliar monsters, but this was the first time he saw how they were born.

He approached, trying to socialize. But the moment their eyes met, the monster jumped with its claws ready to kill him.

Crack!

Its claws only hit empty ground. The wolf avoided it by tilting his body slightly.

Before the monster could turn its head, its head was already clamped by the wolf's sharp fangs.

With one jerk, the wolf slammed it to the ground, then used his front legs to pin its body before finally pulling the monster's head until it was severed.

Crunch... crunch.

The hard bones crunched loudly in his mouth. Its flesh was quickly torn apart. Then, as usual, every first chew always gave him a new drop of experience and power.

Hm? This monster seems to give me two unique abilities.

A sharp grin adorned his snout; he had never been this lucky to obtain two abilities at once. However, unlike usual, this time he was unsure about the abilities he obtained. Besides not seeing directly how the monster used them, that monster was also newly born and had no memories about how to use them.

I'm not sure, but it seems the abilities I got are closely related to regeneration and a frenzy? Who knows, we'll see later.

He shrugged; exploring new abilities always gave him a unique sense of excitement. Especially in rare occasions where his prey hadn't been able to fully use their own abilities.

Unfortunately, so far he only possessed a few unique abilities even though he had preyed upon hundreds or possibly thousands of monsters.

Suddenly, his snout caught a strange scent that shouldn't be here.

What smell is this?

He thought for a moment, raised his head, trying to sniff more strongly while closing his eyes with full concentration. The scent felt familiar... slowly he began to remember its smell.

This smell... humans?

He opened his eyes, lingered for a moment before leaving, abandoning his meal which was still half-finished.

Since long ago, unlike dogs, humans held a real fear of wolves. And he had felt it himself.

His last encounter with humans was not a beautiful memory. The weapons and magic thrown at him were the only things he remembered. Their laughter and excited shouts still haunted his ears.

He looked up, staring at the blue sky hanging above him.

Without the memories of you... I would have surely given up facing this insane world. Even though I don't yet know who you are but... thank you.

Under a shady and cool beech tree, he laid his body on a mound of dry leaves arranged like a bedding.

That place was a simple home he built haphazardly as a comfortable resting place. The cave that was once too narrow for his current self.

His wild instinct led him to claim a hunting territory. The small palace where he lay became its center, stretching wide as far as his senses worked.

Somehow, there was a slight enjoyment in living his current wild life.

Tiredness approached him again. His eyes began to close while hoping to dream of the woman who always appeared vaguely in his memory.

******

[PoV ?]

Meanwhile, a group of humans fully armed had just set foot in the deepest part of the forest. Their eyes widened staring at the remains of a corpse in front of them.

"This corpse...." One of them, a woman with a ponytail in a tight tunic that wrapped her slender body, narrowed her eyes. "A troll. Its regeneration surpasses an orc king. Its threat level is at a small district level. At least a gold-level party is needed to handle it."

The woman turned, asking for the opinion of an orange-haired man in the same uniform standing not far from her. "What do you think, Silva?"

Silva clenched his teeth. "We underestimated this expired report too much. This monster... it seems he has evolved into something dangerous. Isn't that right, Anaxa?"

Anaxa nodded. "Monsters here won't leave their food like that after hunting it. They will drag and eat it secretly to avoid attracting other predators, unless..."

"Unless the monster only considered this lizard an easy prey to hunt," Silva interrupted.

Everyone was startled, the women covered their mouths.

"So, are you sure you want to continue this mission, Gilbert, my friend?" Silva shifted his gaze to a large, fierce-faced man with a greatsword on his back.

"Of course." Gilbert patted his left chest. A flash of full confidence radiated from his black eyes. "That wolf could be a threat to the people around the forest. It's our duty to exterminate it."

"Are you sure? I have a bad feeling. This mission might not be Gold-level, but Emerald I think" Silva furrowed his brow.

Gilbert immediately patted his shoulder and smiled with full confidence. "Relax, my friend." His gaze shifted to the five comrades behind him. "Don't forget, we are also an Emerald party, the strongest in this city. We've faced similar situations before."

Silva grinned slightly. "Alright, I trust you. And... after successfully completing this mission. I promise to recommend you for a promotion to Ruby rank."

"Really?" the eyes of the woman behind Gilbert sparkled. She moved and held Silva's hand. "We are very thankful, you annoying guild inspector."

"Yo-you..." Silva's forehead wrinkled hearing the intentional, thinly-veiled insult from the woman.

"Yeah. You're being unusually kind. Is this a sign the Demon King is going to rise again?" teased another dark-skinned woman behind Gilbert.

"Shut up, you annoying women!"

Laughter echoed loudly in the forest. The atmosphere became more cheerful, accompanied by a gentle breeze that blew, slipping through their flowing hair.

"Alright, I'll leave this place to you. Anaxa and I will return to the guild. Be careful."

Gilbert nodded.

They then waved their hands in farewell.

Gilbert and his five comrades—three women and two men—moved deeper into the forbidden forest. They prepared to hunt the monster that was their main mission this time.