Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

The alpha lycan drake was furious.

He had gone hunting with most of his pack, leaving behind his second in command and a few others to guard their lair. But when he returned, all he found were ruins. A giant crater where the hovel beneath the earth should have been.

In a fit of rage, he had gone on a rampage, killing every single creature he could find in the forests of Briar Glen. Whether it be monster, animal, or person. He had even encountered those little green folk who'd stolen his old territory, but they were weaker now without their giant pack leader, so he’d slaughtered them all and reclaimed his lost lands. Many in his pack died in the process, but those that remained grew stronger. He, too, grew stronger. Now, they were no longer a pack of lycan drakes. They had evolved. He had evolved.

He was now an alpha winged drakenwolf. His pack became a flock. They flew behind him, creatures of calamity. A group of A-ranked threats. There were only a few dozen of them, but together, they could ravage entire cities. Perhaps even reduce a smaller nation into nothing but rubble.

And they were angry. They sought vengeance against the world. For what had happened to their home. And as they took to the skies, they’d found a new target to unleash their fury on.

There, far in the distance, beneath the tall mountains and at a clearing from the dense gathering of trees, lay a city. Its tall walls no longer stood protecting it from the harsh world beyond. Not that a wall could have stopped the winged drakenwolves, since they could just soar above those petty barriers.

But the alpha winged drakenwolf was intelligent. He had a discerning eye, and he could tell that this meant the city was in a vulnerable position. So, with a soft growl, he called for his flock to follow him to the city.

They descended from the mountaintops, the beating of their wings sending strong gusts of winds down to the forests below. The weaker and smaller monsters in the area were blown away, some even killed from being smashed against the trees or the rocks. The stronger and smarter monsters fled the scene at the sound of beating wings, fearing the wrath of the winged drakenwolves.

The alpha winged drakenwolf opened his mouth, letting out a screeching howl.

Come, my brothers and sisters! Let us lay waste to the homes of the humans!

His pack howled in return, and he drew back. He bared his hundreds of sharp teeth in excitement, ready to sink his fangs into the flesh of those supple humans.

“Man, you guys are loud,” a voice said, and the alpha winged drakenwolf blinked.

He glanced up in surprise, seeing a figure standing on the tip of his snout. A human girl with brown hair and a black and blue cloak. She had her arms crossed as she stared at him in thought.Ñøv€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.

“You know, I’ve been thinking about getting a pet, but I legally can’t own one without having a [Beast Tamer]-related Class.”

When did she...? The alpha winged drakenwolf caught himself. He snarled, swiping up with a claw. She didn’t move out of the way. The strike connected— and he stared as she now stood balanced on the tip of his claws.

She tapped a finger on her chin. “Maybe I can get away with owning you guys as pets...”

Burn! He roared at her. Opening his mouth, he unleashed a plume of crimson flames. It was a fiery breath that engulfed the human girl... and also singed the tip of his claws. He yelped, hurriedly drawing his claw back.

He looked down at his burned claw. The human girl was gone. He made a hissing sound, both annoyed that he had injured himself, but glad that annoyance was finally gone.

“You really aren’t that smart, are you?” she said.

And he froze. The alpha winged drakenwolf craned his neck, staring at the figure standing atop his tail. The human stared at him flatly.

“You guys are too noisy, and you’re not all that bright. I’m starting to think this ‘pet’ thing won’t work out. No offense.”

Justyn shook his head with a sigh. “Ms Amelia, over the last ten days, you’ve left the guild and returned with the remains of a giant acid cube, the corpses of a dozen horned bears, the eye of a mountain cyclops, the spiked feathers of a flock of grim vultures, and now, the skull of an alpha winged drakenwolf.

“Ignoring the fact that we’d have no reason to doubt your word at this point— because we’d be really be stupid if we thought you somehow faked all that— we have all the reason in the world to believe your word considering we saw you kill the alpha winged drakenwolf.”

I blinked. Justyn gestured emphatically at the rest of the room. Glancing back, I saw the nervous and wary stares I got from the gathering of adventurers in the room. I furrowed my brows.

“I guess I did fight those monsters right outside of the city, didn’t I?”

“It didn’t help that each of them were giant beasts with a wingspan of a hundred feet, and you were fighting them in the middle of the sky,” Justyn scoffed. “Pretty much everyone in the city saw you, Ms Amelia. If you’re still trying to keep your strength discreet, you’re doing a bad job at it.”

“On one hand, that’s true.” I rubbed my chin in thought for a moment, before extending a hand out. “But on the other hand, I’d like my payment now,” I said flatly.

The [Receptionist] shook his head. He produced a small treasure chest and slid it over the desk. “You were right in trying to keep a low profile, Ms Amelia. An unranked adventurer completing A-ranked and B-ranked jobs with ease is going to attract some unwanted attention.”

I accepted the payment, doing a quick eye count of the gold and silver coins within. It was supposed to be a payment of fifty gold and five hundred silver. With this, I had already earned just over a hundred and fifty gold coins in just over a week.

“I know it will,” I said with a shrug. “But considering the reward, it’s worth it.”

Justyn pursed his lips. “For your sake, I sure hope so...”

—--

Jax the Forsaken Archer lowered his bow as his message scroll flashed. He stood alone in the darkness of the Tunnel of the Vanquished, shadowed creatures crawling all around him. But he paid them no mind. Instead, he raised the scroll, frowning as he read the words magically being scribbled on the scroll’s surface.

“An unranked adventurer, huh?” he said as a shadow loomed behind him.

Eight giant eyes glinted in the darkness, carried by eight long legs. A goliath spider. An A-ranked threat. It hissed, lashing out at the man. His pointed ears twitched. His eyes flickered briefly, but otherwise remained fixed on the scroll.

The goliath spider swung down with its scythe-like legs as he raised his bow. He didn’t even face it, aiming with one hand. An arrow flashed into place, already-nocked. It shot out, striking the monster as it reeled back with a screech. He walked away.

“Very well. Windrip is but a short trip away. I will check it out.”

Jax spoke as he pocketed his scroll, and the goliath spider exploded, its shell being ripped open by the massive petals of a crimson rose. He didn’t even look back as thorns twisted out of the blooming flower, streaking across the cavern and tearing through the encroaching monsters. Slinging his bow over his shoulders, he clicked his tongue.

“But this better not be a fucking waste of my time.”

MelasD

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