How to Raise a Dumb Wolf - Chapter 33

Unlike the entrance examination zone, where safety came first, every other part of the forest allowed its creatures to retain their full animal instincts and wildness in order to ensure authentic combat. As a result, the forest inevitably grew restless when spring arrived.

However, Wold Warrior School was an ancient institution with a very long history. It possessed considerable experience managing wild animals and magical beasts, and its procedures were updated every year and extremely thorough. Areas designed for students of different levels were strictly separated by magical barriers, while professional veterinarians and animal trainers stood ready. Under normal circumstances, even during a special season like spring, a creature crossing between zones should have been impossible.

But there was no time to investigate why the giant-fanged black wolf had crossed the boundary.

Large wolves were already difficult to handle. A giant-fanged black wolf, however, was an exceptionally aggressive magical beast—one of the more formidable opponents even in the graduation examination. And its target now… was a novice candidate who had never even studied advanced magic.

Claudia’s brow furrowed deeply. She made an immediate decision.

“Suspend every route! Seal all zones with the reserve barriers! Stop the giant-fanged black wolf from advancing! And evacuate every candidate and examination animal as quickly as possible!”

“We already tried, Claudia! It didn’t work!” The injured official pressed one hand over the wound on her other arm. Though the bleeding had stopped, the injury remained horrifying. “The giant-fanged black wolf tore through the magical barrier with its claws! It destroyed all the reserve barriers as well. When it escaped, it ruined many of the magical patterns throughout the forest. The forest and the teaching zone have lost magical contact!

“Before I came out, I warned the waiting room not to send in any more students, but we cannot reach the examination zones at all. Communication magic has been severed too. The other forest administrators tried to stop the giant-fanged black wolf, but… but…”

“But what?!”

The headmaster of Wold Warrior School, an ill-tempered beastfolk whose beast form was a lion, shot to his feet.

“Don’t tell me that dozens of advanced mages and advanced warriors cannot deal with a single giant-fanged black wolf!”

“No, that’s not it!” the official hurriedly explained. “But other wild animals and magical beasts have begun crossing through the gaps the black wolf tore in the barriers. Hostile species were already kept in neighboring zones, and in a season like this, everyone is being tied down by other animals. Several of my colleagues have already been injured…”

The auditorium fell silent.

Even without seeing it firsthand, everyone could imagine the chaos currently consuming the forest. The graduation examination zone lay at its deepest point. For the giant-fanged black wolf to charge from there to the entrance examination zone, it had effectively cut straight through the entire forest, releasing the most dangerous and troublesome creatures along the way.

But this was no time to wait helplessly. With every second they wasted, the enormous black wolf continued its frantic advance. Protecting the students and candidates had to come first.

“Pull yourselves together! We must move quickly!” Claudia ordered sharply.

She glanced at the six magical projections surrounding the auditorium. The students within still knew nothing and continued their examinations. The girl in greatest danger, on Route Six, was fighting the sand magic serpent at the third checkpoint. From the current angle, only her back was visible, but her movements were clearly awkward yet precise.

She was still so young.

Claudia turned back and raised her voice.

“My arrays have not been destroyed. Frey, Chris, remain here and continue monitoring the candidates. Use message magic to relay their exact positions to us. Christine, return to the Tower of Magic and bring reinforcements! Everyone else, follow me into the examination venue and bring the candidates out! And among the beastfolk here, can anyone immediately pursue the giant-fanged black wolf and stop it?”

The black wolf might have destroyed the forest’s tracking devices as well, but a beastfolk’s keen nose should still be able to locate it.

“I’ll handle the giant-fanged black wolf myself! My sense of smell isn’t what it used to be, but I can still try!” the lion headmaster said hastily. “The rest of you, enter the forest at once and help return the animals to their proper zones. Oh… Malken! Can you call the school’s instructors and students nearing graduation to help?”

“Of course, Headmaster!”

Malken, the male instructor she had addressed, rose. He was already past middle age, but his muscular build showed that he remained strong and fit.

The instant he finished speaking, he transformed into a powerful, agile gray wolf, large even by wolf standards.

The other beastfolk present shifted into beast form as well and sprang into action. Malken followed them with long strides and raced out of the auditorium.

“Professor Malken?! We were looking for you! What are you doing—”

Hearing a student call his name, Malken had no intention of stopping when time was so urgent. But then, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of two young men who had just reached the auditorium entrance. His steps halted instinctively.

The one who had called him was a black-haired boy he did not know well. But the other young man beside him…

“…Les!”

Malken was still astonished to see the exceptional student who had graduated so many years ago. The young man before him had grown fully into adulthood, and the force of his presence was so much greater than Malken remembered that it felt almost unfamiliar. Along with the scent-blocking magic inside the auditorium, that had prevented Malken from recognizing him at once.

But the silver-gray hair, tall and straight figure, powerful muscles, and steady expression… Though his face had matured considerably, there was no doubt. This was his student.

“What are you doing here…? No, never mind! Since you’re here, come help in the forest! Quickly!”

Malken immediately returned to his senses. This was no time to reminisce with a former student. Whatever had brought Les here, someone as exceptional as he was would be a tremendous asset.

Les seemed not to understand what was happening. He froze slightly. “Teacher, I—”

“A giant-fanged black wolf in rut crossed into another zone! Damn it, it has targeted a human girl on Route Six who carries a male-wolf scent, and it has thrown the entire forest into—”

Malken did not even have time to explain more clearly.

The student’s expression changed completely. In the next instant, Les shot away like an arrow.

…

At that moment, Aisha, entirely unaware of the situation, had already passed her fifth checkpoint.

After dealing with the sand magic serpent at the third checkpoint, she became thoroughly accustomed to the process. The fourth and fifth checkpoints went smoothly.

Aisha knew the results of her ordinary spells might be weaker than those of mages without innate magic. But she understood those results intimately and could apply them flexibly. To an outside observer, every checkpoint might have looked perilous. Aisha herself knew that everything remained under control.

Now the sixth checkpoint lay just ahead. The nervousness that had vanished earlier returned, and her heart began to pound uncontrollably. She wiped the sweat from her brow and walked faster.

The endpoint was close, and she still had plenty of time. Aisha could almost see the dawn of victory. Naturally, five consecutive real battles had left her somewhat tired. But each route’s sixth checkpoint was said to be the most difficult. She did not dare relax. Tightening her grip on her wand, she advanced one steady step at a time.

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but the wind seemed to quicken. Mixed within it were the rustle of shaking vegetation and a low growl from deep in an animal’s throat. The distance made the sounds indistinct.

Aisha instinctively felt afraid. But then she remembered Pal saying the animals used in the entrance examination were all safe and reassured herself. Even so, her steps unconsciously quickened.

She wanted to pass the final checkpoint quickly…

She wanted to leave this place quickly…

There might be danger here…

Some instinct kept urging her to run. The wind turned cold. The rustling grew louder, and the animal cries drew closer, intermittent but increasingly clear.

Aisha could not tell whether the sound belonged to her final opponent. She did not know if other candidates had experienced the same thing along this stretch of the route. But her steps did falter.

Then the animal cries abruptly ceased.

After more than ten seconds of terrifying silence, just as she was about to cross the boundary of the final checkpoint—

“Rrroooaar!”

The roar exploded almost beside her ear, raising every hair on Aisha’s body. She spun in panic with her wand raised.

What she saw nearly frightened her to the ground.

After spending so long with Les, a wolf smaller than he was should not have terrified her so badly. But the creature before her stared with naked savagery. Its golden eyes, blazing with killing intent, locked onto her. Its blood-red maw gaped open to reveal rows of sharp teeth. The two great fangs on either side were each half the length of its face, curved like hooks and stained with blood.

The hand holding Aisha’s wand began to shake uncontrollably. Even at his fiercest during their first meeting, Les had never looked at her like this. She had no desire to guess where the blood on those fangs had come from.

Aisha’s mind, dulled by terror, raced through everything she had studied about the animals used at examination checkpoints. She found nothing.

Then… this was very likely something beyond the syllabus.

Without any information, Aisha grew even more flustered. She had no idea what action to take first and could only rely on traits common to wild animals.

The black wolf growled continuously deep in its throat and slowly circled halfway around her. Aisha did not dare show it her back. She kept her wand aimed at its head and turned in place with it.

Suddenly, light flared in the beast’s throat, and it spat out an enormous black sphere of magic.

It was a magical beast too!

Startled, Aisha hurriedly chanted a defensive spell. But this sphere was unlike every attack she had faced before. It shattered her shield in an instant and continued straight toward her face.

She instinctively threw herself sideways and barely dodged it, but the edge still grazed her shoulder. Her defensive cloak tore apart instantly. The clothing beneath was scorched, and a patch of skin was scraped bloody.

Aisha grunted in pain, then hurriedly focused on preparing another spell. At the same moment, the black wolf seemed to recognize the limits of her ability. Roaring furiously, it charged.

Aisha had never recited an incantation so quickly in her life. She watched in horror as the wolf raced closer. Only two meters (about 6.6 feet) remained.

In terror, Aisha forced out the spell’s final word. Blue magical light shot from the tip of her wand.

The spell struck the black wolf in the eye, but barely hurt it. The beast roared in fury and sprang into the air. Its enormous shadow instantly swallowed Aisha.

She closed her eyes in despair.

Bang!

“Awooo—ow, ow… whine…”

The expected weight and pain never arrived. Instead, she heard the black wolf’s piteous cries.

Aisha froze, then cautiously opened her eyes.

A tall, handsome man with long hair had seized the black wolf’s muzzle in a vicious grip and pinned it firmly to the ground.

Neither his cold expression nor his tightly furrowed brows could conceal the rage boiling through him.