1 Beginning!
(Please note: The writing may be a bit awkward initially, but I slowly improved it later. The only thing I can guarantee is the readability! )
Chapter 1
Rustle... Rustle... Rustle...
Inside a lush forest, some noises were coming out of the bushes and sounds of hurried footsteps.
It sounded like the footsteps of humans and some four-legged beasts.
"Huff, Huff..."
"Bastards, Stop chasing me! Even if you catch up to me, I won't give up without a fight!" A young boy was running away with a flustered and anxious expression.
"Why don't we reconcile and go our separate ways?" The boy, seemingly around 16, shouted to his pursuers but only received some angry roars in response.
With no other choice, the boy had to play the cat-and-mouse game with his pursuers in a remote corner of the forest.
However, the boy was obviously not the protagonist of this play. Scary-looking beasts called dire wolves chased after him relentlessly.
The dire wolves wanted to take revenge on the boy for eating one of their kin.
By the way, the boy's name is Sirius, Sirius Starr.
He is a handsome blond-haired youth about the age of 16.
He recently embarked on a journey to the western part of the continent for several reasons.
Unfortunately, he is in a dire situation now.
His journey had just begun when he encountered the biggest life crisis.
He is chased by a large pack of dire wolves at the moment.
To escape their pursuit, he is forced to run at high speed in the jungle full of complex terrains.
This has resulted in a significant consumption of physical stamina. This is why even someone as fit as Sirius was panting. He was running out of time and patience.
Especially during the chase, Sirius was carrying a leather backpack and a two-meter-long spear.
Rapidly declining stamina made the boy even more anxious. He tried his best to think of a solution but to no avail.
As time went by, impatience and irritation started filling up his mind.
In a life and death crisis, almost no one can remain calm, right?
There is also a scary pack of wolves chasing behind, not giving him time to relax.
It would be amazing if anyone could remain calm in such a situation!
His reason for shouting out is to actually ease his fears and try to have some fun amidst the suffering.
Moreover, his pursuers are beasts who are incapable of understanding his words.
But whenever he turned around and mocked them, they somehow understood his insult and increased the chase speed.
'I cannot keep running like this. In the end, I am the one who will die!' Sirius thought while galloping across a giant tree root.
Then, he jumped off and somersaulted in the air, with the spear extended as a part of his hand.
Although the spear is a burden in his escape due to its weight, as a weapon, it is a piece of life-saving equipment for him on his journey for several months. Without it, he would have undoubtedly died somewhere else.
After traveling in the remote woods and the mountains, it is inevitable to encounter some monsters.
He would be powerless to fight back if he did not have a weapon.
It is almost impossible for an ordinary person to fight monsters with bare hands!
This is reality, not fiction! Therefore, most monsters choose to attack in groups, just like the wolves chasing behind.
'I have to find a chance to escape! My stamina consumption is too serious. I should lead this group of huskies into the territory of another group of monsters. And, I will have a chance to escape during the chaos...' Sirius thought while passing through another bush.
He knew he had to do something risky to survive in this situation.
As a child, he grew up with his veteran hunter grandfather. Therefore, not to mention anything else, his hunting and escaping skills are very high leveled.
Also, this is not the first time the wolves have chased him. In the past, he used his excellent physical fitness and his grandfather's teachings to turn the table.
His current situation is very different... because the ones chasing after him are not the same species!
Dire Wolves Pack!
It is a 'monster' not found in his hometown. Furthermore, only some adventurers' notes written by bards barely mention them.
Compared with an ordinary wolf, the dire wolf's speed is faster.
So, Sirius is playing a life-threatening game of cat and mouse with them.
The kind of game where one dies if they lose.
It is a do-or-die situation!
Monsters!
They are brutal creatures born from the Dungeon and serve as enemies to the world. Monsters appeared from the Dungeon even before the Gods and Goddesses descended from Heaven; some still live on the surface in various places today.
It is said that the closer you are to the Labyrinth City Orario, the greater the possibility of encountering monsters. After all, the origin of all monsters in the world is inseparable from the Dungeon.
For ordinary people, even the weakest monsters like goblins are enough to pose a fatal threat to their lives, not to mention stronger ones.
So, only adventurers whom the gods favor can fight them with the power of Falna, the divine blessing.
Moreover, amongst the class of monsters, the pack of 'Dire Wolves' chasing him are higher-level ones. Ordinary people have no chance against them, and even some low-leveled adventurers may be capsized while dealing with them.
Wolves are social creatures that prefer to live in groups.
In other words, it is rare to find a single one. So, If they find one, there are more wolves nearby.
If it were not the last resort, Sirius would not mess with them. Nevertheless, who made him meet a lonely wolf while he was hungry?
Thinking that it was a gift from mother nature, he naturally killed and turned it into a fragrant lunch with the condiments he carried.
Furthermore, then the scents brought him the disaster...
Wolves are incredibly vengeful creatures.
If someone hurts anyone in the pack, then that creature will be chased and pursued by all pack members frantically.
And this is the situation Sirius is facing.
The cat-and-mouse chase continued for some time until something unexpected happened.
"WRRRYYYYYYY!!!!"
A roar that almost resounded throughout the forest reached into Sirius's ears, lighting his eyes up.
It is the chance he has been waiting for!
He finally found a way to get rid of the dire wolves!
After feeling joyful, he hurried his way toward the sound. Sirius accelerated and ran over the terrain with skillful movements, passing one bush after another.
As long as one is not a fool, one can hear the roar from a powerful creature, just what he needs.
The forest is different from the legendary Dungeon.
The 'monsters' entrenched in the wild differ from that in the Dungeon. Due to territorial disputes, they rarely coexist with each other harmoniously.
As long as one does not encounter the same species of 'monsters,' there is a high chance of a dispute between two different species of monsters.
So, by leading the pack of dire wolves behind him into the territory of this mighty creature, he would have a chance to escape amidst the chaos.
Later, he needs to find a quiet place to wash off and remove his scents so that there is no chance for the wolves to find him again!
Nevertheless, feeling euphoric, Sirius failed to notice something in the roar.
The last roar in the forest also contained a hint of mourning.
It sounds like the howl of an injured creature when its life is at risk.
...
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest,
"Graar!"
"Rethusa! Stop it while it's still on the ground, don't let it escape into the air!"
"Okay!"
The command came from the goddess of the 'Hunting' Familia, and all the girls that belonged to the familia obeyed her order like veteran warriors.
The flying dragon fiercely roared in the forest ending nowhere in sight while enduring the onslaught of rainfall of arrows.
It looks like a dragon hunt.
However, the dragon in question did not look strong enough. Maybe, it should be called a wyvern.
The twenty members of the familia are all young women, consisting of various species of humans, demi-humans, and elves.
They wore light-armored clothes that did not affect their movement, carrying bows and arrows as the primary weapon. Each of their equipment was engraved with the symbol of the moon and bows and arrows, which symbolize the familia they belong to.
After hearing the command of their goddess, the girls aimed at the flying dragon with focused and sharp eyes. They shot the arrows and accurately pierced the membrane of its wings, rendering it unable to fly.
After losing its wings, the dragon could stagger around awkwardly on the ground. However, such an injury further deepened its rage and ferocity.
So, the dragon or wyvern let out a mighty roar, sounding like it was ready to tear apart the enemy even at the cost of its life. During this process, it stumbled towards the depth of the forest.
However, just now, a boy jumped off the bushes and saw the flying dragon heading straight in his direction...
"A human boy!?"
The girls of the familia who were ready to deal the final blow to the dragon stopped their movements in astonishment after seeing the intruder.
They were shocked to find another human in the depths of the wild, where numerous monsters are active.
Moreover, the boy just popped up out of the blue.
It is almost like finding a ghost on a crowded street, which puzzled them.
"Young man, quickly run away!"
Almost at the moment of discovering the boy, the goddess of the familia with beautiful blue hair issued a quick warning to him.
At the same time, she also took out a new arrow from her case, loaded it in an instant, and swiftly released the string.
She prayed that the arrow could reach the flying dragon and kill it before it could hurt the boy.
She did not care about why he was here and only thought about saving him from the danger.
The kindness of the goddess is such a pure feeling!
When Sirius saw the incoming behemoth close to him, astonishment appeared on his face, and he could not help swearing.
"F@@k!
He came here to escape, but why does it look like he is here to seek death!?
Luck was not in his favor today!
There was no time for him to think. The flying dragon had already rushed towards him with its fierce eyes.
The dragon knew it was impossible to escape from the group of archers behind, but before dying, it wanted to pull a human to accompany its demise.
The dragon opened its mouth wide, and a strong feeling of death arose in Sirius's mind. Everything around him inexplicably slowed down, and his vision seemed to turn gray.
'Am I going to die here? Not even before reaching the destination!' This thought lasted only a second before an overwhelming survival instinct took over his body. His body thoroughly responded to its instinct.
"Ahhhh!!!"
He tightened the hold of his black iron spear, swept across an arc with a piercing sound, and waved in front of the dragon.
All of his body's potential energy were squeezed into the strike.
The spear plunged deep into its neck and throat just before the dragon's bloody fangs were about to fall on him.
After a moment of stagnation, the arrow shot by the goddess followed.
The arrow drew a beautiful arc in the air and accurately shot in the head of the flying dragon, instantly killing it. The dragon's body disintegrated into black ashes, and a black spar fell to the ground.
Because of the sudden lack of target, Sirius uncontrollably fell forward with the spear's momentum.
He fell to the ground and lay there motionless. He was too tired and exhausted to continue. He slowly started losing his consciousness.
However, he found a dazzling blue hair illuminating his vision before the coma.
He loved the color; it was beautiful and felt safe and reassuring!
...
