3. Fighting an A-Class Beast

[10:10 A.M - Akeno's Point of View]

Dad is still near me, complaining about my beloved brother. He continues to speak until two guards barge into the house.

"Sir! We have an urgent report!"

"Huh?! Is it that urgent to barge into my house while I was speaking to my daughter?"

"Sir, we have spotted a Trihead-wolf near the forest!"

"Huh?!"

Father's eyes widen. That isn't much of a surprise. A Trihead-wolf is an A-ranked monster. It's uncommon for A-ranks to be in the forest. Even for C-ranks and B-ranks. The only monsters that occupy the forest are G-ranked to E-ranked monsters, with some D-ranked monsters in the mix.

Wait... Kuniaki is still hunting! We need to hurry to make sure he's alright...

"Well, at least Kuniaki is safe, playing with his friends. We should inform his friend's parents too. Akeno, do you know who his friend is?"

"Uh... No, I'm sorry."

I can't say it to dad. If I do, he'll kill me... Wait, these are the guards at the gate. I think they know too.

"..."

"..."

Figures, they don't want to speak up either. I heard that Kuniaki made them quiet about his monster hunting and training by not telling anyone about a secret he found from the guards. I want to know what that secret is...

"Sir..."

"Huh? What is it? I'll go and help kill the beast in a second."

"No... Umm..."

"Sir, your son, Kuniaki, isn't playing with his friends... He..."

"He has been going into the forest to hunt monsters. He called it 'training.'"

...

"WHAT?!"

Father shouted at this. He was so loud that it hurt our ears.

"What do you mean he went out hunting monsters?! How long has this been happening, and why did you not stop him!"

"He... He forced us to let him through! Yes, that is what happened."

"Stop fooling around! How would a 15-year-old, who probably enter the forest at the age of ten or before, force two guards?! Plus, he has no physical or magical combat training, so it shouldn't be that hard to stop him. Now! Tell me the truth."

...

The guards tremble as they try to think up of an excuse. The house was entirely quiet. I was the one to break this silence.

"Father... I have something to say too. I knew about his monster hunts from the start. I'm sorry..."

"Huh, you knew too?!"

"Yes... He has been doing this since... the age of six."

"Six?! Why didn't you stop him? Well, you were only five or six at the time too, but you could have still tried to stop him!"

"He made it clear that he'll be okay... I did try to convince him, but he kept saying that he was going to go. All I could do was to accept it."

"Wrong! You could have informed me. Shit! We have been here for 20 minutes... He'll die if we don't hurry! You two! Your coming with me. Akeno, I'll inform you of your punishment when I return home. It won't be light either!"

Dad charged out of the house with the guards... All I could do was to watch them as they left. I hope my Kun (nickname) is okay...

[10:18 - Kuniaki's Point of View]

Hmm... I have never seen this type of monster before, but it is precisely what people describe. The beast is about twice the size of me with sharp fangs in all of its heads. It growls as it looks at me.

Wait, this could be good training! I'll be skipping B-ranked, but I still haven't fought an A-ranked before. I might not have a fighting chance, but I can't run. I heard these wolves are fast, faster than humans. I don't know much speed magic, so it'll be hard to outrun it.

Oddly enough, I'm keeping calm with no problems at all. I mean, this is a terrifying beast with the capabilities to destory large groups with ease, but I'm looking at it from the perspective of a G-Class creature.

Instead, I'm staring death right in the face with calmness. Even in the past world, nothing goods comes when freaking out in danger. Currently, this A-rank beast is looking at me, thinking that I'm going to be his supper. Maybe I will, but I will try my best to beat him. Well, I'll be happy to scratch this beast before my death.

I smile at the wolf, getting ready to battle. The wolf acknowledges that I'm not going to run and starts charging at me. I jump to the left to dodge its attack, but I only did by a small margin.

The wolf lands at the position where I was and adjusted himself to reface me. All three of its heads bark and growl at me. Then it jumps at me while trying to scratch me. I, again, barely dodge its attack. As I keep avoiding, I look further beyond trying to analyze my target.

People were not lying, this beast is swift, and while it fights me, it keeps getting faster. Thankfully, I have been able to dodge all of its attacks until...

*Scratch*

The beast finally caught me and threw its claw at me. It left a significant scratch on me. As it succeeds in its attack, all three heads growl and laugh. Hmm... Does it think that successfully attacking me decided that this battle is his? Heh. I have learned everything I need to win.

The Trihead-Wolf charges again to claim its victory; however, I don't move. Instead, I invoke magic.

"!"

As I hold out my hands and form a magic circle, the wolf stops and backs up. It seems that this beast isn't that dumb. I smile and unleash my magic. The circle I created starts growing to 3 times its size and floats above me. Then it disappears.

The beast then starts running at me. I bet he thinks my magic failed. What an idiot. I smile, and it jumps at me. It gets nearer every passing millisecond. Twenty meters... 10 meters... 5, 4, 3, 2... After being 1 meter away from me, it freezes. Not because of me, but it senses something. It looks up and fears for its life.

I use that time to dash out of the area. See, fearing because you are looking at death only leaves to your end. If you work hard and think, you can escape that fate. By the way, the spell I invoke earlier was a level eight fire spell, [Metorite].

After running 1 kilometer away, I look behind me just in time to see the meteorite hit the beast. The flames of the ball eradicate the life around and create a 700-meter crater. I didn't put too much power in it because that would do more destruction than needed. Plus, it might have run away since more power is more straightforward to detect than less.

Flames appear everywhere around the crater. Nothing is left but a burnt wolf. There are only a select few who might be able to defend against my attack... like me. Though, I thought an A-class beast would be more formidable than this. Guess it was my mistake.

Well, I shouldn't say that. I mean, it did leave an enormous mark on my body. I should heal it immediately. I cast a level-five light spell, [Heal]. The spot slowly heals back to normal. Though I did criticize it, one wrong move could kill me. The timing was crucial.

After thinking this, I decided to head back. I start my way back home...