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“Recently, I fought against a giant wolf named Beowulf.”

“You did what!?”

Macbel stood up in surprise. The chair behind him knocked over by the shock, but was immediately pulled back up by the servant. He apologized and slowly sat back down.

“Beowulf is a forest wolf who has lived a very long life. But I am sure you already knew that?”

“Yes. A friend who knows much more than I, told me.”

Of course, that was Daniela.

“Indeed. But that is not all Beowulf is.”

“What do you mean?”

“As a monster, he is one level above the rest.”

One level? Above?

“Among the common monsters, the weaker ones, they very rarely are able to evolve. It is not merely a matter of living longer than the rest. Long ago, a certain man of science tried raising a small monster. But it never evolved.”

“Oh, you mean ‘Monster Research Records.’ I read that.”

“Yes. The rest of that research and his final opinions are kept at the royal palace with other forbidden texts. In this book, there is a passage that reads, ‘…tried giving highly concentrated mana to weak monsters, while most of them died, there was one single monster who lived…’”

“Highly concentrated mana…? And what happened to that monster?”

Macbel closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Then he continued.

“It grew at an explosive rate that defied reality. Then it destroyed the entire town.”

I gasped.

“It is said that the royal army had to kill it. But the casualties were immense. The researcher had fled in a panic but was ultimately caught by the king’s men. Research concerning monsters has been taboo ever since that incident.”

“So, is Beowulf too?”

“If he had a mind to, this town could also be…”

There was nothing to say to that. Beowulf had the power to demolish this town if he wanted to? How did we ever survive… He said that he only knew this forest. That he wanted to travel to other lands and test his own strength. I shake my head. It wasn’t just because I had talked with him, but I had the feeling that he was not such a dangerous creature. I don’t know. He wanted a rival, someone who would improve alongside him… But perhaps I was being too generous for wanting to defend him.

“My shock has led us off track. So, what is it that happened between you and Beowulf… Wait, a minute, Asagi…”

Macbel gave me a hard stare. Whatever he was thinking, it was probably right.

“Yes, he enchanted me.”

“I see…”

He took a sip of the tea in front of him before falling back into his chair as if all the strength had left his body.

“So… You have been enchanted by a forest wolf… I’ve never heard of such a thing…”

“Neither have I… That’s why I came here. Because I wanted to know more.”

“Yes, I see…”

He fell silent again. His eyes were now fixed on the table. What was he thinking about? Not wanting to bother him, I silently sipped my tea and waited.

“Asagi.”

After a long moment, he raised his head again and called my name.

“Yes.”

“I would advise you to not make this public. I fear, no, there is no doubt about it. The king’s men will come for you. At worst, you should consider the possibility that they will see you as a threat and send men to deal with you.”

It was my turn to become speechless. I had an idea that this skill was something crazy. But it still hadn’t registered as something happening to me specifically. But that was no longer the case. This skill was very, very dangerous. I thought of Beowulf, who was probably in the southern forest with his brethren right now, and a roar of resentment echoed in my heart.

“In general, monsters are targeted to be slain. Men and organizations who consider mankind to be on top of the food chain will not stand by idly if they knew about this.”

“I can imagine…”

“You must not show this skill that you have acquired through the enchantment to anyone else.”

I nod. All it would take was a curious adventurer to witness it and ask questions. Then the rumor would spread with a dozen false additions on top of it. Then the merchants would hear of it, it would then spread to other towns. Eventually, it will arrive at the royal capital.

I didn’t find out anything about enchantments. But I did find out about the true nature of the monster named Beowulf. He wasn’t your typical evolved monster that everyone knew of. No, there was something surpassing that, an abnormal evolution.

And he had gifted me this skill, ‘Legs of the Forest Wolf.’ What exactly this skill would mean for me going forward, that was what I would have to think very hard on from here on out.

Next Chapter

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Translator’s note:

We hit chapter 30! Thank you all for reading! I hope it has been enjoyable and that you stick around for at least the next few chapters, which looks to be the close of the ‘first arc.’

Also, since it was my birthday yesterday, I would really appreciate a review or two.

😀