Chapter 16 – Miracle of the Myth (1)
“Look at the bounty amount. If we play our cards right, it’s a life-changing opportunity!”
“Stop talking nonsense and don’t scatter. You could end up getting killed instead. We still don’t know how strong the thing is.”
They didn’t just mobilize the guards. The mayor, Wirlen, immediately contacted the Adventurer’s Guild upon hearing the news of the werewolf’s appearance, and numerous adventurers joined in the hunt and tracking for the bounty.
Thanks to that, the nearby forest became lively and bustling, filled with adventurers and guards looking for the werewolf hiding somewhere.
Even ordinary monsters sensed the commotion and chose to stay far away or huddled in corners.
“…”
The one who had lost rationality and, as a price, gained overwhelming senses sensed the chaotic atmosphere of the forest. Moreover, it also realized that they were coming to catch it.
At that moment, two instincts clashed fiercely.
The first instinct was the urge to rampage and prey, while the second instinct was the survival instinct urging it to hide.
“Ugh…”
Exposing sharp teeth and growling, the being struggled, unable to make a clear decision between the two instincts.
If it didn’t fight, it would eventually die. But even fighting could lead to death. The conclusion was already set as it was cursed and corrupted.
In fact, deep down, it still harbored a tiny fragment of rational desire to break free from this curse and regain stability. However, the curse that now controlled its body left no room for that rational thought to manifest.
“!!!”
Then, in that moment, it caught a very faint scent carried by the wind and its eyes widened.
The moment it caught that scent, its body’s fur stood on end and its heart raced. It didn’t know what this smell was. It simply recognized that the curse now governing its body reacted to this scent.
It was as if it had discovered something that should not exist in this world, like a very ancient and distant trace.
It could be obsession or hatred. It could be joy or hope.
One thing was certain: the curse consuming its body felt a powerful attraction to that scent.
Whether there were enemies around it or not, it burst out from its hiding place, lifting its nose and sniffing.
Though the distance wasn’t close, it had to find some way to reach it.
*
“The curse of the werewolf is a rather historic curse among beastmen. I didn’t think you, Rina, wouldn’t know about it.”
“Well, I’m not even a pureblood, and I’m not a wolf…”
“Anyway, it’s not just limited to beastmen. Such curses have been passed down through at least one race consistently. It’s a true curse that cannot be healed, its source unknown.”
Sitting down for a rest, Patrick closed the lid of his water pouch and began to share the stories he knew.
This was another story that neither Ethan nor Rina had shared. I listened attentively to his words.
“Although the origin of the curse that alters the target’s nature and brings about their corruption must be similar, no one has uncovered the secrets yet. From what I’ve heard, famous scholars say that this curse dates back to the end of the Mythical Era.”
“The end, you say?”
Furthermore, he mentioned the end. The very moment when the tower raid failed, and the Earth as I knew it was destroyed. Patrick explained that the origin of the curse plaguing modern people was that very end.
“Hey, kid, are you interested too? I’m not entirely sure myself. But werewolves, dark elves, mixed-breed vampires, black orcs, green goblins, and all sorts of races considered demons today are all said to be related to that curse.”
It wasn’t just humans, beastmen, and elves. Patrick shrugged his shoulders as he mentioned numerous races currently existing in this world.
Some of those races were transformed and corrupted due to the curse.
The fact that many more kinds of hybrid races had emerged than I had known by the time I entered the tower was indeed influenced by the tower and its collapse.
“Is this curse that turns ordinary people into monsters also one of the foretold disasters? No, having already destroyed the world, why would it leave such a filthy aftermath?”
The only disaster I was thoroughly familiar with was the apocalyptic one, but there was no law stating that disasters were only a single type.
Moreover, unlike the apocalypse, knowing that it still existed even after ten thousand years in a completely different world made my heart uneasy.
“Those desperately searching for a cure believe that the clues lie within the vanished records of the ancient Mythical Era, but I don’t know. Anyway, let’s leave the old stories here. We need to finish the search quickly if we’re going to return before sunset.”
After saying that, Patrick stood up and urged us to hurry.
“Are you sure we can find it today?”
“We just found some traces a moment ago. If it’s an ordinary creature, we might have to search for three days to find the male’s nest.”
Upon hearing the earth spirit’s remark that there was nothing around, I spoke up, only for him to sneer, saying what would someone so small know.
While his pompous demeanor was annoying, it did make sense since the detection range of the earth spirit wasn’t that broad. It wouldn’t be strange if the target was around this area.
“If it gets too difficult, we should just stay in the city next time… huh?”
However, not long after we had begun walking through the forest again, an anomaly occurred that I could discern without asking the earth spirit. A faint scream carried by the wind, though I couldn’t tell from where, was unmistakably the scream of a person.
“Over there! A flare!”
Rina gasped, having spotted the red flare shot into the sky. That red signal, which was undoubtedly shot by a wizard or using a magical tool, served as a type of SOS among adventurers asking for help.
“Stop! We’re not in a position to help anyone right now!”
As Rina’s body naturally leaned toward that direction, Patrick, horrified, shouted to stop her.
“I don’t know what the situation is, but rushing in without thinking might not help. Especially in a situation like this. An adventurer should always prioritize their own safety first.”
He imparted quite a wise lesson typical of a seasoned adventurer. Clearly, if one acted impulsively, the likelihood of facing an irreversible consequence was high.
It would rather be wise to avoid danger since it was proof that a threat existed nearby.
“The threat only applies if it’s some distance away from us.”
The problem was that the threat was coming at us at a rapid pace. I frowned upon hearing the earth spirit’s urgent warning.
Something was rushing towards us at mad speed.
‘Who could it be?’
It was even coming from the exact direction as us. The speed was incredibly fast, a clear indication that it wasn’t human.
“Duck! Rina!”
“Whoaah!?”
Suddenly, a creature leaped from a steep slope and lunged at us.
As I dove to grab Rina and roll on the ground, a stone wall erupted from the earth between us and the beast, but it smashed through the wall and landed gracefully.
“W-We’re up against a werewolf. It’s a monster!”
Patrick, pale as a ghost, drew his sword; however, the black-furred werewolf, already covered in injuries and blood, charged at him without hesitation.
It was an absurd wildness. Even with arrows sticking out of its back, it swung its claws without a moment’s hesitation, knocking away Patrick’s sword with a shower of sparks and sending him tumbling to the ground.
Having come this far, I could no longer hide my power. I summoned the earth spirit to raise a stone pillar in front of Patrick, who had just fallen, to protect him from the werewolf’s claws.
“—!”
“What on earth?!”
The raging beast’s claws shattered the stone pillar instantly. As Patrick, saved from peril, gawked in shock, I stepped forward and commanded the earth to move again.
“Bind its legs. Then finish it.”
Just before it executed its signature leap attack, one of its legs began to sink into the ground.
While it was bound, I struck its abdomen with a stone spear I summoned from the ground, but it only staggered. The spear didn’t penetrate, and instead, it broke apart.
The eerie crimson energy pulsing through its body was no ordinary power.
“—, —!”
“Are you, perhaps, coming after me?”
The thrashing beast roared and glared at me. Feeling the intense emotion in its glowing red eyes, I broke into a cold sweat due to this inexplicable obsession.
“It’s dangerous!”
At last, the creature broke through the ground that had been binding it and charged at me again, swinging its fiery red claws.
Along with Patrick’s groaning shout, its claws struck my body at the blink of an eye.
