“Isn’t this examination too easy?”
The participants spoke in unison.
“Stay in the forest of the Northern Snowy Mountains for five days and hunt a wolf? Is that really all?”
Do not leave the forest.
Catch one wolf.
It was a simple examination with only two rules.
But the expressions of the junior knights and Ikael Palace knights who knew the Northern Snowy Mountains well were all grim.
‘Easy? Not a chance. Once they enter the Northern Snowy Mountains themselves, they won’t be saying that.’
The Mountain of the Demon Realm.
That was what people had once called the Northern Snowy Mountains.
The Northern Snowy Mountains were no place for humans to live, teeming with vicious monsters.
With nothing but snow and rocks, people compared the Northern Snowy Mountains to the Demon Realm.
The Emperor had personally attempted subjugation several times, but the expedition forces became fragments of bone scattered across the snowfields, while the monsters only continued to multiply.
That was precisely why Kairon had decided to seize control of the Northern Snowy Mountains.
As long as one could be stronger than the monsters, this place became a natural fortress.
No one would be able to invade it.
That was exactly what Kairon had been after.
In his youth, Kairon led his Knight Order to the Northern Snowy Mountains.
Everyone expected them to die, but Kairon’s Knight Order occupied the mountain peak and even built a castle there.
A fortress rising within the Northern Snowy Mountains, which had once been nothing but barren snowfields.
The people’s praise never ceased.
‘Long live Lord Kairon!’
‘Lord Recrit has slain the monsters for us!’
For subjugating the Northern Snowy Mountains, Kairon was granted the title of Grand Duke and became the owner of the Northern Snowy Mountains.
It was the cornerstone upon which Kairon Fel Recrit began building his reputation.
After becoming the master of the Northern Snowy Mountains, Kairon decided to use the infamous monsters as a shield instead.
He divided the Northern Snowy Mountains into First Forest, Second Forest, Third Forest, and Fourth Forest, leaving monsters to live within each one.
Normally, he kept them confined within the forests with magic, but whenever necessary, he released the monsters.
He used the troublesome monsters as defensive walls for the Northern Snowy Mountains.
Only Kairon Fel Recrit, the master of Bronze Castle, could put such an idea into practice.
‘One wrong move, and they’ll become monster food.’
Among the many forests, the location of Ikael’s examination today was Third Forest.
It was a forest known by the epithet Wolf Forest.
The senior knight gathered the participants and called out.
“If you find yourselves in danger, set off a firecracker. Young Master Ikael wishes for all of you to return alive. Good luck.”
With the senior knight’s brief words, the second examination began.
The participants slung their weapons over their shoulders and walked leisurely into Third Forest.
“Isn’t this too easy?”
“After catching a wolf, we only need to cut out its tongue as proof, right?”
“Where are the wolves? I want to catch one quickly and rest.”
One group of participants spoke to Ikael.
“Hey, kid. Have you ever seen a wolf?”
“Well, I’ve seen plenty of small ones.”
“Kuahaha. You didn’t mistake a dog for a wolf, did you?”
The participants laughed boisterously as they looked at Ikael.
“Kid, us old men lived as mercenaries on the plains. If you’re scared, stay close to me. We grew up drinking wolves’ milk.”
Ikael replied calmly.
“That’s what I’m saying. I’ve seen plenty of small ones too.”
“What?”
As the mercenaries from the plains looked bewildered, Ikael pointed into the distance.
SHIVER.
In that instant, the mercenaries’ hair stood on end instinctively.
What they saw in the distance was a massive wolf.
No, it was a demonic beast in the shape of a wolf.
GRRRRR-
Other than its fiercely glowing eyes, it looked like a large boulder.
Its fur stood stiff as arrows, and its teeth were the size of forearms.
“We’re supposed to… catch that?”
“Is that really a wolf?”
The moment the mercenaries from the plains froze—
GRRRR!
The wolf bared its teeth and charged.
“Argh!”
“Don’t retreat! Catch it!”
The mercenaries from the plains gripped their weapons and moved in perfect unison.
But the wolf was far too large and powerful.
It was on an entirely different level from the ordinary creatures they had seen on the plains and in the fields.
The demonic beast wolf’s tough hide deflected arrows, and its teeth chewed through shields.
“Damn it, we were wrong about everything!”
Just as despair descended upon them—
SPLAAASH!
Blood burst from the wolf’s steel-like body.
“N-No?”
The mercenaries from the plains opened their eyes wide.
The one who had driven a sword into the wolf was none other than the boy they had just mocked.
“H-How did that kid…?!”
SKREEECH!
The wolf thrashed wildly, but Ikael held on after firmly driving in his blade.
BOOM-
In the end, the wolf smashed its head into a rock wall and died.
THUMP!
Ikael stepped on the wolf’s body and jumped down with an unbothered expression.
“One down. We can count this as mine, right?”
“K-Kid, you…”
The mercenary participants from the plains were too stunned to speak.
There was the wolf, larger than anything they had ever seen, and then there was the boy who had killed it as though it were nothing.
“Recrit…”
The participants suddenly understood the weight of the name they sought to earn.
***
‘First, I should move it.’
Ikael carried the wolf’s corpse while searching for a place to stay.
The wolf was so large that even though he all but hoisted it over his head, its feet dragged along the ground.
Every participant who encountered Ikael blurted out in surprise.
“W-What is that kid? He already caught a wolf?”
“That’s impossible. He looks far younger than us.”
“Is this what makes Recrit different…”
“Damn it, I can’t lose either. I’ll be the second person to hunt a wolf here!”
Ikael did not spare any of them a glance and simply kept walking.
‘It’s not good to stand out too much either.’
Ikael’s goal was only to quietly observe the participants.
But where there were many people, there was always a shit fly.
WHIP, SNAP!
The wolf corpse Ikael had been carrying suddenly spun halfway around and dangled in the air.
It had been caught in a snare used for trapping animals.
“Wahaha, got it!”
A rough-looking man emerged from the grass and clapped in delight.
“Don’t feel wronged, kid. You couldn’t have caught the wolf fairly either. It’d be troublesome if you told anyone, so I’d better cut out your tongue first… Huh?”
The man soon noticed something strange.
Only the wolf’s corpse had been caught in the snare.
The boy who had been carrying the wolf was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where did he go?’
Unless one possessed animal-like instincts, avoiding the snare was impossible.
‘It’s not like he could’ve avoided it….’
Though he knew it was impossible, an ominous chill ran through him.
Then a voice came from behind him.
“Looking for me?”
“Gasp-”
Ikael was already behind the man.
“W-When did you get there?!”
The man hurriedly tried to turn around, but Ikael’s sword was faster.
SLICE-
“Gyaaaah!”
Ikael’s blade accurately severed the man’s heel.
It was the spot that would have been struck directly and injured had Ikael been caught in the snare.
The man clutched his heel as blood spurted from it.
Ikael looked down at him with cold eyes.
“I said to cut out a wolf’s tongue, not a person’s tongue.”
“Urgh… What are you talking about?!”
Ikael searched the man’s clothes and found a firecracker.
FWEEEE, BOOM!
The firecracker signaling forfeiture rang out noisily.
The knights of Recrit would arrive shortly, and the man would be dragged out of the examination grounds.
“You bastard, what are you doing?! I have no intention of forfeiting!”
Ikael pulled down his mask and revealed his face.
His features were as white and finely sculpted as marble, obviously extraordinary at a glance.
“Ikael Pui Recrit. Go ahead and tell them you tried to kill me. Then, even if I don’t intervene, your tongue will be pulled out.”
“Gasp…!”
The man could no longer say anything and merely sat on the ground.
Ikael pulled the wolf from the snare and turned away as though nothing had happened.
‘Rotten branches must be cut off in advance. Ikael Palace has no need for any more disloyal knights.’
He could not stand by and watch another bastard like Gopen strut around.
Ikael dragged the wolf into a cave he had scouted beforehand.
WHOOSH-
When he sent a little Aura into the flint, a fire blazed up at once.
He heated a stone red-hot and placed it directly into the wolf’s belly to roast it, making a fairly edible meal.
SIZZLE-
Smoke rose within the cave and eased the cold for a while.
‘Then shall I go observe the participants?’
TAP-
After filling himself with wolf meat, Ikael climbed up a tall tree.
‘Oh?’
Ikael looked down with interest.
Wolf hunting was in full swing throughout every part of the forest.
Some practically leaped into the wolves’ maws to drive in spears, while others threw rocks to strike the wolves.
‘They’re quite skilled.’
It was the result of gathering swordsmen from every region without regard for status.
Among them, those who stood out the most were undoubtedly Recrit’s people.
Those who had originally been knights of Recrit had no openings, like well-honed swords.
Ikael nodded silently.
Then, when he turned his gaze to a clearing in the forest, Ikael was startled.
GRRRRR-
A boy stood face-to-face with a pack of demonic beast wolves.
‘Sishak?’
It was Sishak, the desert boy.
His courage in facing a pack of wolves was surprising enough, but even more surprising was his appearance.
“GRRRR!”
Sishak had raised his black hair high and bared his teeth.
He looked like a wolf-man.
“Gwaaah!”
Sishak let out wild screams as he charged toward the wolves.
SNATCH-
He grabbed something from beneath the wolf’s paws.
‘Is that… bread?’
It was a loaf of bread issued to the participants.
Having snatched it back, Sishak seemed satisfied and climbed up a tree without confronting the wolves any further.
“What are you doing?”
Ikael asked Sishak, who had somehow climbed up a nearby tree.
“Whoa, you startled me.”
Sishak turned toward Ikael in the middle of stuffing bread into his mouth.
“Fel, what are you doing here?”
“That’s what I want to ask, Sishak.”
“One of those wolves stole my bread. I can’t do anything on an empty stomach. Whether it’s wolf hunting or anything else, I need to eat first.”
Ikael was left speechless.
The courage to push through a pack of wolves to retrieve a single loaf of bread.
He could not tell whether it was impressive or reckless.
Sishak held out half of the bread he had been eating to Ikael.
“Want some?”
“No, forget it.”
“Quit putting on airs and eat some. This isn’t like the back alleys where you lived.”
But Ikael had enough wolf meat stored in the ice cave to last a week.
He had no desire to eat bread covered in dirt and even stepped on by a wolf’s paw.
‘Sishak. He’s someone who can look after his own life no matter where he goes.’
Ikael stood up to observe the other participants.
“Hey, Fel. Where are you going?”
“To pick mushrooms.”
“Go ahead, Fel. If you need help, let me know. I can spare some leftover food, at least.”
“I decline.”
“You’re stubborn.”
Then, in the next instant.
CLAMP-
“Mmph!”
Ikael covered Sishak’s mouth.
CHEW CHEW. GULP.
Thinking Ikael might be after the bread he was chewing, Sishak hurriedly swallowed it.
“I told you to tell me if you want food!”
“Shh.”
Ikael had no time to care about food.
Someone had appeared in the clearing.
The decision to hide their presence at once was the instinct of a knight.
A man walked through the center of the clearing.
He had someone slung across his back, and blood dripped ceaselessly from them.
With every step the man took, blood painted the snow.
Sishak realized the situation a moment later.
“Wait… that’s.”
Ikael and Sishak recognized the man at the same time.
It was Gopen, the expelled knight.
‘Why is that bastard here?’
At that moment, Gopen turned in their direction.