Chapter 9: Lycans? Oh You Mean Wolves!

Even though Saiba woke up quite early today, Lily is already waiting outside of the inn they were staying at. She shouts at Saiba,

"Hurry up Hero! We don't wanna get caught in the dark."

Saiba still looks tired but he waddles his way over to Lily. Lily pulls out her SI and takes out a map of Estrelia. She shows Saiba, points out Estrelia and Hogback, and then shows him the path they will be taking. The path passes straight through Slime Hills and a dense forest as well. She warns Saiba,

"We need to get to Hogback by sunset or else we're gonna have to fight the [Night Wolves]!"

Saiba asks,

"Night Wolves..?"

Lily explains,

"Night Wolves are creatures native to the [Lycan Forest]. They travel in packs and they can be troublesome to fight if your party is small. They only come out at night though, so as long as we pass the Lycan Forest by then, we should be fine."

Saiba takes in this information and gets some determination to make it to Hogback by sunset. While marching away, he shouts,

"Let's go!"

Saiba looks very determined. Lily quickly ends his determination by shouting,

"It's that way idiot!"

She points towards the other direction. Saiba stops and slowly starts walking the right way looking depressed. The two start walking and enter Slime Hills. Saiba takes this opportunity to ask,

"Why are we going to Hogback anyways?"

Lily answers,

"I have a friend there that can help us with something important."

Saiba tries to imagine who this friend, but all he can think about is the Night Wolves. Saiba asks another question,

"Do you know what I can do with a [Slime Crown] and the [King's Slime]?"

He's referring to the items he got from his fight with Coroner. Lily replies,

"Oh those? You can sell them for some Gold at a [Merchant's Stall]."

Saiba understandingly nods. Once more, Saiba asks a question,

"What was that skill you used to defeat the big guy the first time?"

Lily blushes, looking embarrassed, while saying,

"Too many questions!"

Saiba begs,

"Please! This is the last one!"

Lily reluctantly answers,

"Fine... That was a [Light Magic] skill called [Blinding Ray]. I charge at my opponent and strike it with a bright ray of light from my rapier."

Saiba has a speechless look on his face as he quietly whispers,

"Wooow.."

They continue walking until they finally exit Slime Hills and arrive in front of a thick forest, filled with lots of foliage. Similar to when you enter Slime Hills, some text appears above the two saying, 'Lycan Forest'. Lily looks at the sun and sees that it is almost sundown. She shouts over at Saiba,

"We need to hurry up or we'll get caught by the wolves!"

Saiba hears and instinctively runs into the forest, not wanting to get caught by the wolves. Lily runs after him shouting,

"Hey! Don't leave me here!"

They start running and reach about a quarter into the forest before getting tired and deciding taking a break. While panting, Lily says,

"Geez! Some Hero you are, leaving a girl like that behind!"

With a scared tone, Saiba suggests,

"What are we doing taking a break! We need to hurry up, don't we?"

Lily replies,

"We definitely won't be able to fight off the wolves if we're tired, so it's better to prepare now instead, so that we're ready for battle."

Saiba agrees and commends her for her good thinking. As they sit getting ready, the sunset quickly turns to night.

With the coming of night, loud echoing howls can be heard, reverberating within the trees. Saiba gets a shiver down his spine after hearing the noises.

Suddenly from behind, growls can be heard and a pack of about ten wolves appear. Saiba and Lily both react by pulling their weapons out and getting ready for battle. Lily says,

"These ones are kinda small! They must be pups still!"

Saiba adds,

"They should be easy to defeat then, right? Alright, let's do this!"

Saiba rushes in first slicing at two of the wolves. He lands both hits as they fall and turn to dust.

Lily follows, stabbing two other wolves turning them to dust. Lily then prepares for a horizontal swing. She shouts,

"Parallel Flash!"

Two yellow waves emanate from her rapier which finishes four more wolves.

Saiba takes out another wolf with a normal slash leaving one last wolf. The final wolf lets out a loud howl before swiftly retreating.

The two sit down to catch their breath. Saiba looks at Lily with a jealous glare and says,

"You have even more skills! That's cheating!"

Suddenly, they hear more growls from behind. This time it's much louder and fiercer than the one before.

Both of them turn around and are faced with a set of large, furry wolf legs. They slowly raise their gaze and see a large wolf towering over them. Above it, accompanied by a health bar, it reads, [Ragnis the Alpha Wolf]. Lily shouts angrily,

"That pup! He called for help!"

Saiba shouts in a scared tone,

"A-A-A-Alpha Wolf!? We're done for!"

Lily assures Saiba,

"Don't worry! Come on, let's take him down!"