The Quest

A whole day has passed, news has quickly spread around the village about me supposedly being "bribed" to give that girl a high ranking during her exam. Although this could have been the case considering her status. But her skill and mastery with both the sword and mana says otherwise. I guess the common folk don't know anything other than doing their boring jobs. 

"Excuse me, Regulus? If you're just going to stand idle and hold the line, I would suggest you leave. The people behind you are growing restless, so you should hurry yourself." 

Frederick Von Rokh, one of the hero's during the war against the monsters during the Armageddon, he was born and raised here in Roste. Although his glory days are over, he serves as the regional director of the Guild in Roste and several other villages. 

"Ah, my apologies sir."

"No need to apologize, just tidy yourself up and go." 

I gave a curt nod as I grabbed my leather pouch and my adventurer's bracelet. It was made out of gold alloy with emeralds engraved on it, signifying my adventurer rank. 

Putting the bracelet on my left wrist I excuse myself and head for the lobby. In there adventurers and common folk alike gather. They were either adventurer's looking for a party to join or common folk putting up a quest on the billboard. 

Speaking of the Billboard, it's usually crowded with pieces of paper with quests. Today was the same, multiple quests hung on the board. Some yellowed signifying their age while others are relatively new. 

Coming closer I took a look, there were not any interesting quests. Most of them were suited for low ranked adventurers. It took me a while to find a quest that caught my interest, and it was exterminating Direwolves. 

Grabbing the piece of paper I examined it carefully. The quest was located near the old capital a few miles to the west. Although I could clear the quest alone, it is specifically said that there needs to be a group of adventurers, which is four at the minimum. To add, the quest was just posted today, which means there might be a bonus for completing it earlier than expected.

I came to the front desk to ask about the quest. 

"Good morning, I was wondering if the quest about the Direwolves is still available?"

"Oh actually yes! You're actually the last member to complete the group! There was a party of three that inquired about the quest not too long ago. They are most likely outside in one of the carriages waiting."

I grab my spear and go out, but not before thanking the girl. Arriving outside, I take a good scan of my surroundings, trying to see if the trio from yesterday was around. And just like the girl said, there they were waiting outside of the carriage. The twins were arguing about something while the woman was sharpening her blade with a whetstone. Seeing that they were distracted I decided to raise my voice to get their attention.

"Excuse me fellow adventurers. Are you perhaps accepting members for your party?"

Their faces fixated at me as I called them out. The twins stopped arguing while the lady in armor set the whetstone aside. 

"It's you! The proctor from yesterday!"

The male twin exclaimed, as he said that his ear was yanked by his sister as she scolded him not to be so loud. 

"Actually yes, you are exactly what we need to pass the minimum required adventurer's for the quest. Hop on in, the hackman will be back in a few, he just had to buy food for the horses."

She seems to be in a good mood today. With this I hopped in the carriage, placing my spear to my side. I sat on the right side of the carriage as the other three sat on the left. In about a few minutes the driver of the carriage, the hackman arrived. He carried a small bundle of hay with him, placing it right beside me. 

After checking the carriage for any faulty components that could prolong our journey. After doing this he went to the front and the carriage started to move.

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The ride going to the destination was relatively irritating, the twins were either arguing about something or everyone being surprisingly quiet, which thankfully did not disturb my sleep. After about an hour, we seemed to have reached the quest destination. It was a small village, it looked relatively unprotected with only a handful of guard outposts scattered around the village. 

As we got off, a man that was most likely in his early forties approached us, he looked very eager about something. 

"Ah, thank the king! As soon as I requested a quest to be made, our king blessed us with your presence!"

This remark about the "king" was awful to my ears, but nevertheless, I have to listen without complaint.

"These past few months, there has been a growing number of direwolves near our village. They usually don't attack unless provoked, but with the diminishing numbers of wild deer and boars, their attacks have become relentless. Striking in the night when least expected, our guards have suffered too many casualties, and there aren't enough of them to fortify the watchtowers in the outpost." He cried out as he pleaded for our help.

"Do not worry b-"

"We will help you in any way we can! We promise that we will find those direwolves and exterminate them so that they do you no further harm!"

The eldest from the trio spoke out, exuding the aura of a newcomer adventurer—joyful, filled with a sense of help and courage to face anything. Unfortunately, this often leads numerous newcomers to their eventual deaths.

"Oh, thank you! We promise to offer you the best lodging and food in this village once you return!"

The man repeated as he bowed down. Afterward, he guided us to the inn where we would be staying until midnight. For now, all I need is rest.

Once the moon reached its peak, the four of us went out to the north of the village. That's where the direwolves are said to come from. From there on we approached in caution and high guard, and he was not wrong. A loud howl echoed through the night as a pack of direwolves encircled us, but something was different. 

The average pack of direwolves consisted of around fourteen to eighteen direwolves, but this pack had at least twenty five. Which was extremely uncommon, the only way this pack could have amassed these numbers was if another pack's alpha had been killed.

"Be careful, don't be too rash to underestimate these direwolves. One wrong move and you could lose your ability to walk." I warn the trio as they form a small circle.

Not even a second after, two direwolves pounce right at me. Although they were quick for their size, it was fairly easy for me to sidestep to my right. Just as they landed I lunged with my right hand, gripping the spear's shaft as it easily impaled one of the two direwolves. With my right hand I cast [Thunder Grasp] as I lifted my hand upwards which lifted the second direwolf into air, I followed this up by lowering my hand in a downward motion which sent the beast crashing into the ground as its insides splattered out violently.

With this action the trio goes into action as well. The boy was casting fireballs while his sister focused on protecting him. Meanwhile the oldest of the three was slicing down the direwolves without wasting much energy and mana compared to the other two, which was mildly commendable. 

Slowly, the number of direwolves diminished, but a problem arose—the alpha of the pack was nowhere in sight. This had me worrying. Where could it have been? A pack of wolves without an elder wolf or "Alpha" can never happen. 

A loud fear inducing howl echoed once more, this time the source was now distinguishable. It was right at the trio, and what emerged from the shadows was undeniably the alpha. Darker fur compared to its pack, a large canine jaw with sharp knife-like teeth, its size was much bigger compared to its kin. With a growl the remaining direwolves hurried to its side as they stood by in guard. 

Another growl; this time, all the remaining direwolves pounced on the trio. They were outnumbered and outmatched. Using [Flash Step], I quickly arrived between the trio and the beasts. Imbuing my right leg with lightning, I stomped the ground beneath me, causing a surge of lightning to emanate from the ground and directly hit the direwolves, sending them flying as they crashed into the ground, motionless. 

But I seemed to have missed one direwolf as its claws ripped through my left shoulder, sending a searing pain all over my body as I dropped my spear.

"Tearing Tempest"

Just as it was about to finish me for good, Alicia casted a spell which tore through the beast killing it. With all the other wolves dead the alpha started snarling as it approached us with a much deadlier killing intent compared to its pack.

"Tempest"

This caused Alicia to instinctively cast an incantation, surprisingly the beast read her, as it jumped over the spell and lunged at the twins. This caused the boy to rapidly cast [Fireball] and the girl [Waterwheel], the combination of these spells caused a small explosion which sent the beast flying as it crashed into the ground.

It very much felt the damage as a part of its fur was burnt, showing the skin beneath. This angered it as it pounced at the two with incredible speed, Alicia hurriedly tried to shield the two as the beast's claws collided with her blade. Causing a deadlock between the two, but the beast was much stronger as it easily overpowered the girl, sending her kneeling as she tried to exert all her effort into holding off its claws.

But with a single bite her blade shattered into pieces, and the wolf's next target was her neck.

Scrambling to do something I quickly grabbed my spear with my right hand which was uninjured, I imbued it with mana and threw it, as it soared and pierced right through the wolf as it was sent into the air and impaled on a tree. The alpha wailed in pain as it struggled to remove itself as it was in its final moments. 

Holstering my spear, I grabbed what remained of Alicia's sword, I gave the direwolf a swift strike cutting its head off, ending the pain it was in.

"Let's go, our job here is done." I say to the trio as they were still dumbfounded at the scene that unfolded right before them. But soon shrugged it off as they followed me quickly back to the village.