The Tutorial 4

The wolf lunged at me. Taking a half step back, I slashed at the wolf's chest with my sword. Somehow, the wolf managed to regain its consciousness even after being attacked. I jumped towards the wolf and pierced the wolf's throat.

It looks like these wolves had high durability.

The feeling of my weapon tearing flesh was very unpleasant. But there was nothing I could do about it right now.

"Ignis! Stay with Liam and protect him. Elizabeth! come with me. Liam! provide support from the back." I shouted as I rushed towards the rest of the wolf pack.

Obeying me, Elizabeth soon sprinted behind me while Liam and Ignis stayed at the back.

The other wolves were slightly taken aback, seeing that I killed one of their pack so quickly. Taking advantage of this, I swiftly moved in front of a wolf.

Wait! Was I always this fast? Shaking these thoughts away, I concentrated on the battle at hand.

I unleashed a powerful horizontal slash directed toward the wolf's neck. The wolf, who had been in a state of shock until recently, quickly dodged my attack by jumping back. My sword cut nothing other than the air.

The wolves were very agile.

Glancing towards Elizabeth, she was engaged in a battle with one of the wolves.

Another wolf sprinted towards me, but an arrow hit its foreleg when it was still around 20 feet away from me.

Not wasting this chance, I rushed to the wolf and pierced its neck. Blood squirted out of the wound all over my black tracksuit; not paying much mind to it, I ran towards another wolf.

While sprinting towards the wolf, I suddenly felt something lunge at me from behind and quickly dodged sideways. Soon after, a wolf landed where I stood.

Were my senses always this acute?

I lunged at the wolf that had planned to take me by surprise and slashed its neck. Not wasting any more time, I sprinted towards another wolf. The wolf suddenly jumped at me, but I managed to kick its face, making it kiss the ground. I pierced the fallen wolf's chest, right where its heart should have been.

Looking around, I noticed that Elizabeth had finally managed to pierce the chest of one of the wolves with her spear. Ignis was fighting one of the wolves that had managed to reach the back, and Liam was providing support to them both. Soon, Ignis, with the help of Liam, defeated the wolf.

Five wolves had already been killed, and three more were left.

I looked at where the 3 wolves had been standing before but saw nothing. It seems like they had already fled.

I examined the state my team was in. Elizabeth was a little tired while Liam and Ignis let heavy sighs of relief escape their body.

Moving toward the rest of my team, I asked, "Is everyone all right?"

"No problems here," replied Elizabeth.

"Same here," replied the siblings in unison.

"You managed to take 3 of the beasts down yourself, sir! That's very impressive!" said Liam in a very energetic tone.

Elizabeth and Ignis nodded their heads in agreement.

"But at least it looks like we won't have to worry about food," said Ignis; drool could clearly be seen dripping from her mouth. Seeing Ignis, both Liam and Elizabeth let out a laugh.

"What! I know everyone was thinking the same," said Ignis in a slightly irritated tone.

"Sure, sure," replied Elizabeth, who was still chuckling.

This was quite a serious matter; I didn't understand how they could take it so lightly.

"It's best to keep our guard up. What just happened was an indication of how dangerous this forest is." I said

The team suddenly stopped chuckling and looked at me.

"You sure know how to kill the mood, Nox," said Elizabeth.

"Well, I will just go and see what parts of the wolf are edible," said Elizabeth as she walked towards the corpse of a wolf.

Letting out an unintentional sigh, I washed my sword covered in blood in the river and sat on a nearby rock. Was I too hard on my team?

But, with this battle, I could gauge my team's combat prowess. It looked like Elizabeth had past experience with a spear. She was able to move the spear around without much difficulty. Even though Ignis inefficiently used her staff, she would learn to wield it herself as more time passed and she gained more experience.

What shocked me most was Liam. He was able to remain calm and provide support to everyone throughout the battle. He was even able to hit the wolf's leg during its swift charge toward me. The skills that the boy displayed were no joking matter. Was he a genius?

But what was even happening to my body? It felt like someone enhanced my speed, strength, and senses. Was this the effect of the Tower? What even was the Tower? Why did I have the title of 'Librarian'?

"Hey, Nox," called out Elizabeth, "How long are you going to sit there for?"

What did she mean? I looked around myself and was shocked to see that dusk had already fallen; around 2 hours had passed since I had sat down. Was I too engulfed in my own thoughts?

I got up and went towards my team, sitting around a fire near the trees. Long branches pierced pieces of meat were placed between two Y-shaped branches and hung over the fire.

"I told her not to disturb you while you were resting sir" Said Liam in an apologetic tone.

"It's okay," I replied as I sat beside Ignis while Liam and Elizabeth sat together on the other side of the fire.

"We need to check if the meat is poisonous or n-" I said but was interrupted by Elizabeth.

"Well, we already ate some. Since nothing happened to us, the meat must be safe," Said Elizabeth.

Even if I argued, nothing would come out of it.

"How long has the meat been cooking for?" I asked.

"About an hour," replied Ignis.

An hour was enough to cook regular meat, but strange meat like this should be cooked for a long time before eating it. Well, everyone was starving, so it was understandable why they couldn't resist their urge to eat.

I took out one of the branches on which meat was being cooked. Taking a bit of the meat, I put it in my mouth.

It tasted like barely cooked chicken but was more than delicious for my starving stomach.

In an hour, everybody's stomach was satiated with the wolf meat.

"Will we be okay, sister?" Asked Liam

"We will be fine as long as we stay together. Always remember that," replied Ignis.

Elizabeth scooted over to me and asked, "Are you sure that you are just a private detective?"

"I was one before all this. Why?" I asked.

"The way you handled the sword was not that of an amateur. Who are you?" She asked.

"I could say the same for your spear handling skills," I replied.

Letting out a light chuckle, Elizabeth said, "Well, I guess it's best for some things to remain a secret."

Elizabeth's question brought back past memories. Quickly shaking those away, I thought about what to do now.

Night had already fallen. The moon, as well as the stars, could be seen. Were we really still on Earth?

"It's best if we all sleep well tonight. We need to be ready to face the challenges that find us tomorrow," I said, motioning Ignis and her brother to come closer.

"I will take the first watch; who wants to take the second one?" I asked

After a moment of silence, Ignis answered, "I will do it if no one else wants to."

Liam, Elizabeth, and Ignis went to sleep around a giant tree. I climbed one of the trees and sat on its highest branch. The branch was thick and strong, so I didn't need to fear for my safety.

Only trees and the river's path could be seen from here. It would be best to move alongside the river tomorrow.

I wonder if we will encounter other people too?

#################

A gigantic door was flung open. The door, which looked like it needed a hundred men to barely push it open, was opened by a single man.

The man made his way across the humongous room and fell to one of his knees.

In front of the man, a huge throne could be seen. Its beauty couldn't be explained by mere words. It was made of what looked like black gold with numerous invaluable gems embedded in it.

But, the man who sat on the throne radiated much more charm and power than the throne itself.

"You called for me, sire?" Asked the man who was kneeling down.

"Indeed I did, Mark, summon all the Divina to the palace!" said the being seated on the magnificent throne in a calm tone.

"I don't understand, it's been decades since all the Divina were gathered at a single place. Why now?" asked Mark.

After a long silence, the being seated on the throne answered, "A successor for the Eternal Library has appeared."

Mark was frozen. He couldn't form any words. Finally, after what might have felt like hours, he asked, "Will he return?"

"That I don't know yet," replied the figure on the throne, fear evident in the being's voice.

"I understand, I will call for all the Divina," said Mark as he slowly got up.

#################