20: dark night March

Then, the final examination fully started

We advance on the mountain road where we couldn't even see our steps in the darkness.

「The formation is a single line! The mountain road is thin! Advance with caution! Always check the members before and after you, and inform if you find any unusual things!」

「「「「「Yes, instructor!」」」」」

I told you, I am not the instructor

Everyone called me 『Instructor』. To me, not the real instructor Atekoro

In fact, the mountain road at night is rough as a final test

No, as a final test, it is too hard

It's already a trackless path normally. You don't even know where you are walking, and if you lose focus then you will get stranded

And in the dark night without any vision, the chance of getting lost increases further

「Is that so?」

Even so, if you become a soldier, there will probably be a compulsory march at night, and you can't even choose the terrain

Is it necessary to see the aptitude of the going-to-be soldiers in this worst situation?

The mountain designated as the testing ground is near the training camp, and it seems to be often used for this purpose

Fortunately, there is a snake's belly-like road in the mountain, and you can safely reach the summit by following it

The mountain itself is as high as a hill, so reaching the summit is not that hard

If we properly follow the road carefully without breaking the formation or losing sight of the road, everyone can pass the test

「Calmly advance! Look at the path properly!  We can reach the goal by treading step by step on the right road! Don't be impatient!」

「Understood, instructor!」

「It is nice that instructor is here...! Thanks to you, everyone can pass...!」

Don't call me instructor

As announced, the strategy guide to travel through the night mountain has been clarified, the next thing is put it into practice to reach the summit

If nothing happens and everyone keep advancing as a line, we will safely pass

While I feel somewhat relieved while not losing focus and advance forward....

　...something happened as expected

An accident that won't let the test end just like this

「Wha!? What is that!?」

Such a voice came from the middle of the formation

「What!? I told you to report any unusual things immediately! Clarify it!」

「S, sorry, instructor!?」

Don't call me instructor...!

Whatever

「From the trees over there, something is glittering! Brightly...!?」

「Is it possible that you made a mistake?」

「Perhaps. It happened in a moment...!?」

The detected person loses his confidence because of his comrades' banters

But, if you ignore just a small discomfort, it may lead to death in the next second

「Everyone! Hold your torches to that direction!」

Of course, it's not possible to walk through the mountain in complete darkness

With the dazzlingly burning torch, at least one can maintain the vision around them

By holding the torch to the direction where something was shining, the vision to that direction would be clear.

Then...!?

「...Surely, something was shining」

I confirmed this time

Something was shining like reflecting the light

「Reflection..., it's the reflection of the torches' light?」

What is that?

I hold my breath and invoke the holy wisdom art <Life detection>

It's a skill to sense the sign of life in the surrounding area by making free use of the extra-sense above the 5 senses

I thought it would be troublesome since there are numerous animals in the mountains, but if limited to only the existence with specific malice, there should be some reaction

　...There was

「Everyone, prepare for battle! It's enemies!」

「Eh!?」

The other side moved to my voice

Reflecting the light of the torches, the burning red glittering eyes approach....

Wolf

「wolf!?」

「Intercepting! Sword! No, my dominant hand is occupied with the torch!?」

They are still trainees without actual combat experience after all.

They couldn't deal with the sudden situation

「Haa!!」

I have no choice but to move

I deliver a jumping kick to the a wolf with opening fang rushing toward a trainee.

The wolf tumbled down while letting out a pitiful voice

It disappeared into the darkness of the night again

「Does anyone get hurt!? Don't break the formation!? Properly confirm the one before and after you to check for any missing person!」

When I called out, the trainees properly followed the order despite the confusion

Because the actions were imprinted to their minds, they can act amidst the confusion. The habitual training has paid off

「What is that just now? A stray dog?」

Gashi, whose gigantic body shakes heavily, rushes to me

I entrusted him, who was reliable, to protect the end of the formation though....

「Anyhow, this is the mountain. It's not strange for wolves to appear... Or at least it should be」

「What? Stop putting on airs and say」

Urged by Gashi, I spoke out the doubt in my heart

「...Perhaps it's a demon beast」

「Haaah!?」

In this world, normal beasts and demon beasts are clearly different

Demon beasts are originally normal beasts. They were strengthened by beast god Beast's evil beast magic and have their appearance changed into demon beasts

Therefore, they are monsters that don't belong to the realm of nature, in 『Beast Fantasy』 series, they exist as monsters on the field and need to be deal with

In 『Beast Fantasy 4』, Evil Beast emperor Harod, who contracted with Beast god Beast, can manipulate the demon beasts which are underlings of the beast god and turn them into important war potential of the empire

It seems to be a theory to explain the time protagonist Sero encounters and fights against the demon beasts when he infiltrates the empire's important facilities....

「They are coming!」

From the darkness, there are countless of reflected light similar to a while ago

All of those are eyes of wolves....

「This time they come as a group! Lower your back! Hold your ground, if you move poorly and get off the mountain road, it will be hard to reach the summit!」

The wolves formed a group and attack

No, wild dogs

I'm sure they are the demon beast lick dog (リックドッグ)

It's a dog-type demon beast which received beast magic and felt out of the natural realm

They are trash mobs which appear quite early in the game

They are quite troublesome as they appear as a group of dogs. That being said, the EXP earned is nice

They appeared many times throughout the series ever since the first version of 『Beast Fantasy』, so I can realize immediately just by seeing the relative similar face to the ones in the game

「Ugyaaa!?」

「They came as a flock this time!」

The trainees follow my order and hold their grounds.

It's remarkable that they endured the fear and didn't move, as they surely will be lost and be unable to complete the examination if they spread out poorly

To answer their bravery, everyone must pass no matter what

「Shidera! Act as the leader for me! Just advance properly without losing the way! You can reach the summit if you do so!」

I give instruction to the comrade leading the formation

At least if I can't advance, then

「Doraaa!」

Fight against the demon dogs with me is Gashi

By unleashing a lariat with his big body, 3 dogs are blown away at once

「Shit, how many of them are there!? It would take until dawn to finish all of them! Hey Jira, can you just eradicate these shitty dogs with your magic?」

After living and training together, Gashi also knows I can use magic

「I can, but it surely will cause a wildfire, you know?」

「I'm not being lazy, but you mean we have to crush them one by one!!?」

Even if I use cooling magic, the fact that the damage to the surroundings will be great will not change

「Other than that, Gashi, return to the formation and advance with them. I agree that I can't follow those guy」

「What about you?」

「I will hold the wild dogs here...nah, I'm cleaning them up. They are just low level demon beasts after all. Killing them one by one would take time, but not too much. I will catch up soon」

「Certainly, it will be quick if it's you...」

Gashi looks at me worriedly

Oi oi, since when do we have this mutual concern toward each other?

「I can't ensure that there will be no danger after this. I want to leave that to you, Gashi. Protect everyone」

「......」

The giant immediately retreat and return to the formation that already begins to advance

「I leave this place to you! Catch up to us as soon as possible!」

「Okay」

To be honest, the amount of lick dog facing me right now is not enough to be my opponent

But, there is something on my mind

Why are these low level magic beasts hanging around this place?

As mentioned before, demon beasts are pitiful beasts affected by Beast god Beast's magic

Through the enemies in the game, the controlling power of beast god overflows and spreads out, creating the demon beasts of the field. It's their setting

But in the territory of the empire which has the power to control demon beasts through the contract with beast god Beast, can stray demon beasts appear and attack people arbitrarily?

The empire can control demon beasts

That's why it's the evil empire

If the demon beasts are set as part of the examination, then isn't the murderous intent in the test too high?

So, are there any other possibilities?