At the top (4)

"The wild beasts were horribly torn apart and hung from the tree branches like laundry. Among the dogs, ferocious carnivores were also seen. The latecomer boys covered their mouths. To avoid screaming, they had done enough for the living.

Ah, Althor. What happened? Did a Cowbear really do this?" Martin's voice trembled, and Lumina turned her head away and closed her eyes tightly, as if she couldn't bear to see it. Shirone made a quicker decision than anyone else.

"Let's go down. I don't think this is a problem we should solve."

"No, let's go a bit further. I need to know what this is."

"Althor! This is a serious matter!"

"Then let's go! If something like this gets into the mountain, all the prey will be gone. Then we'll starve!"

"I know, but it's too dangerous. Let's go down to the city and report it."

"Report it? Didn't you go crazy after playing with the nobles? Who cares about the buyer's situation?"

"Fool, that's what I'm talking about! It's not such a trivial incident that I don't care. Look at the beasts there. Can't you see how dangerous our situation is now?"

Martin interrupted.

"Shirone. Althor. Look over there."

The bushes rustled loudly. Shirone and Althor loaded their arrows simultaneously and aimed in the direction of the sound.

Rustle. Rustle-

The rustling of leaves increased the tension. The boys also drew their weapons and waited for the mysterious entity to appear. When the beast's killer finally showed up, Shirone and Althor's arrows soared far beyond their original target.

"Oh, this can't be...". Althor's voice, which didn't cower before anyone in terms of bravery, was swallowed by fear.

"Krrrr." A monster resembling a wolf over two meters tall stared at the boys with a hunched posture. Its pectoral muscles swelled like balloons, and its waist was slim. Its arms extended down to its knees, and its sharp claws were as long as a human's pinky finger. Its knees were bent with reverse joints, but it seemed agile as it supported its body with long plant-like legs, much like a cat.

Martin managed to speak up.

"Mo-monster is a monster."

Evolutionists held that humans and other animals derived from a single source organism. However, monsters phylogenetically came from entirely different organisms. Therefore, it wasn't possible to fully analyze monsters based solely on their animal characteristics. They were stronger and more agile than other animals and even possessed intelligence.

'Bipedal wolf-like appearance. It's furious.' Shirone recalled the knowledge hehad learned from a book. Unlike having poor language skills, lycanthropes could express hundreds of emotions through sound and were social enough to live in a tribal life.

Because it was a well-balanced monster with strong claws, quick mobility, and strong muscle strength, it was one of the monsters even monster hunters were reluctant to fight in groups.

'But why did it appear here? I know there are no monsters in this area.'

Only one case immediately came to mind. The lycanthropes defeated in the war between tribes had moved from their home and come here. As if to confirm Shirone's thoughts, the lycanthrope's body had scars here and there. It was impossible to guess how much blood it had shed, as the blood of numerous animals mingled in its fur.

The sound of the children's ragged breathing awakened Althor's sense of responsibility. As the leader, he had to get them out of this situation somehow.

'Anyway, it's a living creature. If it reaches its target, it's instant death.' Althor took a deep breath and aimed his arrow. Although he knew he was being targeted, the lycanthrope calmly watched its prey with one hand on a tree. It was a test of sanity.

'You'll die, you filthy bastard.' Althor's arrow flew like the wind. However, the lycanthrope merely turned its head slightly and easily dodged it. Then it made a mocking Krrr sound.

"Krr. Krrrr." The boys were startled by the astonishing sight of arrows being dodged at close range. But then despair began.

Kwaji Jijik! The lycanthrope broke the tree trunk with its grip alone. And it screamed at Althor.

"Aaaaaang!"

"Cursed! Run!"

The moment he saw the brute strength of ripping the trunk, Althor had no desire to shoot his arrow.

They all ran uphill, but Shirone stayed behind and shot an arrow at the lycanthrope. "Aaaaaang!" Shirone's provocation further infuriated the lycanthrope. However, thanks to this, the boys gained time to escape.

The lycanthrope leaped with agile movements and struck Shirone's head with its claw. At the same time, Shirone's body turned into a flash of light and soared into the air.

"Kreung?"

Shirone, floating in the air due to teleportation, looked down at the lycanthrope from above. As they were deep in the mountains, it was difficult to teleport continuously. 'Not here. I have to go to the peak.' Althor supported the struggling children and ran and ran. He was right not to choose the downhill path. Under these conditions, they would all roll downhill as they descended.

"Hurry! Run fast!" The boys who had discarded everything, including their armor and gear, climbed the mountain as if crawling, panting. Lumina shouted, "What about Shirone? I can't see Shirone!"

"You're gaining time! Climb!" Althor urged the boys. He was worried about Shirone, but in the current situation, worrying wouldn't help. First, he had to protect the children.

"Aaaaaang!" The moment the boys reached the summit, the lycanthrope's screams came from below. Althor's brow furrowed. The fact that the monster had made it here meant that Shirone had either escaped or died.

"Cursed! There's nowhere to hide!" The mountaintop was an open field near flat, and at the end was a cliff. The cliff's height was only 20 meters, but there was no time to climb the wall. "Althor! There's a monster here!" The lycanthrope pulled the ground with its claws and climbed. The muscles like stone reflecting the sunlight were clearly visible. Althor, separated from the children, voluntarily offered himself as bait.

"I'm here! Over here!" However, cliffs were all around, so there was no escape. Althor turned around with a heavy heart. The muscles he had trained every day were nothing more than a child's strength in front of monsters.

"Crap! I don't know!" When he raised his fist, thinking he would fight even if he died, the lycanthrope disappeared in front of his eyes.

"Run fast!" Althor looked around with a surprised expression. He wasn't anywhere, but before he knew it, he and Shirone were lying

far from the lycanthrope.

"Uh, how?" Althor tried to approach Shirone, but stopped when Shirone's figure turned into light and disappeared.

"Wow. Um, is that magic?" The boys who saw teleportation for the first time were amazed. No matter how fast the lycanthrope ran, when Shirone released the flash of light, it lost its target instantly.

"Aaaaaang!" The lycanthrope leaped with agile movements and struck Shirone's head with its claw. At the same time, Shirone's body turned into a flash of light and began to fall from the cliff from a great height.

"Shirone! No!"

"Aaaaaang!"

Each time the lycanthrope tried to attack, Shirone repeated teleportation. Setting the direction of teleportation towards the ground was a dangerous attempt strictly prohibited even at school, but Shirone had no choice but to cling to the lycanthrope's spirit.

'What do I do? What should I do here?'

Even if he fell like this, the lycanthrope wouldn't die. Since there was no mass in the photonized state, the energy of the fall was 0 at the point where the momentary movement ended. 'Mass. I need mass… more… more…!' At that moment, chills ran through Shirone's body. It was a powerful feeling he had never experienced before. Fragments of countless thoughts raced through his mind. Beginning of the world. Gauge symmetry. A vortex floating over mass. Mass doesn't originate with mass. There's another element that gives mass to matter and annihilates it. An unknown particle that humans couldn't observe. That was why Shirone realized that cell and gauge symmetry were broken in the realm of the infinite.

'Got it! I finally figured it out.' Shirone clenched his fists tightly. His heart trembled, and his eyes welled up with tears.

"Aaaaaaaagh."

At that moment, the boys' screams came from the top of the cliff. Shirone regained his composure and looked up.

'No, it can't be...?' Now that he thought about it, the lycanthrope was a monster with communication skills. Even if they lost a tribal war, it was unlikely they would wander alone.

"No!"

Shirone teleported and flew over the cliff. When he reached the top, hestood still like Althor and the others. Dozens of lycanthropes surrounded the area. The entire tribe was moving at once.

'I underestimated their communication skills.'

He heard the boys' cries of despair.

"Oh, what do I do? We're all dead now."

"I couldn't even get married. I don't want to die like this."

It was the same for Shirone; he didn't want to die. And now he had the minimum weapons to fight the lycanthropes.

"It's okay, guys. I'm going to try something."

"What are you going to do? Don't do that, you run too. You can escape with magic."

"It's okay. From now on, I'll break the academy's rules." Shirone approached the group of lycanthropes.

"Shirone!"

"It's dangerous!" Althor called to him, but he turned around. He only stared at the lycanthropes, recalling his previous action. The silver-haired lycanthrope, who seemed to be the leader, nodded, and his trusted man jumped.

"Aaaaaang!" Shirone concentrated the photons in his palm.

'Not enough. More... more...!' The light gathered in his hand gradually paled and finally emitted a dazzling and intense white light. Meanwhile, the lycanthrope that was approaching Shirone quickly. As he measured the distance with the enemy, Shirone focused on changing the nature of the photons gathered in his hand. As the boys' cries escalated, the lycanthrope, which had finally arrived, swung its claws.

Shirone's body was suddenly pushed back by 1 meter. He extended his distance with short-range teleportation and cast a spell with wide-open eyes. 'Now!' When he threw the condensed photons, a pale flash of light landed on the lycanthrope's abdomen.

The photon, in the form of a sphere, pushed the lycanthrope and stretched out again like a golden line.

"Aaaaaang!" The lycanthrope screamed and flew away. Then it collided with another lycanthrope and rolled down the mountain. The boys' eyes widened in amazement at the incredible reality.

"No, that's nonsense. Did you just see that? That huge monster flew dozens of meters."

"How could it be? Do you mean that's magic?"

After seeing Shirone's magic, the leader of the lycanthropes touched his neck. It must have been significantly intelligent for human language to filter through.

"mind... law... buy...". Numerous eyes of the lycanthropes stared at Shirone. But Shirone only stared at the leader.

'I thought I could win. The mass contained in the photon is minuscule, but the impact of the weight of the speed extending at sub-light speed was at a level that exceeded expectations. Moreover, this is the magic of the unlocker that only Shirone can use in this world... It was a photon cannon.'