*Whoosh—* Viter nimbly dodged the earth wolf’s lunge, then spun and drove his sword precisely into its neck. As the last wolf collapsed, the skirmish was over.

“Aefina’s amazing~” Norma praised. The others’ gazes held a trace of awe—Aefina’s performance had genuinely stunned them.

The clash between eight adventurers and fifteen earth wolves had lasted barely a minute. And Aefina? Undeniably MVP.

When Leo spotted the pack, we were already surrounded. In the forest, these beasts—camouflaged by earth magic—were terrifyingly stealthy.

Norma struck first. Bow drawn, arrow loosed—a clean headshot claimed first blood. That shot ignited the battle. At their alpha’s command, the wolf pups swarmed.

Clearly, these Monstrous Beasts had some wit. Beyond encircling us, they knew to *pick on the weakest*. Towering Leo looked toughest. Next, Grancest with his massive shield. The other three adventurers wore armor. That left only me, Aefina, and Gray. Gray gripped a green staff, earth magic swirling around him—the wolves knew mages were trouble.

So the soft targets? Me and Aefina, strolling like we were on a picnic. Five wolves lunged at us.

Aefina didn’t move. Neither did I. Only when they were five paces away did she act. She released my hand, stepped forward—

—and slammed her tiny fist into the lead wolf’s head. *Crunch.* Its skull burst like a watermelon. The force hurled the body sideways; blood and brains splattered away from Aefina, untouched by the gore.

Without flinching, she smashed the second wolf’s head. Its magic core shot off like a bullet—*gone*.

***Double Kill!***

She thrust both hands forward, clamping onto two more wolf heads. *Crack-CRUNCH.* Skulls shattered against the earth in near-unison—a sickening duet.

***Dominating! Ultra Kill!***

Finally, Aefina hopped forward and kicked the last wolf like a football. It flew, snapping two trees before crumpling—dead before it landed.

***Mega Kill! Rampage!***

Five wolves. Gone before I could blink. Aefina stood calm, as if she’d crushed five ants. Too stunned to notice, I missed how she’d never strayed more than three meters from my side.

My shock stayed hidden—imperfectly, but everyone’s eyes were on Aefina.

She ignored their praise. Turning to me, she tilted her chin up slightly, pride gleaming in her eyes.

Clueless about social cues, I didn’t grasp she was *showing off* for me. Yesterday’s carriage incident had made her think I doubted her strength. These wolves? Her proof: *"I’m strong even without magic."*

Seeing her gaze, I smiled. “You did great, Aefina.”

She skipped to my side, reaching for my hand—then froze. Staring at her bloodstained fingers, she let her arm drop.

*I get it.* As a cook, blood didn’t faze me. I grabbed her hand. She lowered her head, gripping back tightly.

“Leo, salvage only the cores. Ilan, handle cleanup,” Viter ordered smoothly. Wolf parts were valuable—claws for weapons, pelts for armor—but magic cores were hard currency here, worth more than gold.

Since this was an escort mission, not a hunt, we’d only take the cores.

Ilan waved his staff, casting cleansing spells—a must-have for adventurers, especially women. No daily baths on the road. Blood attracted monsters; this magic erased every trace.

When Ilan finished cleansing Aefina and me, Leo had already stripped the cores. I caught Aefina glancing twice at Ilan. *She wants to learn magic too…*

At lunch, Viter frowned. “No monsters all morning except those wolves. The forest’s edge should be crawling with them.” Nothing seemed amiss, though. We chalked it up to luck.

“We’re ahead of schedule,” Viter announced after eating. “A river lies ahead—open ground. If we push, we’ll camp there by dusk.”

Afternoon travel was faster but grueling. Forest paths were treacherous—roots, rocks, uneven ground. Yet I kept pace without exhaustion. *Weird.* Back on Earth, I’d never been this fit.

“Captain… over here.” Leo, scouting ahead, halted abruptly.

“…” Everyone but Aefina froze.

The path ahead looked swept by a colossal broom—earth torn up, branches bent unnaturally, trees snapped mid-trunk. It felt like a *Gundam* had rampaged through.

“This… was a beast?” Viter muttered, surveying the wreckage.

“Huge,” Norma breathed. Whatever made this was 20-30 meters tall.

“Could it be why we saw so few monsters?” Ilan suggested. A powerful newcomer would scare off smaller prey. It made sense.

“The damage is fresh. Days old, at most,” Leo noted, examining broken stumps.

“The trail leads toward the core zone. Maybe it’s challenging the Phantom Beast?” Grancest scratched his head. *Give them five minutes, and they’ll invent a love triangle between monsters.*

“This area might be safe—smaller beasts fled. But if *it’s* still here…” Viter turned to Gray, the client. “Detour or push on? Your call.” Safety meant detours, but Gray hired us to save time.

“Push on. It’s safe,” Aefina declared. *She* made this trail last night. No giant beast lurked here.

“Why?” Viter pressed.

“…” Aefina couldn’t reveal her Great Dragon identity. And she had no plausible lie.

“Norma senses danger instinctively, right?” I cut in. “If that beast were near, she’d feel it.” *No idea why Aefina insisted, but I’d back her.*

“Hmm…” Norma closed her eyes, concentrating. “I feel… nothing threatening.”

“…Fine. We push for the river camp,” Viter decided, glancing at Gray. The mage nodded.

We reached the river by sunset, pitching camp on the open bank. Fewer ambush spots. Fewer mosquitoes—forest insects were universally vile, venomous bites included.

Around the campfire, I watched Aefina sip fish soup beside me. *Time.*

“I’ll take Aefina aside for a bit. Keep eating—we’ll be back soon.” I stood, pulling Aefina up. Seven pairs of eyes locked onto us. She set her bowl down quietly.

“Now? At night?” Viter frowned. Solo night trips were reckless.

I squeezed Aefina’s hand. “She’s unwell. I’ll find Brown Fruit.” I named a common calming herb. “She barely ate.” Her half-finished soup sold the lie.

“Brown Fruit grows here…” Ilan rummaged through packs, then winced. “Ah—we ran out in Aegros. Didn’t restock in Elu Village. It’s rarely needed.”

I only said that because I knew there were no Brown Fruits in the luggage—I’d been right there during the inventory check.

"I noticed some along the road earlier. It’s a bit of a walk, so I’ll just take Aefina." There weren’t any Brown Fruits nearby either; finding them would mean going much farther.

"Then… be careful. Come back soon," Viter nodded. My excuse seemed convincing enough.

I pulled Aefina toward the direction I’d planned earlier. Soon, the campfire’s glow vanished behind us.

As we walked, I asked, "Aefina, is anyone following us?" The forest path was treacherous even by day. In pitch darkness, I’d have tripped several times already if not for her steadying arm.

"No one…" Aefina coalesced a light orb in her free hand, illuminating a three-meter radius. At least now we wouldn’t stumble.

"Didn’t you say yesterday you wanted real food today? I’m making it for you." She absolutely didn’t want to reveal her true dragon form. And what I’d prepared wholeheartedly wasn’t meant for anyone else’s eyes—I needed an excuse to slip away.

"……" Aefina stopped dead. Her eyes locked onto mine, silent.