Chapter 15
Roland blew out the flame flickering on his fist, rolled his shoulders, and felt a wave of post-workout refreshment wash over him.
Not far away lay the colossal corpse of a black bear—five meters tall even in death. Its fall had flattened a swath of trees. Black fur still smoldered with embers, sending up acrid plumes of gray smoke.
Any seasoned adventurer witnessing this would’ve had their jaw drop. The bear was a notoriously vicious ninth-rank beast. Even several elite adventurer teams combined might not have taken it down.
But to Roland? Barely a warm-up.
At his peak as a Sage, a ninth-rank beast posed little challenge. Only tenth-rank beasts—or Imperial-tier Beasts—could truly threaten him.
Beast ranks spanned one to ten. Above tenth stood the Imperial-tier. Each Imperial-tier Beast meant catastrophe. Its appearance would trigger urgent mobilization across the magical world—countless experts converging to eliminate the threat before irreversible disaster struck.
This time, the Imperial-tier Beast emerging in Xige Forest had drawn the royal court’s attention. In truth, the extermination mission was secretly commissioned by the monarchy itself.
“We’re at the forest’s edge… How did a ninth-rank Black Rampage Bear show up here? Because of that roar earlier?” Silva asked.
“Definitely,” Roland shrugged. “Bet the whole forest is in chaos. An Imperial-tier Beast is practically lord of all beasts. Seeing it enraged? Every creature here’s probably fleeing for its life.”
“I sensed magical energy over there just now. Should we check it out?” Silva pointed aside.
“Sure.”
…
Beasts bared teeth and snarled toward that direction, muscles coiled tight as if facing mortal danger. Lower-rank beasts trembled uncontrollably—instinct screaming of a terrifying presence lurking ahead.
“What’s going on?”
“What the hell?”
The adventurers were stunned. Seconds ago, the beasts had looked ready to shred them apart. Now? Shaking in terror.
What could possibly scare them this badly?
An eerie silence settled over the blood-soaked woods. Deeply unsettling.
“Boss… whatever’s scaring them couldn’t be…” One adventurer swallowed hard, unable to finish.
“Impossible. Multiple teams are already deep in the forest hunting the Imperial-tier Beast. We’re at the edge—we can’t have encountered it,” stated the team leader, a burly man with a bushy beard.
“Then what’s terrifying them this much?” a timid member stammered. “D-don’t tell me… some ancient evil entity?”
“Possible. Beasts and evil entities are mortal enemies. But there were over a dozen eighth-rank beasts here… Could an ancient evil entity really be nearby?” The leader’s face darkened.
Evil entities were considered a higher-tier variant of beasts—far stronger, far smarter.
As they spoke, the beasts suddenly let out frantic, panicked cries. A chaotic chorus of howls stirred dread and confusion.
Then—something even more shocking happened.
Spooked by an unseen force, the beasts let out final terrified yelps and scattered like a receding tide. Within moments, not a single living beast remained.
Had the ground not been littered with corpses and bloodstains, the adventurers would’ve thought it all a bizarrely vivid dream.
“W-what just happened? Is there really an ancient evil entity?” The leader felt no relief. The beasts’ panic meant something far worse was coming.
“Boss… should we run?” a member whispered.
“Run!” the leader barked without hesitation.
But before they could move, two figures stepped out from the very woods that had sent the beasts into hysteria.
The team froze mid-step, eyes locked on the man and woman.
“Uh… hi there,” Roland greeted warmly, flashing a friendly smile. “Felt a fight nearby, came to check—didn’t expect to find people…”
No reply. The adventurers tightened grips on their weapons, braced for danger.
“Whoa, easy! We’re adventurers too—see?” Roland nudged Silva. She quickly produced her probationary adventurer badge.
Seeing the badge, tension eased slightly—but suspicion remained.
Many evil entities could shapeshift into humans. In the wild, verifying identity came first… or you might not wake up tomorrow.
“You… did you notice anything unusual on your way here?” the leader finally asked, hesitating.
“A huge black bear! Massive—five, maybe six meters tall. Looked absolutely terrifying,” Silva answered quickly, pretending to shiver with lingering fear.
“Mm-hmm, exactly,” Roland nodded.
“But weirdly… it seemed to be fleeing. Didn’t even glance at us.”
“Mm-hmm, exactly,” Roland kept nodding.
The team fell silent, weighing her words.
“Boss,” a member whispered cautiously, “this forest only has one black bear species: Black Rampage Bear. Bigger size means higher rank—a five-or-six-meter one? That’s gotta be ninth-rank!”
“One ninth-rank beast could wipe out fifty or sixty eighth-rank ones. No wonder the others panicked.”
The leader nodded slowly, then turned to Roland. “Kid, what’s your mage rank?”
“Not high, not high—just Intermediate,” Roland smiled modestly. He’d already gauged their strength: the burly captain was an Archmage (strong one too), plus two more Archmages, over a dozen Senior Mages, and the rest Intermediate.
“And this young lady?” The leader’s gaze locked on Silva—not for her looks, but her power.
Roland could effortlessly mask his true rank. Silva couldn’t. Their powers were comparable.
His mind reeled. Nearly fifty years of struggle to reach Archmage… and this girl, clearly under twenty, stood at his level?
Silva met his gaze calmly. “Advanced to Archmage last year.”
“Pfft—” A blood-streaked female adventurer burst out laughing. “Hah! Kid, dreaming much? How old are you? Makes us nearly-thirty Senior Mages feel ancient!”
“Yeah, no way she’s an Archmage. Too young.”
“Probably got spooked by the bear. Lost her wits.”
The leader cleared his throat awkwardly. “She’s not lying. She really is an Archmage.”
“…”
Silence. If the boss said it… it had to be true.
“Hiss—”
A collective sharp inhale. Eyes shifted to Silva with growing reverence.
Then landed on Roland—and filled with disdain. Whispers rippled through the group:
“If she’s that strong… why’s he so weak?”
“Duh. Pretty boy. Obviously kept by her.”
“Tch. A kept pretty boy? Damn embarrassing.”
