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The man at the front of the group of herb gatherers entering the Bronselian Forest frowned.

“Ugh, all that’s left is rust, and nothing ever goes right.”

“Exactly. We need to go deeper to find the valuable herbs.”

“But… isn’t this the restricted area?”

The restricted zone of the Bronselian Forest.

A place designated by the Erkal Defense Force due to the many dangers still present.

Entering without permission could result in severe punishment.

“Heh heh heh, that’s why we brought mercenaries with us. Don’t be scared.”

The man who seemed to be the leader laughed lowly as he looked back.

Six C-rank mercenaries.

Each one of them was strong enough to easily kill an ork on their own.

Among them, the mercenary captain had the skills to be classified beyond C-rank, closer to B-rank.

The herb gatherer at the front spoke boastfully.

“Do you know how much it costs to hire these people? We won’t be leaving until we’ve made five times the cost, so let’s hurry up.”

Since it was a restricted area, there were no signs of human presence.

Naturally, there were plenty of rare herbs scattered around.

Just gathering these would earn them many times the commission fee.

“…It’s humid.”

The mercenary captain, who had entered the forest, surveyed the surroundings.

There didn’t seem to be anything dangerous enough to warrant it being designated a restricted zone…

“The defense force guys are always like that. They mark everything as a restricted zone to avoid any trouble.”

The mercenary with a scar on his left cheek grinned as he spoke.

Thanks to that, their commission fee was quite lucrative.

The mercenary captain spoke with a stern expression.

“Stay alert. This is still the Bronselian Forest, after all.”

There’s a reason for its notorious reputation.

That’s what the mercenary captain thought.

He then spoke to the herb gatherers.

“We have six hours. Once that time is up, we’re leaving without looking back, so move quickly.”

“Hahaha, don’t worry! Let’s hurry!”

With protection, there was nothing to fear.

The herb gatherers quickly began searching the area and collecting herbs.

“Oh! There are certainly a lot of good ones here.”

“Haha, what a goldmine. I’ve been wasting my life.”

“Thanks to you, we’re living a good life.”

“Just stick with me from now on. Heh heh heh.”

The herb gatherers burst into wide grins at the words of the one who seemed to be the leader.

But at that moment…

“…?”

There was the sound of something rushing towards them.

The mercenary captain drew his axe.

“Prepare for combat!”

At his shout, the mercenaries quickly drew their weapons.

Snap!

And from behind the bushes, a monster appeared.

“Red Bear!”

A massive creature with a red mane running from its crown to its tailbone.

It was a dangerous mid-tier monster among the bear-type monsters.

“We attack before it charges at us.”

The mercenary captain spoke calmly.

Fortunately, the Red Bear was a solitary creature that didn’t form packs.

It was strong, but a single one didn’t pose much of a threat to them.

At the captain’s command, the mercenaries quickly formed their formation.

They intended to finish it off quickly.

But then…

“…Huh?”

“Captain, there’s something strange about it…”

If it were a ferocious Red Bear, it would have charged at them the moment it saw people.

But it’s staggering movements made one of the mercenaries frown.

Then they noticed the creature’s injuries.

‘…It was running away?’

A Red Bear?

But that question was short-lived.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

A mysterious sound from beyond the bushes.

The ground began to tremble as the sound drew closer.

And then…

Crack!

A thick tree split in half, and a massive monster, twice the size of the Red Bear, emerged.

It resembled a bear, but…

“W-What… is that?”

“…Was there ever such a creature?”

It had a similar appearance to the Red Bear.

The difference was that its fur was entirely black, and its eyes gleamed with a purple hue.

The herb gatherers who faced it collapsed on the spot.

Their legs gave out, and they couldn’t even scream.

“G-Guh… guh…!”

An overwhelming pressure that choked the breath out of them.

“E-Everyone… run.”

The mercenary captain barely managed to get the words out.

But…

“ROOOOAAARRR!”

With a deafening roar from the unidentified creature, death descended upon them.

* * *

“Huff… huff… huff!”

“Catch that bastard…!”

The seniors of Neokalitz were giving it everything they had as they climbed the steep hill.

Some carried logs on their shoulders, others on their backs.

Running was out of the question; even walking without stopping was a struggle under the weight of the heavy logs.

But how in the world is that bastard…?

‘How is he still running?’

The gap had already widened to twice the distance.

As they watched Damian running ahead, the seniors’ faces filled with despair.

‘¡No… no… no…!’

‘If I lose, I’m dead…!’

They were in a situation where losing literally meant death.

They knew that Tarion was a man who always kept his word.

They had to win.

But…

‘Damn it, what is this brat…?!’

It was true they had underestimated him because he was only thirteen.

But…

‘This doesn’t make any sense!’

Even considering that, his performance was beyond comprehension.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Damian, with a 30kg log on his back, was sprinting up the hill.

He was nothing short of a storm.

‘This is more manageable than I thought.’

Damian lightly fiddled with the ring on his finger.

The peculiar thing was that as the weight of the object he carried increased, the weight seemed to decrease proportionally.

‘I need to check its exact function later.’

It seemed to reduce weight by a percentage.

Swoosh.

Now that he had some leeway, Damian glanced back.

Unlike the other seniors who had already fallen far behind, there was one person still chasing him.

‘…As expected.’

“Huff… huff… huff!”

It felt like he was tasting blood in his throat.

Dianal was breathing heavily, but he didn’t stop his legs from moving.

‘That monster of a kid.’

From the moment I first saw him, I knew something was different. But this…

‘This is beyond extraordinary…’

First place in the training camp.

I thought it was just at the training camp level.

After all, I’m confident in my stamina as well.

But…

‘…I’m no match for him.’

Damian had already reached the top of the hill and set down the log he was carrying.

“First place.”

Damian wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked down at the soldiers below.

Even though Damian could control his mana, it wasn’t an easy feat.

But there was one major difference between him and the others.

His focus.

Damian’s intense concentration on a single task was one of the reasons he had survived on the battlefield.

He ran, ignoring all distractions, focusing solely on the goal.

That made a huge difference and created this seemingly impossible gap.

“……”

Tarion looked at Damian.

Then he looked at the other soldiers.

He had thought they might lose due to their slackened discipline, but…

‘…I didn’t expect even Dianal to lose.’

The rookie’s skills were far beyond expectations.

He might have to acknowledge Damian’s superior stamina, at the very least.

However…

“A promise is a promise.”

Tarion’s eyes turned ominous.

The soldiers around him gulped nervously.

It had been a long time since they had seen Tarion like this.

“All of you…”

Tarion began to speak as he looked at the soldiers.

But just then…

“Captain!”

Someone shouted.

Tarion frowned and turned his head.

“Over there…!”

A red flag was raised in the camp.

* * *

The red flag signaled a Level 1 emergency.

Tarion’s expression changed when he saw the red flag.

Returning to the camp, he asked the administrative soldier, “What’s going on?”

“There have been fatalities in the forest. According to the information we received, it seems herb gatherers were killed.”

“Where?”

“Well… it’s in the restricted zone.”

Grit.

Tarion’s jaw muscles tensed at the soldier’s words.

The unit commander, Erin, scowled.

“Those bastards! They shouldn’t have gone where they weren’t supposed to!”

“What’s the scale of the damage?”

“There were five herb gatherers, but… they didn’t just go in blindly; they took six mercenaries with them.”

If they had taken on a request in the Bronselian Forest, they wouldn’t have hired weak mercenaries.

For six mercenaries to enter and all die…

“Erin, how many men are ready to go out right now, excluding the wounded?”

“Excluding the lightly wounded, we have just over thirty. Including them… about seventy. But some of those classified as lightly wounded are actually more seriously injured.”

The situation wasn’t good.

They had just completed a mission a few days ago.

‘…The frequency of these incidents is increasing.’

Deep wrinkles formed on Tarion’s forehead.

Something was changing in the forest.

But he quickly made a decision.

“Leave the severely injured behind and gather about fifty men. Do we have any information on the monster that appeared?”

“Not yet.”

“Those idiots, what have they been doing?”

Erin spat curses as he ran off to gather the soldiers.

Tarion also gathered his equipment and headed outside the barracks.

Rat-a-tat-tat!

No words were exchanged.

Only the suffocating tension pressed down on them.

But then…

“We want to go too.”

Damian approached Tarion.

Tarion spoke firmly, “I don’t allow it. Stay here.”

It was still too soon for the rookies to engage in real combat.

No matter how good their training scores were, the battlefield was a completely different experience.

But Damian was persistent.

“We’ll just carry supplies from the rear. As you can see, we’re strong and have plenty of stamina. Kyle here is the same.”

“I can do it too!” Kyle shouted, his breath heavy.

Tarion stared at the two for a moment.

As much as he hated to admit it, they were in a situation where even the help of a cat would be welcomed.

After a moment of hesitation, Tarion bit his lip.

“Fine, I’ll allow it. But absolutely no fighting. You’ll carry spare equipment and stay at the very back.”

“Understood!”

“Dianal! Hand over the spare equipment to these guys. Everyone, move quickly!”

“Yes, sir!”

The soldiers moved swiftly and soon assembled outside the barracks.

Once everyone was in formation, Tarion spoke.

“As for the disciplinary actions I mentioned during training, they’re off the table. Focus solely on the mission.”

It wouldn’t distract them with thoughts of punishment during a mission. They needed to be fully focused on the task at hand.

Tarion continued, “As I always say, when you’re on a mission, consider all possibilities. Avoid anything that seems too dangerous.”

It was as if they could hear an unspoken response.

Tarion made his final request.

“Come back alive, all of you.”

“Yes, sir!”

Their loud reply was met with a heavy, chilling atmosphere.

Amidst this, Damian sharpened his focus.

‘Bronselian Forest…’

If his hunch was correct, then at this very time…

Damian recalled the words Dianal had once told him.

Disjointed information tangled messily in his mind.

But soon, Damian gathered his thoughts and gripped his bag tightly.

‘The only way to know for sure is to see it myself.’

That was why he had volunteered to go to the Bronselian Forest as a pack mule.

And then…

“We’re moving out.”

It was his first real mission.