By noon, the hunters had already taken several hares, pheasants, two wild boars, and a stag. The hunt was to last until morning, so after lunch they resumed the chase. Some of the Wolf Knights carried the slain game back to the castle, but this barely reduced the number of hunters.
Just as planned, the Young Wolf's team gradually fell behind at the end of the line. No one noticed their absence—there were too many people in the procession, and officially Anita was assigned to watch over the young lord. But the female knight herself was part of Andras's secret plan for monster hunting.
After they had moved farther away from the others, Anita suddenly spotted a slime among the bushes.
"Look!" she cried, and they all rushed after it.
Andras stepped closer and spoke firmly:
"This is a Slime. A Water Slime. Which means there must be a river nearby."
The boy then attacked with lightning speed. He shaped his hand like a pistol and fired a nail‑sized lightning projectile from his index finger. The slime instantly exploded from the impact. The technique truly resembled firing a gun—one of Andras's favorite attacks.
He could also use this method with the water element. He had learned it on the Celestial Island and perfected it since. What he liked most about it was that he could quickly shoot down anything—or anyone—with it. He had even taught the technique to Noelle, but the half‑elf girl still needed three times as long to prepare the shot, and she could not concentrate the projectile into such a sharp, nail‑like form.
Noelle's water projectiles were more like tennis balls in size. Yet a larger projectile was not always an advantage: the bigger it was, the more magical energy it consumed, and blunt shapes were not as dangerous as sharp ones. Andras's lightning‑nail could pierce even thin armor, while Noelle's water balls bounced off knights' armor, delivering at most a minor blow to the target. Against smaller monsters, however, Noelle's water balls proved effective enough.
Anita glanced around the dense forest, then pointed into the distance.
"Where could the river be? Maybe that way?"
Andras raised an eyebrow.
"You've never been to this part of the forest?"
"Wolfwood's forest is vast," Anita replied. "As knights we mostly patrol the roads. We don't usually go deeper into the woods. Not even with horses—it wouldn't be possible."
Andrea spoke up a little uncertainly:
"So you don't know where we are either?"
"If we find the river, we just follow the current back," Anita shrugged.
Andras's eyes lit up.
"I hope we run into plenty of slimes."
At that moment Noelle pulled a small, glowing stone from her pocket.
"The magic stone from the water slime I picked up isn't very big."
"And it's not worth much either," Anita remarked. "Sometimes herbs are more valuable."
"We don't collect magic stones from slimes to sell them," Andras explained.
"But to count how many we've hunted, right?" Andrea asked.
"Exactly," Andras nodded, then suddenly stopped. "Wait! I think I hear the flow of water."
"Ah, there's the river," Anita pointed to the glittering water between the trees. "Told you we'd find it."
"So which way do we go from here?" Noelle asked.
"In this direction the river flows downward, so that way," Anita replied.
"But if we go that way, we'll end up back at the castle right away," Andras pointed out.
"That's true," Anita admitted. "Then let's go against the current instead. We'll hunt down a few slimes, then turn back."
Andrea looked at them with concern.
"I don't think we should go too far."
"Don't be such a coward," Anita shot back.
"I'm not afraid," Andrea protested. "I just don't think reckless adventures are a good idea."
Andras gazed around the forest with determination, his eyes shining with excitement.
"I've waited ten years to leave the castle and hunt monsters. So now we go, and we'll slay those creatures!"
Anita nodded with a broad smile.
"If we take down several smaller monsters and bring back their magic stones, they'll see we can handle ourselves in the forest—and they'll let us out again next time."
"When I'm older, I'll come out to hunt bandits anyway," Andras continued. "But for now I'll settle for a few slimes. Just let me shoot some!"
Noelle turned to him curiously.
"Can I shoot too?"
"If we find enough, we'll divide the targets," Andras replied.
"Good, I can't wait!" Noelle's eyes sparkled.
"Then I'll cut down one or two myself," Andrea spoke, a little uncertainly.
Anita laughed mockingly.
"I thought you'd be scared even of slimes."
"I'm not afraid of slimes!" Andrea retorted indignantly.
"Then what are you afraid of?" Anita asked, arms crossed.
"Well… dragons, for example!" Andrea admitted.
Anita burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Who wouldn't be afraid of dragons?"
Noelle turned curiously to Andras.
"Are you afraid of dragons too, Young Wolf?"
"I don't know," Andras answered seriously. "I haven't met one yet."
Andrea stepped closer.
"Then what are you most afraid of?"
Andras's eyes darkened, his voice grew grim.
"Of the stupid Hero failing to defeat the Demon King… and ruining the whole world."
Anita's face grew somber.
"That's the talk among the knights too. The time is drawing near when the Demon King will awaken from his deep slumber… and then he will destroy the world."
"Our glorious knights are scared stiff of having to fight demons, aren't they?" Andras remarked bitterly.
"Well, honestly… I wouldn't really want to fight demons either," Anita admitted.
Andras looked at her with a serious gaze.
"Then I have good news: the Demon King has already awakened—ten years ago."
Anita almost stepped back.
"You're just trying to scare me, right?"
"Unfortunately not," Andras shook his head. "If there's one thing I won't joke about, it's the Demon King. You have my word."
"Now you've really frightened me," Anita sighed.
"Stay calm," Andras replied firmly. "The Demon King is the Hero's problem. At worst, we'll only have to worry about the Demon Generals."
"That doesn't make me feel any calmer…" Anita muttered.
Andrea spoke up then, her voice tinged with worry.
"Maybe we should turn back."
"Look, slimes!" Noelle cried, as the light shimmered on the gelatinous bodies by the riverbank.
"There are plenty of them," Andras observed. "Over there, behind the rock, there are even more."
"Wait, we haven't finished talking about demons!" Anita interrupted.
"We'll discuss it after we've hunted the slimes," Andras cut her off, then gestured toward Noelle.
"Which one can I shoot?" the half‑elf girl asked excitedly.
"There are enough of them," Andras smiled. "Shoot whichever you like."
"I'll cut down a few behind the rock," Anita declared, gripping her sword tighter.
The small team set to work hunting the slimes swarming by the river. But behind the tall rock on the opposite bank lurked something far more dangerous. As they drew closer, a deep, trembling growl suddenly tore through the forest.