Chapter 42
The New Wolf King
Besimer heard something strange from the tribesmen who had joined the camp.
The hell wolves were still lingering around Vinfelt.
Clearly, the Wolf King—their central figure—was dead.
Now the hell wolves were completely ruled by their instincts, no different from magical beasts.
And for creatures like them, the most important thing was ultimately prey.
Magical beasts would devour any living creature that contained mana.
If they consumed something, it was to absorb the mana within that lifeform.
So if they were eating human flesh, it meant the person had accumulated mana in their body.
If it was an animal, then that animal would also be a magical beast.
But Vinfelt did not offer particularly good prey for them.
Most of the soldiers here could not handle mana.
Besimer himself possessed powerful mana, but he was far too strong for mere beasts to hunt.
With the death of the Wolf King, the hell wolves had already fallen into disarray.
It would be impossible for them to target Besimer in any organized way.
Like wild wolves, they would have split into separate packs, fighting over territory—even turning on their own kind.
Once that settled, they should have moved to areas with more abundant prey.
There was no reason for them to linger near Vinfelt anymore.
That was common sense.
And yet—why were they still here?
It was something worth investigating.
Carlson and Besimer had already reached that conclusion.
***
“Why didn’t you report this to me?”
“You were obsessed with that stone.”
Besimer replied bluntly.
The “stone” he referred to was the Wolf King’s magic core—now refined into a rune stone through Isaac’s hands.
“We did report it once already. It seems you didn’t listen.”
“…Did you?”
Isaac scratched his head.
Even across his past life, the Wolf King’s core was unusual.
It maintained warmth like a human body while containing mana as fierce and turbulent as Isaac’s own.
Yet unlike frost cores, it showed no distinct special effects.
Either it had none—or they simply hadn’t been discovered yet.
That alone made it worth studying.
Looking back, Isaac admitted he had been somewhat obsessed.
After all, it was the first of its kind he had ever seen, even after a lifetime devoted to magical research.
“Anyway… did you find out anything?”
“Nothing in particular.”
“They haven’t attacked other tribal villages?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. They don’t need meat—they need the mana inside it.”
“That’s good. Carlson—”
“I’m going.”
Carlson answered instantly, before Isaac could even finish.
“I haven’t said anything yet.”
“You’re about to order a patrol, aren’t you?”
“What? No. I just can’t sleep, so I thought we’d take a light night walk.”
“What kind of lunatic goes for a night walk in the Black Forest?”
“You. Me.”
Isaac pointed at Carlson with his finger, then at himself.
***
“Wait… you’re seriously going into the forest right now?”
“Yeah. Might as well clear my head.”
Isaac ran a hand through his tangled ash-gray hair.
He had been cooped up in the laboratory tent for too long—he needed fresh air.
His research on the Wolf King’s rune stone had hit a wall, and maybe stepping outside would spark something.
Of course, this “outing” was anything but normal.
“Have you lost your mind? Fighting magical beasts in the Black Forest is nothing like fighting them out in the open.”
Besimer passionately explained the dangers—
At night, mana grew denser, making beasts more aggressive.
Even veterans could lose their way in the forest.
And there was no telling what might jump out at any moment.
The veins on his bald head bulged as he spoke.
Unfortunately, Isaac barely listened.
I’ve always wanted to see it at night.
For Vinfelt to become a proper city, a trade route through the Black Forest was essential.
It needed a road where merchants could travel safely—day or night—to the port city of Oton.
But how could that be possible?
A part of Isaac’s mind was already working on that answer.
***
“Are you even listening?”
“Yeah, yeah. Thanks for worrying. Hans—prepare two well-rested horses. Easy ones to handle.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hans hurried off to the makeshift stables.
“You’re really going?”
“Yeah.”
Besimer glanced at Carlson.
Carlson shook his head, his expression saying: That brat will die if he doesn’t follow his whims.
“Haah…”
Both men sighed almost at the same time.
“I’ll come too.”
“You too? You just got here.”
“When it comes to hell wolves, there’s no one more experienced than me.”
“…Fine. I’d appreciate the company. Then the company commander can rest.”
“…I’ll go as well. If anything happens to you, milord, His Excellency won’t let it slide.”
Though clearly reluctant, Carlson gathered a canteen and dried rations.
“Sir, I’ll also—”
“You’re not coming, brat.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Hans.”
Again, both men answered at the same time.
They had no intention of bringing extra baggage.
***
“Why did this turn into an actual night walk…”
Carlson grumbled.
“How should I know?”
Isaac shrugged.
Originally, they had planned to ride.
Isaac had even been looking forward to it—his recent growth spurt meant his feet might finally reach the stirrups.
But things hadn’t gone as planned.
“What the hell was wrong with those horses…”
Besimer shook his head, axe resting on his shoulder.
Even horses that usually struggled under his massive frame had obediently accepted him.
But when Isaac approached, they panicked—kicking wildly and trying to flee, as if facing a natural predator.
“You didn’t cast some weird spell on them, did you?”
“Why would I? They’re my property.”
“Still… you’ve grown.”
“Yeah. Guess I’m in a growth phase.”
Isaac answered casually.
But Besimer saw more.
It wasn’t just height—Isaac’s entire body had developed.
Broader shoulders, longer limbs.
To an outsider, he might simply look like a boy maturing.
But to Besimer, it was different.
Isaac’s body was becoming that of a warrior.
Despite walking briskly for over two hours across rough terrain—hills and slopes—he showed no fatigue.
Just months ago, he had been a pampered noble raised like a flower in a mansion.
Was Goethe’s family a knightly lineage?
Besimer tilted his head.
It wasn’t strength that had made him kneel before the count.
It was the count’s benevolence.
And the count himself wasn’t born a warrior.
Perhaps Isaac’s growth came from his mother, Adele.
“Want to learn how to use an axe?”
Besimer’s blood stirred at the sight of raw talent.
“Maybe later.”
Isaac replied indifferently, and Besimer clicked his tongue.
***
The Black Forest at night was pitch darkness.
Thick foliage blocked the sky entirely.
Even Carlson’s torch did little to help—the dense mana in the air absorbed the light.
“Shouldn’t we turn back?”
Carlson felt uneasy.
The thick mana clinging to the air felt almost sticky against his skin.
He hated this feeling.
As a ranger, he had once ventured into such lands—only to watch his comrades get wiped out.
Even now, with his current strength, he could perhaps save half of them.
But the past couldn’t be undone.
And that made him bitter.
“Turn back if you want. I won’t stop you.”
Carlson glared at him, but Isaac ignored it and continued walking ahead.
His steps were strangely light.
From both near and far, the cries of various beasts echoed.
Something unseen rustled through the grass.
The darkness of the Black Forest was deeper and denser than that of any other forest.
The high-density mana in the air constantly clashed with the mana inside one’s body, exhausting both flesh and mind.
The Black Forest was, in essence, a lesser version of a demonic realm.
It naturally evoked an instinctive fear.
But Isaac felt something entirely different.
Déjà vu.
An oddly familiar feeling—eerily nostalgic.
“Are you alright?”
“…Hm? Yeah.”
Isaac nodded blankly at Besimer’s concerned question.
“Let’s take a short rest.”
“I’m fine.”
“This isn’t the time to be stubborn. When external mana becomes dense, it affects the mana within your body. The flow can twist, reverse… and in severe cases, it can go berserk.”
Carlson spoke with unusual firmness.
Normally, he would reluctantly follow Isaac’s stubbornness—but not this time.
If necessary, he looked ready to force him by strength.
The soldiers really have it rough… this kind of pressure.
Isaac let out a quiet chuckle at Carlson’s intensity.
It looked like he was fully prepared to break an arm if Isaac refused.
“You know how to meditate, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then focus on your breathing.”
Almost forcibly, Isaac sat on a rock, closed his eyes, and took deep breaths.
But the reason he entered meditation wasn’t because the forest’s mana threatened him.
To begin with, the density of mana circulating within Isaac far exceeded even that of a demonic realm.
The mana of the Black Forest couldn’t affect him in the slightest.
He simply wanted to feel it more clearly.
***
—Join us! To the eternal battlefield!
It began with a memory—raising a final cup during a ritual.
At first, when he entered the Black Forest, Isaac thought it was just his imagination running wild from over-immersion in research.
He believed it was a hallucination caused by his obsession with the Wolf King’s rune stone.
But the deeper he went into the forest, the clearer the memories became.
They weren’t Isaac’s memories.
They were the Wolf King’s.
***
The terrain of the Black Forest as seen through a wolf’s eyes.
Caves, valleys, waterfalls, strange eroded lands, swamps, ravines, ponds, cliffs—
Where certain magical beasts lived.
Where water could be found.
Where hunting was easiest.
The feel of wind brushing his fur.
The temperature of the air.
The scent of mana.
The sensation of wetting his snout with blood.
The smell of grass, flowers, living creatures—
The feeling of soil, roots, and stone beneath four paws.
According to those memories, the Black Forest was not a dangerous place.
It was… nostalgic.
Like a homeland.
Like his own domain.
It stirred a sense of comfort within Isaac.
But more than anything, what made him view this forest with longing wasn’t just memory.
It was a connection beyond sensation—something indescribable.
Faint, yet unmistakable.
Distant, yet close.
Something Isaac had never experienced before.
Something he could understand without seeing or hearing.
A sense of being firmly bound to something.
***
—In the name of Balaka, I swear! We are warriors from one root. We shall fight together and win together—or walk together to the land of fate!
It was the oath the Wolf King had made upon becoming chieftain—
A vow of unbreakable bonds among great warriors.
That oath had not faded.
It remained within the rune stone.
The Wolf King’s lingering will.
And the warrior’s bond engraved into the hell wolves, even after becoming beasts.
**
“Sir! Sir!”
Besimer shook Isaac.
Isaac slowly opened his eyes.
“I know. Don’t make a fuss.”
“This is no time to be relaxed. The hell wolves here are far more dangerous than the ones we fought near the camp.”
“You’re not wrong. Get up quickly—we’ll clear a path.”
Besimer agreed with Carlson.
Rustle… rustle…
From the darkness, silhouettes darker than the darkness itself began to emerge one by one.
Their eyes, having absorbed the sunlight of the day, glowed red.
This was no open field or barren land—this was a dense forest where anything could hide.
There was no telling what might leap out or from where.
Heavy breathing and subtle movements echoed all around.
The thick mana in the air was like poison to those without resistance—but to magical beasts, it was vitality.
It made them stronger and faster.
Besimer and Carlson had experienced this firsthand.
Yet Isaac seemed to be the only one who didn’t grasp the danger of the situation.
“You have no idea what I’ve seen.”
“Seen or not, get ready to run. When I count to three, this place will turn into a bloodbath.”
Besimer didn’t even bother listening.
Naturally—
To him, Isaac was someone worth risking his life to protect.
Anyone could see Isaac was the most vulnerable here.
No matter if he was called a frost demon or not—without control over mana, he couldn’t use it properly.
But that thought didn’t last even a few seconds.
***
“Kneel.”
“…What nonsense are you—?”
“…What?”
Besimer and Carlson doubted their ears.
They couldn’t even tell who the command was directed at.
“Not you.”
The two men couldn’t believe their eyes.
***
Whine…!
Dozens of massive wolves stood before them—
Overwhelming in size, with wild eyes and pitch-black fur.
And yet—
Every single one of those beasts lowered its body and bared its neck.
A gesture of submission.
“Th-this is…!”
Overwhelmed by the surreal sight, Besimer looked at Isaac—and was shocked once more.
“Sir… your eyes…?”
Isaac’s eyes were glowing yellow.
Just like the Wolf King’s.