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nWinter was slowly coming to an end, but not before the season increased its intensity by multiple folds.

nThe first thing Liam did when finishing with his underground business was head towards the forest.

nHis blades practically begged to be used.

nNight had cloaked the sky, flickering with bright stars barely visible through the cold mist.

nLiam spread out his senses throughout the region. Growls, screeches and hisses loudened in his ears, and he could sense what creatures those sounds belonged to.

nThe further parts of the Ucladd Forest contained rougher and much more demanding terrain. It housed dungeons, glades and caves, which no doubt housed a plethora of powerful magical beasts.

nLiam took the liberty of accepting a magical beast extermination mission while he was at it — adding to his stingy-with-time personality.

nHe needed to eliminate a pack of Rank-2 Blizzard Hounds located at the foot of a snowy tor.

nHe avoided unnecessary fights with weaker beasts until he arrived there, instantly sensing the dozen-some wolves under a rough collection of giant boulders.

nThe Blizzard Hounds had bright white fur, which glowed as they buried themselves under the snow — underneath the white tufts, was tough, purple skin.

nThey were roughly 2 meters in length, with a tall stature. Somehow, their low growls were audible through the howling wind.

n‘They have powerful noses, so I’ll have to be quick.’

nMagical beasts oftentimes lived in habitats that supported their innate abilities. In this case, the snow provided a nourishing effect to strengthen their bodies.

nFurther up, he could see the dark entrance of an alcove, multiple hounds blocking its entrance — sleeping around it.

nLiam’s eyes fell on that entrance and slightly narrowed.

n‘I sense danger from that cave. Though, it shouldn’t be anything too serious. Maybe a peak Rank-2 Blizzard Hound as the alpha. Rank-3’s can’t be found in this location either.’

nWithout delaying another second, Liam silently approached the wolf pack.

nThere were few trees surrounding the mountain foot to traverse through, leaving him with just a direct confrontation.

nHe tightened the grip on his blades and dashed towards the closest sleeping hound, who’s snout twitched with a strange smell.

nAs the wolf slowly opened its eyes, a shadowy blade met its neck, tainting its white fur crimson and spurting gobs of red.

nThe smell of blood quickly alerted the other hounds, their growling growing louder as they sniffed the air.

nMeanwhile, a smile grew on Liam’s face, uncaring of the thunderous barks and howls shot his way.

n‘It cut through it so easily! There’s no doubt about it. I need to learn this forging method.’

nHis eyes turned cold as he scoured the beasts.

nThe wolves instantly swarmed him, spreading around and giving him little space.

nHowever, they didn’t get very close.

nThey couldn’t.

nEach time they tried to, a streak of blood flew in the air, and a wolf head quietly thudded on the snow.

nFrom thirteen, only six remained.

nThe massacre continued one-sidedly, with Liam slowly pushing through towards the cave.

nSuddenly, the wolves changed tactics.

nThey jumped back and kept their distance, their claws lengthening to razor-sharp icicles.

nSwiping their claws, dozens of sharp, finger-sized chunks of ice shot at his figure.

nLiam evaded most of those attacks, yet purposely allowed some to hit his non-vital spots.

nStreams of blood warmed his body and stained his clothes, but contradictingly nourished it.

n‘I nearly forgot about my tempering method. I’ll have to get creative with how I advance now.’

nLiam strengthened his arms with small amounts of ‘Ora’, just enough for him to kill the remaining Hounds.

nOne last thud resounded, before Liam began extracting the beasts’ cores.

n‘It’s a shame I don’t have enough space in my ring. Rank-2 beasts sell quite well.’

nLiam shifted his gaze towards the unguarded alcove.

nSensing the danger, he sat cross-legged and instantly began to refill the expended ‘Ora’ — preparing for the worst.

nWhen he finished, he slowly entered through the hole.

nRight as he did, sounds of wet chewing entered his ears, in addition to a stronger, more demanding growl.

nThe floor was dyed crimson with dried blood and viscera, littered with half-eaten Blizzard Hound corpses.

nFurther up, a giant lump of black fur had his back towards him, yet radiated immense danger — enough to make Liam’s hair rise. 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕．𝚘𝚛𝚐

nHowever, there was no trace of fear in Liam’s eyes — just his mind and body’s natural reaction to a powerful threat.

nLiam’s grip on his blades tightened as the black ‘lump’ turned around and arose, revealing a vicious, 3 meter wolf that could make an adult man cry with one look.

nIt’s snout and face had been marred — the healed scars indicating the beast had gone through a fierce clash time ago — resulting in one of it’s eyes being blinded. Most probably the previous alpha of the pack.

nAs it spotted the tiny human invading its territory, it let out another deep growl, vibrating throughout the cave — even applying pressure on Liam’s mental sphere and causing him to scowl.

n‘Rank-3!’

nLiam instinctively knew the wolf was Rank-3.

nMagical beasts in this rank could apply physical and mental pressure, even if they weren’t species that focused on that aspect.

nNoticing the grey markings under the wolf’s eyes, Liam instantly thought of a species name from Lloyd’s bestiary.

n‘Shadow Lykos of the darkness element! Not only is this kind of beast rare like most darkness beasts, they’re also strong and highly dangerous.’

nLiam could freely leave.

nWell… not so freely, but an escape was almost certainly possible if he tried.

nThe Lykos growled again. A warning, Liam assumed.

nAmazingly, even the Rank-3 beast wanted him gone.

nNot only had Liam invaded its territory, he had also interrupted its meal. Under any other circumstance, it would’ve already pounced without warning.

nYet it was injured, and intelligent enough to avoid a meaningless fight.

nLiam clenched his blades, forcing out a deep breath, before smirking.

n“Let’s test our limits, shall we?”

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