Shadow Beast

Ray glanced toward Gary standing beside him. His entire body trembled with fear. Then, shifting his gaze forward, he noticed his own sword was shaking. He couldn't believe it—his hands were unsteady. Was this what it felt like to face a creature far beyond one's level? As much as he hated to admit it, the beast before them was simply out of their league. Even if his mind was ready to fight, his body refused to obey.

The three knights stood at the front, their weapons tightly gripped as they maintained a defensive stance. Meanwhile, Ray and Gary positioned themselves behind them, shielding the carriage. Yet, the magical beast made no move. Instead, it remained eerily still, observing them carefully. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, it raised one clawed hand and pointed directly at the knights.

"You will never be able to defeat the Shadow," the creature spoke in a deep, raspy voice. "Soon, we will take over the whole land."

"The beast can talk?!" Bernardo's face twisted in shock, as if he had just witnessed the impossible.

It was a revelation to them all. Magical beasts rarely spoke; only a select few with exceptional intelligence, such as dragons or humanoid creatures, possessed such an ability. But a Drop Bear? It was unheard of. Ray speculated that the Shadow might be using the beast as a vessel.

"Your mission will fail, and your loved ones will die," the creature added ominously.

Strangely, as it spoke, its gaze locked onto Ray rather than the knights in front of it. Then, without warning, the Shadow Bear leapt fifteen feet into the air and vanished into the forest, leaving no trace behind.

"Why did it let us go?" Bernardo asked, still shaken.

"I believe they were merely testing us," Delbert replied. "They want to unsettle the kingdom, wear us down mentally."

Gary turned to Wilfred. "Maybe it knew it would lose?"

"I'm afraid not," Wilfred said grimly. "If it were just a regular Drop Bear King, perhaps we could have taken it down. But a Shadow Beast variant is far stronger. Even if we had managed to win, we would have suffered losses on our side."

Gary gulped at the thought.

Bernardo leaned in and whispered something to Wilfred. "It seemed to know about our mission. Could there be a traitor in the academy?"

Wilfred didn't respond, but his expression darkened.

Delbert crossed his arms. "They've been tracking us since we left the inn. I wouldn't be surprised if the attack on the adventurers was meant to lure us here. None of this is a coincidence. I knew bringing the red-haired boy would bring us bad luck."

Ray smirked at Delbert's words. "I thought you didn't believe in myths. Or do you only believe them when it suits you? Not much of a knight, are you?"

Delbert stepped forward, his irritation clear, but this time Wilfred intervened before he could lash out.

Wilfred turned to Ray and Gary, noting the blood splattered across Gary's uniform. "You two fought well. I'm impressed. Most people freeze in a situation like that, but you managed to take down the Drop Bears. I'm proud of you both."

Delbert scoffed. "They were only basic-tier creatures. When I was their age, I could've done better."

Ray, meanwhile, received a familiar notification from the system:

[Basic Tier Crystal Obtained (1)]

[Would you like to absorb?]

[Yes] [No]

This caught him by surprise. It had been some time since he had last seen such a notification. Back when he was hunting beasts in the Black Forest to prepare for the assessment, he had received three crystals from wolves before the messages stopped appearing. No matter how many more beasts he had slain, the system had not rewarded him with additional crystals. The same had happened with the Crazed Monkeys. It seemed there was a limit to how many crystals he could obtain from each type of beast.

For now, he chose to store the crystal, hiding his ability from the others. He still didn't know whether this system was unique to him or something that other humans also experienced. The last thing he wanted was to become a test subject for human experimentation.

Yet another thought lingered in his mind—why had the Shadow Beast looked at him so intently? Could it sense something inside him? Or was it related to the knights' mission?

Before they resumed their journey, Wilfred pulled Ray and Gary aside and made them swear an oath not to speak of the Shadow Beast to anyone. He didn't explain why, but his tone left no room for argument.

With that, the group quickly mounted their horses and set off toward Renny Town. The remainder of the journey was uneventful. A few hours later, they arrived at their destination.

The gates of Renny Town stood before them, surrounded by towering stone walls that stretched twenty feet into the sky. Soldiers and knights stood guard, stationed both outside and along the walls. It was an impressive level of security for a town, rivaling that of many cities.

"Why so many guards?" Ray asked Wilfred.

"Renny Town is a crucial base for us," Wilfred explained. "Without it, there would be no future knights to protect the kingdom. In many ways, this town is more important than some of Alure Kingdom's cities."

"I thought you said we were far from the border," Ray questioned.

"Even though Shadow Beasts rarely appear here—maybe one or two strays—it's not them we're guarding against," Wilfred said gravely. "The true threat is the Dark Guild."

"The Dark Guild?" Gary perked up with curiosity.

"I've heard of them," Gary said. "They're a group that wants to see the fall of Alure Kingdom. Their leader was once a member of the Avrion Academy council before he was banished."

Gary flashed a smug look as if he had just recited some grand trivia, much to Ray's amusement.

"Why was he banished?" Ray asked.

Wilfred smiled knowingly. "Relax, young ones. You'll learn all about this in your education. For now, take a good look at Renny Town—you'll be spending the next ten years of your life here, training to become true knights."