C9: The boy who cried wolf

With the figure gone, the soldiers naturally were set free. The soldiers immediately knelt in front of the Lord.

"We are incompetent, please punish us!" They bowed their heads in shame. A single man was able to incapacitate the Imperial Army. What a shame it was!

"Don't bother. I didn't expect a cultivator of that level to appear." The Lord said grimly.

"What was his level, my Lord." A curious soldier said.

"First stage of the Third Level."

The soldiers were in shock. It took them almost 10 years to reach the Second level, and that was already fast. They take pride in being the strongest soldiers in the capital but they were sent motionless with just a wave of his hand. Their ego took a hit by the reality.

Once we go back, the training will be harder. Be prepared.

Yes

After the Lord was gone, Yulia immediately went to Fran's side.

Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Seeing the genuine worry on her face warmed Fran's heart.

"I'm okay."

Yulia sighed in relief. "That's good. I was so scared when I couldn't move. How were you able to?"

I don't know

You're at the First Level right?" Adan said.

Yes?" Fran said urging him to continue.

"When we were frozen in place, I felt like my mana was being drained. When we got to move didn't you feel weak, like after a whole day of training?" He said turning to Yulia.

"Now that you say, I do. I didn't bother with it as I thought there was nothing strange about it."

"Are you saying that since I'm only at First Level I was able to move first?" Fran said.

"Exactly."

"That seems plausible." Yulia pondered. "Out of all os us, Fran has the lowest level."

It didn't sit well with Fran that she was weak but it was the thing that saved her today.

The citizens rejoiced at the news that the daemons were defeated. That very night, the town held a feast. Everyone was in the plaza celebrating their victory. As the specialty of the town is wine, all kinds were put out resulting in a fun, chaotic party.

There is no legal age for drinking in this world. You become an adult at the age of 16 which is the same time you attend the academy. Even before then, you can drink if you want. People are only concerned when you act like a drunkard and bother them. In this case, everyone was a drunkard so that was okay.

The night eventually deepened, leaving the men and soldiers. With all their worries gone, the townspeople drank like there's no tomorrow.

The mayor declined to drink and left the scene early. As expected, the same went for the Lord.

They were soon forgotten and continued with their merriment.

This was a new experience to Fran and was excited to try it. She picked up a mug and took a sip.

Her face scrunched up. Why would anyone want to drink something so bitter?

Yulia chuckled watching Fran. She was like a child experiencing things for the first time.

"Here." She offered another mug.

Fran took the drink. She only wanted a taste but a sip became a bottoms up. The whole mug was empty!

Yulia's brows raised. "A-are you okay?"

"That was good." Fran's eyes shone brightly.

"That's enough for you, young lady." Yulia said. "Too much is never good."

As Yulia grew up in a restaurant, she was able to taste all kinds of wine. The best of them came from Cantera. As she already tasted them before, she was composed and savored the wine.

Adan, on the other hand, is a drunkard. He doesn't revel on the taste but yearns for the unrestrained feeling from it. He jugged a couple mugs straight down not feeling the least bit tipsy.

The moon was high up and under Yulia's watch, Fran drank moderately with a few snacks. Adan though, is a mess. He was spouting gibberish as he sat with his eyes fluttering.

Almost everyone has left. Only a few stayed because they were unable to, too drunk to even move.

Seeing his state, Fran vowed to drink in moderation in the future.

"BLO–" Adan jerked forward. "BLURGHHHHH"

Rainbow came out his mouth, only cementing Fran's resolution earlier. The two could only flinch as he spilled out his insides.

Adan's body relaxed, like releasing the pee you've been holding for too long. A good spray of water would be nice to clean him up but none of them had Agua attribute and the well was too far. Fran and Yulia resigned to their fate and carried him back to their quarters.

They trudged along the warehouses dragging Adan in between them. It was silent that night with all the townspeople asleep in pure bliss. The bright moonlight guided them back.

The two was struggling to carry him but pulled to kneel on the ground.

"Hey!" Yulia was about to start her rant when she saw Adan heaving on the ground. He struggled like a fire was inside his body that he can't put out. His body trembled with pain, knowing no way to stop the sudden torture.

"Lean him to the wall." Fran led them to the side of a warehouse. It was even harder to carry him now that his body tremored. She then tore a part of her shirt and shoved it in his mouth to not alert anybody.

"Do you know what's happening to him?" Fran turned to Yulia.

Her eyes filled with worry as she faced Fran. "I don't know. He shouldn't be injured. He would long be in the infirmary if he was. With the pain that he is in, he shouldn't have been able to bear it for that long if he truly was."

Adan bathed in his sweat as he gasped for breath. He clenched his clothes trying to hold the pain.

The sound of his joints breaking echoed in their ears. The bones in his body twisted in awkward angles like something in a horror movie. With every crack came a muffled shout from him. He looked so pitiful.

"I think we should get the Lord." Fran said. "Or better yet the mayor. He can't go on like this."

"I'll go."

Yulia stood up when she felt a hand on her ankle.

"Don't." Adan removed the cloth in his mouth. "I'll be fine."

"What exactly is happening?" Yulia's eyes shone, tears threatening to fall.

"You'll see."

He groaned and twisted in pain. Hair all over his body grew, visible to the naked eye. He was soon on his knees and panting heavily.

In a matter of minutes, a big wolf was in his place. It howled to the moon and ran off to the forest.

Two different thoughts crossed their minds.

"Werewolf." Fran said.

"Beastkin." Yulia said.

They looked at each other and agreed to not speak of this night.