The clearing near the giant skull had changed a lot over the past year.
Where there had once only been open grass and a few scattered stones, a strange training ground now stood between the trees.
Heavy rocks lay chained to thick iron links.
Some were used for dragging across the ground. Others had been carved into crude weights using a hammer and chisel.
Several tree trunks had ropes tied between them, and wooden targets hung from the ropes. When the wind moved them, the targets swung unpredictably from side to side.
Throwing knives were buried in the bark of nearby trees.
A few deep cuts on the trunks showed where sword training had taken place countless times.
Standing in the middle of it all was Asta.
He was thirteen now.
His body had grown taller and broader over the past year. Muscles lined his arms, shoulders, and legs in a way that no one would expect from someone his age.
Heavy weights were strapped to his arms and legs.
Twenty-five kilograms each.
A hundred kilograms in total.
Yet he moved as if the weight barely mattered.
Asta finished dragging a massive stone across the clearing using an iron chain wrapped around his shoulder. The rock scraped loudly against the ground before finally stopping beside another pile of stones.
He released the chain and rolled his shoulders once.
Sweat ran down his back, but his breathing remained steady.
"Still manageable."
A few minutes later he removed the weighted straps from his arms and legs.
The sudden feeling of lightness made his body feel almost weightless.
He flexed his fingers once, then picked up the sword leaning against a nearby rock.
It was the blade he had purchased during his last trip to town.
Not a masterpiece by any means.
But strong enough for real combat.
Asta swung it once through the air.
The sound cut sharply through the clearing.
He nodded slightly.
"Good enough."
Today he wasn't here just for training.
He wanted to test his strength in a real hunt.
---
The forest deeper beyond the clearing was darker and quieter.
Asta moved carefully between the trees, his steps almost silent despite the leaves and twigs on the ground.
Years of training had sharpened his senses.
He could hear the wind brushing against branches.
The rustle of distant animals moving through bushes.
The faint crack of small insects beneath tree bark.
Then another sound reached him.
A low growl.
Asta stopped.
The bushes ahead slowly parted.
A wolf stepped into view.
But it was far larger than a normal wolf.
Its body was nearly as tall as Asta's chest, and faint red light flickered beneath the dark fur along its back. Each breath from its mouth released thin smoke.
A magical beast.
The wolf's eyes locked onto him instantly.
Asta tightened his grip on the sword.
"Well… this should be interesting."
The wolf lunged without warning.
Its speed was explosive.
Asta moved the moment it jumped.
He twisted sideways and two throwing knives flashed from his hand.
Both blades struck the wolf's shoulder.
Sparks burst from its fur as if the beast's hide was heated from within.
The wolf barely slowed.
Its jaws opened wide and a short blast of fire shot forward.
Asta pushed off the ground and grabbed a nearby tree branch, pulling himself upward as the flames scorched the ground beneath him.
He landed lightly on the branch and immediately jumped again, moving to another tree before the wolf could reach him.
The beast circled below, growling angrily.
Then it leapt upward.
Asta dropped from the branch at the same moment.
His feet touched the ground just as the wolf landed behind him.
The beast spun and charged again.
This time Asta pulled an iron chain from his side.
In one motion he threw the chain across the space between two trees.
The wolf didn't notice.
Its front legs struck the chain.
The beast stumbled violently and crashed into the dirt.
It roared in rage and snapped part of the chain apart with sheer strength.
But that brief moment was enough.
Asta was already moving.
He stepped forward and drew his sword.
The wolf lunged again.
Fire flashed in its jaws.
Asta waited until the very last second.
Then he shifted his body sideways.
The wolf rushed past him.
Asta's feet planted firmly on the ground.
His entire body rotated in one smooth motion.
Legs.
Hips.
Shoulders.
All of the force traveled through his arms into the blade.
The sword cut through the air.
One clean horizontal strike.
The blade slashed across the wolf's neck.
The beast stumbled forward several steps before collapsing heavily onto the forest floor.
Silence returned.
Asta stood still for a moment, catching his breath.
Then he lowered the sword.
"Still not enough."
He looked down at the fallen wolf.
Even after all these years of training, he knew stronger enemies existed in this world.
Much stronger.
But this was progress.
Asta lifted the body of the wolf onto his shoulders.
The weight was heavy, but nothing he couldn't carry.
He had just taken a few steps toward the direction of the village when the forest suddenly went silent.
No birds.
No insects.
Nothing.
A moment later the bushes behind him exploded violently.
Asta immediately dropped the wolf's body and spun around.
Five shapes emerged from the trees.
Wolves.
The same kind of magical wolf he had just killed.
But these were alive—and angry.
Their eyes glowed faintly in the shadows, and thin smoke curled from their jaws.
One stepped forward.
It was larger than the others.
Much larger.
Its shoulders were broad, its fur darker, and the glow beneath its skin burned like embers under coal.
The pack slowly spread out.
They were surrounding him.
Asta tightened his grip on the sword.
"A pack… figures."
One wolf suddenly lunged from the left.
At the same moment another attacked from behind.
Asta jumped back and swung his sword, forcing the first wolf to retreat—but the second one slipped past his guard.
Its jaws slammed into his shoulder.
The bite burned.
Fire erupted from its fangs.
"—Tch!"
Asta drove his elbow into the wolf's skull and kicked it away, but the heat from the bite had already scorched part of his shoulder.
The wolf landed and growled again, flames flickering between its teeth.
The large wolf stepped forward slowly.
Then suddenly its jaws opened wide.
Flames erupted outward like a short flamethrower.
Asta twisted away and sprinted between two trees.
The fire blast barely missed him.
But the heat caught his back as he moved.
Pain burned across his shoulder and back, but he ignored it.
Behind him the pack began chasing.
Branches snapped as they ran through the forest.
Asta leapt onto a tree trunk and pushed himself upward, grabbing a branch and jumping to the next tree.
One wolf jumped after him.
Asta threw a knife downward.
The blade struck the wolf's eye.
The beast collapsed with a howl.
Four wolves remained.
The pack leader burst through a bush ahead, cutting off his path.
Its mouth was already glowing.
Asta changed direction instantly.
The leader wolf unleashed another blast of fire as he moved.
The flames grazed his back this time.
The heat stung fiercely.
But Asta didn't slow.
He sprinted downhill through the forest, weaving between trees.
The wolves chased relentlessly.
One leapt and nearly caught his leg.
Asta grabbed an iron chain from his belt and swung it behind him.
The chain wrapped briefly around the wolf's legs, tripping it long enough for him to gain distance.
But the leader kept coming.
Its paws thundered through the forest as flames flickered around its mouth again.
Asta could hear water now.
A river.
The sound grew louder with every step.
He burst through the final line of trees and saw the rushing water ahead.
The river was wide and the current strong.
Perfect.
Asta sprinted straight toward it.
Behind him the wolves were closing the distance.
The leader lunged.
Flames exploded from its jaws.
Asta jumped forward.
The fire grazed his back as he dove into the river.
Cold water swallowed him instantly.
The current pulled him downstream.
On the riverbank the wolves skidded to a halt, growling furiously.
They paced along the edge but didn't follow.
…Asta let the river carry him several hundred meters before grabbing a rock and pulling himself out.
He climbed onto the riverbank and lay there for a moment, breathing heavily.
Cold water dripped from his clothes while the evening wind cooled the burns on his back.
His shoulder throbbed where the wolf's fire fangs had bitten him. The skin there was scorched and red, and the flames from the pack leader had left a long burn across his back.
Asta slowly pushed himself up.
"Yeah… that was reckless."
He looked back toward the direction of the forest.
The wolves had long disappeared into the trees.
For a moment he stood there quietly, replaying the fight in his mind.
The first wolf had been easy.
But the pack had nearly overwhelmed him.
Magical beasts were far more dangerous when they hunted together.
Asta wiped water from his face and picked up his sword.
"Next time…"
He looked toward the dark forest again.
"I'll bring more chains."
With that he began walking back toward Hage Village.
---
Night had already fallen by the time Asta reached the church.
Light from the windows spilled onto the ground outside, and the quiet sounds of the children talking inside drifted through the air.
The moment he stepped into the yard, the door opened.
Sister Lily stepped outside.
She stopped immediately when she saw him.
"Asta!"
His clothes were torn.
Burn marks covered his back and shoulder.
Soot still clung to parts of his shirt.
"What happened to you?"
Asta scratched the back of his head.
"…Ran into a pack of magical wolves."
Her expression immediately sharpened.
"A pack?"
Before he could say anything else, a soft blue glow appeared around her hands.
Water magic gathered gently in the air.
"Stand still."
The cool magic flowed over Asta's shoulder and back.
The burning pain faded almost instantly as the wounds slowly closed.
The scorched skin softened and returned to normal.
Asta sighed.
"That's better."
Sister Lily crossed her arms after finishing the healing.
"You really need to stop doing reckless things."
Asta grinned sheepishly.
"Training."
She shook her head, but couldn't hide the worry in her eyes.
"Next time, be more careful."
Asta nodded.
"Next time…"
His eyes briefly glanced toward the dark forest beyond the village.
"…I'll be ready."