SOUL FORGE CHRONICLES
Chapter 11 — Monster: The Seven-Headed Devil Sheep
"ROARRR!"
Only a few kilometers from Aldric's position, a strange-looking monster was chasing a group of prospective students through the dense forest.
"What in the world is that?!" one student shouted in a panic. He had been resting quietly among the trees when he suddenly saw a group of people sprinting toward him, with a terrifying creature hot on their heels.
"Are you an idiot? That's one of the monsters the academy placed inside the examination hall!" another student shouted back.
Before being selected as prospective students, the word "monster" had been nothing more than a term from old legends. Those legends said that monsters committed countless atrocities and killed without discrimination — but were always slain by great knights in the end, becoming the spoils of heroes.
But when these monsters truly appeared before them in the flesh, everyone realized just how foolish those legends had been.
The creature rampaging before them stood over two meters tall at the shoulder, stretched more than four meters in length, and had seven heads and eight legs. With its sheer weight and momentum alone, it could flatten an entire formation of knights just by charging forward.
What made it even more horrifying was that six of its seven heads had been surgically stitched onto the body.
This was a man-made monster.
The stitched heads roared wildly in all directions, spewing acid and fire from their different mouths, occasionally lowering to snap up students who couldn't get out of the way fast enough. The students fired off spells in retaliation, but many missed their targets entirely due to panic, while those that did connect only managed to leave momentary scratches on the monster's thick hide.
Severed limbs, blood, screams, and howls filled the air. The entire forest had become a living hell.
...
Inside the Grey Tower at the center of the Grey Tower Academy of Magic, two sorcerers sat watching a large crystal ball broadcasting the carnage live.
"Vice Dean, the monsters we released this time are quite effective, aren't they? I crafted every single one with my own hands — the quality is absolutely guaranteed," one of the sorcerers said with obvious pride.
Vice Dean Aldeon lifted his head at those words and adjusted his spectacles. "Jorad, you made them yourself? You lazy creature — you really made something this small with your own hands?"
Jorad immediately fell silent.
"Why aren't you answering?" Aldeon smiled toward Jorad. "As long as you can prove this wasn't the work of your students, I'll serve as your pawn in the next interdimensional war. A third-ring sorcerer as your personal pawn — I guarantee you'll profit enormously in the next war."
"Ahem, Vice Dean, let's just watch," Jorad coughed twice, casually changing the subject. "By the way, why did the Dean suddenly decide to change the examination format this year? Even though we suffered losses last time, our results were still solid. There's no need to rush and recruit more sorcerers all at once."
Vice Dean Aldeon shook his head slowly. "I don't fully know myself."
Although he was the Vice Dean, he didn't always agree with the Dean on this matter. The Grey Tower Academy's standard had always been fewer but better — producing elite sorcerers was the fundamental strategy that had allowed this institution, founded less than one era ago, to gain its footing and grow so rapidly.
"But if the Dean is doing this, he must have his reasons. He is a Fourth-Ring Archmage, capable of receiving messages directly from the Council of Truth. We junior sorcerers just need to quietly follow his lead."
...
As the beast's roars grew closer, Aldric's meditation plans fell apart completely.
He had climbed partway up a large tree, intending to observe what was happening in the distance. But before he could get any higher, a blinding flash of light erupted from the forest nearby.
BOOM!
The sound was almost like a crack of thunder, loud enough to ring in Aldric's ears from hundreds of meters away.
"Sounds like someone used a powerful magic artifact. The beast should be dealt with."
Aldric dropped back down, intending to resume his meditation. But not long after he landed, the terrible roar sounded again — and this time it was much closer.
"Can't even get a moment of peace."
Aldric frowned and immediately activated both Featherweight and Silence on himself. The Silence spell wasn't particularly useful in broad daylight, but in the dim shadows of the night forest, this zero-ring spell practically made him invisible to anything relying on sound or scent alone.
After activating both spells, Aldric concealed himself deep within a cluster of thick bushes and waited. He had no intention of taking unnecessary risks. As long as he played it safe, he was confident he could pass the exam without gambling everything for the sake of a magic item.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The monster's heavy footsteps grew closer, each impact sending clear vibrations through the ground beneath his feet. His resolve to stay hidden only strengthened.
"ROARRR!"
The Seven-Headed Devil Sheep burst through the treeline. Its body, which had once boasted seven heads, now only had three remaining. The other four had been burned to a charred black — as though caught in a series of explosions.
"So this is the monster. It looks more like a test subject than a wild beast."
Aldric examined the large, crude stitches beneath the remaining heads, and a theory formed quickly in his mind. This creature wasn't a natural monster — it was the product of a sorcerer's experiment. Possibly even a student's work.
If this creature was created by human hands, could the Soul Forge extract the method of its creation? Could he eventually build something like this himself?
A burning curiosity flared inside Aldric, but his rational mind immediately cooled those thoughts.
Finish the exam first.
He prepared to wait for the monster to pass — but just then, the wolf's head among the three remaining ones twitched twice sharply.
A wolf's sense of smell was millions of times keener than a human's. Even amidst the thick, damp scent of the ancient forest, the smell of a human being was as clear as sunlight to that head.
"AWOOOO!"
The wolf head let out a long howl, its gaze snapping directly toward Aldric's hiding spot.
He had been found.
Aldric's heart hammered in his chest. Without wasting a moment, he swapped in a fresh magic stone to replace the nearly depleted one in his ring. The old stone only had about one fifth of its capacity remaining — and a monster of this size clearly couldn't be stopped with just a single frost spike.
THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!
The Devil Sheep charged the moment it detected him. Its hooves were the size of large bowls, its roar like rolling thunder. Earth and stone flew in all directions beneath its pounding feet, and withered branches swirled violently in its wake.
It moved like an unstoppable force of nature.
But then, with a thunderous BOOM, the Devil Sheep suddenly lost its footing and crashed violently to the ground. Its massive body carved a long trench through the earth.
Two frost spikes — each a full meter long and as thick as a grown man's arm — had pierced straight through both of its front legs.
Thud... thud... thud...
Aldric clutched his own chest. His heart hammered like a war drum from the adrenaline flooding his body.
If he had been even half a second slower, he would have been crushed to death beneath those hooves. And this was a monster that had already been severely wounded by someone else. Aldric couldn't begin to imagine how terrifying this creature would have been at full strength.
He steadied his breathing and fired one final frost spike — directing it precisely at the one unstitched head as the creature struggled to rise.
The Devil Sheep convulsed violently, then went completely still.
"It's finally dead."
Aldric approached carefully, placed his hand on the body, and waited for the Soul Forge to respond.
Nothing. Not even a flicker.
He furrowed his brow, drew his magic dagger, inserted a magic stone into the handle socket, and opened the creature's abdomen with one clean motion. The blade cut through the thick flesh as easily as soft tofu — no resistance whatsoever.
A flood of pitch-black, foul-smelling blood poured out. The internal organs were already decomposing at a visible, alarming rate. Aldric held his breath against the overwhelming stench, steeled his nerves, and reached inside without hesitation.
When his fingers touched something that was still pulsing deep within — the Soul Forge finally reacted.
[Raw Material: Low-Grade Synthetic Creature Core]
[Refinable Technique: Production of a Low-Grade Synthetic Creature Core]
[Refinement Cost: 15 Mental Energy]
[Refine?]
Aldric stared at the notification echoing within his soul. His eyes slowly began to shine with quiet excitement.
So creatures like this could be made.
And now the Soul Forge could teach him exactly how.
— End of Chapter 11 —