Chapter 197 Thief



The quiet forest was not so quiet that day. People were running around, looking for the Night Shade Wolf.

Damian was among them, but he was different. He was as quiet as a snake crawling before pouncing on its prey. No one could hear him, and no one could see him. He was an agile man, jumping from tree to tree.

He was not using his invisibility cloak or his telekinesis to fly. Those were meant to stay as secret weapons. The power and mastery Damian had over his own body was more than enough to fight the wolf.

It took Damian three hours to track down the wolf. He found it at the top of a tree, sleeping as if it were its home.

The wolf's eyes opened when Damian got close. They were deep purple, and the wolf's fur was black. It was at least three times the size of an ordinary wolf, and there was a purple energy around its body.

Damian drew his sword, the one he had bought in Ishgand. "Come to me," he said, entering a fighting stance.

The wolf did not immediately attack. Instead, it turned invisible, vanishing from Damian's sight.

"I hate this!" Damian said. He had never been in a fight against an invisible enemy before. But he was confident in his keen senses.

He put all thoughts from his mind and focused on the fight. He listened for any sound, smelled for any scent, and watched for any movement. He did not want to miss a single thing.

A muffled sound entered his ears. Few people would have the senses and the reaction speed to counter it, but Damian did. It was the sound of a small branch breaking behind him.

Damian turned around and used his sword to block an invisible paw attack. The sound of metal colliding with the wolf's sharp claws echoed through the forest. Before the wolf could run away, Damian swung his sword, cutting the wolf's right leg.

The leg did not come off, but a nasty wound was on it. The wolf howled in pain and blood dripped to the ground. Damian could now see the wolf clearly.

"It seems your invisibility is ruined, big wolf," Damian said, mocking the wolf.

Perhaps that was not a good thing. Because right after he said that, the wolf channeled the purple energy around its body, creating a massive paw with it.

'What's that?' Damian thought.

The next thing he knew, the paw was coming at him in a fast manner. It was not something he could avoid, not with his limited usage of abilities.

'F*ck. I will only use the Slime Ring then,' Damian thought.

He activated the ring, creating a black shield, blocking the spell. The force behind the attack was great, and Damian was knocked back a few steps. He held against the attack for a few seconds before it vanished.

The wolf was shocked after seeing Damian block the attack. It should not be possible, and its instincts were telling it to run away from Damian.

But there was no way Damian would allow that! He created tentacles using the Slime Ring, and those tentacles bound on the wolf's legs, making it stop in place.

"I am sorry for this," Damian said aloud, swinging his sword, cutting the wolf's head off.

A clean cut that would only show Miller how good of a swordsman Damian was.

'I did it faster than I thought!'

Damian was proud of himself for finishing the task so quickly. His prediction was to finish it later that night or maybe in the morning of the next day, but things went smoother than he thought.

'I should get back now,' Damian thought.

He grabbed the wolf's head and put it inside his Spatial Ring. As for the body, he put it on his shoulder, and made his way back to the castle.

The way back went smoothly, at least for a while. No other beast tried to attack him, and no other human appeared in his vision, until he could see the castle in the distance.

Suddenly, someone jumped from the forest, appearing right in front of Damian. It was not someone Damian knew, but his face resembled someone who was with him in the room when Miller spoke about the mission.

"Are you participating in the test too?" Damian asked.

The person was a muscular man with many scars on his face and body, wearing a leather armor, a fur cloak, and he had a two-handed sword on his back.

"Yes," the man said, laughing like a maniac right after, "I was waiting for someone like you!"

"Someone like me?"

"Yes! Why bother to go after the wolf myself? All I have to do is wait for someone to kill it, and then attack you! You should be tired by this point, right? This wolf is no easy prey!"

"Really? Look, I am warning you, this is stupid…"

Damian guessed the man was scared of facing the wolf by himself, not confident in his own abilities. Why would he wait for someone like that if that was not the case?

A man who could not take down a wolf was no adversary for Damian, but despite his warning, the man still tried to attack him, dashing toward him wielding a two-handed sword.

Damian dropped the wolf's body, grasping his sword, which was way smaller than the one his adversary had. However, when the two swords clashed, it was not Damian who retreated a few steps, but the other way around!

"I must say you are not bad."

"Not bad? Are you sure I am only this?" Damian said with a smirk.

The man yelled in agony right after, feeling pain in his left arm, which had been cut! Damian not only blocked the attack, but attacked once again so fast the man did not see it!

"Agggrrr."

With that blow, the fight was over. Damian looked at him and said, "You are lucky I don't want to kill you. Don't try something funny again."

Damian then turned around to grab the wolf's body again, but it was not there anymore!

"W-What? Where is the proof of my success? WHERE IS IT? I WILL KILL WHO TOOK IT!!!"

Damian looked around, but he could not see anyone else in the area. He had no idea who could have taken the wolf's body, but he was determined to find out.