## Chapter 267 – (18)
‘Interesting ability.’
“T, thank you.”
“…Sir Knight, that woman is talking to herself…”
Ethan said to me, his eyes shaking.
Well, from an outsider’s perspective, it would look like some woman was screaming and then answering herself.
Honestly, I couldn’t blame them for thinking I was a bit strange.
Now I understood why Clara had to hide her magic.
Reading minds.
For some people, that would be worse than black magic.
They wouldn’t want their inner thoughts exposed.
I was fine with it.
With my own shady thoughts being revealed.
It didn’t bother me that much.
“Ugh…”
It seemed she was the one who felt uncomfortable.
She read my mind and lowered her head.
This is quite something.
‘She even heard about Nella and Rebecca’s secrets.’
“Ugh…”
Clara, burdened by the heavy secrets, groaned and clutched her head.
She had learned of an unbearable darkness.
Now, every time she saw Rebecca or Nella, this thought would come to mind.
Oh dear.
I could sympathize with Clara to some extent.
I was the same when I first gained the ability to read Seongbyeok.
Even ordinary people on the street often had incredible Seongbyeoks.
Swishㅡ.
“Huh?”
Then Clara moved away.
“Ah.”
Could it be that?
Because she heard I could read Seongbyeoks, she was worried hers would be read?
That must be why she distanced herself.
It seemed Clara’s magic worked that way.
She could read thoughts based on distance.
I didn’t have anything like that.
If I wanted to read it, I could read a Seongbyeok no matter how far away they were.
Even nowㅡ
[Seongbyeok: Masochist, Sex]
[Affection: +40]
It was all clearly visible.
The same Seongbyeok I saw on the first day.
Her affection had increased quite a bit.
I wonder why.
I don’t remember trying to impress her.
“It’s the same.”
Masochist written on her Seongbyeok.
Recently, there were many masochists around me.
…No, wait.
I made one of them that way.
“It’s normal. Whatever.”
Now, that level of Seongbyeok seemed normal.
Clara, who had moved away, hesitated, then waved her hand and joined the class.
Clara wasn’t exempt from the class like Ethan and I were.
I wonder if that magic could be used in combat?
Reading the minds of wolves might be helpful.
What about slimesㅡ
Do they even think?
“But, I don’t see any monsters.”
“That’s right.”
It was quite quiet, considering we were told this was a prime habitat for slimes and wolves.
Did they all run away because a bunch of people suddenly showed up?
“It’s nice and peaceful.”
“Ugh… When you say thatㅡ”
“Kyaaaa!”
“…See?”
A woman’s scream echoed from afar.
Ethan was flustered and jumped up from his seat, then ran towards the sound of the scream.
“I’ll go first!”
“Wow…”
The protagonist was different.
Even the way he immediately ran towards the scream.
His skill in setting up flags.
There was a lot to learn.
I also quickly made a small dagger out of ice and ran after Ethan.
Swish, swish.
Running through the bushes.
I lost Ethan after entering the forest, but I used my Mind’s Eye to read the sounds and presences, surveying my surroundings.
The problem was, there were too many presences.
‘There are a lot of animals and monsters.’
Because the creatures were startled by the scream and moving around, it was a little difficult to find the right presence.
I wondered if I should use the map skill.
But the map only showed the main characters.
Among the people displayed, there was no one who would scream.
At least Ethan, who had gone ahead, was shown on the map.
But I wasn’t sure if Ethan was heading in the right direction.
It would be nice if the woman screamed again.
“Haa.”
That was impossible.
I paused for a moment and sensed the energy.
Let’s read the mana.
Since the one in danger was definitely a mage from the Magic Tower, I only read the presences of those with mana.
That way, I could only read the presences of monsters and mages.
Two places far away.
There was a mage confronting a monster.
Which one was it, which one screamed?
“Huff, huff…”
Then, I heard a small breath behind me.
It was a mage with mana.
“…Clara?”
I opened my eyes and saw Clara.
Did she follow me?
“That, that way. Over there!”
Clara pointed somewhere with her finger.
It was the direction Ethan had gone.
I quickly glanced at Clara’s expression and then ran like an arrow.
I trusted her.
The direction she told me after reading their thoughts.
Swish, swishㅡ!
Thud, crack!
I ran, smashing through bushes and branches.
I didn’t need to avoid them; those things couldn’t even scratch my body anymore.
And in the distance, I saw people.
“Sob, sob…”
Two female students were kneeling and crying.
And Ethan was confronting something.
He found the women just fine.
Was it the protagonist buff?
Or did he use some kind of detection magic?
I looked at the monster Ethan was confronting.
“What is that?”
A wolf?
No, it was similar but much bigger.
A wolf the size of a mid-sized car was drooling.
It looked like a wolf, but it was definitely a monster, not an animal.
“Grrr…”
The low growl was even a little eerie.
Ethan rushed towards the wolf monster with a sword he had pulled out from somewhere, butㅡ
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
The wolf swung its front paw, and Ethan had to stop his charge and roll to the side.
Thwack!
The wolf’s claws stuck into the ground.
Scratch, scratch, scratch!
The wolf scraped its embedded claws along the ground.
Then, three clear claw marks were etched into the earth.
Its claws were sharper than most swords.
“Haa, haa… What’s going on?”
Rebecca arrived behind me.
Did she also have some kind of detection magic?
Well, she did see the massage through the door and ran away.
“That giant wolf is…”
“…Why is that wolf here… Originally, they only come out from behind the lake far away…”
She seemed to already know about the wolf.
And that wary expression.
It didn’t seem like an ordinary wolf.
“This isn’t the time for this, we need to call someone…”
Rebecca looked anxious.
“Leave it to me.”
“Huh? What…”
Reluctantly, I slowly approached the wolf.
Was it an animal’s instinct?
Even though I approached quite quietly, the wolf glared at me.
“Sir Knight!”
Ethan, who saw me following the wolf’s gaze, looked at me as if he had seen a savior.
Then, his expression became serious and he shouted.
“Be careful! Magic doesn’t work on this wolf!”
“Huh?”
Why would that be a problem?
“We’re knights, aren’t we?”
We were supposed to stay at the Magic Tower for a month, but.
We were knights.
And a knight order that dealt with monsters.
I wasn’t even used to using magic in combat yet.
I threw a dagger made of ice as a test.
“Grrr…”
Swish!
Making a sound like cutting through the wind, the dagger flew towards the wolf’s eye.
Clang!
“Hmm…”
The ice dagger bounced off as if it had hit some kind of wall.
“That’s…!”
Rebecca seemed to realize something.
I was curious about what it was, but.
I put it off for later and held out my hand to Ethan.
“Ah…!”
Realizing the meaning of my hand, Ethan threw his sword to me.
Whoosh!
Thump.
I caught the heavy greatsword in the air.
It was a weapon I didn’t usually use, but.
Once again, swordsmanship showed its worth.
Swing, swing.
It was enough to swing it lightly.
A clean sword path was drawn, worthy of being called a master of the greatsword.
“Woof! Woof!”
“Kyaaaa!”
The wolf barked warily.
As if reacting to it, the two women who had collapsed screamed.
The wolf no longer looked at Ethan.
It completely fixed its gaze on me, baring its white teeth.
The wolf lowered its stance.
Tsssk.
I could see the soil under its hind legs being dug into.
It meant it was gathering strength.
I also lowered my stance and raised my sword.
“Now…”
“Grrr… Woof!”
With a loud roar, the beast leaped.
Thwack!
Like releasing a drawn arrow.
The launched beast instantly reached right in front of me.
“Monsters are monsters, I guess.”
How could a body the size of a mid-sized car leap so quickly?
The beast that came before my eyes struck down with both front paws at the same time.
Sharp black claws came at me simultaneously.
“Eugh!”
I swung my sword with all my might.
It deflected mana, but what about this?
The massive greatsword gradually turned red.
Hot heat rose from the crimson blade.
The wolf’s claws were right in front of my face.
Whooshㅡ!
Leaving a red afterimage, the sword was swung.
Thud.
Thud, thud, thud.
The wolf’s claws were cleanly cut off and fell to the ground.
“Krrraa!”
The beast was not to be underestimated.
If claws didn’t work, it would use its teeth.
The wolf opened its mouth wide and thrust its teeth forward.
It came to bite my neck.
Whoosh!
The sword, swung once again, was faster and more concise than before.
Slice.
Thud.
Without any particular resistance, it severed the neck.
Whoosh.
Crackle, crackle.
The fur around the severed neck burned, and smoke rose.
The smell of burning flesh and fur came before the smell of blood.
It was better than the smell of blood.
Was it thanks to the smoke?
Or was it thanks to the students who had screamed earlier?
People began to gather one by one.
“…”
Everyone took turns looking at the burning wolf corpse and me.
“A knight…”
“Cool…”
“That big wolf…”
I enjoyed the attention and nodded.
It was a moment when the perception of knights improved.
Are you watching, Commander Dana?
I plunged the sword into the ground.
Hiss.
While the heated sword cooled, I was examining the wolf.
Meanwhile, Ethan was helping the fallen students from the Earth class.
“Sigh, that’s how you become a protagonist.”
I shouldn’t have been examining the wolf’s corpse.
I reflected a little.
But I did find something.
Something was wrapped around the severed wolf’s neck.
Something like a necklace that was hidden in the fur and couldn’t be seen.
It was a little burnt, but the shape could be identified.
