Turning around, Robert, Oliver and Zack saw a portly man dressed in the characteristic black uniform of a Magic enforcer - except the man's uniform featured blue stripes on the left chest, and he wore a matching regulation hat. The man must have ran all the way from one of the watchtowers, judging by his heavy panting and sweat-soaked shirt, the buttons straining with each inhalation. After barely catching his breath, the man stood up straight and wiped the sweat from his forehead, before refocusing his attention on the boys.
"I said come over here!" he shouted.
The boys feigned confusion. "You mean us?" Zack asked.
"Yes, I mean you three!" the man bellowed.
"Oh," Zack muttered pretentiously. The trio walked over to the man, who was still struggling to catch his breath. He looked them up and down with a stern and confused expression on his face.
"Are you three nitwits out of your minds? Planning to get yourselves killed, huh? What were your plans exactly, in that forest? Feed yourselves to the beasts? I had to run over immediately I heard you guys planning to scale that wall. If I wasn't a Sound wizard, you two would have just gone over that wall without any of those lazy soldiers up there finding out!" The man spoke to them as if they were animals, muttering something about some Morred person who was supposed to be on patrol.
"Which one of those questions do you want us to answer first, sir?" Zack spoke up when he noticed the other two looking at him. In truth, he had unwittingly taken on the role of the group's spokesperson ever since they almost got arrested during the incident with Chuck. He had an outspoken nature and a knack for bending the truth, adept at using words to influence a situation.
"Answer all!" the man barked impatiently.
Zack cleared his throat, walking closer. "Well, sir, we were actually planning to go into the forest to hunt for magic beasts," he said.
"Hunt... hunt for... hunt for magic beasts?" the man stuttered, visibly taken aback. Had these kids watched too much cartoon or something?
"Those two are merely second rank Common wizardy,s and you, you're not even a wizard!" the man exclaimed. "How do you three hope to defend yourselves against Plant monsters and other dangerous creatures that live in there? Do you have any idea what you're getting yourselves into? If you do not vacate this area immediately, I'll have no choice but to detain you three for violating military orders, illegal entry into a military zone, and reckless endangerment - in fact, attempted suicide! I don't want to have to do that, so please just leave now and I'll pretend this never happened." The man's voice was stern and commanding.
Zack's shoulders lifted in a casual shrug, and his silver ring glowed surreptitiously. "Alternatively," he said, "I could simply do this." A miniature, purple metal ball materialized in his fist. He squeezed it tightly, and then offered it to the soldier, who accepted it, clearly confused. As soon as the man accepted the ball, it began to release a hissing, purple gas that clouded his face.
"And what the hell is this supposed to be..." the soldier trailed off. His eyes abruptly widened in alarm. But before he could utter another word, his eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Zack watched his plump body fall, his grin turning into a wide smile.
Then, he whipped around to face Robert and Oliver. "Quick, over the wall, and don't not breathe until you're clear of the gas!" he shouted, before pivoting and racing towards the wall with ounce of speed he could muster. Oliver and Robert took off in tandem, their rapid footsteps pounding the sandy ground, their breathing on standby.
All they could recall was the piercing sound of an alarm, and the frantic scene of wizards dashing out of the nearest watchtower and giving pursuit. Some chased on foot, while others were mounted on various magic beasts, clearly determined to intercept them. The trio ran as fast as they could, and could feel their hearts racing wildly in their chests, fueled not just by their energetic sprint, but also the gripping dread of being caught.
One by one, they used their various abilities to scale the towering metal wall. Oliver cast the Snow bed spell as he got closer to the border, conjuring up a thick layer of snow to form an inclined plane beside the wall. He repeated the spell multiple times, forming a steep but steady slope that allowed him to ascend and clear the wall with ease.
Robert stood next to the wall. He thrust his hands downwards and focused his thoughts on the ground beneath his feet. He felt a surge of power pour out of his hands, and slowly, the ground beneath him began to rise, as if swelling, lifting him higher and higher. Robert focused until he was level with the top of the wall, and then he sprang across, landing safely on the other side. Zack, meanwhile, activated his space ring and his jetpack materialized on his back. He took off into the air, soaring over the wall and giving the chasing soldiers a cheeky salute as he disappeared behind the border.
"Halt!" ordered a grey-haired man, who seemed to be the leader of the group of soldiers giving chase. The men behind him immediately ceased their pursuit, their faces expressing puzzlement.
"There's no sense in following them into the rainforest," the gray-haired soldier said, addressing the others. "Those kids were determined to go in there, and we would only be putting our own lives at risk by following them." He ran his hand along the neck of his magic beast; a Stripped Shadow Lynx. "Return to the tower!"
"But sir, what about their bodies?" a soldier asked, clearly perplexed.
"Their families can always hire adventurers to retrieve their remains later, Garien. Besides, we all know there won't be any piece of them left to recover; the beasts in there would have taken care of that." The gray-haired man pointed at a female soldier. "Casse, go with Garien, inform the Yonder News that three unidentified young males crossed the border into the rainforest without permission, and that they assaulted a soldier on patrol who attempted to stop them," the man's tone was cold but casual, as if nothing of significance happened. "They were determined to enter the forest, and we were unable to stop them, as they had a head start. I want you two to make sure that the news knows that we did everything we could to prevent this tragedy, and that we bear no responsibility for what happened."
Garien nodded, though his expression was heavy with doubt. "Alright, sir."
__
On the other side of the wall, Oliver and Robert fell to the ground in a tumble of limbs and panic, while Zack landed gently and gracefully beside them, using his jetpack to slow his descent. The boys caught their breath, looking around in wonder at the environment they had found themselves in. The trees were remarkably tall, and the air was thick with the scent of rich, damp soil. Everywhere they looked, there was lush foliage of diverse colours, and the canopy of the trees was so dense that it seemed to blot out the sun.
"Damn, that was a close call!" Robert exclaimed, brushing the leaves off his clothes. "Thanks to your purple gas thing, we're not facing an angry troop of soldiers right now." He flashed a grin at Zack.
"You're very welcome," Zack said with a smile. "It's a sleeping gas I created with the leaves from a Zema Climber plant, which my grandfather gave me on my eleventh birthday. I knew it would come in handy someday. I call it..."
Oliver interrupted him.
"Let me guess," he said, his expression blank. "You were going to call it 'Zack's Sleeping Gas'?"
Zack blinked in surprise. "How did you know?"
Oliver's face fell in exasperation. "Because you always name your stupid inventions after yourself!" He retorted, sounding more annoyed than indifferent. Zack released a self-satisfied smirk.
Robert whispered suddenly. "Quiet, quiet, both of you hush - can you hear that?" His attention was drawn to some faint rustling coming from the nearby bushes. In front of them lay a vast expanse of trees and dense vegetation.
Zack's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Damn, this is just like a real adventure... our first challenge!" he whispered. "Wait, I'll use my sound amplifier to listen..." And then it happened. In a jolting flash, a white, dog-like creature leapt out from behind a nearby bush. Baring its canines, the creature swiped its extended claws towards Zack's neck. Zack barely had time to react, and he could only throw his hands up in a feeble attempt to protect himself. The creature's claws drew very close to Zack's neck, but abruptly, an earthen hand erupted from the ground and closed around the creature, holding it in a vice-like grip, it's claws mere inches away from Zack's throat. This entire sequence transpired in only two seconds.
Zack, though unscathed, was overcome with a sudden wave shakiness and weakness. "I'm still alive?" he thought, stunned. Just a moment before, he had been only a few inches away from a gashed trachea! His legs trembled beneath him, and he staggered back, but Oliver moved to support him, grasping him firmly before he could collapse.
"Zack you absolute idiot! You could have gotten yourself killed!" Oliver burst out, his hushed voice barely concealing his panic and anger, as he helped Zack regain his balance. "We're in a really dangerous forest, and can't afford to let our guard down. We've not checked your map to know our location, so we gotta be extra careful. For all we know, this could be a black-marked area!" Oliver let Zack go and began to gather his magic energy, preparing to defend himself.
"I... I'm sorry, guys," Zack muttered, his voice shaky. "I spaced out, it's all..." he trailed off, still trembling from shock.
"Save it! Now's the time to earn your life!" Oliver whispered urgingly. Zack gave a nervous nod, taking in deep breaths to calm himself down.
Robert asked, "What sort of beast is this?" peering curiously at the struggling creature. "And what level is it?" He poured more of Poison's magic energy into the Hand of God spell, tightening it's grip on the beast's body, and applying a crushing pressure that ended it's life.
Oliver's mocking voice sounded in Robert's mind. "You've not learnt to gauge a beast's level yet? And here I was thinking were finally getting the hang of things." Robert's shoulders dropped defeatedly as he thought back, "Seriously, now?"
Zack, his composure restored, took out his laptop and unfolded it, balancing it on his arm. "That there is a Burrowing White Wild dog," he said, his eyes scanning the information on the screen. "They typically live in burrows and are usually found in packs of at least thirty members. They're quite fast, but they don't have any remarkable special abilities other than a small amount of control over the Wind element. Most of them don't advance past level nine in their lifetime, but there is usually one pack leader that reaches level ten. All we have to worry about is their teeth and claws," Zack explained solemly, stowing his laptop back into his space ring.
A red 'Zack's Explosive Ball' appeared in Zack's fist, his expression becoming more focused as he prepared to defend himself. "There's probably at least thirty Burrowing White wild dogs surrounding us, with a pack leader somewhere nearby."
Robert swallowed hard, while Oliver looked vigilant yet calm, their eyes darting around their surroundings, their magic energies at the ready. The last thing they wanted was to be caught in a fight with a pack of ferocious magic beasts. Robert's imagination was already running wild with terrifying scenarios, including the gruesome and daunting possibility of being devoured alive!
"So what do we do now?"
There was silence.
"Alright, guys," Zack spoke up, taking charge of the situation. "We need to get these dogs out of hiding. Robert, release a Lightning shock spell at the left flank. Oliver, rain Light arrows down on the right. I'll take care of what's in front of us."
The trio stood back-to-back against the border wall, ready for combat. Zack took the lead, throwing the bomb he was holding into the bushes in front of them. There was a deafening explosion, and the bushes erupted in flames, sending charred white bodies flying and a few white dogs scurrying away from the area.
Robert cast the Lightning shock spell in the direction he was facing, creating a powerful wave of electricity that surged forward. The Lightning shock spell was designed for mass electrocution, and Robert used it to flush out the hidden dogs. The sudden and excruciating shock caused all fifteen dogs concealed in the bushes within the spell's range to leap up in alarm and scatter in different directions.
As for Oliver, he cast the Rain of Light arrows spell, aiming them to the right of the group. He had the spell amplification perk from Xolomon, therefore, he was able to summon fifteen arrows in total, just like a fourth-rank Common Light wizard, even though he was still in the second rank. The Rain of Light arrows spell stood out as the most powerful offensive Common Light spell, similar to the Thunderbolt spell. However, to truly make a significant impact, Oliver would need to be as strong as a 5th rank Common wizard. At that level, he could summon no less than 20 arrows, with the potential to conjure even more as he progressed further.
The arrows rained down, and the dogs hiding close by let out panicked yelps and fled wildly, frantic to get away from the area. Some took arrows to the limbs, while others that were not so lucky had Light arrows protruding from their abdomen, and in one horrific case, an eye. The ones that were hit tried to limp or hobble away as best they could, and soon, that were all out of sight. The Light arrows continued to fall for a moment, until finally, the spell was complete and the group was left in an unsettling silence.
Oliver's voice cut through. "Wait, they're all running away instead of attacking us."
"Hopefully that's normal behavior for them, right?" Robert's asked, glancing at Zack anxiously, his eyes begging Zack to "please, say yes."
Zack shook his head. "Unfortunately not; Burrowing White Wild dogs are typically aggressive and territorial. They wouldn't flee like this unless..." Zack's voice trailed off as a sharp, deep bark resonated ominously from the depths of the dense vegetation surrounded them, not far away. "Unless they're calling for reinforcement!"
A cold chill ran down their spines.