Chapter 39 – A Long Night

The participants who arrived alongside Franko raised their weapons, but only Maria stood there, visibly conflicted.

“What is the meaning of this?!” Maximus roared, raising his staff and positioning himself before the wolf, with Sprout in his Devourer puppet joining as well, standing fiercely at his side, whipping at the ground.

Silex observed the wolf’s state and then gazed upon Maximus’s firm stance, nodding approvingly as he, too, turned against Franko and the rest, snapping his maw in warning.

Embi, on the other hand, meekly floated onto Silex’s head, having spent too much energy in the prior fight and now needing to rest.

“We need to defeat that wolf for the quest, and it has already killed many of us. Please understand, I am still very grateful to you for all your help, but…” Franko said, his face growing colder with resolve.

“Let it be, Franko; we owe him that much. Maybe the quest can be fulfilled this way as well?” Maria cut in, her voice strained yet firm.

“Well, the danger has passed, and nothing is happening. I’m afraid that we still have to kill it!” Franko said seriously as he steadied and aimed his rifle.

“Then you leave me no choice.” Maximus sighed, and Spore Cloud burst from his location like a misty wave, silently enveloping everyone. As the wave settled, Maximus released Entangle as well, binding the paralyzed group in writhing roots.

But just when he thought he had resolved the situation, Maria’s body shone like a rising lunar star, and she shattered the roots binding her, leaping in front of Maximus with her swords raised in a battle stance. “Unfortunately for you, such weak crowd control skills do not work on me.” She said with a confident smirk.

“Please go and leave them be. You don’t want the whole village hunting you down now, do you?” Maria threatened, her tone sharp.

“I understand that they want to avenge their friends, but he was not in control of himself. I also understand the need to finish a quest, but I’m asking you to let him go, just this once.” Maximus urged.

“I’ll make sure they do nothing about it. I owe you, after all, and your friends. The quest will fail after one more day anyway.” Maria added.

Maximus sighed. Those two might’ve been partially right. Maximus sighed again, more deeply this time. “You are a poor excuse for a leader. Survive the horde without my help, good luck!” Maximus spoke coldly before turning to Maria. “Remember what I told you; make sure that he is the one you truly want to give your time and life to. If you ask me, he isn’t worth it.” Maximus added coldly.

He rushed forward and picked up two small pouches where Brock and Amy had fallen, alongside a set of daggers and a skill stone that appeared as Amy exhaled her last breath.

He then cast Rejuvenation once more on the wolf and had Silex help him carry the wounded beast, but not without protest.

He stored Sprout’s puppet and recalled Embi to rest, then muttered one last thing to Maria.

“If I see them following me, I will not be merciful again. We have no enmity otherwise; let it remain that way.” He added, morphing into Cat Form, and departed as fast as Silex could run with the heavy beast on his back.

***

Minutes later, as the spores faded and Franko was finally able to speak, he shouted, fuming, “What the fuck, Maria?! All those rewards, and you just let him escape? We have barely gotten a couple of levels from all of this, and no skill stones or anything, due to them being fucking summons! For fuck’s sake, why are you always so damn stubborn?!” Franko shouted, still bound tightly by the roots. Actually, all of them were still bound; it seemed that the group that came was physically very weak.

“He helped us fend off the mad beast and the Skill Hunters. You fucking idiots had four, FOUR fucking Skill Hunters in the village and had no idea about it. We barely fought them off. If it wasn’t for him, not only would we be dealing with the wolf, but those bastards would’ve attacked us from behind.” Maria shouted back, completely done holding anything back.

“Mighty leader thinks he is all that. You know what, fuck you.” She kicked dirt into his face and turned, heading back into the village, the monster horde set to arrive later that day, and she needed to recover.

“Hey, Maria, dear, I didn’t know, okay? Come back, please, just let me loose.” Franko begged, his anger cracking into desperation, but she didn’t even slow her pace.

“Well, dear leader, we fucked up royally, didn’t we?” George sighed and activated Burning Barrier, the flames licking outward as they burned the roots off his skinny body.

He then launched fireballs to burn away the remaining bindings, freeing the rest of the group. “So, what now? Do we chase after the druid or after your woman?” He asked, exhausted, rubbing his arms.

“Go back. We’re spent, and the horde will strike today; there’s no time for chasing someone as dangerous as that guy. Fuck…” Franko cursed, wiping dirt from his face as his jaw tightened, and the group hurried after Maria.

***

Andre lay behind Toby, recovering, as the phantom white snake carried them close to the Wildlands before dispersing like smoke, leaving the two to hide within the woods that grew thicker the closer they came to the Wildlands.

As Andre finally came to, he completely lost it. “What the fuck, Toby? You were absolutely useless. I thought that you, being the boss, meant that you could actually do something. But nothing? Not a single fucking thing, you just fainted like a little girl?” Andre shouted, whatever respect he once held for their mysterious leader was now completely gone.

“Shut up!” Toby snapped as he surged forward and grabbed Andre by the throat. “Do you think you are stronger than me just because of all of this?” He squeezed harder, making Andre gasp for air and claw desperately at his grip, but to no avail; it felt as though he had been caught by a predator that had no intention of letting go of its prey.

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“Let… go…” Andre rasped, his vision beginning to blur.

Toby scoffed and tossed him aside like trash. “I was forbidden from attacking him due to certain reasons, and my own spell backfired on me. That’s why I couldn’t do anything,” Toby replied coldly, before his expression twisted and he shouted almost manically, “But if you think you can talk to me like that, you’ve got it all wrong!”

Andre knelt on the ground, silent, yet his mind churned violently. I’ll get you for this, you nepo fucker.

***

Maximus and his ragtag party moved for over an hour before arriving at the river that cut through the First Plane, the very same river that split off into the swamp from which Silex came.

Maximus transformed back into his human form and gently lowered the wolf onto the ground, while Silex slid eagerly into the waters, overjoyed, and even Sprout jumped off Maximus and sank into the shallow waters near the bank, letting its roots drink in the plentiful water numina.

Maximus cast Rejuvenation once again on the wolf and carefully forced him to drink some of the potion before taking out the troll’s corpse and cutting off an arm, then returning the rest to storage.

“Here, eat this; you must be hungry, and the blood within should help speed up your healing,” Maximus said gently.

The wolf raised its scarred head, staring at Maximus intently for a long moment before lowering it and taking a bite of the massive arm.

Quest Completed!
You have successfully tamed the mad beast and helped it regain its reason. Due to your actions and display of overwhelming strength, the wolf has chosen to trust and follow you.

Rewards Earned: Class Trait Unlocked + 2 Extra Levels

Quest Completed!
Your actions have caused the Skill Hunters of the First Plane to halt their merciless hunts. Many perished, while deep mistrust has been sown in the hearts of the survivors.