The forest was deadly quiet. No chirping of birds. No buzzing of insects. Just a chilly breeze that carried their footsteps deeper in the woods. Jered's nose and ears were in overdrive as he tried to sniff out the scent and the noise of mana. Evelyn was considerably calm; she didn't see what Jered saw. Santiago and Eun-Kyung were also more or less composed. 

Jered looked up. The sunlight barely made it through the canopy. There was very little visibility. As a matter of fact, a thick mist had bled out of the ground, swallowing their ankles. It was not magical in nature. It didn't contain any trace of mana, but it could have been a collateral effect of thereof, "Be careful, guys. We're getting closer to something," Evelyn warned. Jered had to agree with her. The deeper they marched, the clearer he could feel the mass of mana ahead. 

It was not strong enough that it made him suffocate. It would have been suicide if that was the case. Still, Jered stuck to his theory that whatever emitted those waves of mana had to be either a Lycanthrope or a Wendigo. Those golden eyes wouldn't lie. A rustling on the treetops prompted them to stop and look skyward. Eun-Kyung's eyes glowed a faint green as a burst of mana shot upwards. It snapped the cluster of branches into a shower of splinters and leaves. The black shadow seemed unbothered as it ghosted from tree to tree.

Evelyn narrowed her eyes, "Don't be hasty."

It was unfortunate that Santiago didn't think quite like her, "It's alright. I'll take care of it!" he gathered two swirling orbs of wind in his hands, his eyes flitting back and forth as he struggled to follow the creature's nimble movements across the crown of the trees. It took Santiago a couple of seconds to predict where the creature would jump to next. He quickly fired his spell. The glowing spheres of wind whipped forth at a respectable speed, easily cleaving through the foliage. The creature was caught by surprise and tried to swerve in the opposite direction.

A howl of pain resounded.

"Haha! Yes! I got that motherfucker!"

The black shadow bounced off from one branch to the other before pummeling gruesomely to the ground. 

It was a 6'ft tall bulk of pure muscles and fur, with claws instead of hands, though the rest of its body was quite humanoid. Its mane was matted with fresh blood, its snout curled back into a snarl. Santiago was smart enough not to approach the downed creature, and silently prepared his next spell. Jered curiously analyzed the creature, as did Evelyn, "Wolfkin," they both muttered.

Eun-Kyung sidled up to Evelyn, "What ees it?"

"Half-wolf, half-human. It's one of those instances where humans, for some reason, mate with magical creatures. And this is the by-product of such intermingling. It's strong, and it has enough intelligence to know that its species is frowned upon, and viciously hunted down by Magicians and Swordmasters."

"Let's just kill it!" Santiago butted in roughly, "This thing should not stay alive!"

Jered was tempted to agree with Santiago, but just because the Wolfkin had most likely memorized their scents. If left alive, there was no doubt that it would not be the end of it. Nonetheless, Jered immobilized the creature with his 'Low Telekinesis'. 

"Wait a moment, please," Evelyn raised her hand, "I'm curious to know if it can talk."

Santiago was clearly unsatisfied, but didn't complain.

"Now then," she confidently walked up to the Wolfkin. Jered followed right behind her, "I know you can understand me. But are you intelligent enough to speak?"

"..."

Jered added more pressure to his 'Low Telekinesis'. The Wolfkin growled in retaliation, but it was all it could do.

"No, it doesn't look like it can speak," Evelyn sighed, understandably so. It would have been so much better to wring some information out of it than venture into the unknown. Anything could happen, after all.

The Wolfkin's pride had taken a hit, so it thrashed and struggled against the invisible binding holding it down. 

"H...u...M...a...N...s..S..."

At that, everyone stopped and stared attentively at the Wolfkin.

"Looks like we were wrong," Evelyn smiled gleefully.

Jered tilted his head in wonder, "I don't think it will answer our questions though."

Santiago readily agreed with him, "As I said, we should just kill it! Kill it!"

Then again, in his head, violence was most likely the only solution. Eun-Kyung didn't participate in their discussion, she deferred to whatever Evelyn decided. The Wolfkin didn't want to go down without a fight, "ThE...QuEeN...iS...gIvInG bIrTh..." its snout twisted into a grim smile, "YoU...wiLL...dIe..." it said with a hollow laugh. Of course, a dying creature's last words mattered very little, but there was something that made them uneasy, maybe it was the glint of conviction in its eyes, even in the face of death.

Evelyn's patience had been running thin. The Wolfkin's blatant disregard of its superiors was the icing on the cake. Her sweet smile fell back into a cold line. She grabbed its snout with her manicured hand. Jered was prepared to intervene if things went south because of her lack of self-control, but he had underestimated her. A misty cloud billowed out of the gaps of her fingers. The Wolfkin whined, squirming, and attempting to bite her fingers off. A layer of ice spread from her hand all the way up to its snout, its eyes, and then its whole head.

Jered relinquished his telekinetic grip on the wolf, realizing it had gone limp, its head a block of ice, "So, should we proceed further?" he looked at Evelyn, who was deep in thought. The Wolfkin was not a threat they couldn't deal with, so it was pointless to retreat now. However, it was also true that they didn't know what they were about to face. Magicians were not reckless, and a smart one would always be prepared for the unknown, "It honestly feels like we're being used as expendables to bait out the mastermind behind this crap."

She chuckled, probably because what Jered said wasn't entirely wrong, "Trust me, if we can find out what's going on here, it will elevate our standing in the organization. There are many people vying for the high ranks. Besides, this is a good opportunity for all of you," 'especially you' she didn't need to say it out loud, the way she looked at him made it clear enough. 

They resumed their exploration.

Eun-Kyung whispered something in Evelyn's ears, causing the latter's expression to tighten into a frown. Ten minutes after the Wolfkin's death, the mist around them got thicker, the rustling of the leaves denoting unseen presences around them. It was foolish to think they were alone. They were being watched since they set foot in the forest. The creatures had been careful, standing on the very edge of Jered's radar.

"We're being followed..." Santiago cautioned.

"Their numbers range from 7 to 12," Jered counted, straining his hearing until he had a precise estimate of their foes, "This is the best I can do for now."

Evelyn was impressed, "That's amazing, Jered. Your Mana Sensitivity must be exceptional. Only Elder Magicians are capable of such a feat."

He smiled, "Eun-Kyung is rather special too. She told you the same thing I just did, right?"

The easterner in question was slightly embarrassed, while Evelyn chuckled, "She's quite sensitive too, I reckon. For Ashy Petals to have such a harvest of talents... looks like the World's Spirit is finally blessing us."

"Haha, for sure," he said knowingly.

"Is this really a good time to make chit-chat?" Santiago frowned, "We're basically surrounded."

"Do any of you know any strong water spells?" Jered asked.

Evelyn and Eun-Kyung nodded at him.

"Good."

A shadow suddenly broke from its pack and charged at them. Fortunately, they were on high alert, and hence had been expecting it. However, the Wolfkin's speed was still something that left them in a daze, and almost unable to react. Jered didn't even move. A 'Fire Wall' burst up around the group, successfully mowing down the rushing creature. It had to make an abrupt stop and turn around. However, the limbs of Jered's flames still managed to lick it. 

Its fur ignited, but not for long. The Wolfkin growled, and decided to fall back.

Of course, Jered would never be able to catch up to it. Therefore, he thought it a lovely idea to try out his newest spell. Although it was Lv.1, it was the combination of two strong spells. It was bound to do some heavy damaged. With his hand held aloft, and two fingers pointed forward, a beam of extreme heat sailed forth, faster than the wolf. Before it could hide behind the clump of trees, 'Giza's Gaze' pierced through its back. 

The Wolfkin crashed on the ground, rolling forward until a thick tree blocked its momentum. 

Evelyn was reassured when she saw Jered easily take one of them out, "Well done!" with an uprise of her hands, a dome of water spread out around the fire, compressing it, and promptly snuffing it out. While it was an enticing idea to keep the fire alive, it would have been near impossible to put it out if it swallowed many acres of forestland. At least when it concerned Evelyn's current abilities. 

However, the problem now was that they were prone to more attacks.

Eun-Kyung waved her fingers in an intricate fashion, chanting. Once the spell was woven, three glowing circles of pure mana spun around them, like an atom. She nodded at them, indicating that they should be safe. Jered was not so sure, but it was better than nothing. Santiago clenched his jaw, balled his hands into fists, and gathered mana. Heaps of it, actually. Then, with an exaggerated war cry, he whipped his arms forth. 

A burst of wind kicked up dust and dirt everywhere.

The turbine turned into several blades of violent air, aimed at the hiding wolves, and whizzed through the rustling foliage.

It might have not been the best spell to use at the moment, but Santiago had acted impulsively, his calm broken in the face of multiple enemies. 

"D-Did I get them?"

'No, you didn't, you dimwit.' Jered wanted to facepalm. The spell was flashy, but lacked in power. In fact, it only served to anger the surrounding Wolfkins. Since there was no fire, they were not intimidated by their brethren's death anymore. Santiago's wind spell barely fazed them. Actually, it might have led them to believe that the coterie of Magicians was easy prey.

Evelyn cast a wind spell herself, but it was to clear their vision. Eun-Kyung was too focused on feeding mana into her circles. Admittedly, as an Adept Magician, she could cast up to two spells contemporarily. However, doing so would disrupt her concentration and thus break their protection. 

The crunch of branches, leaves, and pebbles being stepped on rang out ominously.

From their left, right, back, and front.

The shadows finally revealed themselves. With their muzzles wrinkled back, their fangs poking out threateningly, and their eyes narrowed down into slits, the circle of ambushers looked more menacing than they actually were. From a more logical standpoint, the Wolfkins were just defending their territory against the intruders. And they were more than willing to go all out against them. 

Santiago's breathing was coming out in short bursts, his forehead soaked with sweat. Frankly, he didn't have much mana left. So, even though they had the bigger firepower, they were bound to run out of ammo soon or later. The Wolfkins didn't seem to have such a problem. Needless to say, Santiago was under a lot of pressure. This was definitely not what he expected once he agreed to join Ashy Petals.

Eun-Kyung was also fearful. She did have some battle experience, but this? It was way beyond her. She didn't know what to do, or if she was going to survive. The thought made her flinch, her spell flickering from her turbulent emotions.

On the contrary, Jered and Evelyn were calm.

"Eun-Kyung, get a grip! You don't have to worry, just keep the spell going," Evelyn barked, "Santiago, is this really a good time to space out?"

"..."

"..."

Obviously, those two were not going to be of much help. Whatever. She looked to her left, and smiled. Jered's eyes didn't waver. There was not a shift in his expression. His mana was flaring up powerfully, ready to uncoil, to bite, and to hurt. Maybe it was exactly that that made the Wolfkins hesitate. Jered met Evelyn's gaze, and the aura of power in those young eyes made her shiver. 

She nodded at him, feeling incredibly confident of their success.

He nodded back, feeling exactly the same.

They were different from Santiago and Eun-Kyung. They were from a different breed. 

The Wolfkins wouldn't give up in light of this, however. And when their howls broke the lull between them, the war had officially started.