Wolf noticed the cloaked man stealthily approaching, but he believed him to be Barbara’s or Matilda’s guardian. He hadn’t felt a hint of murderous intent from him, and rightfully so. Wolf wasn’t the assassin’s target, the young Duke was.

Only when the assassin started climbing the tree, clenching a short-sword between his teeth, did Wolf realize that he’d made a terrible mistake. He couldn’t fight the assassin, he had to block the bear. Instead, he quickly started casting Subtle Paralyze.

The spell took effect as the man stabbed his weapon at Wayde’s neck. This caused the assassin to lose balance and pierce Wayde’s shoulder instead of slashing the young man’s throat open. However, just his dead weight and the sharpness of his enchanted weapon were enough to pin Wayde to the tree.

“Everyone! Target the assassin with Magic Darts,” Wolf shouted in a panicked voice, while calmly planning his next step. Paralyze had a relatively short duration, so they had to take care of the assassin before the spell expired.

Unlike Wolf, Wayde panicked. He didn’t know that the man staring at him grimly was frozen. In his terror, the young Duke gripped the assailant’s blade with all his might. If the assassin freed his short-sword and stabbed him one more time he’d be dead for sure!

Luckily, a barrage of glowing missiles pelted the man in the head. His cowl exploded revealing a pale face, but the darts made of Soul Force barely drew blood.

Dread washed over Wayde as he stared death in the eyes.

“Keep hitting him with everything you’ve got! Wayde good job, just keep the assassin immobilized!” Wolf shouted, making sure nobody minded what he was doing.

The girls kept rapidly casting their spells, their eyes firmly trained on the assassin, as for Wayde, with the killer looming over him Wolf knew there was nothing else on his friend’s mind.

Wolf decided to gamble and began casting a Subtle Finger of Death to eliminate the Monster Beast he was facing.

Under normal circumstances, Wolf would’ve taken the opportunity to train against an opponent with superior reach, however now wasn’t the time. Cutting off the beast’s leg, then waiting for it to fall the right way while staying safe wasn’t all that simple.

As Wolf finished his spell a spectral finger struck the bear and yanked out the Monster Beast’s spectral double out of its body. The odds of spell failing increased the sturdier the enemy, but considering Wolf’s strength the failure chance was extremely low.

The soulless body was terrified for a moment before falling over and raising a cloud of charred dust into the air. Wolf didn’t wait a moment, he sundered the Monster Beast’s neck, causing the thick dark blood to spray all over him and the surroundings.

Once Wolf made himself and the scene look like he’d killed the Dire Bear without resorting to magic he dashed towards the tree to slay the assassin.

Only a couple of seconds passed since the assassin had struck. Wayde’s hands were mangled and bled as he tightly clenched the blade.

He shook with fear and pain, but still gripped the sword as if his life depended on it. He was so out of if, he failed to notice that his attacker didn’t move a single muscle ever since he’d first stabbed him.

Dart after dart of Soul Force shattered against the man’s skin, however the protective layer of Internal Energy shielded the assassin’s head. As missiles burst like fireworks the assassin didn’t blink, nor utter a sound, scaring the hell out of Wayde.

Ignoring everything else, the young man thought the assassin was so tough that he didn’t care about the barrage. In reality however, the assailant wanted to scream in pain and frustration.

He didn’t want to waste Internal Energy on shielding himself from Second Order spells, he wanted to enhance his legs and flee.

What the hell is going on? Donovan cried inside. Who paralyzed me? Why can’t I break free of the restraint and why the hell are these kids pelting me with Second Order spells? If you want to kill me just incinerate me and the mark with a Fireball and be done with it.

And why is there a sword sticking out of my chest? the man wondered, staring at the thin blade protruding from his torso as his consciousness faded.

Wolf hung from a branch, holding it with one hand. In the other he wielded his long-sword, its blade stabbed straight through the assassin’s heart, sticking out of his chest by a dozen centimeters. Fearing he might hurt his friend, Wolf stopped his thrust as soon as he felt the blade pierce through.

“Wayde, are you all right?” Wolf asked with concern, realizing a moment later how stupid his question was.

“I’m not all right,” Wayde shouted as he dismissed his camouflage spell. “I was stabbed and I almost cut off my own bloody fingers holding this fucking sword!”

As he’d said, Wayde was most definitely not all right. He’d clutched the sword’s blade so tightly that it cut into his bones. His shoulder bled profusely, as did his hands and he couldn’t even move because the feeling of steel grating against his shoulder bone hurt like hell. This was actually the first wound anyone suffered on this expedition.

Wolf forcefully yanked his sword out of the corpse, causing it to move backwards and then loudly thud onto the ground several meters below.

The move revealed Wolf to Wayde. The young Duke was pissed before a moment later his expression turned weird as he reined in his tongue, not saying whatever he wanted to say.

Wolf, who still hung from the branch, had a nasty gash across his torso. He bled much more profusely than Wayde, yet he still had a smile on his face.

“Stop making that long face,” Wolf said, seemingly unaware of his wounds. “You’re still alive and everything turned out fine.”

A moment later Wayde nodded and his face hardened.

“You should take a potion or two,” he said without Wolf’s jovial air.

Wolf on the other hand laughed heartily. “I think you need them more than I do.”

***

The reality of every event or sequence of events depends on the observer more than on what had objectively happened.

For instance what Anna, Barbara and Matilda saw was Wolf, covered in blood, heroically dashing to save his friend. He nimbly jumped onto the pine Wayde was hiding on and acrobatically bounced from branch to branch like a hero from legends before finally slaying the assassin the three of them were helpless against.

As for what Wolf had seen and what had really happened it was a considerably different and far less heroic story.

After he’d beheaded the Dire Bear’s corpse, Wolf turned around, ready to run and “save” his friend. As expected, the assassin was still immobile, and there was no threat to Wayde’s life. Wolf’s secrets on the other hand could be exposed if he handled everything so easily.

After thinking about what to do for a split second, Wolf slashed his own chest four times, mimicking the pattern a wound from those massive bear claws would leave. His blood immediately started oozing from the wounds, mixing with the dark red of the Monster Beast’s blood.

Now that it looked like he’d cut down the bear at the cost of exposing himself to mortal danger, Wolf ran towards the tree on which Wayde struggled against his would-be killer.

How is he shielding himself from Magic Darts? Wolf wondered. There’s some force coursing through his flesh… Oooh! You can use Internal Energy like that? How?

As irrelevant thoughts swarmed Wolf’s mind, the youth skillfully jumped from branch to branch, more than half of which snapped under his weight and forceful stomps.

I should use Featherweight when traveling with them, just in case, Wolf thought as he reached the assassin.

With a simple, well controlled stab, the short bout of violence ended. Wolf slowly pulled the short-sword out of his roommate’s shoulder, making sure not to worsen Wayde’s condition. Then he had to help the man climb down.

Wayde’s right arm wasn’t working, his hands were so badly injured that they were useless, and a large chunk of branches which could be used for support were now piled up at the base of the tree.

The girls hurried down their trees while watching Wolf princess carry Wayde down the tree as he broke even more branches. When they got close they realized that what they’d assumed was the Monster Beast blood was actually Wolf’s and that the youth had a ghastly wound on his chest.

Life was unfair. Wolf knew that the gruesome state of his friend’s hands was an indication of how fiercely he fought for his life. However, to Anna, Barbara and Matilda they looked like the wounds of a coward clinging to his life.

Wolf’s wounds on the other hand were those of a hero disregarding his own safety to help others. They made it look like the bear had nearly mauled Wolf to death, even though the Monster Beast never touched him.

“If you don’t want to give it to him, how about you let me have him?” Barbara whispered in Anna’s ear.

Anna had such a heroic man, yet she still stubbornly clung onto becoming a Mage. Even Barbara, a proud and haughty noblewoman, believed it was better to take a man as fine as Wolf for a husband, rather than committing herself to maybe becoming a mediocre withered old Mage. Besides, even though Wolf wasn’t handsome in the traditional sense, he was as beautiful as a woman.

“Shut up slut,” Anna hissed angrily, but there was a hint of something else there. Maybe there really was something to Barbara’s words, or maybe Anna was simply touched by the heroic display she’d just seen.

After a moment’s thought Anna decided she would accompany Wolf on a mission, with just the two of them. As for giving up her future as a Mage… There was no way in hell she would do that. She wanted to be an independent woman who didn’t need a man to rely on. She wouldn’t allow herself to be cornered into being a pretty ornament, the way her mother was.

Anna gingerly approached Wolf and gently laid her hand on his shoulder. This was the first remotely intimate contact they’d had since leaving the Mage Academy.

“Will you be fine?” she asked, her voice quivering.

Anna’s question was much more tactful and far less idiotic than the one he’d asked Wayde.

“I’ll be fine. Thanks for asking,” Wolf replied with a warm smile.

It felt really good to have a girl worry about you. He reached out and grabbed Anna’s hand, but after a momentary hesitation she pulled her hand back from Wolf’s warm grasp.

“You should have some potions.” Matilda cleared her throat and broke the awkward silence which ensued from the couple’s clumsy interaction.

Wayde patched up his hands first, then with a pained expression he took off his shirt, revealing a muscular and well sculpted body. While Wolf stared and envied his friend for being able to grow both his muscles and height, Wayde thoroughly soaked his shoulder with the holy concoction. Foam and steam rose from the wound as Wayde’s flesh quickly grew and filled in the gaping hole. The skin on his shoulder was the newborn’s shade of pink, and thanks to the magical healing this vicious wound wouldn’t even leave a scar.

Wolf followed suit. He took off his shirt, also revealing a well shaped body, however, Wolf’s body was a well built body of a ten year old child. Compared with Wayde’s sturdy frame, Wolf was too scrawny and underdeveloped.

Unlike Wayde, Wolf didn’t even flinch as he took off the shirt, nor did he have any reaction as the healing potion hissed when poured over his wounds. The movements and wounds naturally hurt, but compared to some of Wolf’s previous experiences this was nothing more than an annoying sting.

Wolf ended up using four potion bottles and, while the bleeding had stopped and flesh grew back a bit, his wounds still looked raw. Meaning those potions weren’t enough to completely patch up Wolf’s wounds.

Wayde observed the scene with his trademark calm face, and nobody could tell what was on his mind. As for the rest of the party, they quietly whispered while Anna stared daggers at Barbara.

“I think we should head back now.” Wolf solemnly said. “I know it’s a pity that we didn’t get to practice the battle formations we discussed for today, but we’ve already harvested more than enough Snow Petunias, and I think nobody here wants to gamble on whether or not there are more assassins lying in wait in the depths of the forest.”

Wolf paused for a moment. He realized his words might sound like they were giving up and retreating out of fear or incompetence.

“And one more thing, good work everyone,” Wolf exclaimed, attempting to raise morale. “Wayde, you immobilized the assassin completely, giving everyone else a chance to attack him—”

“He was originally after me and I only survived because he couldn’t clearly see me,” Wayde grumbled, disagreeing with Wolf’s empty compliment.

“That reminds me,” Wolf continued as if he hadn’t noticed the sulking interruption.

“Remember that whenever you use any form of obscuring spells you must change your location immediately, otherwise there’s not much meaning in using the spell. I mean sure, you’re more difficult to hit since the enemy can’t see you clearly, but it’s better if they can’t find you in the first place…” Wolf began an extended lecture. He was unaware of it, but he took after his father quite a bit.

After suffering Wolf’s drone for a while, the group agreed that they should leave now and move at double pace the first two to three days, until they opened up enough distance between them and any potential assassins.

Once the details were hashed out Wolf went over to the assassin and stripped him down to his underwear. If it weren’t for the girls he wouldn’t have held back, since searching naked bodies was easier than fully or partially robed ones.

He still checked whether the assassin was hiding something inside his underpants, causing the girls to blush and turn away.

Wolf left the ruined clothes behind, but not much else. He’d taken the man’s weapons, his Ring of Holding and even considered pulling out the man’s gold tooth, but in the end he decided not to take it. Again, he did it out of consideration for everyone present. If he were alone he wouldn’t have minded yanking out the tooth which could feed a dozen people.

Once he was done with his looting Wolf slightly bowed to the man and mumbled a few words.

The gang couldn’t hear him clearly, and assumed it was some sort of a prayer, wishing the man a reincarnation untainted by sins from this life.

“Thank you for your donation to the Silver City’s beggars and the development of Oakwood Freeland.” Those were the words of Wolf’s ‘prayer’.

And this assassin’s contribution was by no means small. At a glance Wolf estimated that the ring, enchanted sword and the rest of this man’s belongings were worth several thousand gold pieces. Half of which would go into Frida’s educational fund, while the rest would be used for charity.

Anna and the rest expected Wolf would waste time and bury the man. However, he just turned around with a cheerful expression, leaving everyone flabbergasted.

“Let’s go back to the academy,” he declared merrily. “I think this trip was a great success. Oh, right! Matilda, how much do I owe you for those potions?”

Wolf’s seemingly bipolar act left everyone speechless. Especially considering that they all pooled some money together before the mission to buy those Lesser grade healing potions. They’d even agreed that they would be used for the benefit of the party. Wolf should’ve asked for one or two more to fully heal his wounds. Doubly so since he got them while rushing to save someone from the party.

On the other hand Wolf knew that his wounds were self-inflicted, and just the fact that he was betraying his friends’ trust like this made him feel like a villain.

As for scamming the gang out of their money to cover up his secrets, he found it loathsome and had no intention of doing it. Especially, since this whole mess was his fault. He hadn’t realized that the person following them was an assassin and not a guardian.