Before Rei's eyes, a seven-meter-tall tornado whirled.
Set had tried using Tornado, strengthened by the Hippogriff's Magic Stone, and the resulting vortex was nearly two meters larger than it had been at Level 3.
(Does it grow by two meters each time the level goes up? Well, it's Level 4 now, so if it reaches Level 5, it'll probably get a massive boost all at once.)
As far as Rei was concerned, if a wind-based skill was going to level up, he would have preferred it to be Wind Arrow.
Wind Arrow was currently Level 4, so he figured that reaching Level 5 would grant a dramatic power-up all at once. That was why he'd hoped for it.
That said, was he unhappy that Tornado had leveled up instead? Not exactly.
After all, Set's Tornado skill was essential for using Flame Tornado... Fire Whirlwind, the technique that had become Rei's trademark.
It was, quite literally, the most critical component of Fire Whirlwind.
In other words, Tornado leveling up meant he could either create the same Fire Whirlwind as before in less time, or produce an even larger one.
Given their current situation, that was by no means a bad thing.
(Well, I can't exactly use Fire Whirlwind here, though.)
The Forest of Magic was home to a vast number of monsters.
There could be A-Rank monsters... and possibly even S-Rank Monsters.
In fact, the Black Snake Rei had encountered was surely one such S-Rank Monster.
Regardless, what would happen if he used Fire Whirlwind in the Forest of Magic, where such High-Rank Monsters lurked?
Monsters would flee the forest, regardless of rank.
When that happened, there was no telling where the hordes would head.
But the possibility of them heading toward Gilm wasn't zero.
If A-Rank or S-Rank Monsters were mixed in among them, what would happen?
Especially right now, there were many weak adventurers who wouldn't normally be in Gilm, as well as ordinary people who had come seeking work from the Expansion Construction.
If that happened, Gilm's Expansion Construction would be delayed by months... or perhaps even years.
In a truly worst-case scenario, there was even a possibility that the Expansion Construction would be canceled altogether.
On top of that, the trees of the Forest of Magic that concealed the Hidden Base—practically Rei's birthplace—would be obliterated.
To prevent such a thing from happening, he did want to confirm Tornado's performance, but he had no intention of actually turning it into Fire Whirlwind.
"Set, can you dismiss the tornado? At this size, it's quite visible from a distance. Monsters drawn by it might come investigating."
"Grrrrrrrr!"
At Rei's words, Set dismissed the Tornado.
If it had become Fire Whirlwind, Rei's skills and magic would be involved, so Set couldn't dismiss the tornado on his own.
But since Rei hadn't interfered with it at all, Set could dispel it by himself.
"Alright, let's get out of here before new monsters start gathering."
"Gru? Grrr?"
At Rei's words, Set purred quizzically, as if asking why.
Set, naturally, also knew what they had come to the Forest of Magic to do.
It was to defeat at least two A-Rank Monsters and then stay for two nights and three days.
...Two nights and three days was no concern at all, since they had the Hidden Base.
It was somewhat underhanded, perhaps, but if one considered it camping that took advantage of the Forest of Magic's geography—though they were sleeping soundly inside a proper building—it wasn't a rule violation or anything of the sort.
Of course, even for someone who expected the Forest of Magic to be used for a Promotion Exam, they probably never imagined that the Zephyle Clan's Hidden Base existed within it.
Anyway, now that the worry over camping was gone, Rei just needed to defeat two A-Rank Monsters and bring back their corpses.
Set understood this too, which was surely why he seemed to think: why not just defeat the monsters that approached out of curiosity toward the tornado he created?
"If we weren't in the Forest of Magic, we could get away with that. But depending on the situation, multiple A-Rank Monsters might show up, or even an S-Rank Monster could come. On top of that, a massive swarm of riffraff."
He had called them riffraff, but as monsters inhabiting the Forest of Magic, they were fundamentally powerful on the whole.
From a Beast Magic perspective, that was welcome, but even so, if a large number of monsters came, it would unquestionably cause chaos.
And if A-Rank or S-Rank monsters appeared on top of that, even Rei couldn't quite predict what would happen.
Given all that, Rei wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
...If he was worried about that, he could have skipped testing Tornado here, Rei admitted to himself. But he had succumbed to the curiosity of wanting to check a skill he had just acquired.
Besides, since he was certain to obtain numerous Magic Stones during this Promotion Exam, if he didn't confirm it now, he couldn't rule out the possibility of forgetting to test Tornado later.
That was why he had chosen to try Tornado here first.
That it would produce such a massive tornado was somewhat unexpected.
The wind whipped up by the tornado had been violently shaking the branches of the surrounding trees moments ago.
It didn't have enough force to snap branches, much less break tree trunks, but... the area still looked like the aftermath of a typhoon. Well, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but it was undeniably similar to the aftermath of a typhoon passing through.
(Ah, wait, doesn't "aftermath of a typhoon" refer to the clear skies and nice weather after a typhoon passes?)
Thinking such thoughts, Rei left the area with Set.
However... their actions were perhaps a little too late.
Or perhaps he should say they just barely made it in time.
In any case, after moving about five minutes away from where they had tested the tornado, Set suddenly purred in alarm.
"That was fast. Well, they are monsters, so I suppose that's to be expected."
Muttering this, Rei readied Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear.
So that he would be ready, no matter what appeared at any moment.
And then... eventually, a single wolf emerged from the bushes.
Rei had fought all kinds of wolf-type monsters before.
That was exactly why he wouldn't be shaken merely because the opponent was a wolf-type monster.
However... for a reason beyond it being a wolf-type, while not quite enough to shake him, it was more than enough to surprise him.
After all, the wolf was larger than Set... measuring nearly ten meters in length from the tip of its tail to its snout.
"It's huge..."
"Grrrrrr"
In response to Rei's murmur, the wolf... no, the Giant Wolf, purred.
Its cry was similar to Set's, but perhaps due to its difference in size, or maybe because its vocal cords were simply different, it carried a lower, more intimidating aura than Set's.
Facing the Giant Wolf, Rei examined its appearance.
The wolf-type monsters he had fought before all had some deviation—like tentacles growing from them—so while their base form was a wolf, there was always something that set them apart.
But the Giant Wolf before Rei and Set was different.
It possessed an overwhelmingly massive body, yet its form was no different from an ordinary wolf's.
Even its fur color was gray, a typical color for a wolf, rather than something distinctive like red or blue.
Even so, no one who saw the Giant Wolf before them would describe it as an ordinary wolf.
(This intimidation... it's definitely an A-Rank Monster. Should I call this a good omen, or lament encountering one so soon? No, the former.)
As part of the Promotion Exam, he had to defeat at least two A-Rank Monsters.
But naturally, just because they were in the Forest of Magic didn't mean A-Rank Monsters were everywhere. They were hard to find.
In that sense, the fact that one had come to him was undeniably lucky.
The only question was whether he could win...
(I can win. At the very least, I won't lose.)
Looking at the wolf before him, Rei could state that with certainty.
It wasn't that he had some concrete basis for feeling that way, but if pressed for a reason, it would come down to the existence of the Black Snake.
The Giant Wolf before him was certainly strong.
And though he could sense high intelligence in its eyes, it was not a friendly presence like the Black Snake. It was clearly regarding Rei and Set as nothing more than its prey.
The Giant Wolf had the presence of an A-Rank Monster, but that didn't make it an opponent that he and Set couldn't defeat.
It was, without question, a suitable opponent for him to feel that way about.
"Set, let's do this!"
"Grrr!"
Set responded instantly to Rei's words.
"Grrrrr..."
Facing Rei and Set, the Giant Wolf displayed an amused demeanor.
As if saying, "Let's see what you've got"—observing what kind of action its soon-to-be prey would take.
Like a cat toying with a mouse, that was the impression it gave. Though it was a Giant Wolf, not a cat.
Against such an opponent, Rei threw the Twilight Spear as a preemptive strike.
Launched abruptly as if to catch the opponent off guard, the Twilight Spear flew straight toward the Giant Wolf...
"Huh?"
Seeing the wolf effortlessly dodge the thrown Twilight Spear, a surprised voice leaked from Rei's mouth.
It was only natural. There had been almost no opponent capable of dodging the Twilight Spear so easily until now.
That alone made this situation astonishing for Rei.
That said, it wasn't as if he hadn't seen the movement of the dodge at all.
He had been able to track the opponent's movement to some extent, so in that sense, the Giant Wolf blocking their path was far from an unmanageable opponent.
Retrieving the Twilight Spear, which had flown past and gouged a chunk out of the tree trunk behind the Giant Wolf, Rei once again fixed his gaze on the A-Rank Monster before him.
"Vof."
As if pleased by Rei's gaze, the Giant Wolf let out a somewhat amused cry.
At the Giant Wolf's demeanor, Rei exhaled in displeasure.
Still, there was no longer any surprise on his face.
The opponent was an A-Rank Monster.
Given that, it wasn't strange for it to possess this level of physical ability.
"Set, King's Intimidation!"
"Grrrrrr!"
At Rei's command, Set activated King's Intimidation.
But the Giant Wolf showed no sign of being affected by King's Intimidation at all.
It was only natural. Fundamentally, the skill King's Intimidation was effective against opponents of a lower rank than Set.
Rei recognized the Giant Wolf as A-Rank, and Set was regarded as S-Rank equivalent, being a Rare Species with skills, classified as an A-Rank Monster.
But that was only what the Guild had decided.
In reality, there were various differences, and... in that sense, Rei could accept that Set's King's Intimidation hadn't been able to halt the Giant Wolf's movements.
That said, Rei hadn't expected King's Intimidation to be effective against the Giant Wolf from the start.
But even if King's Intimidation couldn't stop the opponent's movement, it could still slow it down somewhat.
Of course, it wouldn't reduce the Giant Wolf's speed by thirty percent the way it would against a lower-ranked opponent.
But even a ten-percent reduction... no, even less than that, if it could slow the Giant Wolf's speed even slightly, it would carry significant meaning in this battle.
And while it didn't even reach a ten-percent reduction, the Giant Wolf's movements had unquestionably dulled.
"Magic Shield!"
Closing the distance with the Giant Wolf while wielding Death Scythe and the Twilight Spear, Rei activated the skill.
This was a battle against a Giant Wolf that appeared to be an A-Rank Monster.
Since he didn't know what kind of attack would come, Magic Shield, which could block an attack even just once, was worth using.
"Power Slash!"
And once the distance had been sufficiently closed, a preemptive strike.
Though a preemptive strike, it wasn't a testing blow—it was an attack using a skill that could deal significant damage to the opponent.
The Giant Wolf, too, must have judged from Rei's demeanor that this was a dangerous strike.
Even while aware of its speed being dulled by King's Intimidation, it met Rei's strike head-on.
The swung Death Scythe clashed against the Giant Wolf's incoming claw strike...
With a resounding giiiin!
A sound that clearly was not that of flesh-and-blood claws colliding with Death Scythe echoed through the surroundings... and the Giant Wolf was blown away by Rei's strike.
"Set!"
He had blown the Giant Wolf away.
The moment he registered this, Rei shouted Set's name while hurling the Twilight Spear.