Fairy Tale: Little Red Riding Hood's Wolf Mentor

Rek concealed herself and silently disappeared into the darkness.

Wandering slightly through the woods, I came across a pair of green eyes beneath a dead tree…

"Is there a mage in the camp who is trying to solve a maze?"

Poro was somewhat surprised after hearing Lake's description.

After all, breaking through a forest maze is no easy feat, especially one of this scale. Even among the few magicians in the world, those confident enough to break it within a week are extremely rare.

"She also has a magic book, and she sounds very confident."

Rek nodded and described to Poro the story of Sidag, the girl who rode a deer.

The mind link can transmit more than just language, so Poro quickly learned the appearance of the girl riding the deer, Sidag, and the formation she had drawn.

only……

"Um, I feel like she's not cracking the code, but more like... learning?"

Poro frowned.

"study?"

Lake was taken aback. "What do you mean? Learn what?"

"It's more like she already knew about a similar formation and then deduced it based on the environment. And it's clear that she didn't fully master this formation."

Poro then continued.

He raised his claws, and the tips of his claws glowed with faint, firefly-like light, outlining a phantom magic circle in mid-air. But soon, the magic circle flickered and shattered rapidly.

"There's something wrong with the array she drew."

Poro looked at the shattered light array, thought for a moment, and said, "It may take a long time before she can completely break this array, definitely more than a week."

"So the people in the camp..."

"So ordinary people have to survive under the influence of these beasts and other unknown threats."

"Poro, can't you break this formation any faster?"

“This formation is different from the systems I’ve encountered before, and the location we’re in now is not at the core of the formation.”

Poro frankly stated, "Therefore, if I were to solve it alone, it would also take me a lot of time."

From the Poro's telepathic dialogue, Lake also gleaned some insights.

"So, Poro, you want to..."

“If I cooperate with her, it will take much longer to break the formation. After all, she may have a similar maze.”

"Great, let's go back to camp now and solve the maze..."

“Wait a minute, Lake, I might not be going back with you for the next few days, so you'll have to go and work with Sidag in my place.”

"Huh? Why?"

Lake was stunned for a moment.

Just then, a faint beastly roar echoed from the nearby forest. Poro's ears twitched, and he suddenly chuckled, saying:
Do you think I resemble those animals?

Lake was stunned for a moment:
"They look alike. Even my grandmother couldn't tell them apart back then."

"The animals think so too."

"So, Poro, you're going to infiltrate?!"

"Yes, it's not that dangerous. Those animals, even though they are cursed humans and have physical abilities far beyond those of ordinary animals, are not that strong to me."

Poro confirmed, "Obviously, I can get more information from those animals."

"Oh, that's how it is……"

Having said that, the Poro looked at Lake, then suddenly raised its paw and patted Lake's shoulder:

"However, after confirming your coordinates, I can now communicate with you through your shadow—and without being blocked by the maze!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl's eyes lit up immediately:
"Go for it, Poro! We'll kill that lurking demon, and that witch deep in the forest who turns people into animals!"

"Of course, just like before."

Poro smiled, then suddenly reached its claws into the shadows on the ground, took out a scroll, and handed it to Lake.

Lake opened the somewhat familiar scroll; it was a map—

It's exactly the same as the map we saw before, the one used by those "treasure hunters"!
"This is……"

"Found it on a dead hunter."

Poro replied, "A somewhat old map. Although the maze distorts the real terrain, this map will be of great help in solving the forest maze!"

At this point, Poro twitched his nose, and Lake also heard the sounds of other wild animals colliding with bushes not far away.

"I have to go now."

Poro thought to himself as he retreated back into the darkness.

Lake also held the map, and at the same time, her figure quickly disappeared.

……

"You found...the map?!"

Inside the camp, the deer-riding girl, Sideg, stared wide-eyed at the map that Lake had given her, a hint of barely concealed joy in her eyes.

"Yes, it was found on the body of a dead hunter."

After thinking for a moment, Lake answered.

Sideg didn't pay attention to this, but quickly opened her magic book, took out the array pattern she had drawn, and began to think about making modifications.

Sidag's movements, as well as the patterns in her paintings, did not avoid Reck.

She quickly modified several parts of the array pattern, her eyes flashing with demonic light from time to time. But soon, she stopped what she was doing, her eyebrows suddenly furrowing as if she were stuck in a stalemate.

"There are some problems here."

Just then, Lake suddenly spoke up, pointing to a corner of the array drawn by Sideg, "The counterclockwise spiral here is drawn half a circle too many times, which has caused the forest constellation to shift."

"Eh?"

Sideg was taken aback when she heard this, then her eyes lit up again. She quickly erased one stroke from the array and added a few more symbols.

Then, as if realizing something, she looked at Lake in surprise:

"Wait, how did you know? You can use magic too?"

However, Lake is not proficient in magic, and the reminder she just received was merely a hint given by Poro through a mental link.

"Uh, it's a friend of mine."

Reck still didn't follow Poro's advice and claim that she was the one who knew magic. "Anyway, if you could lend me your spellbook, we might be able to solve the maze that shrouds the forest more quickly if we work together."

"Your...friend?"

Sideg paused for a moment, but didn't press the matter. Instead, she generously unfolded the spellbook in her hand and handed it to Lake. "Of course, the faster we go, the more likely the hunters here will be rescued from this forest!"

Lake didn't stand on ceremony; she raised her finger and began to flip through the magic book.

Of course, because of the mental link, Lek saw the contents of the magic book, which is equivalent to Poro flipping through the book.

At the same time, Poro even instructed Lake to modify the array pattern used to break the maze!

"This lunar eclipse rune is drawn crooked; it needs to be drawn as an open-loop structure..."

"This part also has problems with the right-angled inscriptions..."

"And here..."

Listening to the instructions Poro conveyed through Lake, Sidag's expression changed from surprise to joy, then back to surprise, and finally to bewilderment.

Nothing more. It's just that Sidag felt her "gifted" brain couldn't keep up with the speed of her thinking.

The guidance given by Leike was also given step by step after flipping through the magic book. It didn't seem like she had learned it in advance, but rather like she learned it on the spot. Yet she was able to understand the array at an extraordinary speed!

Finally, after Sideg made a mistake in drawing the array, Lake asked:
"Um, are you a little tired?"

Lake didn't know why Poro asked that, but she looked at the sky and seemed to realize something, then said, "Magic takes a lot of mental strain, so let's rest tonight."

With that, Lake left the map and spellbook with Sideg and got up to leave.

Meanwhile, Leike silently asked Poro:

"Poro, you said Sidaeg is having trouble keeping up?"

"She doesn't seem like an old witch; she's more like a talented beginner."

Poro paused for a moment, then said, "Of course, it's still a bit weaker than my talent."

"Poro, now that you've read that magic book, do you think you can solve the maze all by yourself?"

"can."

Poro didn't mince words, stating frankly, "But the solution array deduced in such a short time can only be used by her."

"Can't you use magic too?"

"It's because of the magical medium."

After hearing Poro's words, Lake remembered that in the baggage that Sidag's deer was carrying, besides food, there were also many things in glass bottles.

"The girl carried materials related to the maze—she came specifically to solve the maze."

On the other side, the deer-riding girl, Sideg, watched Lake's departing figure without lying down.

With her eyes slightly bloodshot, she stared at the half-drawn array diagram in front of her, while repeatedly flipping through the magic book in her hand.

"That girl is right, mental strength is very important for magic. Let's rest for a while."

Then, the stag behind her spoke.

“Brother, you clearly said... I would become the most talented witch.”

Hearing this, Sidag pouted and complained, "In the end, I just met a girl my age who's much better than me—and she even said she doesn't know magic!"

"Well, but that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"It seems that what was originally planned to be a week's stay might be solved in just a few days, and we can send these people out," said Mulu.

"Then find that wretched mage and kill him!"

As she spoke, Sideg clenched her fist, yawned, and continued to study the maze in her hands.

……

As the hunters' campfires burned in the darkness, the animals on the other side, and the cursed beasts, had already grown accustomed to the darkness.

Poro stopped thinking about the formation and looked to his side at a tiger sitting half-on a rock.

There were about a dozen herbivores or carnivores around, and this tiger was the largest of them all.

Even so, it still bowed its head towards the branch in front of it.

"The hunters in that camp are very cautious and not easy to deal with."

The tiger spoke in human language.

"Then kill the lone ones first."

From the treetops came a voice. Poro looked in the direction of the voice and saw a crow. "The King of the Forest will report your achievements to the witch. I hope you can perform well."

King of the Forest?

Poro paused for a moment upon hearing the term, while the strange beasts beside him showed no surprise.

Clearly, even if this so-called "King of the Forest" was not the one who cast the curse, it was still closely related to the actions of these wild beasts!
Who is he? A person? A magician? Or... also an animal?
"Did His Majesty say how many more people need to be killed?"

At this moment, a cheetah among the beasts spoke up and asked.

Beneath the cheetah lay a string of human ears pierced by branches—belonging to several hunters it had killed.

"Keep going, you haven't hunted enough."

A crow on the treetop spoke, its voice somewhat chilling, "This is a hunt arranged by the witch. She is testing you, testing whether you are qualified to become human again."

"When you have proven your strength, you will become human again and will receive the witch's reward!"

Upon hearing these words, the beasts below became noticeably more frenzied.

Even the Poro hiding in the corner could sense the ferocity emanating from these beasts, but this killing intent felt unnatural.

Some kind of magic deep within their souls was touched.

The so-called "witch" most likely had no intention of removing the curse; she was simply using magic to control and guide the behavior of these cursed individuals.

That unknown king of the forest—in a way, can borrow the witch's curse!
While Poro was pondering, the raven had already flown back into the night sky.

But at that moment, the tiger leading the herd suddenly raised its claws and pointed at several wild animals in the herd.

"You, you, and you, come here for a second."

Poro was taken aback when he heard this, because he was among the beasts that were mentioned!
Discovered?

Poro then looked at the other wild beasts: a jackal missing a leg, and two wounded leopards. Among the beasts they had just encountered, they were considered fierce, but they also seemed somewhat weak.

It shouldn't be considered an exposure.

After thinking for a moment, Poro stepped forward and stood in front of the tiger—this tiger, along with the surrounding wild animals, posed no threat to Poro even if they attacked together.

“You lot, as wild beasts, haven’t participated in killing a single hunter so far—do you want to be punished by the witch?”

The tiger's gaze swept over the Poro and the other three beasts, revealing a hint of disdain.

"I'm sorry, I... the hunter I encountered was too cunning, my leg was crushed by the trap..."

The lame jackal said with some fear.

"The hunter we encountered was a very skilled swordsman, and he also had a teammate..."

The two wounded leopards also spoke up.

The tiger's gaze then shifted to the poro:

"And what about you? Even with the illusion array protecting you, you couldn't kill a single person? How come you don't even have any injuries?"

"I……"

Poro paused for a moment, then decisively replied, "The hunter I encountered was also very strong; I couldn't beat him."

"Huh, what a bunch of trash!"

The tiger snorted coldly, but then said, "Your luck has come; a task is assigned to you."

"What mission?!"

Apart from the Poro, the other three beasts all showed genuine joy.

“A few Royal Air Force soldiers who met up have found Princess Biste’s location. You guys go and kill those soldiers. That’s easy, right?”

Although the tiger's words sounded like a question, they conveyed an undeniable meaning.

“Of course, I’ll go back and tear those soldiers to shreds!” said the lame jackal.

"Boss, don't worry about this mission, just leave it to us!" said the two leopards on his hands.

"Uh, me too?"

Poro blinked, but a sense of realization dawned on him.

It makes sense that the princess of the Kingdom of Hangte who disappeared in the forest was controlled by these cursed animals, but why would these animals do this?
Imprisoning a princess? (End of Chapter)