Even the Demon King is worrying about another world today.

"It's thundering and raining in broad daylight?" Mikayi rubbed his temples while looking out the window.

The heavy rain outside the window wasn't created by magic; it was formed naturally.

Thunder and rain in autumn is unusual. However, this is not the world that Mikayi is familiar with, so the climate here may be different.

“Yes,” Hedis echoed.

The raindrops pattered against the windowpane.

The agreed-upon evening time with the Empire was drawing ever closer.

"Why do we have to hunt down that spider at night?" Mikayi wondered, looking at the heavy rain.

This rain will probably give Kuro a cold. And Yuri's cold hasn't gotten better yet; this trip will only make it worse.

"...They probably thought we'd have class in the afternoon. They probably didn't expect the academy to give us a day off," Hedis explained.

Sigh, they're risking their lives to hunt down some catastrophic monster. And this empire is worried about their coursework.

However, setting off in the evening is also fine; the rain might stop soon.

Well, if it doesn't stop, let's use some wind magic to blow that dark cloud away.

A few hours later, the cloud dispersed.

The water seeped into the floor tiles and splashed up when people stepped on them.

I haven't seen the sun all day, and today it's gloomy and cold.

Kuro was wrapped in several layers of cloaks, but even so, he was so cold that his teeth were chattering.

Is winter approaching?

Kuro trembled and moved closer to his master, then suddenly realized that his master was a demon without body temperature, so he moved closer to Yuri.

...Mikai looked helpless as he was once again rejected.

"If we're talking about the time, it definitely feels like winter now."

Yuri was dressed warmly, her neck wrapped in fur from some unknown animal, several times. She opened her cloak and wrapped Kuro, who was leaning closer, inside.

Kuro's face bumped right into Yuri's soft breasts, and he looked utterly resistant.

"I'm not, I'm not cold!!!" Kuro waved his hands wildly, finally managing to break free from those suffocating spherical objects.

It's just breasts! Everyone has them!

Kuro touched his flat chest, becoming even more furious.

Hedis smiled slightly and unleashed warm fire magic in his palm.

"If you move closer to me, you won't be cold." Hedis's palm emitted a warm glow, like a heater.

Yuri quickly moved over and stuck to Hedis. Kuro hesitated for a moment, then also moved closer to Hedis.

Speaking of which, Hedis had offered him some fire magic to warm Kuro up on the snowy mountain, but he politely declined amidst the crowd. Now, he's actually offering it to Kuro...

Mikayi smiled as she watched this scene. Actually, it wasn't bad for Hedis back then, since they weren't friends yet.

"Master, won't you come join us?" Kuro extended a hand to Mikaela. He had to commend Hedis's fire magic; it had warmed her completely.

Mikayi waved his hand: "I have wind magic to dispel negative effects, so you don't need to worry about me. I'll go ahead in a bit, and no matter what monsters we encounter, you don't need to interfere; I'll handle them."

This time, the cheating was due to Mika's own carelessness. He hadn't considered that the academy might have magical detectors.

Ming had other ways to ensure the four of them didn't fail, such as having Akman secretly fill in the answers on the exam papers after collecting them, which would completely prevent them from being caught.

This cheating incident almost led to the four of them being expelled from school, and Mikayi still felt somewhat guilty about it.

Therefore, feeling guilty, Mikayi will complete this mission perfectly, ensuring that Hedis and Yuuri graduate smoothly.

It's best not to kill a calamity-level magical beast too easily. We need to leave Hedis and his group with a sense of crisis—a feeling of 'near defeat,' 'a narrow escape,' and 'just barely winning'—to avoid arousing further suspicion.

Mikayi was well aware that there were several flaws in what he had done recently. Hedis didn't point them out, perhaps because the other was oblivious. After all, he was a training fanatic.

142 Stepping in

It was already late at night when we arrived at the Vita Forest in the west by the fastest carriage in Lyon.

As for why they rode in a carriage instead of the slightly faster dragons...

That's a question for Mikayi.

“I… am afraid of dragons,” Mikayi said seriously. “Besides, Kuro was injured while riding a land dragon, so he’s traumatized by dragons, right, Kuro?”

"Huh? Uh, um..." Kuro nodded blankly.

Although she really wanted to say that, under Senior Qia Ni's guidance, she had completely suppressed her overflowing demonic aura and riding dragons was no problem at all, seeing her master's distress signal, she decided to take the blame for the time being.

I jumped off the carriage, and my shoes sank easily into the soft, wet mud.

This type of road surface already has difficulty draining water, and this heavy rain has soaked the soil through.

It was pitch black all around, and ahead lay a forest.

Although he could see clearly without any light source, Mikayi still lit a torch to avoid suspicion.

After they paid, the coachman sped away. There were hardly any monsters on the outskirts of the forest, but the late hour still made everyone uneasy.

He lifted the sticky thing.

Mikayi walked directly ahead of him.

As the sound of hooves gradually faded into the distance, Mikayi and his companions had completely entered the forest.

"If we go deeper into the forest... we just keep going straight, right?"

According to the instructions of the headmaster of Lanlin Academy, the calamity-level magical beast called the "Eight-Eyed Poison Spider" should be located in the very center of Vita Forest.

Hedis nodded solemnly and replied, "That's right."

It happens to be in the deepest part of the forest. Speaking of which, since that eight-eyed poisonous spider appeared in the very center of the forest, it must be the strongest being in the Vita Forest, right?

Mikayi pondered to himself.

According to the territorial law of the magical beasts on the continent of Garan, 'the stronger the species, the more central their territory,' this should be correct.

However, when Mikayi's senses extended into the interior of the forest, the magic he felt might not be as simple as the 'calamity level' described by humans.

strangeness……

Just as Mikayi was wondering what was going on, he heard a faint sound.

"Huh!?" Kuro exclaimed in surprise, abandoning Hedis and sticking straight to the not-so-warm Mikayi.

Kuro knew his master's strength; rather than worrying about staying warm, preserving his life was more important. Sticking to his master meant he wouldn't get hurt at all.

Mikayi felt deeply gratified by the beast-eared girl hanging around his neck.

Oh, so if it's a life-threatening situation, you'd still choose me? Even if I don't have a warm chest, I'm still a reliable shoulder!

Just moments ago, Mika was lamenting that his skin was too cold for any girl to touch. Now, he's trying to reassure himself.

But then again... Kuro is a ghost cat, right?... Calamity-level magical beasts would be no problem for her, would they?!

Of course, Mikayi was still very willing to let his apprentice rely on him. He raised his hand and touched Kuro, who was stuck to his back.

"It's okay, that's just a mouse."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a fat, big-eared rat scurried out of the bushes.

When the mouse saw the humans, it squeaked in fright and scurried away as if its feet were greased.

Hedis and Yurili behind Mikayi exchanged a glance, their eyes showing the same surprise.

The ability to instantly identify the species below, even with bushes obstructing the view, has absolutely nothing to do with magical perception! This person… could they possibly possess highly powerful detection magic?! And the kind that's constantly being released?!

Mikayi only carried a spellbook, and had no other magical tools or mediums needed to cast spells. This essentially ruled out the possibility of high-level detection magic; for now, the only explanation is 'intuition'.

Although the Vita Forest is vast, very few adventurers are willing to come here.

It's not that the monsters here are particularly dangerous, but rather that the Vita Forest is so close to Lyon City that it was explored by humans hundreds of years ago.

Any diamonds or medicinal herbs of even slightly valued quality were long ago uprooted. Those magical beast species capable of being extracted to create magical artifacts were captured and sold even as cubs.

The remaining magical beast species, apart from those that are too brutal and offer no benefit, are just some low-level magical beasts.

Therefore, this area is of no value to adventurers.

The muddy road was slippery after the rain, and the forest was filled with the smell of grass mixed with soil.

Led by Mikayi, the four of them walked straight towards the center.

In the pitch-black forest, the only light source was the torch in their hands—or so it should be. But Mikayi's gaze caught sight of a faint light in the distance.

It was a ball of fire, weak but numerous.

Moreover, Mikayi clearly sensed the magic power within him.

It's a Warcraft group.

Mikayi immediately figured it out.

Mikayi, who was walking at the very front, suddenly stopped, and Kuro's head bumped straight into his back.

"Master? What's wrong?" Kuro asked, rubbing his head.

“Hedis, Kuro is in your hands.” Mikayi stretched out a hand, and an emerald green wind bow formed in his palm.

"There are monsters ahead. And a whole group of them."

143 Enemy Attack

The ground was shaking, and something was approaching in a swarm. Moreover, it was glowing faintly.

The four of them assumed a defensive posture.

Kuro held her short staff and began to chant dark magic.

Mikayi stretched out a hand to stop her.

“Don’t interfere, let me handle this,” Mikayi said. “Your magic will tear those low-level magical beasts to pieces, and the strong smell of blood in the forest at night will attract high-level magical beasts.”

Mikayi didn't want any complications; the simpler things were, the better.

Hedis froze for a moment, then turned to look at Xi Lili.

Xi Lili shook her head.