The forest was silent.

As if the faint noises that had been heard moments ago were nothing but hallucinations.

Not only the sounds of animals, but even the faint chirping of insects had completely ceased, as if holding their breath.

Ludger’s instincts and long experience told him that this was no ordinary situation.

This was a sign.

A sign that something terrible was about to happen.

“Arfa. Do you see anything?”

“No. Nothing at all. Within a 500-meter radius of this place—everything’s gone.”

“At least one or two should have shown themselves by now, but strangely, not even that.”

Ludger naturally gripped his staff.

“Huh? Huh?”

Loina, still unable to grasp the situation, looked confused.

Arfa’s ability to see up to 500 meters in this dense forest, combined with Ludger’s serious demeanor, only deepened her unease.

The suddenness of it all made it difficult to accept.

“Mr. Ludger, is something about to happen?”

“Yes. So, I made a guess.”

“What is it...?”

“What are wild beasts most afraid of? A group of 300 people? They might be wary, but fear is a different matter. For them to vanish as if they were illusions—this is strange.”

“Then you’re saying there’s something else they’re afraid of?”

“Yes. And that something is likely the apex predator that’s claimed this land as its territory long ago. When an apex predator moves, every other creature hides and holds its breath.”

Just like now.

Loina’s expression grew serious.

She, too, felt the strange tension in the air.

But something still didn’t add up in her mind.

“But why would something so dangerous suddenly appear now...?”

“Didn’t you say it yourself, Miss Loina? That unusually many people have gathered here this time.”

“T-Then...”

Seeing her unease, Ludger nodded gravely.

“Yes. Precisely because so many have gathered, the creature that hadn’t reacted until now might have decided to move.”

It would be better if this were just an unnecessary worry.

Kkigigigigik───!!!

The thought was instantly erased when a strange sound mixed with the blowing wind echoed through the air.

“What was that?”

“What was that sound just now...?”

The magicians, who had been moving in orderly formation, all froze.

Animal cries had been heard since they entered the forest’s edge, but this one was different.

They couldn’t explain exactly how, but instinctively, they felt a deep sense of unease.

Most of the bewildered magicians were scholars who had come here for research.

The combat mages, however, reacted differently.

“Everyone, stay alert! Something’s here!”

As expected of those who had come to such a dangerous place for a price, they began scanning their surroundings without panic.

A defensive formation was naturally formed, with the combat mages at the front lines.

Ssssk.

Through the faint breeze, the sound of something brushing against the undergrowth reached their ears.

Something was there.

Something silent, fast, and very dangerous.

But the dense trees made it impossible to see it clearly.

“Scouting unit!”

A rough-faced mage at the front shouted.

A large scar ran across his face, and he commanded with the ease of someone who had faced situations like this many times.

“Earth mages, set up walls! Reinforce them with metal after! This isn’t an ordinary beast!”

“Scouting unit, spread your mana around the perimeter!”

Krrrrrung.

In an instant, the ground rose, forming makeshift walls, and iron was layered on top.

But the expressions of the magicians casting the spells weren’t good.

“Leader, they don’t look so well.”

“It’s the environment.”

“The environment?”

“An environment with little mana makes casting difficult, but an environment oversaturated with mana isn’t good either. The mana density here is at least five times higher than the forward base.”

Casting magic here would consume far more mental strength and mana than usual.

Like a person trying to run in water instead of on land.

As proof, the magic they cast looked clumsier than what their skill levels would normally allow.

The commander didn’t seem to mind.

Instead, he ordered multiple mages to work together to strengthen the barrier further.

“Don’t be afraid! Act as usual! With this many magicians here, what could a mere beast possibly do—”

The mercenary-turned-mage never finished his sentence.

Because the head that was supposed to speak those words was already gone.

“Huh?”

The mage next to him, who had been taking orders, froze at the sight before his eyes.

Moments later, the headless body collapsed to the ground.

Kkigigigigik!

With an ear-splitting screech, a beast appeared atop the wall.

It resembled a tiger. Its eyes glowed red, its fur was black, and its tail was long and blade-sharp.

But what stood out the most was its face—its mouth was split into an unnaturally wide grin, stretching almost to its ears, filled with shark-like, razor-sharp teeth.

Ludger, staring at the beast, was reminded of a story.

A grinning cat that appeared suddenly and vanished like a mirage.

If he were to name this tiger, there could only be one name.

Cheshire Tiger.

Kkigigigigik!

The Cheshire Tiger’s blood-red jaws held something in its mouth.

The severed head of the commander who had been giving orders just moments ago.

It was unbelievable.

They had set up defensive walls before the creature even arrived, yet it had slipped through them effortlessly and ripped off the commander’s head.

The walls may have given them a false sense of security, but the fact that no one reacted to its approach was even more shocking.

“Apex Predator class!”

“Why did a monster like that suddenly appear?!”

“Forget that—cast spells! Kill that thing!”

The magicians all at once hurled spells at the Cheshire Tiger.

The beast’s grin widened even further at the sight.

Then, like a mirage, it vanished.

First its body turned transparent, leaving only its glowing eyes and grinning mouth as afterimages before they too faded.

The spells struck empty air, exploding past the wall.

“It disappeared!”

Loina gasped in shock at the unbelievable sight.

Instead of answering her, Ludger turned to Arfa.

“Did you see it?”

“Yes.”

“What did you notice?”

“For a moment, the air refracted—it became transparent. It only looked like it disappeared because it moved unbelievably fast.”

“Air refraction. Likely caused by wind mana.”

The idea of a mere beast manipulating mana might sound absurd, but in the Kasarr Basin, it wasn’t unusual.

Every creature and plant here contained mana.

Of course, those capable of actively using specific elemental attributes for hunting were rare.

“And what’s even more troublesome...”

Ludger’s sharp gaze shifted elsewhere.

A magician screamed in the distance a moment later.

Kkigigigik!

“Over here! There’s one here too!”

“There’s another one! It’s not just one!”

The number of Cheshire Tigers increased to three.

They didn’t hunt alone.

Kkigigigik!

Their cries echoed from multiple directions, and weaker magicians froze in terror.

The Cheshire Tigers didn’t miss their chance.

“Aaaah! Help me!”

A young mage cried out in tears, but the Cheshire Tiger showed no mercy.

Its massive black body lunged to devour him.

“Step back.”

The shadow cast by the crouching mage writhed and shifted before suddenly shooting up like countless sharp spikes, all aimed at the Cheshire Tiger.

The Cheshire Tiger, seeing the spikes, released an intense surge of mana throughout its body.

Ttittitting!

A violent whirlwind wrapped around its form, deflecting every single spike.

Whoosh.

At that moment, spears of flame shot toward the Cheshire Tiger.

This was an attack powerful enough that simply wrapping itself in wind would not be enough to block it.

In that instant, the Cheshire Tiger stepped on thin air with its forepaws.

Amazingly, its body soared upward, easily evading the flaming spears.

“It can use wind magic to pull off something like that.”

Clicking his tongue at the failure of his ambush, Ludger was mildly irritated.

The mage lying on the ground looked up at him with trembling eyes.

“L-Ludger Cherish?”

“Hm?”

Ludger glanced briefly at the mage who had called his name.

Ah, so that was why his face looked familiar—it was the young mage who had once picked a fight with him.

He had assumed the boy ran away in fear after seeing Sempas, yet here he was, joining this expedition.

It hadn’t been Ludger’s intention to save him, but fate worked in strange ways.

Thinking that, Ludger spoke.

“Move. You’ll only get in the way if you stay here.”

“I... I’d be in the way...?”

The young mage wanted to insist that he could fight, but seeing the Cheshire Tiger fix its gaze on them again completely extinguished his fighting spirit.

He hurriedly retreated, and with the nuisance gone, Ludger could focus entirely on the Cheshire Tiger.

The Cheshire Tiger, perhaps sensing instinctively that Ludger was dangerous, didn’t rush in recklessly either.

Kkigigik.

“That’s not exactly a pleasant cry.”

Its screech, like nails dragging across metal, carried a strange, mind-shaking resonance.

The low-frequency roar of the tiger, infused with mana, was stronger than usual.

But Ludger was unaffected.

Kkiiiik.

Realizing its cry had no effect, the Cheshire Tiger crouched lower, its posture tense.

Though the grin splitting its face remained, its attitude was clearly different from when it had been hunting lesser prey.

“Should I say thank you or take it as an honor? You might be just a beast, unable to speak, but at least you see me as an equal predator.”

Ludger pointed his staff at the Cheshire Tiger.

There were two other Cheshire Tigers rampaging elsewhere, but there were skilled mages handling them.

All he needed to do was focus on the one in front of him.

“Come on, kitty.”

Whether it understood the words or not was unclear, but the way its brow twitched at the provocation showed it understood the insult.

Kkigigigik!

With a horrific screech, the grinning tiger lunged at him.

Its nightmarish appearance defied description; anyone else, no matter how brave, would have been frozen in terror if faced with it head-on.

“Sorry, but I’ve seen far too many things to be scared by something like you.”

With those words, Ludger lightly stomped the ground.

The earth rose up, forming a wall of soil.

The Cheshire Tiger, sneering as if mocking him, leapt easily over it.

Its movements, buoyed by wind, looked almost as if it were flying.

The moment it cleared the wall, a spell waiting on the other side was unleashed.

A 3rd-circle ice-element spell:

[Exploding Ice Flower].

Shards shaped like icy petals scattered in every direction, targeting the Cheshire Tiger.

The beast tried to use the air as a foothold to dodge further, but the petals relentlessly chased it.

Realizing it couldn’t avoid them forever, the Cheshire Tiger cloaked itself in swirling wind.

Ttittitting!

The petals bounced harmlessly off the spinning vortex of air.

The Cheshire Tiger looked at Ludger and grinned wider, as if to say, Is that all?

But this was exactly the reaction Ludger had been waiting for.

[Coordinate Designation Spell].

A massive fireball materialized directly above the Cheshire Tiger’s head.

It sensed the danger and tried to look back, but it was too late.

A spell appearing out of nowhere in midair left it no time to react.

Kkiyaaaaargh!!!

Before it could even begin to ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) evade, blazing flames engulfed the Cheshire Tiger’s body.

“You can manipulate wind mana, but it seems you can only use one technique at a time.”

The fireball exploded midair, and the Cheshire Tiger, trailing black smoke, plummeted to the ground.

“To fly, you need to channel wind into your body. But to wrap your body in wind, you can’t fly.”

Boom.

The Cheshire Tiger hit the ground hard, slowly rising to its feet again.

Smoke curled from its body, but it was still alive.

Its physical resilience and regenerative ability were beyond anything seen in a normal ecosystem.

But Ludger didn’t care.

“Leave the teeth intact. They’re a gift.”

“Yes, sir.”

Suddenly, Arfa appeared behind the Cheshire Tiger and grabbed its tail with his bare hand.

Kkiiik?!

The beast tried to slash him with the blade-like edge of its tail, but Arfa’s hand held it firmly, unharmed.

“Yah!”

With a sharp cry, Arfa swung the Cheshire Tiger by its tail and smashed it into the ground.

Kwaaang!

A deafening crash echoed as a massive cloud of dust billowed into the air.

The ground cracked like a spiderweb, and shattered rocks scattered into the air.

Arfa didn’t stop; he immediately stomped the beast’s head into the ground.

Crunch!

Even with its incredible regeneration, no creature could survive once its head was completely crushed.

Kki... kiiik...

In its final moments, the Cheshire Tiger glared at Ludger, its eyes filled with resentment.

“When did I ever say I’d fight you one-on-one?”

The Cheshire Tiger’s body went limp and collapsed.