The Hunted Regressor: My Heretic Saint System-Chapter 36: I Can Manage
Ding!
’Hm?’
—
╔════════╗
║NEW QUEST!║
╚════════╝
[Objective: Defend Lykos Until Reaching Saint Academy.]
—
’Finally a quest... nice.’
Ignotus now stared at the notification before him, after agreeing to and setting terms with Ulv, mostly regarding the amount he was to be paid. Which was five gold, enough coin to buy an entire house in a decent village.
Though he wasn’t sure what completing quests gave him, it had to be a reward of some kind, right? But in any case, why him? Was he someone important? Or was there some other mystery he had to solve?
Ignotus didn’t hear of Lykos in the future, so he’d either died on the way to the Academy or had reached there only to be killed before his name could spread... An end to most that opposed any Great House... an end that he all but experienced himself.
And so, standing behind the cohort he had randomly joined, where Felix had integrated surprisingly well, Ignotus began to scan the guards one by one, picking out their characteristics and weaknesses, trying to identify how to best use them.
’First, let’s establish the basics. The wolves total nine, one of them injured. Ignoring Lykos, only one, Ulv, has a Derived Element; the rest are Ethereal. Weakest of the lot.’
His thoughts came quickly.
’If they were to betray me, I can’t go for Lykos; they’d get enraged. Truly enraged wolf-folk are trouble; besides, though fluffy, the boy isn’t helpless. He’s definitely strong Rune-wise... I only destroy him because of my experience.’
They were completely indifferent.
’I could easily make him someone important...’
It was how his mind always worked...
’It’s unfortunate that I didn’t attend the Academy last time; I could’ve known of his Fate, but whatever, I don’t need that; knowing the general flow of things is good enough.’
It was how he survived for so long.
’For now, I should focus on becoming someone necessary to him or at least someone unforgettable... even if he’s on Death’s hit list, I can find a way to use him... besides the gold and public cover, of course.’
With that decided, he caught up to them.
"Heeey, Boss Lykos, are you alright?"
Ulv looked at him with a raised brow, while Lykos, shocked by this "insolence," turned speechless once more. But before he could lash out like usual, his head snapped up as if remembering something, and he kept walking, acting like he didn’t hear anything.
"Aww, are you ignoring me, boss?"
Ignotus stepped up behind him and leaned his elbow on the boy-wolf’s shoulder.
"You—YOU!"
And that, of course, made him snap.
"How dare you do that to me?!"
Ulv face-palmed while Ignotus chuckled, knowing exactly how he could lead the boy around, having become quite an expert at that lately, baiting a literal God into rage.
"Sorry, sorry, I almost fell."
Knowing the excuse was utter bullshit, Lykos pointed at Ulv, ordering him to punish Ignotus:
"GO DO WHAT I PAY YOU FOR!"
Ulv rolled his eyes.
"My Lord, you don’t even pay us; we serve you on our own accord... if you went with those bastards they sent for you, you’d already be dead."
Ignotus found that interesting.
’That explains why a Great Noble’s guards are so weak... they aren’t guards; they’re probably his friends. The runt of the litter, as they say.’
Eris, too, found that amusing.
’How cute.’
Yes, that was the backstory of an important someone, alright... it seemed that Ignotus’s Luck had finally come true, though it’d take a while to cultivate; he wasn’t complaining.
"Are all wolf-folk as cute as you?"
Those words ticked off even Ulv.
This bastard was really treating them like dogs!
But before he, or his Lord, could go off on him—
SNAP! SNAP!
A loud cracking sound echoed through the field.
From the muck and wet grass ahead, a large... crab made itself known.
The thing was ugly, its shell jagged, barnacle-crusted, and streaked with dripping black mud.
Its legs moved in stabbing motions while its eyes, beady black and wide apart, scanned the land for prey that it had barely missed.
Almost immediately, its claws, each one the size of a man’s torso and holding enough force to break boulders, began to snap at them.
Felix and the guards behind Ignotus instinctively pulled back, almost crashing into each other.
"...a Giant Crab?"
Ulv’s ears twitched.
"What the Hell is it doing here?"
Hearing that, Ignotus barely stopped himself from chuckling.
’That’s all me.’
Indeed, it was his Calamity at work, because yes, this monster wasn’t supposed to be here, not in this type of land, especially not in this area. But here it was, standing right in front of them, wanting nothing more than their Runes.
Or perhaps it was the constant ’snapping.’
Seeing those around Ignotus mimic a crab for so long might’ve enraged it.
"Let me have this one."
Instead of outing himself, Ignotus acted the part of a guard and stepped forward, facing it alone.
"You lot need to rest."
Lykos opened his mouth, about to order him to stand down, but Ulv put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don’t worry, he isn’t confident for no reason... I think."
Felix did the same, though without the touching:
"Yes, you shouldn’t worry, Lord Lykos; he’ll surprise you!"
The wolf-boy’s ears twitched red as he quickly turned his face away.
"I-I’m not worried!"
Ignoring the comedic act behind him, Ignotus raised his sword and took a stance.
This wouldn’t be like what came before...
He would need to be at maximum focus.
And naturally, his ’focus’ brought up what only he and those in his Soul could behold.
—
Name: Giant Crab
Rank: Youngling
Runes: Two 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
—
’Oh, this one holds two...’
Hm, this one was going to be a bit tough.
’Be careful.’
He nodded at Eris’s worry, his eyes scanning the beast’s shell.
’A glorified mud crab, huh?...’
The carapace was rock-hard; slashing there would do nothing. The legs were too quick and had too many joints. The claws—well, it was suicide to get that close, but the eyes seemed... soft.
The joints connecting the claws were exposed, and the underside, if he could get underneath it, was vulnerable.
Yes, this was doable.
’It only has two attacks, a snap and a charge...’
Ignotus took a long and deep breath.
’I can manage.’
