In the depths of the wilderness, Gin maintained his magical domain—a vast sphere of influence centered on himself.
If he restricted the radius to 2.5 kiloters, he could gather detailed sensory information as he once did.
Reducing it further to 500 ters would reveal even more, offering him unparalleled insight into his surroundings.
However, at the mont, he stretched his reach to its full potential: five kiloters. This allowed him to detect any powerful entities within range and roughly discern their movents.
It was a useful precaution. In these lands where monsters thrived, an early warning system was a hunter's best defense.
The bus convoy continued its steady progress, the landscape growing more untad with every mile. Gin's senses soon registered a disturbance—wolf-like beasts prowling at the edge of his awareness.
'Wolf beasts. Forty-three of them,' he thought, watching the creatures as they drifted through the plains, their path veering away from the convoy.
Several more monsters crossed his domain as they advanced, including so he had never encountered before. Yet, wolf beasts were by far the most common. The old tales were true—these creatures truly road in numbers unmatched by others.
Ti passed, and then—like a storm breaching the horizon—a presence of overwhelming power surged into his domain. Gin tensed. It was the Needle Giant, the very target of their hunt.
'Incredible…'
The data provided earlier had not prepared him for this.
Sensing the monster directly was a far more visceral experience. Standing ten ters tall, the giant radiated raw, uncontained magical energy. Its entire body was a fortress of muscle and power, every fiber brimming with arcane might so imnse it seed on the verge of bursting.
'This won't be easy.
My weakening spells probably won't work on sothing like that.'
The beast's magical defenses were formidable.
The sheer volu and quality of its energy ford an impenetrable barrier against most forms of magic.
He would need to innovate—perhaps refine his spells further or discover new ways to exploit vulnerabilities.
Encounters with monsters of this magnitude were rare, but he knew deep down this wouldn't be his last. One day, he might even face a creature like this alone.
'Can any magic even affect it at all?' Gin pondered.
High-level magical entities naturally resisted arcane attacks due to the imnse energy they carried.
Their magical defense scaled with both the quantity and quality of their mana. Unfortunately, the Needle Giant excelled in both aspects.
He focused his domain on the creature, sensing its presence more clearly. Within minutes, the monster would be visible to the naked eye.
For now, he turned his thoughts to strategy. If the beast had no obvious weaknesses, he would simply have to create one.
His mind raced through simulations, crafting countless scenarios in preparation.
As he stared out the window, deep in thought, a figure stirred from the back of the bus. A woman approached him quietly.
He had noticed her earlier—she had been observing him from the mont the journey began. Gin did not react with surprise when she spoke.
"Mind if I sit here?" she asked softly.
Gin glanced at her, then gave a nod. There was no reason to refuse. They were teammates on this hunt, after all.
"My na is Kyrie. You're Mage Gin, correct?"
"Yes, I'm Gin," he replied.
Kyrie's expression shifted, a curious mixture of amusent and disappointnt. "You… don't recognize , do you?"
Gin raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe we've t before. Should I know you?"
She chuckled lightly, though there was a trace of wounded pride in her voice. "Not necessarily. Still, it stings a little."
Gin tilted his head, wondering if she was soone of importance. He had heard stories of mages and ability-users who lived like celebrities, though such things had never interested him. Perhaps Kyrie was one of those figures.
"Are you famous?" he asked bluntly. "I don't keep up with trends, so it wouldn't surprise if I'm unaware."
Kyrie's expression grew more enigmatic. "You know the Freeden family, don't you?"
At that, Gin nodded. "I do."
His knowledge of the Freeden family was recent, but he knew enough. He had crossed paths with Owen Freeden and had even t several of their elders.
"So you know Freeden, but not Lynchfield?" Kyrie sighed, shaking her head. "Our family serves the Freeden house. We've been allies for generations."
'A vassal house of the Five Great Families,' Gin realized. No wonder she had taken offense earlier.
"I only learned of the Freeden family a short while ago," he admitted.
Kyrie studied him for a mont, then seed to accept his explanation. "Fair enough. Most ordinary people wouldn't know about these things.
It's only in the upper circles that nas like ours carry weight."
After a pause, she smiled. "Still, Owen Freeden rarely takes an interest in anyone, yet he spoke highly of you. I was curious."
She extended her hand toward him. "Let's work well together on this hunt."
Gin hesitated briefly before shaking her hand. "Sure."
Phaela's smile deepened, seemingly satisfied. Gin, anwhile, found himself puzzling over an odd sensation.
Despite their differences in appearance and deanor, there was sothing about her that reminded him of Owen Freeden.
It was strange. Owen was no remarkable beauty by Gin's standards, while Kyrie undoubtedly was. Yet, there was a subtle, intangible similarity between them.
Shaking off the thought, Gin turned his attention back to the window.
The hunt was nearing its climax.
The Needle Giant finally ca into view—a towering, monstrous silhouette on the horizon. Gin and the other mages and ability-users specializing in lightning positioned themselves strategically.
They wouldn't remain in place for long; once the assault began, they would encircle the beast, attacking from shifting angles to avoid retaliation.
Each elental group had been scattered at varying distances to minimize interference. Kyrie stayed close to Gin, breaking the silence between them.
"That shield—did you design it?" she asked, pointing toward the frontline. There, several bait units stood between the mages and the Needle Giant, each holding a gleaming Runewright shield.
"You have a talent for crafting magical artifacts, huh? I heard that shield is strong enough to rival a low-tier relic."
Gin chuckled dryly. "A relic? That's an exaggeration."
He had studied relics firsthand and knew the imnse gulf separating true relics from ordinary magical tools.
Yet, here he was again, standing at the edge of another monuntal battle. He would soon put his magic—and his wits—to the ultimate test.
The hunt was on.
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