As Miss Agata sat behind the glass counter sipping her coffee, two large-bodied, tall men entered the shop. They were so massive and tall that they had to enter the shop one by one, bowing their heads.
Their long overcoats clearly indicated their dangerous nature. Their hair, eyebrows, beards, and eyes were all gray color. Both had long gray hair that reached their waists. They each carried a sack and approached Miss Agata with calm steps.
When they were close enough, one of the men handed the sack to the other. The other man looked at Miss Agata as if asking for permission, whereupon Miss Agata waved her hand, signaling him to go to the blacksmith's shop. Once the man carrying the sack went inside, Mrs. Agata turned to the other man, who seemed visibly irritated.
- Let me say it before you do. I fulfilled my part of our agreement yesterday.
- (The large man paused for a moment, then spoke in a rough voice.) I was home yesterday. No one came… You're not lying, are you?
- Do I owe you a lie? If they didn't come yesterday, they'll come today. If they don't come today, they'll come tomorrow. Why didn't you wait?
- (The man, angered, raised his voice.) You don't want to anger me. I'm not like the others.
- Do you want to die? Then it's no problem for me to grant your wish.
At the same moment, the shop lights went out, and a darkness began to engulf the shop. Even sunlight could no longer enter through the shop window. As a twilight filled the shop, the large man, disturbed and increasingly irritated by this situation, began to make strange noises. Just then, the other large man and the dwarf Bavor entered.
- (Bavor) Hey! Calm down. This is not the time or the place for this. Settle your scores another time, somewhere else… (When the situation didn't change, he shouted.) Hey! I'm talking to you! Don't force me to take any further measures.
(Taking the dwarf Bavor's threat seriously, Miss Agata and the burly man instantly calmed down. Once things returned to normal, the dwarf Bavor chased the burly men out of the shop.) You've delivered the red ores. Your business here is finished. It would be best for everyone if you left as soon as possible.
As the men left the shop with angry but calm steps, the dwarf Bavor approached Miss Agata.
- I think you should stop doing business with these creatures. They're going to cause us trouble somehow.
- I think so too. But first, let them receive the gift I sent, then I'll talk to them.
- I think you're already late in talking to them. But if you say so… I hope there won't be any problems with your gift.
- (Miss Agata smiled slightly.) No problem. This is a win-win situation. It doesn't matter if the gift causes problems. I'll be the winner either way. Hahahaa…
- (Dwarf Bavor was more serious and cautious.) We'll see…
- (Miss Agata suddenly became serious too.) What do you mean we'll see? Don't talk nonsense. Wait then… I'll wait too…
…
Maisie and her team had been wandering the mountain for an hour, but they hadn't seen any wolves, neither on the digital map nor in the forested area they could see. In fact, apart from a few birds, there were no animals in the forest. There was something strange about this, but they couldn't figure out what it was.
Although this mountain was called Red Rock Mountain, almost all the trees on the mountain had gray color trunks and leaves. Only near the summit were there trees with red leaves. And the dens of the wolves they were looking for were in the area where those red trees were located.
According to Miss Agata, red wolves liked to hunt in the area with gray trees. "If you see one, shoot it with an arrow from a distance, then follow its spilled blood to its den. Don't worry, these wolves aren't like other wolves. They prefer to live and hunt alone. Don't be afraid of being attacked by another wolf. If you find the wolf's den, kill it and, after extracting the minerals from the den, bring both of them to me. Your mission is that simple."
Maisie and her team thought they would easily find red wolves among the gray trees, but no matter how much they searched, they didn't see a single wolf. Why weren't they there? Perhaps these wolves hunt at night. Still, Polat, besides carefully looking around, occasionally checked his map to see if there was a moving yellow dot.
As the team advanced slowly and cautiously, Serdar suddenly raised his hand and warned his friends. Everyone immediately crouched down, just as Serdar had done. After the sudden development, Polat quickly checked his digital map, but there was no yellow dot there. He quietly approached Serdar and asked.
- What happened? I looked at the map, nothing is visible.
- Ahead… (He pointed his finger towards the top of the mountain.) Look! There's a reddish shape there. It was moving a moment ago, but now it's stopped.
- (The whole team looked toward the redness Serdar had pointed out. Asena, who was an archer and could see farther than the others, objected to Serdar.) That's not a wolf, it's just some bushes. You didn't need to scare us like that.
- I don't know if it's a bush or not, but I saw it move. There's definitely something there. I'm sure of it.
Serdar's serious tone and confident speech silenced Asena. Besides, it wasn't right to go against the group leader. So she didn't say anything more and became serious like the others. When everyone was ready, under Serdar's leadership, they carefully moved and used the gray trees as cover, approaching their potential prey.
When the prey entered the range of the digital map, the map marked it in orange. Polat, who had never seen such a color before, was surprised. This color represented neither a human nor an animal. As a strange fear began to form within him, he immediately pulled out the spear he had strapped to his belt and pressed the button.
This was a special spear he had bought on Miss Agata's recommendation. He could easily carry it on his belt like a small stick. At any moment, by pressing the button, it transformed into a two-meter-long spear. It was easy to carry and quite sturdy. Today, besides her sword, she also carried this spear. Its shaft was made of black iron, and its pointed tip was made of night-blue iron.
As the team advanced towards their potential prey, Asena, believing they were close enough, used a thick tree trunk as a shield. She prepared her bow, then took an arrow from the quiver hanging from her belt and attached it to the bow.
...
Despite containing dozens of arrows, the quiver was as small as a belt pouch. Asena was shocked when she first saw it. The quiver was only a third of the length of the arrows. How could dozens of arrows fit inside it? Moreover, every time she put her hand in the quiver, she could pull out an arrow. How was this possible? Asena's mind couldn't accept it. Finally, she stopped thinking about it and accepted the situation as it was. This was a virtual world and anything could happen here.
...
Asena gathered all her attention and drew the bowstring tightly. Without taking her eyes off her target, she silently asked:
- Polat! Are you sure? The target is behind the bush, right?
- (The orange dot hadn't moved from its spot since it appeared on the map. Polat didn't know if the marked object was alive or dead, but he was certain of one thing. It was definitely there.) Yes, there, standing behind the bushes.
Just as Asena was about to shoot her arrow, a young, very tall man emerged from behind the bush. He had gray eyes and gray hair that reached his waist. His hands, face, and most of his clothes were covered in blood. After taking a bite from the large piece of flesh dripping with blood in his left hand and swallowing it, he spoke angrily.
- Blah, blah, blah… You keep talking non-stop. You haven't given me a moment's peace since you entered the forest. I haven't been able to eat properly because of you. My territory… Aaahhh!!
Before the man could finish speaking, Asena shot her arrow. The arrow pierced the man's leg and lodged halfway. The man, screaming in pain, angrily pulled out the arrow, while Asena shot another. But this arrow missed its target and lodged in a nearby gray tree.
The man, thoroughly enraged, threw the bloody arrow to the ground, raised his head to the sky, and let out a strange howl. Just as his howl was about to end, one of Asena's arrows pierced his arm. Another grazed his ear. Completely consumed by a barrage of arrows, the man, driven mad with rage, could no longer control himself.
Instantly, his gray eyes turned red. Then his gray hair stood on end as if struck by electricity, and slowly began to turn red. As he pulled the arrow from his arm and threw it to the ground, his clothes began to tear, revealing the red feathers covering his body.
As everyone watched the transforming man in fear, Asena fired a few more arrows, but none of them hit him. It was as if he was protected by an invisible shield. Finally, when the man completed his transformation and turned into a red wolf about three meters tall, Maisie and her team immediately realized that this was the red wolf they were looking for.
Everyone gathered together at Serdar's shout. Maisie and Asena stayed behind while Serdar and Polat drew their weapons and prepared for the wolf's attack. They weren't sure if it was a trap, but the red wolf mission given to them by Miss Agata was most likely one that would result in their deaths.
When the man transformed into a red wolf, he lost most of his ability to think. But he hadn't forgotten his enemy who kept shooting arrows at him. His red eyes followed Asena's every move. When Asena moved to the back of the group and loaded a new arrow into her bow, the werewolf suddenly lunged forward.
With his three-meter body, he couldn't run fast among the trees, but thanks to the trees, he managed to dodge Asena's arrows. After a couple of zigzag movements, the wolf got close enough to attack Serdar, who was at the front of the group, and tried to bite him, but Serdar swung his sword at the wolf's head, preventing it.
The wolf, narrowly escaping the sword, moved to Serdar's right and left, hoping to catch him off guard, when it noticed Asena's arrow at the last moment. It suddenly turned its head and dodged the arrow, but it missed its head and hit its neck. Fortunately, its skin had thickened and hardened after its transformation. Therefore, the arrow to its neck caused only a minor graze and no serious injury.
For Asena, it was very easy to hit the wolf when it was only about ten meters away. But she wanted to inflict the most damage by hitting it in the mouth. She carefully aimed and fired her arrow while the wolf's attention was focused on Serdar, but because the wolf suddenly turned its head, the arrow hit its neck.
The arrow ricocheting off its skin and falling to the ground gave the wolf the thought that "it would no longer be harmed by arrows." His confidence swelled, and he lunged forward to escape the enemy in front of him, swinging his claw. He wanted to bring the enemy to the ground and bite its head, but the other enemy attacked him with a spear.
The spear pierced his belly, creating a deep wound, and the wolf groaned in pain, recoiling a few steps. He hadn't been harmed by the arrows, but this spear had easily pierced his thick, tough skin. It seemed that the blue tip of the spear was a deadly threat to the wolf.
The wolf that didn't want to die turned around to flee, but then heard another red wolf howling. Whether it was one of his family or another wolf didn't matter. What mattered was that he wasn't alone. Now there were two of them, and he no longer needed to be afraid. He composed himself and prepared to attack the humans.
The other red wolf came running and immediately pounced on Polat. Polat, already alert, plunged his spear into the throat of the wolf that was attacking him. But the wolf had come running. Because of its speed and size, Polat had no chance to escape. They tumbled down about five meters together.
While wolf on top and Polat on the bottom stood motionless, the other wolf didn't wait and, taking advantage of Serdar's inattention, attacked Asena. Unable to subdue the wolf that had come so close with her bow, Asena was aided by Maisie. She drew her rapier sword and confronted the wolf.
If Maisie were facing a human, she would know where their tendons and muscle attachments were. But this was a wolf. She had no idea where this wolf's tendons and muscle attachments were. Still, she gathered her focus and began attacking the wolf's likely joint areas with piercing strikes.
Maisie's attacks weren't enough to stop the wolf. When the wolf's claw reached Maisie's sword-holding hand, the rapier sword flew away. As the wolf, having escaped the sword, lunged at Maisie, Arat, wanting to prevent the wolf's attack at the last moment, rushed to Maisie's aid.
He leaped and tried to cut the wolf's neck with his heavy sword. He swung his sword with all his might, but the wolf was swift. Arat couldn't make the attack he wanted, but he still managed to cut a part of the wolf's neck with the tip of his sword.
As the number of enemies increased, the wolf didn't know what to do. His other companion was still lying motionless. Just then, Asena's arrow hit one of its eyes. The wolf, groaning in pain, could no longer stay there. It spun around once and, taking advantage of a gap it could see at the last moment, managed to escape from among its enemies.
As the wolf ran away, Asena loaded an arrow onto her bow and aimed at the newly arrived man. She didn't know if the man was an enemy, but she couldn't let her guard down. At that moment, Maisie, thinking Asena was about to shoot the man, raised her hand to stop her.
- Asena, calm down. He's one of His Majesty Alpkutay's men. (Asena lowered her bow and slung it over her shoulder as if nothing had happened, and Maisie leaned slightly towards Arat.) Thank you for your help. Thanks to you, we managed to escape the red wolf.
Arat didn't answer Maisie but nodded in greeting. Meanwhile, Serdar pushed the wolf off Polat, freeing him from underneath. Fortunately, the wolf's attack hadn't harmed Polat. When Polat, relieved of the heavy burden, stood up, everyone gathered together. At that moment, Serdar reminded Maisie of a fact.
- My Lady! As you can see, this wolf hunt is far beyond what we planned. Miss Agata's mission is nothing short of a deadly one for us. We lack proper preparation and even proper combat experience. Therefore, I think it would be best if we returned to the town as soon as possible. Of course, if you say we should continue, my duty is to obey your orders.
- You are the captain of this quest. We will act according to your word.
- Then let's not wait and leave here as soon as possible, My Lady.
- (Asena) Aren't we taking the wolf with us?
- (Polat) How do you expect us to carry the wolf? It will slow us down considerably. Besides, the smell of blood will attract other predators.
- (Serdar) He's right. Taking the wolf with us is very dangerous. We should see this not as a loss but as an experience, and we should try this mission again another time.
- (Asena) Let's at least skin the wolf. Its skin isn't heavy.
- (Serdar, angered by Asena's suggestion, scolded her.) I don't know if you're doing this on purpose, but skinning the wolf will take at least an hour. Staying here that long means dying.
- (Maisie was looking at the issue from a different angle.) What will we do if the wolf turns back into a human body while we're skinning it? I don't want that to happen. Let's leave it as it is. I don't want to take either the wolf's body or its skin. Let's go.
As the team decided to return to the town, Arat was lost in thought. Lady Maisie was someone His Majesty the Prince valued. Helping the Lady was equivalent to helping the Prince. But he didn't want to reveal the secret equipment he was carrying. Thinking, "What should I do? What should I do?", he suddenly decided to help Lady Maisie.
- My Lady! If you wish, I can carry the wolf for you.
- (She couldn't resist taking a dig at Asena Arat, who was still carrying the shame of the just now scolding.) How will you carry such a heavy wolf? Or are you trying to slow us down? (She added, her angry gaze meeting Arat's eyes.) You're about to climb to the top of my suspects list, just so you know.
- Please don't misunderstand me. I have a space bag. We can put the wolf in there. We can take it with us without any problems.
- (Polat asked in surprise.) Really? You have a space bag?
- Yes.
- Will the wolf fit?
- Yes.
- Okay. Let's put the wolf in your bag and get out of here as soon as possible.
After the decision was made, Polat and Arat approached the wolf's head amid the astonished stares of the others. After touching a specific point on his bracelet, Arat placed his hand on the wolf. A flash of light enveloped the wolf, and then light and the wolf vanished.
What is a space bag, what isn't it? They didn't know but they didn't have time to discuss it. After everyone checked their surroundings one last time, they left the scene...