"And why exactly are we hunting a rank B beast?" June asked.
Silas was walking behind while the two women led the way. June had long blonde hair and wore a green outfit.
Her legs were slender, and although her cloak covered most of her from behind, Silas could still catch clear glimpses whenever he walked beside them — especially since June was wearing a skirt.
It was honestly hard for him not to stare at her legs. His young, not-so-disciplined body didn't make it easy, but he did his best to stay respectful.
"Let's just say… it's a personal dream of mine. A goal I want to check off my list," Silas explained. "Basically, you two are going to fight the beast and pin it down… and I'll deliver the finishing blow."
Yeah, it was a weird request. June and Christy had agreed mostly because Silas was their boss — and maybe because they wanted to leave a good impression on him.
"I see," June said. "A pretty strange dream… but sure, we'll help you make it happen."
"Glad to hear it. But are you two really capable of taking down a rank B beast?" Silas asked, a bit unsure.
Honestly, he had no real idea what a beast of that rank was capable of. He couldn't use magic and was practically useless in a fight.
Well… useless might be pushing it. It had been a few days since he'd unlocked his new dragon bloodline, and his body was getting noticeably stronger. He could feel it — he didn't tire as easily, and he was starting to do things that would be flat-out impossible for a normal human.
Even some mages probably couldn't pull off what he could physically do now. That was exciting. But Silas was realistic enough to know that without combat training, without knowing how to handle weapons, and without magic… he wouldn't last long against most beasts.
"Yeah, it's not a big deal," Christy replied casually. "Rank B sounds scary, but it's not that bad, especially for the two of us together. Things only get nasty when you start dealing with rank A+, A++, and beyond. That's when it gets really dangerous."
The beast ranking system was broader than Silas realized. He made a mental note to study it later.
For now, their destination was a mountain not far from New Castle. According to June and Christy, there was a bird classified as rank B living up there. It was the closest monster of that level to the city — perfect for what they had planned.
The path to the mountain was pretty straightforward at first since they were following the main road near the city.
The road was paved with stone and always busy — travelers walking, people riding horses, and plenty of carriages passing by. Guards were stationed at regular intervals, keeping an eye on things and making sure everyone was safe.
Honestly, it was nearly impossible for anything bad to happen this close to New Castle.
But eventually, they left the main road and took a secondary path — more like a narrow trail cutting through the forest.
"This trail leads to the top of the mountain," June explained. "Of course, we'll have to climb quite a bit, and it'll probably take more than a day to reach the summit. But we've got enough supplies to last for a while."
Strangely enough, the two women seemed more concerned about climbing the mountain than fighting the rank B beast itself.
As mages, they were absolutely capable in combat. But that didn't mean they were superhuman or immune to things like exhaustion from physical tasks like hiking or climbing.
Of course, high-level mages did eventually develop stronger bodies, and some even had spells like teleportation or flight to skip challenges like this entirely.
But June and Christy had only recently graduated from the magic academy. They hadn't reached that kind of power yet.
Eventually, after walking for a while along that flat trail, they reached the part where they had to start climbing the mountain — and that's where things got tricky.
It was steep, really hard to climb. June and Christy went up slowly, while Silas handled it a bit more easily. His body was stronger now.
He grabbed the rocks and started climbing. His legs weren't even tired. It was an amazing feeling of freedom. Silas was happy. A smile crept onto his face as he climbed that mountain without feeling fatigued at all.
After a few hours of climbing, they found a small flat area. The sun was starting to set, and going any further wasn't a good idea.
"It's dangerous," June said. "We could step wrong and fall or something. Let's camp here for the night and continue tomorrow."
Even though Silas wasn't feeling tired, he wasn't stupid either. Climbing a mountain at night was definitely something he didn't want to do. He preferred to keep things safe.
After all, his new life in that world had just begun, and there were way too many things he wanted to do before dying. And falling off a mountain was definitely not one of them.
"If I'm gonna die, it better be fighting some badass creature," he thought as he set up his tent.
The good news was — they had a tent to sleep in. It was warm and comfortable.
The bad news? They only had one tent. Meaning all three of them would be sleeping together in the same tent.
Silas wasn't exactly complaining about being that close to two gorgeous women — and honestly, they didn't seem to mind either — but of course, all he wanted was to get some sleep. Nothing more.
They also made a campfire, which was ridiculously easy thanks to Christy's fire magic. Lighting a fire had never been so simple.
The fire kept them warm through the night. The three sat around it and had dinner — stuff they brought with them. Well, cooked, sort of.
Silas pulled out a chunk of meat, stuck it on a stick, and roasted it over the fire. Not the most elegant way to cook, but hey — it worked. It was good enough for him.
"Boss, is it true you can't use magic?" June asked.
They had already heard that his mana core was destroyed, and they couldn't sense a single drop of energy coming from him. So it wasn't hard to put two and two together and guess the answer.
But still, they wanted to hear it from him.
"Yeah... unfortunately," Silas said, looking down. "But that's not gonna stop me from doing what I want, right?"
June felt a little sad seeing the look on his face. As a mage, she could easily imagine how terrible it would be if her mana core were destroyed. What a nightmare of a world that would be.
"You'll get everything you want. And we're here to help you, boss," June said with a sweet smile.
That beautiful smile gave Silas a strange sense of peace.
After dinner, they crawled into the tent, each one in their own corner. They had blankets to keep them warm and something to put under them to avoid the cold from the ground. Honestly, it was a pretty well-planned campsite, and surprisingly comfortable.
It wasn't easy for Silas, though. June and Christy, lying there, wearing those short skirts with their beautiful legs out in the open... Yeah, he stole a few side glances, but he stayed strong. Focused. A warrior.
The next morning, the three packed up their campsite and continued their journey. That day, they would finally reach their destination. And with a bit of luck... find the rank B beast Silas needed to kill to complete the mission.
And the reason he was so eager to complete that mission was pretty simple — the reward was one million dollars.