Chapter 37: Beware the Wolves

Thump, thump, thump.

Melina followed Maria outside, finally catching a glimpse of her senior, Sonia, looking uncharacteristically serious.

Her long black hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and her bright silver armor gleamed with brilliance. Her expression was inscrutable—a smirk paired with purple eyes that held an indescribable, sinister glint, projecting an aura of natural authority.

Behind her, a squad of explorers was carrying a statue inside.

"Put it there," Sonia commanded, pointing to the estate, before turning to the explorers. "Meet me at the guild tomorrow. I have more important missions for you."

"But there is no guild here..." The leader of the explorers, a banshee with a delicate yet gloomy appearance—the type who looked like she would spend her time hammering nails into a painting of her enemy—hesitated.

"There will be tomorrow." Sonia maintained her smirk, her expression unchanging as her lips parted.

"Fine, then." The banshee exchanged a glance with her two companions: a dwarf with a traditional beard and an elf who looked remarkably solemn and weighed at least three hundred pounds.

"Your payment." Sonia briskly produced a small pouch from her pocket and placed it in the leader’s palm.

"..." The banshee checked the amount with disciplined precision, then frowned. "This is ten percent extra."

"Serving me demands at least a ten percent premium." Sonia suddenly smiled and gave the woman a firm pat on the shoulder. "If you have friends who want to earn a little extra, I'll see you at the guild tomorrow."

The banshee's expression softened, replaced by a compliant, understanding smile. "Right... about how many people do you need?"

"Five squads. Experienced hands, at least Level 2 explorers."

"Understood..."

"Leave one squad slot open; I have friends—the Echo Squad—who will be joining. I want you all to cooperate as sincerely as possible regarding tomorrow’s commission."

"Understood! I've heard of the Echo Squad. They’re a very talented group. I imagine their reputation could stand to grow a bit, couldn't it?"

Sonia unleashed a seductive smile, gently stroking the woman’s shoulder as she nodded. "Indeed. As a friend, I want to secure their future. I know Joan has that potential... she just needs a certain amount of training, some breakthroughs between life and death. But preferably safe ones. I don't want anything to happen to my friends."

"...Mm, yes, safety first." The banshee nodded obediently.

After placing the statue, the squad departed. Once they were gone, Sonia dropped her facade, let out a massive yawn, and whined to Maria, "Old Ma, oh Old Ma, I am dead tired. Can you get me a cold drink? From your system inventory?"

Melina puffed out her cheeks.

"Little Mei, I’ve missed you so much! That squad was clearly problematic; they could barely keep up with me. A Black Dragon-kin and a Yellow Dragon-kin thief—they nearly did us in. Luckily, I had plenty of talismans on me. Sigh, you should have just taken me yourself!"

Melina smiled, twirling her parasol and tracing the handle with her fingertips. "I’m not that impressive. They’re all my seniors, after all. I’ve only just registered and haven’t even taken on an official commission yet. In terms of experience..."

"You could thrash them even when you were in a wheelchair, what are you talking about? Some people are born in Rome, others are born as mules. It’s different." Sonia changed her demeanor, stating heartlessly, "Unless an explorer is lucky enough to obtain dragon genes and step onto the path of the Dragon, reaching for that sky, their ceiling is basically below Level 10. For those with poor talent, it’s even below Level 5."

"Take me, for example. Even with explorer armor and weapons, my power remains that of a low-level gatherer. Even with training, the most I can hope for is to barely become a Level 3 explorer, capable of killing a Swamp Dragon in a one-on-one fight. That is my limit. Little Mei, don't hold back too much. There are ways to break through those limits, but until then, your seniors are merely milestones for you to surpass."

Maria took a watermelon-flavored ice drink from her inventory and handed it to Sonia.

Melina puffed her cheeks again. Maria handed her one, too.

Melina’s eyes narrowed happily, like a content cat. After sipping her drink, she watched Maria, who had sat down on the grass to meditate, and Sonia, who was busy checking her crossbow. Melina walked over to the statue the explorers had brought back.

The statue was about the height of a person, constructed from worthless shells, snails, and crude quartz. Though it looked like a marine creation, it resembled a werewolf.

Did the local folklore include this?

Worshipping a werewolf, but using seafood to craft the statue because they were by the sea? That seemed a stretch. Unless it was a Sea Werewolf?

Nearby, Maria and Sonia were chatting.

"Say, So-so."

"What?"

"Is that blonde twin-tail girl, Joan, really that fierce?"

"Ugh, her life trajectory is split in two: one part is pure dead weight, the other is a self-destructive beast who dares to fight wheelchair-bound Melina for prey."

"No way? What are the two parts?"

"The 'with sister' phase and the 'dead sister' phase. Her sister, Rei, is like a weighted vest for Lee; take it off, and she unlocks the Eight Inner Gates."

"Uh..."

"Old Ma, what’s with that look? You don't think I’d go and open the Eight Inner Gates for little Joan, do you?"

"Wouldn't you?"

"I’m not that much of a scumbag! I mean, I might be a bit of a jerk, but I’m not Constantine. I haven't reached the level of John the Bastard yet."

Although Melina didn't see why being less of a scumbag than Constantine was something to be proud of, she decided she could at least assume Sonia still had a shred of humanity—or at least, her surface-level acting was quite convincing.

Melina beckoned to her. "Senior!"

"Present!" Sonia dropped her crossbow and snapped into a rigid salute.

"..." Melina kicked her heels back, biting her lip, looking aggrieved.

Maria glanced over and said, "If you want to laugh, just laugh. Don't hold it in."

"Pfft." Melina covered her mouth with her hand, letting out a giggle. Sometimes, Sonia had a brand of humor that deserved to be executed; she was the type who would probably be on the guillotine and still quip, "Whoa, sharp."

Melina regained her composure. "What is this statue?"

"It’s a statue." After her quip, Sonia turned serious. "Danger Level 25. You could also call it a 'Half-Step Legendary' hazard. The Explorers' Guild lost nineteen Level 20 explorers before they managed to destroy it. By the way, Old Ma, your brother-in-law died during this incident."

Maria frowned. "You mean my brother-in-law, the one they called a hero?"

"That’s him. His whole family were loyal martyrs; they produced six heroes, and only one survived to become a legend. And even that legend died sealing away a banshee who had fallen to the dark path."

Sonia looked at Melina and suddenly gave a strange laugh. "That is the destiny of inherited bloodlines, Old—Ma—"

Melina glared at Sonia, then suddenly recalled something and looked at Maria with a strange expression. Maria realized it too, glared at Sonia, and pointed at Melina, then at herself. "So, you’re saying that... the person I eventually treated so gently ended up killing my brother-in-law’s entire family?"

Sonia added, "Don't rush—also your brother-in-law’s family, and your best friend from school."

"Hisss, was I really that much of a piece of work?" Maria looked at her own hands.

Sonia said, "Don't worry, you did make an effort. But you really are a romantic fool, Old Ma. 'This girl is so beautiful, she must have her reasons,' 'Oh, she’s so helpless, she’s severely wounded,' 'She’s different.'"

This sentence successfully disgusted both of them.

Sonia, acting like a mischievous cat who wanted to watch the world burn, sipped her drink with a smirk. She shook her head and pointed at the statue. "Back to the point. You’ve seen the papers; you know that outside Raccoon Town in the Weeping Peninsula, there’s a werewolf that does nothing but eat. That werewolf is related to this statue. It’s a highly contagious plant-werewolf disease. First, it produces a werewolf fungus that parasitizes trees, eventually turning them into plant-werewolves."

"And werewolves eat people."

"For plant-werewolves, trees are people. So they eat trees, and any tree they gnaw on becomes a plant-werewolf too. Unfortunately, the Weeping Peninsula has vast forestry resources; the Pure White Woods alone would be an endless feast for them. Just imagine: hundreds of thousands of plant-werewolves breaking out of the island and spreading wildly across the ninety-nine percent of the world where humans aren't present."

Melina pictured the scene and felt a chill. "Wouldn't the world be doomed?"

"Yes. Those werewolves aren't actually that powerful, but the sheer number—expanding into the hundreds of thousands or millions—makes it difficult to steal these statues while under siege by monsters. The Explorers' Guild has its flaws, but its leadership and management are truly on the front lines."

Sonia paused for a moment, then struck a muscle-flexing pose. "The Weeping Peninsula isn't large, but there is so much going on there, I’m barely keeping up."

"Hamlet is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt; we need more hands..." She said, looking at Melina.

Melina knew she was eyeing her connections.

"...Is it not inhumane to trick people into coming to such a remote island?"

"The apocalypse is imminent. Please hold me accountable for my lack of humanity only after you’ve saved the human race."

"..."

Melina twirled her parasol, thinking. "If you really are from the future, you probably know which of my friends I’ll invite?"

"I do."

That was the one downside to being friends with a reincarnator.

Melina puffed her cheeks and thought of a name: "The pharmacologist and botanist."

She and Sonia said in unison:

"Louisa."

Melina’s classmate, roommate, and, in Melina’s mind, her dearest friend.

And in Sonia’s mind, also "a total disaster."