Love Letter From The Future

1. The First Letter (66)

The week-long training under the guidance of Professor Derek was intense.

I had to prepare for all kinds of situations, and I was beaten for the reason that I had to keep the actual battle in mind.

He was a person who believed that the more he was pushed to the limit, whether mentally or physically, the stronger he became. From the first day of training, senior Elsie announced that she would give up midway, but unfortunately, she couldn’t get off the ship that had already sailed.

Once on board, there were only two options. Either die or go all the way.

No one would choose the former. It was the same with senior Elsie. Eventually, with my encouragement and hatchet help, she somehow managed to complete her training.

Knowing Professor Derek’s reputation, Celine and Seria were relatively obedient to training.

It was training to prepare for the monster hunt. It was clear that there was no one more suitable than Professor Derek, a legendary beast hunter. No matter how hard it was, it would have been worth it.

However, even Celine and Seria had doubts. This wasn’t Professor Derek’s fault, it was mine.

When I asked Professor Derek to help me train, I had one more special request.

“Can’t you proceed with the training under the assumption that you are dealing with a powerful monster?”

Professor Derek stared at me blankly for a moment, as if he were surprised by my condition. and asked me

“How strong is the magic beast?”

“A man worthy of a name.”

Professor Derek closed his eyes in thought, then nodded his head in agreement. Apparently, he thought I was assuming an extreme situation.

In fact, it’s not, but having to deal with a named-class monster was a task I faced and a future that would come soon.

And hell began. Named-class monsters were monsters beyond common sense. Not only was she strong in physical abilities, but she was also endowed with all sorts of oddities.

A week was extremely short. At least, if you start studying for the exam a week ago, you will be called cramming. It took even shorter time for physical training, which requires imprinting instinctive movements through repeated training.

So, the conditions are limited as much as possible. In order to somehow maximize the effectiveness of training, albeit for a short period of time.

If there was one thing I regretted, it was that I didn’t know the characteristics of the monster I was going to deal with. There was only one piece of information about the Witchbeast written in the letter.

‘Horns are a weakness.’

Other than that, there was no information I knew about the monster. It was a situation inevitably complicated because the methods of dealing with monsters were very different depending on their characteristics.

I felt like I wanted to send a reply to that ‘sepia’ person. Please tell me some more information you know.

However, I did not have the ability to send a letter seven years into the future. It was just a plate to be thankful for providing me with even that little bit of information.

Otherwise, there would have been a catastrophe at the festival where high-ranking officials from all over the world gathered.

If the name-level monster went rampant, there were too many people out of hundreds of students who would be killed and injured. I wouldn’t know if the academy noticed, but he had been hiding in the forest for close to a year.

It was clear that he was a guy who was good at stealth. It was also necessary to be wary of surprise attacks.

However, this was a story limited to me who knew the future. Senior Elsie said that it would be enough to persuade with a hatchet, but Celine and Seria were not.

They expressed doubts about training focused on one-to-many, not many-to-many. This is because in practice, a variety of situations can arise.

For example, the monsters I defeated in the past were like that. Those monsters with wolf characteristics were accustomed to collective action. I was surprised by Emma’s potion, but there were several times when I had to deal with both of them at the same time.

The head wolf he dealt with at that time was a high-ranking witch. In fact, in hunting festivals, if you catch that level of monsters, you can win the minimum prize, and if you’re lucky, you can even aim for the championship.

No matter how rich Celine and Seria’s imaginations were, they couldn’t foresee the future of dealing with named monsters in the hunting festival. Even more so, the reason why only one case is assumed in the training in preparation for actual combat where various situations can be produced.

In fact, I didn’t even know if the named monster would come out in a group battle or if it would fight alone. I just picked the most probable number.

What if a named-class monster has subordinates? Then no matter what I did, I couldn’t win. If possible, there is only one.

The name-class monster, who went out alone, is defeated by all members of the crew. That conclusion, which can only be found in youth novels, was the only answer.

Still, Seria seemed to agree somehow because her trust in me was firm, but Celine wasn’t. It was she who couldn’t stand the question from long ago.

Celine asked me out loud.

“Brother Ian, why are you continuing this training?”

It was a break in the middle of training. It wasn’t long, but Elsie was already lying on the ground breathing heavily.

Celine and Seria were still a little better because they were prosecutors. He had been gasping for breath until just now, but now his breathing had subsided considerably.

I didn’t have more magic power than either of them, so I needed more time to recover. Pouring a canteen of water over my sweaty head, I glanced at Celine.

“… … What?”

“Why are you doing this training? Shouldn’t we be prepared for a little more variety of situations?”

As she wiped her sweaty hair with a towel, Celine asked me with a weary look. The repetitive training was arduous and boring. However, for Celine to ask such a question, it meant that she was still motivated.

It was a positive sign. Once I decided to participate, it seemed like I was thinking of doing my best. I thought so and stayed silent for a while.

In my heart, I wanted to tell the truth. Elsie-senpai would not know, Celine and Seria had a relationship of trust with me to some extent. I was confident that I would be able to convince him somehow if I persuaded him all night long.

But it was impossible. I tried a few times, but it didn’t work at all. My words kept getting distorted, but I couldn’t convey detailed information about the future.

There was only one thing I could say. With a strange smile, I said.

“… … I had a precognitive dream.”

There was some truth in those words. Of course, the response was not good.

Even if it wasn’t so, Celine’s question must have bothered me, and Elsie-senpai and Seria’s eyes, which were facing me, suddenly fluttered.

Celine, of course. She crossed her arms and tapped my arm with her index finger with a disapproving look on her face.

It was a call for a proper explanation. But even if I said more than that, it wouldn’t have been conveyed anyway.

“Trust me, just once.”

At my low voice, Celine finally raised her hands as if she couldn’t help it.

“… … After all, it’s cowardly.”

How could I not trust Ian?

The added voice seemed to still ring in my ears.

And the results of that faith were now being revealed.

The smell of blood intensified with each step. If only I could smell it at first, now everyone felt the smell of blood stinging their nostrils.

The atmosphere was gloomy. I couldn’t even see the scene yet, but the scent of blood was too thick. It meant that a lot of blood had been spilled.

At least it wasn’t an easy opponent. Both Celine and Seria proceeded cautiously, vigilantly. Elsie’s expression was even more serious.

A muffled voice escaped from her small mouth.

“… … mana.”

It wasn’t loud, but it was enough to get everyone’s attention. Because there was only silence around here now.

A bizarre silence in which neither insects nor birds cry. I once witnessed a scene like this one day.

When he hunted a high-ranking witch in the southern forest, there was no sign of life in the forest even then.

Every living being longs for life. They would have left in search of life. If so, it meant that this was the place where death resided.

“I can feel the traces of magic, the density is high.”

“Is a demon being born?”

It was a cold voice. It was the question Seria asked.

Her speech was unexpectedly smooth and unstuttered. It was thanks to the instructions given to say whatever came to mind, as there could be communication problems.

In other words, Seria was already considering this situation as a real battle. Elsie’s blue eyes, which had been feeling magical energy with her eyes closed, shone sharply again.

“That’s not right. Then, the condensation of magical power should occur rapidly, but it is calm. It’s like a calm lake, full of water… … .”

The atmosphere got heavier. That word meant only one thing.

The enemy waiting in front of us is drawing mana.

Magic calls magic. This is also why masters, called ‘masters’, can use a handful of mana to exert the power of awe-inspiring comrades. The higher the density, the better the mana is drawn. And if the surroundings were full of magic power, it meant that there was a source of that kind of magic power.

It must have been a witch beast with a high probability. Senior Elsie carefully took out the wand that was hanging from her waist.

“… … Be careful, strong.”

Even senior Elsie, who had the most practical experience among us, became hardened. He was a senior who had experienced the notorious 4th year practice dispatch over and over again. Even she seemed nervous.

The rest was nothing to say. Celine swallowed a dry spit, then quietly took her hand to her waist.

It is ready to launch at any time. Seria also looked around with a sharper gaze.

However, it was a little more time later that our steps stopped.

“dead body… … .”

In a daze, such a voice came out of Celine’s mouth. It was not a human corpse. However, it was true that chunks of meat that were once life were scattered around.

It was bloody. Can you find other expressions? All the corpses were pouring out gourds of blood, their stomachs open and their intestines showing.

They ranged from herbivores such as deer and rabbits to beasts that would have been released for today’s hunting festival. All of those different kinds of beasts lost their lives and were displayed in different ways.

It was bad taste. The tastes of the high-ranking witches who hunted in the forest flashed through my mind.

He, too, enjoyed having his intestines spilled out like this. At that time, I thought it was simply a disgusting taste that originated from the aggression of the monster, but what if it wasn’t?

if you learned it somewhere

If so, it is likely that you learned from your parents. Because the devil was also a beast. And even beasts had a love for their offspring.

The anger of parents who lost their children was unimaginable.

He even killed his breathing and erased his presence. A dim light shone in the distance. It was empty. The smell of blood and magic were felt most acutely there.

Seeing the gruesome sight, Celine’s expression became even more tense. Her body trembled, so I quietly put my hand on her shoulder.

Slightly frightened tawny eyes turned to me. I nodded silently, and only then Celine began to calm down little by little.

What followed was practice. The less variable the better. Starting with me, the four hunters slowly headed towards the clearing.

There, too, numerous corpses were reduced to spectacle with their intestines spilled. However, if there was a difference from the road leading to the clearing, it was that the corpses looked unusually high at first glance.

There were beasts that looked like bears, and beasts that looked like beasts like lions or tigers. It was supposed to be at least a high-ranking witch. Even so, it was faked.

Only one, to that monster.

Eyes filled with amazement and fear turned to the gigantic body. A wolf that sat idle and ate the meat of a beast that once ruled a territory.

It seemed that only the height of the body was well over 3m. I couldn’t even understand how that colossus could get around in the trees. As if the light had been erased only there, the black wolf yawned and slowly got up.

Even the pupils are black. If it hadn’t been for the whites of her eyes, she might have thought she had no eyes. The wolf was staring at us without saying anything.

It was said that it was hidden, but it was too much to deceive the monster’s animalistic intuition. It was such a monster that even Elsie-senpai was mesmerized. The plan to launch a surprise attack in the first place was useless.

The wolf let out a muffled breath, not saying anything. But I felt the madness burning in those eyes. Those expectant, sadistic eyes.

Only then did I come to my senses. and shouted

“Prepare for battle!”

A sharp horn sprouted from the wolf’s forehead.

It was an encounter with a demon who would later be named the ‘Intestine Collector’.