Supreme Magus novel Chapter 110

The Byk chuckled, an amused light in its eyes.

"May the Great Mother spare me from such terrible fates. No offense, but to be a decent mating partner you are too thin, too small, hairless and too human."

Thanks to his recently found mana sensibility, Lith realized that the Byk wasn’t actually talking. It was using air magic to turn the sounds of the forest in words for him to understand.

"None taken. To be honest, I’m happy to hear that. As far as I know, I’m interested only in human females. Just thinking otherwise was creeping me out." He replied.

"What’s a friend?" The Byk asked sniggering.

"Excellent question." Lith sighed. "In theory is someone that cares for you as much as you do for him. Someone to rely on during though times or when you are in trouble."

"Sounds like a mom or a pack leader."

Maybe it was because it was young, or maybe just because it was an animal, but Lith had the impression the conversation was going nowhere.

"Do you know anything about the castle?" Lith pointed at the academy’s spires, clearly visible above the tree line.

"The man-made mountain? Sure, everyone knows about it. It’s the place where the white-furred pups like you reside."

Lith was about to facepalm himself in frustration, but then the Byk asked him an odd question.

"Now that you mention it, can you explain to me why your den mates have gone insane?"

"What are you talking about?" Lith replied in confusion.

"Until last winter, the forest folks and the man-made mountain folks coexisted peacefully. Sure, from time to time a big fight happened, but that’s the nature of wilderness. The strong lives, the weak dies." It shrugged.

"But now things are different. The white-furred roam the forest not for food or herbs, they now hunt us actively, trying to kill us. And when I say us, I mean young magical beasts if not litters."

That piece of news made no sense. According to what Selia told Lith in the past, a cub had a no market value either dead or alive. The pelt was too rough compared to an adult specimen, and no one had ever managed to tame one.

Magical beasts were not just powerful, they were also strong-willed. If a cub was properly fed and cared for, it would soon become able to escape, or at least die trying. If not, they would simply die out of starvation or of the abuse.

Also, killing a cub was bound to incur the wrath of its parents, it was a high risk no reward move. A vagrant hunter might not care, but for academy’s students it was suicidal to do so.

They could meet the beasts again during an exam, or even worse, when alone, and that would mean either getting a failing grade for receiving a Professor’s help or death.

"Luckily, most of them are stealthy as a storm, so only a few were killed. After we retaliated, the Lord of the forest told us to stand down, to try to settle things with the Lord of the mountain.

But then things got even worse. More and more strangers arrived, strong enough to kill adults." The Byk pointed at the unconscious hunters with its snout.