I Refused To Be Reincarnated

Shiro's eyes widened at the cunning strategy. She had expected a direct confrontation, which would have endangered their lives. Yet, Julius showcased not only physical prowess but also strategic insight.

Asha nodded, once more impressed by Julius' resourcefulness, before doing her part of the job.

Soon, small orange circles appeared on the ground, ready to burst once stepped on.

With the preparations complete, Julius charged in, throwing frozen rocks he picked on the ground at the wolves.

Annoyed by the sudden disturbance, the pack angrily howled while giving chase, eager to shred the stupid human to pieces.

As Julius reached the mined passage, he screamed, "Louise, now!" Before jumping above the ember snare circles and landing in front of his friends.

Echoing the command, Louise released the spell she had cast, causing the earth to rumble and rise both behind and before the traps as the pack charged in.

A sea of fire engulfed the pitiful beasts as they stumbled upon the mine. With no escape, their desperate attempts were futile, trapped between the two earth walls. Their anguished howls echoed through the passage, a symphony of pain and despair.

To end them, Arun ultimately released his sputtering blaze, making the temperature rise and the ice melt in the passage.

The brown walls turned red as flames danced between them, filling the air with the smell of burned meat as the howls died down under Shiro's impressed gaze.

She dropped her guard with mixed feelings, remembering her first venture and comparing it with Julius'. Then, she thought about her mentor, Thurin, who always told her to use magic in battle with more subtlety.

"Hahaha, well done, Julius! Even if you are a cultivator, never forget to use your brain!" Adam giggled, remembering his own encounter with the wolves and his rough traps using the beast carcass as bait.

The boy nodded in his direction, proud to be complimented despite his lacklustre role in the fight.

"Wow! We really beat six wolves at once! We must be the strongest debuting party in the academy!" Arun exclaimed excitedly, pride swelling in his heart. The time he could only shiver in fear inside the carriage was gone. Now, he could fight, too.

"We learned a valuable lesson here. Strategy and tactics are as important as spells." Asha commented, reviewing the battle in her mind. She understood that individually, they didn't do much. However, their combined effort led to such a swift and easy result.

Everyone agreed with her words, trying to imagine new ways to use their spells.

After a short pause, they proceeded onwards, fighting a few more wolves, until Shiro stopped them after another three hours.

"Usually, I would have stopped you here. We are reaching the outer part of the mountain's belly, in which tier two magic beasts lay." She explained, making everyone sigh, sad to see their journey stop after half a day only.

However, she added pensively, "But seeing your party's cohesion and harmony... I think you can take on low leveled, isolated tier-two beasts."

The party's mood instantly brightened, eager to see how they would fare against stronger beasts, especially Julius. He didn't fight much yet, preferring to let his inexperienced friends improve against the weak beasts.

Simultaneously, Adam sighed while gazing at his notification. He had subtly stolen a kill during their fight to test his experience earnings. However, the message displayed was:

[Tier 1 magical beast: Frost wolf defeated. You have gained 0 experience points.]

[Defeat beasts of your rank to earn experience.]

'I hope we'll encounter many beasts. I need to level up.' He thought, eager to strengthen himself.

Soon, they met their first isolated tier-two magic beast.

It was an imposing creature native to the frozen tundras. A thick coat of white fur camouflaged it amidst the frozen landscape.

Its massive frame was built for strength and endurance, with powerful muscles rippling beneath its fur. Its claws were long and razor-sharp, capable of tearing through even the toughest of prey. Its icy blue eyes peered out from beneath a heavy brow, gleaming with intelligence and ferocity.

Despite its size and bulk, it moved with surprising agility, able to navigate the treacherous terrain of its icy domain with ease.

Adam's eyes widened at the sight of the nightmarish creature, evoking bitter memories from his first battle.

Simultaneously, Shiro's voice sounded with the creature's description. "A Glacial Bear. Be careful! It can harness the power of ice in its attacks and exhale blasts of freezing air, encase foes in icy prisons, or even summon blizzards to obscure its movements."

The party gazed at the creature from afar, their eyes filled with fear. The creature measured at the very least three meters on all four and five or six meters in length. Were they really supposed to beat that? How?

Julius exhaled, failing to find a viable plan for his party to win without him doing most of the work until he heard his big brother's voice.

"Leave it to me. I have deep grudges against bears." He said before focusing his mana around his right hand and materialising his Ethereal Radiance with hate-filled eyes.

'Who created such a monstrous creature?' He thought fiercely, unleashing his strongest attack. 'Time to send you to join the brown bear!'

BOOOM

BOOOM

Two loud explosions resounded as dust and fire inexplicably engulfed the bear, making it roar in pain, and startling everyone but Julius. The boy knew how much his big brother hated bears after almost dying because of one.

Shiro gazed at the explosion, her mouth wide open and shock covering her face.

What was that spell? It was clearly much stronger than hers, and despite her arrogance, she had no confidence in taking it head-on. After all, she only had enough time to catch a glimpse of something looking like a spear before hearing the explosions.

She quickly recomposed herself and threw a powerful fist in the bear's direction, making the wind howl and creating a shockwave to disperse the dust.