Mount Hakobe, being a branch of the famous snowy mountain range Zonia, is perpetually covered in wind and snow year-round.
Due to the harsh weather conditions, the Magic Railway could not reach Mount Hakobe, so Noah and Nab hitched a ride on a carriage that was coming to Mount Hakobe to purchase magical herbs.
After eight or nine hours, the two finally arrived at the village at the foot of Mount Hakobe.
Noah practically bounced off the carriage; at first, he didn't feel much due to the novelty of it, but as time went on, the bumpy journey left him with an aching back and general discomfort.
After paying the herb merchant for the ride, Noah and Nab proceeded to the client, the village chief, following the address on the request form.
As soon as they knocked on the door, a white-bearded old man opened it. Upon seeing the guild emblem on Nab, the village chief's tone held a hint of surprise. "Are you Mages from Fairy Tail? You arrived so quickly! Please, come in and sit."
In the warm room, Noah and Nab sipped tea brewed from Mount Hakobe's special magical herbs while listening to the village chief explain the details of the request.
Winter Snow Grass was a high-quality magical herb that, when consumed, could restore stamina and Magic Power in a short amount of time. It was a unique specialty of Mount Hakobe and a treasure that this small village relied on for its survival.
However, a month ago, a group of magical beasts called Vulcan suddenly appeared on Mount Hakobe.
They not only drove away villagers who went up the mountain to collect herbs but also frequently descended into the village to cause trouble, and their behavior became increasingly egregious; once, they almost harmed a small child.
For the sake of their livelihood and the safety of the village, the villagers collectively raised 550,000 Jewels in funds, and the village chief, on their behalf, offered this as a reward to Fairy Tail for a "Vulcan extermination" request.
And when Noah asked about the number of those gorilla magical beasts, the village chief's answer startled Nab, who was standing beside him.
There were previously more than fifteen Vulcans on Mount Hakobe.
This number made Noah realize something was amiss.
He'd read in the book Encyclopedia of Monsters left by the Second Guild Master that Vulcan magical beasts typically lived in small groups, but their numbers usually stabilized around seven or eight, rarely exceeding a scale of ten.
Moreover, according to the village chief, this group of Vulcans had suddenly arrived a month ago, yet the icy and snowy Mount Hakobe was not the optimal living environment for these gorilla magical beasts.
What reason did they have to migrate here?
After being warmly treated to dinner by the village chief, Noah declined his suggestion to rest for a night before carrying out the job.
On the way there, Noah had already formulated an action plan for Nab to deal with the Vulcans; these magical beasts had a similar schedule to humans, and nighttime was the best time to hunt them.
The moonlight was bright, illuminating the snowy mountain, making it possible to see the path up the mountain even without a light source.
Two figures ascended Mount Hakobe, one after the other.
The Vulcans' gathering place was easy to find; caves were their homes, and there were only a few natural caves on Mount Hakobe, with only one large enough to accommodate more than a dozen magical beasts.
Having inquired about the route from the village chief beforehand, the two quickly found their target location.
Nab quietly crept into the huge cave.
Inside the cave, ice crystals clustered together, and a Magic Crystal radiating a gentle light, continuously refracted by the ice crystals, illuminated most of the cave.
Looking into the cave, Nab was startled; he roughly counted, and the number of Vulcans was a full twenty-five!
Among them, five Vulcans were surrounded by the other gorilla magical beasts like stars around the moon, appearing to hold a high status.
Nab couldn't be bothered with so much; the phantom of a giant black bear flashed behind him, and a crimson Magic Power rose from his body.
Animal Possession: Bear Spirit
With a roar, Nab's palm struck the nearest magical beast; with a crisp sound, a red and white mixture immediately flowed from that Vulcan's head.
Nab's battle cry naturally awakened the other magical beasts; more than a dozen fierce gazes fixed on him, and the immense pressure made Nab slightly lower his body, adopting a fighting stance.
Listening to the sounds of fighting inside the cave, Noah, leaning against the cave entrance, yawned and muttered to himself:
"Nab, honestly, wouldn't it be better to just take advantage of these magical beasts sleeping to kill five or six of them in one go to reduce the pressure? He just had to go all-out from the start. Now he has to face the attacks of twenty-four Vulcans simultaneously."
Noah truly couldn't understand Nab's "honorable combat" as a wild tribesman, but he respected his choice.
Nab's Animal Possession could use two types of animal spirits: bear and wolf.
The Bear Spirit enhanced physical strength, and the Wolf Spirit enhanced physical agility.
Since Animal Possession could only use one power at a time, Noah had custom-designed two types of boxing styles for Nab based on the two animal spirits.
Bear Style, which focused on striking, and Wolf Style, which focused on agility.
Nab was already familiar with his Magic, and after several months of diligent practice, he'd mastered both boxing styles. His current strength was evident from how he sent a gorilla magical beast to its demise with a single palm strike.
With a little caution, the current Nab was fully capable of directly defeating those twenty-four Vulcans, though he would certainly sustain some injuries.
"Damn the power of the bear!"
His agile body dodged a magical beast's bite, and Nab instantly switched to the Bear Spirit to coordinate his moves, swatting away a close-by magical beast with one palm, then immediately switching back to the Wolf Spirit to pursue.
Although constantly changing possessed spirits consumed a bit of Magic Power, in return, Nab's combat could be described as highly efficient.
The immense strength of the Bear Spirit, the speed of the Wolf Spirit, combined with a highly compatible boxing style, meant that not a single Vulcan was a match for Nab in a single blow.
Soon, the seventeenth Vulcan fell, and Nab, with unstoppable momentum, advanced towards the next monster.
"Stop right there! You damned fellow!"
Among the five high-ranking Vulcans, one of them actually spoke human words, roaring as it charged towards Nab.
It can speak human language?!
Nab was startled, then remembered what Noah had told him to pay close attention to: powerful Vulcans could use Take Over to forcibly take over humans into their bodies.
Could that one... no, could those five Vulcans be magical beasts that had stolen human bodies?!
Filled with rage, Nab, completely unafraid of the powerful individual Vulcan, used all his strength to exchange a punch with it.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The gorilla magical beast flew backward, crashing heavily against the wall deep inside the cave. This left the other four powerful individuals stunned.
"Boss, the opponent is tough!"
"Let's use our original power!"
"Alright!"
After a brief exchange, the five powerful Vulcans suddenly had Magic Circles appear beneath their feet, rising upwards, and five humans wearing what looked like cult-like equipment appeared, each radiating powerful Magic Power.
Nab's expression turned grim; only powerful individuals could command ordinary Vulcans, but those five powerful individuals weren't Vulcan magical beasts at all!
They were humans disguised with Magic!
Having already expended a significant amount of Magic Power, Nab knew he was powerless to contend with five Mages who were in perfect condition.
Seeing the aggressive enemies, Nab turned and ran without a second thought. His self-challenge, after defeating those twenty magical beasts, was already completely fulfilled the moment the five enemies revealed their true forms.
With his inner conflict resolved, Nab, abandoning all pretense, fled while shouting:
"Noah! Save me!"