Summoned with an SSS-Rank Portal Skill

The roles had reversed. William was now the hunter. He had no idea if he'd be able to take down his prey—but he was going to try. He always tried.

It was already night, but that didn't hinder his vision. The only real problem was that the group following them was skilled. Extremely skilled.

Even after a long time searching, William couldn't find a single trace of where that group might be. That was bad.

"It felt so easy to spot them last time…" he thought.

And that was when it hit him.

"Don't tell me… they let us see them before!"

The possibility hadn't even crossed his mind until now. Only after failing to track them properly did William start to suspect that their previous encounter had been intentional—an illusion of vulnerability.

If that was the case, then the situation was more complicated than he'd thought. Still, he wasn't discouraged. He was confident he could find them.

The night was on his side. Most mages couldn't see clearly in the dark—not without some sort of magic, and even then, the effect was short-lived.

William, on the other hand, had that ability permanently. It gave him the freedom to search at his own pace, carefully observing his surroundings for anything that stood out.

Eventually, he noticed something on the ground—a clear hoofprint left by a horse. He already knew his targets were riding.

But something was odd about this particular print. It was faint, almost completely gone. William crouched down and ran his fingers over the dirt.

"Someone tried to cover the tracks," he whispered to himself.

They weren't stupid. That much was clear. But the discovery thrilled William. The hunt was getting exciting. There was a surge of adrenaline building inside him, a thrill he hadn't felt before. Maybe it was his bloodline—his nature—rising to the surface. William wasn't entirely human, after all.

Finding that hoofprint gave him hope. For a moment, the lack of progress had begun to frustrate him, but now things were looking up.

He kept following the trail, step by step, moving in the direction of the castle. From a distance, he could already see the king and his guards moving toward it. Though far away, William could tell that the pursuers were either circling around or lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike.

The uncertainty was the worst part. Not knowing when the attack would come made everyone anxious—especially William.

And then, just for an instant, he saw movement.

A figure darted between the trees—there and gone in less than a second. But that was all he needed. It confirmed his suspicion.

"They're hiding in that patch of forest," William thought.

The area around the castle was mostly open, with small "islands" of trees scattered here and there. The group had chosen one of those tree clusters, conveniently near the path the king and his guards would take.

While tracking the enemy, William had already noticed that Kier was following him too.

So he called out, "Kier, come out. I need to speak with you."

A few seconds later, Kier stepped out from behind a tree.

"I believe I found them," William said, pointing. "See that small forest over there? That's where they're hiding. I need you to head back and warn the king. Tell him to change the route—they can't pass near that area."

"Understood."

Without hesitation, Kier took off. William had suspected Kier was there to protect him, though he wasn't entirely sure. Either way, things were finally falling into place.

William waited a while before making his move. He wanted to make sure Kier would reach the king and warn him before doing anything.

He stayed there for about ten minutes, keeping his eyes on that same small forest. William saw figures again—more than once. That only made his suspicions grow stronger.

Then, it was time to move. Of course, William didn't go in a straight line. He tried to circle around instead. The only problem was that to reach that forest, he'd have to cross an open field.

"Those bastards planned this well… There's no way I'll catch them by surprise if I just walk in," William thought.

They hadn't picked that hiding spot by chance. It was a smart location. But then, an idea popped into William's head. Something he could do that would definitely catch them off guard.

*

Inside that small forest, hidden among the vegetation, a group was talking.

Everyone there wore black hoods, and it was nearly impossible to see their faces in the stillness of the night.

"You think we're safe here? I mean, one of the guys in their group seems pretty strong," one of them said.

"No matter how strong he is, there's no way he's getting here without us noticing. The only way he wins is with a surprise attack. We've got the numbers and the terrain on our side."

The leader of the group sounded confident. But the same guy who asked the question seemed uneasy. Like he had a bad feeling creeping in. A sense of dread he couldn't shake.

*

William had a pretty wild idea, but it would definitely work. He looked around for some kind of flying magical beast to tame.

The funny thing was, he found another one of those vultures he had fought before. Back then, he couldn't deal with those creatures so easily—but now, the tables had turned. He was way stronger than before.

The vulture he found was subdued and tamed through William's ability. After that, he mounted it and ordered it to fly as high as possible.

That type of vulture could fly really high—high enough that no one would notice William riding it. And that's exactly what he did.

As he went up, the wind grew stronger and colder. The view from the top was incredibly beautiful, which helped balance out the situation.

He guided the vulture toward the small forest. In just a few moments, William reached the top, hovering above the trees.

Now it was time for his surprise attack. William stood up on the vulture and began channeling his magic—specifically, his black fireballs.

But unlike before, he didn't throw them right away. He just channeled the magic and left it ready. The fireballs floated around him.

He kept going, making more and more, until there were about ten black fireballs ready to use.

"Time to bomb those bastards," he thought.

William brought the vulture a bit lower, getting even closer to the forest, and then began hurling those fireballs down toward it.

They were large, fast, and most importantly, caused significant destruction.

The group hiding in the forest took too long to notice the fireballs coming their way—and by the time they did, it was already too late.

William's attack looked more like a storm of furious meteors tearing through everything in their path. The small forest was set ablaze, obliterated in seconds.

Right after that, William jumped off the vulture, landing nearby. He knew the attack would only injure or distract his enemies.

If he wanted to win, he'd have to fight them up close—and in that case, he was more than ready.

The king and the rest of the group had followed the detour Kier suggested. When they looked back and saw the sheer destruction in the forest, fear settled over them.

"Sir William is terrifying… We're lucky he's on our side," one of the farmers muttered.