“Today, we will be discussing the Three Overlords of the Great Eagle Forest,” Professor Njal said in a solemn tone. “I’m sure that all of you are already aware that the Forest is currently off-limits. Any student who’d be caught trying to sneak inside will be suspended, and given Demerits.
“The Professors and some Fourth Years are assigned to patrol it at regular intervals, so for your own good, don’t even think about breaking the rules.”
Professor Njal’s usual cheery tone when explaining something about Magical Creatures was gone, replaced by a solemn voice.
Clearly, what happened a day ago made the Professor very serious about today’s lesson, which made Ethan focus all of his attention on him.
“There are three Magical Creatures inside the Great Eagle Forest that you must never offend, or rather, you shouldn’t fight under any circumstance,” Professor Njal stated. “The moment you see them, the first thing you should do is RUN! If you don’t, the chances that they are going to be the last thing you will see in this world is very high, especially the last Overlord that we are going to talk about later.”
The Professor then waved his hand, and an illusionary image of a four-meter-tall White Gorilla appeared behind him.
“This Magical Beast belongs to the Big Foot Category,” Professor Njal explained. “Yetis, Abominations, and Hulks are part of this Monster Group. But recently, Ogres and Mountain Trolls have been considered to be part of this category as well.
“Now, before we go off-topic, let me tell you a bit about the Big Foot Family. Any Monster who stands on two legs, has a big robust body, and has a height of over four meters belongs to this Category.
“They also have incredible strength, stamina, and endurance. Some of them are also very resistant to magic, which makes them a very difficult opponent for Wizards and Witches.
“This White Gorilla is one of such creatures. The Headmaster fought it once in the past, and their battle ended in a draw. Of course, this is subject to debate. Some say that this White Gorilla was so overwhelmed by our Headmaster’s Magic that it decided to retreat, rather than continue fighting.”
This bit of fun fact intrigued Ethan very much. If there was an opportunity to talk to Koko when he is in a better mood, he would definitely ask about this to know the real story.
“But all of you are nowhere near the headmaster’s level,” Professor Njal said in a flat tone. “You are unable to cast a Perfect Resonance like he could. Well… although one of you here can cast a Partial Resonance, I doubt that it will be enough to make this monster run away with a single hit.”
All eyes suddenly shifted to the handsome teenager who was visibly paying close attention to what the Professor was saying.
When his classmates all looked in his direction, he simply pretended that they didn’t exist and continued to focus his attention in front of him.
Professor Njal chuckled after seeing Ethan’s reaction.
He was still a little bit bitter about the outcome of the Clash of Manors since he was one of the Guardians of Jaeger Manor.
Even so, that didn’t make him look down on Ethan. The young man’s method might be ridiculous, but it couldn’t be denied that it was a brilliant strategy that hit four birds with one stone.
In fact, he very much approved of Ethan’s quick thinking and even wished that the latter belonged to their Manor instead of others.
“After fighting the White Gorilla, Professor Rinehart had given it a nickname,” Professor Njal stated. “Koko, which is what we now call this creature. The Headmaster also added that this creature is very sly. It also knew how to exploit its environment as well as its opponent’s weakness, making it a very fearsome adversary. There is only one White Gorilla in the Great Eagle Forest, so it is impossible for you to miss it.”
After his explanation, the Professor once again waved his wand, making Koko’s illusionary image disappear.
“Now, let me introduce you to the second overlord of the forest,” Professor Njal smirked before waving his hand once again. 𝐎𝗏𝐞𝓵xt.𝗇𝓔t
The image of a Giant Black Spider with eight crimson eyes appeared in front of everyone.
Its body was as black as night, and if not for its glowing eyes and mandibles that reeked of a purple liquid, which Ethan believed to be poison, no creature would be able to notice it, especially when it hunted during moonless nights.
In fact, the Giant Spider was so terrifying that Chloe subconsciously hugged Ethan and buried her head on his chest.
Seeing her react strongly, Ethan hugged her back and even patted her head, assuring her that everything would be alright.
The other girls in the class weren’t able to stop themselves from screaming, while the boys gasped as they subconsciously backed away in fright.
“Frightening, isn’t she?” Professor Njal looked at his students with an amused expression on his face. “Everyone, let me introduce all of you to Broodmother, the Walking Nightmare that nests at the heart of Great Eagle Forest.
“If you happen to venture deep enough in the forest, you can tell that you are within her territory once you start to see a lot of spiders crawling on the ground or the trees. You will occasionally see small spider webs here and there, but those don’t belong to her.
“You see, Broodmother’s spider webs are invisible. They cannot be seen by normal eyes. Only a few magic spells can make these invisible threads appear, and one of them is Faerie Fire.
“This is also the reason why it is not advisable to venture deep inside the forest. Before you know it, you might already be hanging in one of their threads if you are unlucky. But, there is some good news.
“Broodmother only comes out of her Spider Lair at night. If you get stuck during the day, you’ll still have time to extricate yourself from her webs… before her broodlings swarm you en masse and wrap you up like a dumpling with their webs.”
“They will also use their fangs to inject you with paralyzing venom that will render you immobile for hours. Not a very comfortable experience, mind you.”
Professor Njal then waved his wand, and the illusionary figure of the Giant Spider disappeared. This time, another horrifying monster that wasn’t any less scary than the Broodmother materialized in front of everyone.
“If Broodmother is enough to give you nightmares at night, then this next creature will make you wish that you will never encounter it in your lifetime.” Professor Njal’s words became cold and deadly as he introduced the Third Overlord of the Great Eagle Forest.
“Everyone, I’d like you to meet the Wendigo,” Professor Njal smiled a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “A monster whom we had given the title, The Bringer of Death.”