Episode 38

Every monster was a being consumed by the Blessing of Madness. They had lost their sanity, their aggressiveness had increased, and, in return, they had gained great power.

Goblins, for instance, instead of losing restraint and living by instinct, had acquired a strength that belied their size. Horn Rabbits had lost their ability to control their anger, ramming into everything they saw, but in return, they had gained a sharp horn and swift speed.

“Grrrr!”

Then, what had the wild Ellie—no, the Iron Wolf—lost and gained?

The Iron Wolf had lost sexual pleasure, and in return, it had gained an extremely buff body. It wasn’t that they couldn’t have offspring or have sex, and only masturbate. They could have sex, rub against tree trunks to masturbate, and even have offspring…but no matter what they did, they couldn’t feel good.

Being hit by the reversal beam, their increased libido remained the same! And they even had mating seasons…! That was why they became so aggressive.

“Poor thing. I’ll put an end to your pitiful life today.”

I tensed my body, pushing my left hand with the crossbow forward and pulling my right hand with the dagger back. The Iron Wolf also lowered its stance, ready to pounce at any moment.

A brief standoff ensued, but it didn’t last long.

“Die!”

I yelled loudly, kicking a stone at my feet toward the Iron Wolf. Reflexively, it charged first.

“Grawrgg!”

The bull-sized body charged forward, kicking off the ground. It sounds simple when said, but the situation felt quite powerful when seen up close.

But it was okay. It wasn’t that fast. It was slower than me, obviously, and even slower than a Horn Rabbit. With a smirk, I dashed toward the Iron Wolf.

Pa-pap!

The distance between us closed rapidly. In a few steps, we would be within reach of each other.

“Heup!”

I pretended to run straight towards it, then abruptly veered to the side. The trajectory was almost a perfect 90-degree angle. It was as if someone had pulled me to the side. My light body with flexible joints, combined with my swift agility, made this possible.

Seeing its prey slip away to the side, the creature tried to turn its body as well, but it was already too late. I had reached its flank long before. The moment the wolf, with its quadrupedal base, hesitated for a split second to change direction, I fired the wrist crossbow at its head, which had turned faster than the rest of its body. The arrow, aimed precisely thanks to the short distance, lodged itself in the Iron Wolf’s eye.

Spwch-

“Yelp!”

Screeching in pain, the creature writhed. Having a seizure while turning, its legs became tangled, and it rolled on the ground. Seizing the moment, I quickly approached and swung my dagger. My target was its inner nape. The outer fur was partially metalized, acting like armor, so I aimed for the relatively soft inside.

Press.

“F**k.”

Its skin must be as thick as its muscles. Even aiming for the inner skin, the dagger didn’t pierce through, though it left only a slight scratch. This was partly due to my lack of strength and the weapon’s dullness.

Regaining consciousness from the sensation of something touching its neck, the Iron Wolf twisted its neck, trying to bite my hand.

“Hey!”

I pulled my hand back and quickly assessed its condition. Its body was perfectly fine. It didn’t seem to have sprained its leg while falling, either. Its only injury was the arrow stuck in its eye. Its fur was tough, but its eyes seemed ordinary.

I threw a dagger at the Iron Wolf, which was twisting its body and trying to stand up.

Whsssh…Splack!

“Yelp! Yip!”

More than half of the blade was lodged in its eye. The larger the body, the bigger the eyes, making them an easy target. Suddenly, the creature had fallen into a state of blindness.

It somehow managed to stand up, but it couldn’t adapt to the darkness. It crouched and began to guard its surroundings. A normal beast would have run away by now, but this one still wanted to fight. Monsters were monsters, it seemed.

Maintaining an appropriate distance, I threw the lasso rope that I had kept tied around my waist. I successfully looped it around its head, just like when I had used it on thugs before, but given its massive size, it was blocked by its forehead and failed to choke it. At best, I made it difficult for it to open its mouth.

But that was enough.

“Krrrgh!”

With its mouth tied, the beast shook its head in frustration. It seemed to try to remove the rope… but I pulled on the rope and stopped it. Of course, given the significant difference in strength, it wasn’t so much that I was restraining the Iron Wolf’s actions; rather, my body was being dragged around… but that was actually better.

Instead of resisting the force, I threw myself forward. Thanks to that, I closed the distance almost as if I were flying. At the precise moment, I kicked off the ground and successfully mounted its back.

“Krrrgh…!”

As soon as I mounted it, the creature bucked, trying to throw me off. It felt like I was risking my life in a rodeo… But being agile meant having the corresponding reflexes and sense of balance.

“Ahaha!”

I twisted my waist to respond to the violent thrashing of the Iron Wolf. As a result, even though my lower body was moving busily, my upper body remained still. Calmly, I brought my hand to its nose, drawing up the mana that had increased exponentially due to the countless magic herbs I had consumed.

“Weak Flame.”

Flwooom!

“Kheung?!”

The firepower was still questionable, but the flame from my hand was enough to thoroughly scorch the wolf’s moist nose.

“Keheung! Grrrrgh…Keheung!”

It was no longer a thrashing of anger but a desperate struggle to survive. The Iron Wolf tried everything to shake me off, from rolling over to rubbing its back on the ground to crashing into trees with all its might. Every time it did so, I managed to hold on while still keeping my hand to its nose, shifting from its back to its side, and sometimes even jumping.

It was actually peculiar for humans to be able to breathe through both the nose and mouth, as most mammals absolutely could not or struggled with open-mouth breathing. Then, what about in a situation where the mouth was half-blocked by a rope?

The nose of the Iron Wolf was scalded and swollen, and the only things entering the narrowed nostrils were the intensely heated air and the smoke made from the burning of its own flesh. The creature’s fierce resistance gradually became sluggish, and it soon started to droop. Its rebellious growling weakened and eventually went completely silent.

Still, just in case, I kept Weak Flame going a little longer. I only removed my hand after confirming that there was no response for over 10 seconds. There was a feeling of emptiness, as if two-thirds of my mana had been drained, but I hadn’t reached mana exhaustion. All those magic herbs I had diligently consumed actually paid off.

A sense of satisfaction rose from deep within my chest. I shouted out loud as if spitting that feeling out.

“Ellie down!!”

“Like I said, that isn’t Senior Ellie.”

Lydia, who had her greatsword drawn, ready to intervene at any moment, let out a long sigh.

“Still, you did well. Honestly, I thought even Jonah would struggle this time.”

“I was really shocked, too. I aimed for its inner hide, but I didn’t expect it to block the blade completely.”

“Yeah. If you get used to killing other creatures by fighting Goblins and get used to partying with others by facing Horn Rabbits, then Iron Wolf is a monster where you learn how to fight against enemies stronger than you.”

After all, compared to Goblins or Horn Rabbits, the Iron Wolf just felt like it had overall higher specs.

“I’m asking this just out of curiosity, but… how would you usually kill an Iron Wolf? You don’t suffocate them by burning their noses like I did, do you?”

“No, that’s one of the standard methods. If there’s a mage or a spirit master in the party, suffocating them from a distance by blocking their nose and mouth is the most efficient.”

“Oh…”

“But since mages and spirit masters are rare, it’s not that common of a sight. It’s even rarer to see someone get up close and burn their nose like Jonah did.”

“Then what’s the most commonly used method?”

“Blunt weapons.”

“Huh?”

“Iron Wolves are called that because their bodies are as tough as steel. It’s difficult for adventurers or weapons on the Floor 1 level to cut through them. So, they beat them to death.”

“…If it’s that thick, wouldn’t it be hard to kill by beating it?”

“That’s why you have to beat it until it dies.”

My goodness. They’re wolf cutlets while still alive. What a terrifying hunting method that is.

“Jonah, you should remember this too. Blades are effective weapons, but there are quite a few monsters that they don’t work well against.”

“That’s true. If it’s like this with an Iron Wolf, then golems or skeletons will really make you cry.”

It might be better with a large sword or similar hefty weapon. You can afford to damage the blade a bit and use it like a club. But for someone like me who uses a dagger, it would be much better to fight with a rock rolling around on the floor.

“But isn’t it dangerous to use a weapon you’re not accustomed to? I, for one, wouldn’t be confident handling a blunt weapon if told to.”

“Do you know the advantage of a blunt weapon?”

“What is it?”

“It’s okay to swing it without training. That’s why there’s swordsmanship but no hammermanship or clubmanship.”

“……”

Come to think of it, that made sense. Blunt weapons don’t require much attention other than the grip. And since every weapon needs a proper grip, it was an exception.

“Should I also prepare one as a secondary weapon…?”

“No. Jonah doesn’t need to.”

“Huh? You just said there are situations where a blunt weapon is needed.”

“The reason a blunt weapon can be swung any which way is because the mass itself is the weapon. But Jonah can’t use heavy weapons.”

“Ah…”

“Even if you could somehow manage to lift it, it needs to be swung strongly to be effective. Wouldn’t you get tired after a few swings?”

That’s true. I’ve grown significantly in overall specs thanks to hunting monsters left and right every time I come to the labyrinth… But all of it went to either physical strength or agility. But who knows, since this time I caught it with magic, my mana might increase.

As I nodded, slightly disheartened, Lydia patted my shoulder as if to comfort me.

“Jonah is still a baby.”

“Wahh…”

Jonah is a noob!