The White Wolf's Submission
The treasures of the Ultika Ruins were a beautiful wristguard adorned with silver fur and a large iron ring.
◈ Strength: 67
◈ The mane of a magic-wielding werewolf is attached. The wearer gains the werewolf's immense strength. When facing a powerful foe, the wearer may summon the soul of the ancient wolf at will.
◈ A collar imbued with the magic of submission. Allows the capture and taming of beast-type monsters. The greater the level difference between target and owner, the lower the success rate. Exhausted or status-afflicted monsters are easier to capture. Perfect capture is possible if the target acknowledges the owner.
The Ultika Ruins have been conquered.
Conqueror: Kang Yoonsoo
1st Place Achievement: Shanette Elogran
You have become the conqueror of the Ultika Ruins.
The ruins' magic has infused your body.
Agility has slightly increased.
Physical abilities improve under moonlight.
Critical hit chance against wolf-type monsters has increased.
Current number of conquered ruins: 1
A total of 729 monsters remain alive within the ruins.
The werewolves will not forgive a conqueror who broke their promise.
“Amazing. Achievements are ranked when you conquer a ruin? That’ll make splitting rewards easier for clans later on.”
Shanette Elogran waved her fingers through the air, her eyes widening.
Kang Yoonsoo equipped the Silver Mane Wristguard.
Accessories that boosted strength were rare. The Silver Mane Wristguard’s effects were solid enough to cover for his lacking level to some degree.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke.
“Let’s go.”
“Out of the ruins?”
“Yeah.”
“But… there are still tons of werewolves inside. They’ll be furious this time. Persuading them won’t be easy, right?”
Shanette Elogran furrowed her brows slightly.
She didn’t even want to imagine being torn apart by over seven hundred werewolves.
Yet Kang Yoonsoo simply said,
“It’s fine.”
He held up the Collar of Submission in his hand.
The two descended from the altar and left the room.
The Wild White Wolf Beast was still collapsed from muscle pain.
Kang Yoonsoo leaped nimbly and wrapped the Collar of Submission around its neck.
“Grrraaargh…!”
The Wild White Wolf Beast resisted fiercely, but it couldn’t overpower Kang Yoonsoo. It tried to claw the tightening collar apart, yet its body toppled before it could.
The Wild White Wolf Beast has been successfully captured.
Would you like to tame this monster?
“Tame it.”
Taming of the Wild White Wolf Beast successful.
The Wild White Wolf Beast has been freed from the Ultika Ruins.
Please give a name to the tamed monster.
Kang Yoonsoo gazed at the beast’s pure white fur.
“White.”
A variant of the werewolf. Born with white fur, it was driven from the pack. After awakening as a werewolf by chasing moonlight, it wandered the wilds until the ruins’ magic turned it into a boss monster. Its temperament is violent, and it distrusts everything.
The Wild White Wolf Beast had become a named monster.
Unlike ordinary monsters, named monsters could level up on their own.
From this moment on, the Wild White Wolf Beast White could grow in level while remaining a boss monster.
Kang Yoonsoo pulled the dark iron dagger from White’s body.
He took a landworm antenna and a wooden bowl from his pack.
He poured the remaining honey wine into the bowl and ground the antenna into it. Then he stirred the yellowish liquid vigorously.
“Swallow it.”
“Urrno… yip!”
Kang Yoonsoo kicked White’s jaws open.
Thwack!
White, struck right on its newly growing teeth, opened its mouth wide in agony. Kang Yoonsoo seized the moment and poured the mixture down its throat.
Gulp.
Once the liquid went down, White’s eyes widened. Remarkably, the muscle pain throughout its body began to ease.
The mixture Kang Yoonsoo had created had a temporary muscle-relaxing effect.
Kang Yoonsoo wound the collar around his hand and climbed onto White’s broad back.
White immediately snarled and tried to rise on two legs, but the collar’s magic forced it to submit.
White’s sharp eyes burned with rage, yet it couldn’t throw Kang Yoonsoo off.
Kang Yoonsoo, mounted on the Wild White Wolf Beast, extended a hand to Shanette Elogran.
“Get on.”
“A-are you sure it’s okay to just ride it?”
She asked with a fearful expression.
She had heard of skilled tamers occasionally riding wild wolves, but boarding this savage werewolf? She had never even imagined such a thing.
“It’s fine.”
Shanette Elogran hesitated.
Could she trust this man?
Her hesitation didn’t last long.
She made up her mind and grasped Kang Yoonsoo’s hand.
Yes. She could give him a little trust.
Shanette Elogran carefully climbed on behind Kang Yoonsoo. Fearing she might fall, she wrapped both arms tightly around his back.
Kang Yoonsoo gave the command.
“Run.”
“Grrraaaaargh-!”
“Kyaaaaaaaah-!”
White shot forward like a gale.
Though Shanette Elogran had riding experience, the speed was so extreme that her vision blurred. Her hair whipped back, and she could barely hold her head steady.
Kang Yoonsoo yanked the collar hard, forcing White to change direction violently. Each time, Shanette Elogran felt as though she were crossing the boundary between life and death.
“Kyaaaaaaaah-!”
“Yip! Yip!”
“Grrraaargh!”
Once they left the heart of the ruins, werewolves charged with fangs bared. Yet even they couldn’t match White’s speed. The werewolves bared their teeth and ran until they tired themselves out and fell behind.
Occasionally, wolves blocked the path, but White, despite its violent nature, only snarled and dodged them rather than killing its kin.
Contrary to the stable ride and gentle swaying that rivaled a carriage, Shanette Elogran clenched her teeth hard.
“Fine, my ass… what’s fine about thisssss-!”
“Yeah. I lied.”
Shanette Elogran felt genuine murderous intent.
And she could somewhat sympathize with White’s fury.
The Wild White Wolf Beast carrying the two let out a great howl and dashed out of the ruins.
“Urrnokra-!”
* * *
Hilledan.
A small city famous for alchemy.
Built across the wasteland, Hilledan was a far more bustling place than the Kellin territory.
Layer upon layer of buildings and countless pedestrians.
Stubborn men haggling with merchants, bards singing for coin.
Travelers like Kang Yoonsoo, wearing Terminals on their wrists, could also be seen here and there.
The travelers moved busily, discussing adventures or frequenting taverns.
It was a peaceful city with a pleasant scent in the air.
Shanette Elogran closed her eyes, then slowly opened them.
A new sight.
Unfamiliar scents and a brisk wind.
A lively crowd.
Her heart fluttered and raced.
“Cities… really are wonderful places.”
“Hilledan is a small city.”
“Really? There are places bigger than this?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re planning to go there too, right?”
“Yeah.”
Shanette Elogran smiled with the eager expression of a child heading to a picnic tomorrow.
Kang Yoonsoo, on the other hand, remained expressionless.
‘I have to grow stronger by traveling the continent and kill the Demon Lord.’
Unlike Shanette Elogran, Kang Yoonsoo felt no excitement anywhere on the continent.
He had visited every kind of place imaginable—from a neighborhood kid’s secret hideout to the Ruin Dragon’s Nest.
If there were still places that made his heart race, they would be the continent’s forbidden zones and the magic towers.
Those were truly forbidden places where even with the knowledge of his past lives, one could die in an instant.
He had visited them a few times in his previous lives, but even after reaching his peak, he had barely survived.
‘I’m not going there anyway.’
Rapid growth was possible, but the risk was far too great.
After all, Kang Yoonsoo had no intention of dying before he killed the Demon Lord.
‘What I need to do in Hilledan is…’
In his first life, coming to Hilledan had been nothing but hardship.
Back then, he couldn’t have imagined the dangers lurking in this peaceful small city.
But now it was different.
Kang Yoonsoo had regressed endlessly.
He knew exactly what he needed to do to gain the greatest advantage.
‘First, I have to kill that bastard.’
Ironically, the first thing Kang Yoonsoo planned to do in this harmonious city was murder.