Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Capturing the Thin Wolf
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I thought we'd run into it right away, but my expectations kept getting betrayed.
Having kept my search skill active for two whole days made my head throb, and I couldn't focus properly.
Without the Goddess's Water Bottle, I would've collapsed long ago.
The water inside the Goddess's Water Bottle relieved fatigue and restored MP.
Thanks to the bottomless bottle, I could burn through way more MP than I was allotted without issue.
"Oppa. Over there."
Karen lowered her body as she spoke.
"Where?"
"There, that sheer cliff face. Thin Wolf's there."
As if it had picked the spot just to meet us, the wolf was waiting proudly atop the cliff.
"Let's go."
At Karen's signal, I followed silently.
Then it suddenly leaped off the cliff.
"Ah!"
"Damn..."
We'd finally found it, and now it was running away?
It wasn't some legendary Pokémon—was this really fair?
Looking down at the base of the cliff, the Thin Wolf sat leisurely, scratching its ear with a hind leg.
Like it was saying, "Come down if you dare."
"...Oppa. Should we jump?"
"Forget it. It's gotta be over 8 meters. One wrong move and we'd break our legs."
"But... it's right there."
Karen sighed.
With the goal right in front of us but no way to reach it, I couldn't blame her.
Should I try blasting it with magic? No, Fireball's range wasn't that long.
It probably wouldn't hit the Thin Wolf cleanly anyway.
Hadn't we done enough already?
I had no urgent mission forcing me to succeed. It was just a hassle.
But Karen was different. She had a dream. She had a reason to catch the Thin Wolf no matter what.
"Karen. Why do you want to be a hero candidate? To join the hero's party?"
"I want to see him again."
"Again? You've met the hero before?"
"Yeah. When I was little. We got attacked by a monster, and a passing hero saved us. I've always wanted to thank him for it..."
Karen smiled shyly and brushed it off. So that's why—wanting to stand proudly by the hero's side. That's why she became a candidate?
It wasn't exactly a story I cared to hear, but telling her to give up felt wrong.
Let's keep going as far as we can.
"We've got a rough idea of its location now. Let's circle around."
I opened my personal inventory to check our remaining food.
Water was infinite, so no worries there.
That's when I sensed movement behind us.
"Hey, what're you staring at?"
A man's voice, laced with mockery.
Turning around, I saw a rough-looking group of four smirking at us.
Something felt off. They were closing in like they were blocking our escape.
"Oppa."
The moment Karen tried to stick close to me.
One of the men suddenly shoved me.
"Huh?"
My body floated up.
By the time the chill hit me, I was already plummeting downward.
"Ugh, urk!"
Wind Spirit!
I hurriedly wrapped myself in spirit magic and hit the ground.
Even with the spirit cushioning the impact, the pain was so bad I wanted to vomit my guts out.
"Oppa!"
"Ugh."
Raw agony pierced every inch of my body.
"Can't let your guard down!"
I looked up.
Four unfamiliar male adventurers were peering down at me, snickering.
No way—were these the ones watching our tent setup?
They'd snuck up from behind. Damn it!
"Boyfriend! Don't worry. We'll have fun with your girl for you."
"G-Get lost!"
Karen drew her sword.
But the four men just laughed and cornered her. The cliff was at her back—no way out.
"Ugh...!"
Even fellow adventurers can't be trusted, huh.
Esty was right. If only I could call Esty right now...!
"Grrr."
I shot to my feet and spun around.
The Thin Wolf was glaring at me. Was this thing always this huge? I could've sworn it was bear-sized.
"Oppa!!"
Ah, damn it!
The Thin Wolf charged me. Too fast to dodge—I summoned a Wind Spirit to block its forepaw swipe.
But time was running out!
"Stay still! You wanna fall too?"
"Don't move if you don't wanna die."
"H-Hey! Stay put, bitch!"
This was urgent, and it was driving me crazy...
If I used the Wind Spirit to call Esty, wouldn't the Thin Wolf kill me?
I didn't want to think that way, but the odds were high.
As I weighed my life against calling Esty, something dropped from above.
"Ugh, whoa...!"
"Karen?"
Karen had thrown herself off the cliff.
"You crazy bitch!"
"Tch."
"What now?"
"We're screwed. That's why I said hold her properly."
Their voices faded.
The male adventurers had given up and left.
Now we had only one problem left.
"Karen, get up!"
"U-Ugh...!"
Karen staggered to her feet, but her leg was clearly injured.
The Thin Wolf immediately targeted her.
"Fireball!"
I fired a Fireball from right behind it, hitting the Thin Wolf.
It twisted away like it had eyes in the back of its head, switched targets, and charged me.
No. Too late...!
"I'll...!"
Karen shoved me aside and took the hit instead.
She flew back like she'd been hit by a car, tumbling away as blood gushed from her gut like a hole had been punched through.
"Huh, kuh!"
I gritted my teeth, shoving down the terror.
All I could think was that I couldn't afford to freeze up now.
I focused hard on the Wind Spirit. I'd half-expected something like this.
I couldn't handle this alone...!
"Esty!!"
The brief moment Karen took the blow gave me my chance.
But how quickly could Esty find us, not knowing where we were?
How were we supposed to hold out?
Right as those thoughts flashed through my mind.
A gust of wind blew, and Esty arrived.
In the blink of an eye.
"Decal!"
Esty took one look at my condition and made a face I'd never seen before.
"I'm killing it right here!"
The Thin Wolf zigzagged toward her at blinding speed but bounced off a wind barrier before it could get close.
"Yelp!"
The Thin Wolf tumbled across the ground, realized the gap in their skills, and bolted in panic.
But Esty already had an arrow nocked and aimed.
For some reason, that's when I did it.
"Esty. Don't shoot!"
I stopped her.
"I'm fine. Calm down. These are just wounds from the fall."
"And her?"
"Karen's..."
"...Haa. ...Haa."
Karen was barely breathing, unconscious.
The blood loss had turned her face pale blue. She had seconds before losing a lethal amount.
"She took the Thin Wolf's attack for me.
Right after falling off the cliff, she was out of it."
"...The cliff. Who pushed you, Decal?"
"Yeah. Esty. The wolf isn't the priority right now. Bring those bastards to me—one by one!"
Esty vanished with just the sound of wind, like when she'd arrived.
"Karen. Hang on... I'll heal you now."
I rummaged through my inventory and pulled out the Starlight Shell.
Just touching it heals, right? Damn it! My hands shook and I dropped the shell.
What the hell? I gripped it tight and pressed it against Karen's wound like a tourniquet.
"Urk..."
Karen vomited blood.
Argh! Was this really a healing shell?
No other choice. Even without medical knowledge, her wound looked fatal.
"Am I dying?"
"It's nothing. You're not dying."
"..."
Good. The bleeding's slowing.
The Starlight Shell's effect was beyond expectations. Karen's wound began closing right before my eyes, like it had never been there.
No way...!
I thanked the miracle.
I'd been smart to get the Starlight Shell.
It had saved Karen's life.
Confirming color returning to her face, I let out a sigh of relief.
Right on cue, Esty returned.
She'd captured all four of the ones who'd pushed me and lined them up before me.
"Decal. These guys?"
"Hiiik!"
"We messed up!"
"We weren't serious. Just lost our heads for a sec."
The four knelt, begging.
They'd clearly been shocked by their own kidnapping.
"See? Humans can't be trusted."
Esty muttered with disgust.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Thanks, Esty. You saved my life."
Esty's brow twitched.
"Decal. You almost got seriously hurt because of that Thin Wolf. Why'd you stop me from shooting?"
"If you killed it, Karen's dream dies."
"Your life matters more to me."
"Yeah. She saved my life. So I wanted to repay that much."
Esty glanced at the unconscious Karen.
That's when one of the groveling men drew a dagger from his belt and lunged at Esty.
"Argh!"
Esty didn't even look— she flicked him away with a Wind Spirit.
With a cold, blank expression, she nocked an arrow.
"Decal. What do we do with these?"
"......"
"We'll never do it again."
"Mercy!"
One had just tried to stab Esty, but now he was begging like nothing happened.
I knew it well. They weren't truly sorry—just groveling to survive. Not one was genuine.
Normally, I wouldn't have mentioned Esty's name to trash like this.
But it didn't matter now.
"I just had a fun idea."
They were dead anyway. Time to teach them something.
Snap.
I snapped my fingers, putting the four adventurers in a trance.
Esty stepped back a pace to watch me.
"You will 'absolutely obey my commands.'"
"Absolutely... obey..."
"Obey..."
I implanted the suggestion as a switch, not a trigger.
Forcing obedience while conscious instills fear.
Like when I'd first arrived in this world and demonstrated my power by punishing Bereira.
Of course, this wasn't going to be cute discipline.
"Esty. Guard Karen."
"What about you, Decal?"
"I'll deal with these and catch up."
"Okay."
What I had to do next was simple.
Clap.
I clapped to wake the adventurers.
"Get up, you vermin."
"Huh, heok!"
"My body's moving on its own...!"
"From now on, I'm your god."
I pointed toward where the Thin Wolf had fled.
"Find the Thin Wolf! Run!"
"Uwaaak!"
"No, no!"
The male adventurers ran off with terrified faces.
I summoned my Wind Spirit and followed lightly.
One of the four I sent screamed—he'd found the Thin Wolf.
"Vermin, assemble!"
I gathered the adventurers and faced off against the Thin Wolf.
Honestly, I had no confidence fighting it solo.
From melee to Wind Spirit arts and magic—everything was still foreign to me.
"Make it run away!"
"Please, I can't move!"
"What are you planning?!"
But hypnosis was different.
I'd been manipulating people with hypnosis since I was a kid.
With hypnosis, I could control this situation.
The Thin Wolf growled warily at us.
"Stake your lives to stop the Thin Wolf's movements!"
"U-Uwaaak!"
"Nooo!"
The four obeyed, drawing their swords and charging the Thin Wolf bravely.
Their faces were twisted in terror and despair, but they were soldiers fearless of death.
"Grrr!"
The Thin Wolf cleanly slashed one adventurer's throat with a forepaw swipe, but even with his neck split open, he clung on.
Following my command to the last.
"Kraaak! Die then...!"
As my puppets fought desperately, I quietly focused my mind.
"Fireball."
The overcharged Fireball was three times a soccer ball's size.
First time trying it for real.
"Fireball."
I cast another. MP drained like crazy, but I ignored it.
"Uwaaak!"
"My arm! My arm!"
"Doesn't matter if you can't fight anymore. Cling to the Thin Wolf desperately."
"Stop it!!"
The Thin Wolf's legs were pinned by the four half-dead adventurers still hanging on.
"Fireball."
Three in total.
Thanks to the goddess's blessing, I felt only warmth from the fire.
But they turned to me in horror, feeling the scorching heat.
"Fire magic? What the hell are you planning?"
"Stop! We're people, not monsters!"
"Hold tight. That's an order from your god."
I aimed the three Fireballs precisely at the Thin Wolf and the four adventurers.
Simple.
With hypnosis-controlled humans, even the nimblest prey could be caught.
(MP insufficient.)
(MP insufficient.)
(MP insufficient.)
My last scraps of MP.
I poured it all into the Fireballs and launched them with a gesture.
"Uwaaaak!"
The overcharged Fireballs were devastating.
The first incinerated the four men and the Thin Wolf at once. The second shattered the human barricade with impact.
The third slammed straight into the staggering Thin Wolf's head and exploded.
(Level up.)
(Level...)
Power surged through me.
I'd caught the Thin Wolf, and my levels exploded. Felt like almost 30.
"Hoo."
My first murders.
Watching people burn didn't feel good.
But refreshing? Yeah, a bit.
They were scum who deserved death socially, sure.
No such excuses in me, though.
This was straight-up murder.
They pushed me off a cliff and tried to touch my girl, so I killed them out of spite.
Deep breath. Accept it clean.
Strangely, a natural smile formed.