Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Trait Awakening
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I'd been engrossed in spear-making since morning.
Calling it "making" was a bit of a stretch— I just had to fit the spearhead onto the shaft.
"I'd like to make the shaft myself, though."
But that was beyond my current skills.
Chopping and shaping good wood was manageable enough, but straightening it out properly was surprisingly tough.
After a few failed attempts that ended in splintered chaos, I ended up ordering one from the workshop.
"Get in there!"
I jammed the spearhead onto the 1.5-meter shaft and hammered nails to secure it in place.
It felt a bit short, but my storage space was cramped, so there was no helping it.
"Still, with the blade added, it's pretty decent length."
About 1.8 meters— just a hair shorter than my height.
I stood it upright, and it looked pretty convincing.
I rubbed a bit of rabbit hide along the blade and nodded in satisfaction.
It sliced clean through without a hint of resistance.
That'd be a fatal wound on any small monster.
"Goblins excepted, of course."
Those bastards shoot paralyzing poison darts, making close range a nightmare.
I could always go in with fireworks like last time, but I'd rather not if I could help it.
Truth be told, I had a specific reason for making the spear.
I'd spotted a wolf pack in the forest.
Not the same breed as Dingo, who was snoozing peacefully by my side.
These were mane wolves— smaller builds, but they looked downright vicious.
"The silver wolf was way cooler."
Through the drone feed, I'd watched them try to hunt a baby wild boar.
The adults defended desperately and foiled them, but they still managed to drag down and kill one of the young ones.
"Bet that pork would've been delicious..."
I'd saved the baby wolf Dingo, but now I was drooling over the baby pig.
Felt a little unfair, but what could I do?
Dogs weren't food to me.
Anyway, the wolf pack's appearance was a serious threat to me too.
"Those guys were seriously fast..."
Not quite werewolf speed, but right up there with monsters.
Barring an ambush, my archery wouldn't even graze them.
Better to have something versatile for close quarters.
I'd tangled with plenty of goblins and kobolds, but wolves were new territory.
And for dealing with them, a spear was perfect.
I'd use every trick— net gun, fireworks, capsaicin spray— but the spear would be my main weapon.
"Gotta take those bastards out."
Otherwise, patrolling around the cave would be too risky.
The blade gleamed wickedly sharp.
An ancient weapon, honed by humanity since time immemorial.
They say once humans picked up spears, no animal could escape.
Time for me to live up to that legend.
Tracking the mane wolf pack wasn't hard.
Wolves have a habit of sticking around a good hunting ground once they find one.
Drone sweep around the wild boar kill site, and there they were.
This time's target: a valley deer.
I lifted the drone higher and watched the pack give chase.
"Whoa..."
The spectacle left me speechless for a moment.
It was straight out of a nature documentary.
The wolves were out to fill their bellies on that valley deer.
And to me, they were rivals— dangerous enemies.
Kill or be killed. The answer was clear.
I carefully maneuvered the drone to tail them from behind.
Those beasts weren't kidding around— their terrain traversal was insane.
Thinking about facing that without my dimension gate gave me chills.
"...Scarier than monsters."
The pursuit had reached the valley now.
The deer couldn't cross and bolted straight upstream.
Wasn't this the spot where I'd heard the owl bear's roar before?
I tensed up and lowered the drone.
Might actually get eyes on an owl bear.
Woof woof! Woof!
The cheap speaker blared the mane wolves' ferocious barks.
The valley deer didn't dare look back, just kept fleeing.
It slipped on some waterside rocks and nearly tumbled.
I was fully locked in on the deer, praying it'd make a clean getaway.
"Just let yourself get caught when I'm the one hunting."
I knew it was a ridiculous hope, but hey, that's humanity for you.
Then the upstream forest rustled violently, and something emerged.
An owl bear.
Monster fusing a bear's body with an owl's upper half— it charged straight at the deer.
The valley deer swerved desperately, but too late.
The owl bear barreled in, swinging its leg talons, and the deer crumpled.
Its head was smashed to pulp.
"Damn."
Way too easy.
Couldn't last three seconds— not even one.
The wolves and owl bear squared off.
Winner takes the deer.
The wolves bared their teeth, but couldn't hold for long.
As the owl bear crouched to charge, they yelped and fell back.
"You should just run..."
The owl bear's agility wasn't far off from the wolves.
Keep pushing their luck, and they'd pay big.
"Good news for me, though."
Instead of fleeing, the wolves switched tactics.
One drew the owl bear's attention while the others snuck bites of the deer.
"Eat-and-run strategy, huh."
Looked like a win-win on the surface, but not quite.
The greedy one with its snout buried in the carcass got nabbed.
"It's over."
The wolf's fate matched the deer's.
Tried to flee, but its hind leg snapped and dangled.
Then the leg talons finished it— instant death.
Belly split wide, spilling blood and guts.
"Oof."
I pulled the drone skyward.
The pack bolted for real now, minus one.
The owl bear gave chase but wasn't gaining much speed.
"My turn now."
With their numbers thinned, time to move.
I left the soundly sleeping Dingo and packed my gear.
The mane wolf pack was down to four from five.
The owl bear, loaded with deer, headed back upstream without further pursuit.
Right now, the battered remnants were limping toward the cave.
I confirmed their path, recovered the drone, and set up my ambush.
Running through the plan again.
"Net gun first— lock down two completely..."
Good thing I'd ordered two just in case.
That leaves two.
"Neutralize one with the capsaicin spray."
Spray range was about 3-4 meters— longer than the spear, so lead with that.
Whittle to 1v1, then spear thrust.
My limbs were snug in the stab suit for protection.
Even if bitten, no flesh torn off.
"We'll see about that."
With a warrior's resolve, I waited behind the rock.
They wouldn't spot me right away even sniffing around.
Wind was in my favor too.
"..."
Here they come.
Pawsteps mixed with growls reached my ears.
I peeked the smartphone lens over the rock.
Not too close, not too far— perfect range.
Net gun targets: the two on the right.
Final checks on the net gun and weapons placement.
Now!
I burst from cover, aiming at the wolves.
They hadn't reacted yet.
Pop— the net exploded forward.
The target mane wolves were instantly tangled and helpless.
One down!
The three survivors finally spotted me.
I snatched the second net gun from the ground and fired again.
Another wolf netted.
This thing's got some serious performance!
The remaining wolves charged.
How many seconds to close 15 meters?
I grabbed spear and spray in each hand.
Long burst of spray at the onrushing wolf.
Yelp!
Animals with keen noses suffer hell from this stuff.
Mane wolf no exception— lost balance, tumbling across the ground.
Last one!
I chucked the spray and gripped the spear.
But the mane wolf was faster than I'd figured.
One glance away, and its fangs were in my face.
"Gah!"
I went down with the wolf on top.
It mauled wildly.
But my full gear— stab suit, helmet— held firm.
I shoved its maw back with one arm.
"Get off! Go!"
Grrrrr—
It clamped on my arm and whipped its head furiously.
Plate taste good? Teeth starting to ache?
My free hand drew the survival knife from my belt.
Straight to the flank.
Yelp!
Stab! Twist!
It leaped away, releasing my arm.
Blood dotted the ground.
Knife was long enough for a solid wound.
But I had no time to wait for it to bleed out.
While it thrashed in unexpected agony, I seized the spear.
"Die!"
Full-force thrust— blade punched clean through its neck from behind.
The mane wolf went limp, tongue lolling in death.
What's left?
My helmet shield was fogged opaque.
I flipped it up and advanced on the head-shaking wolf.
Its eyes were squeezed shut.
"Huff! Huff!"
Panting hard, I speared its chest deep.
Yanked free— it crumpled.
Now the two netted ones.
No letting guard down— I kept at max spear range for each thrust.
Their death howls echoed, but better their screams than mine.
Battle finally over, thick blood stench hit me.
I slumped to the ground and checked the scrolling messages.
"...What's this now?"
Level and points were expected, but additional effects on the trait?
Gonna have to test this out myself.
"Dimension gate, open."
The gate that appeared before me was subtly different from the usual.
Semi-transparent, maybe? The blue hue had mostly faded.
Transparency effect— invisible to others, I figured.
"Handy if so."
Could be seriously useful depending on the situation.
And the projection effect? Game-changer.
The view on the other side displayed right in the gate like a live feed.
Basically turned the dimension gate into a CCTV monitor.
Sound came through too— perfect.
No one but me could enter anyway.
If things went south, hop through, monitor other dimensions. How convenient.
"These kicking in at level 5 means..."
Maybe level 10, 15 would add more.
Better grind levels hard, then.
I buried the four wolves with a grin on my face.
Back at the cave, peeling off my gear revealed a throbbing forearm.
"Tch... damn wolves."
Their bite force was no joke— my plate carrier was dented.
And claw snags had torn the stab suit in spots.
Time to order extras.
Dingo woke up and came over to lick my wounds.
Hey, my face is fine.