Chapter 43
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 043
Chapter Title: The Coward and the Bramble Knight (4)
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‘I wonder when it'll show up.’
The werewolf visited every night, but the timing was always irregular.
Sometimes in the early evening, other times in the dead of night.
There was no pattern to it.
That was why I was just waiting around blindly.
It wasn't particularly taxing.
All I had to do was sit in place.
If I'd been here alone, I might have been pretty tense, but luckily, I wasn't by myself this time.
‘Reassuring as ever, Gilbert!’
The clothes of Birch Baron lay right in front of my feet.
Buried in the soil beneath them was Gilbert, lying in wait.
It was a stealth method only possible for the undead.
‘Hurry up and come already...’
I'd been holding out like that with Gilbert for a few hours.
Could it have sensed something off and abandoned the ambush?
Just as that anxiety started creeping in, something registered at the edge of my mana detection range.
A familiar presence.
No doubt about it—the werewolf.
‘Guess it's time for me to get ready too?’
With that thought, I cast a spell.
The werewolf caught the scent of Birch Baron.
It was wafting from quite a distance away from the camp.
Strange.
There was no way the coward would venture out alone like that.
It screamed trap.
But it nagged at him too much to ignore, so the werewolf cautiously headed toward the source.
‘Out for a leak? No, he wouldn't come this far just to piss. High chance it's the lure trap I suspected from the start.’
The scent grew sharper, mingled with the stench of urine.
The werewolf pressed on with that guess in mind and soon reached his destination.
The first thing that caught his eye was Birch Baron's clothes.
‘Trap it is.’
His eyes could discern objects clearly even in the darkness.
That's how he spotted the clothes sprawled on the ground and realized it was a setup.
The werewolf, now primed to bolt at a moment's notice...
But he sensed no presence whatsoever.
No other scents either.
‘What the...?’
He could detect the knights' scents, but faintly—meaning they were far off.
In other words, no one was around.
‘Then why pull this stunt...?’
With that question lingering, the werewolf slowly approached the clothes.
And the instant he picked them up...
The ground suddenly heaved, and two skeletal hands burst out from below.
They clamped down hard on his ankles.
“Shit!”
The repulsive sensation of bony fingers gripping his ankles.
Startled, the werewolf tried to shake them off, but their grip was unnaturally strong.
As he struggled to break free...
“Gotcha.”
A voice rang out.
The werewolf knew exactly who it belonged to.
It was the one he'd been most wary of.
“The mage...!”
Just then, the mage appeared in front of him.
The darkness cloaking his body dissipated, finally revealing his form.
His scent hit at the same time.
Only then did the werewolf realize the mage had been hiding with magic.
“First time seeing me up close, huh?”
The boyish-faced mage asked in a relaxed tone.
Right after...
A jagged rock shot up from the ground and pierced his left thigh.
“Gaaarrrgh—!”
In the dead of night.
A scream of agony echoed into the sky.
‘Operation success.’
I thought that while watching the werewolf writhe in pain.
The spell I'd used to fool him was Hide and Seek.
A technique from Rozanna's grimoire.
It cloaked my body in darkness for stealth, even masking my scent and presence—enough to easily dupe the werewolf's keen senses.
“Playing dirty!”
At that moment, the werewolf swung the sword in his right hand and shattered the rock impaling his thigh.
Tremendous power.
If I let this go on, he'd surely break free of Gilbert's grasp too.
I had to rack up as much damage as possible first.
“Not dirty to turn werewolf every night and terrorize people?”
I shot back while casting Stone Spike again.
A rock promptly pierced his intact thigh.
A measure to curb his mobility.
With both legs crippled, even if he escaped, running wouldn't be easy.
‘Mana left: 180.’
I quickly calculated my remaining mana without taking my eyes off him.
Hide and Seek had cost 50.
Two Stone Spikes, another 50.
Enough left for seven more Stone Spikes.
Plenty.
“I'll make you regret trying to take me alone.”
As I wrapped up that thought...
The werewolf swung his sword at Gilbert's hand gripping his ankle.
I couldn't just watch.
I cast Lightning Bolt to keep him in check.
Lightning Bolt
Directed strike / Minimal effect / Mana: -25
Zap!
The bolt shot out fast and struck the werewolf square in the body.
He just twitched—no other effects.
Felt like Lightning magic didn't work well on him.
Still, it stopped his attack on Gilbert, so mission accomplished.
Mana down to 155 now.
‘Even a fake werewolf's still a werewolf, huh? Definitely sturdy.’
The werewolf before me had innate limitations.
His base form was human, after all.
Compared to a true werewolf, his physical abilities couldn't measure up.
Yet he was this resilient?
Unexpected.
There really was a big gap between book knowledge and experiencing it firsthand.
“Grrrngh!”
Mad at getting pummeled?
The werewolf roared and tried to bolt.
I hit him with Stone Spike again.
This time targeting head and chest.
To finish him for good.
Mana now at 105.
Thud!
The pointed rock pierced his chest.
And right on its heels, the follow-up.
He dodged the head shot by jerking aside.
Not a perfect evade.
The right side of his face got scraped by the rock, tearing it open and baring his sharp fangs.
‘Damn, dodges what he can even now.’
He took the chest hit but twisted to protect his heart, avoiding a lethal blow.
Handled the head follow-up with minimal damage too.
Incredible reflexes.
But no time to admire.
Right after my spell landed, he finally wrenched free of Gilbert's grip.
Riiip!
He tore through the restraint with raw strength.
His ankle flesh shredded in the process, but he didn't seem to care.
Thump.
Losing balance as he yanked his foot free, the werewolf toppled.
He sprang right back up and charged me.
Closing the long distance in a single leap.
‘Letting him close in would be bad.’
With that in mind, I focused ahead.
Werewolf hurtling toward me.
Dodging mid-air would be tough for him.
Crisis... and opportunity.
Boom!
A Stone Spike erupted from the ground toward the airborne werewolf.
Aimed at his face.
He reacted by shifting his head aside.
Yeah, I hadn't really expected to nail his head anyway.
It was just to block his approach.
Stab!
The Stone Spike pierced his right shoulder.
The force flung him backward.
Mana left: 80.
‘Tough bastard.’
After tumbling several rolls, the werewolf flipped and regained his footing fast.
Charged me again.
Blood spraying everywhere from the exertion, but his movements stayed vigorous.
And that wasn't the only problem.
‘Insane regenerative power too—wounds healing in real time.’
The injuries I'd inflicted.
Couldn't see the cross-sections clearly under all that fur, but I was sure they were closing fast.
Bleeding had visibly lessened.
Still, full recovery would take time. Good thing.
If not, he'd be a troll.
‘Gilbert!’
I sent the mental command.
Boom!
The ground exploded upward as a skeleton burst from below.
The skull that emerged blocked the werewolf's path and swung its sword.
“What the hell...!”
The startled werewolf swung back.
The moment their weapons clashed...
Clang—!
Metal rang out, and a test of strength began.
Skreeee.
Gilbert was getting pushed back, so the werewolf had the edge in raw power.
Didn't matter.
His job was just to hold the enemy.
Thud!
A rock speared up from the ground and pierced the werewolf's right side while their swords locked.
The follow-up nailed his left.
“Gaaack—!”
The moment he screamed from the unexpected hits...
Gilbert exploited the opening and thrust.
Stab!
The blade pierced his chest.
Aimed straight for the heart.
“Urgh...”
Taking the mortal blow, the werewolf groaned in agony and collapsed.
He clutched his chest, whimpering.
Then he turned his head and glared up at me with venomous eyes.
“Not bad. You've got skills.”
His long, wolfish snout.
Moving fluidly to speak human words—it was oddly fascinating.
Ah, but of course.
His true form was human.
As I mulled that over, the werewolf started talking.
“But don't get cocky thinking you've beaten me. You have no idea how terrifying they are... Mark my words. They'll come for you soon. And they'll kill you.”
What kind of psychology makes someone spout that while dying?
Probably just to leave me uneasy.
Nothing else came to mind.
“You mean Eremus's black mages?”
I asked back, and his eyes bulged.
Then he let out a hollow chuckle.
“You already knew, huh.”
“They're the ones who turned you into this too, right?”
The werewolf gave a small nod.
Then he went still.
‘It's over.’
Mana left after the fight: 30.
Cutting it close.
‘Should've gone for vitals from the start.’
I replayed the battle, wondering if I'd been inefficient with my spells.
Just then, Bear's voice came from nearby.
“Lord Heros! Are you alright?”
I turned to see Bear and Conall sprinting this way.
They must've heard the werewolf's screams.
That was the original plan, so they'd executed it perfectly.
Problem was...
The fight was already done.
“I'm fine.”
I spread my arms to show off my condition.
Ah, Gilbert had already vanished.
Thanks to that, Conall hadn't spotted him.
“You took down the werewolf by yourself?”
Conall arrived and checked the corpse before asking me.
His voice trembled a bit—he was shocked.
“Yeah. Once I engaged, he was manageable. So I handled him solo.”
“How in the world...”
“With magic.”
As I chatted with Conall...
Suddenly, the werewolf's body began to change.