Ch.193Lycanthrope

“Ugh, I’m dying…”

Stone-spitting worms,

Giant pill bugs with iron shells,

Bats with jewel-like camouflage and invisibility abilities,

House-sized green slimes,

A4 paper-sized butterflies spraying poison powder,

Large bears with owl-like beaks and feathers,

Mountain goats that zigzag jump while spewing fireballs,

And a 20-meter-long snake with two heads.

After battling through these eight monsters, I gulped down a continuous healing potion and sat on a rock to rest.

“Am I really supposed to get through this relying on just one skill? Is this the basic level of ability required to be respected as a warrior in Silver Wolf society?”

Even as I say this, I’m somehow pushing through with the help of magic bombs, revolvers, and potions, but I can’t imagine how anyone could pass through here with just a melee weapon, no matter how physically superior they might be.

“Still, it seems like I’m approaching the end…”

Looking ahead, I could see the narrow canyon path stretching straight ahead in a gentle upward slope.

At the end of that slope stood a stone building resembling an ancient Greek temple, exuding an ominous presence.

Considering that all the battlegrounds I’ve passed through so far utilized natural terrain, that temple is likely the final stage for the decisive battle with the lycanthrope.

…That is, if the Silver Wolf tribe’s sense isn’t completely twisted.

“Let’s see, what I have left…”

Before the final confrontation (presumably), I check my inventory once more.

One continuous healing potion left, antidotes are gone, and the emergency potion set of three that Jessica prepared remains untouched.

Of the magic bombs Mina made for me, two were damaged in battles with the owl-bear and the two-headed snake, leaving only two intact.

The knife that Phyllis enhanced with magic remains unused, and both the revolver and Wolfsbane are in good condition.

“This should be enough to take down one lycanthrope without much trouble. All this suffering just to get an aphrodisiac, seriously.”

The aphrodisiac I’ll obtain isn’t even for my use—it’ll be handed over to help some rich young master’s harem life, but if it helps me find Phyllis’s family in return, I suppose it’s worth it.

Of course, if that dark elf Calliope doesn’t have useful information, this whole trial will have been for nothing.

“Alright, I’ve recovered, so let’s get moving.”

After confirming that the scrapes and bruises on my body had completely healed, I placed both pistols in their holsters and headed toward the temple on the hill, which I presumed to be the final gate.

Was it just my imagination that the wind blowing through the canyon seemed to carry a murderous intent?

Despite my sense of duty to obtain the Emperor’s Token for information about Phyllis’s family, anxiety about abandoning the trial right now was coloring my heart.

“Phew…”

After taking a deep breath to calm my pounding heart, I finally passed through the temple entrance into the interior, where stone floors were laid here and there.

The square interior of the temple, with its open ceiling, was broken and dented all over.

Were these traces of the desperate battles that previous challengers had fought against the lycanthrope?

Just as that thought crossed my mind.

“Awoooooo~!!”

A wolf’s howl echoed throughout the canyon.

Feeling my hair stand on end with a chilling sensation, I looked up in the direction of the howl and saw a werewolf standing on two legs atop a stone structure connecting two pillars, looking down at me.

“A werewolf as expected… Come on then, let’s see what you’ve got.”

“GRAWR~!!”

The werewolf on the pillar crouched down once, then launched itself toward me like a cannonball.

A massive body about 2.5 meters tall, ominous red gleam flowing from its eyes, and a mouth wide open as if to swallow me whole.

It was a terrifying sight that could make one lose their will to fight and collapse just by looking at it.

‘Bang! Bang!’

I quickly fired two shots from my revolver at the charging werewolf and threw myself sideways. The werewolf landed where I had been standing, then made a right-angle turn to attack again.

It seemed unaffected by the white magic bullets that had hit its face and shoulder.

“Wha!?”

‘Riiip!’

The werewolf’s claw attack was much faster than I expected.

I barely managed to dodge by leaning my body, but the small bag on my back was caught by its claws and torn open, spilling its contents onto the floor.

“You beast!”

‘Bang-bang-bang-bang!’

I fired one shot into each of its arms and legs while quickly creating distance between us.

The bombs and emergency potions are attached to my pouch anyway, so the spilled contents of the bag won’t affect the fight.

“GRAAAH-!!”

Perhaps frustrated that its attacks kept missing, the werewolf began wildly swinging its claws while letting out a monstrous roar.

Black trajectories like shadows remained where the claws had swept through—this must be the “close-range attack infused with black magic” that Jessica mentioned.

‘No time to reload… In that case!’

Barely avoiding the attacks with the help of my skill, I pulled out a red test tube from my waist and emptied its contents into my mouth.

“Ugh!?”

It’s spicy!!

It felt like drinking high-proof liquor mixed with chili powder, bringing tears to my eyes, but I stayed focused and prepared for the werewolf’s next attack.

Perhaps because I made a motion of consuming something in the middle of the fight, the werewolf, which had been swinging its claws, opened its mouth wide and charged to bite my neck.

“PUHAAA–!!”

‘WHOOSH!’

“KYAAAAA!?!?”

As the werewolf approached head-on, I exhaled the heat filling my mouth, and crimson flames burst forth, engulfing the werewolf’s face.

This was Paracelsus Workshop’s special Fire Breath Potion.

“GRAWL! KAACK! GRRRR…!!”

The fire that clung to the werewolf’s body wouldn’t easily extinguish due to its full-body fur.

If it had been ordinary fire, it might have ignored it with physical resistance and charged anyway, but the flames produced by the Fire Breath Potion contained magical power despite appearances.

Although not enough to kill it, the flames would have dealt significant damage to the werewolf.

While the werewolf rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the flames, I was able to reload my revolver and create sufficient distance.

And I left a little gift near the writhing, burned werewolf.

‘BOOM-!!’

Just as the flames covering its body were nearly out, Mina’s special magic bomb exploded at close range.

The werewolf, its fur completely burned off and looking quite pitiful, was thrown violently by the blast.

“Grrrr…grrrrr…!”

Yet its special ability that “only silver weapons can kill it” was no mere decoration—even with full-body burns, the werewolf still burned with fighting spirit as it slowly got to its feet.

The fact that it didn’t immediately charge after standing up was probably due to the Fire Breath Potion from earlier.

‘Though I’ve already used up most of the Fire Breath with that one attack.’

There was a limit to the total amount of flames one could exhale after consuming the Fire Breath Potion, and I had used more than 95% of that total in that single attack.

I judged it more advantageous to imprint the danger in the werewolf’s mind with one powerful attack rather than conserving it for multiple smaller ones.

That strategy worked, and just letting out small remnants of fire from my mouth whenever the werewolf showed signs of charging was enough to make it hesitate.

All that remained was to avoid the werewolf’s hit-and-run attacks from an awkward distance while repeating the cycle of firing and reloading my revolver.

‘Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!’

“GRAWL!”

At this ambiguous distance—neither too close nor too far—even with the werewolf’s superior agility, it couldn’t dodge the magic bullets from my revolver.

If it had been a commercial product, perhaps, but this revolver had been modified by Mina to greatly enhance bullet velocity.

After allowing several attacks to land, the werewolf seemed to realize this and decided to make a bold move, targeting the moment I was reloading.

“GRAAAH-!!”

The massive body of the werewolf launched itself fiercely off the ground.

I could feel its determination to kill me for certain, even if it meant getting hit with the Fire Breath once more.

To ensure I avoided that attack, I fixed my gaze on the revolver’s cylinder and relied on my danger perception ability.

‘If I simply dodge this attack, the werewolf will realize I can no longer use the breath.’

If that happens, the werewolf will resume its ferocious close-quarters combat, and the situation will instantly turn unfavorable.

So this is the moment I need to make my move.

Now is my chance, when both of the werewolf’s feet are off the ground as it tries to close the distance with a jump.

‘Being careful not to activate the skill in my left hand…’

Abandoning the thought of breaking through the slowed flow of time, I adapt to the “slowness” and slowly extend my left hand to my waist.

Though my perception is accelerated, my body is not, so I cannot perform movements beyond my original physical capabilities.

My carefully extended left hand draws the silver short-barreled pistol that hasn’t been used once during this trial.

‘Whoosh!’

I dodge the werewolf’s claw attacks aimed at my face by leaning backward like the male protagonist in a dystopian sci-fi movie.

Due to the limits of my reaction speed, the werewolf’s strong claws slightly graze my left cheek.

I’m lying back, and the werewolf is passing over me in a prone position.

The burned werewolf’s defenseless chest passes right before my eyes.

“Got you.”

‘BANG-!’

Silver buckshot bursts from the muzzle of Wolfsbane, created solely to kill lycanthropes.

An anti-lycanthrope spreading penetration round, designed to limit dispersion and crush the weak point with certainty.

That fatal magical silver bullet finally shattered the fierce werewolf’s heart.