All monsters are beings consumed by the blessing of madness.
They have lost their sanity, become more aggressive, and gained formidable power as a result.
The goblins, instead of living by instinct, have lost self-control and obtained power that seemed impossible for their size.
The Horn Rabbit has lost its anger management skills and instead gained sharp horns and incredible speed while crashing into everything it sees.
“Grr!”
So, what has the wild Ellie…no, the Iron Wolf lost and gained?
The Iron Wolf has lost sexual pleasure. And it has gained an extremely bulked-up body.
It’s not that they can’t reproduce, can’t get it on with a tree, or have only daughters.
They can still get busy and mate, and even have pups, but…no matter what they do, they can’t feel good about it.
Their heightened libido, strengthened by the thrill of the hunt, remains the same! It even comes with a rutting season…!
That’s why it can’t help but become so ferocious.
“Poor thing. I’ll put an end to that pitiful life today.”
I tensed my body, left hand forward with the crossbow, drawing back the dagger in my right hand.
The Iron Wolf also lowered its stance, ready to charge at any moment.
A brief stand-off. But it didn’t last long.
“Die!”
I shouted loudly and kicked a stone at the Iron Wolf. Reflexively, it charged at me first.
“Grrr!”
The beast, the size of a bull, stomped forward. It sounds simple, but when it’s charging right at you, the impact is intense.
But it’s okay. It’s not that fast. Slower than even the Horn Rabbit.
Grinning, I dashed towards the Iron Wolf.
Whoosh!
As the distance shrank quickly, just a few steps from contact,
“Hah!”
I pretended to charge straight at the beast but veered off to the side.
The trajectory almost bent at a 90-degree angle, like someone pulling me from the side.
Light body, flexible joints. Such agility could only be executed with an ideal physique.
Seeing prey slip away at its feet, the Iron Wolf urgently turned but it was too late. I was already at its side.
As it hesitated for a moment to change direction, being a quadrupedal creature, I shot my wrist crossbow at its rapidly changing head.
The arrow found its way straight into the Iron Wolf’s eye.
Thwoop—
“Yelp!”
The beast shrieked and thrashed in pain. In its panic, its legs got tangled and it rolled.
I seized that opportunity and dashed in to swing my dagger. My target: the inner neck.
The outer fur was half-armored, so I aimed for the relatively soft inner part.
Squish.
“Damn.”
The big size means thicker hide, huh? Even aiming for the inner skin, the dagger couldn’t penetrate. I left just a scratch.
It was a result of my insufficient strength, and the weapon’s dullness too.
The moment the Iron Wolf noticed something touching its neck, it twisted its head to bite my hand.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
I quickly withdrew my hand while assessing its condition.
The body seemed perfectly fine. It didn’t look like it had twisted a leg while falling. The only injury was the arrow lodged in its eye.
While its fur was tough, I guess its eyesight was pretty ordinary.
I threw my dagger towards the struggling Iron Wolf.
Thwack! Psshh!
The blade sunk in past the halfway point into its eye. With its massive eyes, it wasn’t hard to hit.
Now it was a blind beast, having lost both eyes.
It managed to get up somehow, but maybe it couldn’t adapt to its darkened vision. It curled up and started to be wary of its surroundings.
Normal beasts would have run away by now, but it was still willing to fight. Truly, a monster is a monster.
Maintaining a suitable distance, I threw the lasso rope I had tied around my waist. Just like I did with those thugs before, I managed to loop it around its head perfectly…
But with such a large frame, it failed to tighten around its neck; it merely made it hard to open its mouth.
But that was enough.
“Grrr!”
With its mouth tied up, it shook its head. It seemed it wanted to free itself, but I pulled the rope to thwart its struggle.
Of course, with such a power difference, it was less about restricting the Iron Wolf and more about me being dragged along… but that was actually good.
Not resisting the force of the pull, I threw my body forward. Thanks to that, I was virtually flying toward my target.
At just the right moment, I pushed off the ground and managed to land atop its back.
“Grrr…!”
The moment I landed, the Iron Wolf thrashed in an attempt to throw me off. It felt like I was on a life-or-death rodeo…
But being agile means it also has quick reflexes and balance.
“Hahaha!”
In sync with the Iron Wolf’s frantic movements, I swayed my waist. As a result, my lower body was busy while my upper body remained still.
I calmly brought my hand to its snout, drawing in the power amassed from countless Mana Herbs.
“Weak flame.”
Whoosh!
“Grr?”
It’s still a meager flame. But it was enough to scorch the moist nose of a wolf.
“Yelp! Grr!”
The frantic thrashing was no longer out of rage but a desperate survival.
The Iron Wolf flipped over, rubbed its back against the ground, and slammed against a tree, trying every trick to throw me off.
But each time, I stayed glued to its nose, sometimes jumping even to keep my grip.
While humans breathe normally, most mammals cannot do so well, especially when their mouths are half-bonded by a rope.
The Iron Wolf’s nose blistered from the burns, and the only things entering its narrowed nostrils were the scorching heat and smoke from its own flesh burning.
As it fought back vigorously, its resistance began to dull, and soon it lay limp. The growling diminished until it was completely quiet.
Still, just to be sure, I maintained the weak flame a little longer. After confirming there was no response for over ten seconds, I finally withdrew my hand.
But a hollow feeling crept in, as if two-thirds of my mana had vanished. Still, it didn’t drain me completely. Eating all those Mana Herbs was worth it.
A satisfying warmth surged from deep within, and I let out a loud cheer.
“Ellie Cut!!”
“It’s not like I’m Ellie or anything.”
With her greatsword ready at all times, Lydia let out a long sigh.
“Still, you did well. Honestly, I thought even Jonah would struggle this time.”
“I was really scared too! I never imagined the dagger wouldn’t pierce even aiming for the inner skin!”
“Yeah. While getting used to killing other creatures by fighting goblins and practicing party play with Horn Rabbits, the Iron Wolf is a monster that learns how to battle strong foes.”
Indeed, compared to goblins or Horn Rabbits, the Iron Wolf purely felt like a creature with high specs.
“I’m just curious, but how do you usually catch Iron Wolves? You wouldn’t suffocate them like I just did, right?”
“No. That’s actually one of the standard methods. If there’s a mage or spirit user in the party, the most efficient way is to suffocate them from a distance, blocking their nose and mouth.”
“Oh….”
“But mages or spirit users are rare, so it’s not something you see often. Even close-up methods like Jonah’s nose burning are much rarer.”
“What’s the most commonly used method then?”
“A blunt weapon.”
“Huh?”
“The Iron Wolf has a body as tough as steel, hence the name Iron Wolf. It’s hard to slice through with weapons used by first-floor adventurers. So, you beat it to death instead.”
“…With a hide that thick, wouldn’t it be difficult to do that too?”
“That’s why you hit it until it dies.”
Goodness. A live cooking wolf cutlet? What a terrifying hunting method that is.
“Jonah should know this too. Even though blades are effective weapons, there are many monsters that are surprisingly resistant.”
“True. If Iron Wolves are like this, encountering golems or skeletons would genuinely bring tears.”
A large weapon like a greatsword is indeed better. After investing in its durability, using it like a club would also work.
But if someone like me used a dagger, I’d be better off just fighting with a rock lying around.
“But using an unused weapon is also dangerous, right? I wouldn’t have any confidence in properly handling a bludgeon either.”
“Do you know what the advantage of a blunt weapon is?”
“What is it?”
“It’s that it’s okay to swing it around haphazardly. That’s why while you can wield a sword, you often lack skills with hammers or clubs.”
“…….”
Now that I think about it, that’s true. The only concern with a blunt weapon is how to hold it. Even that holds for every weapon, so it should be disregarded.
“I should probably prepare a backup weapon too…”
“No. You don’t need to, Jonah.”
“Huh? Didn’t you just say there are situations that require a blunt weapon?”
“The reason why a blunt weapon is okay to swing randomly is that mass itself is the weapon. But you can’t wield heavy weapons.”
“Oh….”
“Even if you could manage to lift one, it would be meaningless if you couldn’t swing it strongly and got tired after a few swings.”
That’s true. While I’ve grown significantly from bustling around and hunting monsters, all that growth seems to be in stamina and agility.
This time, since I caught it with magic, maybe my mana will increase.
As I nodded a bit gloomily, Lydia patted my shoulder as if to comfort me.
“You’re still just a kid, Jonah.”
“Wha—!”
Jonah Yacuyot!
