“Master Lionheart … are you sure this will work?”

“I don't know, I haven't used one on the horrid wolf.” Carl smiled. He had two mana potions and two health tonics under his belt. The sheathed Damascus steel battle karambit got replaced by a thick, reinforced cloth material that covered the whole right arm up to the bicep.

“Where are they?”

“That way, shouldn't be far now,” Theodore pointed.

“No matter what, don't panic and stick together. Are we clear?”

“Yes, Master Lionheart,” the anxious NPCs acknowledged.

Soon, Carl heard them. Then, he saw their silhouettes between the dense trees – uncountable common gray wolves, alphas, some prowlers, and … something much bigger.

[Dire Wolf] (common, mortal)

HP: 250

There was two of them, actually.

“Show yourself!”

Charging forth, Carl was immediately spotted. And he got his wish.

[Dire Wolf] (prowler, mortal)

HP: 500

Even bigger than the common horrid wolf, it overlooked its subjects majestically. But Carl did not put it in his eyes. He quietly advanced on it, thrilled and roused. He had to protect these NPCs! He had to make a statement with this performance!

The equine-sized lupine didn't like Carl's challenge in the least. It went ahead to greet him, with the two common dire wolves in tow.

Jarring Fist!

The enhanced punch made with the bite sleeve found the head, which towered above Carl. And in return – its jaws found the sleeve. Carl could feel sharp pain, but it didn't matter. The ignorant animal fell for the simplest of traps, just like all its predecessors.

Vicious Hook!

Black Fang, still held in hammer grip, moved with inhuman speed. The skill, which granted 2.5 times the momentum at the beginner level, further augmented with 50% extra mana to slightly over 3 times the momentum, allowed the repurposed drake tooth to reach its target before Carl collapsed under the weight of his massive enemy. He was delighted by the oh-so-satisfying sensation of bones crushing, as the tip connected with the base of the skull.

“No … way!”

Falling together with the wolf boss, Carl perceived its expiring life. It fell into the agony, that he was already familiar with – though not dead yet, it was already out of commission and immobilized. All that was left was to finish it off, or merely wait a little bit for it to bleed out.

Clambering out of his sudden predicament, Carl pulled the bite sleeve out from the limp maw, experiencing a piercing stinging in his brain that made him wince.

“Still broken, huh?”

Nevertheless, the protective tool did a splendid job, as there was no bleeding to arrest.

“Come!”

Easily ripping Black Fang out from the skull thanks to its radical taper, Carl welcomed the entourage.

Jarring Fist!

Marginally bigger than a black wolf prowler, the common dire wolf stood no chance. As it attacked the incoming sleeve, its end arrived from underneath …

Vicious Hook!

Finding the throat, the blade plunged itself entirely, once more reaching bone.

“Oops!”

“Congratulations! Your Vicious Hook has reached the intermediate level!”

“Oh …”

“Congratulations! You have conquered the gray wolves' den!”

“You should visit the Expedition Association administration at your nearest convenience.”

“Oh!”

Doubly distracted, Carl struggled to free his arms from a clinch – while the tip of the knuckle dagger was lodged into the skull … the bite sleeve was pinned by it as well!

Letting go of the trapped cloth, Carl retracted the right hand that he so unfortunately clipped. Luckily, the cut wasn't severe, and he arrested the bleeding anyway. Retrieving the Black Fang, Carl aimed for the other dire wolf, but … it wasn't eager to take him on, resorting to baring its own pearly fangs threateningly.

“Guys! Come over and shoot!”

“We are, Master Lionheart! We are!” Theodore's harrowed voice replied miserably from the distance. They were firing arrows non-stop, fighting off the rapidly encroaching encirclement, while making their way towards Carl, who stood in the eye of the storm.

Graciously being given a breather, Carl clenched his teeth and grabbed a mana potion from under his belt with the hurting right, uncorking it with the help from his knuckle dagger, and downing it in one swig. He then recovered the bite sleeve and put it back on, rejoined by his team.

“Master Lionheart, what a quick work!” Father Petro praised fervidly.

“We're not done yet. Kill as many as you can!”

With this, Carl threw himself into battle once more, beginning with the sole surviving dire wolf.

“Wow, they really are afraid of you, Master Lionheart!”

The verdant arena turned into a shooting gallery. The incensed animals, numbering a couple hundred, wanted to tear Carl to pieces, but they didn't dare approach him, and so they remained target practice. Carl, on the other hand, run around the herded NPCs, claiming any life that foolishly delivered itself to him.

“This is so easy!”

Bonecracker reveled in this phenomenal opportunity, despite barely having any strength left to draw his longbow. Father Petro kept replenishing the arrows for both archers, so they literally never stopped. They even switched to their off-hands, desperate to make the most of this wonderful gift.

Soon, it all ended. Both Theodore and Bonecracker were spent, and they couldn't shoot even one more arrow. However, after reaching a tipping point, the demoralized pack fled from Carl with tucked tails, leaving more than fifty of their fallen or otherwise agonizing brethren behind.

“Woo-hoo!”

“That was incredible!”

The NPCs rejoiced. They had never seen such an enormous haul before.

“Bub, Sunny, finish off the injured ones. You two rest a bit and then go cover them. Father Petro, can you mend bones? Here, take this mana potion, and don't rush it.”

While the medic busied himself with setting Carl's right forearm to the best of his ability, the hero took the scenery in, ignorant of the pain. That was such a satisfying fight! Nowhere near as much as the one in black wolves' den, since that one was a spiritual breakthrough, but it was very beneficial to stabilize and solidify these new foundations nonetheless. It was the perfect practice that would allow Carl to reliably grind horrid wolves in the future – after all, the dire wolf prowler was but a puppy in comparison, weaker in every aspect, which compounded to produce a gaping chasm between the two bosses.

[Pain Freak] (passive, requirements: 25 willpower, exposure to pain 24 159/1 000 000)

Carl smiled wistfully. It was going to be a looong road. He didn't need to go out of his way now, as it was only a tutorial, but he would need to refine his style to allow him faster gains once the full version went live. So far, he received the most exposure from the shattered limbs he suffered when facing the evolved monstrosity, but that strategy was unsustainable.

“System, show me my attribute panel.”

Charles Lionheart, human, male:

Health: 100 (0/s)

Mana: 200 (4/s)

Strength: 10

Vitality: 10

Agility: 5.1

Intelligence: 20

Willpower: 20.2

Perception: 20

“What?!”

Carl couldn't believe what he saw. The 0.1 increase to agility was meaningless, as low attributes were easy to train. But 0.2 willpower increase from the maximum of 20?! How much would that be if his willpower was 5 to begin with? 2 or 3 whole notches? More?

“Is enduring pain doing this? Wouldn't that mean … that I might reach 25 willpower by the time I fulfill the exposure requirement? Oh boy …”

Ecstatic from his new discovery, Carl enthusiastically went ahead to resume his skinning lessons. Before long, it paid off.

“Congratulations! Your Skinning has reached the advanced level!”

[Skinning] (activable)

Dagger skill, grade 0 (base), advanced level.

Effects: Provides a reliable chance of retrieving the skin of a defeated animal.

“That was a great attempt, Master Lionheart! It seems I have no more to teach you. All that's left for you is practice!” Theodore laughed genially.

Carl smiled, stood up and looked around.

“Will we even be able to carry all that?”

“Nope, but that's not an issue, we can just come back for the rest,” the huntsman pointed out merrily.

“We can do that?” Carl recoiled.

“Of course. Why not?”

“Okay, great. Let's go, then.”

Fearlessly running to the portal, the group arrived there in a mere quarter, having eaten Carl's remaining rations.

“This is such a nonsense … I really hope there's ways to travel several times faster, even if there's no direct teleportation …”

This was only an instanced dungeon, and the time lost to travel was already inexcusable. What was it going to be in the open world?

“One of us needs to stay here now, so that the others can find him after returning,” Theodore informed.

“Oh, that's how it works? Fine, I'll stay,” Carl decided, handing over his backpack. He didn't want to deal with the crowd outside, and he wanted to rest so badly, even a peace of mind would help him unwind a bit.

Meanwhile, in the perpetually jam-packed portico of the Expedition Association …

“Who the hell are these locals?!”

“What in the world?”

“Whoa, whoa! Are these some high level professionals?”

As the five speedily emptied their bags, the consternation around them only grew.

“That's a dire wolf!”

“Another one!”

“A prowler?! They conquered the dungeon?!”

“And lost only one man, too!”

“Quick, identify them!”

As the various groups scrambled to notify their respective factions to send over someone with identification skills, the jubilant quintet enjoyed their momentary glory – albeit unearned.

“Dammit, they're in too much of a hurry! We'll lose them!”

“Get a tracker! Do we have any around here?”

“Wait! They're going back already?!”

“Is that a joke?!”

“No, that's not it! They still have a sixth man on the other side! They're going back for the rest of the loot!”

“Are you kidding me?!”

Carl soon saw the cheerful faces of Bonecracker, Father Petro, and Sunny. The next one was Theodore, but … he was distraught and shaken.

“Master Lionheart! I'm sorry …” The grief-stricken man began crying.

“What happened, Toothy?” Carl was nonplussed.

“Bub … Bub run away! … He took the money he got!” Theodore stammer in between heart-wrenching sobs.

Carl – who was now covered in blood from head to toe as per his wish – balked, then released a laughter so sincere, that the four NPCs blanched and froze. Was this their judgment day? Were they now going to be torn apart like all the wolves, whose tragic deaths they just witnessed?

“Relax, Toothy.” Carl patted the miserable huntsman cordially. “It's his funeral. And he was never your friend, remember that. Now let's go get the rest of our loot.”

“Oh, what a fool I am … I knew from the beginning he was suspicious, and still I haven't predicted that. Oh well, no matter.”

“But … Master Lionheart …” Theodore was inconsolable. “He had all the dire wolf pelts … and both albinos … he got 2 Gold Crowns … and then some …”

“Pocket change.” Carl chuckled. “I can get 6 Gold Crowns for a horrid wolf. Do you think I care? You really ought to laugh at that sucker with me, Toothy. While he made an enemy of me for a pinch of dirt, you lot have gained the good graces of a Beast Slayer!”

Shocked by the undeserved magnanimity, the NPCs were left speechless.

The silent Theodore then led the party back to recover the remaining spoils, and in half an hour – as well as half a dozen of Carl's clumsy tumbles – they were standing before the portal once more.

“Will there be a crowd waiting for me? Heh, no need for false humility … of course there will be!”

“Alright, before we go, let's settle up. We will get around 5 Gold Crowns between the pelts and the bounties. That's 1 Gold Crown each.”

“No! Master–”

Carl interrupted, raising his hand.

“Toothy, will you be staying at Red Brook Inn?”

“Y-yes, Mas–“

“Good. I'll need your services once I return.”

“But the arrows …”

“I already told you to keep them. Now, are you guys also eligible to receive rewards from the Expedition Association?”

“The conquest rewards!” Theodore facepalmed. “Master Lionheart, we can't take any money from you! Those rewards–”

“Splendid. Get something that will improve your tracking skills, if you can.”

“Master Lionheart? Do you mean to … ?” The huntsman faltered.

“What do you think?” Carl smiled.

“Horrid … wolves?”

“Are you up for it?”

The other three gaped and goggled, while Theodore wavered.

“I am!”