For the first week after unlocking his Trait, Kim Sae-jin lived

in isolation like a mental patient.

It was totally understandable as, for 23 out of 24 hours in a

day, he suddenly had to exist as a Monster.

The bosses at his part-time jobs sent him various messages and

phone calls, but they all entered in one ear and left through the

without really registering in his brain.

Two of them showed concern, but the other one threw verbal

abuse like there's no tomorrow. But then again, it was

understandable where they were coming from.

The only thing Sae-jin couldn't get a grip on was the

the absurdity of his current situation.

And after another week passed by, the small, meticulously-

the kept room which he took great pride in, became a messy

cesspool of untidiness.

It was par for the course, really. The effing claws on his paws

would leave behind unsightly scars all over the place no matter

how softly and gently he walked around.

Like this, where a living couldn't really be called a living

anymore, another 4 days went by.

Only then, did Sae-jin finally come to accept his predicament.

A body length of around 2m, a shoulder height of around

1.2m, a tail length of around 50cm, a bodyweight definitely

exceeding 90kg. And a coat of brown fur.

At a glance, they might sound like the specs of a still-growing

tiger, but unfortunately, those numbers belonged to him.

Sae-jin was actually a Brown Wolf now.

A Monster that was considered as the weakest prey there was,

always targeted by those conceited idiots who proudly label

themselves as the "Knights", "Mercenaries" or "Hunters."

Also, too ambiguous to be called a true, bona fide Monster –

striding the imperceptible boundary between a beast and that of

a full-fledged Monster, it was not easy to categorize this

creature.

On top of being the newbies' preferred choice of hunting

material, a wolf was usually massacred on sight without mercy

because of the following traits:

1, There were plenty of them as a mob,

2, They were slightly troublesome for regular citizens to deal with.

That was Sae-Jin's form, currently.

He found it difficult to accept this initially for obvious

reasons. And after finally coming to terms with it, he then

realized that wasn't the end of his troubles, no. Now, he had to

madly formulate plans to "safely live." His desire to continue

breathing was a lot stronger than he expected. At least there was

the cushion of $3500 in his bank account, which he was

definitely thankful for.

Sae-jin quickly decided to maximize his Human Form during

the precious 1-hour window.

For his food, Sae-jin bought easy-to-prepare TV dinners from

a convenience store 5 minutes away and always ate them while

in his Human Form. His pride as a human being wouldn't have

it any other way. And he made sure to leave himself a 30-minute

breathing space in case of an unforeseen emergency.

Then he practiced controlling the strength of the Brown Wolf

Form in order to perfectly mimic the creature. After 4 days of

concerted effort, he even figured out how to retract his sharp

claws.

Meanwhile, whenever there was a chance, he changed into a

Goblin Form and began cleaning the mess in his home. A 140cm-

tall Goblin might have a small stature but it possessed a

surprisingly supple pair of hands for a kind of jobs that

demanded precise craftsmanship, which was perfect for taking

care of the household chores.

Those ugly claw marks remained here and there, but before

long, Sae-Jin's room regained its former spotless, clean

appearance.

But the biggest issue still had to be solved: living expenses.

Without paying the monthly rent, he was surely living on a

borrowed time here.

That's why he used the bracelet computer, something that

was discarded into a corner of the room a while ago.

Sae-jin was going to search for how to 'Start Earning From

Home',

...But then, stopped. As a high school dropout, with only a

middle school graduation certificate, he just knew it would be

impossible to find someone willing to let him work from home.

He gazed at the hologram display projected in the air with a

tinge of regret, slowly stroking it. Then a thought suddenly

came to him, and Sae-jin searched for topics regarding the

Monsters.

That's how he accidentally found a hint that could potentially

save his life.

Seeing the topic of the discussion, a powerful glare of bright

light burned dangerously in both of his eyes.

Q: 'Does the Lycanthrope, the top-dog in the Wolf-type

Monster pecking order, really exist?'

A: ⸢According to the 1st Generation "Soo-ins" (TL: literally

humanoid beastman in Korean) who crossed over the World's

Rift, they did exist in the legends. Able to seamlessly change

their shapes unrestricted from a fearsome bipedal wolf to a

perfect appearance of a tailless human, one could say that they

share some similar racial traits with Soo-ins. In truth, though,

the class of incredible power they wielded was on another scale

altogether, apparently, and couldn't even be compared at all.

But owing to their unique trait of violent nature, they ended up

going extinct and have become the creatures of legends instead.⸥

The Lycanthrope. It was a mythical Monster Sae-jin had

heard about it at least once from somewhere.

An unfathomable existence, that could freely become a

flawless human despite being a Monster and vice versa. It was

different from the Soo-ins who could alternate between an

animal and a humanoid form. More than anything, the human

form assumed by a Lycanthrope didn't leave behind a tail.

"What if...."

Definitely, the effing Trait told him that "when certain

conditions are satisfied, the ranks of Monsters will rise."

He intuitively understood then. The only way for him to exist

was to exploit this rule.

Didn't matter what the conditions were, he had to quickly

complete them in order to evolve over and over again.

There was a chance that his evolution could go down the

wrong path but this was the only avenue left for him in the end.

He promptly stood up. The things he had to do were already

set in stone.

*

The mountainous regions of Gangwon Province had been

designated as the Monster's Territory for a very long time.

Low tier Monsters such as Wolves, Orcs, and Goblins, mid-tier

Monsters such as Trolls and Gargoyles, and finally, high tier

Monsters like Ogres and Wyverns occupied this Territory and

called it their home.

One of the world's most diverse Monster ecosystems existed

within the borders of Gangwon Province in the Republic of

Korea. Naturally, Monster-hunting Knights and Hunters

flocked here, aiming for this perfect place to earn money in the

"Home of Monsters."

"Hey!! Stay with me!!"

However, it was only possible for the Knights possessing at

least the ranks of mid to high tier to delude themselves into

mistaking this place as nothing more than an easy gold mine.

Most people saw the mountains as Hell on Earth, where

ferocious Monsters engaged in brutal conflict against each

other, and to those who bet their lives in order to earn a living

by catching these rampaging creatures, all of them wished to

abandon this horrible killing field and never to return here as

soon as they got their exit passports.

"You are almost there, don't you faint on me, now!! Stand

up!!"

One could receive the much-needed aid from the military at

the borders of Gangwon Province.

A low-tier Hunter named Kim Tae-Jo couldn't spare a thought

to wipe the streaming blood off his forehead. He was too busy

slapping the cheeks of his comrade, who was lying sprawled on

the ground, unmoving.

"...I... can't... go on."

Tae-Jo's comrade could only mutter out dispiriting words.

This man's eyes were deeply closed, the flames of life ready to

extinguish, one of his legs missing.

It was a gruesome sight if one took a closer look. Even a quick

glance could tell these two Hunters had gone through a terrible

ordeal at the hands of a vicious beast judging from the deep

teeth marks on the wound.

In the beginning, their party consisted of 3 low tier and 2 mid

tier Hunters but they ran into a Monsterised Great Tiger.

Their luck was really bad.

Monsterised Great Tigers lived in the deeper parts of the

mountains, existing to compete against more powerful

Monsters up there. In other words, they never bothered to come

down to the lower grounds near the borders at all.

But the party did meet a Great Tiger, which was akin to

getting struck by stray lightning in broad daylight while out

on a stroll. It was simply unheard of.

"Hey!! Stand u..."

Kim Tae-Jo couldn't finish what he wanted to say.

Because, from somewhere nearby, he could hear the guttural

"Grrrr" growling of a beast.

"..."

Holding his breath, Tae-Jo slightly tilted his head towards the

the direction of the sound, and found a lone wolf, its fur shining

brown and clearly starving from a prolonged hunger.

It was just a pile of skin and bones, its eyes bloodshot,

attesting to how famished it was.

".....Shit...."

A Brown Wolf was the weakest Monster out there. Normally,

3 low tier Hunters could take it down – no if it was weakened by

as much as this creature, then only 2 should be enough to hunt

it down.

But the current situation was the worst. His comrade was

missing a leg, and by dragging the grievously wounded man all

the way here by himself, Tae-Jo was near his own physical limit

as well.

"...Go away!! Away, I say!!"

Tae-Jo desperately shouted. But overcome by avarice, the lone

Brown Wolf continued to drool nonstop and slowly advanced

towards him. It looked as if the Wolf was cautiously assessing

the situation of the meal that took a too long time in coming.

"Oh, god darn it!!"

There was no other choice. Tae-Jo had to abandon his

comrade and make a run for it. However...

– Krrrrrrng!!

The exhaustion from pushing himself to the limit and the

Brown Wolf's fear-inducing growl conspired to freeze his legs;

they wouldn't budge.

And also, no matter how starved, Tae-Jo realized that the

famished Wolf was still faster than him, and it wouldn't let one

of the free meals run away just like that.

"This... this son of a bi*ch. I caught hundreds of bastards like

you until now..."

Tae-Jo swore in resignation, knowing well that his number

was up. He grabbed the shotgun that no longer had any Mana

bullets in it. If the lady luck smiled on him, then he could land a

hit in the head of the Wolf and knock it out. That was his hope.

"..."

Tae-Jo swallowed his spit loudly.

That became "the" signal.

The Brown Wolf disregarded everything and kick the ground,

crazily dashing in towards him.

Scared, he could no longer dare to watch and squeezed his

eyes shut and swung the stock of the hunting rifle hard.

Kwajeeck!!

The noise he heard was slightly different from what he was

expecting, a dull sound from a blunt impact. Rather, it was

similar to a neck-snapping.

"...??"

Tae-Jo carefully opened his eyes after hearing that strange

sound.

A stronger bout of despair slammed into him as soon as he did

that.

"Huh....?"

There was another Brown Wolf in front of him.

But this one was a giant – a tiger. Its huge body was like that of

a tiger just before going through a Monsterisation.

This massive Brown Wolf had its fangs deeply buried in the

the neck of the unlucky Wolf aiming for Tae-Jo's and his comrade's

lives.

The size differences between these two wolves made calling

them the same type of monster laughable notion. Of course,

the famished Wolf was atypically smaller than normal, but still,

Tae-Jo had never ever seen nor heard of a Brown Wolf this

massive before.

"God darn it."

Tae-Jo couldn't help but mutter out swearing again, being

on the receiving end of such a huge Brown Wolf's gazes.

The incredibly sharp eyes of the Wolf burned in the flames of

pure, unadulterated, and much deserved confidence. Being

stared at by such powerful, and somehow, courageous eyes, Tae-

Jo felt indescribable pressure weighing down on him.

He had to accept the reality of his situation.

So, this is it. Looks like this is where I meet my maker.

Meeting a Monsterised Great Tiger, then this Tiger-sized

Brown Wolf.

My luck's finally become pretty d**n good, isn't it? Yep, it's so

effing good today, it has turned into my last bloody day on

earth!!

"....Fuu."

Completely resigned to his fate, Tae-Jo could only sigh and

close his eyes again.

The heavy rustling of paw steps teased his eardrums like a distant

the hammer being struck.

However.... no matter how long he waited, the expected

the agony of death didn't materialize.

Confused, Tae-Jo ever so carefully reopened his eyes.

"Eek!!"

Right in front of his nose, stood the Brown Wolf.

But it was the strangest thing, ever.

The wolf was inserting its sharp fangs between the gaps of his

fallen comrade's armor and was in the process of lifting him

up.

"What... what the hell?"

Tae-Jo briefly entertained the idea of this Wolf playing

around with its food but had to kick that thought to the

curbside on the double by the next gob-smacking actions of the

creature.

The Brown Wolf gestured with its sizable head as if it wanted

Tae-Jo follow it and begin carrying the wounded comrade in

its mouth towards the direction of the military base to the West.