There was an outpost to guard the gate.
[They must've gone into the dungeon and collected mana stones.]
"I guess."
Lots of mining carts were left outside the gate.
Seeing that the cart was full of mana stones, it seemed that the miners had just left work.
That large amount of mana stones would not have been left unattended, but it was also possible because it was a field-type dungeon.
'There shouldn't be a thief who would climb the mountain, where monsters roam at night, just to steal some mana stones.'
Just then, the thief was here.
Beru jumped to the cart and started picking up the mana stone.
At first, he expressed disapproval, but now he seems to enjoy eating those.
[This is said to be quite chewy.]
Beru chewed on the mana stone and looked around.
After confirming that there was no presence anywhere, he called Suho.
[It seems that everyone has left work. I can't see a single ant.]
-Count the numbers correctly. You are the ant here.
[Young Master, isn't the handle of the sword a bit long? How can I bite from the tip?]
-Come on. If you eat me, you'll have a hard time entering the sanctuary and finding artifacts.
"That's right, so stop drooling, Beru."
[Chomp. Alright.]
Beru responded quickly and threw the pieces of mana stones into his mouth.
In fact, eating Rakan's Sword would have been much more energizing than eating a truckload of mana stones like this.
However, after a long time, Suho finally has a weapon that he can use so Beru can't ask for it. He has no choice but to eat those mana stones.
Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp.
-...
The Rakan's Sword trembled in fear.
Even as Beru chewed on the mana stone, he was watching the sword with eyes dripping with regret.
Suho's hand holding the sword wasn't strong enough.
-Now, go into the gate. There will be a sanctuary beyond.
"Wait a second."
Suho suddenly turned and hid behind the outpost.
He squinted his eyes and focused on the gate.
'There is someone.'
Just in time, he saw someone walking out of the gate.
But it wasn't just one or two.
'Haven't the miners left yet?'
There's no way.
If they stayed there until this dark, the way out of the field-type dungeon would be too dangerous.
Besides, mining wasn't something that would take a day so there was no reason to work so late.
On top of that, they are raiders. It made things even more strange.
'With all the monsters outside the gate, what could they have done inside the gate?'
At that time, Beru jumped up on Suho's shoulder and whispered in a small voice.
[Young Master, something is strange. They smell like beasts.]
'Beast?'
It was then.
"Grrrrr."
The faces of the hunters who came out of the gate were revealed in the moonlight.
They look like...
'Werewolves?!'
Messy hair covering the face.
Pointy teeth.
The identities of the hunters were werewolves in human clothes.
'Is it a beast transformation skill?'
The first thing Suho thought of was skill.
There were various types of skills, and sometimes there were hunters who could transform into non-humans like that.
However, it was extremely rare for hunters with the same skills to gather in one place.
'I wonder if it's the White Tiger Guild.'
However, no matter how many beast hunters there are, even the White Tiger Guild couldn't have gathered such a number of beasts of the same type.
-It seems like they drank the blood of our clan.
'Blood?'
Suho looked at Rakan's Sword.
-The blood of the canine clan contains great power. Even if lowly humans drink a few drops of the clan's blood, they gain powerful power that surpasses the species.
"Like how if someone touches you, their body gets taken away?"
-No, rather the opposite. It's not like those guys were taken away, it's because the clan's power was taken away.
"They stole it?"
-Yeah. I don't know which idiot from the alternate clan fed them blood, but the lack of blood must have diminished their strength.
Suho made a strange expression.
You can get the beast transformation skill by drinking blood.
Other than runestones, I had never heard of a skill being obtained in such a strange way.
However, since it's only been two years since the cataclysm, new situations are bound to arise at any time.
-But, I don't understand.
Rakan's Sword muttered in a voice that sounded somewhat displeased.
-Who the hell made such crossbreeds of dogs by allowing their power to get consumed... What is going on?
That's when Rakan's Sword expressed his doubts.
A really strange thing happened.
The werewolves went into the warehouse they had built near the gate and dragged out the people tied up with duct tape.
'What?!'
Suho's eyes widened.
"Mmmmp...!"
People who had their mouths sealed with duct tape were trembling in fear.
The corners of the werewolves' mouths formed a smirk.
"Grrrrr. Were you bored waiting all day long?"
"It will be your final moments so, we'll let you breathe?"
"In return, can you be quiet? We hate noise."
Swish.
Duct tape was ripped out of the people's mouths.
As if they had been waiting for it, desperate cries could be heard all over.
"S-Save us!"
"Please! Please send us back home!"
"Oh, so noisy. Do you want to be eaten now?"
Thup.
The tape was put back on their mouths.
"Huppp."
They were so afraid that they wouldn't even want to breathe just not to make any noise.
"Great. How nice is it to be quiet?"
"We hate noise because our senses are sensitive."
"So, everyone? If you do that one more time, we might just go ahead and bite your necks. Grrrr."
Those words didn't sound like a joke. The people's complexions turned white.
One of the werewolves spoke.
"Alright. It looks like you have a lot to say after being held captive for a few days, so I'll listen to your last will. Can you speak softly instead?"
A middle-aged office worker in the middle hurriedly opened his mouth.
"Hey, over there! If you need money, I can somehow...!"
"Tsk."
"N-No! Just listen to me for a second! You shouldn't just do this, you have to tell us what you want so we can...!"
At that, the werewolf stared at the subordinate with an expression like he could die of annoyance.
"Hey. Just kill him."
"Should I?"
"Let's take at least one guy for ourselves."
"Grrrr."
Looking at the werewolf approaching him, the office worker shouted in panic.
"N-No, wait! It's a crime to do this...!"
"Oh, really."
Annoyance appeared on the face of the werewolf who grabbed the office worker by the nape of his neck with one hand.
"I hate noise."
Then, he pulled the dagger from his waistband and was about to lunge it into the office worker's neck.
Slash!
"...?"
However,
Something was strange.
Thud-
It was the werewolf who had his head cut off.
An axe suddenly flew from somewhere and separated the werewolf's neck from his body.
"Hey..."
The office worker who narrowly escaped death saw the werewolf's head falling in front of him and wet his pants.
The werewolves, startled by the sudden situation, raised their guards and pulled out their weapons.
"Who are you!"
"Who dares-!"
It was then.
Stealthy assassins approached from hiding in the dark, slashing the wolves' legs with sharp claws.
"Ack!"
[Shadow Leopard Lv.1]
Basic Class
"Ra-Razan?!"
The eyes of the werewolves widened wide after confirming the identity of their enemies.
Black Shadow Razan was one of the most dangerous beasts in this forest.
However, due to their dislike of bright light, they did not even go near the gate full of torches.
"Why is Razan here?!"
"No, something's a little different from the normal Razan...!"
[Grrrrr!]
The shadow leopards lunged at them like crazy.
"What the fuck! L-Let's kill them first!"
"Don't panic! There are only five!"
Slash!
Although they were taken aback by the sudden attack, they were veteran hunters who had been here for a year.
It wasn't easy enough to give up their lives to only five monsters.
But there was something they didn't know.
The fact that the owner of those five beasts from behind is now wishing for their death.
Thud.
He suddenly remembered the first werewolf's head that was cut, and the axe falling on the floor.
Then...
Slaaaaash-
Cut!
"...Ackkk."
Another werewolf's head got separated from its body.
"This is crazy!"
"What's with those axes!"
The stone axe that had beheaded two of their comrades flew like a boomerang and was aiming for their necks too!
"Skill! That's definitely a skill!"
"Where is he?! Don't be a coward and come out!"
The owner of the axe had no intention of continuing to hide as well
"For whatever circumstance..."
The eyes of Suho, with his face covered with a hood and black mask, reflected the cool moonlight.
"Save the victims first then think afterwards."
[You are truly a hunter.]
Swoosh!
A tremendous force emerged from Rakan's Sword.
['Skill: 'Contempt for the Weak' has been used.]
"...!"
At that moment, the werewolves' bodies temporarily stiffened.
['Effect: Fear' has been activated.]
[All stats of the targets are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]
"Grrrrr!"
Then, with a roar, some of the werewolves let go of their fears.
['Effect: Fear' is canceled.]
But that was enough to buy some time.
[Kyaaaaoooo!]
Swing!
The shadow leopard cut the wolf's Achilles tendon.
Slash!
Through the Ruler's Power, the axe was stuck on its chest.
And...
-Well, they're such low-breed dogs.
Suho's sword slashed their throats.
"Grrrr...!"
The other surviving werewolves looked at Suho.
"There was only one guy!"
"Die! Grrrrr!"
They turned their focus on him.
Ring.
[An urgent quest has arrived.]
The quest window opened in front of Suho's eyes.
[Urgent Quest: Defeat the Enemies!]
There are people around who have the intent to kill the 'player'. Kill them all to be safe.
Number of enemies to kill: 10
Number of Enemies Killed: 5
The quest had already started with half the target already cleared out.
[It's a good thing.]
Even in the midst of this, Beru, who was eagerly chewing on the mana stone in the corner, was letting out a pleasant laugh.
[Ah, I can't stop my mouth. Why is the mana stone here so high in power? Is it because it's from a sanctuary?]
Unfortunately, no one answered that question.
Everyone was busy.
But that was then.
[...!]
Beru then turned his gaze towards the gate.
[This smell...]
Someone with a smell similar to the Beast Monarch was walking out of the gate.