Chapter 54

I'm sorry for the delay, Side Chest.

We spent three whole days mastering the *Transformation*.

Perhaps it's a matter of doing our best and waiting for fate, but after preparing the three elements—equipment, skills, and targets—that make it easy to deal with multiple targets, everything else is up to luck. That's why it took quite some time.

Well, that's fine. It is.

...What I feared has become reality.

"In the name of the knight's justice, I shall condemn you—Transformation!"

In the courtyard of the eastern mansion.

Does she think no one is watching? Sylvia is practicing poses by herself, facing a palm tree. She even has a catchphrase ready.

"Hmm, my chivalry... no, your crimes, let me count them..."

And she keeps improving it.

Walking around while muttering to herself with her hand on her chin after transforming is quite suspicious, but once transformed, the transformation cannot be undone until the transformation time ends.

Incidentally, what one looks like after transforming is quite simple. The color and pattern of the current equipment change, and a mask and a cape are added. *Transformation* allows you to choose a preferred attribute from the four major attributes. In Sylvia's case, it's *Fire Attribute Transformation*, so her equipment turns the color of fire, and she wears a cape and mask that resemble flames.

However, as befits a game, it's not just a "flame pattern." It's a "moving flame pattern," and it's 3D. It looks as if her entire body is on fire. This is an impossible appearance in reality, which makes it extremely cool. This is probably the main reason why Sylvia got hooked.

Now, with this attribute selection, something unexpected happened to me.

Yes, in my case, I could choose *Lightning Attribute Transformation*. A transformation outside the four major attributes, of course, I had never heard of it.

Actually, when I transformed, I was even more surprised. It wasn't the red-black lightning of Angolmois, but blue-black lightning. It was surging all over my body. The cape and mask had patterns I had never seen before.

A "design" I had never seen before—could it be? Was it a hidden element that was there from the beginning, or was it newly designed?

The former would be fine. The latter would mean that this world is "updated."

In other words, elements I don't know will be added in the future. This is both worrying and exciting.

Well, it's a problem that's no use worrying about now. But I must keep it in mind. If I reign as the world's best, I will eventually face it.

"Heaven's Judgment—First Shot!"

I pretended not to see Sylvia, who had finally started practicing her ultimate move, and headed to Yuki's place.

To order a certain weapon and armor, and to request *Performance Enhancement*—.

Some time has passed since then.

About two weeks, I suppose. We have been grinding for experience points all this time.

We have companions. We have a home to return to. And it's a mansion. What a wonderful thing! Our motivation has been soaring.

However, Sylvia and Eco's Ryoma and Ryuo are not leveling up easily. The required experience points are ridiculously high. Moreover, Sylvia is needlessly leveling up *Transformation*, making the process even less efficient.

On the other hand, Yuki's *Disassembly* skill has been improving nicely. It seems she is about to start performing as a blacksmith.

And I—

"...Yeah, preparations are complete."

—They are complete. The preparations are complete.

I just leveled up *Transformation* to level 9.

The skills needed for "preparation" are *Hisha Bow Technique* level 9, *Kaku Gyo Sword Technique* level 9, *Ryuo Sword Technique* level 6, *Lightning Attribute Third Form* level 6, *Critical* level 9, *Spirit Possession* level 9, *Transformation* level 9, and *Tame* level 11.

Any magic attribute would have been fine, but I chose lightning. *Transformation* has a relatively low required experience, so I quickly reached level 9. I would have preferred *Ryuo Sword Technique* to be level 9, but it requires an outrageous amount of experience to go from level 6 to level 9, so I left it at that.

*Tame* is a monster taming skill under the *Summoning* category. At level 11, it allows you to tame "wolf-type monsters" when their HP is below 20%. It can be used when the monster's HP is below 20%, with an average success rate of 20%, but the probability varies greatly depending on the type and strength of the monster. The success rate and the types of monsters that can be tamed increase as the skill level rises.

Now.

What "preparation" was I doing?

It was to tame a certain monster... no, a "demon."

Its name is "Dark Wolf."

A rare demon wolf that evolved over hundreds of years of solitude in the eternal darkness, a mutation of the boss "Black Flame Wolf" from the Class A dungeon *Isolais*—that's the setting of the enemy character.

...Let me be straightforward.

I could continue to reign as the world's best in Mevion thanks to taming this demon. It was a cheat-level existence, far more powerful than any other tamed monster.

In other words, it's my "absolute number one demon to tame."

Only one person has ever tamed a Dark Wolf. Yes, it was me. At least during the time I played Mevion, no other player could tame it.

Why? Because it's almost impossible.

To begin with, the idea of "taming a Dark Wolf" is beyond the reach of ordinary players. After all, "bosses can't be tamed." It's a common sense among common senses.

Moreover, the Dark Wolf is incredibly strong. So strong that even the hardcore players of the time struggled. That's why no one even considered taming it.

But the fact is, the Dark Wolf can be tamed. The reason is simple. The Dark Wolf is a further evolved mutation of a boss and is treated as a separate entity.

I realized this fact from the "way the body disappears." Normally, when a boss in a Class A dungeon is defeated, a dedicated movie is inserted, and the body disappears during the movie. But in the case of the Dark Wolf, there was no movie, and the body disappeared "like a regular monster" after a certain period of time.

Hmm, very suspicious. Maybe there's a chance—thinking this, I repeatedly tried to tame the Dark Wolf by reducing its HP to below 20%.

The result was a惨defeat. By the time I had tried over 1,000 times, I was 99.9% sure it couldn't be tamed.

Initially, I planned to try 1,000 times as a matter of course. And at 1,000, of course, it didn't work. But for some reason, I couldn't give up. The way the body disappeared was the same as a regular monster, so the Dark Wolf couldn't be a boss.

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn't believe my reasoning was wrong.

I got more and more frustrated, and stubborn, and continued hunting the Dark Wolf. 2,000 times, 3,000 times. Every day, from morning till night. I wanted to finish as soon as possible, so I pushed myself. This paid off. The short-term battle helped maintain my motivation.

And finally, the moment came. After over 4,600 attempts, I tamed it. Yes, my prediction was right!

Later, it was revealed that the taming probability was a fixed 0.0001% with no skill correction. I remember almost losing my temper when a GM I met by chance in-game said, "I prepared it as a joke, but you did a great job taming it (laughs)."

When the hardcore players heard that the Dark Wolf could be tamed, they all tried to tame it. But no player succeeded after that.

Of course. Even hardcore players struggled, and with a taming probability of 0.0001%, it was a hellish challenge. "It's impossible," the wiki was filled with such comments.

...I will challenge that impossibility again. The preparations are complete.

The method is what I devised in the past. I remember it vividly. It can be called a perfect strategy. I can reduce the Dark Wolf's HP without giving it a chance. But this world is similar to Mevion yet fundamentally different.

"Death is the end."

But if I can tame the Dark Wolf, the world's best is as good as mine. There's no reason not to try, right?

I haven't felt this scared in a long time.

I might die. I've minimized the risks. I have insurance in case of an emergency. But the unease remains.

...Maybe I should level up *Ryuo Sword Technique* to level 9. And *Lightning Attribute Third Form* to level 9. Just to boost my stats a bit more. Maybe I should ensure even more safety before proceeding.

That's right! My weak side shouts loudly. I swallowed it hard and pushed it down to the back of my throat. If I start talking about safety, there's no end to it. I'll keep running away and making excuses for the rest of my life. In Mevion, there's no "running away" for me. If I run away even once, everything I've built will collapse.

Currently, the Castor Kingdom and the Marbel Empire are secretly at odds. If I hesitate, it might be too late. I need to tame the Dark Wolf before the conflict spills over to me.

I don't know how long it will take to tame it, so now is the only time. I knew this all too well.

"Alright, the final touch."

I carefully reviewed the resolve I had already made and headed to Yuki's place.

She would have prioritized the equipment I asked for over anything else.

A Mithril Longbow and a Mithril Longsword, plus various Mithril alloy armors. The weapons are ordered to be enhanced to the fifth level out of six, and the armors to the fourth level out of five. The enhancements are specialized in attack speed and attack power for the weapons, and defense for the armors. I also ordered a third-level enhancement for the *Follow-Up Ring*.

I suddenly realize. Yuki is being overused.

But a world without Yuki as the best is unimaginable. Hmm... That's right. I'll let her enjoy a leisurely life while I deal with the Dark Wolf.

But not Sylvia and Eco, you guys are out.

Recently, these two have been indulging in the luxurious life in the mansion. They are less focused on their main jobs. If this continues, they will eventually face a harsh reality. It could even endanger their lives. So, I've prepared a rigorous training program for them.

I will receive the equipment from Yuki and hold a strategy meeting with everyone.

There are many things I need to tell them. For example, what to do if I die, etc.

Well, it's going to be a long night...

Thank you for reading.