Chapter 55

After talking all night, it was morning.

I somehow managed to convince the three of them. They told me to report daily using the team-only communication. It’s a bit troublesome, but there’s no other way.

I ordered Sylvia and Eko to train by doing “solo Limpert Farming” while I’m away. However, they won’t be diving alone; one will dive while the other watches from behind.

"Isn’t it a bit harsh on Eko?"

Sylvia said that. Indeed, Eko can only use [Shield Technique] and [Healing Magic], and it will take a considerable amount of time to deal with even a single monster along the way.

But the answer is no. If anything, Sylvia, you’re the one who’s harsh.

Through this training, the two of them will surely realize the importance of the front and back lines. Don’t forget the basics. I’ll be grateful if you’ve grown by the time I return.

On the other hand, I gave Yuki a break.

...But if she suddenly has too little to do, it might be a problem, so I asked her to take on one long-term project. She will start working on it proactively once her [Disassembly] skill reaches level 9.

And so, it’s a temporary farewell to them.

When I left the mansion, a large number of servants were lined up at the gate and saw me off with the three of them.

I felt a bit embarrassed and thanked everyone before accelerating the Seven Steyao.

My next destination is the town of Peho. From there, I’ll head to the port town of Kura and take a ship to the sea. The S-Class dungeon “Isoloy” exists on a small island not far from there.

On the way, I have some business at the Asiaspald Dungeon, so I’ll stay in Peho for the night. The next day will be spent traveling all day, and I’ll stay another night in Kura. In other words, I’ll challenge Isoloy the day after tomorrow.

Now.

I prepared to share information with my strong and reliable partner who will fight with me for a long time and summoned Angolmoa in Manner Mode.

"―What is this, my Second?"

The Great Spirit King Angolmoa immediately complained via telepathy.

"―I’m going to fight a super strong enemy, so I need to share information."

"―What! Is that true!?"

Angolmoa’s excitement was visible. I had a slight idea, but this guy is quite a battle maniac.

"―Don’t worry. When I said super strong, I was wrong."

"―What?"

"―It’s ridiculously strong. It’s a complete mess. If anyone can beat it on their first try, I’ll strip naked and kowtow to them."

"―Ho! An opponent that makes you say that, my Second! My blood is boiling! Fuhaha!"

"―The enemy is a Dark Wolf. I want to tame it."

"―Tame it! Such a strong enemy!"

"―Yes. I’ll beat it to a pulp and try to tame it. If I fail, I’ll start over. I’ll repeat this process."

"―What a brave spirit. It’s admirable. However, nuu... it will be a long battle."

After talking for a while, we arrived at Peho.

I took a room and headed to Asiaspald.

"―What are you going for?"

"―To get the horns of the Goblin Mage. In short, I’m preparing my ‘ace in the hole’."

"―...I see. You’re thorough."

Angolmoa, as if reading my thoughts, muttered in admiration.

I quickly obtained the Goblin Mage’s horns and returned to Peho.

While I was at it, I bought all the high-grade potions from Peho’s potion specialty store. It cost tens of millions of CL. I already had more high-grade potions in my inventory than I could use in a lifetime, but it’s better to buy them when you can, as I’ll be using them a lot from now on.

The next day.

I started the Seven Steyao early in the morning, heading for the port town of Kura.

Using this rather idle time, I continued to share information with Angolmoa, who was still in Manner Mode.

"―I’ll think of the basic information about the Dark Wolf, and you read it through our bond."

"―Understood."

Good, it seems the preparations are going well. First, I’ll think about the basic skills of the Dark Wolf.

《Dark Transformation》: Transform from wolf form to human form, and vice versa. Transformation time: 8 seconds.

《Dark Transfer》: Instantly transfer to a recorded location. However, the transfer destination must be a shadow.

《Dark Summon》: Human form only. Instantly transfer something other than yourself to a recorded location. However, the transfer destination must be a shadow.

《Dark Magic》: Human form only. Release a dark mist that forces HP to 1 in a wide area in front. Preparation time: 3 seconds.

《Dark Roar》: Wolf form only. Powerful long-range attack in front. Preparation time: 2 seconds.

《Phantom》: Invalidate any attack received when activated. No preparation time, activation time: 3 seconds, cooldown: 30 seconds.

* Physical attacks are completely无效 in wolf form, and magic attacks are completely无效 in human form.

"―What is this!?"

Angolmoa exclaimed in surprise. What surprised him was probably those two things.

"―Completely invalidates attacks!?"

"―Yes."

"―Forces HP to 1!? Is there such a bizarre magic!?"

"―Yes. And it uses it quite frequently."

"―..."

Even the Great Spirit King was speechless.

"―Invalidation is fine. The terrifying part is that the instant-kill attack is ‘wide area’. Even more terrifying is that it uses a ‘high-frequency attack’ after Dark Magic."

"―So... you should recover immediately. That’s why you bought so many potions, right?"

"―No, it’s better not to recover immediately. It’s better to ensure safety first and then recover."

"―Why?"

"―Because after Dark Magic, it either uses Dark Summon or staff attacks. The former requires prioritizing prevention, and the latter requires prioritizing evasion."

"―Wait. Staff attacks? I haven’t heard of that."

"―I’ll think of it now."

The Dark Wolf’s skills are not just the ones mentioned earlier. This time, I’ll share its “action patterns” as well, which I learned and accumulated over hundreds and thousands of deaths.

① Charge → ② Body slam or claw or ③ Bite or ④ Dark Transfer

③ Bite → Dark Roar → Dark Transfer → ① Charge or ⑤ Dark Transformation

④ Dark Transfer → ① Charge or ⑤ Dark Transformation

⑤ Dark Transformation → Dark Magic → Dark Transfer → ⑥ Dark Summon

② Body slam or claw → If successful, Dark Transfer → Dark Roar → ① Charge / If unsuccessful, Dark Transfer → Dark Transformation → ⑥ Dark Summon

⑥ Dark Summon → Transfer shadow staff or black flame spear to hand

Shadow staff → “Staff Mode” until down (repeatedly use Dark Magic and [Staff Technique] attacks)

Black flame spear → “Strongest Mode” until down (repeatedly use Dark Transfer and [Spear Technique] attacks)

After down → Dark Transformation → ① Charge

Staff Mode: Perform a high-frequency attack with the shadow staff, which has no openings. The shadow staff’s characteristic is that it takes damage when the shadow is attacked.

Strongest Mode: Perform long-range attacks with the black flame spear while transferring from shadow to shadow. Each time the black flame spear is swung, powerful black flames erupt.

* The above action patterns can randomly include the 《Phantom》 state.

"―...It’s a monster."

"―That’s what I’ve been saying."

The Dark Wolf, which even the Great Spirit King calls a monster, is indeed ridiculously strong.

Its stats aren’t particularly high, but among players, it was considered “the strongest monster in Mevion.” The key to its strength lies in the difficulty of its attacks. Especially the [Staff Technique] combo after 《Dark Magic》 is particularly nasty. I really want to tame it in this life.

"―Here’s an important point. The first move in wolf form is always a charge, and the first move in human form is either 《Dark Magic》 or 《Dark Summon》."

"―Mm, is that so?"

"―Well, my response to it is already ingrained in my body, so I might not need to share it with you, but I’ll tell you just in case."

There are about 11 key points to keep in mind when facing the Dark Wolf.

1. Try not to take 《Dark Magic》. If you do, ensure safety before using a potion.

2. Do not take 《Dark Magic》 during Staff Mode.

3. Do not let it get the black flame spear.

4. To detect the 《Phantom》 state, look at the Dark Wolf’s shadow. If there’s no shadow, it’s definitely in the 《Phantom》 state.

5. Set up a campfire in advance to fix the shadow’s position.

6. When in human form, use 《Rook Archery》 and 《Dragon King Sword Technique》 to deal damage.

7. When in wolf form, use a combination of 《Rook Archery》 and 《Lightning Attribute - Third Form》 to deal damage.

8. If it approaches in human form, use 《Horn Walking Sword Technique》. Aim for the legs to knock it back, and a critical hit will cause it to fall.

9. If it approaches in wolf form, use a combination of 《Horn Walking Sword Technique》 and 《Lightning Attribute - First Form》. A critical hit will knock it back.

10. Use the invincibility during 《Transformation》 effectively.

11. If 《Tame》 fails, using potions on the Dark Wolf is more time-efficient than waiting for natural recovery.

"―What is this... using potions on the Dark Wolf? And what is this invincibility during 《Transformation》?"

"―《Tame》 is a skill that can be used when the monster’s HP is below 20%. However, the actual condition for 《Tame》 to activate is that ‘80% of the HP has been reduced from full’. Therefore, it’s more efficient to use potions to fully heal the Dark Wolf and then reduce its HP by 80% again rather than waiting for natural recovery."

You could kill it and wait for it to respawn, but in this world, there’s no guarantee it will reappear, so it’s more reliable to use potions to heal it.

"―By the way, the 《Transformation》 skill has the characteristic of being invincible during the transformation, which takes about 8 seconds. What else would you use this time for?"

"―I didn’t know. My Second’s knowledge captures the depths of this world..."

This is mainly for emergency evasion.

The basic strategy is to alternate between 《Spirit Possession》 and 《Transformation》 to maintain buffs.

《Spirit Possession》 at level 9: All stats 450%, possession time 310 seconds, cooldown 250 seconds.

《Transformation》 at level 9: All stats 360%, transformation time 420 seconds, cooldown 230 seconds.

In other words, you can use 《Transformation》 again 230 seconds after the transformation and possession time have elapsed. It’s good to know this as a backup plan.

"―We’re almost there."

The port town of Kura was in sight.

I suddenly noticed that my hand on the Seven Steyao’s reins was trembling.

...It was a warrior’s tremble. My entire body was energized, thinking about the long and intense battle that would last for weeks.

How long will it take to tame it?

I quietly spent the night before the decisive battle, wishing that this unseen Dark Wolf of this world would be tamed as soon as possible.

Thank you for reading.