Deadmeat Saga

Outside the village walls, about 500m away.

Gerhart, Hope, and Havre, wearing armor and equipped with weapons, stood in front of the forest. The outer forest was relatively sparse, with wild foliage, flowers, and mushrooms here and there. There were also signs of new and old tree stumps, with some of them having some compost sprinkled on them to accelerate their rotting process, allowing new trees to grow in their place.

"From here is the monster territory, so don't let your guard down. Although G and F-rank monsters are trivial threats, and although uncommon, there is a chance a more powerful monster wanders here from the inner forest. It doesn't happen often because the mana concentration here is thinner, making it less comfortable, but they might still do it." Havre said, her hand resting on the Emerald Flame Sword strapped to her belt.

"True. We should keep an eye open from here." Gerhart nodded, wielding a bow and arrows. He also had a steel sword strapped to his waist and a rope for carrying game.

"I don't feel anything dangerous, so I don't think we will run into danger today," Hope said with a relaxed tone, holding a bow and arrows as well, two daggers as side arms.

Gerhart decided to lend Havre his sword because it suited her better than him. Besides, he wanted to use the bow and arrow. After receiving the Archery talent from Albatia, Gerhart wanted to practice his archery. Hope also desired to try it, so Gerhart gave her the talent and skill. It was only 10 points, so it was a trivial expenditure compared to the points he already gave her.

"It would be strange if you did sense danger. Only C-rank monsters and above might pose a real threat to us." Havre commented.

"Are there many people in the forest?" Gerhart asked as they walked inside.

"Not too many, a few woodcutters and groups of children practicing under the protection of veterans like Thomas, but that is all. Our hunters usually skip the outer forest and head straight for the inner forest." Havre explained.

"I found a monster," Hope said, looking in a direction.

Gerhart and Havre looked over and saw a sizable rabbit with small elk antlers, about the size of a Giant Rat.

"Antler Rabbit. They are a good source of meat and pelts." Havre said without showing any emotion.

The rabbit didn't notice them, grazing on grass.

"Hm. I'll take this one," Gerhart said, skillfully taking out an arrow, notching it, drawing half an arc, and shooting after a bit of aim.

Whoosh* Thud*

The arrow traveled over sixty yards, hitting the rabbit square on the torso. The hunting bow Gerhart used was made from magical wood from the forest, stronger than common wood. Although it was harder to carve, it was much better.

"Screee!" The rabbit howled, collapsing on the ground and thrashing. However, its struggles subsided after ten seconds, soon turning silent.

"Good shot. I almost mistook you for a professional archer." Havre commented.

"It wasn't bad for my first shot," Gerhart said, lowering his bow and the second arrow he notched.

Although he only had Beginner Archery talent and skill, they were comparable to the skills of a professional archer training since childhood, able to hit stationary and slow-moving targets with great accuracy. It also encompassed quicker reloading and aiming, making it more viable in tense situations.

Of course, with Gerhart's current stats and level, achieving this result wasn't impossible even without the talent and skill. Talent and skill were merely add-ons to the base stats. Naturally, with the talent and skill, Gerhart felt it was more natural and required less focus and effort to achieve this feat.

Approaching the felled rabbit, Gerhart didn't immediately pull out his arrow. Instead, he took out a dagger and quickly stabbed it in the throat. The rabbit's body twitched a bit before turning silent.

"So it still had some fight in it, hah?" Gerhart muttered, wiping his dagger on the rabbit's fur.

"Rabbit monsters do play dead. It is a survival instinct." Havre said.

"I don't see anyone coming, so you can absorb it safely," Hope said while looking around.

"Okay." Gerhart nodded, placing his hand on the rabbit.

"Absorb."

The following moment, energy seeped from the rabbit and entered Gerhart's body, and Gerhart felt a bit of pain. Moments later, the rabbit turned to sludge, only the arrow remaining intact.

"Let's move," Gerhart took the arrow and stood up.

"I feel there is a monster over there." Hope pointed in a direction.

Gerhart and Havre didn't question her and went to the location. Indeed, another monster was present. This time, it was a hog.

Snort* Snort*

The hog sniffed the air and looked in their direction, its eyes shining red.

"Squee!" The hog squealed and charged over.

"I'll handle it," Hope said, dashing forward while notching an arrow.

Just when they were two meters away, Hope suddenly rolled to the side, dodging the hog's charge before shooting an arrow at its vulnerable weak side.

"Squee!" The hog collapsed, sliding on the ground with its momentum, thrashing.

"Hoh... good battle instincts. Even without being told, she knew the optimal method to defeat it and perfectly executed it on her first attempt." Havre nodded in approval.

"Her SS-grade Instincts are not for show. Although I am unsure if she reached lvl 50 with the energy I gave her, she is already pretty strong." Gerhart said.

"Although I gave her over 13,000 points, I don't think she is a complete lvl 50. Perhaps the automatic blessing did an incomplete level-up and focused on improving her weaknesses. In the first place, the automatic blessing focuses on optimizing her combat prowess, so I can't rule out that it did that. Now that I think about it, those few points I initially gave her allowed her to fare well in the dungeon and even face rookie killers. If the energy went to improving her SS-grade Instincts, likely, she wouldn't have even leveled up once." Gerhart thought.

"Gerhart, it is dead. You can absorb it now." Hope said, wiping her dagger after killing the boar.

"Ah, good work," Gerhart said and walked over, absorbing the boar.

Gerhart felt pain as he absorbed the boar's talent, and it turned to sludge.

"Okay, let's keep moving," Gerhart said.

The trio then continued hunting monsters that way, hunting five antler rabbits, three boars, two antler roosters, and a brown snake. Except for two rabbits and a boar, Gerhart gained new talents.

"Hm, I think this will do. We should now hunt a few monsters to take back." Gerhart said after absorbing a rabbit.

"Sounds like a plan to me. It will be lunch soon, anyways." Havre nodded.

"I will look for— Hm? I feel something in that direction." Hope pointed in a direction.

"Yes, it is pesky stealing bots trying to take my hard work." Bignt self-inserted himself. "Please read on Scribblehub for free."

"Let's go, then." Gerhart said.

The trio continued walking until they stumbled upon a fleeing figure. It was a goblin with antlers on its forehead, desperately running for its life.

"Antler Goblin?" Havre tilted her head.

"Seems like it is fleeing from some—"

Woosh*

Before Hope could finish her sentence, a ferocious wolf-like sizable creature dashed toward the fleeing goblin, pouncing on it.

Crunch*

With a sickening crunch, the goblin died almost immediately from the sheer kinetic force. 

"A Dire Wolf?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"Seems like it. Perhaps the goblin tried foolishly taming it and ended up with the tables turned on it. Happens." Havre shook her head.

"So, do we kill it?" Gerhart asked.

"Yes. It would be dangerous to leave it in the outer forest." Havre nodded.

"Okay. Go and kill it." Gerhart said.

"Yes, my lord." Havre nodded, unsheathing her sword with an eager glint in her eyes.

Meanwhile, just as the Dire Wolf was about to feast on the goblin, the hairs on its body stood on end.

"W-What is this dreadful feeling?!" The Dire Wolf shook in fear, stiffly turning to the source.

And then it saw her. It was a young female human with a calm smile, drawing a green sword with flame patterns. Usually, it wouldn't be afraid since, at worst, it could run away with its superior speed. However, the instincts that saved it countless times as a lone wolf, allowing it to survive long enough to evolve into a Dire Wolf, told it a clear message.

"I'm going to die! If I run, I die! If I fight, I die! I-I only have one path to survival!" The Dire Wolf thought, dread filling its mind.

And then, it did the only thing it could do to survive. It tucked its tail and rolled on its back in surrender. "Kuu... Kuu..." It made begging noises.

Havre, eager to test her abilities and prove herself to her lord, froze in place, the smile on her face waning. "Hey... Get up. Where is your pride as a wild monster?" She said with a glare.

"Kuu... Kuu..." However, her speech only had the opposite effect. The Dire Wolf begged even harder, its tail wagging.

"Havre, enough. No need to kill it." Gerhart said, walking over.

"Yes, my lord," Havre said, a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

"It has good perception, instincts, and intelligence. If it tried anything else, Havre would have butchered it." Hope commented. "Gerhart, do you plan to tame it?"

"That depends. What are the village rules about tamed beasts?" Gerhart asked.

"Our hunting team occasionally tames a wolf as a hunting dog, so it is fine if it passes a domestication test. It is to prevent accidents from happening. However, it is rare to tame a Dire Wolf outside captivity due to their usually fierce nature. It would undergo a harsher evaluation." Havre said after recovering from her disappointment.

"I see..." Gerhart muttered and walked toward the Dire Wolf.

As Gerhart approached, the Dire Wolf sensed that Havre treated Gerhart as the leader, meaning Gerhart was even more terrifying, so it continued begging with pitiful eyes. "Kuu... Kuu..."

Gerhart approached the Dire Wolf and began petting its belly, and the Dire Wolf wagged its tail, partially from pleasure but mostly to please the man in front.

"A lone male, hah? It must have been tough to survive that long without a pack. Were you cast out?" Gerhart talked to the Dire Wolf while rubbing its belly, noting the many scars on its body, marring its grey fur.

"Kuu... Kuu..." Of course, the Dire Wolf didn't understand what the human was saying. It only kept up its bootlicking attitude to stay alive.

"Hm... Okay, I decided. You are now my hunting hound." Gerhart said, his eyes shining silver.

The Dire Wolf felt a dominating force from the human, but since it yielded, it didn't resist, its yellow eyes shining with silver light almost immediately.

"Hey, Hope. Enthralling works on monsters also, right?" Gerhart asked.

"Yes. Any entity can become your thrall, even undead and elementals. Of course, they must surrender beforehand." Hope replied.

"Alright, then. Become my thrall." Gerhart commanded.

Black energy flowed into the unresisting Dire Wolf, and soon, the process was complete.

"W-Woof! Hah* Hah* Hah*" The menacing Dire Wolf barked like a dog, its tongue out and tail wagging.

"Okay, get up now," Gerhart said after standing up.

However, the Dire Wolf didn't understand his order, so it remained on the ground, showing its belly while wagging its tail.

"Gerhart, I don't think it understands you." Hope warily said.

"Right..." Gerhart muttered and turned to look at the dead goblin. "Maybe it has a suitable talent?"

"Perhaps. If it was an aspiring Wolf Rider, it may have beast-taming and animal communication talents." Havre said.

"Then I will find out," Gerhart replied, absorbing the crushed goblin.

Soon, Gerhart felt pain in his head, as if something was readjusting. But the feeling quickly subsided. Gerhart then looked at the Dire Wolf and furrowed his brows, sending his will to the Dire Wolf.

[Dire Wolf, Stand.] Gerhart gave a mental command through a unique link.

[Boss?! Yes!] The Dire Wolf's eyes lit up, standing up.

"Eh? You truly got Animal Communication talent?" Havre widened her eyes in surprise.

"Not only that, it also got Beast Taming talent and a Mental Link skill, allowing me to communicate my thoughts with a pet. Although they are Beginner level, it is enough for simple commands." Gerhart said.

"That's convenient," Hope said. "Why not try giving it a few commands?"

"Good idea." Gerhart nodded and turned to the wolf. "Sit."

The Dire Wolf sat.

"Hand," Gerhart said, putting his hand forward.

The Dire Wolf gave its hand.

"Other hand." Gerhart motioned with his other hand.

The Dire Wolf gave the other hand.

"Roll over," Gerhart ordered while doing a circle with his hand.

"Woof!" The Dire Wolf barked and did a roll.

"Roll the other way." Gerhart made a reverse motion.

"Woof! Woof!" The Dire Wolf rolled back.

"Do three circles right and two left," Gerhart ordered.

"Ruff! Woof!" The Dire Wolf obeyed and did as told.

"Sit. Good boy." Gerhart smiled and petted the wolf.

The Dire Wolf closed its eyes in contentment.

"If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was a dog trained from infancy," Havre said, impressed.

"Do you plan on naming it?" Hope asked.

"Yes. I think I'll name him—"