Chapter 8

The Hour Between Dog and Wolf (1)

By completely rupturing my muscles and using Regeneration[C+], I had increased my Strength stat by +4.

'Since each level gave me +1 to my stats...'

I had effectively gained four levels in one go. It might seem like a mere +4, but it was anything but.

The stats used an adult man as their baseline. In other words, 1 Strength equaled the strength of one adult man. A +4 increase in Strength meant gaining the strength of four adult men.

I Alone Level Up[EX] granted an additional stat point with every level, which meant I could keep gaining another adult man's worth of physical ability.

It was just as I had suspected. The secret behind Ian's absurd strength lay in I Alone Level Up[EX].

==「Player Information」==

[Name] = Adrian Whitewolf

[Level] = Level 6

[HP] = 12

[MP] = 0

[Stats] = Strength:7 Agility:1 Stamina:1 Mana:1

[Experience] = 12.7%

Defeating the ice troll had earned me three levels, and clearing the Tutorial Quest had earned me two more. That brought me to level 6 and gave me five stat points. On top of that, the Tutorial Quest had awarded one bonus stat point.

Of the six stat points I had received in total, I had distributed one each to Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Mana. I wanted to see how much difference a single point made. That was how I discovered that one stat point used an adult man as its baseline.

Which meant that my stats, initially stuck at zero, indicated that I had been far below the standard of an adult man. My past self really had been a wastrel, but anyway.

'Gaining experience is definitely the most efficient way to grow stronger.'

Not only could I gain additional stats, I could also gain additional abilities through my own ability, Predation[S+].

Ian's ability, I Alone Level Up[EX]. My ability, Predation[S+]. Hunting monsters allowed those two abilities to work together, making it a method for explosive growth.

'But hunting is too much for me in my current condition.'

My body now belonged to a count's wastrel son, not the allied army's Predator.

'I nearly died when I went hunting.'

Before returning home, I had roamed the snowy mountains looking for monsters to hunt. And I had nearly died.

All I had was a rapier that wasn't worth shit in an actual fight, and even swinging that a few times left me gasping for breath. I couldn't dream of the fighting prowess I'd had as Predator. With my body and stamina as they were, I couldn't even match an ordinary soldier.

'Good thing that blizzard suddenly swept in.'

Otherwise, I would have died before ever meeting Ian.

'It was a godsend that the first ice troll I ran into was weakened.'

At any rate, I needed to condition my body first. Hunting monsters was impossible in the body of a wastrel who had lived for gambling and pleasure. I didn't need to reach my old level as Predator right away, but I needed a body and enough stamina to keep fighting.

So I had given up hunting and returned straight home. I had invested both remaining stat points in Strength, then used that as a foundation to rebuild my muscles and gain another +4 Strength. My Strength, once stuck at zero, had reached a full 7. I now possessed the strength of seven adult men.

'I can definitely feel it...'

Explosive strength surged through my rebuilt muscles. Normally, growing this much in so little time would have been impossible. What made it possible was, of course, the ice troll's Regeneration[C+].

'Even a troll's healing ability wasn't this good.'

Back when I had been the allied army's Predator, the ability I gained by devouring a troll's heart was Recovery. That ability had been quite impressive in its own right. Stab wounds, lacerations, and bruises healed within minutes. Even severed limbs could be healed, as long as I found the severed part.

An ice troll was a mutant variety of troll. Since its healing ability was five times better than a regular troll's, I had expected something impressive. But... I hadn't expected this.

'This is almost on par with the Saintess.'

That was no exaggeration. It could rival the Saintess, one of the allied army's heroes. And that was with Regeneration[C+], for which I had yet to acquire the full set of genetic material. I couldn't imagine what it would be capable of if I hunted more ice trolls and acquired additional genetic material.

'The Emperor didn't round them all up and breed them for nothing.'

And ice trolls weren't the only ones. The continent was teeming with monsters whose abilities rivaled theirs. In my previous life, the Emperor had captured them all. But now that I had returned to the past, that wasn't the case. Rare monsters with abilities superior to an ice troll's still lived in the wild.

'If I could acquire all those abilities.'

Surpassing the Predator of my previous life would be child's play.

GRRRRROWL...!!

Suddenly, a thunderous noise erupted from my stomach. My hunger was so intense that I grew dizzy, my head swimming.

An ice troll's Regeneration wasn't limitless healing. It required a price. The Saintess's miracles required divine power. An ice troll's Regeneration required...

◆Massive protein consumption has left you extremely hungry!

Nutrients. In other words, food. I had done more than heal my ruptured muscles; I had rebuilt them entirely, exhausting all the protein in my body.

'My meal should be here by now.'

I rose, trying to stave off my hunger. The soldiers' cries of shock reached my ears.

“Good lord!!”

“H-he got up like nothing happened!!!”

“Wh-what the...!”

Everyone was staring at me, eyes wide. Their jaws hung open with no sign of closing. Their expressions went beyond looking at some fascinating animal; they looked as though they were observing a strange, grotesque creature.

But why make such a fuss over a little exercise?

'Never seen anyone work out before?'

Then again, thinking it over, I was currently a count's wastrel son. I had trained every day in the allied army, but as the count's wastrel son, I had spent my days indulging myself instead—

'I suppose they haven't.'

To the soldiers, it was bound to be a novelty. I got lightly to my feet and brushed off the dirt clinging to me.

“A-aaagh!!”

“A monster...! He's a monster...!”

Still, however unusual it might be, treating me like a monster crossed the line. I was just about to give the soldiers a piece of my mind when it happened.

◆Maddening hunger makes you regard everything in sight as 'food'!

For a moment, my head swam. I hurriedly pulled myself together and focused my eyes. But the scene before me had already warped.

The wooden practice swords looked like long loaves of bread, and the training dummies like enormous hunks of cheese. And the soldiers... looked like fresh meat.

I wanted to sink sharp teeth into their throats right then and there. I wanted to chew their flesh and quell this hunger. I wanted to wet my throat with their spurting blood and slake this thirst.

THUMP!

My heart gave a violent lurch. My eyes turned bloodshot, and madness stained my reason crimson. The instincts of a predator with prey before it. They drove my body onward.

By the time I blinked—

I was already lunging at the soldiers.

My muscles had been ruptured and rebuilt. My strength and speed were far greater than before.

I kicked off the ground.

KRA-BOOM!

The training ground shattered with a deafening crash. The force of the recoil propelled me forward.

The soldiers couldn't respond. They were horrified by my behavior, leaving them unable even to react to my speed, let alone counter it. In truth, even without that, they probably couldn't have perceived my movements now.

The distance between us closed rapidly. Unmistakable murderous intent filled my eyes. I reached out to seize the foremost soldier by the neck and take his flesh and blood—

That was when it happened.

◆Player's Will[EX] resists the gnawing hunger!

A translucent message suddenly appeared. At the same instant, my mind snapped clear. I hastily withdrew the hand I had reached toward the soldiers. But a moment before I could, another hand stopped me.

SMACK!

A powerful hand seized my wrist. Instinctively, I tried to shake it off, but it wouldn't budge. Despite the strength of my rebuilt muscles, I couldn't easily break that grip.

CLATTER!

A dull crash rang out. Looking down, I saw a covered platter that had fallen to the ground. The turkey dish it had held had made a mess of the floor. Apparently, it was the meal I had asked Bernard to bring.

But the one holding my wrist wasn't Bernard. I slowly raised my head to see who that hand belonged to. And there stood a man whose face was twisted like a demon's.

“What do you think you're doing...!!”

I remembered that face. I remembered the name just as clearly. My memories might have been stained and corrupted by the horrors of the battlefield, but I remembered this man without a doubt. How could I ever forget?

“Sir Kai!”

This goddamned bastard who had mercilessly slaughtered my comrades in the allied army.

* * *

I first met Kai when I was around five. My father had once traveled to the kingdom's capital and returned home with a grubby little boy. The boy wasn't merely small and frail; he was painfully thin.

Father named him Kai, meaning “a dog that resembles a tiger.” Whenever Father spoke to me about Kai, he called him “a fairly useful stray dog.”

Father also told me:

[“He has intelligence but little cleverness, so he should be easy to raise. He will never betray anyone he has accepted as his master. Raise him well, and use him as your own hands and feet.”]

And so Father assigned Kai to me. He hadn't been wrong. Kai was a loyal knight who would willingly give his life for me.

Thinking back... I suppose Kai and I had gotten along well as children. I regarded Kai, and Kai regarded me, as brothers. There had been a time when our bond went beyond that of lord and vassal.

But at some point, our relationship soured. We could no longer live as brothers as we once had, and with Seraphia's fall, our relationship finally deteriorated beyond repair.

And now, having returned to the past, I found that the Kai standing before me reminded me of a noble wolf. Standing tall with my wrist in his grip, he was as proud as a wolf of the snowfields. He suited the name of House Whitewolf better than I did.

Yet the meaning of his name, Kai, was a dog that resembled a tiger.

Dogs and wolves have no genetic differences. Long ago, one or two wolves from a pack had brazenly begun relying on humans, giving rise to the species known as dogs. That was why dogs and wolves had no differences in appearance.

Thus, what distinguished wolf from dog lay within.

Loyalty.

A dog wags its tail when it sees a person. A wolf grows wary and attacks. Yet the dim light of dusk makes it impossible to tell a dog from a wolf.

“Leave the county at once.”

Was the Kai approaching me now a dog, or a wolf? If he were a dog, he would wag his tail in greeting.

“And if I refuse?”

If he were a wolf, he would try to harm me.