Glenn's fingertips touched his mouth corner—bone-white fangs extending there pierced his fingertip skin. Heavy blood scent flooded his oral cavity, yet brought strange satisfaction. He looked down at massive claws covered in dark gray fur as something from his bloodline depths surged through vessels.
Last night's werewolf bite... lycanthropic poison. The term surfaced from memory depths. Every kingdom branded werewolves, vampires, and demons as evil creatures—the Knight Templar and Mage Alliance's hunts never ceased. He smiled bitterly, expression nearly a snarl. Curse or opportunity? Only time would tell.
Had other werewolves witnessed this scene, they'd be utterly horrified. Retaining complete rationality during first transformation violated all conventional wisdom. Savage killing lust boiled and shrieked like molten magma at his consciousness edges, yet crashed against an ice-sealed cliff—willpower forged in his previous life, far exceeding normal humans. Bloodthirsty impulses remained, but he controlled them like a rider reining wild Battle Lions.
His claws still pressed against the mutated beast's neck. This creature had completely submitted, muscles relaxed, throat releasing intermittent whimpers like a tamed hound. Glenn raised his claw as killing intent flashed, yet another more ancient instinct stopped him. Some bloodline-deep connection was forming, whispering "domination" to him.
Keep it. The thought surfaced clearly. Valuable cannon fodder.
He released his restraint. Invisible bonds instantly tightened as he transmitted clear commands through that link—"Obey."
A low, hoarse, nearly inhuman beast-roar spilled from his throat. He paused, concentrating will to sense lycanthropic poison flowing through vessels while struggling to control throat muscles.
"Done..." Demon-like raspy voice finally squeezed from his throat.
The beast prostrated at his feet, motionless.
Glenn closed his eyes for inner sight. Lycanthropic poison—this strange energy activated during transformation, surging through vessels to remake his frame. He sensed instinctive control, even perceiving that if he wished, he could seemingly expel this toxin completely from his body.
"Am I unique, or can all werewolves do this?" That hoarse voice muttered.
A bolder notion sprouted. What if lycanthropic poison completely filled every blood vessel?
Intent stirred slightly as dormant poison suddenly boiled, flooding into undeveloped regions.
The prostrate beast shuddered violently, releasing fearful wails while pressing its skull into earth.
Glenn's frame swelled again, bones producing teeth-grinding creaks. Muscles bulged and twisted, supporting him to terrifying height. Pitch-black mist coiled like living shadows around newborn fangs and claws. Savage aura swept outward from his center, crushing surrounding undergrowth as bloodthirsty fury nearly drowned reason, yet was again forcibly suppressed.
Vision rose dramatically as senses became impossibly acute—a single leaf's trajectory a hundred meters away proved clearly discernible. Strength climbed to peaks his will could bear, yet lycanthropic poison hadn't even filled half his vessels.
The six-meter towering frame stood majestically, shrouded in suffocating black mist. He casually threw a punch—not directly striking trees yet compressing air with ear-piercing shrieks, snapping several oaks at waist level.
Massive consumption followed. Intense hunger burned his stomach. He restrained his will, controlling lycanthropic poison's tide-like retreat.
Returning to human form again, Glenn stood naked in the forest clearing as night wind swept his skin, hunger growing sharper.
"Impressive power... but quite clothing-expensive." He glanced at his naked body, mouth corners pulling into helpless arcs.
"Go. Find food." He commanded the beast still trembling on the ground, intent transmitting clearly through that bond.
The beast started, darting into dense forest at unprecedented speed.
Glenn examined himself, discovering that even after reverting to human form, his physical strength far exceeded pre-transformation levels—lycanthropic poison had permanently enhanced this body. He practiced familiar martial arts from his previous life, wind howling as surging power flowed.
Sitting on leaf-carpeted ground, his peripheral vision caught slight movement. A one-eyed rat was gnawing meat scraps left by the previous beast. Its aura... resembled that mutated creature somewhat. A theory emerged: that beast, or such creatures resulted from lycanthropic poison mutations.
...
At the very instant Glenn's power reached its peak, in Byak town center within a three-story brick structure, atop a dust-covered soft bed, a long-haired figure's eyelids trembled faintly as if awakening from deep slumber, yet ultimately returned to deathly silence.
...
Hours later, the beast returned carrying a robust wild boar. Glenn, who'd waited long enough to grow irritable, nearly snatched the prey before finding open ground to build fires for roasting. Though his current physique could digest raw meat, his human baseline refused primitive consumption.
Rich meat aromas filled the forest. The nearby beast's saliva poured like springs, nostrils frantically twitching as desire nearly materialized.
Yet pack laws were carved into bloodlines. Glenn ignored its cravings, first tearing off massive hindquarter meat to gnaw hungrily. The beast dared not transgress—it had witnessed this being's true terror.
An entire pig leg consumed, Glenn's hunger finally subsided. Human form required limited consumption—no need to store more energy for transformation. He tossed remaining hindquarter to the beast, signaling it to handle the rest.
After it finished feeding, Glenn again transmitted commands through that connection, clearly projecting "clothing" concepts and his residence's location.
The beast turned and melted into darkness.
Glenn concealed remaining prey in his home before again taking the town path. He needed to spend his final coins purchasing grains and vegetables.
Perhaps eventually, he should buy a cart. He mused privately, footsteps crushing the forest's deepening dusk.