'It's here.'
Rowan was clearly excited, but he flinched from the pain. From the wounds on both arms, rotten blood oozed out thickly. Yellow pus seeped and mixed with the blood flowing down, and cold sweat broke out.
He unwrapped the bandages in a panic, only to find just scars already.
"Whew."
Only then did he remember this was a dream. It was so real he'd completely forgotten, and his heart had been pounding from the black blood mixed with pus.
'The wounds.'
He'd gotten quite a few wounds on both arms while catching the giant black wolf called Mavros lyko. Even while giving first aid, he could tell the injuries weren't ordinary.
'Should've changed the bandages one more time before passing out.'
He'd poured alcohol to prevent bacterial infection, but it was better to change them frequently. Especially with this world's hygiene—it was hard to bear, and he had to manage it well himself, but when injured, even that was difficult.
'This is gonna cost me quite a bit of money.'
Family love existed here, but it wasn't that great. If you had dreams, you had to earn money yourself, and you should be tremendously grateful even if they supported you halfway. Parents had their own lives, and children shouldn't expect much.
Being a good parent simply meant not saddling them with debt instead of inheritance. Maybe stopping by occasionally during hard times to give a few months' living expenses. That meant there was absolutely nothing unless something serious happened.
It was especially unusual that Rowan had received money from his father Haldanak when he hadn't even asked for support.
Clap!
Rowan clapped his hands together and surveyed his surroundings. Five doors greeted him. They were spewing smoke. Among them, one door stood out prominently.
Trickle. Gush gush gush.
Black water was being vomited out. Since it was the only one with black water flowing, Rowan naturally headed for that black door. At a glance, it was rare.
"Ugh!"
Wind was even blowing from that door, carrying a rotting stench. It was like the black wolf's maw was right in front of him. When he held his breath and approached the door, a vision enveloped him.
Thump! Thump thump! Thump thump thump!
A giant heart beat loudly. Bones, muscle fibers, flesh, and hide were layered on, and the left eye, torn by an arrow, reformed itself.
'The black wolf's regeneration!'
But that regenerative power turned into a handful of blood as the heart was destroyed. Rowan naturally wanted to obtain this ability, but the vision didn't end with the regenerated flesh turning to blood.
Graaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!
'Huk.'
A terrible ghostly wail echoed.
Someone covered in smoke was devoured whole. Black veins appeared, then with red eyes, they smashed houses made of smoke, sliced through people, and grabbed organs to bring to their mouth. Soon their mouth stretched long to form a wolf's head.
Thud!
An eerie sensation washed over him. Rowan recoiled in horror and snapped out of the vision as he fell on his butt. His back was damp.
'Why is it so vivid?'
Unlike before, the vision felt in the second dream gave Rowan more diverse sensations. His hands trembled. Though it was merely a form made of black smoke, the sensation coming through the vision felt vivid to Rowan, who'd experienced real combat.
A heartless monster.
'If I choose it, it's an ability that'll devour me.'
Everything except the heart would gain tremendous regenerative ability. Even the eyes would regain full function after a day passed—how much more so for the rest? It would truly give Rowan strength terrible enough to be considered horrifying by opponents.
But who would choose an ability that devoured the user?
'It's a shame. I should've gotten it when I had the means or abilities to protect myself.'
Rowan didn't smack his lips. The vision he'd experienced was that realistic, and he could clearly feel the side effects brought by the heartless monster.
The giant wolf's body. He could obtain the abnormal strength of Mavros lyko. Literally, even with less actual muscle mass, he could gain considerable strength. Of course, he couldn't get all the giant wolf's strength with a child's hands, and there were penalties.
The wolf's movements. Gaining control of the body and thus agility. It didn't seem that impressive because Rowan had put a lot of effort into handling his own body. Since he'd already accumulated experience using agility and a physique that had reached a certain level, the power gained felt small.
Wolf Crown.
'Ah!'
It was intense. The visions of handling crows, foxes, and wild boars shattered, and several wolves ran forward, tearing through the smoke.
'The power to control wolves!'
It wasn't beast taming, but powerful charisma applied to wolves. Also, the power to not antagonize black wolves and receive help.
But it didn't end there. Another vision revealed itself consecutively. It was a clear indicator that this ability was rare. While other abilities ended with one vision, this ability had another vision remaining.
Small footprints came in. Rowan could tell they were a goblin's. A goblin stroking a wolf's back opened its mouth wide and spewed smoke. It created a single form and stretched it out long.
'Befitting those savage bastards, they must have deep ties with wolves too.'
The goblin's language and writing! That was what he'd receive secondarily if he obtained the Wolf Crown. It seemed to be thanks to the Culture's Right Foot, Barbarism's Left Foot ability that had helped him successfully tame the crow Kaiya before.
Shadow-Walking Wolf. An ability where physical prowess increased in darkness, and sounds from the body disappeared. It was no different from powerful stealth, and especially effective in cities or where humans lived.
In forests, bushes would still rustle after all. Conversely, in places without noisy objects, it would grant near-invincible power. Literally becoming a warrior of the night.
'Lots of mouth-watering stuff.'
Each was powerful and helpful to Rowan. Among them were the Giant Wolf's Body that increased strength, the Shadow-Walking Wolf that showed invincible power at night and allowed tremendous influence, and lastly the Wolf Crown.
He pondered and pondered, thought and thought.
'I don't need strength right now.'
Rowan's body genetics were decent. He was naturally well-built because he was born into a ranch family that operated in the wilderness. Strong against cold, his beard didn't grow well, and he had little body hair.
He also invested a lot in food, and when eating fish, he was enthusiastic about calcium intake by chewing even the bones.
Though young, he might need the extra strength eventually, but leaving the village was still far off.
'I'm not going to hunt humans, so do I need stealth?'
He was already pretty good at hiding now. It looked like he could push it to the extreme, but he felt it was lacking since it could only be used in such situations.
'The Wolf Crown's ability.'
Additionally, he could understand goblin language and writing. Above all, Rowan was captivated by the superpower-like ability to immediately command several wolves.
'If I can command wolves, my influence will grow like commanding a mercenary band.'
Though he couldn't afford to maintain wolves all the time with food costs, if he settled in one place for a long time, he could release them in the forest and summon them when needed.
'It also seems good to not antagonize Mavros Lyko, the black wolf.'
They were so well-known that they appeared in the countryside every few decades. That's why hunter Geric knew about them. He could encounter them several times when venturing beyond the village.
'I could operate one wolf regularly.'
Rowan imagined carrying the crow Kaiya on his shoulder and leading a wolf by his side.
'Damn. That's cool.'
That stylishness would definitely help with success. Self-PR would happen automatically.
'A mercenary band that handles wolves, huh.'
He also thought of the future. The goblin language and writing would be used for goblin subjugation.
'Starting alone and forming a mercenary band, goblin subjugation is perfect.'
Rowan remembered the Iron Pouch Mercenary Group. Mercenary commander Jose came to mind too. If forming his own mercenary band was difficult, he could think about joining them.
He entered the Wolf Crown's door without hesitation. He felt something change like lightning. Simultaneously, he felt a falling sensation.
'Huh?!'
He struggled in surprise, but like being underwater, he couldn't even breathe. He felt something like black hair wrapping around Rowan's body. It coiled up from the bottom of the endless darkness and bound him.
He felt a terrible sensation. Instinctively, he thought of it as 'filthy.'
With the struggle, Rowan jerked upright. Awakening from the dream, he looked around.
Chirp chirp. Chirp chirp.
Insects cried noisily. He opened the wooden window where a bit of moonlight showed. The pure white moon was illuminating the world.
'Ugh.'
Pain shot through his arms. Rowan clicked his tongue, seeing the bandages' condition. Blood had dried and discolored. No care at all.
"Ahh, ugh."
He tore off the bandages in the night. Flesh stuck to them, blood flowed out, and the pain was severe. He gently poured the strong alcohol he'd brought over in advance, spread open the claw wounds by digging with his hands, and stuffed it in.
"Khhhuup. This is crazy."
The pain was like his brain was burning, but Rowan didn't stop and thoroughly finished disinfecting, then rewrapped the bandages. He had no herbs at the moment.
Since this was a world with no sense of hygiene, he couldn't complain to his family. They'd treat him as a weirdo.
Though covered in cold sweat, it quickly cooled from the night breeze entering through the window. His body felt cold, but Rowan didn't really care.
He pushed away the cloths full of blood and finished by rewrapping the bandages. His room reeked of alcohol from all the disinfecting.
The next morning, Rowan learned he'd suffered from a high fever for two days. He'd woken up after three days.
"You had it rough."
His father Haldanak had handled both ranch work and nursing him, so he felt unnecessarily sorry. He'd thought that since he received nothing, he gave nothing, but receiving nursing this time, he felt his love.
Though taciturn, Rowan had only recently realized that when big obstacles appeared, Haldanak and Sernhac always tried to help him.
"I can move pretty well and feel light, you know?"
"I'm glad you've recovered your energy. I was going to nurse you just until today and call someone else for the rest. I guess I'm getting old now. Before, I wasn't like this; I was fine, even soaked in alcohol for three days and nights."
After chatting, Haldanak provided Rowan with the necessary information.
"The payment for the black wolf is with hunter Geric. He said you had to come get it, so I couldn't receive it."
"It's my money, so I should receive it."
"If you didn't even say something! Haha."
As they laughed together, Haldanak made a serious expression.
"The village atmosphere still isn't good. Better not to go around laughing. Everyone's on edge about something."
"I guess so."
The sadness would pass soon, but until then, staying quiet was good for everyone.
"Rakson asked you to come by once."
"Did he say why?"
"No. But from what I'm hearing, it seems like the Youth Association will give a reward."
Rowan made a laughing sound. Haldanak talked about the village atmosphere once more and gave a warning. Even if good things happened, three children had died, and one farmer had his neck broken.
You didn't whoop and holler about a windfall on the day of a funeral.
Because that short period of mourning the dead was considered more precious than the living.
Rowan headed to hunter Geric first. He wanted to hear more detailed village conditions.