part1 · 043-ep43

Episode 43: Bloodwolf Materials

Confirming the Bloodwolf was down, Ren lowered his spear.

"...Right, then."

Ren took another long look at the fallen Bloodwolf. Different from the Grandwolf he'd fought on the second floor. But big enough, all the same.

And there were things on it Ren had his eye on.

Fangs. Claws. The pelt.

Every one of them looked sturdier than on any monster he'd seen so far.

"...These might work as materials."

Ren moved in and reached for a fang.

But—

"...Tough."

He gripped the fang and pulled. It didn't budge.

"Not coming out easy, huh."

Ren thought a moment. He had no butchering tools. All he had was the spear.

"...No choice but to just do it, huh."

Ren took up his spear and worked the point in at the fang's root. Applying force, little by little.

"...Kh."

It wouldn't come loose. Force it too hard, and the fang itself looked liable to snap.

Ren changed the angle and stabbed at the root again and again.

After a while—

"...It's out."

At last, one fang came free. Ren let out a breath.

"...This is going to take time."

He worked the rest of the fangs loose the same way. By the time he'd taken them all, a good deal of time had passed.

Next, he reached for the claws.

"These, too..."

They wouldn't come easy, either. The roots were fixed in solid.

Ren gave up on pulling and used the spear to shave away at the surroundings, bit by bit.

"...This is less butchering and more..."

Ren gave a wry smile.

"Just brute force, huh."

Even so, he somehow managed to extract several claws.

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Last, the pelt. This was harder than the fangs or the claws.

Trying to cut the hide with the spear's point didn't go the way he planned.

"...Hard to cut."

He made cut after cut, peeling it away little by little. Skinning it cleanly was out of the question. Fur was left here and there, and the hide took cuts of its own.

Even so, Ren cut away the biggest piece he could.

"...This should be enough."

Taking all of it was impossible. And spending any more time would cut into his exploring.

Ren chose only the parts that looked usable.

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And last of all—

Ren studied the Bloodwolf's body.

"...There's something."

Somewhere in the body was a feel different from the rest. Ren examined it carefully.

Before long, he found something like a small stone.

"...This?"

He cleared away the surrounding tissue with the spear's point, bit by bit. But this, too, didn't go easily.

"...Kh."

Checking the position again and again, he worked it out carefully. At last, the stone came free.

Ren took it in hand. A small stone of pale color. Different from an ordinary stone.

The moment he touched it, he felt a dense power, unlike the magic inside his body.

"...Magic?"

Ren used 《Appraisal》.

《Name: Bloodwolf Magic Stone》

《Type: Magic Stone》

《Magic content: Medium》

《Status: Poor》

"A magic stone..."

Ren rolled the stone across his fingertips.

"There's magic inside it?"

He couldn't know the details. But it was clearly no ordinary stone.

Ren stowed the magic stone away carefully.

"I'll bring this back, too."

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With the materials gathered, Ren thought about how to carry them. Walking with all of them as-is would be hard.

So he took out the plant vines he'd found before. The plant was tough, easy to use for tying things. And once knotted tight, it didn't come loose easily.

"With these..."

Ren bundled the pelt, laid the fangs and claws on top. Then bound it all tightly with the vines.

"All right."

He tried shouldering it.

"...Heavy."

It weighed more than he'd expected. But not more than he could carry.

Ren adjusted the load on his back. Still — it made walking awkward.

"...The more materials I gather, the more baggage I gain."

Ren looked at the load on his back. For now, he could manage. But if he fought stronger monsters from here on, the materials he'd want to bring home would keep growing.

"I've got to think up a better way."

Ren murmured that. Even so, right now, thinking about it further would get him nowhere.

There were still many unexplored places on the third floor. Ren looked around. Then turned his gaze toward ground he hadn't yet set foot on.

"...There might be something that way, too."

Where the stairs were, he still didn't know. All the more reason to check things one by one.

Ren took up his spear.

"Let's go."

And with that, he started walking toward the unseen depths of the third floor.