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“Double experience event!?”

I thought that as I led them, it was only natural for those monsters to come after me, but the scene before my eyes looked so filling that I could almost get full just from watching.

Luna, perhaps nervous about the number of foes, was stiff as a board next to me, not even recognizing this sweet opportunity.

This is exactly why the people of this world can’t grow and are always hitching a ride on the protagonist’s coattails.

On my left and right were two War Wolves each.

A total of four of them were looming around, keeping an eye on us, but isn’t that information already wrong?

Moreover, among them, there was a commanding monster standing at the back of the pack, looking mighty imposing—not just strong, but ridiculously so.

“Now that I think about it, Adela did mention rumors about a strong individual appearing.”

This one was larger than the regular War Wolves, with a slightly darker grayish fur, and it had a long scar running vertically across its left eye, as if it had seen some serious action back in the day, ready to unleash some killer moves.

“That one is obviously the boss.”

I couldn’t help but wonder how much experience points something that solid would yield.

–gulp.

“Luke…?”

“Huh? What’s up?”

“Weren’t you just licking your lips?”

“Oh, come on. You must’ve seen it wrong.”

Tch. This is why people with quick wits are so annoying.

“What are you planning to do now, Luke?”

What do you think I’m planning to do? Of course…

“I’m going to take them all down.”

Double experience is a magical phrase.

A magic word that turns cowards into manly men who aren’t afraid of death.

And that’s right in front of me, and you expect me to run away?

That’s definitely not happening.

“Luna, you said you fight well, right?”

“…Even if I fight well, taking on five by myself is too much.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I thought you’d ask me to handle all five on my own.”

What kind of mindset is that? I’m not some evil boss from a black company forcing you to overwork while you’re a free slave.

“Just take down the four sidekicks, except for the boss.”

“…”

“What’s wrong now?”

“Isn’t that the same thing?”

What are you talking about? I’m the one tackling the toughest job here.

I’m going to take down the boss; you should be able to handle the minions, Luna.

Plus, I’d like to see just how well you fight.

“But, can you fight?”

“What do you mean?”

“Aren’t those your distant relatives?”

Wolf beastmen and wolf monsters.

It’s a matter of being a human or a monster, but they’re still wolves; shouldn’t they be considered some kind of distant relatives of Luna?

Killing them would be like fratricide.

“…Monsters and humans are different.”

“Oh? I thought they’d be like your far-off relatives.”

Well, unless a humanoid monster shows up later, there’s no way they’d be related to you.

If that’s not the case, then it’s all good.

“Then I’ll lure the four over here.”

“Wait a sec. Take this.”

I rummaged through my inventory and pulled out a couple of glass bottles to hand to Luna.

“What is this?”

A liquid inside a glass bottle, red with a hint of yellow.

“It’s vinegar mixed with chili powder.”

They say dogs have great noses.

The same goes for wolves, even if they’re monsters.

What do you think those sensitive-nosed pooches absolutely detest? You got it—smells!

The reason I didn’t buy hunting materials from the blacksmith is exactly that.

‘As if they would sell vinegar and chili powder at a blacksmith.’

The cost of making this effective weapon is negligible.

Most idiots would scream, “To catch a strong monster, you need strong equipment!” and blow all their money on gear, but for a genius like me? Not necessary at all.

Of course, there was one issue.

Luna has the keen sense of smell of a wolf beastman.

It unintentionally means I brought something that could troll her, but she’ll just hold her breath since she’s human.

“How do you use this…?”

“If you’re curious, just open the lid.”

What kind of effect could it have for me to have brought this, I can just imagine Luna thinking that.

And that thought will vanish the moment she pops the lid open.

As soon as I finished speaking, Luna eagerly opened the lid.

Pop! The cheerful sound of the flask’s lid opening caused both Luna and me to reflexively hold our breath.

“…Ugh!”

“Ugh! Did you really just open that? Close it quickly!”

The effect of my special vinegar bottle was astonishing.

In the split second the lid opened, Luna’s face scrunched up, and I couldn’t help but squint in disgust too.

And to top it off…

-Gak, gak!

Even distant monsters seemed to catch a whiff of that infamous stench and started to hesitate.

‘Wow, that’s some impressive effect.’

Just as I expected. I won’t need to worry about making a living selling alchemy in the future.

“Alright, Luna. Time to start the hunt.”

“…Yes.”

The air stirred around Luna as she gripped her dagger with both hands.

She was the first to swing her weapon toward the nearest War Wolf.

And then.

-Whirl!

A sharp gust formed along her blade, crashing toward the monsters.

‘Whoa… that magic is sick.’

I hadn’t seen any magic while running solo, but I envied her for showing me this.

The blade struck a few of the dodging War Wolves.

With a howl, the head War Wolf announced the beginning of our battle.

-Awoooooo!!!!!!

As the boss howled, the surrounding War Wolves spread out.

“I’ll be off now.”

“Ugh~”

Immediately, Luna surged forth, conjuring the wind as she swiftly maneuvered away, and the four War Wolves followed her.

The boss glared at me, growling as if it wanted to announce a one-on-one duel.

“What’s this? You think you can bare your fangs at your human lord without a care?”

I’m not a kind person like Mr. Kang who gently trains dogs one by one.

I don’t have the nature for that.

So what about that bad dog right in front of me?

‘What should I do, huh? Just kill it.’

With teeth bared at me, there’s no reason to let it live.

“You there! You look pretty meaty, don’t you? Hehehe.”

If I catch it and bring it to a restaurant, I could have a hearty meal of dog stew.

I may have failed with the goblin, but I’ve had dog meat before, so I know it well.

-Kang!

In the midst of this nerve-wracking moment, it was the War Wolf that attacked first.

Using its sturdy body, it leaped directly toward me in a single bound.

“Wow, it’s definitely fast.”

Even if it is a monster, an E-Rank shouldn’t be able to jump ten meters in one go.

Are the others like that? Or is it just this one?

I’m not sure. I should finish this quickly and go watch Luna fight.

-Pop!

A light sound rang from my hand, and the War Wolf’s nostrils flared several times as wrinkles formed on its snout.

“How’s that? Smells amazing, huh?”

I said with a twisted grin.

The effect was outrageous, but it also had a potent effect on me.

If I, a human, am affected this much, how do you think it’s hitting a dog that has a sense of smell a thousand to a hundred million times more acute?

“This is the greatness of humans, you dumb pup.”

-Grrrrr… Wang!

Next, the War Wolf tried attacking with its claws.

As far as I know, there are clever dog breeds among the species, but somehow it seemed dumber than goblins.

“Ugh—.”

No matter how fast it is, its attack is straightforward.

I slightly stepped back and threw the flask I was holding at the beast.

“Go! Monster Ball!”

Crash! The flask hit the War Wolf’s torso with a sound.

The mixture of vinegar and chili powder soaked into its fur, and the horrible smell made it howl.

-Gawrooo!

“Yuck! Gross. That stench!”

I might’ve spilled some while throwing it, because the odor was now on my hand, and whoever made this stench was clearly a genius.

While I grimaced at the smell, the War Wolf was busy running around to get rid of the awful scent coming from its own body.

It spun around in place, rolled on the ground, and shook itself like it was trying to shake off water.

“Wow, what an effect.”

At this rate, I might have unwittingly created a biochemical weapon.

‘I wonder if Luna is doing alright.’

She’s not going to faint from the smell while hunting, right?

If she dies because of me, that would leave a bad taste in my mouth.

‘Wait, would that even be fair? She said she fights well, so if she dies, it’s her own skills at fault.’

Yeah, that sounds about right.

I’m sure I even asked her if she had any plans to switch weapons, so if anything goes wrong, it’d be her fault for following me.

-Grrrr…

Lost in my thoughts, the War Wolf had recovered enough to stand after shaking off the smell to some extent.

Looks like one bottle isn’t enough after all.

“But you think I only brought one bottle?”

How little does vinegar and chili powder cost?

Of course, I came prepared with loads.

I pulled out a whole bunch of flasks from my inventory.

“If it doesn’t catch on the first throw, then what?”

I’ll just keep tossing them until it does.

Countless flasks soared through the air.

The yellowish-red liquids splashed all over the War Wolf.

With refreshing and cheerful sounds, the wolf became drenched like a dog caught in the rain.

-Gawooo! Gawoo!

The faintest hint of fragrance that had just been relegated returned, clinging to its whole body.

Though it seemed like it was doing its best not to faint over its own scent, it truly had commendable willpower.

“Even better.”

Honestly, I didn’t expect to use that much, but since I brought them, I’d use them all.

I once again dug into my inventory and pulled out some meat.

Just cheap, lean meat.

Sprinkled over it was a seasoning.

A type of sleep-inducing seasoning that’s very useful for insomniacs.

I shoved the meat into the mouth of the still-downed War Wolf.

Sensitive-nosed dogs would try to resist eating because of the sleep-inducing smell, but thanks to the vinegar, its sense of smell had been dulled, and wild beasts can’t resist food entering their mouths.

Thinking it was my arm instead, it started gnawing on it with gusto.

“Good, good.”

As expected of a dog; it went crazy biting and tearing apart the meat with the bone.

Before long, its eyes began to droop slowly.

The effectiveness of the sleeping drug was phenomenal.

“When you wake up, it’ll all be over.”

Euthanasia.

When it opens its eyes again, it will feel no pain, and everything will be over.

The War Wolf, which was just fighting moments ago, was now sound asleep.

I drew my sword and took my stance.

“Kekeke.”

Did you know?

Slicing asleep foes deals double damage.

“Take this! Blade of Slumber!”

With a clean slice, I separated its head from its body.

“Easy.”

[ Level Up! Check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Check your status! ]

[ Level Up! Check your status! ]

“Wow, three levels.”

This one brought me three levels, huh?

I didn’t realize it was stronger than I thought.

I shoved the separated head and body into my inventory.

“Now, shall we go see how well Luna is doing?”

It ended faster than expected, so I wanted to go check if Luna, who claimed to fight so confidently, was really doing well.

“…But where did Luna go?”

 

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