The Devouring Dragon

[Quest Complete!]

Defeat the Great Wolf King

Rewards:

All [Territory] owned by the Great Wolf King

All [Subordinate]'s owned by the Great Wolf King

+1,000 STR

+1,000 END

+1,000 AGI

+All unclaimed [Wolf] related skills!

+All [Wolf] related skills will be raised to level 15!

I grinned, nodding appreciatively at the list of rewards.

It took a while, but it was finally done. Ragnar was dead, and I had completed the quest.

[Analyzing [Valon]...]

[Unclaimed [Wolf] related skills include: [Sharpen], [Enhanced Smell], [Enhanced Vision], [Predator's Howl].

I glanced over the new skills, tapping on them to bring up a longer description of each one.

[Sharpen] - Sharpen an appendage.

[Enhanced Smell] - Enhance your sense of smell.

[Enhanced Vision] - Enhance your sense of sight.

[Predator's Howl] - Let out the howl of a predator, increasing your [Presence] by one stage temporarily.

I blinked, staring at the descriptions.

[Sharpen] wasn't all that useful, as I assumed it essentially allowed me to turn my fingers into claws. That was nice and all, but I could already turn my hand into a literal sword.

[Enhanced Smell] and [Enhanced Vision] were pretty self-explanatory, but were also all-around useful. They would give me a boost for everyday life activities, and having enhanced sight could also be useful in combat.

However, the most interesting skill was the final one: [Predator's Howl].

I was torn on if the skill would be useful or not, as I had no idea whether raising my presence by one stage was good or not. I had never seen anything regarding my presence so far, and my stat sheet didn't give any clues either. 

I'll just have to try out the skill sometime and find out.

Next, I turned around, ignoring the roaring embers behind me as I turned to the burning corpse lying in the dirt.

Strangely, despite Ragnar's corpse being nothing but bone and pitch-black burnt flesh, he didn't look unappealing. If anything, he looked more appealing than anything I'd ever eaten before.

I stepped forward, reaching down and grabbing off a piece of the charred flesh - though to my stomach, it looked more like a prime piece of steak. I raised it up, placed it into my mouth, and took a bite.

My eyes shot wide as I did, saliva forming in my mouth from the food. It was the best thing I'd ever tasted.

[Devour] has been used on [Ragnar] [Dire Wolf King] - Level 100

You have gained:

+5,000HP (11,535/23,035)

+500 MAX HP (12,035/23,535)

+500 STR

+500 END

+700 AGI

+250 INT

+5,000 XP

+ 500 [Harden] Skill XP! 

+ 50 [Devour] Skill XP!

+ 250 [Global Communication] skill XP!

+[King's Aura] Skill!

+[King's Command] Skill!

My back straightened as I glanced over the rewards, my body feeling much less sore after the HP boost. I tapped on the two new skills, bringing up their descriptions.

[King's Aura] - Utilize the Aura of a Great Direwolf King, boosting your [Presence] between two and ten stages depending on the creatures nearby.

[King's Command] - Utilize the Command of a Great Direwolf King, raising the [Obedience] of all nearby creatures by between 2x and 10x its current value depending on the creature.

I grinned as I read the descriptions. 

I didn't know if [Presence] was important or not before, but if a skill that came from Ragnar boosted it, then it must have some use. I doubted that any loot from a mini-boss would be useless.

The second skill also brought in a new concept I hadn't seen yet - [Obedience]. I had assumed this game didn't have a reputation system, but that might just be one of the mechanics that was still locked behind the tutorial wall.

Finally, I turned to the last reward I got for killing Ragnar - the [King's Claw].

I held it up, inspecting the claw carefully.

How the hell do I use this thing?

I waved it in front of me, the claw dangling in the air lazily. Nothing happened.

If I was a wooden wolf claw, how would I want to be activated?

I wrapped my palm around the middle, giving it a hard squeeze.

It was a Sacred Treasure - it wouldn't break just from this, right?

Luckily, I was correct.

[[F-Tier] [Sacred Treasure] [King's Claw] has been activated!]

[You will temporarily gain access to five skills!]

[For utilizing a [Sacred Tresure] you have been given the [Sacred Treasure Guide]!

[Skills rented: [First-Strike], [F-Tier Speed Enhancement], [Piercing Blow], [Momentum Boost], [Rampaging Beast]].

I blinked, staring at the results. Well, I didn't know what I expected the claw to do, but this was a good result. 

A second later, another notification appeared in my vision.

[Sacred Treasure Guide Unlocked!]

[Sacred Treasure Guide] - A guide for the themed collection [Sacred Treasure]!

Well, at least the game was nice enough to give some information this time. I tapped on the guide, and another screen appeared in its place.

[Sacred Treasure Guide - Page 1]

[Sacred Treasure]'s are one of the many themed collections you can find. 

Themed collections are closely related artifacts, relics, weapons, or overall valuable possession. 

Fair enough. They were essentially a package deal - a bunch of items that were related and that had some type of extra ability.

For an item to enter a themed collection, it must be created by a being of [LEGENDARY] status or higher. 

[Sacred Treasure]'s are the themed collection of the [LEGENDARY Dragon: Tiamat].

Well, that confirmed my suspicions. The 'blue one' in the forest really was Tiamat.

Each [Sacred Treasure] will have a different selection of skills or abilities, which will vary in strength based on the tier of the treasure.

[Sacred Treasure]'s are ranked from F-Tier to S-Tier, with S-Tier being the strongest. 

Yeah, I didn't need the game to tell me that. I had assumed as much. 

A moment later, the screen vanished again, and a new one appeared.

List of [Sacred Treasure]'s:

[King's Claw]

[?]

[?]

[?]

[?]

The list continued down, each option having a question mark underneath the King's Claw. I tapped on the top option, and the screen changed again.

[King's Claw] - The claw of the Great Wolf King, Ragnar.

The [King's Claw] has the ability to grant temporary skills to the wielder. 

The [King's Claw] has the bonus effect [Scalibility]

[Scalibility] - The power of your skills will scale, increasing or decreasing based on the power of your opponent.

My eyes widened as I read the final portion. Everything made a lot more sense now.

I hadn't expected Ragnar to be weak - he was still the Direwolf King after all, and a literal mini-boss for a quest. 

But, I hadn't expected him to be as strong as he was either once I saw his level. 

His son, Ragno, had been almost level 60 - a big difference from Ragnar's level 100, but not such a huge difference that I should've been able to manhandle him effortlessly and then be roughly even, or possibly even weaker than, Ragnar.

"This was why he was so tough," I muttered, staring at the King's Claw. He had utilized skills throughout the entire fight, with his rampaging one allowing him to take control of the battle.

The skills were powerful, not Ragnar himself. They had scaled, becoming much stronger against me because I was so powerful, and allowed him to go toe-to-toe with me. 

Then, his fighting experience, compared to my minimal mob-stomping experience, had given him the upper hand and forced me to utilize my trap.

Due to [King's Claw] being an [F-Tier] [Sacred Treasure], [Scalibility] is less effective. Treasures of higher Tier's will be more effective.

I'll have to be careful from now on - until I'm out of the Familiar Forest at least. These Sacred Treasure's could be the death of me.

It wouldn't be fun if I arrogantly went into a fight with someone I thought was a weakling, and then they suddenly whip out an S-Tier treasure that makes them way stronger.

I turned to the skills I had gained from the claw. I tapped on each option, bringing up the more in-depth descriptions.

[First-Strike] - The first strike is the most important - if you land the first blow in a battle it will do twice the damage]

[F-Tier Speed Enhancement] - Minorly enhance your average speed output.

[Piercing Blow] - Make your next attack have more piercing power.

[Momentum Boost] - Instantly double your current momentum.

[Rampaging Beast] - Sacrifice your durability for more power. Set your END to base while adding a percentage of your opponent's STR and AGI to your own.

Damn, these were damn good. Some of them at least.

Ragnar had never gotten a chance to use the first one, as I had struck first when he jumped in to save Ragno.

The speed enhancement was nice, though how useful it was would depend on who I was facing. When Ragnar had used it, he had gone from 'damn he's pretty fast' to 'fuck I can barely keep up' - but that was largely because I was his opponent, and I was damn fast.

[Piercing Blow] didn't really make sense - was it making my limbs, or my weapon, sharper? I had no context as to what more 'piercing power' meant.

I glossed over it, as it seemed to be one of the less useful skills. The next one was much more appealing - [Momentum Boost]. This was the skill that Ragnar had used to turn the fight in his favor, as it made him too fast for me to reasonably keep up with.

It was both versatile and overall powerful, so I could see myself using it a lot in the future. Especially in combination with [First-Strike], as I could combine the two to ensure I got the first blow in every battle.

The last skill was also nice, though it made me silently lament on my battle with Ragar. I had no way of knowing he was using the skill, but it still sucked.

If I had decided to ditch the plan and just try to get one good hit in while he was rampaging and jumping at me then I would've one-shot him.

But, no use fretting over the past. The battle had happened, and I was both stronger and wiser for it.

"Y-Your Highness!" I glanced over as I heard a scream, seeing Podo running towards me. Unfortunately for him, both Ragnar and any remains he would've left were gone - his bones dissipating into blue dust.

"W-Where is he?!" Podo screamed, looking around rapidly in search of Ragnar. Next to me, Raya stepped forward from where had been waiting for me to finish, taking her place next to me as she looked warily at Podo.

Or, more specifically, at the men who came running up behind Podo. 

Ragno, along with his two stronger brothers, Ragnot and Ragnat, came running out from the side of the inferno.

"He's dead," I replied bluntly, turning my body to face the four.

"No way…" Podo muttered, his eyes widening at my words, "H-His Highness is dead?!"

"Impossible! Father wouldn't lose to someone like you!" Ragnot snarled, jutting his finger out at me.

"Eh? You just saw him burning to death in there, didn't you?" I countered, gesturing to the burning trees nearby. 

Ragnot merely grunted in response, obviously agreeing with me but not wanting to admit it.

"Let me make something clear," I hummed, taking a step towards the four wolves confidently. I grinned, the light of the nearby fire flickering on my face and lighting it up, "Ragnar is dead. I'm the king now."

For a moment, the entire forest was silent, no one daring to speak. The tension is the air could be cut with a knife.

Then, Ragnat broke it, "As if I'd accept that! You only defeated Father because of your cowardly trap! You're not deserving of the crown! You're just a cowardly weakling!"

He took a step toward me threateningly, his eyes alight as he glared at me.

"You think I'm weak?" I hummed, another grin forming on my face. Silently, I willed [First-Strike], [Momentum Boost], and [Rampaging Beast] to activate.

In an instant, I was in front of Ragnat, my fist cocked back. 

I slammed my arm forward, my fist bursting into Ragnat's face. The wolf-man didn't even have a second to react as his body was flung backward.

The combination of skills did even more than I expected - Ragnat was sent flying back, slamming into a tree behind him. As his back hit the tree, it was ripped straight out of the ground, dirt flying upwards in a geyser.

Then, said tree continued soaring backward. It slammed into another one, ripping it from the ground. Then, another one. And another one.

From one mere punch, an entire section of the small forest area around us was destroyed - numerous trees felled by the force of Ragnat's body.

"W-What…" Ragno stuttered, taking a step back involuntarily as his brother disappeared from where he was standing next to him.

"P-Prince!" Podo shouted, staring with wide eyes at the destruction the attack caused.

"Rag… Ragnat!" Ragnot yelled, tensing his body as he turned to me, his arms raising as he was ready to fight.

While I always like a good display of power, I didn't want to beat another new subordinate's ass. 

I silently activated [King's Aura], and the effect was instantaneous. A thickness filled the air, and Ragno, Ragnot, and Podo all took a step back as a deep fear filled their eyes.

Then, I activated [King's Command].

"I'm the King now," I said bluntly, staring arrogantly at the wolf-men in front of me. They tensed, their knees started to shake as they stared up at me with fearful eyes.

"All hail the new King," The first voice came from behind me, and I heard the rustling of dirt as Raya kneeled. The next came soon after.

"A-All hail the new King!" Podo stuttered out, falling to his knees as he stared up at me with wide eyes.

"All hail the new King!" Ragno followed, kneeling next to the advisor.

"...All hail the new King," Ragnot grunted, the last one to submit. He fell to his knees, his eyes locked onto the dirt below him.

"...I submit. All hail the new King," Finally, a bloody Ragnat stumbled out from the carnage my attack had left him in, and the prince fell to his knees in front of me. A second later, his body gave out, and he slumped over - unconscious.

I looked at the four kneeling men, then glanced over my shoulder at Raya.

In the Familiar Forest, a new era was about to begin.

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AN: Thank you for reading! The next chapter will be out in about a week, but you can read ahead at Patreon.com/Koyon !