Comprehension Skills

For a brief, glorious moment, Dawei's adrenaline levels spiked so high that he nearly vibrated in place. If translated into gamer terms, he was at "Excited Pee" status. The oil lamp inside the werewolf's hut had lit up.

Montico was back.

He'd expected to wait a whole real-time month, but it had only been six days.

"Fortuna, you sly goddess," Dawei whispered. "Maybe you are still watching over me."

Then his rational mind took over.

"Wait. Hold on. Don't get emotional. What if it's not Montico? What if it's a trick?"

He crept toward the hut, heart thumping, every instinct screaming to double-check. But as he approached, the purple-glowing ID confirmed it.

[The Lonely Prince]

Dawei exhaled slowly.

There he was. Purple-tier, familiar face, brooding aura. No tension. No surprise. Just Montico being his usual romantic gothic wreck. They exchanged a few pleasantries—Montico as distant as ever—and Dawei turned to leave.

That was when it happened.

System Prompt:The Lonely Prince has become hostile to you!

Dawei froze mid-step.

"Hostile? I didn't even say anything insulting!"

His brain scrambled for a reason.

Is it because of the Corruption Elixir? That thing did raise the quest difficulty. Maybe it had triggered something in Montico's hidden behavior patterns?

Didn't matter.

Hostility meant danger. Danger meant urgency.

Standing outside the hut, Dawei knew he had to act immediately.

He was still just a rookie in stats. He couldn't match Montico in combat. The only option was to trap him. And since Montico was a beast-class NPC, Dawei played the most primal card he had:

Fire.

Werewolves feared it. It was basic monster logic. It didn't need to be pretty—it just needed to work.

The forest was full of dry branches and deadwood. Dawei gathered it up, stacking piles around the hut with frantic precision. Crude? Yes. Effective? Hopefully.

He took a deep breath.

"No equipment. One alchemy potion. One magic explosive. If this doesn't work… I'll just… go cry into a microwave burrito."

Dawei lit the Magic Firestone from Dioise.

The result?

Boom.

A ring of flame exploded outward, instantly catching the dry firewood. The entire area ignited in a roaring inferno. The hut groaned. Then cracked. Then engulfed in flames.

A scream echoed from inside. It wasn't just pain—it was the kind of howl that blurred the line between human and monster.

System Prompt:Player has triggered Absolute Luck!

System Prompt:Player has comprehended a new skill: [Leadership]! Subskill unlocked: [Task Delegation]

Dawei blinked.

"Wait, what? Skill gain?!"

He had no time to marvel. His property window was still a blank slate due to the nature of the god-tier mission, but this confirmed it: skills were hidden behind actions.

His setup worked.

It was crude. Brutal. Laced with panic. But it worked.

He didn't know if triggering Absolute Luck caused the success, or if the success triggered the Absolute Luck. Honestly? He didn't care.

He'd take the win.

Then the hut exploded.

A black blur leapt out of the collapsing building and dove straight into the Cursed Heihe River with a bone-shaking splash.

Dawei stepped back, heart thumping.

"…Wait. That's not good."

A few moments passed.

Then—rippled water.

Montico rose.

But this was no longer the brooding prince. This was the beast.

Transformed. Wet. Furious.

Half his health bar was gone—burn damage had hit hard—but the red gleam in his eyes cut through the mist like knives.

System Prompt:Werewolf Montico has locked onto you as a HATE target.

*WARNING: Purple-Black Threat Detected. Lethality Risk: Extreme.

"Ohhh no."

Dawei's gut dropped. He had triggered an event. The bad kind.

"Fire didn't work. Now it's just… fire."

A roar ripped through the forest.

Before Dawei could even blink, a shadow swept toward him. All he saw was fur and muscle—and then pain.

A tearing heat seared through his right shoulder.

The scent—wet fur, scorched flesh, river mud—hit him like a wave. The realism was so high he nearly passed out.

He was in the air now—lifted off the ground, claws buried in his side.

But he was still conscious.

And in that moment—floating, bleeding, held like a rag doll—he acted.

He opened his system inventory mid-air, navigated to the starter pack, and grabbed the one thing that had brought him this far:

The Corruption Elixir.

With one swift, desperate motion, he threw it in Montico's face.