Magic Tools Are Selling Too Well

Those with wolf bodies, but standing on two feet like humans.
Those who gave up being human and adopted the powerful physical abilities of magical beasts.
The Moonlight Clan, Lycanthropes.
In the previous demon war.
The worst combat demons who participated in the most battles and killed the most humans…
Were right before our eyes.

‘Why on earth…?’
Why did the Moonlight Clan appear in such an E-rank gate?
Lycanthropes are high-ranking combat demons with extreme fighting power.
They rarely show themselves except during demon wars, and even in wars, they can’t be seen in rounds where they don’t participate.
Red Wolf Gate.
For Lycanthropes to appear in the master room of such an ordinary and weak gate…?
It was something I had never heard of in my life.

-Graaaargh!!
A ear-splitting roar shook the dungeon.
The Lycanthrope didn’t give us even a moment to think.
A declaration of war incomparable to the howling we heard from the Red Wolves until now.
A howling that was truly close to a curse.
The howling bursting from its huge body contained the Lycanthrope’s special mana that instantly paralyzed the whole body.

“Shunika!”
I shouted at Shunika who was at the forefront facing the Lycanthrope.
From the moment she opened the door to the master room,
And encountered the Lycanthrope.
Shunika was frozen in place, overcome with fear.
Along with the paralysis from the howling, fear had taken over her body, making it seem like she couldn’t make any movements.
We can’t leave her like this.
If she stays dazed, she might have her life cut short by just one punch from the Lycanthrope.
I instantly infused mana into my body and approached her at the maximum speed I could muster.
Even in that short moment, various thoughts flashed through my mind like lightning.

‘Safe Cage won’t work. It can’t withstand the Lycanthrope’s strength.’
Then what should I block with?
Golem?
There’s not enough time to summon it.
Berserker?
The berserk potion alone can’t match the Lycanthrope’s strength.
Dispel Stone?
Lycanthropes are combat demons that use physical strength more than mana.

‘Damn it….’
In that brief moment, I felt an unparalleled despair.
All the results I had researched so far lost their light in vain.
I had made countless magic tools, but I didn’t have any magic tools that could be used immediately in such a crisis situation.
If I had prepared with Lycanthropes in mind from the beginning, there would have been plenty of magic tools to utilize.
But in this urgent situation where Shunika could get hurt right now…
Both time and usability were lacking.

-Graaaargh!!
In the end, what I chose was a frontal assault.
I approached Shunika at maximum speed,
And instantly snatched the bastard sword gripped in her hand.

“Haah…!!”
And I faced the incoming fist of the Lycanthrope head-on.

Zzzzt-
With an unpleasant sound.
My body, which had placed the sword against the Lycanthrope’s fist, was pushed back.
It was an abnormal result due to the overwhelming difference in physical strength.
Even though I had infused as much mana as possible into Shunika’s sword in that short time, the Lycanthrope’s monstrous strength broke through it all and pushed me back.

That wasn’t the end of it.
The fist that the Lycanthrope had extended to me as I faced it head-on with the sword was just one side.
The other fist…
Penetrated my opening all too easily and flew into a corner of my chest.

“Keouk…!!”
My breath was suddenly blocked and a huge impact hit me directly.
From the intense pain in my upper body, I almost lost consciousness for a moment.

Crazy….
At this rate, it feels like a few ribs are gone.
I couldn’t breathe well.
The pain was so intense that I thought I might be able to endure without fainting…
The Lycanthrope’s attack was destructive.

“Keuh, hup….”
I gasped for breath that had been roughly blocked.
It’s not that I didn’t prepare for its attack at all.
While blocking one of its fists with the bastard sword, I simultaneously covered my whole body with [Mana Shield] at maximum output to block the other fist flying in instantly.
Among the many hero talents given to me.
A defensive technique that fully utilizes the talent for combat magic.
[Mana Shield], whose performance is determined solely by the mana input, was the best combat magic I could use without devoting much time to magic.
But the Lycanthrope’s ridiculous brute strength broke through that shield and dealt me severe damage.

‘No wonder it’s called the worst combat demon…’
I thought that if I had taken the attack without any defense and [Mana Shield], I would have died instantly.
Moreover, Lycanthropes are the ‘Moonlight Clan’.
When the moon rises at night, they completely transform into wolf form and exert much stronger power than their human form.
A power that exerts even greater force than this….
I couldn’t even imagine it.

‘Venom Arcus’ who threatened humans with only poison without combat power.
A completely different nature from them,
A crude and destructive combat tendency.
Without weapons, with just their fists alone,
Demons with the power to turn an ordinary hero into a corpse.
That was what ‘Lycanthropes’ were.

“Sa, Sacher….”
Fortunately, Shunika came to her senses as I collapsed after taking the Lycanthrope’s strike head-on.
It seemed that only now had the fear slightly lifted and she was able to use mana.
Her face was filled with dismay at the sight of me sprawled roughly on the floor.
She probably thinks I got hurt because she just stood still.
But Shunika standing still wasn’t entirely her fault.
The Lycanthrope’s ‘howling’ is so powerful that even skilled heroes can be paralyzed with fear for a moment if they’re not used to it.
It was my first time experiencing the howling too, and naturally, it took quite some time, albeit short, to undo the paralysis.
The reason I faced the Lycanthrope with just [Mana Shield] and a sword without any other measures was largely due to the lack of preparation caused by that brief time consumption.
Even I, who am accustomed to special situations, was like this, so it was realistically difficult for Shunika, who was experiencing dungeon conquest for the first time, to notice that special mana and undo the paralysis.

‘It’s okay, Shunika.’
It’s okay, it’s not your fault.
Anyone would have been caught like that in that situation.
I wanted to tell her all this,
But there was no time.
That’s right.
Time.
Everything was a matter of time.
Against a Lycanthrope that pushes with strength and speed, we needed to buy time to prepare to counter it.
The speed at which it immediately attacks if given even a small opening, and its overwhelming strength.
That was the Lycanthrope’s greatest advantage.
Just because you were paralyzed for a moment.
Just because you were slightly injured by an attack.
If you hesitate while being flustered.
Even Ruen, who was also paralyzed in the rear, could be in danger.

“……!”
I barely held onto my body trembling with pain and dropped the prepared [High-grade Mana Stone] on the ground.
And immediately followed with the alchemy magic [Summon].
It’s preparation to call my main golem, [Vita Taker].

-Grooooar!!
After the .
[Vita Taker], appearing after a long time, was summoned with a roar.
The Lycanthrope, who was about to attack me consecutively, turned towards [Vita Taker] that suddenly appeared.

Kwang-!!
A violent explosion sound rang out as the Lycanthrope’s fist and [Vita Taker]’s fist immediately clashed.
On the surface, their strengths seemed similar, but….

‘Damn… It’s not even close.’
As the golem’s master, I could immediately see that there was a problem with [Vita Taker]’s body.
The body of [Vita Taker], made of solid marble…
Was gradually cracking.
At this rate, it was clear that the golem would be shattered before long.

‘What kind of demon is this….’
I realized anew how powerful a demon the Lycanthrope was.
Venom Arcus, who killed numerous heroes with extreme poison, was completely conquered with just one magic tool, [Anti Venom]…
But this Lycanthrope clan seemed difficult to subdue even if I used all sorts of magic tools.
No, to be precise, it could be subdued.
After setting [Vita Taker] at the front as a meat shield.
Utilize ranged magic tools like [Mana Shooter], [Explosion Stone] to drain all of the Lycanthrope’s health.
Then apply [Bind Stone], and Ruen’s full-power [Gravity Press].
If I finish it off using mana swords like [Sword of Momentum] at maximum output, I could somehow catch it.
But my current condition is not normal to carry out all those operations.
The Lycanthrope’s appearance was too sudden and dangerous.
Because I recklessly faced it to protect Shunika, my body condition is not able to fight the best battle.
And in this situation.
There was only one way.

-Grooooar!!
-Graaaargh!!
True to being a beast that became humanoid, even the Lycanthrope’s roar was similar to the golem’s.
Taking advantage of the gap when the two monsters collided for the second time, I quickly shouted at Shunika.

“Shunika, let’s run away!!”
The one remaining way.
It was to control [Vita Taker] only in a defensive posture and all flee together.
Since I had already suffered a big loss in combat power, it was quite unreasonable to continue fighting with the Lycanthrope any longer.
We can’t finish the conquest by going beyond the master room and escaping the dungeon.
Then the only option left is to go back to the entrance of the ‘Red Wolf Gate’ and return from where we first came.

-Grooooar!!
-Graaaargh!!
The Lycanthrope and [Vita Taker] collided for the third time.
One arm of the golem that had been enduring and enduring completely flew off.

‘Vita Taker….’
Seeing my dedicated golem that I had put effort into making being destroyed in vain, my heart sank…
But there was no choice.
Because no magic tool is more important than life.
Supporting Ruen, who had just been released from paralysis and was in a weakened state, Shunika and I fled the dungeon as fast as we could.