In her sudden bout of emotion, Cless made a big tactical mistake. In a fight this big, that command made several boys drop their positions to try and save one of them, exposing the rest to the attacks from the other wolves. Over eight boys ran after the big wolf, grappling its snout and paws. Six others went with them to protect these from the other wolves.

With a gap on their defensive formation, some opportunist wolves tried to get the tender females in the middle. Maria and Patty were attacked but the wolves that bit them were quickly killed by the boys with shortswords. Cless was busy keeping four wolves away, kicking and punching at any that came close. She had several bite marks and claw scratches on her legs and arms.

The boys grappling the silver wolf managed to force it to let go of Lyle. With their leader subdued, the other wolves lost the interest in the fight and fled. Over twenty wolves were dead or incapacitated around the clearing. The guild was not well. Only Clara and Kelly had no wounds.

Cless ran to see the most injured one. "How's Lyle? Does anyone have a healing Skill?"

The silver wolf thrashed when he heard Cless' voice. The beast recognized the leader of the humans and made one last struggle to break free. The boys with weapons kept stabbing the wolf.

"This one can regenerate wounds!" Arnold shouted. "Our cuts are slowly closing! Hit it harder!"

Cless wanted to go and help Lyle, but she needed to make them safer.

"Finish the wolves around the clearing and toss the bodies away from us. At least the scavengers will go for the easy meat instead of us!" She ripped out her apron and whatever was left of her skirt, leaving only a thin strip of cloth covering her hips. "Use whatever spare cloth we have to bandage the worst wounds."

"Yes, guild master!"

With that, she approached Lyle. Kelly was next to him, crying. "Cless, Lyle is... Lyle is..."

Cless was furious. She had to focus on something or she would collapse into a sobbing heap over Lyle's corpse.

"God-forsaken beast!" Claire shouted and charged the pinned wolf, viciously hitting it on the head several times.

The silver wolf started to shift. Its snout shrank and the limbs started to take a more human form. The front paws becoming hands and the hind ones shifting into feet.

"It is a Lycan!" Martin shouted. "Stuff silver ducats in its mouth!"

"Who has a silver ducat?" Cless asked around. She had but it was in her room at the inn. None of the others were too wealthy or needed to carry that much money.

Cless looked around, nobody had a silver ducat. She pointed back to town, "Quicky, the fastest of you, run back to town to call for help and bring anyone with a silvered weapon to kill this monster!"

The Lycan finished shifting into a powerful hybrid form. There were a dozen young men holding it with great effort. In this form, its formidable regenerative powers were even stronger.

"Release me, humans!" It roared with a guttural bass voice.

"Hold it tighter. Some of you, get your belts out. Let's tie this monster up until someone gets some silver!" Cless ordered around.

"Release me!"

She kicked the humanoid wolf where the family jewels should be. She kept kicking and punching it.

"No way I am releasing you, big bad wolf. Keep stabbing it, I want to see how much it can bleed before it stops regenerating. Or even better, if it regrows all the way forever, we can make a fortune selling pelts. Such a nice silver coat you have, mister Lycan."

"You wouldn't dare!" He struggled to get his head free, threatening to bite Lance. The man released the Lycan and it howled. "I've called my brethren. All the wolves in this forest will come here to eat you!"

"Lyle!" Kelly squealed behind them. Cless turned around to see the young man coughing and vomiting blood.

"Three of you, get Lyle beneath the arms and each leg! Carry him to the Beaten Hare, if boss Karen is there she can save him! Hurry up!"

They were getting dangerously low in able-bodied combatants. Most of them were struggling to hold the slippery Lycan. All that blood on the fur was making it kinda hard. Cless had an idea. It should work and were their best choice to avoid getting overwhelmed by a wolf horde.

"I am going to kill you and eat your heart, Lycan!" She glared at the monster and bluffed. "Unless you vow to serve me for the rest of your life as my faithful hound, your life is forfeit. My master is strong, he is coming here and he will decimate your precious wolves. Swear fealty to me or die!"

She felt her proficiencies in leadership and intimidation rise. It was her Warmaster job fostering its growth. The Lycan didn't answer. Instead, it kept trying to howl. Belts were wrapped around its ankles and they were struggling to get the wrists.

"Choose. Serve me faithfully forever or perish. We'll clear every wolf you summon and then go after their pups."

The threat of going after the young caused a reaction on the Lycan. He struggled even more, even getting one arm free momentarily. He clawed Cless shoulder but she didn't flinch.

"That is your weakness. We will hunt wolves and kill the pups. Unless you serve me and we work a deal to keep the wolves safe. Choose!"

The Lycan stopped thrashing. "Would you promise to keep the pups safe?"

"Call back the wolves and I'll not hunt them down to the end of my days. So long the wolves don't get near our habitations, we won't go after them."

That gave both parties something of equal perceived value. The Lycan closed its eyes and mumbled, "I agree."

> An offer has been made. Spare the Lycan's life and give up on hunting the wolf pups in the forest for the eternal and loyal servitude of the Lycan.

> Offer accepted. Lycan is now Cless' loyal servant for life. 3,238 Class Experience Points awarded. 323 profession Experience awarded.

"Call back all the wolves. Tell them to not come close to human habitations or the outskirts of the forest. Now!"

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The Lycan howled. It felt sorrowful but commanding. It stopped struggling. "It is done, mistress. But I am no longer the leader of the forest wolves. They will obey for now, but soon they will know of my loss."

"Release it. Lycan, kneel before me."

The boys reluctantly did as Cless told them, and to their awe, the monster knelt before Cless. "I am at your command, mistress."

"Do you have a name, Lycan?"

"No, mistress."

"You shall be named now Silverfang. Can you shift into a wolf?"

"Yes, mistress." The Lycan shifted back into the silver wolf they previously fought. Its shoulders reached the height of Cless' hips.

"Do it and stand close to me. Everyone, it is time to pack up and return to town. Help the wounded move."

> For defeating 31 wolves, you earned 368 Class Experience Points. 36 profession experience.

That was Cless' share of the Experience Points. The other boys earned much more based on their levels. Being a level 4, Lyle earned 2,029 Experience Points from the fight. The other guild members all earned around as much Experience Points.

They all cheered and hooted. Some of the guild members leveled up. In fact, none of them were below level 4 now. The guild members were wary of Silverfang, standing close to Cless naked legs. She looked around and sighed.

"It seems Silverfang will be with me for the foreseeable future. If anyone asks about him, you will answer that I tamed it with my Skill. He is forbidden from harming any humans or attacking anyone." The big silver wolf nodded. "It was the only way I thought of to stave off the wolf attack. Does anyone have an objection?"

"Are you sure it is tame?" Martin asked.

"Yes. He is contracted to me, if he tries to disobey my orders he will die just like..." She sighed. "...The seven others. I did tame it with my Skill. I put loyalty in the conditions so it will act on my best interests."

They supported the wounded and made their way back to town. Cless had several bruises and cuts but due to her level, they were all grazing wounds. The increase in combat prowess from levels reduced the enemy hit rate and increased her evasion, helping her avoid deeper wounds. Her Health stat was already working to heal the wounds, although they would still take a week to heal on their own.

Silverfang walked next to Cless just like a trained animal would. Some farmers saw the ragged and bloodied group come out of the woods and approached. They saw the big wolf and stopped dead on their tracks.

"The wolf is tame. I used my Skill on it." Cless shouted.

The farmers came to help carry the wounded and the guild reached the gate.

"Silverfang, stay next to me, don't growl or show any signs of aggression even if they poke you." She was sure the wolf nodded.

"Halt!" Senior guardsman Toby, ever diligent in his job, came to talk to Cless. "What is this wolf?"

"Good morning, senior guardsmen Toby." Cless respectfully greeted him. "I will stay behind with Silverfang and answer your questions but we have wounded people. Can they please enter the town?"

Toby took a good look at the wounded and even saw some of them bleeding at the gate. "Move along. Take them to the healer."

Cless shouted, "Take everyone to the Beaten Hare. Boss Karen will heal everyone. I'll be with you shortly."

Some farmers stayed behind at the gates to watch the scene that was going to obviously unfold between the scowling guardsmen and the demure and almost naked girl with the silver wolf.

"Miss Cless," Toby called her out, not even a little amused. "You are quite the troublemaker, young miss."

It was obvious that Toby didn't like her. That was a thing Cless was used to because of her deformities. Toby went a step further and was downright hostile though.

"It is not as much I causing trouble but trouble finding me, senior guardsmen," She replied with a coy voice. "Due to my condition, I am viewed as less favorably by some in our community. But I am an upstanding citizen, senior guardsmen. Despite the scowls, insults, and the evil eyes being thrown at me."

"What is this wolf? Is that a monster?" Toby was with a hand on the hilt of his sword.

Cless sighed. "This is Silverfang. He was the alpha of the wolves attacking us and I was able to tame it."

"This critter is dangerous and must be put down," Toby clamored from the top of his prejudice. He was looking at Cless and not Silverfang. The girl for a moment thought he was talking about her. Maybe he was.

"Silverfang is not dangerous, senior guardsmen. He is completely tame now that he is under my Skill. Look at this."

Cless turned her back to the guardsmen, an attempt to protect the wolf. She then made him go through all the usual dog tricks. Paw, play dead, sit, roll over. She ordered him to open his mouth and she placed her hand over his fangs. The wolf didn't bite. SIlverfang indulged her and even sat on his haunches with the tongue sticking out and a wagging tail. Some farmers clapped their hands.

One of them even offered her a job, "Miss, could you tame me one of them wolves too?"

"Maybe later, Farmer Olson. Maybe later."

"Please move along, citizens," Senior guardsmen Toby decided to vent his anger on the crowd of farmers. "You are blocking the gate, someone might want to come through."

The north gate led to the farms and nowhere else. To the forest also, but there was nothing in the forest but trees, game, wolves and deeper inside, monsters. Some farmers snorted, mocking him and making the already angry Toby even angrier.

"See? He is just a big nice doggy, senior guardsmen Toby. Or a wolf. Not dangerous at all." She patted Silverfang's neck. "Absolutely tame."

"That critter won't get inside town if it depends on me, miss Cless. You are welcome to stay out in the wilds with it if you want."

His attitude irritated Cless to no small amount. Cless thought about her options and decided to take action.

She ignored the scowling Toby for the moment and turned around, "Farmer Olson, could you sell me a strap of leather or a string?"

Another farmer was faster, "I have this twine cord here, miss Cless. You can have it for a copper."

"Thank you, farmer Crane. I'm afraid my coin pouch was on my other skirt, though." She curtsied, showing her bloody bare legs. More leg than she ever wanted to show as the deformities on her thighs and calves were obvious. But she had to endure.

"Send one of your guild boys after me with the coin later. Here you go."

"You stop being a curmudgeon right now, Crane you rascal!" A female farmer that just arrived, Vera bonked the old man on the head. She took the twine from him and handed it over to Cless. "No payment necessary dear. In fact, it is the town that should give you a reward for defeating all those wolves. They would surely come after us and our livestock if it were not for you brave boys."

Vera turned around to face Toby. "And as for you, Lil' Toby. Was this the education our late guard commander Thomas gave you? The girl is covered in bruises and you hold her here to keep ogling at her. How disgraceful, a pervert in the guard!"

"Madam, such an insult to the guard's honor — "

"Shut your trap, lad. This is the fact we are all here bearing witness, even your fellow guardsmen there in the gatehouse. You didn't take your eyes out of the skin this young lady is showing for a moment ever since she arrived. Now, either you stop giving her a hard time or we all will take a stroll to the town hall and speak to the mayor. About both your misbehavior and Cless guild's achievements. I'm sure Herman will be delighted to know about the lecherous guardsmen in town."

"Madam Vera, this is unacceptable! Stop it right now or I'll — " Toby was obviously afraid, but all he knew was intimidation. Cless even wondered what Profession he took. Bully, maybe?

"Run me through with that metal stick of yours?" Vera stood tall before him, staring him from a distance even lovers would be embarrassed about being seen in public. "I want to see you try that. Maybe the late guardsmen Thomas will rise from his grave to watch his prideful son fall from grace."

Meanwhile, Cless finished tying her Association identity plate to Silverfang's neck. She was distracted and missed some of the conversations, but was startled when she heard a loud smack. She turned around to see Toby caressing his cheek and Vera fuming. His helmet was spinning on the cobblestones.

"I'm glad your parents are no longer alive to see this disgrace, Lil' Toby. I'm dragging you to the Town Hall by the ear now."

Vera dragged him by the ear, under the laughter of the farmers and other guards. Cless looked at another guard that came to pick up Toby's helmet and asked.

"Look, Silverfang is properly identified. I know tame animals are the owner's responsibility and that you cannot keep me from going home by our laws. Can I please go in, guardsman?"

The guardsman avoided looking at Cless and instead looked at the now angry mob of farmers behind the girl. "Move along, citizen." Cless passed and the guardsman whispered, "And thanks for dealing with that trouble for us."

Cless went into town wondering if he was talking about the wolves or Toby.

> Name: Cless (no surname)

>

> Race: Human.

>

> Level: 21 ( 222,139 / 231,000 Exp)

>

> Class: Warrior 3 (3,606 / 6,000 Exp)

>

> Profession: Warmaster 6 (17,123 / 21,000 Exp), Weaponmaster 6 (17,123 / 21,000 Exp)

>

> Base Stats: Strength: 12 — Agility: 10 — Health: 21 — Intellect: 20

>

> Available Status Points: 25

>

> Skills: [Absolute Contract (S)]

>

> Proficiencies: Prayer: 3 — Scribe: 2 — Houseworking: 2 — Math: 2 — Reading: 4 — Leadership: 8 (+4) — Intimidation: 8 (+5) — Negotiation: 5 (+2) — Sword: 4 — Dagger 2 — Forestry: 1 — Unarmed: 7 (+7) — Tactics: 3 (+3)