Ugh... My legs... My arms...

I just logged out of the game and I can still feel the pain ringing through my body. If I have to count through RL time, it has been about 3 hours since I started training. I almost thought I couldn't log back in the game to rest and grab a snack with my non-exhausted real body here. But with how exhausted am I from 8 in-game hellish hours of training hell, I doubt a simple [Sleep Mode] would make my [Exhaustion] debuff go away. Thankfully, Fenrir was kind enough to carry me back to the guest room for me to sleep through the pain, allowing me to get back to reality to recover my brief mental pain. Maybe I should lower the pain threshold...

Like hell, I want to! If I don't, then what's the point of wasting my energy over simple physical training? Sure, it won't translate to my real body, but at least I move forward with my goal to stop being a cowardly wallflower! I have to do this. To stop being a punching bag to David. To face my issues forward!

All I need is a can of iced coffee and a leftover chocolate bar from the fridge. I can do this! I'm not gonna go back on my word!

I won't stop until I get results in !

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I groaned as I stare off at a cloudy grey clouds covering the blue sky. How long was I out? I know I'm outside the college building by now, so it's been a while since I logged out of the game. I still need to do my projects and study for the exam for the next two weeks. Not to mention going back to my shitty part-time job tomorrow. Yeah, I have a lot to do this week... So little time...

SLAP!!!

"ARGH!!!" I screamed in pain. "What the hell was that?!"

I turned to see my "attacker" was none other than Brycen frowning at me.

"Dude, you're drooling and laughing to yourself like a madman. One look at you and people will start seeing you as a psychopath."

Oh, right... I almost lost my composure back there. I guess the stress from back-to-back training really got to me after logging out.

"Sorry about that. I must have played too long in [Isekai], huh?" I scratched the back of my head while taking a few deep breaths. "That's what I get for eating a chocolate bar with iced coffee again."

"Looks like it. Whatever you're doing there is not helping your sanity one bit. Plus, you really need to cut back on sweets, Luke."

I chuckle. "Hey, have you heard that sugar can act as food for our brains?"

"Says every smart guy on TV." I let Brycen sit right next to me on the bench before taking out a paper bag. "Want a burger? I got an extra from that promo and Harley had to skip out on lunch due to work back home. Though knowing you, you're not the type to eat something b-"

"Yes, please!"

I quickly snatch the burger before he can change his mind and take one big bite of it.

"Okay? Who are you and what have you done to Lucas?" Brycen questioned me like a bad cop on TV.

"Hey, give me a break! I need something to eat other than fries. Plus, I had to deal with a small craving."

Again, my werewolf cravings didn't exactly come into the real world (thankfully). But I just had a small urge to eat something like a burger without breaking the bank.

"Oookay... For a second there, I thought you were only doing that because you were exhausted from studying and writing. Seriously, try to eat something beyond instant noodles and French fries. Eating a balanced diet is very important for a growing writer like you."

I huffed. "What are you? My mom?" I then sighed. "But you're right. Maybe I should grab some sandwiches after work later. If my boss permits me to do so."

This time, it's Brycen's turn to sigh. "Well, just trying to limit your play time, okay? Writing without standing up is bad enough, but playing in an [ADVR] game might be a problem when it comes to your mental health."

Oh, you have no idea. But I don't have the energy to snark back.

"Right. I'll keep that in mind. I did play [Isekai] for almost 8 hours."

"8 HOURS?! That's another reason to take it easy, Luke!"

I quickly shush at him as soon as he starts being loud again.

"Hey, indoor voice! I did say "almost" if I hadn't checked on the RL clock on my [VeilCon] when I logged out. Though it cost me a few hours of sleep, but I did so in the game."

And here comes another sigh from my co-writer.

"Just don't ignore the concept of sleep, Lowell. If you fail the exams due to insomnia, it's your responsibility."

I sigh. "I understand. You should take your own advice, too. Let's get back to our lectures."

"No counters here."

As we head back into the building, I begin to wonder about my friend while we banter about serial webnovels currently trending online.

Ever since I met Brycen, I have known his "interests" when it comes to works about werewolves. Initially, I didn't think much about his wants since I thought of those monsters are cursed monsters that weak-willed "good" guys are unable to control. But as he continued to introduce me to some movies and anime, I slowly discovered some hidden gems by myself. Some broke my assumptions of werewolves being "heartless cursed monsters" and some symbolized them as representations of human nature. Ironically, despite being a fan, Brycen kept ranting he rather see werewolves than be one. Then again, most scenes depicting a transformation from man to werewolf tended to lean on the body horror side. So I understand his woes.

Now that I think about it, I wonder what happens if he meets me in my transformed werewolf form in [Isekai]. Well, there's no point in dwelling on the what-ifs. All I can do is move on and hope I might avoid encountering him in that form soon.

"Uh... By the way, I was wondering about something, Brycen."

"Yeah, what is it?" He asked with his eyebrow raised.

"...Does the college gym allow me to use it outside sports practices?"

Brycen stopped walking. "...wut."

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[Harder! Punch harder!] The man with black messy hair and a leather vest shouted at me as I repeatedly punched in the air in the same pose I used in my several warm-up exercises. [Build up most of the strength you have in one fist and release everything you have!]

I shout as I throw it with all of the strength I can. Unlike 2 in-game days before, I'm training with a new master for the second phase of training. Compared to Fenrir, he's much stricter when it comes to teaching and damn, the pain in my arms shows it all. I've been punching for 2 hours now and by the looks of it, I couldn't seem to gain some progress on mastering it despite the notifications saying otherwise.

[Come on, little cub! Where's your spirit Fenrir kept boasting about? Don't tell me they are nothing but lies you made to look good.]

I tried to catch my breath after punching for so long. "S-Sorry, Master ! I'm new to physical training for so long and compared to the , this is more exhausting than I expected."

And that's an understatement considering I'm gaining more [Exhaustion] debuffs for a while.

[Well, that's what you get for relying too much on your spells. No offense to your [Race] and magic, little cub. But when it comes to [Swift Claw Style], you have to focus more on melee before ranged. There are many pros for manipulating elements and [Mana], but there are also consequences. You must balance between fists, legs, and fire to take advantage of the monsters and other opponents.]

I sigh in dismay. He does have a point. As much as the magic in [Isekai] is a huge boon to many successful battles, there is still one huge flaw: Incantations. Unlike normal skills, you have to cast it by chanting it and some of them have longer incantations based on how powerful the spell is. If something interrupts your chant or accidentally flubs the wording, the casting fails and you have to try again. Because of that, some players are questioning the point of incantations where you have to keep chanting it to activate it.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"So how am I going to deal with all of that? I can't just focus on my [Fire] spells in my fist without chanting," I asked.

[Prediction. Learn your opponent's attacks and counter or block everything they have. You don't need some wolf instincts to achieve it. As Fenrir said, you have the smarts for it.]

I see. So it's all about attack patterns. But it's more than that. If I face players like Savior, then improvisation and observation aren't enough. I have to think smart and play fast if I want to succeed in future battles.

[Hey!] Just then, a [Lycan] man ran up to us and said, [Fenrir howled. He said you guys need to be at the village entrance in about 30 minutes.]

[I see. Tell him the young cub will be there after he takes a quick rest.] Lupus turns to me next. [Don't forget what I taught you. This is your first time hunting as a [Lycan] and it will be tough for a magic-user like you to handle the back-breaking labor. Are you sure you'll be okay?]

I nodded. "Yeah. Fenrir is in charge of it and his son and other [Lycan] trainees are also there. So I think I'm good."

[Right. Good luck and may the Spirit of the Beasts guide you.] Lupus stands up and starts to walk off. But he stops and turns back to me. [And before I forget, you should visit my wife's shop after the hunt. She's planning something right after the full moon.]

"A gift?" I tilt my head, wondering what he meant by it.

[If I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore.]

Right, I'll figure it out once I get back. "Okay, see you."

And I head back to Fenrir's house to replenish and lie on my bed for a while.

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After 20 minutes of R&R, I ran straight to the village entrance. There, I see some young [Lycan] NPCs gathered with Claw chatting with some of them. Behind them is Fenrir and another teacher leading the pack chatting among themselves before I approach them. The teacher has red messy hair with yellow eyes and like with the other villagers, he's wearing a vest seemingly made of a boar pelt, half-pants, and sandals.

[Oh, glad you can make it, Lowry. Hope Lupus didn't push you too hard from training,] Fenrir greeted.

I chuckle. "Oh, you have no idea..." I decided to turn to the teacher next to Fenrir before he brought up my training hell. "Who's this?"

[This is , the potion maker's kid. Not only he's an apprentice to his mother, but he also works as one of the village hunters.]

The young man bowed to me with a smile. [Nice to meet you, Lowry. I'm happy to be one of your guides for this hunting trip.]

I nodded back. "Same to you, Alaric. I'll be glad to have two veteran hunters guiding us for the hunt."

[Well, don't forget about Lawrence. But his role is leaning more on patrol to ensure no ambushes will occur during the trip. The might be blessed by the spirits, but it's nonetheless a dangerous forest for an inexperienced wolf cub. All we're asking you is not to split off from the group and never go deep into the woods without our permission.]

"Alright, I promised."

[Lowry!!!]

I heard Claw's voice behind me and when I turned around, I saw him waving at me with a big smile on his face.

[You should join him and his pack for a while. We'll be leaving in about 2 minutes.]

I nodded again before I complied with his suggestion. I'm honestly feeling antsy about this hunting trip. This is my first time on the field ever since the incident and hopefully, with my training, I might be able to fight well compared to the ones I participated with Savior and his goons. All I'm hoping from this is that there are no surprise events that might mess up our schedule.

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Once we start the trip, we're walking a bit further away from the hidden village. According to Fenrir and Alaric, we're only hunting in the vicinity of the forest. While this gives me some concerns, they assure us that the area we're heading to only consists of [Wild Boars], [Horned Rabbits], and [Dire Wolves]. Three of them were the right monsters for me to handle in my current [TML]. The only question is how can I fare against them now that I'm a [Lycan]. Before, I struggled against them and barely died if it wasn't for my [Fire] spells despite their low level. I wonder if it's different with my newly awakened ability doubled the effects of the [Roasted Rabbit Steak] I ate earlier.

When we arrived at a small patch of an open field inside the forest, Alaric gestured for us to stop and turned to Fenrir. [Sir, I heard some footsteps. They sound like [Wild Boars]. Probably about 4-5 of them.]

Fenrir nods before turning to us. [Alright. Split up into 4 packs. We don't know the exact count, but we need to divide our numbers to ensure our prey won't escape our grasps.]

Everyone follows his instructions as I watch the NPCs splitting up and re-grouping themselves into five groups. I'm surprised to see how organized they were when they formed them. But it didn't take long until I realized I hadn't found anyone to team up with. But before I could panic, someone grabbed my wrist and dragged me to one of the groups. When I notice this, I realize who dragged me in.

[Here, Lowry! You'll do great with us around,] Claw grinned as I stared at the 2 other young trainees with us.

"Are you sure you want me in your group, Claw?" I asked. "I don't want to be t- AGH!!!"

[Hey, if Claw says it's fine, we're all for it!] A light brunette-haired trainee interrupted after smacking me from the back. [The name's and this here is my sister, .]

The young girl bows at me. [I'm glad to be working with you, Mr. Lowry.]

I nod with reluctance. "Uh... Same here..." I turn to Claw next. "Uh... Since I haven't got sensitive hearing yet, can you do the scouting for me?"

[Yeah. You can count on us, Mr. Lowry! Don't worry, you will get the chance once you get your transformation.]

I hope so, too. At the moment, I'm useful as a rock when it comes to tracking. So I had to make up for it with my battling skills in the field.

[NOTICE]

[You have formed a temporary party with NPCs, , , and .]

[This feature is currently beta-tested.]

"Beta-tested"?! I didn't expect to encounter an upcoming feature in the game already. Well, if it means teaming up with Fenrir's son for this hunt, then I'm all for it.

[Alright! Once you formed your own group, head to the direction we're about to give you. We'll hand you each one once we call for one of your members' names.] I turn to Fenrir once he announces this. [First off...]

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As soon as we arrived at our assigned location in the forest, it didn't take long for us to almost split off to do our roles as we planned beforehand.

"So we're going to hunt at the east, huh?" I hummed in thought. "You guys were groaning when your Dad gave us this location. What's so bad about this place?"

[We've been in this area several times and it's known as a place where there are too many trees and boulders for us to go wild in our wolf forms,] Claw explained. [It's also a place where failing trainees go here to take remedial exams.]

I can guess why. Looking around, many trees, bushes, and boulders might hamper any attempts to dodge. Combined with limited lighting due to the tree leaves covering most of the sky, A perfect place to challenge every [Lycans'] senses and break the limits of their abilities and senses. But when it comes to hunting, it might become a huge advantage against the monsters coming our way.

[Still, I hate coming here. I can't run around chasing [Wild Boar] without bumping into bushes and rocks along the way,] Kai complained. [How do you expect us to catch anything in here?]

"Well, have you guys even thought of using stealth instead of force?" I asked.

Christa hummed next. [Not exactly. I mean, we had no problem hunting some monsters head-on. Isn't the point of our transformed states that we can use our speed and power to go for a kill?]

Ah, I see. I think I have an idea why we were sent here.

"I don't think that's what our wolf forms can do. Think about it, how do [Dire Wolves] hunt their own food?"

[...Huh?]

[What does have to do with hunting?] Kai asked.

"Well, what do [Dire Wolves] and [Lycanthropes] have in common? Other than being wolves, of course."

Christa hummed again. [That they are fast and powerful?]

I chuckle at their narrowminded, but close answer. "It's how they hunt. According to my observations in my past adventures, [Dire Wolves] never pounced on their prey immediately. They have to stalk them by hiding in bushes and slowly observing them to find the opening for them to strike. I'm still new at this, but maybe it might be the same with [Lycans], too."

Everyone in my party gasped once I finished my explanation.

[I don't know what it all means, but it somehow makes sense! I think...] Kai answered.

[I have no idea what it all means either,] Claw added.

[Y-Yeah...] Christa muttered. [I am confused, too.]

I simply chuckle at their answers. It's not like I'm going to be mad at their lack of hunting knowledge. Then again, they're still kids despite their mastery of their abilities as [Lycans]. But I guess they have a lot to learn regarding how they act as one against their opponents. Heck, this might also be the test Fenrir gave me as well.

"Tell you what. How about I'll take the lead for this?" I turn to Claw. "How long till the monsters get closer?"

Claw closes his eyes for a while before his focus turns back on me. [Not for long. About...uh... 2 to 3 minutes?]

"Then this gives us a bit of time until they reach us. Listen closely. I have a plan that will help us take advantage of our current location..."

We huddled up one more time as we concocted a plan to not only safely secure our prey for this trip but to teach a few wolf kids a lesson in stealth and patience.

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Not far from where the trainees were, Lawrence was observing them from atop the tree behind the small patch. He smiled as he saw the young player briefed them on his plan.

"What do you know... Fen hasn't said anything about the true nature of the hunting yet, but the new wolf kid managed to figure it out from a few chats from his teammates," he mutters to himself while stroking his stubbled chin. "That kid might change the status quo just like Palmer's boys..."

But then, his eyes widened as he heard strange footsteps from afar.

"No... That's too big for a [Dire Wolf] or a [Wild Boar]... The kids might be in danger!"

That's all he can say before he leaves the tree top.