Ryan walked over to the dying werewolf.
Unlike the story, it wasn't the werewolf that ate the grandmother.
Instead, the grandmother had turned into a werewolf.
An ordinary old woman turned into a terrifying creature overnight.
This meant that the werewolves in the forest were probably transformed from ordinary people, and the mastermind behind it all was clearly this 'Wolf Grandmother'.
Piecing together the scattered clues, Ryan formed a complete story in his mind.
Three years ago, the Wolf Grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood came to this village. They used special means to turn ordinary people into werewolves and spread terror.
The grandmother created the werewolves, and Little Red Riding Hood acted as bait to lure travelers.
Passersby were drawn into the forest and became prey for the grandmother. The village chief probably played a similar role - leader and collaborator.
The entire village was like a flock of lambs raised by the Wolf Grandmother. The village chief kept the villagers in line and made sure they remained obedient.
He could enter and leave the village freely and exploit the villagers by controlling outside resources.
As for the priest, he stumbled upon the village chief's secret. In exchange for his silence, the chief gave him methods for dealing with werewolves.
Using his position and the villagers' reverence for him, he manipulated them under the guise of divine will to satisfy his own selfish desires.
But the wolf grandmother had clearly deceived the village chief. While silver could harm werewolves, they were not afraid of fire. They didn't attack the village just because someone was holding them back.
The Wolf Grandmother had used the village chief from the beginning. Once the chief and the villagers served her purpose, they too would become werewolf food.
"It can't be wasted."
An ordinary werewolf could strengthen him, so this special werewolf would be even more valuable. Even if all that was left was the corpse, it was still useful.
Ryan slowly stretched out his hand and pressed it on the wolf grandmother's head.
"Sacrifice!"
As the werewolf's flesh and bones began to disintegrate, Ryan felt a surge of power within him. His blood pulsed and his heart raced.
His own body began to twist and distort.
"Hiss!"
Sweating profusely, Ryan felt his bones and muscles shift and change. The transformation lasted three minutes. When the pain finally subsided, his vision had changed.
He looked down at his hands, which had become the front limbs of a wolf, and his feet, which had become powerful hind legs.
His current form was much larger than his original werewolf state, standing nearly four or five meters tall. The ten-foot wooden house now looked like a dollhouse to him.
*Swoosh!
He raised his massive hand and a strong wind raged. The powerful movement blew off the roof.
This power was on a completely different level than before. In his giant wolf form, his strength, defense, recovery, and explosive power increased dramatically.
However, on the downside, his agility and dodging abilities were reduced - such a large form was essentially a walking target.
Suppressing the beast within, Ryan slowly returned to his human form.
"Good harvest!"
Ryan felt satisfied. Sacrificing the wolf grandmother not only unlocked his giant wolf form, but also improved his human physique.
Now, even without transforming, his strength was comparable to his former werewolf form.
In addition, he had gained a special ability: Alchemy. By combining drugs and magic, he could extract the essence of various ingredients and fuse them with magical power to create powerful potions.
Different potions had different effects. Werewolves, he realized, were created with a potion called wolfsbane.
Rod closed his eyes and recalled the formula for the wolfsbane potion.
~Wolfsbane Potion Recipe~
Ingredients - Moonlight dew, wolf heart grass, shadow fruit, silver wolf blood, pure water.
Preparation - On a full moon night, place the Moonlight Dew, Wolf Heart Grass, Shadow Fruit, and Silver Wolf Blood in a silver vessel. Heat with pure flame and chant an ancient spell to mix the ingredients.
When the mixture begins to bubble and emit a faint silver glow, quickly extinguish the flame and add pure water to cool the potion.
After it has cooled completely, store it in a bottle made of wolfskin. Drink it on a full moon night to potentially awaken the werewolf bloodline.
The werewolves he'd encountered had clearly awakened after drinking the wolfsbane potion. However, the potion had severe side effects.
Even those who successfully awakened often lost their reason and became mindless beasts.
Only a few retained their sanity, but they remained under the control of the potion maker and required regular doses to maintain their sanity.
Otherwise, they would turn into wild beasts like the others.
The potion the wolf grandmother had taken was clearly a modified version. Not only did it give her more power than a typical werewolf, but it also allowed her to undergo a second stage of transformation.
"Since the werewolves were created here, there must be a place to prepare these potions."
Ryan entered the hut and placed the unconscious Red Riding Hood in his portable space. After searching for a while, he found a hidden room under the floorboards.