Apocalypse Landlord: My Tenants Are All Beautiful Heroines.-Chapter 34: Fenrir’s Curse

"Attack the goblins at night?"

Karina was baffled after Aiden explained his plan to them. The rest of them didn’t have a better expression either. How could they when Aiden was asking them to ignore the golden rule of survival?

You do not hunt monsters at night. That’s the time you cower in your hiding place, hoping to survive the night.

Before anyone else could start yapping, Aiden raised his hand, silencing them.

"If it had been any other monster, I would have said the same," he said. "But goblins are inherently different from other monsters."

"Other than being weak, I can’t see how goblins are any different—" Glenn said, only to get cut off by Aiden.

"How many low-risk monsters have you seen actively hunt during the day?"

"Goblins and... no, it’s just them."

"During our evolutionary phase, humans also hunted during the day," Aiden continued. "They didn’t fight in the dark unless it was a matter of starving or defending themselves. You know why is that?"

"Weak eyesight," Marcus chimed in.

Aiden smiled and nodded. Much like early humans, goblins also have weak eyesight. That’s why they hunt solely during the day. Obviously, that changed if they evolved into a hobgoblin or one of the leader species.

Then they gain enough intelligence to ’create’ light by using torches. A goblin horde became a dangerous entity when that happened.

Back when Jack told him the goblins below had been trapped there for months, Aiden thought they must have evolved by then. However, if that had been the case, a simple barricade couldn’t have stopped them for all this time.

That left only one option.

They evolved into scavengers.

It was a rare subspecies of goblins that abandoned all life experience, like hunting, and solely focus on developing skills for survival.

Their sense of smell develops so that they can find rotting corpses. At the same time, their stomachs shrink to help them digest food easily. Even their bodies become gaunt so they don’t require much energy to move.

It was the worst condition for the goblins to evolve. Essentially, it was a regression to a weaker subspecies. However, given that all the floors and exits had been blocked, it was the only way of survival for them.

It was the perfect opportunity for the tenants to farm experience. The creature that tanked an entire handgun mag should be weak enough to die from just two headshots.

If that had indeed happened, then cleaning house would be easier than spreading jam on bread.

"Also, use these."

Aiden’s voice snapped everyone out of their thoughts, and they noticed torches had appeared next to the weapons.

They weren’t ordinary torches but those high-power torches that were often advertised as the strongest luminous light source. The same ones that lit up entire forests in the night.

"Blast them with these, and they’d go blind, perhaps permanently," Aiden shrugged, picked up a torch, and hit the switch. "Try not to blind yourself, though."

It was bright outside, and yet the room was filled with light as if there was a little sun inside the room.

Everyone blinked to adjust back to the usual light. Only Karina’s gaze was fixed on Aiden.

"How do you know all this?"

The rest also wanted to know the same. Unlike them, who had to venture outside and fight for their survival, Aiden couldn’t even leave his apartment for the most part.

He didn’t even know there were goblins in the lower levels until James told him that. Yet, he was the most knowledgeable among them regarding the monsters.

As for Aiden, he couldn’t help but laugh. No one bothered to question him when he summoned things out of thin air, but his knowledge seemed strange to them.

He couldn’t exactly tell them that he was a demon king who had seen countless heroes apply similar strategies to kill goblins, could he?

"Let’s say I attended a crash course on surviving the apocalypse. Now go, you have a long night to prepare for."

The wolves left. Karina was about to follow them, but Aiden stopped her.

"Karina, a moment."

"Do you need something?" she asked.

"The gauntlet. I mean, would you mind if I take a look at your gauntlet?"

Karina gave him an awkward smile, knowing what he wanted to do. If it had been an ordinary weapon, she would have gladly given it to him. After all, the more people had Evo-Gear, the better it would chance they’d have at surviving the apocalypse.

Unfortunately, the gauntlet was anything but normal.

Aiden doesn’t know about the curse. That’s why he is asking for it.

They hadn’t known each other for long, and as much as she appreciated him, Karina wasn’t sure how he’d react to the truth.

Then again... he showed us his ability, it would be unfair if I didn’t do the same.

With a sigh, Karina summoned the gauntlet before handing it to him. Aiden was about to take it when she yanked it back.

"I’ll let you have it... But promise me you wouldn’t equip it."

"Why is that?"

"Just... promise. Please."

Do you seriously think I can’t snatch it off your hands?

"Fine. I won’t equip it. Now, can I have it for a second?"

Although she gave the gauntlet to him, her eyes remained fixed on him like a hawk. If he had the slightest intention of equipping it, she would snatch it away in a second. Though the strength Aiden showed her during their first meeting made her unsure of it.

+++

Weapon: Fenrir’s Claw

Type: Cursed Artefact 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Grade: Exquisite

Durability: ∞ (Self-repairing. Requires blood.)

Damage (Human Form): 440 ~ 690 HP

Damage (Werewolf Form): 540 ~ 1090 HP

Description:

A gauntlet infused with the cursed blood of a primal being. Once equipped, it becomes a bounded artefact. Only by killing the previous owner can someone new equip it.

Special effect:

• Timed Assault: Gauntlet’s base damage increases the longer it is owned by a user. (Growth rate: 1~2 HP per day.)

• Bleed: Marks enemies with a curse, making them bleed out 0.6% of max HP per second. The wound cannot be healed by regular medkits or potions.

• No Place to Hide: Marked enemies can be traced for up to five miles while in werewolf form.

Unique Effect:

• Fenrir’s curse: The bound user becomes cursed. Upon awakening, it forces the user to transform into a werewolf.

The user gains a massive boost to strength, speed, and regeneration at the cost of losing sanity and rationality. Over time, the user might get used to the artefact, lessening the chance of going [Berserk].

The curse stays even if the user isn’t actively holding or using the gauntlet.

+++

Wait, so I can’t wear it as long as Karina’s alive? Why the hell was she worried so much then?

[Host, she doesn’t have an assistant like me to explain everything to her.]

[She may be clueless about the artefact’s workings.]

In that case, I can have some fun with her, right?

Despite his promise, Aiden tried sliding it on.

"Aiden, NO!" Karina yelled, lunging for the gauntlet.