The Alpha hound's corpse loomed like a furry mountain. JP crouched beside it, pulling tools from his satchel with all the seriousness of a surgeon—except surgeons didn't usually mutter, "Please don't explode, please don't explode" while sawing at monster bones.
Lyra stood nearby, arms folded, watching with the flat look of someone who wasn't sure whether to be impressed or deeply concerned.
"Careful," she said dryly as JP pried at the jaw. "You're getting more blood on you than in your collection jar."
JP grunted, tugging. "Well excuse me for not having a deluxe monster-harvesting kit. I've got a bread knife and hope!"
With a final wrench, the Alpha's massive fang snapped free. JP stumbled backward, nearly face-planting in the dirt before holding it aloft like a triumphant fisherman.
"Yes! Look at this beauty!" He spun the fang in his hand, Appraisal flickering across his vision:
Alpha Hound Fang (Rare Material)Mana conductivity: High.Durability: Excellent.Potential use: Blade reinforcement, focus core for alchemy conduit.
JP's mind exploded with possibilities. "Lyra, do you know what this means? If I fuse this with resin stabilizers, I could make a cutting edge that stays sharp against anything short of dragon scale! Or, or—if I rig it into a conduit, it could channel energy like a portable mana blade!"
Lyra's eyebrow twitched. "Or you could stab yourself trying and bleed out in camp."
JP pointed the fang at her dramatically. "You lack vision, woman."
She sighed. "I have vision. It's of you tripping on your own invention and setting your tent on fire."
Hours later, their packs were full—fangs, hide strips, even the Alpha's thick bones. JP had already sketched three "invention diagrams" in the dirt. One of them looked suspiciously like a meat grinder with lightning bolts doodled around it.
By the time they trudged back into the city at dusk, JP was still buzzing with ideas. Lyra, however, looked far more grounded. "Remember," she said, "this was supposed to be a simple extermination quest."
"Simple," JP echoed, patting the giant fang strapped to his back. "Nothing simpler than killing an Alpha monster, carving it into spare parts, and planning three life-threatening experiments before dinner."
When they pushed open the doors to the Adventurer's Guild, chatter filled the hall. But as soon as they approached the counter and dropped the Alpha's massive fang onto the desk with a heavy clunk, silence rippled outward.
The receptionist blinked. "…That was not part of your quest description."
JP grinned sheepishly, still streaked with blood. "Yeah, uh. Funny story."
Lyra muttered, "Not that funny."