Chapter 16: Alchemy of Magic Potions

"Wolf Grandma..."

Rhode walked up to the dying werewolf.

Unlike the fairy tale, it wasn't that the werewolf had eaten the grandmother.

Instead, the grandmother had become the werewolf.

An ordinary elderly woman had turned into a terrifying werewolf overnight.

So, it was highly likely that the other werewolves in the forest were also once regular people.

And the mastermind behind all this was clearly this "Wolf Grandma."

The scattered pieces of information in Rhode's mind began to form a complete story.

Three years ago, Wolf Grandma and Little Red Riding Hood arrived at this village.

Through some special means, they transformed ordinary people into werewolves, creating fear and chaos.

The grandmother created the werewolves, while Little Red Riding Hood acted as bait to lure travelers into the forest, where they would become prey for the grandmother.

As for the village chief, he likely played the role of a leader and collaborator.

The entire village was like a flock of sheep under Wolf Grandma's control, with the village chief responsible for keeping the people in line and obedient. In exchange, he was free to come and go, using external resources to exploit the villagers for money.

The priest was merely an accident.

He had discovered the village chief's secret and, in exchange, obtained some knowledge on how to deal with werewolves from him. Using his status as a priest and the villagers' respect for him, he manipulated the people under the guise of divine will to satisfy his own desires.

But clearly, Wolf Grandma had deceived the village chief.

While silver could indeed fatally harm werewolves, they were not afraid of fire. The reason the werewolves didn't attack the village wasn't out of fear—it was because someone was controlling them.

Wolf Grandma had been using the village chief from the start. Once the village chief and the villagers outlived their usefulness, they would end up as werewolf meals.

"I can't let this go to waste," Rhode muttered.

If regular werewolves could give him such a boost in power, then this special werewolf would surely provide even more. Even its corpse held immense value.

Rhode slowly extended his hand, placing it on Wolf Grandma's head.

Sacrifice!

As the werewolf's flesh and bones were gradually disintegrated, Rhode felt a sudden surge of power coursing through him.

His blood pulsed violently, and his heart raced.

His already transformed werewolf body began to twist and mutate further.

"Hiss!"

Cold sweat poured down Rhode's face as he felt his bones and muscles shifting and deforming.

The transformation lasted for three minutes, and when the pain finally subsided, his vision had changed.

Rhode looked down at his hands—they had fully transformed into the limbs of a wolf.

His size now was even more exaggerated than in his previous werewolf form.

He stood at a towering four to five meters tall. The three-meter-high wooden cabin around him seemed as small as a dwarf's house in his eyes.

Whoosh!

With a wave of his hand, a gust of wind howled through the air.

The sheer force of it tore the roof off the cabin.

This power was on a whole different level from before.

In this giant wolf form, his strength, defense, regeneration, and explosiveness were all exponentially enhanced.

However, as a trade-off, his agility and evasiveness had decreased.

After all, with a body this large, it was hard not to be a giant target.

Rhode suppressed the beastly instincts surging within him and slowly returned his body to its human form.

"Not bad at all!" Rhode smiled with satisfaction.

After sacrificing Wolf Grandma, he had not only unlocked his giant wolf form but also strengthened his base physical abilities. Now, even without transforming into a werewolf, his strength rivaled what it had been when he had transformed before.

On top of that, he gained a special skill: Alchemy of Magic Potions.

By combining potions with magic, one could extract and fuse the essences of different ingredients to create powerful elixirs.

Each potion had different effects, depending on the ingredients used.

And werewolves, it turned out, were created through the use of a potion called Wolfsbane Elixir.

Rhode closed his eyes, and the formula for the Wolfsbane Elixir appeared in his mind.

"Wolfsbane Elixir: Ingredients include Moonlight Dew, Wolfsheart Herb, Shadowfruit, Silver Wolf's Blood, and Pure Water..."

"On the night of a full moon, place the Moonlight Dew, Wolfsheart Herb, Shadowfruit, and Silver Wolf's Blood into a silver container. Heat with a pure flame while chanting an ancient incantation to fuse the ingredients."

"When the mixture begins to bubble and emits a faint silver glow, quickly extinguish the flame and add Pure Water to cool the potion."

"Once the potion has fully cooled, pour it into a bottle made of wolf skin, seal it, and drink it on the night of a full moon. There's a chance to awaken the werewolf bloodline."

The werewolves he had encountered earlier were clearly people who had awakened their werewolf bloodline after drinking this elixir.

However, the Wolfsbane Elixir had severe side effects.

Even if one successfully awakened their werewolf bloodline, there was a high chance they would lose their sanity and turn into a mindless beast.

Only a small fraction of people could retain their sanity after transforming, and even they would be under the control of the potion's creator.

They would need to regularly consume the potion to stay conscious; otherwise, they would become just like the other feral werewolves.

As for Wolf Grandma, it was evident that she had consumed a modified version of the Wolfsbane Elixir.

Not only was she far stronger than a regular werewolf, but she could also enter a second stage of transformation.

"Since the werewolves were created here, there must be a place where the potions are prepared," Rhode thought.

He walked back into the cabin and placed the unconscious Little Red Riding Hood into his personal space.

After some searching, he found a hidden chamber beneath the floor.