As I hugged Rusty, tears continued falling down my face.
Duracal walked over slowly and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"It seems he mutated," he said quietly.
"Look at his front hooves."
I wiped my eyes with one hand and looked down.
Rusty's hooves were no longer normal.
Sharp claws extended from the front—
curved and deadly.
They looked similar to the claws of the dung rabbits.
For a moment—
my mind connected the pieces together.
The miasma.
The rabbit meat.
Both at the same time.
Maybe overloading Rusty with miasma while he consumed mutated monster flesh had triggered the change.
Slowly, I touched the claws.
Sharp.
Too sharp.
Those weren't meant for grazing fields anymore.
They were weapons.
My chest tightened again.
If something had gone wrong—
if he had died because of me—
I…
I hugged him tighter.
"Never again," I whispered.
"I won't do that again."
Rusty lowered his head slightly against me.
Alive.
Warm.
Breathing.
Only then did the fear inside me slowly calm down.
After a while, I brought him water myself.
Then feed.
I stayed beside him while he ate—
watching carefully for even the smallest strange movement.
Every breath he took made me nervous.
Every small sound made me look back immediately.
Duracal watched quietly from nearby but said nothing.
When Rusty finished eating, he simply stood there calmly beside me.
No madness.
No pain.
Just tired.
I sat beside him in silence, leaning against the fence.
One hand rested against his neck the entire time.
For the first time since the mutation started—
I finally felt relief.
But even then—
fear still lingered deep inside my chest.
I almost lost him.
Because of my own experiment.
That thought refused to leave my head.
Eventually, Duracal sighed.
"You definitely did something."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You just don't want to say it."
I froze for a second.
But he didn't push further.
"Just remember this," he said.
"Be careful."
I nodded silently.
After some time, I climbed onto Rusty carefully.
The moment I pulled the reins—
he moved.
Fast.
Far faster than before.
Wind rushed past my face.
Even while turning, his speed barely dropped.
My eyes widened slightly.
So the mutation hadn't only changed his claws.
It strengthened his body too.
Behind the house stood several thick trees used for training.
I guided Rusty toward them slowly.
As we approached—
Rusty suddenly stopped.
His front legs rose.
Then—
slash.
The claws carved across the tree trunk.
I immediately dismounted.
Deep marks were etched into the bark.
Far too deep for a normal horse.
Most leather armor wouldn't survive those strikes.
Even weaker steel armor might crack from repeated attacks.
I stared at the claw marks silently.
Then looked back at Rusty.
"…You really changed."
Rusty simply snorted softly.
By then, the sun had already begun to set.
Rusty seemed stable now.
Which finally allowed my thoughts to move elsewhere.
My armor.
My sword.
Both were damaged badly after the recent fights.
Until now, I mainly used leather armor because it allowed movement and speed.
But pure leather lacked defense.
Especially against stronger opponents.
At the same time—
full steel plate armor would slow me down too much.
The way I fought relied heavily on movement.
As I sat there thinking, Duracal walked over again.
"You just crawled out of death," he muttered.
"And you're already planning equipment."
I looked at him.
"My current armor won't last."
He nodded slightly.
"Then use hybrid armor."
I frowned.
Duracal explained calmly:
"Leather for flexibility."
"Steel plates over vital areas."
"Chest. Shoulders. Core."
"Enough defense without ruining movement."
I thought about it carefully.
That actually suited me perfectly.
Not too heavy.
Not too weak.
Balanced.
Duracal crossed his arms.
"It'll cost more."
Then he snorted lightly.
"But I doubt money is your problem anymore."
I nodded slowly.
Hybrid armor.
Yeah…
That sounded right.
As the evening wind passed quietly through the yard, I looked once more at Rusty resting nearby.
Alive.
Safe.
And changed forever.