《The Xeno King》 Prologue My heart pounded hard against my ribcage, as if my chest was about to explode. With how much blood was pumping down to my throbbing and swollen red dick, this was hardly surprising. The surface of my skin was hot and soaked with sweat. I was lying on a full-size bed in an extravagant room that was quickly filling up with heat and a scent that acted as an aphrodisiac. Hovering above me was a woman completely different from me not just in looks, but species, too. The female Hobgoblin, too, was soaked with sweat, covering the majority of her grayish-green skin in a glistening sheen. Her body flexed and bulged with strong, lean muscles on an hourglass frame. Watermelon-sized tits with darker green areolas and engorged nipples rested on my chest, but that wasn¡¯t what caught my attention the most. It was her eyes. Though they were golden-yellow with black scleras that could only be described as monstrous, demonic even, they were filled with a mix of lust, affection, warmth, and longing. Then there was her warm, tight-lipped smile hiding ravenous pointy teeth behind it. Last but not least, large, pointed green ears that almost resembled a chihuahua¡¯s in shape and proportion poked out from the beautiful, long, black locks spilling over her shoulder. Not only was I in awe of her monstrous shape, but also that she grew into this figure at a speed no human could ever hope to match. ¡°Chris ready? Lily will take charge now, make Chris¡¯ big cock feel really good with Lily¡¯s tight little pussy,¡± she said in a language unfamiliar to people from my home, still not letting go of her habit of referring to herself in third person, though I have to admit that it¡¯s one of her cuter aspects. I reached down and copped a feel of Lily¡¯s large, firm, green ass, eliciting a delighted gasp from her before she gave into a fit of cute giggles. ¡°I¡¯m ready. Take my dick and go wild with it, Lily,¡± I answered to her, almost like a command. Lily positioned herself over the head of my dick, keeping it aligned and pointing upward with one hand, the pupils in her yellow eyes dilating as they fogged over with lust. Slowly she lowered herself, swallowing my erection with a pussy that dripped with various fluids from the other orgasms we had already enjoyed tonight. Our concoction acted as an efficient lubricant as her sex spread itself wide to gobble up all of my cock inside her. The incredible tightness, warmth, and wetness of her insides threw me for a loop. My hands were still on her ass cheeks, and I began gripping them more tightly due to the ecstasy I was experiencing, which elicited euphoric grunts from my sexy green woman. ¡°Ahh ¡­ Chris¡¯ delicious cock ¡­ inside Lily ¡­ so big ¡­ Lily splitting in half,¡± Lily moaned as she finally hilted herself fully on top of me. We both took a moment to savor the sensation of having my sword buried deep inside Lily¡¯s sheath as she worked her insides to get a good grip on my erection. Once she was satisfied, she leaned forward, setting her hands on my shoulders for support. With a lusty grin down at me, the green-skinned beauty lifted her hips up only to slam them down on my cock repeatedly in a hard, driving, motion. The sound of my Hobgoblin¡¯s ass bouncing on my hips resounded across the room, along with Lily¡¯s breathless, excited pants as she stared at me hungrily. Her breasts dangled above me, her motion caused them to sway in front of me, less than an inch away from my face. Each time Lily pulled her hips up she also squeezed down tightly on my shaft, clearly trying to wring my dick of all that I had with her honey pot¡¯s hot, tight insides. Whenever I thought I had a momentary rest as she dropped down and paused, she was only switching to milking me using a circular rocking motion with her vice like pussy. Then she¡¯d start all over again, pounding me like a well-oiled machine. ¡°Lily ¡­ do good job pleasing Chris¡¯ cock? Lily ¡­ make Chris feel good with Lily¡¯s pussy?¡± Lily asked between breaths. This was her first time being on top, so her rhythm wasn¡¯t completely smooth, but I could tell her passion and effort was behind every sheathing and squeezing of my cock. With my hands on her ass, I did what I could to help bounce her on my dick. ¡°Yeah¡­right there¡­you¡¯re doing¡­really good, Lily¡­you feel fantastic.¡± I managed to grunt between thrusts. Lily¡¯s sweaty face brightened, her joy and heightened excitement upped her cunt¡¯s gripping power on my cock as she pounded it even more vigorously, ¡°Ah! Ah! Lily glad! Lily ¡­ will be good mate for Chris!¡± Lily¡¯s pussy was a hot wet furnace fisted around my dick. Every time my cock attempted to force its way inside her honeypot, her tunnel felt too small and tight for me to fit. Yet, somehow it did. Everything about my Hobgoblin¡¯s cunt felt as amazing as it did the first time I sheathed my sword inside her. ¡°I¡¯m happy you¡¯re my mate too, Lily,¡± I said contentedly as she finally managed to find my rhythm and I could catch my breath. ¡°Really?! Chris mean that?!¡± I nodded, ¡°I do. I love you so much, Lily.¡± ¡°Ah! Ah! Ah! Lily! Love Chris, too! Lily happy! To meet Chris! Lily want! To be with Chris! Forever and ever!¡± she squealed in joy between bounces. Hearing this got me excited enough to put my hips to work, thrusting them up in sync with Lily. I shoved my dick as deep inside her as possible, ramming against her cervix with every thrust. Groaning, I promised, ¡°We will, Lily! This is only the first night of many we¡¯ll spend together from now on! You, me, and many other monster girls having hard, wild sex all night long! So much so that you and all your sister-wives will be walking funny for days!¡± ¡°Aaah! Lily cannot wait! Lily ¡­ going to cum again!¡± Lily exclaimed before upping the pace of her bouncing. I tried to follow along with the Hobgoblin girl¡¯s increased pace, making the clash of our bodies more intense, ¡°I¡¯m getting close, too! This is the fourth load, tonight! Get ready, your pussy belongs to me, so make sure it swallows every last drop of my cum!¡± ¡°Yes! Yes! Give it to Lily! Give Lily all of Chris¡¯ baby goo! Fill Lily up!¡± she pleaded before putting all focus on pounding on my dick with her hips. ¡°Here it comes! Take it all! Lily!¡± ¡°CHRIIIIIIIISS!¡± As with every other climax inside her, Lily reacted with one of her own, completely hilting my cock inside as her body shivered and contracted around me. The muscles in her sheath rippled along my sword inside her, her obedient needy little pussy milking me for every last drop and actually wringing a few extra shots out. The arching of her back as she came hard allowed her perky, extravagant tits to showcase themselves before me. Exotic in their shades of green, I could stare at them for hours and never get tired of the sight. When our climaxes were over, Lily fell forward, slumping herself on top of me with her tits sandwiched between us. Our bodies were sweatier than before as we gasped for breath, hot, but blissful in the ecstasy of the afterglow. The warmth of her insides and our mixture of sexual fluids was already getting a reaction out of my half-erect cock. Even if it was the fourth time tonight, let alone my lifetime, it was still an amazing experience to behold for a former virgin like myself. And yet, despite how exhausted I felt, like I was ready to fall asleep right then and there, I felt I still had enough energy for one more round. This was both for the sake of my own pleasure as well as continuing a last-minute experiment I wanted to perform that could benefit both Lily and any other girls in my growing monster girl harem in the long run. To regain some of my stamina, I slid my hands down Lily¡¯s back and copped a feel of her large, bubbly, iron-hard ass, ¡°Hey, Lily. After a short break, you wanna go for one more round before calling it a night?¡± ¡°Another round?!¡± Lily said as she looked up at me with widened eyes. ¡°I mean, if you¡¯re up for it, of course. I won¡¯t force you if you¡¯re too tired to continue,¡± I said. ¡°Geez, Lily not know if all humans like this ¡­ but Lily not hate this about Chris,¡± Lily said, lowering her eyes seductively while smiling slyly and speaking to my chest, ¡°Lily belong to Chris. Chris can use Lily¡¯s body however Chris wants. Lily will follow all of Chris¡¯ commands. Lily can barely move legs now, and Lily not sure about cumming again, but Chris can still fuck and spill more seed in Lily¡¯s pussy if Chris gives Lily another kiss.¡± Ah, so basically I get use her body like a sex doll in exchange for a kiss? I thought. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s quite a lot to ask, but I think I can manage one. Come here.¡± I pulled her up by the ass while Lily wrapped her arms around me before we locked lips, which quickly transitioned into a tongue wrestle. It slowly got my cock still inside her back up and ready for more. I admit that I¡¯ve fantasized about this sort of moment with a monster girl for quite some time. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I¡¯d actually lose my virginity to such a person in real life, especially when it¡¯s only been a few days since I first met her. It made me wonder what I had done to be worthy of this moment. Being with someone like this was beyond what I had expected after graduating high school and moving on to a university on Earth. So, let us rewind the clock a bit. Back about four days prior, to the time when all of this started. Back when I was only expecting another boring day in the remaining moments of my boring high school life. ~~ ¡°Welcome, people of another world. I welcome you to the Kingdom of Landrew. I am this kingdom¡¯s ruler, Omar Renegarn Landrew, and these are my children, Rosalina Francesca Landrew, and Marcus Vincent Landrew,¡± the gaudy and self-important-looking Santa Claus introduced himself to us.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. His kids, around our age, stood next to him, both wearing fancy, stuffy garb of the same quality and gaudiness. Including our homeroom teacher, there were 33 of us, carrying backpacks and bags filled with belongings. Instead of our boring homeroom classroom, me and my class ready to launch out of it with our things in tow by the school¡¯s bell, we were surrounded by floors, walls, and pillars made out of polished granite or some other stone material. There wasn¡¯t a throne that the self-proclaimed king would sit on, but there was a circle with many patterns and unfamiliar characters that I could somehow read beneath our feet. Wait ... an unfamiliar kingdom and world. A fancy light show that brought us to a completely different location. Some royals with many soldiers in metal armor gathered around us, and we¡¯re in a chamber with a magic, presumably summoning, circle ¡­ if this is going where I think is going, then I¡¯m already not liking this development, I thought after fixing my glasses and silently studying the situation. The rest of my class was talking among themselves in a panic, pointlessly asking questions that none of them had the answers to. ¡°Now, now, settle down everyone,¡± Omar, the old and fat ¡®king,¡¯ said. I wasn¡¯t kidding earlier when I called him ¡®Santa Claus¡¯. If we¡¯re being picky with details, though, this guy¡¯s white beard was straightened and well-groomed, compared to the generic, curly beard that I remembered. This ¡®Santa Claus¡¯ also didn¡¯t have the rosy cheeks and nose, either. His garb, which included a cape, was mostly red velvet silk with white cotton and gold trimmings that I didn¡¯t think the man of Christmas himself would have worn. And finally, instead of the signature red cap, Omar was wearing a gold crown. It had many gems and diamonds embedded in it, dazzling and sparkling under the lighting as if proclaiming to the world, ¡®I am what makes the men who wear me ¡®king¡¯! Be grateful that you stand in my glorious presence!¡¯ ¡°I understand that you¡¯re all confused and have many questions,¡± Omar continued after my class calmed down, ¡°I will explain everything that you will need to know in a more comfortable room. If you would all follow me.¡± Everything we need to know, huh? I¡¯ll be holding you to that, I thought. There wasn¡¯t much we could do, and the soldiers surrounding us with armor and weapons gave the impression that we didn¡¯t really have any other choice, no matter how pleasant this ¡®king¡¯ was being, so we all followed Omar¡¯s lead. The royal family led the way out of the summoning chamber and down a long hall while their guards directed us after them in an orderly fashion. Aside from a few hushed whispers about how hot the prince and princess looked, the class was mostly quiet and occupied taking in the foreign scenery around us. The floors, ceiling, walls, and pillars in the hall were made of polished stone, save one wall that was all glass and overlooked a very wide span of unfamiliar land. The large city that surrounded the castle below us bustled with activity and peacefulness like it was any other day. Beyond the city¡¯s borders, lined by a great wall, were lots of different swaths of greenery, from open plains to dense forests. Some parts of other towns and villages could even be distinguished in the distance. What stood out the most, though, weren¡¯t the large mountains or drastic change of environment, but the contours of another castle. Specifically, the figures moving around said castle in the air. I could barely make them out, like ants on a sidewalk. I had to squint my eyes and fix my glasses to get a better look, but I couldn¡¯t make out any of the details. The reason they stood out to me, however, was because of streams of what looked like flames that were spewing out of their maws in different colors as they battled in ways that would likely terrify modern dogfighters. Yeah, I don¡¯t know of any flying animals aside from fictional dragons and maybe wyverns that are able to breathe fire like that. If they¡¯re either of those mythical creatures, then we are definitely not on Earth anymore, I concluded, I would probably be psyched about this development under different circumstances, but I can¡¯t relax just yet. Forcibly dragging our asses here from another world through some magical method, I¡¯m far too familiar with this setting from Japanese media to not figure out what Omar will want from us. While I¡¯d rather ask my questions now, I may not be in a position to make demands out of the blue with all these guards around us. They may even suspect me for asking too many questions, too. I¡¯ll just have to play along and quietly observe like always. Minutes later, we reached what looked like a banquet hall with a number of taxidermic trophies of unfamiliar, dangerous creatures, decorative weapons, and unlit torches hanging along the walls. The biggest eye-catcher in the hall would have to be the large glass chandelier hanging from the ceiling by chains that was providing all the light. Underneath it, long tables and chairs were arranged lengthwise throughout the room. All save one that was perpendicular to the rest on a stage at the end, nicely clothed and possessing much more grandiose chairs. It wasn¡¯t hard to guess where the royals would be sitting. Omar told us to sit anywhere we liked before he and his kids took their seats first. As much as I¡¯d rather sit off in one corner, minding my own business, I needed to sit close enough to hear what was going on. I settled with sitting in the middle of my other classmates, at a table second from the right of five closest to the royals¡¯ side. ¡°Psst. Hey, Chris, you think this is all fucking crazy too?¡± one of my few friends from school, Tamyra Baker, or ¡®Tamy¡¯ as she¡¯d like to be called, whispered next to me. To most, she¡¯d be considered a hell of a beauty. Brunette hair with a reddish tint, green eyes, a voluptuous body that carried what may be the largest bust among the girls at school, and a keen fashion sense. You wouldn¡¯t be surprised seeing someone like her with a handful of admirers just wishing they could date her, but she had some ¡­ complications that made her infamous in the student body. Then again, I wouldn¡¯t be friends with this girl myself if I hadn¡¯t looked into the history behind those complications. ¡°Definitely, but let¡¯s just lay low for now and see how this plays out,¡± I said softly. ¡°Now, then, allow me to welcome you all again to my kingdom, the Kingdom of Landrew,¡± Omar started from his throne-like seat, ¡°You may have already realized how different this place is from your home as we made our way over here. That is because this is not the same world that you¡¯re familiar with. In this world, that we call Lanka, there are many things that differ from what you¡¯re used to. Marcus, would you do the honors for our guests?¡± The prince, Marcus Landrew, was different from his father. I couldn¡¯t tell you what traits he inherited from him if we¡¯re going by resemblance. His hair was red and his eyes were bright green, but unlike the gingers back home, Marcus¡¯ skin was impeccably smooth and clean, not a freckle to be seen. Underneath his stuffy, light blue royal jacket and white trousers was a lean physique that starkly contrasted his father¡¯s. If someone told me Marcus was adopted into the royal family or that he takes after his mother more, I wouldn¡¯t question them in the slightest. ¡°Yes, Father,¡± the prince replied before standing and pointing an open palm toward one of the unlit torches, ¡°[Blaze].¡± Before our very eyes, a small red fireball projected out of Marcus¡¯ palm and flew through the air before hitting a torch and lighting it. A collective stunned silence filled the banquet hall as Marcus cast his [Blaze] spell repeatedly and lit up the rest of the torches in the room. ¡°As you can see, the biggest difference between this world and yours is the existence of skills and magic,¡± Omar continued, ¡°Just as one is able to burn, freeze, or shock objects with magic, they can also do many things by learning and mastering skills. This includes farming, building homes, crafting weapons, wielding swords, and making the most of your bodies¡¯ strengths by running, throwing, and lifting!¡± Omar then stood from his seat and lifted up the whole large table above his head. This extravagant table, the same one where he and his royal family ate meals as large as feasts on a daily basis, was hoisted by the fat king using only one hand. There wasn¡¯t a hint of strain or struggle on his face either. ¡°I-I was wondering if that fire thing was part of some trick, but ¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way an old fart with a gut like that could lift something so easily with ease!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any strings for him to make lifting that table possible!¡± a few of my classmates whispered to each other in a mixture of amazement and wariness. Hmm, unlike Marcus¡¯ spell, Omar didn¡¯t say anything when he lifted that table. Could it perhaps be due to a passive skill? I thought while recalling the previous RPG games I played back home. ¡°Excuse me ¡­ Your Highness?¡± our homeroom teacher, Ms. Anna Heatherway, asked with a slight tremble in her voice. I didn¡¯t blame her for behaving so formally after seeing Omar¡¯s feat of physical strength. We were basically aliens on foreign land, so it was wise that we be careful of how we speak to him and the locals if we don¡¯t want to get into trouble. Omar gently set the table back down before turning to our teacher, ¡°Yes, Ms. ¡­ ?¡± ¡°Anna Heatherway, I¡¯m these students¡¯ teacher. May I ask a question, Your Highness?¡± she asked with a tense face and a hand to her bosom. ¡°Ask away!¡± Ms. Heatherway cleared her throat and steeled her nerves, ¡°I think we get the idea that we¡¯re not ¡­ in our former world now, but why did you bring us here?¡± Here it is, the ¡®why are we here¡¯ question, I thought, If this is going where I think it is going, then the next thing Omar will say will be ¡­ ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Omar started before clearing his throat, ¡°I understand this may be sudden after bringing you all here in such a manner, but we¡¯re running low on options and are fresh out of alternatives, with no one else to turn to during these dire times. As the king of this country, I must ask you all, please ¡­ become the heroes of this land, help us defeat the Demon King, and win the war against the demons!¡± THERE IT IS! I yelled in my head, and with that, I immediately came to a decision. Whether or not it was possible for us to get back to our world, I needed to get out of here. I needed to get out of this sudden, unwanted responsibility thrown at us, before I found myself in a life-threatening situation while I was still, mostly, a kid. If there is one thing I¡¯ve learned in my life, it¡¯s that nothing good comes from doing good for goodness¡¯ sake. There is always a price to be paid. In this case, our price for ¡®helping¡¯ Omar winning the war is going back to the world he basically kidnapped us from. This wasn¡¯t a request or a plea of help, but a demand. ¡®You defeat the Demon King for me, and I will return you home,¡¯ is basically what Omar was saying, and we don¡¯t even have a guarantee that he¡¯ll keep his word. That is why I have no intention of being a ¡®hero¡¯. Even if my classmates all come to hate me, even if I¡¯ll never see my family again, even if I¡¯ll never go back to the life I once knew on Earth. I¡¯m not sacrificing myself to help someone else achieve their political agenda. Whether here or back home, I wouldn¡¯t fight in some war for some fucked up cause some political leader thinks is justified. Humans are bound to destroy themselves and erase their own existence one way or another. If I¡¯m going out eventually, I¡¯d rather do it after getting what I can get out of my life first. Now, it¡¯s not that I¡¯m totally pessimistic about humanity¡¯s long term survival back on Earth. It¡¯s just that, knowing our history, if the humans on Lanka are anything like those on Earth, I have to be cautious and make sure I really know who and what I¡¯m dealing with. If someone spouts a ¡®fact¡¯, I don¡¯t immediately assume they¡¯re right, but rather take it with a grain of salt. I believe there¡¯s always more to someone¡¯s ¡®facts¡¯, as well as to the people who spread them, than what can be seen from the surface. And if, when you try to gain a deeper understanding, you find them dancing around the subject, then you know something¡¯s up. As a skeptic, asking questions is how I interact with most people on a daily basis. You learn quite a bit more about people and their true selves if you quietly observe them from the outside and pay attention to clues that they may be unaware of, like body language. I take this and other factors into account whenever I talk to anyone, and boy, do some not like it. I may be destroying my likeability by fishing out everyone¡¯s deep dark secrets, but such is a necessary sacrifice in my search for the truth. As a bonus, this way there are less people that I can give a damn to if something happens to them, allowing me to invest more of myself into those like Tamy who deserve it. Which is why I don¡¯t care if others think I¡¯m the biggest piece of scum in all humanity. If that¡¯s what it takes to not be a gullible mark, so be it. Because not being a fool means I should be able to live just a little bit longer in the limited time that we all have. And I will do whatever I need to to live the way I want to and find my own happiness. For this reason, I have two philosophies that I live by: ¡®There are no stupid questions in life, only people too stupid to ask them¡¯, and ¡®Objective truths beat subjective opinions¡¯. Chapter 1: Plans for the Future
Name Christopher Monty Age 18
Race Human, Male Job Monster Tamer
Level 1 Skill Points (SP) 300
Life Points (LP) 150 / 150 Magic Points (MP) 380 / 380
Strength 70 Magic 120
Vitality 65 Shell 165
Speed 80 Dexterity 40
Charm 5 Intelligence 300
Skills
Mental Skeptic LV MAX
Perception LV 4
Learning Boost (High)*
Appraisal LV 3
Job Monster Charmer LV MAX
Companion Training LV 4
Companion Bond LV 4
Companion Growth Boost (High)*
Monster Charm Boost (High)*
Resistances Charm Resistance LV MAX
Other Counterfeit LV 4
Experience Multiplier Boost (Medium)*
Skill Point Acquisition Boost*
Skill Point Conversion*
World Language Comprehension*
Spells
Job Tame LV 3
Grace Heal LV 1
Restore LV 1
~~ ¡°I gotta say, that was a really close call,¡± I said before sighing and flopping back on my bed, finished looking over my status once more. I was in my room Omar gave each of us for our ¡®stay¡¯¡ªi.e. kidnapping¡ªexhausted from the mental gymnastics I pulled off today. It was terrifying, seeing how dastardly conniving the king and his own children were. Getting out of this trap will be a loooot more difficult than I thought, I sighed mentally. To rewind a little, Ms. Heatherway and my classmates were flustered at Omar¡¯s ¡®request¡¯ to help save his kingdom by defeating the Demon King and winning the war. I was honestly hopeful at first seeing everyone getting a little riled up over this. Anyone would get upset if they were asked to do something so crazy all of a sudden, but then something even crazier happened. All it took were two pairs of puppy dog eyes pooling with crocodile tears from the beautiful prince and princess, Marcus and Rosalina. Both of them played the guilty, helpless victims with shallow phrases like, ¡°We know what we did was wrong, but we didn¡¯t know what else to do!¡± and ¡°We were getting desperate, heroes from other worlds have always come in the past to save us with their great powers! Please, you must help us!¡± My last remaining shreds of hope were shattered when everyone ate it up and folded like wet blankets, but what was really strange was how uniformly and completely they all did so. It was as if everyone suddenly became the prince and princess¡¯s puppets. As it turned out, magic was involved. Thankfully, I had my own overpowered quirks due to being a ¡®hero¡¯ from another world to thank for not falling victim to the conniving royal¡¯s scheme. But we¡¯ll get to the specifics of all that in a bit. After everyone agreed to help out, we were instructed in how to open our statuses to see the stats, skills, and spells that we each possessed and we received a crash course in how each of them presented. When that was done, to see what we had and figure out how to train us for the war, we all had to reveal our statuses to everyone in the banquet hall using a crystal ball enchanted with the [Appraisal] skill that they brought in. I panicked when I heard that bit of news, considering that I also had [Appraisal]. Earlier, when I looked at some of my other classmates with that skill, I knew that I may be far more valuable of an asset to Omar than I was comfortable with, due to how my stats and skills differed from the rest. If I couldn¡¯t refuse or otherwise avoid having my status exposed, then I needed to find a way to fool the crystal ball, and thus everyone else, into thinking that I¡¯m really not all that great. That was when I found the [Counterfeit] skill as I quickly scrolled down the learnable skills list, looking for the best way to get out of this. It allowed me to fool anyone and anything using [Appraisal] by changing how my status is viewed by the skill. There were a lot more Skill Points (SP) in my status before, but I had to put almost all of it into learning [Counterfeit] and raise it up to a high enough level. That was apparently enough, though, as I was able to hide my more valuable skills and spells, and even changed my stats to make me look weaker than I really was. Right now, everyone only knows of my job-related skills, [Companion Training] and [Companion Bond], and my job-related [Tame] spell, all at LV 1, and all my stats are around five to twenty. My current Charm stat, name, age, and job as a Monster Tamer¡ªor Tamer for short¡ªwere the only things from my original status that I left alone. My only mistake was leaving my job and related skills and spells alone. But that was because I didn¡¯t know how the Job system in this world worked. Jobs are divided into two types, combatant, and non-combatant. Non-combatant types are Jobs like Blacksmith, Cook, Merchant, Farmer, etc. As its name implies, these jobs don¡¯t involve fighting or combat, but other non-martially specialized fields. Combatant types do involve fighting, and there are seven common ones that the majority in this world that have combatant type Jobs start from: Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue, Ranger, Monk, Cleric, Wizard, and Sorcerer. This world has dubbed these as the ¡®Starters¡¯ of the combatant type Job trees. From those Starter Jobs are Promoted Jobs one can gain by fulfilling certain conditions and getting ¡®Promoted.¡¯ Then there are other special Jobs that have their own rules on how they are acquired that are outside the norm from the Starter and Promoted Combatant type jobs. These Jobs are known as ¡®Unique¡¯ Jobs. Unfortunately for me, the Tamer Job that I have is apparently one of those Unique Jobs. From what the king explained, the innate skills, stats, and Jobs we currently had were the sum of our life experiences from our own world. Earth has been the birthplace of many heroes more talented and powerful than the native residents of Lanka, the world where we¡¯re currently on. These heroes were so great, in fact, that even though they came here at level 1, their stats and skills were at values that some of Lanka¡¯s residents could only dream of achieving after years of training. Some of these heroes even arrived with Promoted Jobs, as well as unique ones. I was one of those latter cases, as the Tamer Job can only be acquired by cooperating with a monster and earning one of the Tamer¡¯s Job-related skills in the process. Cooperating with a monster on Lanka is almost impossible to do without an experienced Tamer at your side. Worse, the [Tame] spell takes years of experience as a Tamer as well as earning enough SP to be able to learn it. Despite my low stats and lack of skills¡ªboth of which were only true thanks to [Counterfeit]¡¯s guise¡ªmaking me otherwise unimpressive, Omar still felt that I had great potential to turn the tides of war in his kingdom¡¯s favor. He said he would make arrangements to assign an experienced Tamer as my tutor to begin my training tomorrow. Afterwards, I found I could use [Counterfeit] to change even what Job my status displays, too. If I had known this, as well as how great being a Tamer was beforehand, I could have changed my Job as something else. In the end, I guess it was good that I¡¯d get an experienced Tamer to help me better understand my Job, but I¡¯d have to be careful how much of my true potential that I reveal. Now, let¡¯s talk skills. Like Jobs, there are different types of skills that can be broken down to physical, mental, Job-related, and more. Summoned heroes, like their stats and Jobs, have skills that start at proficiency levels that Lanka¡¯s residents take years to reach. These levels range from one, the starting level, all the way to five as the maximum¡ªread as MAX¡ªlevel. Some of these skills don¡¯t have proficiency levels and are marked with ¡®*¡¯. These include boost skills that range from ¡®low,¡¯ to ¡®medium,¡¯ and to ¡®high,¡¯ or just none of the above. There are some skills that can only be earned and used if you have the right Job. Then there are some that are so rare that they¡¯re impossible to acquire unless you were born with it or received it by chance. Heroes are blessed to receive anywhere from a few to several of these skills at proficiency levels that reflect their life experiences on Earth. They also have the potential to spend SP to learn new skills that are based on their choices and actions as heroes. I was smart to hide the majority of my skills, but I had to change my [World Language Comprehension] skill to [Penlish Language Comprehension] with [Counterfeit], because almost all my classmates had the latter of these two language comprehension skills. A country specific language skill was apparently the more commonly expected result, given to the hero the moment they were summoned. It allowed them to read, write, and understand the main language of the country that summoned them. The [World Language Comprehension] skill, on the other hand, does the same thing for all the languages used anywhere in the world of Lanka. Aside from myself, only one other person has this skill, who I¡¯ll bring up later, but I don¡¯t know why either of us possessed it in the first place, yet. I had some idea of why I had my other skills, however. Back home, as a skeptic, I made a point to notice and question a lot of things that other people miss, or just overlook and accept. That may explain my skills of [Skeptic], [Perception], and maybe even [Appraisal], too, which are highly valued around these parts. I didn¡¯t think I was so efficient as a skeptic to have a skill named after it at max level, though. The same went for my [Perception] be near max and my [Appraisal] at the same proficiency as the enchanted crystal ball. The maxed-out [Charm Resistance], I guess it was because of my embarrassing moment with a certain someone that led me vowing myself to not let my feelings be swayed by another pretty face. I didn¡¯t see the details for any of these skills yet, but I had a feeling that they were the reason why I hadn¡¯t been magically swayed into fighting in this country¡¯s war like everyone else was. It seemed my ¡®hero¡¯ benefits really saved my bacon this time, and it was definitely a smart move to hide these particular skills for reasons I¡¯ll explain later. [Learning Boost] was related to how quickly I pick up new skills and improve on them, which was apparently a valuable skill to have in Lanka, even if the boost was rated as ¡®low.¡¯ Not to brag, but I was going to graduate as our class¡¯ valedictorian, so it¡¯s not too much of a stretch to see how I was able to get this skill at its highest caliber. A few other smarties in my class had this skill in lower ranges, too. As for [Experience Multiplier Boost], [Skill Point Acquisition Boost], and [Skill Point Conversion], apparently those are all acquired by luck, being very rare and valuable skills. A couple of my classmates had one of these, a few had two, and only two of us had all three¡ªmyself included. I could practically see the evil gleam in the royals¡¯ eyes when they saw those skills on our statuses. It¡¯s because of [Skill Point Conversion] that I was able to spend extra SP beyond the skill¡¯s purchase cost to upgrade my [Counterfeit] skill to its current level. Thank you, [Skill Point Conversion], you¡¯re the MVP of this disaster and likely many more to come. I¡¯m sorry to say that you¡¯ll have to stay forever hidden with your buddies [Skill Point Acquisition Boost] and [Experience Multiplier Boost] under [Counterfeit]¡¯s guise, though. For my qualifications to learn [Counterfeit] in the first place, well, I can tell you right now that I did not work in an illegal business of any sort back home. I have some idea of how learning it was possible, though, and I may need to speak to my voluptuous friend who sat next to me earlier about it later¡ªI was too tired after the events of today to deal with anyone. As for all the Job-related skills and the [Tame] spell from my Tamer Job, they had to be from taking care of my two pets, Betsy the dog and Leslie the cat, back home. I took them out on walks every day before and after school and played with them when I didn¡¯t have schoolwork. There was also my experience in volunteering at the local animal shelter and monster taming-related video games, but I felt raising my pets was a bigger influence to my current ¡®job.¡¯ My pets were especially helpful to me, not just during my previously mentioned girl-related problem, but when I didn¡¯t have other friends to play with when I was young. Before my kidnapping today, I talked with them a lot. To the point where I could understand a little of their animal language¡ªat least that was how I felt. Maybe that was part of how I got [World Language Comprehension]? Then there were the times they got seriously injured or sick, those were scary and I couldn¡¯t focus on anything else while I nursed them back to health. That is the only reason I can think of why I possess the [Heal] and [Restore] spells. I did care for them enough to become a faithful believer in the Ten Commandments of Pet Ownership¡ªI always carry a printout of it that¡¯s folded and tucked in my wallet¡ªand Clerics in RPGs are usually associated with support, faith, and religion, so that could be a possible reason for me to learn those support type¡ªor I guess in this world¡¯s terms, ¡®Grace¡¯ type¡ªspells, right? Of course, I also had a couple pictures of my pets in my smartphone, one of which served as my screensaver, but I¡¯m getting off topic.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. They had seemed to be slowing down lately, and have been experiencing some health problems, too, I thought as I momentarily swiped through the photos of my pets on my phone to relieve my nerves, Looks like I won¡¯t be there for your final moments ... Betsy, Leslie, I¡¯m sorry that we had to part ways like this. Know that wherever I may be, our memories together will always live on inside me. May we see each other again in the next life. I took a moment to sniffle and rub away the grit that suddenly got in my eyes. Once I calmed down, I sat back up from my bed, fixing my glasses to gain a better view of my luxurious, temporary, room in the castle. Each of us had our own rooms for the course of our stay, which included a full-sized bed, a desk with an inkwell and writing quill on its counter, and a wardrobe where I currently had my backpack stowed away. We would be provided new changes of clothes and other necessities within the next couple days. Immediately after I was appraised, I asked Omar if I could be shown someplace to rest as I was very tired. That was when he informed everyone about our rooms and had one of the maids escort me to mine while everyone else was getting appraised. I had been trying to come to grips with everything that happened the moment I threw myself on the bed. ¡°For now, I need to make a plan,¡± I said aloud to myself, ¡°Even though I¡¯m the only Tamer in our class, Omar is still going to get someone with the same Job to come and train me tomorrow. I may get a chance to tame my first monster, so I should think about what would be best for me with only a LV 1 [Tame] spell. Everyone will get suspicious if they see me come back with a monster greater than what my supposed level of skill could handle, so I¡¯ll have to think carefully. ¡°That aside, though I spent a ton of SP for [Counterfeit], I should be able to earn some back in time, right? But let¡¯s see what else I can learn to protect myself while I¡¯m here,¡± I said before opening up my skills list and scrolling down to what I could learn for 300 SP. Since the untapped skills and spells we could learn would depend on our innate abilities as well as our jobs, not everyone is eligible to learn [Blaze], for example. ¡°Oh, these will definitely be useful,¡± I said as I read the descriptions of the spells.
[Shock]: A Destruction type spell that shoots a bolt of lightning at a target, inflicting lightning damage, may inflict *Paralyze* ailment. Higher levels increase the spell¡¯s range of power, ailment potency, and area of effect.
[Taint]: A Destruction type spell shoots an orb of toxic fluid at a target, inflicting poison damage, may inflict *Poison* ailment. Higher levels increase the spell¡¯s range of power, ailment potency, and area of effect. Can also contaminate consumable items, causing them to inflict *Poison* ailment upon consumption.
¡°They may be the only attack spells I can use right now, but these would definitely be useful,¡± I said while nodding to myself, ¡°But still, for me to be qualified to learn [Taint], which is so potent that it can contaminate consumables, just what sorts of innate abilities and life experience did I have that counted towards this, or [Shock]? Moreover, if [Taint] can be used outside of battle, then the same could probably be said for other spells, as well. Does this mean ¡­ that someone could use a charm-like skill or spell in a similar way to *Charm* their target with consumable food?¡± I recalled the glimpse of the manipulative royals¡¯ statuses I saw with my own [Appraisal] as we all used the device earlier. They never volunteered to display their own statuses through the enchanted item, so that was all the more reason for me to look into it myself. All of their Charm stats were alarmingly high, and they all had skills at moderate to high proficiency levels that boost the effectiveness of that stat, too. What frightened me the most, however, were Princess Rosalina¡¯s [Captivate] and [Temptation Pheromone] spells. [Captivate] was what this world called a Hex type spell that only targets one enemy of any kind at a time, human, demon, monster, or otherwise, and afflicts them with the *Charm* ailment. [Temptation Pheromone], however, was a spell that could inflict a number of people of the same race¡ªin her case, human¡ªin an area around her with the *Charm* ailment all at once. I have yet to see how a charmed enemy behaves in battle, but if this ailment is just as annoying as hell as it is in RPGs, then all my classmates and teacher are likely a lost cause. What¡¯s more, [Temptation Pheromone] wasn¡¯t a Hex type spell, but a Job type one like my [Tame], which really begged the question for what Job the princess had. Of course, Rosalina couldn¡¯t publicly display her status for us, or anyone in this kingdom. If just one person even heard of her Seductive Princess Job, then they¡¯d immediately question all their choices and every time they¡¯d ever agreed with her, regardless of whether they had a [Charm Resistance] skill. Seductive Princess, by the way, was apparently a Job that integrates the skills and effects of the Temptress and Princess Jobs. The latter Job seems pretty straight-forward, but it¡¯s the former one that should be raising all kinds of red flags. Unlike people, you can¡¯t ¡®charm¡¯ raw facts into doing your bidding no matter how powerful your magic might be. When that information spreads, the royals would be in deep trouble with their populace. In the end, no matter how attractive Rosalina was, with a Job that included ¡®Seductive¡¯ and ¡®Temptress¡¯ in her description, she wasn¡¯t just a manipulative slut, she was the queen of all THOTS. With me, having both the [Skeptic] and [Charm Resistance] skills at max levels, I was basically the biggest threat to her existence, as well as Omar and Marcus if they¡¯re taking advantage of her powers, too. This was why hiding them and my other skills with [Counterfeit] was so significant. ¡°But, wait, there were other people in my class that had [Appraisal], too,¡± I pointed out in a mutter as I paced around the room, ¡°Surely, they couldn¡¯t risk introducing her to use without planning around that much first, right? It would be one thing if the hero¡¯s [Appraisal] skill started off at LV 1 and they couldn¡¯t see much, probably just their target¡¯s name. But Max¡¯s [Appraisal] was surprisingly at LV 2, just a step below mine. They couldn¡¯t have forgotten to take that into account. I didn¡¯t see a [Counterfeit] skill on Rosalina, either, and unless there¡¯s something that prevents you from changing your own Job, there¡¯s no way she wouldn¡¯t attempt to hide it if she had the means. ¡°The Royal family should have tested us all first, they were able to see all our statuses with the¡ªthat¡¯s it! The crystal ball! It was enchanted with the [Appraisal] skill! Maybe they all have similar items enchanted with [Counterfeit] to hide their jobs, skills, maybe even their entire status! Now that I think about it, they all had some gaudy jewelry on, at least some of those had to be enchanted, with one used to hide their statuses!¡± I pumped my fist in the air from reaching the peak of victory with this deduction, just like Rocky Balboa. ¡°... Hold on, I was still able to see their statuses,¡± I muttered aloud, ¡°Even if my theory was possible ¡­ how did I bypass it to see their true natures? The [Counterfeit] skill¡¯s description didn¡¯t mention any conditions under which someone could see through it, so that¡¯s of no help. Ugh, let¡¯s not worry about that for now. I have [Charm Resistance] at LV MAX, while my own Charm is less than average¡ªI wonder if that helps or hurts me in resisting *Charm* from others? Regardless, if I¡¯m able to see through their bullshit now, then there should be no doubt I won¡¯t be affected by charm-related skills and spells, right? Well, even so, I should still take some measures to ensure I stay healthy and unaffected by whatever this world could taint me with ¡­ what did that [Restore] spell do again?¡± I then pulled up my status and read said spell¡¯s description.
[Restore, LV 1]: A Grace type spell that removes *Poison*, *Paralyze*, *Sleep*, *Charm*, *Burn*, and *Petrify* ailments from a single target.
¡°If I increase the proficiency level of this, could I cure myself of anything?¡± I asked in a hushed tone, ¡°And with the [Taint] and [Shock] spells ¡­ yes, yes! Okay, I think I have a strategy now!¡± With that, I spent my remaining 300 SP to learn [Shock] and [Taint] for protection. I then began a little test. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s give this a shot ¡­ [Restore],¡± I said while focusing on myself as the target. I felt a strange, but comforting lightness enveloping my body, like a huge weight I didn¡¯t realize was there had been lifted, ¡°Wow, I feel great! Just like that prince¡¯s [Blaze] spell, I just need to say the name while focusing on my target and the magic will do the rest. That¡¯s simple enough. I did see [Silent Casting] in the list of skills, but it costs so much SP and I had to use most of what I had to learn [Counterfeit]. Guess that will have to wait until I wrack up more SP. Now, could I use it on something else?¡± There was a water pitcher and a glass in my room, so I did a bit of an experiment. The first glass of water was my control without anything done to it¡ªI checked with [Appraisal] to make sure, which I¡¯d have to make a habit of doing with all my surroundings from now on. When I cast [Restore] on the second glass of water, there was a definite change in its appearance. The glass looked clearer than before, [Appraisal] analyzed it as purified, and it tasted much better. On the third glass of water, I tried casting [Taint] at its lowest toxicity level, producing a small, purplish orb of liquid. This briefly turned the water the same color before it became clear again over time. [Appraisal] analyzed the water as being contaminated with *Taint* and I subjected myself to the now noxious brew to test its smell and taste. Both of which were so rank that it had me hacking a lung in response after only taking a sip. Despite that, I was surprised to find that I didn¡¯t get afflicted with the *Poison* ailment. I tried casting [Taint] again on the same glass, but set at a higher toxicity level. The purple color took longer to clear up before the water looked normal this time. [Appraisal] stated the same description as before, but when I smelled and tasted it, it was far worse. This time, I ended up getting afflicted with *Poison* after taking only a single sip. Perhaps it was because I ingested it, but the burning, churning, twisting pain of my insides was unlike anything I had experienced before. Looking at myself in the wardrobe¡¯s mirror, I was sweating buckets and had turned a ghastly white in complexion. In my peripheral, where I saw my LP and MP bars, the former of the two was steadily decreasing. Having seen enough, I cast [Restore] on myself once more and immediately felt much better than before. I was still feeling some soreness and pain in my insides after being subjected to the *Poison* ailment, however. Something interesting appeared to me after a moment, though.
Skill conditions met. You have now learned [Poison Resistance] LV 1.
Is learning new skills really this easy?! I retorted to the notice box in my mind, Or is it my [Learning Boost] skill that made the process this simple? I¡¯ll have to look into that skill later¡­ To avoid raising any suspicion as well as perform another test, I cast [Heal] on myself to restore my LP back to full. I immediately felt a lot better, physically and mentally. Knowing how effective the [Heal] spell was was a relief to me. I could definitely see myself relying on this spell a lot. ¡°Still, this proves that [Taint] really can be used to poison food and drink, too,¡± I concluded, ¡°I might be looked at suspiciously if I¡¯m seen casting this on everything I see. Alright, then let¡¯s make a habit of casting [Restore] at the end of every day to keep myself healthy. I¡¯ll basically be torturing myself, but it may not be a bad idea to drink water spiked with [Taint] to improve [Poison Resistance], too. Add [Heal], if I want to, and I¡¯ll be training four things at once to raise their proficiency. Actually, if I can learn new skills like [Poison Resistance] that quickly, I wonder ...¡± Just for the heck of it, I cast [Restore] numerous times, both on myself and other objects to see if I could distinguish any other differences. It was also to check how much MP it cost to use the spell, which stayed at 15 MP every time. There was a cooldown, however, so I had to keep in mind not to rely on always being able to cast it whenever I needed to if I didn¡¯t want to get into trouble. Just when I thought I had learned everything, another surprise happened.
Skill requirements met. You may now use [Restore] LV 2.
¡°That was fast!¡± I exclaimed, ¡°Sheesh, is this also because of the [Learning Boost] skill? Whatever, I¡¯ll think about it later. Let¡¯s just see what the next level of [Restore] can do.¡± I opened up my skills list again and checked the description of my upgraded spell.
[Restore, LV 2]: A Grace type spell removes *Poison*, *Paralyze*, *Sleep*, *Charm*, *Burn*, *Petrify*, *Curse*, *Stun*, *Hex*, *Blind*, *Confuse*, and *Fear* ailments from a single target.
¡°So, there are more ailments I can remove from a target now, huh?¡± I asked myself. For one more quick test, I cast the higher level of [Restore] on both myself and the poisoned water back to back. The MP cost was still the same, at 15 MP per use, and the cooldown time was unchanged. As for the new glass of water, it was crystal clear, clearer than before, and it tasted amazing, the best I ever had. ¡°Are those all the known ailments in Lanka, then?¡± I asked, ¡°If so, it definitely would be best to cast [Restore] on myself at the end of every day. I don¡¯t know how lost LP and MP are recovered, so I¡¯ll have to find that out during training tomorrow. Ideally, I should set aside 15 MP at the end of every day to use [Restore] on myself so I can stay healthy and clean up anything that could inflict even worse ailments on me in the long-term. Plus, if I¡¯m training my [Taint] spell and [Poison Resistance], I¡¯ll definitely need to use the former on myself more often. However, I don¡¯t know what happens if my MP goes to 0, so I¡¯ll leave it here for today. Lastly, just to be safe, I¡¯ll use [Counterfeit] to hide [Shock], [Taint], and [Poison Resistance] along with my other spells and skills ¡­ Aaaand done.¡± A few knocks on the door just then made me jump. ¡°Chris? Are you there?¡± a familiar female classmate asked. What the, why is she here? ¡°I¡¯m here, coming,¡± I answered before approaching the door and opening it. Standing in the hallway was another one of the few friends I made in school, Rachel Granger, one of the more popular girls in our class from school, and the reason for my maxed-out [Charm Resistance] skill. Blonde hair, blue eyes, good fashion sense, it was almost a given that I would have had a crush on her since elementary school. She just became more and more attractive with her newly bodacious body when we reached high school¡ªcompared to Tamy, Rachel¡¯s tits were smaller in size, but still had an attractive shape that made them look big and perky. It pains me to admit that I am a total pushover, a simp, for this girl, being good friends with her and doing favors here and there without expecting anything in return. All so I could up my chances of winning Rachel over. For a time, it had looked like my efforts were paying off from how much she smiled and laughed with me. At some point, I riled up enough courage to confess to her and asked if we could go out during our middle school years. Her words, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I actually have feelings for someone else ¡­ can we still be friends?¡± crushed all hope I had of being with her. In the end, simp that I was, I still ended up being friends with Rachel and helping her whenever she asked. But after that rejection, I knew better than to think her gratitude or anything she gave me in exchange for my help meant anything. And wouldn¡¯t you know it, her crush, the student body president Maxwell ¡°Max¡± Williams, was right there next to her. I mean, I couldn¡¯t blame Rachel falling for him. He¡¯s more proactive in sports and played in our school¡¯s baseball and soccer teams on top of being student body president. Not to mention he¡¯s better looking and friendlier than me, making him a hit with both the girls and guys. Hell, Max and Rachel together were our school¡¯s unofficial power couple. That¡¯s what everyone else thinks, anyway. As for me, I just can¡¯t see myself associating with a guy that sparkles so brightly. At least that¡¯s how he¡¯s always seemed to me since middle school. I''ve always wondered if it¡¯s all just a front he puts on while in public. Even if he really is just that good of a person, doesn¡¯t being friendly around so many people get tiring after a while? Either way, I get exhausted just looking at him, and I get even more tired just thinking of trying to keep up with his pace. So, I try to distance myself and avoid getting involved in anything with him in it. And no, I¡¯m not doing this because I¡¯m grouchy Rachel chose him over me. I¡¯m over that, as my maxed out Charm Resistance shows. I just think it''s better for me to primarily look after myself and my own needs. And yet, despite all my efforts to avoid him since middle school, Max and I somehow became friends. He was the last of those in my small circle before Tamy came along later in high school. To this day, I still had no idea how we even ended up like this. Still, why would both of them be here to see me like this? I wondered before greeting them, ¡°Hey ¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°It¡¯s close to dinner time,¡± Rachel stated, ¡°Everyone¡¯s already heading to the banquet hall, but we didn¡¯t see you with them, so we thought to come and let you know.¡± ¡°Oh, well ¡­ thanks. I was just thinking of how starved I was and that I should get some food, too,¡± I said, and my stomach growled in agreement. Actually, my stomach sounded more aggressive than usual, probably still pissed at me for ingesting that poisoned water earlier, as if to say, ¡®You better eat something after the shit you put me through!¡¯ I didn¡¯t blame it for feeling that way, either. ¡°No sweat!¡± Max exclaimed while giving me thumbs up and a big grin, ¡°With how confusing all of this is, we gotta stick together and work through it to the very end! I just know His Highness will get us back home once this is all over! We just have to hold on until then!¡± ¡°Right ¡­ sure,¡± Yeah, right, of course he will¡­ I said in my head with sarcasm before stepping out of my room, closing the door, and letting the two of them lead the way to the banquet hall while I followed from behind. ¡°I gotta admit, Chris, you surprised me today,¡± Rachel started while looking back. I blinked, ¡°Huh? How so?¡± ¡°Normally, you''d jump at the chance to barrage anyone presenting something new with questions, right?¡± Max asked. Rachel giggled, ¡°Yeah! Like how flustered you made our history teacher in middle school when Egyptian gods were brought up.¡± ¡°I remember that!¡± Max exclaimed, ¡°You kept going on and on, questioning why the people depicted their gods with animal heads and how the pharaohs used them to control slavery! Even after class, you had more questions for the teacher, he looked so exhausted when you finally finished!¡± ¡°I know, I was there! I can¡¯t help but laugh thinking back on it now!¡± Rachel exclaimed before she and Max fell into a fit of laughter. How was any of that funny? And, wait, Max was there watching me do that, too? Was that before or after we started hanging out? I thought. Rachel finally calmed down before continuing, ¡°I was kind of hoping you¡¯d barge in and bring out the questions we all had. You were always kind of ¡­ brave, cool, even, for asking people bigger and stronger than you the questions that no one else had the courage to bring up. It made me feel relieved to have someone like you as a friend.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but raise a brow at that, thinking, Brave? Cool? Yeah, sure, as a sacrificial pawn, maybe. Why else would you be saying all that in front of your fucking crush? Either way, however you thought of me, I¡¯m none of those. ¡°I was more shocked by how much lower Chris¡¯ stats are compared to mine,¡± Max commented while scratching his head, ¡°You¡¯re like one of the top students in our class, I think I heard you were going to be chosen as valedictorian when we graduate. That¡¯s way smarter than me.¡± Crap, he might have a point. Is it so strange for someone smarter than him to have a lower Intelligence stat? I panicked and dropped all of my stats to less than 20. What can I say to convince him? Rewinding back to what Omar explained about Lanka¡¯s game-like world mechanics, having stats at around 15 across the board is the average for a normal human citizen. Only a handful of esteemed warriors have stats in the three digits. Omar¡¯s strongest knight in his guard has a Strength stat of 380 at level 57. The ¡®strongest¡¯ in our class was Max, with all his stats across the board at 100. He¡¯s also the only other person aside from me who had [Experience Multiplier Boost (High)], [Skill Point Acquisition Boost], and [Skill Point Conversion]. Not only that, he had the rarest and most valuable Unique Job as a Hero, and a ton of other skills, including [Appraisal] at LV 2. This basically made him the classic light novel OP protagonist. It was really difficult for me to not roll my eyes at the ridiculousness of it all. Then again, it was more ridiculous for my own Intelligence stat to be three times higher than his, as it is the stat that determines one¡¯s efficiency in learning new skills and mastering them. I mean, my GPA and student rank at school were higher than his, but he beats me at everything else like sports and popularity, so I guess it balances things out? It didn¡¯t matter, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and always lands on his feet. So long as he does what the Royals want, he should be fine, so he¡¯s the best choice to be my sacrificial lamb. Let him enjoy being the ¡®Hero¡¯ however much he wants. I¡¯m getting out of this messed up place as soon as I can, one way or another, I thought. In my effort to make that goal possible by standing out less, I used my [Counterfeit] skill to make all my stats low enough to become the weakest hero of my group. Max served as the prime example of what Omar wanted to see in a potential war pawn, and so I tried to work out what the opposite would be based on what I had briefly seen from my other classmates. I might have overdone it a bit in the Intelligence department, though, considering our academic standings. I had to make up something quick on the spot to answer Max¡¯s question. ¡°Well ¡­ in academics, maybe,¡± I started, ¡°But that isn¡¯t the only thing that marks one¡¯s intelligence. There are people who are just as intelligent, if not more so, without even going to school. Like, emotional intelligence, for example. There¡¯s also social intelligence, how to lead groups, and other intelligences that play roles in stuff like how to play sports well, too. Compared to you, I¡¯m severely lacking in all those departments.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Max exclaimed while pounding a fist in his hand, as if he had had an epiphany, ¡°And my combined different intelligences determine my overall Intelligence stat! I think I get it now!¡± ¡°Riiight? It¡¯s also why you got the unique Hero Job too!¡± I egged on, ¡°Ms. Heatherway may be our teacher, but we need a leader to help us come together and work as a team! Hero, student body president, whatever, you have worked hard to get to where you are today, and your skills make you the most qualified one among us to lead our group. Everyone in class thinks so!¡± ¡°¡­ R-Really? Even you?¡± Max asked with widened eyes. ¡°Of course! You think I didn¡¯t notice how your attractive charm and good looks reel everyone in? Those are very important qualities for any leader to have! It makes me envious to not even have a fraction of your talent in my own love life!¡± I exclaimed with sadly only partially faux admiration. Ugh, all this self-inflicted pain to my pride is making me nauseous, especially with Rachel right there after he swept her away from me, but I think that should cover it, I thought. Max¡¯s face turned red and averted his gaze. ¡°U-Um, well, I¡¯m happy to hear that from you, Chris, but I think you also¡ª¡± ¡°Great!¡± I interrupted while giving Max a hearty slap on his back, moving past him and Rachel at the same time, ¡°I¡¯ll be counting on you, Max! Let¡¯s work together and defeat the Demon King!¡± With that, I ran ahead to the banquet hall, rushing out of sight and vocal range when they tried to call out to me. I swear, I could feel an evil, conniving smile grow on my face as I ran, thinking, That¡¯s right, Max, I¡¯ll be counting on you to be my sacrificial lamb while I get out of this hellhole. That, and that you¡¯ll take much better care of Rachel than I ever could. You¡¯ve outdone me at everything else, after all. On that note, my smile turned more sour, I¡¯ll keep out of your way while you make a move on Rachel, just promise me that you¡¯ll take care of her while I continue my own efforts to move on. Chapter 2: The Monster Tamer Tutor Dinner that night was uneventful and I didn¡¯t have much else to do. After I bathed and changed into some nightwear the castle staff provided us, I thought I¡¯d look into my skills in further detail. Once I had glossed over them enough, I practiced leveling [Heal], [Restore], [Taint], and [Poison Resistance]. From what I read in the description, the [Heal] spell restores a target¡¯s LP while reducing fatigue a little and closing any open wounds on the body without leaving scars. This doesn¡¯t recover the blood that was lost, however, and that was for LV 1 at 15 MP for each use, the same as [Restore]. Casting [Taint] at LV 1, by the way, cost a little more at 17 MP. Just like it happened with [Restore], I quickly became efficient enough to raise [Heal], [Taint], and [Poison Resistance] to LV 2. [Heal] at LV 2 allowed me to restore more LP and fatigue, and close more severe wounds on a single target for the same cost as LV 1. I could also cast it in a 90 centimeters radius {about 3 feet} circle around me, but then it won¡¯t be as effective as a LV 1 [Heal], unless I pump an extra 5 MP into the spell. Of course, I couldn¡¯t test everything out since I wasn¡¯t severely injured. However, when using [Restore], I could tell how much more refreshed my body was when I compared the two levels. After leveling [Taint] to LV 2, I was able to adjust its toxicity to a greater degree. Like [Heal], if I spend 17-25 MP, I can either increase the toxic ball¡¯s size or poison concentration, but not both. As I experimented with this poison spell, mainly by spiking my water and then bearing with the pain from drinking it, I came to understand how poison spells like [Taint] and [Poison Resistance] interact. I first noticed that I wasn¡¯t as affected by [Taint]¡¯s effects while it was still LV 1 once I acquired the [Poison Resistance] skill. It wasn¡¯t until [Taint] became LV 2 and increased its toxicity that I was able to experience about the same degree of pain and agony from the poisoned water as I had the first time. That makes it sound like I have some strange acute pain scale, as if I have lots of ¡®experience¡¯ in getting hurt. But I assure you that I don¡¯t have some secret masochistic pastime. I¡¯m not into that. This was just an experiment for the sake of my stat and skill growth in this new game-like world. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t long after I suffered from the [Taint] LV 2 spell¡¯s increased toxicity that my [Poison Resistance] skill went up to LV 2, thankfully. It was also around that time that I learned what happens when I deplete most of my MP. Doing so leaves me feeling totally drained of mental and emotional strength as well as very physically tired. I had anticipated something like this occurring if I spent too much MP, and I was in bed at the time. And so, before I realized I had decided to call it a night, I fell asleep right there. The next morning I felt energized and a little stronger mentally than before when I went to sleep. When I checked my status, I saw that my MP, Magic, Shell, Vitality, and Intelligence stats had increased while I had earned 440 SP, probably thanks to my last-minute magic practice last night. I had even leveled up to 2, somehow, which meant there were more ways to level up in this world than just by defeating enemies and getting experience points (EXP) RPG style. Also, thanks to [Counterfeit], my altered status didn¡¯t change at all. Though this saves me work, I¡¯ll have to change it a little to show my improvements over the course of our class¡¯ training, so I¡¯d need to alter it every night before bed for a while. On another note, though I couldn¡¯t access the internet, I could still use my smartphone¡¯s apps and I apparently didn¡¯t need to worry about charging it ever again. Which was very nice, as the alarm on it helped me get up without a hitch. After I checked my status, I purified the pitcher of water with [Restore] before drinking some of it. I also used it while brushing my teeth with a toothbrush the castle staff provided us. It looked and felt far different from the ones I was used to back home. Once I had changed into a clean set of clothes they also gave us, I headed to the banquet hall for breakfast. After that, we were directed to the castle¡¯s courtyard for our first day of training. It started off with some morning drills led by the captain of the kingdom¡¯s knights, Morgan Trissand. I used [Appraisal] to check his status and found all of his stats were in the three-digit range, like Max¡¯s, but way higher. He wasn¡¯t that strongest knight that Omar mentioned yesterday, however, as his Strength was only 300, while his current level was 52. Morgan¡¯s training drills turned out much as one might expect on a typical morning at boot camp. He wasn¡¯t making our exercises easy, pushing us to our limits more than our high school gym teacher ever did, and I thought I was going to vomit the breakfast I ate. After our drills, we then went to combat practice. Though some of us had skills that made us somewhat proficient with a particular weapon, offensive magic, or fighting style, we weren¡¯t masters. So this training was meant to help make us more capable in our fighting specialty. As for those of us who didn¡¯t get a weapon or fighting skill or offensive magic, we still had to learn to wield something to protect ourselves, at the very least. I specialized in magic, but I didn¡¯t want to give away my Destruction spells, so I settled for a one-handed practice short sword made of blunted steel. The people who had chosen swords, daggers, spears, staves, or axes were partnered with knights experienced with those weapons for sparring. Max, being the most talented in our class since he had the Hero Job, picked up a two-handed longsword and was given the honor of sparring with Morgan. Those who chose bows or could use magic were sent to the target range to practice shooting arrows and casting spells. Surprisingly, from what I had heard, Tamy was one of the few students that had the starter job of Wizard, and her stats were impressive for her level. I didn¡¯t get a chance to talk to her after I left and she seemed to be somewhere else when I looked for her. She was one that tended to follow her own rhythm, and I figured we¡¯d talk again later, so I didn¡¯t worry about her much. As for Rachel, I knew she had a hobby of doing archery back home and, surprise-surprise, when that bastard Omar had all of us reveal our statuses, she had the [Bow Mastery] and [Bow Arts] skills at decent proficiency levels which paired naturally with her Sniper Job, a likely promotion from the starting Ranger Job. You could even tell how experienced Rachel was from the sheer calm concentration she had while aiming at her target. With her hair tied in a ponytail, well, I got distracted by her beauty enough to get hit pretty good in the middle of my spar. I received a derogatory laugh from our class¡¯ bully, Victor Strauss, and my other classmates at that. As much as I wanted to use [Heal] on my injury, I couldn¡¯t expose myself, so I had to bear with that pain, and more. Compared to what I went through drinking poisoned water, however, it wasn¡¯t as bad. Finally, the instructors for those of us with more specialized Jobs arrived, and we dispersed for our personal training sessions. As for me, my instructor for the Tamer Job was a rugged forester with a battle axe on his back. He was not happy to see me when I approached him and his tamed monster, a bluish-gray wolf-like creature that was bigger than a grizzly bear from Earth. The Tamer gave a sigh and scratched his head of shaggy ginger-red locks with a large matching beard to boot. You could barely see the remaining rough skin and eyes not covered by hair. His figure, covered in leather armor, was large and barrel-shaped. ¡°So, ye th¡¯ brat I babysittin¡¯ t¡¯ be a Tamer?¡± he asked with a gruff, heavy accent. ¡°Yes, sir. I¡¯m Chris Monty. I look forward to working with you,¡± I greeted while reaching out for a handshake. Despite the intimidation factor he and his wolf were exhibiting with their sizes alone, I was honestly rather excited. I wanted to learn as much as I could from a professional Tamer before I bolted out of this damn castle. ¡°¡­ Right,¡± he replied coldly before taking my hand with a firm grip, ¡°Th¡¯ name¡¯s Augustus Klein. I work as an adventurer with my Tamer Job. This here¡¯s one of my partners, Siggins. He is what we call a King Mutt.¡± ¡°Could I pet Siggins?¡± I asked practically on reflex. Seeing Siggins reminded me of my pet dog, Betsy, and I loved dogs and cats enough to want to pet any new pets I come across at least once. Augustus¡¯ eyes widened with genuine shock before he turned his gaze to his partner. ¡°Erm ¡­ pet him, boy?¡± he asked while looking back at me. ¡°Yeah. Could I pet Siggins?¡± I asked again while staring at the King Mutt. Augustus looked over to Siggins briefly before turning back to me, ¡°Sure, he don¡¯ mind.¡± I squatted down to Siggins¡¯ eye level with a big smile on my face, ¡°It¡¯s very nice to meet you, Mr. Siggins! Ohh, you¡¯re a big, handsome young King Mutt, aren¡¯t ¡®cha?! You like getting petted here?! Or what about here?!¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°W-What is this technique?! This is amazing!¡± Siggins exclaimed. Despite making canine-like noises, thanks to my [World Language Comprehension] skill, I was able to understand that much from this large beast. With the skill, his voice in my head came across as deep, fierce, and masculine, like a great warrior who had seen many battles of survival. Siggins was immediately in love with the attention I was giving his ears and neck, and he lolled his tongue out with a smile as he collapsed onto his side. With his white underbelly exposed, I could see a medal hanging around his neck. I guessed it was some sort of collared tag for tamed Monsters in this world. Being all too familiar with a dog¡¯s belly-up pose, I lost all control when I saw Siggins¡¯non-verbal plea and dove right into maximum overdrive with my petting. ¡°Ohh, you like that, don¡¯t ya?!¡± I exclaimed as I petted him, ¡°How about some belly rubs on that big, fluffy tummy of yours?! Ohh, you like that?! You like that?! Yeees you dooo! Ohh, you¡¯re such a good boy! Who¡¯s a good boy?! You are! Yes! Yes. You. Are!¡± ¡°Ooooooh, how can this feel so goooooood?!¡± Siggins hummed in dog-like, guilty pleasure. Aaaah, this is wonderful, I thought in bliss, It¡¯s only been a day and I already miss playing with Betsy and Leslie. While petting Siggins, I took a moment to speak to my own pets in my heart, hoping that they¡¯d somehow sense my feelings, I hope you¡¯re both doing okay and Mom and Dad are taking care of you. You two will always live on in my heart. ¡°¡­ What level did ye say ye were?¡± Augustus asked in shock. ¡°Level 1 ¡­ ah! I¡¯m sorry, I got carried away, didn¡¯t I?!¡± I exclaimed before standing back up and brushed Siggins¡¯ hairs out of my hands. Augustus¡¯ ¡®scary¡¯ beast stood up and leaned his head against my side, eyes closed, and with a low whine begged, ¡°D-Don¡¯t stop now! Pet me more!¡± ¡°Aww, now how can I ignore you when you say that? But, you have to say ¡®please¡¯ when you¡¯re asking for something, you know,¡± I lightly scolded, regressing back to pet-owner mode. Siggins begged, sounding desperate, ¡°P-Please! Pet me some more, please!¡± ¡°Way to go! That¡¯s a good boy!¡± I exclaimed before petting around his head and neck in reward. ¡°Ohh, that¡¯s the stuuuff ¡­ wait, you understood me?!¡± Siggins yelped, only just now realizing that I could speak with him fluently. Crap, now that I think about it, should I not be able to understand him? I didn¡¯t have [Monster Interpretation] when my fake status was showcased, I thought. [Monster Interpretation] was a Job-type skill a Tamer could learn that allowed them to communicate with Monsters. When I looked through the possible skills I could learn last night, I found that skill was grayed out with a message that said, ¡°Effects of this skill are already included in [World Language Comprehension].¡± ¡°Um ¡­ yes. I was able to learn [Monster Interpretation] last night with the SP I had on me,¡± I lied. I¡¯m glad [Counterfeit] can help me put in fake skills, too, I thought, I¡¯ll have to make that adjustment to my fake status ASAP. ¡°Chris ¡­ was it?¡± Augustus asked, ¡°Yer one of th¡¯ very few who not only didn¡¯ get scared o¡¯ Siggins, but havin¡¯ him take a likin¡¯ t¡¯ ya, too. If yer able t¡¯ pull that off without a [Tame] spell, then ye may come t¡¯ be a better Tamer than me in less than no time.¡± ¡°Really?!¡± I exclaimed with excitement while I continued petting Siggins. Augustus nodded, ¡°Aye. Openin¡¯ yer heart t¡¯ yer partner is one o¡¯ th¡¯ basics t¡¯ become a successful Tamer, and ye already got that down easy wit¡¯ one that ain¡¯t even yers. Now, let¡¯s go get ye yer first partner!¡± ¡°Right now?!¡± ¡°Yes, now! Ye can¡¯t be a real Tamer without a tamed Monster! Come on, Siggins!¡± Augustus called out to his partner before leading the way immediately. ¡°Y-Yes! Certainly!¡± Siggins answered in a fluster. ¡°H-Hey! Wait for me! Oh, I know I¡¯m going to be so tired after this ¡­¡± I trailed off while trying to catch up to my mentor and his tamed partner. With only my practice sword in hand, Augustus hurriedly led me off the castle grounds and outside the capital city before we headed into a dense forest. Along the way, I almost forgot to see what the stats of my tutor and his tamed monster were like, so I used [Appraisal] on them. I¡¯m not sure how scared I really was of Rosalina when I checked her status, but now? It wasn¡¯t Siggins¡¯ status, but ¡®Augustus¡¯¡¯ that made me lose a few years in my life from the fright of what I saw, giving me all the more reason to stay on my toes in this world. ~~
Name Bargamus Keal Age 67
Race Demon, Male Job Monster Warrior
Level 83 SP Unable to View
LP 1530 / 1530 MP 960 / 960
Strength 580 Magic 320
Vitality 570 Shell 155
Speed 145 Dexterity 250
Charm 130 Intelligence 116
Skills Physical Axe Mastery LV 4
Axe Arts LV 3
Strength Boost (Medium)*
Disassemble LV 4
Mental Danger Sense LV 4
Foe Sense LV 4
Intimidation (Med)*
Penlish Language Comprehension LV 3
Acting LV 3
Job Monster Interpretation LV 4
Companion Training LV 3
Companion Bond LV 4
Companion Growth Boost (Low)*
Monster Charm Boost (Medium)*
Monster Appraisal LV 4
Passing of Ownership*
Spells Job Tame LV 4
Destruction Frost LV 3
~~ {Rachel} From the moment Chris¡¯s Monster Tamer Trainer and his big beast arrived to when he left with Chris, everyone in the castle courtyard couldn¡¯t help but watch the entire spectacle with awe. Chris¡¯ classmates in particular were especially dumbstruck at the sight. Even some of the knights stared in disbelief. ¡°Dude ¡­ did he seriously treat that beast like a pet dog?¡± ¡°How did the guy even do that without looking the slightest bit scared?!¡± ¡°He¡¯s weird, man! Don¡¯t care how smart he is, that was just unnatural!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know he had that side of him! It¡¯s kind of creepy that he can do that to a Monster like that!¡± Most of Chris¡¯ classmates gossiped about the spectacle they had just witnessed. It was something they not only hadn¡¯t seen from the quiet nerd while at school, but was well beyond what they expected. This was especially so knowing how low his stats and skills were compared to the rest of them. ¡°Ah, now that I think about it, he did mention having a pet dog and cat back home,¡± Rachel commented while looking up in thought, ¡°I guess it makes sense that he got the Tamer Job in that case, but ¡­¡± ¡°Somehow, he just never ceases to surprise us, huh?¡± Max, the student body president, asked as he watched Chris leave with a smirk. ¡°Yeah ¡­ but that¡¯s what makes him kind of interesting, isn¡¯t it?¡± Rachel asked as she stared in the same direction. Meanwhile, one student watched Rachel unhappily as she gazed at where Chris had left. The handle of the practice axe in his hand snapped and broke in two from his grip. He didn¡¯t notice his weapon breaking in the slightest. Another certain student with the voluptuous body and flair of a runway model watched on with curiosity and interest as she held her chin. Chapter 3: The First Companion {Chris} ¡°Uh ¡­ is it really okay for me to leave the castle and city like this? I only have my dull practice sword to defend myself, after all,¡± I asked hesitantly with said weapon in hand, following Bargamus, or ¡®Augustus¡¯ in public. ¡°Yer a Tamer, an¡¯ us Tamers find our partners out in th¡¯ open wild, not in th¡¯ safety an¡¯ comfort o¡¯ th¡¯ city¡¯s walls,¡± he explained as he led the way through the dense forest, ¡°Omar should understand that much, an¡¯ ye got me an¡¯ Siggins here in case somethin¡¯ goes wrong. If he has a problem with me teachings, he can take it up wit¡¯ me.¡± Oh, yeah, I¡¯m definitely certain he¡¯ll have a problem with one of his kingdom¡¯s war enemies walking alone with one of his pawns right now! Just what the fuck is going on?! How did nobody even know this dude was a Demon?! Was he appraised?! Did someone skimp on the background check during his interview?! Where did they even find this guy?! Somebody answer me! I could use some help here! I screamed in my mind. I was initially excited to tame my first monster, but as soon as I saw Bargamus¡¯ status, that energy was snuffed out immediately. I had been on edge since then, having no idea what I had gotten into, or, more importantly, how I was getting out of it. There was no way I could scream, ¡®HE¡¯S A DEMON!¡¯ right out in the public streets where panic and chaos would run rampant and innocent lives would be threatened. A part of me was scared shitless, but my crazier side was just curious enough to want to wait and see what this guy was planning to do with me. Okay, calm down, Chris, calm down, I told myself mentally, he doesn¡¯t know that you know what he really is, and it doesn¡¯t look like he or Siggins noticed that you used [Appraisal] on both of them. Play it cool, play dumb, and don¡¯t do anything that could rouse suspicion, or he could very well have his dog eat you alive. Sure, he could use this opportunity to off you and tell Omar that you had an accident before he leaves scot free, but would he go that far just to take out one guy? Why is he even here? Is he with the Demon King¡¯s army, or is he a neutral party? A spy gathering intel, or a lone wolf living by his own means? You need to find out what his game is without being too obviously nosy. Let¡¯s just start off with some small talk to get things rolling. ¡°So¡ª¡± ¡°Right, ¡®tis should be far ¡®nuff,¡± Bargamus interrupted as we got to a small clearing in the dense forest. The subtle sounds of rustling greenery and insects were the only thing filling the silence. My face went pale, Goddammit, you took too long! Where the hell are we?! I¡¯m so dead! Bargamus then turned to face me, ¡°Okay, Chris, t¡¯ tame a monster and make it what we call a Companion, ye have t¡¯ meet certain requirements. One is t¡¯ show how yer superior t¡¯ them in a fight. Ye gotta weaken ¡®em, wear ¡®em down, but don¡¯ kill ¡®em. Yer only displaying yer strength t¡¯ them, monsters respect that. ¡®Tis was how Tamers in the past had t¡¯ tame monsters before the [Tame] spell came along an¡¯ made things easier fer us, but weakenin¡¯ them before castin¡¯ th¡¯ spell will make th¡¯ magic more effective.¡± I stood there in silence, my mind blank. ¡°Ye lisnin¡¯ there, boy?¡± he asked. Bargamus¡¯ question startled me, ¡°H-Huh?! Oh, yeah. Show you¡¯re superior, wear them down, but don¡¯t kill them, then cast [Tame] to make them your Companion. Got it.¡± Well, that¡¯s about the same as many monster taming games I played, so this is rather easy to remember. I also have the [Appraisal] skill to help me see how close they are to death, too. From what I read about it last night, with this skill at LV 3, I can view a target¡¯s name, race and sex, age, job, level, stats, skills, spells, and what buffs, debuffs, and ailments it currently has. Those are for people, but with monsters, I could see their species name and some of the description of what they are. If I did the same on an inanimate object, I could see information on a variety of things like what they are, what they do, what can they be used for, how much would they sell in the market, etc. The best part was that it didn¡¯t cost me any MP to use, and there was no cooldown time, so I could use it consecutively. I had been making a habit of using [Appraisal] on everything I saw and everyone that caught my eye¡ªI would¡¯ve done the same with Bargamus at first sight, too, but Siggins grabbed too much of my attention for me to remember until later. After I tested it on Siggins and Bargamus on the way over, I can surprisingly view everything the description described despite them being so much stronger than me. Hell, with just Siggins¡¯ level and LP, Morgan might have some difficulty taking him on his own in a fight, let alone two-on-one with the odds against the knight captain. That aside, if I need to weaken a monster enough to be able to tame it, then having my [Appraisal] skill will be a good indicator for how close they are to dying. Bargamus then held a hand up, ¡°Once ye weaken ¡®em enough, ye gotta get close an¡¯ make contact. Then, ye activate yer [Tame] spell by pourin¡¯ yer MP inter th¡¯ monster. Don¡¯ let yer guard down, though, ¡®cause they may resist an¡¯ fight back with newfound strength. Th¡¯ key is t¡¯ keep pumpin¡¯ MP inter them ¡®til they submit, and then they¡¯ll come te respect ya as their master. Th¡¯ higher yer [Tame] spell is, th¡¯ higher ta effectiveness, especially on stronger monsters.¡± ¡°R-Right, I read that in the spell¡¯s description too,¡± I pointed out before I got lost in my thoughts, Wait a minute, he¡¯s actually providing some decent information on this Tamer Job thing. Is he serious about teaching¡ªno! Don¡¯t let your guard down, Chris! He¡¯s probably aiming for just that! ¡°It may sound simple, but it¡¯s a whole ¡®nother story once ye get in th¡¯ middle o¡¯ th¡¯ action, an¡¯ gettin¡¯ tha¡¯ first hand experience is th¡¯ best way fer ye t¡¯ learn an¡¯ improve,¡± Bargamus continued, ¡°If ye got any questions, now¡¯s th¡¯ time t¡¯ ask ¡®em.¡± I paused for a moment, Well, since he¡¯s offering ¡­ ¡°Would it be easier to tame a Monster if they were under an ailment like *Sleep* or *Paralyze*? Are there places on a Monster¡¯s body that makes using the [Tame] spell more efficient? Are all monsters hostile? I heard we all have a level cap of 100, do Monsters also have¡ª¡± ¡°S-Slow down, boy! One at a time!¡± Bargamus interrupted in a fluster. ¡°S-Sorry, it¡¯s a bit of a habit of mine.¡± A habit I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d run afoul of again on another world, I finished. Bargamus sighed, ¡°Well ¡­ it ain¡¯t bad te ask questions, but be careful of who it is yer askin¡¯, boy. Ye don¡¯ know if they may target ye fer askin¡¯ too much, ye hear?¡± I nodded in response, Oh, I know that much already. I didn¡¯t ask Omar or his kids any questions for that very reason. Wait, why¡¯s he giving that kind of advice to me, anyway? Shouldn¡¯t we be ¡­ enemies or something? Bargamus then tried to answer my questions in order, and it went like this. Ailments can make Monsters more susceptible to be tamed, but they gotta be conscious to do it, so *Paralyze*, *Stun*, *Fear*, *Blind*, *Confuse*, and *Hex* ailments could work. *Poison*, *Burn*, and *Curse* technically also worked, but were too risky since the Monster would likely die because of them, whether or not you¡¯re successful with the taming. The *Charm* Ailment is the most effective of them all. Bargamus knew a Tamer who used it and the Monsters always became friendly immediately after a few MP was used to tame them. As expected, charm-related skills are very effective in this world, which makes that bitch of a princess far more of a threat than I thought, I concluded. Though my Charm stat is really low, it looked like some of the job-related skills I was given, namely [Monster Charmer] and [Monster Charm Boost (High)], could help make up for what I lacked in that department. Compared to humans, animals can be so much easier to get along with, for sure. As for what area on a Monster¡¯s body the [Tame] spell is most effective on, from what Bargamus had noticed, the closer you are to their head, the better. Nor are all Monsters hostile and liable to attack you on sight, but those that aren¡¯t are uncommon and the least likely to live for very long. For level caps, everyone in this world, Monsters, Humans, and others have the same level cap of 100. What differentiates Monsters from Humans and other sapient beings, though, is the ability to evolve at certain levels. Through evolution, Monsters can grow into improved forms that possess increased stats, skills, and spells. Some Monsters¡¯ evolutions can branch out to very different species from their base form depending on what skills and magic they¡¯re able to use. It¡¯s almost impossible to tell how long some stronger Monsters will have to spend leveling before they reach their tiers and evolve. In contrast, weaker Monsters usually take far less time to get to their first evolution or two.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Monsters, like us, can also get stronger by training their bodies and skills. Doing this will accumulate ¡®experience¡¯ (EXP), and gathering enough of that will allow one to level up, which increases the stats associated with the activities used to level up. The kind of training one does, and leveling up, will also net one Skill Points (SP) to use on learning new skills and spells. I can confirm all this to be true after performing magic experiments last night. This is the safer way to get stronger, but it takes a long time to reach higher levels this way, which brings us to our alternative: battling. Winning battles against other Monsters and people give more EXP than one would through training alone. They could earn enough EXP to make multiple level-ups depending on their performance and the power difference between them and their opponent. Humans, Demons, and other sapient races level up similarly in this regard. What makes Monsters different from us, however, is their ability to learn and grow stronger by eating certain foods. This includes stuff like poisoned mushrooms or medicinal herbs as well as other Monsters, or even people. If they do this enough, they can learn certain skills and unlock special evolutions related to them. Monsters could even speed up their growth by consuming Monsters or people stronger than them, raising their stats at speeds people could only dream about. Though the thought of a Monster consuming human flesh was grotesque to me, it still brought up an interesting question I had to ask, ¡°So, if consuming poisoned herbs will help a Monster evolve into something poison-related, would eating Humans help them evolve into something Human-like?¡± Bargamus blinked in surprise, looking uncertain to answer for a moment. He even looked at Siggins to see what his thoughts were. They likely had more conversations with each other than I was aware of due to one of the effects of the [Companion Bond] skill, which allows a Tamer and their Companion to communicate telepathically. Something else I learned of as I went over the details of my skills last night. ¡°Well, I haven¡¯ seen one meself, but I¡¯ve ¡®eard stories of a hero summoned by ¡®tis kingdom¡¯s previous king bein¡¯ able t¡¯ pull it off,¡± he said before looking up and stroking his beard in thought, ¡°Even without them bein¡¯ tamed, seein¡¯ these Monsters out in th¡¯ wild was very rare, and they were said t¡¯ be as smart as th¡¯ residents of Lanka like Humans and Demons. That hero, with the help of his [Monster Appraisal] skill, was able t¡¯ see his Companion¡¯s new species name in their status, which was Xeno. Aside from a few exceptions like Goblins and Orcs, any strong Monsters that closely resemble humans more than others, we generally call them Xenos.¡± ¡°Xenos, huh ¡­¡± Hearing of another Tamer summoned from my world by a previous king was rather concerning, but I had already decided to duck out of this war. I wouldn¡¯t be interfering anymore with this corrupted kingdom¡¯s conspiracies. Still, I had the [Companion Growth Boost (High)] skill and [Companion Training] at LV 4. If I increased the latter¡¯s proficiency level to the max, combined with the former, I could likely evolve my Companion fast enough to make them into Xenos. Since I have [Skill Point Conversion], I just need to rack up enough points to make it possible. Which means, I could move on from my one-sided crush on Rachel and create a Monster-girl harem, instead, I thought, as something stretched across my face. ¡°Uh, Chris, me boy? Yer smile there¡¯s creepin¡¯ me out,¡± Bargamus commented. Even Siggins whined and huddled into Bargamus¡¯ side in fright. Hearing that comment shook the daydream out of my head, ¡°Oh, sorry. Anyway, I think I got what I needed to know for now.¡± Hey, wait a minute! I thought as I reconsidered Bargamus¡¯ reaction, I¡¯m the weak low-leveled human! You¡¯re a demon close to the level cap with a giant wolf at your side! I should be the one trembling in the knees here! ¡°R-Right, then. Fer t¡¯day, ye be goin¡¯ out t¡¯ find a Monster and tame it t¡¯ be yer Companion. Siggins n¡¯ I will follow from a far enough distance t¡¯ not scare any potentials away, but close enough t¡¯ jump in in case of trouble. ¡®Tis yer ¡®nitiation t¡¯ becomin¡¯ a great Tamer, an¡¯ ye won¡¯ be goin¡¯ back t¡¯ the castle until ye tame one. Got it?¡± Bargamus asked me. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± With our plan set, I moved on ahead into the dense forest, keeping an eye out for any potential Monster Companions while Bargamus and Siggins followed. I don¡¯t get it!, I screamed in my head as I walked, Why isn¡¯t he taking this chance to off me?! Is he still waiting for me to let my guard down?! He¡¯s 80+ levels ahead of me, has a fucking axe for a weapon, and has a Wolf Monster that¡¯s more than twice my size! I only have a practice sword and a few low level offensive spells to defend myself with! He could take me out at any time! So, why isn¡¯t he?! Those questions and more ran through my mind as I walked ahead. I didn¡¯t realize how much time had passed until I heard my stomach growling. Looking up, I saw that the sky was already turning a little yellow. Did time really pass that quickly? I didn¡¯t even have lunch, I thought, If I¡¯m really not allowed to go back to the castle to eat some food until I get a Companion, forget the Demon and his wolf, I might starve to death first. Let¡¯s just try and tame the first Monster I see and¡ª ¡°Grrrrrroooowl.¡± ¡°¡­ That didn¡¯t sound like Siggins, or my stomach,¡± I said before quickly heading to the direction where I heard the noise. It sounded like a beast or two was about to feast on its latest prey. When I got close enough to see the figures, I adjusted my glasses and squinted my eyes while activating [Appraisal]. There were three healthy red wolf-like Monsters called Bloodhounds. They were all at LV 3 and had more Strength and Speed than me, but not by too much, while their Vitality was lower than mine. The wolves were surrounding a petite green Goblin, cornered against a tree. The Goblin was female, barely a few months old, and only at LV 1. Her stats weren¡¯t any better than an average human citizen of Lanka, according to Omar¡¯s explanation yesterday. She was about the size of a small human child, like a kindergartner or grade schooler, and she trembled in fear like one, too. What made this scene really concerning was not only did she just have a pelt skirt for ¡®protection,¡¯ but she was gravely injured and on the verge of death, as shown by how little LP she had left. The smart play here was to let the three Bloodhounds feast on the Goblin. That way they''d be distracted enough for me to sneak up and take out one, maybe two of them at once, before I face against the strongest of their pack and attempt to tame it. Heck, I used that exact strategy in a monster taming game once. Not gonna lie, if all this was a game and I was sitting safely behind a screen, I¡¯d probably do it again. But that was if I was just playing a game. This is no game, I thought, These Monsters are living creatures surviving in a do-or-die world. Joining together to feed on one prey is just as much of the natural order here as it is on Earth. However, One, I¡¯m making a Monster girl harem, Two, none of those dogs are female, and Three, ganging up on someone who¡¯s already so weak is just plain unfair. I may not be this corrupted kingdom¡¯s hero, let alone a hero at all. I definitely wouldn¡¯t stand a chance against Bargamus and Siggins right now as I am, but I could at least help someone in their time of need! I screamed in my head as I readied my practice sword, pointed it at the closest target, and rushed in. Raising my weapon overhead with both hands, I ambushed the first Bloodhound from behind by attacking him square on his head. It was a blunt weapon, as we were in too much of a rush to get me a proper, sharp, sword before leaving the city. I had figured this would be an easy Monster taming exercise and I could make do with what I had. Boy, am I kicking myself at how wrong I was right now. At least the practice sword was made of steel, and I could see with [Appraisal] that my attack did considerable damage. Moreover, the Bloodhound I had hit was the strongest of his pack. This meant his packmates spun around in shock at his outcry, allowing me to rush past them in that moment of confusion. Spinning around myself, I took a defensive stance next to the gravely-injured female Goblin. ¡°Hey ¡­ you okay, little girl?¡± I asked while keeping my eyes on our enemies. I could barely see Bargamus¡¯ and Siggins¡¯ silhouettes in the distance observing the scene. ¡°You all right, there?!¡± one of the two Bloodhound followers asked their leader. Despite them making growling beast noises, just like with Siggins, I was able to understand them with the [World Language Comprehension] skill. The leader shook himself and turned his attention to me with a growling snarl, ¡°What the hell are you doing here, weak Human?¡± ¡°W-Why Human here?¡± the Goblin girl croaked in confusion. Her way of speaking was different from what I heard, which consisted of ¡®gi¡¯s¡¯ and ¡®ga¡¯s¡¯, but I imagined that was how her Goblin language was spoken. I doubted her Intelligence stat had anything to do with her speech patterns, but her comprehension could be another story. How can I explain this in small words to a being with low intelligence? I thought quickly before turning my gaze in the Goblin¡¯s direction, looking right into her large, beady black eyes with a hand on my chest, ¡°Human ... have offer ... for Goblin. Human ... save Goblin ... Goblin ¡­ belong to Human. Human care for Goblin ... Goblin work for Human. Goblin accept?¡± ¡°Human care ¡­ for Goblin?¡± she asked while pointing her finger at herself. She didn¡¯t seem phased by the fact that I was able to communicate with her, which no doubt saved us valuable time Though I had to wonder if her lack of surprise was a good or bad thing. I quickly nodded, ¡°Yes. Will Goblin accept Human¡¯s offer?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. Goblin takes Human¡¯s offer!¡± she exclaimed with slight desperation. ¡°We have a deal,¡± I confirmed before I squatted down to look her in the eye and placed my hand on the Goblin¡¯s head of black hair, ¡°[Tame].¡± With the spell started, I began pouring my MP into her being, right on the noggin.
Taming successful. Goblin * has become your Companion. Please give a name to¡ª
Don¡¯t have time for that now! ¡°[Heal!]¡± I interrupted, casting [Heal] on my new Goblin Companion. From what I practiced last night, casting this spell at LV 2 was enough to close even her most severe wounds and fully recover her LP bar. The Goblin also regained some color I didn¡¯t know was lost before. This gave her look a healthier shade of green, making her more invigorated than earlier, but we weren¡¯t out of the woods yet. I stood in front of my Goblin and readied my weapon, ¡°Stay behind me and wait for my signal. We¡¯re going to win this first battle as Tamer and Companion!¡± ¡°Yes, Human!¡± she replied. Right now, we need to survive this first battle. Whatever Bargamus was expecting of me, I wasn¡¯t going to let this chance slip by. I was going to show him how much I¡¯m willing to fight, no matter how much stronger my opponent was, even if it was him. Also, there was no way I¡¯d let this chance to power up and get ahead of my other classmates pass me by, either. Chapter 4: Surviving a Ridiculous Battle ¡°Stay behind me and wait for my signal. We¡¯re going to win this first battle as Tamer and Companion!¡± I exclaimed to my new Goblin Companion. ¡°Yes, Human!¡± she replied. I admit it was rather strange for these Bloodhounds to not attack me while I was distracted. Maybe they were wary of what I could do after ambushing them from behind earlier? Well, that didn¡¯t matter, they were all rarin¡¯ to go for a fight now, and so were we. ¡°Alright, bitches, who¡¯s up first?¡± I barked at the Bloodhounds. ¡°Don¡¯t get so cocky, weak Human! Attack!¡± the leader roared back in his canine language. Ticked off by my taunt, they took the first move. The one on my left attacked first, pouncing at me with his maw wide open for a bite, but I had my practice sword take my place. Thankfully, my weapon was sturdy enough to not break from the Bloodhound¡¯s jaw strength as he bit into it. The second hound came from my right this time. As the first was still holding onto my sword, I used this to throw him into his comrade, making him lose his grip as both of them were knocked down. The third hound of the pack, the leader, saw me wide open and came in for the kill. Unfortunately for him, I had learned quickly from my sparring this morning the value of letting your opponent think you¡¯re vulnerable. After I threw the first two Bloodhounds away, I was in a good position for a wind up before swinging my sword like a baseball bat and hitting the leader on his side, knocking him in the opposite direction of his henchmen and isolating him all alone. With that impact and his earlier damage from my ambush, he was all but finished. ¡°Go! Take him out!¡± I ordered while pointing at the leader. ¡°Gaaaaaaa!¡± my Goblin Companion screamed with a war cry, pouncing on the leader while he was down and heading straight for the jugular. Just as the Bloodhounds did, my Goblin used her small, but pointy teeth to bite deeply into the wolf monster¡¯s neck. After piercing through the fur and skin, my Goblin tore a piece of flesh right off his body. The Bloodhound leader cried in pain, but my Goblin didn¡¯t stop. She was relentless, biting and tearing off more and more of her predator-turned-prey¡¯s flesh with great ferocity and a bit of rage until his struggles died off. I wondered if she had some beef with these monsters before I ran into them. A howl then made me remember we weren¡¯t alone right before I saw the leader¡¯s comrades coming to save him. ¡°Oh, no you don¡¯t!¡± I exclaimed as I stepped between them. With my sword overhead, I brought it down on the Bloodhound on the right before kicking back and knocking over the other. Looking over my shoulder, I saw the leader¡¯s LP was 0. ¡°Hey! That one¡¯s dead! Help me take these guys down!¡± I exclaimed as I put my foot on my left enemy¡¯s back, near his scapula. This kept him pinned down with his neck vulnerable for my Goblin to finish him off. ¡°Gaaaaa!¡± my Goblin cried again, reading my intentions as she went for the monster I pinned down. She did the same as she did the leader and relentlessly tore away his comrade¡¯s neck. The third Bloodhound tried to come and stop it, but I kicked him away, and it was then that I noticed he wasn¡¯t the last one. ¡°More of them?!¡± I exclaimed as I noticed four more coming our way by the LP and MP boxes I saw over their heads with my [Appraisal] skill. I wondered why they were coming this way from such a far distance, but then I remembered a howl that happened not too long ago. That bastard called for reinforcements! What¡¯s more, none of them are girls, either! Goddammit, I have no use for dudes in my monster girl harem! ¡°Brace yourself! More of them are coming our way!¡± I exclaimed as I knocked over the third Bloodhound once more and pinned him down with my foot. ¡°Goblin kill them aaaaall!¡± she screamed before biting into and killing her third victim. Man, this girl¡¯s hardcore, I thought as I prepped my weapon and prepared for the approaching Bloodhounds with a vicious smile, I don¡¯t hate that in a girl, though. If she¡¯s willing to continue fighting, then I gotta do the same at her side! ~~ ¡°I-Is it over? Are there no more?¡± I asked after some time had passed, amidst the numerous bodies of Bloodhounds scattered around the area. My Goblin was in a fighting stance, ready to attack at a moment¡¯s notice as she surveyed the area with me. Just as I thought I could relax, I noticed a pair of bars floating over the tall shrubs and grass, both full and drawing ever closer our way. Almost immediately, this other Bloodhound bounded from his hiding place and dashed toward me at full speed. ¡°[Shock]!¡± I screamed while pointing an open palm in my enemy¡¯s direction at the last minute. A bolt of lightning jumped from my hand and zapped the Bloodhound, halting him in his tracks before he dropped down. Electricity jumped from strand to strand in his fur as he tried to get back up. Looking at his bars, I saw there was a lightning symbol lingering above them. The LP bar in question already had a quarter of its total gone after my magic attack. He¡¯s paralyzed! I yelled in my mind, taking the opportunity to run over and kick the Bloodhound while it was recovering. From what I¡¯ve read, *Paralyze* slows the target¡¯s movements down, but it doesn¡¯t stop them completely. They can still move a bit, if jerkily, and could theoretically still get in a lucky hit. Or bite in this case. By kicking the Bloodhound away, I created a cushion of safe space between him and my Goblin Companion. The Bloodhound rolled a fair distance before coming to a stop on his side. Approaching him, I delivered blow after blow with my foot and sword without stopping. He was quite durable, only losing a little LP with each blow, but considering this one was at LV 8, the strongest I had seen among the pack and the likely alpha, its toughness compared to me made sense. The Bloodhound¡¯s life was nearing its end, and as the cooldown from my spell finished, I aimed my palm at him once more. ¡°[Shock]!¡± I yelled a final time, sending one more bolt of lightning to the weakened Bloodhound, frying his body and draining the last of his LP. Just as I did and the monster stopped moving, I noticed a startling detail I had overlooked in the heat of the battle. Goddammit ¡­ this one¡¯s a female, and a strong one, too. I got too carried away, I thought before sighing, Whatever, there are other opportunities, anyway. After I made sure there weren¡¯t any more enemies present, I dropped my weapon and collapsed against the nearest tree, bloodied from head to foot, ¡°Finally ¡­ no more ¡­ but for the love of god ¡­ why weren¡¯t there ¡­ any girls among them? Aside from the last one ¡­ I mean.¡± To backtrack a little, when we were halfway through the second wave of Bloodhounds, one of the remainders howled for backup again, and five more of them showed up, all a little stronger than the last. Including that last female, my Goblin Companion and I ended up taking down thirteen Bloodhounds in one sitting. My main strategy was weakening them before allowing my Goblin to finish them off. If this worked similarly to monster tamer games back home, I figured she¡¯d get the most EXP if she dealt the last blow. Sure, this world¡¯s leveling system may be different from what I expected but I figured it couldn¡¯t hurt to try. We got injured with some severe bites here and there, but I was able to cast [Heal] in between blows to mend our wounds and push through until we finally killed the last of them. I didn¡¯t realize my Goblin Companion was staring at me the whole time I fought that last Bloodhound until I turned my head in her direction. She was clearly speechless at what had just transpired. ¡°Looks like we did it, huh?¡± I blurted out before smiling and chuckling awkwardly. ¡°M-Mm,¡± my Goblin said while nodding lightly. ¡°That ¡­ was incredible, Chris,¡± Bargamus said as he and Siggins approached us from the side. ¡°Graaaaaaugh,¡± my Goblin hissed, going on all fours and getting ready to pounce as she noticed their presence. Despite my lack of energy, I had to rush over and stand in front of my Companion with my arms spread wide, ¡°No no no! It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, these guys are good! They won¡¯t hurt us!¡± ¡°¡­ Good guys ¡­ no hurt?¡± I nodded quickly, ¡°Yes, these two are my friends. They are yours, too, so please calm down.¡± ¡°¡­ Mm,¡± the little Goblin responded, looking satisfied with my answer. My Goblin then began eating her spoils, choice pieces of meat from the Bloodhound¡¯s corpses, though she kept a wary eye on Bargamus and Siggins. I sighed in relief, at saving my new Goblin Companion from getting destroyed by someone far stronger than a Bloodhound, and turned to Bargamus, ¡°Sorry about that. She¡¯s still a little on edge.¡± Bargamus gave a hearty laugh, ¡°I can imagine! Ye two were fighting fer yer lives out there! We saw th¡¯ whole thing! Ye did a hell of a job fer a rookie Tamer, especially at th¡¯ end there!¡± He then gave me an earnest slap on the back, ¡°That [Shock] spell looked mighty strong fer someone of yer level! And th¡¯ way ye established a link between yerself and yer Goblin, beautiful! Bein¡¯ able t¡¯ cast [Heal] fo¡¯ yer Companion was especially helpful!¡± Aw, crap, I cast magic in the heat of the moment forgetting he was there ¡­ wait, he¡¯s not taking advantage of the situation to kill both of us? I thought, remembering Bargamus was a Demon, and thus ought to be this kingdom¡¯s sworn enemy, If he¡¯s using this chance to praise us, instead ¡­ ¡°Hey, you think you can keep what happened here between us?¡± I asked awkwardly before giving a wry smile. Bargamus¡¯ and Siggins¡¯ eyes widened. ¡°Huh? Why? Don¡¯ th¡¯ king n¡¯ th¡¯ other heroes already know what ye are capable of?¡± the former asked. Huh, does this mean he wasn¡¯t informed of my status beforehand? I thought before averting my gaze and scratched my head, ¡°Not ¡­ all of it, anyway.¡± Bargamus stroked his beard in thought, ¡°Hmm, okay. I don¡¯ know how ye pulled it off, but I¡¯ll come up wit¡¯ a story on our way back.¡± It was my turn to have my eyes widened, ¡°You¡¯re seriously helping me out, just like that?¡± ¡°Keepin¡¯ some skills and spells hidden is common practice ¡®round these parts, boy,¡± he explained, ¡°We all have our reasons fer doin¡¯ it, an¡¯ I¡¯m sure yer th¡¯ same. Besides, I¡¯m takin¡¯ a likin¡¯ to ya, Chris, and th¡¯ people yer hidin¡¯ yer stuff from include Omar, himself, and I¡¯d follow yer example of hidin¡¯ yer shit from him, especially.¡± To give a reason like that to someone of an enemy race ¡­ do we actually have a common enemy in mind? What was that other name he went by, again? ¡°¡­ Thank you, Augustus,¡± I thanked before my stomach growled loudly, so much that I felt enough pain from it to hold my gut, ¡°H-Ha ha, right, I didn¡¯t even have lunch yet, and it¡¯s close to dinner time, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Hold on, boy, I think I should have some ¡­ oh?¡± Bargamus started before he noticed something, and so I followed his gaze. My Goblin stood right in front of me, holding up what looked like a bloodied liver from one of the Bloodhounds. Specifically, the last one I killed based on the hole in the corpse¡¯s belly that wasn¡¯t there before. The liver itself even looked a little singed and cooked from the electricity of my [Shock] spell. As for the Goblin, she was an utter mess, blood and dirt all over her body, animal pelt skirt, and especially around her mouth. Despite the more grotesque aspects of her appearance, I found the little Goblin strangely adorable, especially her big, beady black eyes. It was like she was reenacting the scene where that orphan boy asked, ¡®Please, sir, may I have some more?¡¯ Except that it didn¡¯t look like the Goblin wanted anything from me. Wait, is she offering me some of her food because she noticed how hungry I was? ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry about me. These are all yours to eat. Go ahead and dig in,¡± I said with a hand wave while smiling, trying not to look repulsed by her offering. My Goblin shook her head and thrusted the liver up higher, ¡°Human, hungry, food must eat. Human, eat Bloodhound Human kill. Goblin get tasty part for Human. Human, eat.¡± Bargamus tapped my shoulder and leaned in close to my ear, ¡°A Tamer needs t¡¯ take any opportunity t¡¯ bond wit¡¯ their Companion. I must warn ye, most monster meats don¡¯ taste good when not cooked, but they¡¯re still edible. A Bloodhound¡¯s liver is pretty decent.¡± I¡¯m gonna have to accept her offering, aren¡¯t I? Well, can¡¯t really turn down gifts under these circumstances, and I have [Restore] in case I get food poisoning. Then again, does [Poison Resistance] at my level prevent food poisoning by itself? I thought as I kneeled down to my Goblin¡¯s level and took the liver from her small hands. After I steeled my face from showing my disgust, as well as my nerves and gag reflexes, I tentatively took a few bites out of the raw, bloodied, and lukewarm meat. Gammy, bitter, a little slimy, a rank smell, and lots of iron. It took everything I had to try to chew and swallow it all without vomiting while my Goblin watched. I then forced a smile and held the half-eaten liver back to her, ¡°Mmm, so good, I¡¯m already full! Thank you very much!¡± My Goblin seemed satisfied with my performance as she smiled brightly before taking the rest of the liver and eating it ravenously. Bargamus slapped my back in earnest, silently congratulating me for toughing it through. ¡°So! I¡¯m assumin¡¯ we¡¯ll sit back and wait fer her to get done wit¡¯ her spoils? What¡¯s her name, by th¡¯ way?¡± Bargamus asked.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. I blinked in surprise, ¡°Oh, yeah, there was a notice that asked what I wanted to name her earlier.¡± Just as I said that, the same status box I saw earlier came back up.
Taming successful. Goblin * has become your Companion. Please give a name to your new Companion.
It read like that while blinking furiously, as if demanding for me to come up with something right now. ¡°Right, I should give her a name, let¡¯s see ¡­¡± I trailed off in thought before I noticed something in the distance. It was a small grouping of flowers with the setting sun¡¯s light shining down on it in rays of yellow-orange. The first flower that caught my eyes was a lily with red-orange petals. I went over, picked it from the flower patch, and brought it back to my Goblin Companion, who stopped eating to stare at me in confusion. I arranged the flower to be nestled in the crook of her large, green, pointy, chihuahua-like ear and black hair. ¡°Lily. Goblin¡¯s name, Lily,¡± I said.
Name confirmed. Lily of the Goblins is now your Companion. 200 SP has been rewarded for your successful tame.
Shit, I can earn SP by taming Companions, too? Do you usually get that much? Wonder if how you do it, and what species you¡¯re taming, and maybe even their level compared to your own, makes any difference? I thought, temporarily distracted by my internal barrage of questions until Lily spoke up. ¡°¡­ Lily?¡± she asked while pointing to herself. The newly named Lily didn¡¯t say it correctly, it came out as ¡®Gigi¡¯ in Goblin language instead, but I figured she¡¯d get the hang of it in time. ¡°Yes. ¡®Lily¡¯ is your name now. Goblin, named Lily,¡± I confirmed while resting a hand on her chest. ¡°Goblin is Lily!¡± she exclaimed in excitement while jumping in place. ¡°Yes, Goblin¡¯s name is Lily,¡± I repeated before patting my chest, ¡°Me, Human¡¯s name, Chris.¡± Lily halted her jumping and stared with widened black eyes while pointing at me, ¡°Human¡¯s ¡­ name?¡± ¡°Yes. Me, my name, is Chris. Chris,¡± I repeated while slowly drawing my name out and patting my chest again. Lily closed her eyes tightly and concentrated, ¡°Gi ¡­ G-Gr ¡­ Grrrrriiiiiiisssssss.¡± Like a parent hearing their child¡¯s first word, I got overly excited and gave her an applause, ¡°Heey, that¡¯s pretty good on your first try! Well done! Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get the hang of it with practice, and you¡¯ll say your own name, too!¡± ¡°¡­ Gigi ¡­ Grrriiisss,¡± she repeated while pointing a finger first at herself, then me. ¡°Yes, yes, very good, Lily! Good girl!¡± I praised her while petting her hair. Seeing how dark green and bashful she got while looking down made me internally squeal like a schoolgirl. Oh my god, I adore her, already! I screamed in my head. ~~ As Lily ate her fill, Bargamus took a knife he had on hand and cut off an ear from each of the Bloodhound corpses. Apparently, bringing a certain piece of a monster¡¯s body back to an adventurer¡¯s guild can be an indicator that you subjugated a Monster. One could also scavenge other body parts from Monsters to sell back for some extra money, so long as they¡¯re in a good enough condition. While I saw it from Bargamus¡¯ status already, there was a [Disassemble] skill one could learn that allows the user to take apart monster bodies more efficiently. For now, Bargamus was just going to turn in those ears and then hand all the reward money over to me, saying that I earned it for the hard work we did today. I was excited to get some money I could put aside for after I left the castle, but the whole plan left me with many baffling questions. Does the adventurer¡¯s guild here not know that Bargamus is a Demon too? Was it through them that Omar hired him to tutor me? Lily¡¯s eating picked up pace as she ate more, and I wondered if her increased stats or levels had affected her speed in any way. By the time she was finished, the Bloodhounds were nothing but bones, and she had a rounded belly and a contented smile on her face. The loud belch that started from her gut told everyone how much she enjoyed her meal. While I was honestly impressed that Lily got all that meat in her, I had to teach her some manners while she was still developing. Goblins were one of the most common humanoid monsters, after all, allowing them to do a variety of things Humans can do. If they can learn how to fight and grow stronger, then the same should apply to etiquette. I grew more confident that I had made the right choice in Lily for my first Companion. That aside, I took that moment to see if I could view all of Lily¡¯s improved stats as her Tamer, and the results didn¡¯t disappoint. ~~
Name Lily Age 58 days
Species Goblin, Female Job None
Level 9 SP 985
LP 200 / 200 MP 42 / 42
Strength 83 Magic 20
Vitality 45 Shell 20
Speed 115 Dexterity 90
Charm 40 Intelligence 55
Skills Physical Olfactory Sense LV 4
Bite LV 4
Digging LV 3
Night Vision LV 3
Dagger Mastery LV 2
Disassembly LV 1
Spells None
~~ When I first met Lily, she was only LV 1, with stats just as bad, if not worse than a Human civilian. After all the fighting and eating, however, she had gained a significant boost to her stats and levels. I hadn¡¯t been able to see what Lily¡¯s skills and skill points were when I first appraised her, but I did see enough of her status to see a difference after the battle. From this, I theorized which skills she already had and which she had gained, and how she acquired them. I imagine all the biting she did along with eating Bloodhounds allowed her to learn and raise proficiency of the [Bite] skill just now. [Olfactory Sense] was also likely from her meal of Bloodhounds. [Dagger Mastery] and [Disassembly] must have been skills she learned before she got separated from her Goblin pack. [Night Vision] and [Digging] might also be skills she knew before, but she likely raised their proficiency through eating the Bloodhounds. After considering all the ways Lily could have learned her various skills, I was shocked at how many she had, and the levels at which she had them. Some of those high leveled skills had to be brand new, which illustrated just how fast their proficiency levels had been raised. Omar did explain to our class yesterday that some skills that are easy to learn will be just as fast to level up depending on our Intelligence level, but I doubt it would be that fast. Recalling the skills I looked over last night, I imagined my [Companion Growth Boost (High)] and [Companion Training] skills had something to do with Lily¡¯s rapid growth. When I pulled them up last night, their descriptions went like this:
[Companion Growth Boost (High)]: Allows the Companion(s) linked with the user to gain a significant boost in their growth.
[Companion Training]: Allows the user to efficiently train their tamed Companions in skills, stats, and other areas. Higher levels increase the user¡¯s effectiveness and how much of what the Companions have learned will be retained.
The description for [Companion Training] was understandable enough and [Companion Growth Boost]¡¯s was almost self-explanatory, but it didn¡¯t specify what part of a Companion¡¯s growth was being boosted. Is it the stats? How quickly Companions level up? The rate of mastering skills? What about Intelligence? That seems to play a large part in our learning curves in this world. I wanted to ask Bargamus if he knew, being a Tamer himself; but, even if he said he¡¯d cover for me in hiding my true skills, I was still hesitant to reveal everything so soon after meeting him, especially since he was a Demon. In the end, I decided that I would hold off until I got to know him better. Despite how vague the [Companion Growth Boost (High)] skill was, I was glad I hid it along with a bunch of other skills with [Counterfeit] when we had our statuses revealed to everyone. Going back to what Bargamus explained, even if a Monster didn¡¯t fight, they can still increase stats and level up by eating other monsters, at rates dependent on how strong they were when alive. All the Bloodhounds were between levels 3 to 5, and with the last one I killed at LV 8, it¡¯d make sense for Lily to get such a big boost in that regard, especially her Speed, which was the highest in her stats. Her Intelligence had also gained a great boost, too, making her a little smarter, enough to better speak my language and learn new things, no doubt. Finally, as far as I could see, a monster can gain 100 SP with each level up they achieve. I found out I was the same after checking my status upon reaching LV 2, plus extra thanks to [Skill Point Acquisition Boost] for giving me a little bonus. With Lily¡¯s 985, we have a lot to work with that I¡¯d have to go over with her later. Oh, and before I forget, here is what I have after that battle. ~~
Name Christopher Monty Age 18
Race Human, Male Job Monster Tamer
Level 6 (+5) Skill Points (SP) 1250 (+950)
Life Points (LP) 350 / 350 (+200) Magic Points (MP) 280 / 450 (+70)
Strength 95 (+15) Magic 175 (+55)
Vitality 90 (+25) Shell 180 (+15)
Speed 90 (+10) Dexterity 75 (+35)
Charm 15 (+10) Intelligence 320 (+20)
Skills
Mental Skeptic LV MAX
Perception LV 4
Learning Boost (High)*
Appraisal LV 3
Job Monster Charmer LV MAX
Companion Training LV 4
Companion Bond LV 4
Companion Growth Boost (High)*
Monster Charm Boost (High)*
Resistances Charm Resistance LV MAX
Poison Resistance LV 2 (New)
Other Counterfeit LV 4
Experience Multiplier Boost (Medium)*
Skill Point Acquisition Boost*
Skill Point Conversion*
World Language Comprehension*
Spells
Job Tame LV 3
Grace Heal LV 2 (+1)
Restore LV 2 (+1)
Destruction Shock LV 1 (New)
Taint LV 2 (New)
~~ Finally ready to depart, I had Lily sit on my shoulders¡ªand, I had to admit, she was heavier than she looked, probably because of all the food she ate¡ªwhile Bargamus led the way out of the forest and back into the capital. At the gate, he generously paid our tolls so Lily and I would be allowed inside. I offered to give some of the money I would earn to pay for mine and Lily¡¯s share, but he brushed it off. Despite the differences in our races, the more I talked and hung out with this guy, the more I was growing to like Bargamus. He was like a big ol¡¯ teddy bear. Still, that begged the question of what made him different from Humans. I couldn¡¯t see any distinguishing features that would mark him as classically demonic to me. If I hadn¡¯t used [Appraisal] on him earlier, I¡¯d totally be fooled into thinking he was a Human like me judging off of appearances alone. We first made a quick stop at the adventurer¡¯s guild so Bargamus could turn in the ears and I used their facilities to quickly clean the blood off Lily and I. I would help give Lily a thorough bath later, but it was best I get as much blood off us as we could before we arrived at the castle. She was very cooperative, surprisingly enough, following all my directions on where and how to wash herself before letting me rinse her off with a bucket of water. Bargamus even bought a cheap shirt and pants sized for a child from the guild for Lily to wear, so I had her put them on immediately after we were done. There weren¡¯t any shoes, unfortunately, but she was barefoot when I found her, so I figured she could handle it for now. I¡¯d still like to get her some decent footwear as soon as possible, though. Once we got clean, we stepped out and Bargamus was waiting for us in the guild¡¯s lobby with a pouch of money in hand¡ªSiggins waited outside since he was too big to come into the building. From there, Bargamus gave me a bit of an economics lesson by showing me copper and silver coins of different sizes, explaining to me each of their values in the kingdom¡¯s currency they called trills. For subjugating thirteen Bloodhounds, I was given 1,300 trills, which Bargamus arranged to be two medium silver coins, two small silvers, one large copper, a medium copper, and twenty-five small coppers. There were also large silvers, and then the next tier of coins made of gold that also had the small, medium, and large sizes. As for what 1,300 trills could get me, I was told I could stay at a cheap inn for two nights, plus one meal each day, and that wouldn¡¯t include buying hot water and a towel to wash yourself with. That didn¡¯t even take my Companion into consideration, which would cost extra if I had to rent a stable for the bigger ones like Siggins. I was facing the heavy reality of how advanced and convenient Earth was now, as well as how much luxury the royals have to own bathtubs for their personal use. Running away from the castle meant I had to live frugally while taking care of Lily along with my other Companions if I wanted to form my monster girl harem, but that¡¯s nothing compared to living on the battlefield during a war. Until the moment we leave this place, I had to earn however much I could, and then bite the bullet and tighten up my money belt when the time came to flee. Chapter 5: The Big Eating Goblin Companion ¡°Now, then, let¡¯s get some grub! My treat!¡± Bargamus suddenly exclaimed after my economics lesson was done. My reaction was delayed, ¡°... What?¡± ¡°Bet yer hungry again after all that walkin¡¯ an¡¯ such, eh?¡± Bargamus asked, ¡°Th¡¯ guild here also serves meals an¡¯ drinks fer adventurers and the occasional guest. Ye an¡¯ Lily save us a good seat, I¡¯m gonna put in an order an¡¯ check in on Siggins.¡± ¡°W-Wait, then for my food, let me give you enough for¡ª¡± At the mention of food, not just my stomach, but Lily¡¯s small one too, growled impatiently. I hadn¡¯t noticed until then, but my Goblin¡¯s food baby belly had gone down surprisingly quick during our walk. ¡°You¡¯re hungry again after all that, Lily?¡± I asked, ¡°Man, I got my work cut out for me. A-Anyway, let me pay for the food for myself and Lily here.¡± Bargamus gave a hearty chuckle, ¡°Keep it an¡¯ save it fer somethin¡¯ more worthwhile. It was my fault for takin¡¯ ye out there so quick without checkin¡¯ whether ye ate yet, so let me do that much for ye. ¡®Sides, I wan¡¯ t¡¯ take this chance t¡¯ talk t¡¯ ye on some things, if ye don¡¯ mind?¡± I shook my head, ¡°Not at all. I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you some things while we eat, too.¡± Bargamus waved a hand, ¡°Of course, of course. Now, go get us a seat an¡¯ get comfortable with Lily. I¡¯ll be back in a bit.¡± With that, we obliged and took a table that was sitting in a corner, a good area to ask some of my more concerning questions without attracting the attention of unwanted passersby. Then again, the guild was bustling with adventurers and patrons drinking and blabbering the night away. It may be a bit more difficult to talk over the noise than to not let anyone overhear us. ¡°This place is pretty packed, eh, Lily? Are you doing okay there?¡± I asked her as she sat next to me. ¡°Lily ¡­ okay,¡± she answered in Goblin, still mispronouncing her name as ¡®Gigi.¡¯ ¡°You¡¯ll probably like the food here better than what you¡¯ve had up to now, but I¡¯ll get you more Monsters to eat when I can,¡± I said while taking one of Lily¡¯s small arms and flexing it before patting the bicep, ¡°You¡¯ve got a healthy appetite, so I gotta get you lots to eat so you can grow big and strong.¡± I flexed my own arm to demonstrate, though compared to the adventurers here, especially Bargamus, my ¡®muscle¡¯ wasn¡¯t all that impressive. Lily imitated my gesture and flexed her own arm tighter with a furrowed brow, ¡°Strong ¡­ yes. Lily will grow strong. Lily want to be strong.¡± I patted Lily¡¯s head, ¡°You were so strong back there, Lily, and you will only get even stronger from here. I promise you, I¡¯ll help you be the strongest Goblin you can be.¡± Lily took the hand that was patting her head and held it in both of her own. Her hands were so small compared to mine, I could cover most of both of them with just one of my own. She felt her way around my palm, pressing different parts with her small thumbs, while she stared at it with a calm, but determined gaze. ¡°Lily ¡­ will grow strong ¡­ for family ¡­ for Grrriiiisssss,¡± she muttered in her breath. This might be a bad time to mention with this serious air, but I can¡¯t help but think how adorable Lily looked playing with my hand like this. Yes, Lily, I¡¯ll help you grow super strong ¡­ and super cute, I thought, fantasizing the future ahead of me a little. Sometime later, Bargamus returned and took a seat across from us with three mugs. Two of the liquids were a light amber color, while one was darker and redder, and they were all filled to the brim. ¡°Sorry fer th¡¯ wait. Figured I¡¯d get us some drinks t¡¯ celebrate th¡¯ occasion,¡± he said as he set the two light amber drinks in front of me and Lily. ¡°Uh ¡­ I¡¯m not at the drinking age yet, and Lily¡¯s not even close to it,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Don¡¯ know what th¡¯ age is where yer from, but it is 15 years old ¡®round these parts,¡± Bargamus informed, ¡°Don¡¯ worry, though, those ales are on th¡¯ weaker side in alcohol. Bitter, but not so much like ye will get hammered wit¡¯ a single drink, unless yer a lightweight. I wouldn¡¯ even call ¡®em proper drinks.¡± Just to make sure, I used [Appraisal] on both our drinks, and like Bargamus said, the alcohol content was quite low, and there wasn¡¯t any poison spiked in either of them. Well ¡­ I¡¯d be a little more comfortable if I had my first drink with Dad, but this is as close as I¡¯ll get under these circumstances, I guess, I thought before looking over at Lily and nodding to her that it was okay. ¡°A toast,¡± Bargamus started while raising his mug, and I had Lily copy what I did as we held up our own drinks, ¡°T¡¯ th¡¯ success of tamin¡¯ yer first Companion, an¡¯ walkin¡¯ out of a hard-fought battle together. May the journeys ahead be good an¡¯ memorable t¡¯ th¡¯ two o¡¯ ye and others that join ye ¡®long th¡¯ way. Cheers.¡± ¡°Cheers.¡± ¡°... Cheers,¡± Lily followed after me in Goblin. We clinked our mugs and took our first sips. Though the alcohol volume was quite low in our ales, it was bitter enough for Lily and I to scrunch our faces in slight disgust. The sight was apparently funny enough for Bargamus to bust a gut at our expense. Figures, this really is one of those ¡®acquired tastes.¡¯ I don¡¯t see myself drinking this very often. Even Lily¡¯s gagging at the taste, I thought. I then asked one of the nearest servers for two of whatever juice they might have. They quickly came back with two glasses of orange juice¡ªI used [Appraisal] on both to check for strange additives¡ªand we felt much more refreshed after using the sweet, acidic drink to wash away the alcohol¡¯s bitter aftertaste. Lily enjoyed it enough to try and down the whole glass, making a mess as liquid dribbled from her chin and onto her shirt. ¡°So ¡­ Augustus, I¡¯d like to ask a few things first, if you don¡¯t mind,¡± I said while wiping Lily¡¯s face with a napkin, remembering Bargamus¡¯ false name he was using. ¡°Fire away, but keep it slow this time,¡± he answered, referring to how I buried him with my own questions earlier. ¡°First off, you really don¡¯t like Omar and how he¡¯s running things around here as king, do you?¡± I asked straight up. ¡°I won¡¯ deny that fact,¡± he answered honestly before taking a drink. ¡°So, how¡¯d you end up taking the job of being my Tamer tutor?¡± Bargamus shrugged, ¡°Simple. Omar put in a request t¡¯ th¡¯ guild here fer th¡¯ finest adventurers wit¡¯ specific Jobs at th¡¯ last minute. I was th¡¯ best Tamer nearby, so th¡¯ guildmaster scouted me n¡¯ a couple others. We accepted th¡¯ quest, an¡¯ here we are.¡± ¡°Was the pay really good enough to make you overlook your dislike of Omar, or was there some other reason you accepted? Surely, if you explained you didn¡¯t like him to such an extent, the guild would have just found the next best Tamer to take your place, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Ye¡¯d be right in that, boy, an¡¯ under any other circumstances, I¡¯d pretend that request never existed, but ¡­ I have me own reasons t¡¯ take ¡®tis opportunity, reasons far beyond what money could buy,¡± he answered while looking down, his face stern. It didn¡¯t look like Bargamus was willing to go into details. I decided to play it safe and not press him further on it. ¡°Are you familiar with the situation me and the others are in right now? Why Omar had tutors assigned to us?¡± I asked, making sure not to spill too much about me and my class being from another world. He nodded, ¡°Aye, he told us himself after we took on th¡¯ quest. We would not have known anythin¡¯ about ye lads if we didn¡¯.¡± ¡°And what are your thoughts to his approach? To send people like us onto the battlefield, fighting for his kingdom in this war?¡± I asked with a raised brow. Bargamus took a moment to drink his alcohol before answering, ¡°T¡¯ me? ¡®Tis nothin¡¯ more than kidnappin¡¯ pups an¡¯ throwin¡¯ them in th¡¯ lion¡¯s den with expectations of victory. Even if ye trained ¡®em a little, it doesn¡¯ change th¡¯ fact they¡¯re bein¡¯ forced t¡¯ do somethin¡¯ terrifyin¡¯ in an unfamiliar place. One er two other adventurers who took this on felt th¡¯ same, but th¡¯ rest could care less and was only in it fer th¡¯ good money. It baffles me how Humans handle businesses like this.¡± Oh my god ¡­ someone finally gets it! This is so big, I think I¡¯m gonna cry tears of joy! I yelled in my mind. Sure, Bargamus could be lying out of his ass and just saying all that to lower my guard. Nonetheless, I don¡¯t know why, but there was something in my gut telling me that I could believe in this Demon, that he was telling the truth. Maybe it was the effects of my [Skeptic] skill kicking in? ¡°Now, I¡¯ll be turnin¡¯ that question back t¡¯ ye, boy¡± Bargamus then said, ¡°How do ye feel, getting¡¯ pulled out here all of a sudden an¡¯ asked t¡¯ go t¡¯ war?¡± ¡°I want no part of this, of course,¡± I answered honestly, while looking down at my orange juice, ¡°Just like you said, Omar basically kidnapped us to fight this battle for him, and we can¡¯t get back home until we defeat the Demon King and win the war. Easier said than done, but even if we pulled it off, how do we even know he¡¯ll keep his word and send us back? How did he get us here in the first place? What are the conditions to bring someone here and send them back? Why did this kingdom go into war with the Demons in the first place? These questions were never brought up because Rosalina and Marcus helped Omar sweet-talk everyone into accepting everything right away. It¡¯s like I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s aware of what¡¯s going on. Even if I can¡¯t get back, I¡¯d rather keep on living on my own than fight for someone or something when I don¡¯t know all the details. ¡°That¡¯s why ¡­ when an opportunity arises, I plan on escaping Omar¡¯s clutches. I will abandon this war, and find some other way to live in this world with Lily at my side. If I¡¯m going to die in this world, I¡¯d rather do it on my own terms and not because I was forced into a corner by someone else¡¯s hand,¡± I declared before downing the rest of my juice to quench my thirst. ¡°It seems ye have a good idea on what ye want t¡¯ do,¡± Bargamus said, ¡°An¡¯ just for curiosity¡¯s sake, what¡¯s yer take on Demons in general? How do ye see th¡¯ forces this kingdom is fightin¡¯ against?¡± ¡°Omar was hinting that Demons are all ¡®evil¡¯ plenty enough, but those royals aren¡¯t total saints, either,¡± I answered while fixing my glasses, ¡°As a bystander to this war, I have no reason to trust his claims without some evidence to back them up. Hell, even if a Demon were to explain to me in person the situation on their side, I¡¯d take that with as much grain of salt as I would for the Humans for the same reason. Until I get sufficient evidence that confirms either sides¡¯, or even neither of the sides¡¯ claims, then I can only take the ¡®facts¡¯ they give me as provisional and subject to change. ¡°To be unbiased, objective, and open-minded while considering every possibility is my way of dealing with controversies and conspiracies. Until an absolute truth is brought to light, I will take what intel I can get and carve my own path towards the truth with it. If neither side is willing to make a constructive argument and find some way to achieve full cooperation, then I want no part in any of it. That¡¯s basically what this war is all about, a last resort to claim which side is ¡®right¡¯ by means of victory, the means of which I would never rely for confirmation of facts with one-hundred-percent certainty, especially when the lives of many, Human, Demon, or otherwise, are at stake.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Bargamus stared at me wide-eyed, speechless with a half-full mug in hand. Lily only sat there looking confused. I felt exasperated and rubbed my eyes under my glasses, ¡°Sorry, I might have preached too much. I guess I was so frustrated with everything happening, I needed to vent about this to someone. It¡¯s like everyone in our group has been put under a spell, and I feel like no one would listen to me if I told them. You can take my side of things however you like, Augustus, I¡¯m sorry you had to see me like this.¡± Other than my pets, Betsy and Leslie, Tamy was the only human being who would let me talk her ear off about my frustrations with other people¡¯s shortcomings in logic and reasoning. While I was grateful to have her around as a friend, that left me a little too used to being open about my opinions and wanting to speak them out, at least in certain circumstances. I hadn¡¯t gotten the chance to speak with her much about our situation yet, and Bargamus seemed willing enough to temporarily take her place. I didn¡¯t know why I was willing to open up this much with him, or even if it was safe. Maybe the exhaustion and buzz of alcohol from earlier had conspired together to make me have this lapse in judgement. ¡°No, Chris ¡­ on th¡¯ contrary, I should be th¡¯ one thankin¡¯ ye,¡± Bargamus said, ¡°Fer someone still so young, ye have a special perspective on things that many of us old geezers lack, despite our experiences. If more Humans ¡­ no, more people had yer way o¡¯ thinkin¡¯, then I¡¯m certain relations between countries would be much friendlier.¡± ¡°I only know this much because of the many wars that were recorded in my birthplace¡¯s history, and I had to question those legitimacies since they¡¯re usually written by the victors of such conflicts. Even now, back home, we aren¡¯t even close to coming to peace with, let alone understanding and respecting, each other¡¯s differences ¡­¡± And I don¡¯t think we ever will, not before the moment we all cease to exist, I said in my mind before shrugging, ¡°Almost nobody really listens to my boring drawl, anyway, and arguing with people who aren¡¯t willing to listen makes my efforts pointless. That¡¯s why I¡¯m better off just living how I like to live, not minding anyone¡¯s business other than my own, unless something of benefit to me appears in my sight. I¡¯m not too ashamed of this set of morals to admit that much.¡± ¡°I can get behind that. Ah, our food¡¯s finally ¡¯ere,¡± Bargamus pointed out. A waitress arrived with a large platter of something fried. I say ¡®something,¡¯ because they were bigger than any sort of food I was used to on Earth. Big enough for just one ¡®piece¡¯ to take up a whole plate. I could make out some to be legs, but the other parts were alien to me. It was something that looked to give me a heart attack after eating just one. I was intimidated by the sheer size of it, but Lily had a waterfall of drool dripping from her mouth at the sight. ¡°Lily, don¡¯t openly drool like that. It¡¯s very rude,¡± I lightly scolded while wiping Lily¡¯s face with a napkin. ¡°This is Fried Marshhopper,¡± Bargamus explained, ¡°Common monsters in th¡¯ marshlands near here. Bigger and stronger than regular Bloodhounds, but still manageable t¡¯ take out if yer dealin¡¯ wit¡¯ only one. Fried up like this, they have a great juicy texture that pairs well with the crispy outer shell.¡± ¡°¡­ Are Marshhoppers insect-type monsters?¡± I asked tentatively. ¡°Indeed, they are!¡± After looking at them closely, I could see the legs in particular resembling an insect I was familiar with back home. So ¡­ I¡¯m basically eating a giant grasshopper? I thought. ¡°I¡¯m gonna give Siggins a few pieces t¡¯ eat. Let¡¯s discuss how t¡¯ make our report fer Omar when I get back. Ye two go ahead an¡¯ dig in, an¡¯ order anythin¡¯ else ye may like. My treat,¡± Bargamus said as he took a plate of a few pieces and walked out of the guild. Lily didn¡¯t hesitate and started eating a large piece with her bare hands. Her beady black eyes glimmered upon discovering a tasty flavor unfamiliar to her. ¡°¡­ Could I get a salad for a side, please? And more orange juice?¡± I asked the nearest waitress. It looked like I was going to be here for a while, so I needed something to balance out the nutrition. ~~ Despite my apprehensions, the Fried Marshhopper was surprisingly delicious. It was almost like chicken, but much juicier. Still, after only one piece, a leg at that, plus a side of salad and juice, I couldn¡¯t eat anymore. Bargamus and Lily ended up eating most of the meat, and not only did the latter gain an increase in stats, especially in Speed, she also acquired a new skill, [Jump] LV 1. I could already imagine what that skill could do without even looking at the description. As we ate, Bargamus and I tried to come up with a story of what happened today. In the end, we came up with the pack of Bloodhounds suddenly ambushing us after I successfully tamed Lily, and Bargamus riding to my rescue and taking them all down. He let Lily take the spoils and eat all the Bloodhounds to help make her grow stronger, but that was about the only truth to this story. When I found out the [Counterfeit] skill could also be applied to my Companions during our talk, I made sure Lily¡¯s status was doctored to just show the levels, skills, and stats she gained from eating the Bloodhounds and the Marshhopper. If having your Companion eat enemy monsters differed that much vs defeating them like Bargamus said, then what I had set up should be believable enough. We then discussed what I wanted to do next as a Tamer. If I wanted to escape Omar¡¯s clutches with minimal mistakes, I felt some additional manpower, or should I say ¡®Monster-power,¡¯ would probably be a good thing to have. Getting Lily stronger while we were at it would be ideal, too. From that, Bargamus borrowed a parchment and charcoal pencil, wrote some stuff down while skimming over the guild¡¯s quest board, and handed me a written list of Monsters that appear outside the castle city¡¯s walls. Thanks to my [World Language Comprehension], I was able to understand his writing without a hitch. This skill will definitely be useful for me to get around when I escape. ¡°Look over this list t¡¯night and let me know what catches yer eye t¡¯morrow. Searchin¡¯ fer that monster will be yer next assignment,¡± he said. Once we made our plans for tomorrow, we made our way back to the castle. I never told Bargamus I had [Counterfeit] and other skills, but I did request that he hold onto my reward money for the time being so the others wouldn¡¯t get suspicious. He was already aware of what I want to do, so I thought I¡¯d ask him to do that much, and he accepted without complaint. If he¡¯s this open with me despite our differences in race ¡­ maybe I should think about telling him everything someday, I thought while carrying Lily on my shoulders again. By the time we finally made it back to the castle grounds, it was quite dark, and I was surprised to see that someone was waiting for us at the gates. I was even more surprised when I saw who it was. ¡°Chris! I¡¯m so happy you made it back in one piece!¡± Rachel exclaimed. ¡°Yeah, man, where have you been?! And what is that on your shoulders?!¡± Max asked. I was so shocked by their greeting that I spaced out a bit before answering, ¡°Um, sorry ¡­ we got a little held up. Oh, and this is my new Companion I tamed today, Lily the Goblin. Say hello, Lily.¡± ¡°... Hell ¡­ ohhh,¡± she greeted awkwardly in Landrew while waving her hand, following my directions. ¡°That is so cool! Did you put that flower in her hair, too?! She looks so pretty with it!¡± Rachel exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t have lunch like we did since you left, right? You gotta be starving,¡± Max said before pointing a thumb back to the castle, ¡°Everyone else already ate dinner, but we made sure to put aside some helpings for when you got back. If Lily¡¯s hungry, I bet we could get the cooks to whip her up something, too. You gotta tell us what happened out there over some food.¡± ¡°Uh ¡­¡± I trailed off, thinking whether or not to tell them we already ate, until I heard a familiar growl from Lily. Just as I was realizing how much of a glutton she was, I also realized that she had given me a way out, ¡°¡­ Sure, Lily¡¯s quite hungry after today, right?¡± ¡°Mm!¡± Lily wholeheartedly agreed while nodding. I seriously hope this is only temporary, or we¡¯re going to need to get a ton of Monsters just to satisfy her hunger. ¡°Oh, Augustus,¡± I said, remembering he and Siggins were still with us. Bargamus waved a hand, ¡°Don¡¯ worry about me. Go get yer food and relax a little, ye earned it. I¡¯ll make my report to th¡¯ king. Remember what we agreed on, and if I don¡¯ get fired after tonight, I¡¯ll see ye same time tomorrow.¡± I nodded in confirmation, ¡°Looking forward to it! Thanks for all your help today, Augustus, Siggins. Say thank you and good night to our friends, Lily.¡± ¡°... Thangoo ... goonigh¡± she followed awkwardly while waving her hand again. With that, we parted ways, with me and Lily heading to the banquet hall with Max and Rachel, while Bargamus and Siggins went a different route to meet Omar. The kitchen staff needed time to warm up our meal, which was stew made with meat, potatoes, and carrots, but I didn¡¯t mind. I felt rather lucky that it was this dish, as it was a good way for Lily to start learning how to use silverware and eat with some table manners. She was very attentive as I showed her how to hold the spoon and use it to eat the stew, copying every move I made. It looked like Lily was starting to appreciate human cuisine based on how much she enjoyed her third meal of the day, and she looked proud as I gave her praise where it was due. There were some times I had to wipe her mouth of any stew broth left on her face, though. At some point, I forgot Rachel and Max were with us until they asked me what happened during my Tamer lesson. By then, while I did eat some of my stew, I couldn¡¯t even finish a third of my serving after my earlier dinner. Lily was actually eager to finish what I had left after she was done with hers, so I let her have the rest of mine before I went to explain things to my classmates. They were genuinely surprised at the fabricated story I told them, and by the end of it, Rachel wanted to know if she could take a picture of us for the occasion. I figured why not and had Max take a picture of us with my own smartphone while we were at it. After we found some good lighting so we didn¡¯t have to use our phones¡¯ flash function¡ªI didn¡¯t want to startle Lily with it¡ªthe two of them took a picture of me with my Companion sitting on my arm. Afterward, a few of the castle¡¯s maids brought over the few changes of clothes, toothbrush, and hairbrush that I requested from them for my Companion when we arrived. We bade Rachel and Max goodnight before I had Lily sit on my arm and I carried her over to the bathroom nearest to my room for us to clean up. First off was that I made sure Lily got toilet-trained as soon as possible, but my concern in that department was unneeded. From what she told me, she and other Goblins would use whatever leaves were available to wipe while they did everything outdoors. I was genuinely glad about that, and so when I showed her how to use the toilet and toilet paper, she was ecstatic like they were the best things ever. After I left her to do her business¡ªwhich took quite a while, not surprising for how much she ate today¡ªwe started cleaning up. Just like back at the adventurer¡¯s guild, Lily was very cooperative and well-behaved as I helped wash her hair before showing her how to clean the rest of her body. She actually enjoyed it, especially when we soaked in the large bathtub together and took our time in bonding by talking as much as we could. It was more one-sided on Lily¡¯s end, though, with her getting excited over how amazing I was with the last Bloodhound earlier. Her praises had me a little embarrassed, but I was happy she was starting to open up to me to this extent, compared with how awkward and nervous she was in the beginning. After that, I showed her how to take off and put on her change of clothes for the night, and brushed her black locks¡ªI had brushed my pets¡¯ hair in the past, so my experience in that helped me a lot here. Then, I showed her how to brush her small, pointy teeth while I did my own with our toothbrushes. By the end, compared to when we first met, Lily looked a lot cuter and more adorable after a thorough cleaning. Back in my room, before I forgot, I took a quick skim of the list Bargamus left me to see what options I could choose to tame as my next Companion. I circled a few that caught my eye with one of the quill pens from the desk counter. I then cast [Restore] on both of us for 30 MP total, making a mental note that I¡¯d have to spare enough for both of us from now on to stay healthy. Despite how much MP I had left, everything that happened today had me really exhausted by the time we finally got under the covers of my bed, but not before I made sure the alarm on my smartphone was set. To make sure Lily wouldn¡¯t get startled the next morning, I showed her how the alarm would sound when it went off to wake us up. While I had my phone out, I realized I needed to fill Tamy in on what happened today since I hadn¡¯t seen her. I tried sending a short text that included the picture Max took of us, just to see if it would work or not.
Me: Tired from training, but I tamed my first monster! Say hello to Lily the Goblin!
Tamy: OMG SHE IS ADORBS! U HAVE 2 introduce me 2morrow! No Xceptions! Have a good night!
I guess with this, I can now confirm that we can still send texts to each other. We could probably even call, too. I doubt I can do anything broken with my smartphone like ¡®In Another World with my Smartphone¡¯, though, I thought. I set my glasses next to my phone and Bargamus¡¯ list on the nightstand and sighed a breath of relief that the day was finally over, ¡°That, was one heck of a day, and we got so much to do tomorrow, too. I just hope I don¡¯t get really sore after all that. What about you, Lily? Are you tired? ¡­ Lily?¡± I turned my head over, only to see she was already out like a light. Lily laid there on the side wearing a small nightgown the maids had prepared for us, a tiny green hand securely gripped on my shirt while she slept so peacefully. I hadn¡¯t asked her what happened before I ran into her, but she must have been so exhausted after all the stress she went through today to fall asleep just like that. If I asked her too soon, she¡¯d probably recall some unpleasant memories, so I decided to hold it off until we knew each other better and she was ready to speak to me about it. ¡°Thangoo ¡­ Grriiss,¡± Lily thanked me in her sleep, partially in Goblin language. Goddammit, you¡¯re making me tear up here, Lily, I thought, moved as I pulled myself closer, gave a kiss on her head like I always did with my old pets, and held her in my arms, I swear to you, Lily, that I¡¯m going to get us out of this stone cage called a castle, get you some new friends to join us, and we¡¯ll have tons of fun living our new lives together. Chapter 6: The Tutor鈥檚 Suspicions {Bargamus} It was late in the evening, and inside a grand office, Bargamus Keal, a Demon who went by the alias among humans of Augustus Klein, had just finished issuing his report to Omar Landrew, ruler of the Landrew Kingdom. This report was in regards to what Bargamus had observed of Chris Monty¡¯s performance that day. ¡°I must admit that I¡¯m surprised Christopher was able to pull it off, being as weak as he is,¡± Omar started, ¡°Although I have my reservations about you taking him outside to face Monsters so early and ahead of everyone else, since he¡¯s a Tamer, I suppose it was essential that he gets a Companion as soon as he can. Since you were also with him, I¡¯ll let the matter of him being out late in the evening be overlooked.¡± ¡°I thank ye fer yer understandin¡¯, Yer Majesty,¡± Bargamus thanked the king while bowing to him, ¡°While we¡¯re talkin¡¯ about gettin¡¯ Companions, Chris was thinkin¡¯ of tamin¡¯ another monster tomorrow.¡± Omar lifted a hand to stop Bargamus, ¡°Say no more. If he¡¯s able to handle more than one, then I say let him get some more. You and Christopher have my permission to leave the castle and the city as much as necessary to tame and train Monsters. For as weak as he is, he¡¯s gonna need all the help he can get.¡± Oi ¡­ Chris, whatever the hell you did to fool a bastard like this man, it was more effective than you may have realized, Bargamus thought as he held up a parchment containing Chris¡¯ status information. They were what the crystal ball enchanted with the [Appraisal] skill displayed when he and his class revealed their statuses through it. The attendants that were also there that time only recorded what they saw from the crystal ball¡¯s readings. It was the first time Bargamus was seeing this information. Chris¡¯ list of spells that weren¡¯t recorded on the parchment, [Heal] and [Shock], weren¡¯t what surprised Bargamus the most, though. Compared to what he saw from Chris¡¯ battle with the Bloodhounds earlier, he was stronger than what was written in his stats, and definitely more so now. Not to mention his number of skills was surprisingly small, meaning there may be much more to the boy in that regard than anybody knew. ¡°Then again, if Morgan¡¯s training was vigorous enough today, Chris may be feeling quite sore in the morning,¡± Omar continued, ¡°Add into your excursion after that, and I¡¯ll be shocked if he¡¯s able to walk tomorrow, let alone whatever Morgan has in store for the heroes¡¯ training.¡± ¡°Yer not goin¡¯ t¡¯ let ¡®em rest, Yer Majesty?¡± Bargamus asked with a raised brow. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can have Morgan lighten the load for tomorrow¡¯s training. If the heroes¡¯ conditions are so dire, we have healers on standby to heal their bodily fatigue.¡± Omar rested his elbows on his desk, bringing both hands together as he looked to Bargamus with a somber expression, ¡°We are at war, Augustus, the sooner we have the heroes strong enough to fend for themselves, the sooner they can aid us on the battlefield. It is essential that we win this war swiftly and efficiently.¡± Bargamus gazed down with a furrowed brow, This king¡¯s intending to run these kids ragged. They may be heroes from another world, but must they be pushed to their limits for something they don¡¯t even want to do? [Heal] can only do so much to restore a person¡¯s energy, too. ¡°Of course, if we have adventurers like you on our side, Augustus, then we¡¯d certainly gain an edge to the tides of war,¡± Omar commented. ¡°¡­ Pardon me fer my rudeness, Yer Majesty, but I¡¯m an adventurer, an¡¯ th¡¯ adventurer¡¯s guild has policies in providin¡¯ assistance in political skirmishes. Just hirin¡¯ us t¡¯ train these heroes t¡¯ go into war is already pushin¡¯ boundaries.¡± As if you can pay me enough to fight against my own kind, Bargamus finished in his mind. ¡°I jest, I jest. Here¡¯s your payment for today¡¯s services. I¡¯ll be looking forward to seeing the fruit of your progress tomorrow,¡± Omar said as he dropped a pouch of money on the far side of his desk. Bargamus took the pouch and counted its contents, ¡°It¡¯s all in here as we agreed on. Thank ye fer yer time, Yer Majesty. Ye have a good evenin¡¯.¡± After Bargamus made his exit, a face of scorn replaced his calm demeanor, Damn you, Omar, he thought. The disguised Demon regrouped with his monster canine Companion, Siggins, who was waiting for him at the front gate. Once he bid the post guards goodnight, the pair walked to the castle city and down to the stables of the inn where Bargamus was currently residing. This took them a couple minutes until the two of them gathered in the stable reserved for Siggins for the time being. Horses that were occupying the other ones were currently sleeping for the night. Bargamus glanced around the stables and confirmed his surroundings were empty. <¡­ Right, then. Coast is clear, Fades,> he called out with telepathy through his [Companion Bond] skill. Some very subtle steps sounding on the stable¡¯s stone floors indicated another visitor, but they were unseen by the naked eye. Moments later, a bipedal gecko-like monster suddenly appeared before Bargamus and Siggins as if fading in from a mirage. The camo colored, lizard-like creature stood a bit shorter than a high schooler, just big enough to not be readily compared to a young child. Next to Chris, he would likely reach between his shoulder and elbow when standing. He had a very slim, long, smooth, scaly body that gleamed under the lamp light, and his tail was curled up and off the ground. Beady black, softball-sized eyes blinked while he looked at the Monster Warrior and King Mutt he associated with. This was Fades, another one of Bargamus¡¯ Monster Companions, a Rogue Cameocko Soldier that specialized in blending into their surroundings. Cameockos ambush their enemies by spitting poison or digestive acids from their mouths. In self-defense, they could also use special oils to paralyze their foes, spraying it from their bodies or shooting it in streams from their tails¡ªwhich could blind their opponents if it hit the eyes. Due to their non-hostile base species as Cameockos, they were very weak in physical defenses and vulnerable to attacks of any kind. They were born with these self-defense mechanisms, plus speed, stealth, and senses strong enough to let them pick up their enemies¡¯ presence, magic, and moods, in order to survive. Once they become Cameocko Soldiers, though, they could be very lethal to deal with depending on the Jobs they evolved with. Fades was one that had the Rogue job, making him a valuable asset to have when performing reconnaissance or weakening an enemy with an ambush so his comrades could then come in for the kill. Unknown to Chris, Bargamus had Fades observe him from the sidelines throughout the entire venture, gauging his behaviors and moods at certain moments in his time with his mentor. Normally, the disguised Demon was fully capable of observing a low-leveled Human on his own, especially with Siggins at his side for emergencies. Since this Chris was a hero summoned from another world, however, despite his low level, his stats and skills could possibly put Bargamus in a bind in a worst-case scenario. Having Fades nearby assured the Demon that he could slow down Chris a little with paralyzed and poisoned ailments, should he pose a threat.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Bargamus asked through the [Companion Bonding] skill¡¯s telepathy. It should be noted that he was currently speaking to them in his native language shared by demons in the Trozan Kingdom called Dornid. Landrew Kingdom¡¯s main language, Penlish, was Bargamus¡¯ second language, and though he could understand it to an extent, he has a harder time speaking it than other high-class demons would; thus, his use of a heavy accent and slurring his words whenever he communicated with Humans from Landrew. Lucky for Bargamus, a section of Landrew Kingdom has mountain ranges with Humans that had developed an accent similar to the large Demon¡¯s way of speaking over the years. Any Human who heard Bargamus speak would therefore immediately assume he had just come down from the mountains. Bargamus turned to his King Mutt Companion, Siggins started, Fades said. Siggins argued, Bargamus asked. Siggins said before closing his eyes and thinking back to an early memory. Bargamus also got nostalgic as he recalled the same time period. Ah, those were the simpler, more peaceful days, he thought. Siggins continued, Fades commented. Bargamus asked. Fades started, Siggins asked. Come to think of it, he complained about the lack of females at the end of his fight with the Bloodhounds, Bargamus thought, And Lily was also a female. Would the situation change if there were more females, or even none of them around? Is Chris planning to evolve his Companions into Xenos ¡­ for those purposes? Bargamus did hear of how much Xenos resembled sapients, mainly the females, which were said to hold a kind of beauty that was both exotic and tempting for males to be drawn in. Never having seen one for himself, he was skeptical of those rumors and figured the Humans were only having peculiar wet dreams. He knew of Monsters like Goblins and Orcs who would rape females of Humans and other races when those of their own species were lacking. Whether they did it for procreation or sating their desires is debatable. The Demon wasn¡¯t one that put much thought into his or other people¡¯s romantic inclinations, but he didn¡¯t think anyone was crazy enough to chase after Monsters for such a purpose. This was especially so for species that were infamous for their sex crimes. Bargamus then remembered sayings of how a Tamer¡¯s first Companion tended to reflect a part of their personality and way of living. Goblins, while they were one of the weaker Monsters that exist, were dangerous if you faced them in groups. You can get unlucky when coming across just one of them with higher Intelligence and more skills than normal. They can learn at alarmingly fast rates, including how to use weapons and armors, when needed. Goblins were also well known for their high sex drives, which were natural for them considering their reproduction rates. Lily was clearly quite young and a late bloomer for her age when Chris found her. After the fight and food the Goblin went through, though, she was likely to get a growth spurt overnight and become much stronger. Despite how overmatched she was before Chris even stepped in, Lily displayed anger instead of fear, her eyes burning with hatred and malice as she glared at the Bloodhounds. Fades also explained how much determination and resolve he felt from the young Goblin when she was alone with Chris at the table. What concerned him, though, were the traces of anger and hatred that were linked to Lily¡¯s resolve. Whatever this young Goblin had against the Bloodhounds, she was determined to wipe them out before she would let herself truly feel satisfied, and she¡¯d likely do whatever it took to make that warped fantasy a reality. Chris, though he was totally new to this world and inexperienced in battle, seemed intelligent enough and able to adapt to his new surroundings quickly. He knew the right questions to ask when the situation called for it. Then there was the fact that he was a young Human male who was just stepping into the world of adults. If he wasn¡¯t in a relationship with a girl yet, then he had to get quite pent up at times, especially around the more attractive females. Despite the disadvantages he was facing, the strong willpower that was heard in his speech showed how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted. Namely, to escape from Omar¡¯s clutches and his war against the Demons. Fades pointed out how very little concern Chris had for the other heroes in his group as he made his speech, plus small traces of feelings similar to what Lily had. Bargamus wasn¡¯t sure how accurate the rumors were about a Tamer¡¯s first Companion representing their personality, but after taking everything into consideration so far today, he realized how scarily similar Chris and Lily were. If Chris succeeded in evolving Lily into a Xeno, heck, before that if she evolved into a Hobgoblin, they could be a match made in heaven. ¡­ I won¡¯t question your choices in women, but you better not let your dick lead you to your death, boy, Bargamus concluded in his mind. Fades continued with his report through the [Companion Bond] skill¡¯s telepathy, Bargamus asked. Fades explained, Siggins repeated. Fades asked. Bargamus took a moment to think, If this took place between the castle and the forest, I know I didn¡¯t say much about myself to garner such a shock from Chris. We then got to the forest, he found Lily, tamed her, and then the both of them fought off the Bloodhounds ¡­ He tried retracing his memory through the order of events, until coming across the moment after he praised Chris¡¯ and Lily¡¯s efforts in their first battle. ¡°Hey, you think you can keep what happened here between us?¡± ¡°Huh? Why? Don¡¯ th¡¯ king n¡¯ th¡¯ other heroes already know what ye are capable of?¡± ¡°Not ¡­ all of it, anyway.¡± Come to think of it ¡­ how did he know almost all of those Bloodhounds were males at first sight? Bargamus asked himself as a realization slowly crept up on him. The muscles in his large body tensed up. The skills he hid from Omar and the other heroes, could one of them be ¡­ Chapter 7: The Goblin鈥檚 First Growth {Chris} ¡°Gris ¡­ Griiiss.¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± I mumbled, waking up groggily from the noise and having my body shook. ¡°Gris, wake up. Help Lily.¡± It was still dark and the sun hadn¡¯t risen yet. I reached for my glasses to put them on and see what was in front of me. After taking a moment for my vision to adjust, I suddenly found myself wide awake from the sight. Lily, who used to be about the size of a kindergartner, had gone through one hell of a growth spurt overnight. She grew close to a late elementary schooler, maybe even an early middle schooler. Her new body looked to be developing some curves, but I wasn¡¯t sure how much. The night gown was so small on her now that it was like the clothes shrunk down while she was still in it. She looked to be suffocating. ¡°Oh, crap! Hang on, let me get that off of¡ª¡± I said while jumping off the bed, when a stinging, numbing pain ran up my limbs and made me unbalance and fall over, ¡°¡ªaak!¡± ¡°Gris! Gris hurt?!¡± Lily cried in panic. ¡°I-I¡¯m okay, Lily, just sore from yesterday ¡­ very, very sore from yesterday. It will get better over time.¡± As much as I want to cast [Heal] and see if that would speed up my recovery, I don¡¯t want to attract suspicion from others after all the work I did yesterday, and I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll lose benefits of increasing stats if I don¡¯t let my body heal naturally. Maybe Bargamus could fill me in on this? In the meantime, I¡¯ll just have to tough this out and try to take it easy, I decided. I slowly got up, went to her back, and unbuttoned the top. As if released from a stranglehold, she gasped and drank the oxygen into her freed lungs in panting breaths of relief. Lily then raised her arms up before I pulled the gown off through her head, now leaving her butt naked. She probably slipped out of the panties I put on her last night when they became too small, too. I took the new change of clothes and compared it to Lily¡¯s new body, ¡°Yeah, no way you could fit into these now with how big you¡¯ve gotten. Lily, stay under the blanket. I¡¯ll get you some new clothes.¡± She followed my instructions dutifully as I quickly stepped out and found the nearest maid to help us while minding my muscle soreness. The next half hour after that was rather hectic, with the maid screaming bloody murder when she saw Lily, even though I warned her ahead of time. That had woken some of the others nearby who checked in on what the commotion was about. I quickly calmed the maid and she eyed Lily¡¯s figure to guess size before rushing to get new clothes. Then, I blockaded the door to not let anyone in as they arrived at the scene. Without getting too much into details, I explained the situation and reasoned Lily will get on edge having so many people gathered around her, so I told everyone to disperse and I¡¯d introduce her to all of them later. Hesitant to get any closer at my warning, they all went back to their rooms and got ready for the day. Finally, the maid brought some new clothes and told me to call on her again if another wardrobe emergency happened. I thanked her for her service and went back into my room to check on Lily when I was assaulted by a tight hug. ¡°Sorry about that, Lily. You must have been pretty nervous when she screamed like that, right?¡± I asked. ¡°Mm,¡± she replied while nodding, holding me tighter. I petted her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Lily. I¡¯m here now, and you did a great job keeping calm like that,¡± I said while squatting down to her level before ruffling her hair with a smirk, ¡°You¡¯re a good girl, Lily.¡± She looked down as her cheeks and ears turned a darker shade of green, which was apparently how Goblins blush, ¡°Thank you ¡­¡± ¡°Now, it¡¯s a bit late, but do you know how we greet each other first thing in the morning?¡± I asked. ¡°Goblins say ¡­ good morning,¡± she said in Goblin. ¡°Hmm, so that¡¯s how you say it between Goblins, huh?¡± I asked, ¡°When speaking to Humans and similar people around here, though, we say ¡®good morning.¡¯ Can you say, ¡®good morning?¡¯¡± Lily closed her eyes and concentrated, ¡°¡­ Goog ¡­ gogig ¡­ good ¡­ godin.¡± ¡°Close, you¡¯re getting there. We¡¯ll practice a bit while getting ready before we introduce you to everyone. Good morning, Lily,¡± I greeted. ¡°Good ¡­ goding, Gris.¡± I should think about getting some books to help her better understand the language. I¡¯m able to understand everything with the [World Language Comprehension] skill, so I should be able to teach her like I would with English. Wonder if this country has books on nursery rhymes or something? I thought. After I dressed Lily in a loose, one-piece tunic top stretching down to her knees with a belt around her waist and bigger panties underneath, we brushed our hair and teeth to get ready for the day and practiced our greetings. I also had the maid bring a pink, silk ribbon to tie Lily¡¯s black hair that had grown much longer overnight. With that ribbon, I took the liberty of styling her hair into a ponytail while tying it into the best bow knot I could pull off. Once I saw how cute Lily became, I questioned if other Monsters wouldn¡¯t look as threatening if they were prettied up a bit. Once I cleaned myself up and gathered my phone and Bargamus¡¯ list, we were ready to go. I told Lily to stay close before leading her by the hand to the banquet hall, explaining to her how we needed to stay calm and behave around the others. Again, I was still feeling sore from yesterday, so I walked us there a bit awkwardly. As we approached the doors to the banquet hall, though, there were three people waiting that had my sore joints stiffening further. ¡°Christopher Monty! A good morning to you!¡± Omar greeted, with his kids Rosalina and Marcus following along. The fake santa still had the same gaudy red garb on as the first day we met him, but his kids wore different attire that was more casual and not as flashy as before, yet still possessed that royal aura and followed their previous color schemes. The royal brats looked to be wearing the same expensive jewelry they had on before, too. I think the biggest eye-catcher in the wardrobe change for me was Rosalina¡¯s as there was now a diamond-shaped hole in the chest area of her pink dress that exposed some of her modest bosom. A brilliant ruby stone, the same stone I noticed Marcus and Omar also wearing, dangled from her necklace in the very center of that diamond-shaped hole. It looked like she didn¡¯t have a bra on, but she might have had something that still protected her chest in some way or her nipples would be poking through the thin silk fabric, otherwise. Unless they¡¯re inverted? Moreover, the dress she was currently wearing hugged to and revealed her curves more than her formal, poofy one did, which made me notice just how wide her hips were. This gave me an impression of just how thick her thighs were, as well as how big her royal arse was. Considering her possession of the Seductive Princess Job, I wondered if she wore that dress from the first day for formality''s sake and this was the kind of clothing she wore on a daily basis. Add in her curly golden-blonde locks and silver tiara, and she looked more like a promiscuous beauty pageant queen than a princess.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Lily partially hid behind my back immediately after seeing the royals, clutching the hem of my shirt tightly. I forced a smile, ¡°¡­ Your Majesties, good morning. What brings you three here?¡± ¡°Your Tamer mentor, Augustus, reported what happened last night. I wanted to give my congratulations to you for successfully taming your first Companion. Is that it behind your back?¡± Omar asked. ¡°Yes, her name is Lily. Lily, please greet these folks like we practiced.¡± Lily tentatively stepped out from behind my back with her hand gripping on mine. ¡°Good ¡­ morning ¡­ Lily ¡­ name,¡± she greeted awkwardly while placing a hand on her chest. I shit you not, I was jumping over the moon when Lily learned to pronounce her name so quickly during our practice. Granted, she learned to pronounce my name before that, which flattered me, but I really wanted her to get familiar with saying her own name, at the least. It made me nostalgic from how happy I was when my pet dog, Betsy, learned to do some tricks I taught her. From that nostalgia, I hugged and kissed Lily on the head to show her the same praise and happiness like I would have Betsy. I didn¡¯t think too much on it afterward, but Lily¡¯s whole face went dark green while she fidgeted in place, which made her all the more adorable. After Lily¡¯s successful greeting, genuine shock spread through the royals¡¯ faces for the first time since I came here, but only for a brief moment. Omar¡¯s eyes glistened, and his smile grew even wider than usual, ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve ever heard a Monster speak our language! How marvelous, as expected of a Tamer from another world, able to make the impossible possible within a day after taming his first Companion! I can see the bright future of our kingdom winning the war already!¡± Like I¡¯d send my Lily out to fight in your fucking war you royal, pot-bellied bastard, ¡°Is there some other reason why you¡¯re here humbling me with your presence, Your Majesty?¡± I asked. Omar cleared his throat, ¡°Ah, yes. Since you brought in a Monster from the outside, the heroes would be on edge seeing one for the first time in a setting like this. I had even overheard some sort of stir occurring earlier. I thought I¡¯d help arrange your Companion¡¯s introduction to reassure everyone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m unworthy of your generous consideration and kindness, Your Majesty. Lily¡¯s still nervous around crowds, so I¡¯d appreciate it if the others could give her some space,¡± I said, making sure to really brown my nose up this fat bastard¡¯s ass. If it means lightening the weight on Lily¡¯s shoulders, I¡¯d butter him up as much as he wanted. The king waved his hand, ¡°Of course, of course. The other heroes are inside eating now, so I will announce your arrival right away. Rosalina, Marcus, keep these two company until I give the okay.¡± ¡°Yes, Father,¡± they both answered in sync before Omar opened the door and stepped inside, leaving me and Lily alone with them. A moment of silence passed between the four of us. Ugh, this is awkward, I thought, After seeing them using their Charm-related stuff to affect everyone, even if my resistance is maxed out, I want to see them as little as possible. Wait, could their Charm Skills affect Lily, too, even though she¡¯s my Companion? If that¡¯s the case, then it¡¯s all the more reason for us to stay away from them. Just to make sure, I confirmed their statuses were the same as they were yesterday with my [Appraisal]. Rosalina still had the Seductive Princess Job while Marcus possessed the Arch Wizard Prince Job, a promotion from the Starter Job Wizard that can perform higher-tier spells and magic while making use of his skills that come with being a Prince. Omar likely had the same status as yesterday, too, bearing the Refined Brute Monarch Job that specialized in axes and other large weapons while possessing skills in boosting Strength, among others. The king easily topped the strongest knight in his guard in Strength, almost being an even match for Bargamus. Interestingly, both Omar and Marcus have the [Charm Resistance] skill at max level like myself, What I noticed in my [Appraisal] scan, however, was that I wasn¡¯t able to see if they were equipped with anything that could stop me from seeing their statuses. I was able to tell that a few pieces of their jewelry were enchanted to give them stat boosts after scanning the items themselves. My [Appraisal] skill wasn¡¯t able to see everything they had equipped and their current proficiency levels, however. So, unless it was in plain view, I wouldn¡¯t know that it was there, or what enchantment it had. It¡¯s possible that they were wearing a necklace or something underneath their clothing so I wouldn¡¯t be able to appraise it, because surely there was no way they would risk standing before us without some form of protection. How was I able to see their status despite their possible [Appraisal]-blocking items, you ask? Well, that¡¯s due to my [Skeptic] skill that I looked into deeply the first night of my stay.
[Skeptic]: An Integrated Skill that consists of the [Mental Note], [Insight], [Interrogation], and [Intuition] skills. It serves to help find the truths its user seeks by circumventing or ignoring all barriers and uncovering all hidden knowledge if their Intelligence and skill level are high enough.
Integrated Skills, according to Omar, were what happens when two or more skills combine into one, and usually carry an additional effect. This merger happens either by chance whenever you possess skills that hold some synergy to each other and your being, or as the result of a reward for clearing a dungeon. These actually take longer to raise in proficiency as you¡¯re basically raising all of the skills that make up the integrated skill at once. The payoff from that is that all those skills will be boosted up to the same proficiency level as the integrated skill. The description may be vague, but basically, as a result of my constant pursuit for the truth, the ¡®additional effect¡¯ of my [Skeptic] skill was the ability to bypass anything that attempts to hide stuff from me. That means, even if these royals were wearing accessories that normally block the [Appraisal] skill from scanning their status, they have no effect against me. I was able to see their true faces hiding behind their masks, and they weren¡¯t even aware of it. It¡¯s because of this advantage that I had to be careful in how I presented myself to these royals and everyone else, lest I give myself away. ¡°This is my first time seeing a Goblin in person, you know,¡± Rosalina started, snapping me out of my invasive inspection as she approached and squatted down to Lily¡¯s level, ¡°I¡¯ve heard and read some things about them, but I had no idea they can be prettied up to be this adorable. Would this one be willing to play with¡ª¡± Lily stiffened up and hid behind my back as Rosalina reached toward her, probably to touch her in some way. I had told Lily ahead of time to try and not act hostile to anyone and huddle close to me if she got nervous, and I could feel it as she tightly gripped my shirt with both hands. ¡°I apologize, Your Grace,¡± I started, ¡°Lily doesn¡¯t wish for other people but me to approach her like that, she¡¯s very young and still nervous being alone with other Humans, you see. I ask that you please don¡¯t take it personally and think poorly of her.¡± ¡°¡­ I see,¡± she said with a scarily unreadable expression before straightening up and plastering her smile back on, ¡°Very well, then. I do hope you¡¯ll tame many interesting Monsters in the future. If they¡¯re well-behaved on top of being trained, I¡¯m willing to negotiate prices for purchasing one or two to keep for myself as pets.¡± Something in my head snapped, ¡°¡­ Excuse me?¡± Before I could question her further, the door opened again and Omar¡¯s head peeked out. ¡°They¡¯re ready for you, Christopher,¡± Omar said as Marcus squeezed in through the opening. Just before Rosalina followed the others through the door, she invaded my personal space, pressing the exposed parts of her modest chest as well as the majority of her body against me. My sense of smell was assaulted by the scented mixture of her perfume and feminine pheromones that sent unsettling shivers down my spine. The princess then leaned in close to my ear, ¡°Take some time to think about it, Christopher. Depending on what you bring, I may pay you handsomely,¡± she whispered with a sexual undertone completely different from how she spoke normally. To add to my surprise, she guided one of my hands down to run over the backseat of her dress, giving me a feel of how big, soft, and perky it was. ¡°This will be Our. Little. Secret,¡± Rosalina breathed over my ear before pulling back with a finger to her lips, giving me a mischievous wink. She then turned around and left, squeezing through the open crack of the door to the dining hall. I hoped no one noticed my eye twitching. Ohhh ¡­ you will get something from me, alright, you conniving little cunt. ¡°Come along, Christopher, they¡¯re all waiting,¡± Omar said, looking out from the doorway yet again. ¡°¡­ Yes, Your Majesty. Come along, Lily.¡± Lily took my hand and I led her into the banquet hall. Thoughts of how much I wanted to watch the princess¡¯ dainty neck get torn open by my Companion like Lily did with the Bloodhounds seared my mind. Chapter 8: A Condescending Knight Breakfast was difficult this time around, much more so than yesterday. Everyone was in shock at me bringing in a Goblin, even though Omar told them ahead of time, which made me wonder what it was that he said to get everyone a little on edge. Rachel and Max were the most surprised since they first saw Lily last night, and then saw her again after she grew so big the next morning, but they reacted differently compared to the rest of the class. They even saved us seats to sit with them, which we took, and they tried to talk to Lily a little more like they did last night, but she was still too nervous to say anything other than her practiced greeting. She might have forgotten her few other phrases due to the pressure, too, making her totally silent. I noticed the others at the table looked really awkward as we made our way over, and honestly, I wasn¡¯t in the mood to talk much, either. The food¡¯s taste didn¡¯t even register to me thanks to how frustrated I was, and having my other classmates talk among themselves while keeping their eyes on me was pissing me off further. We ended up eating our food quickly before leaving just as fast, and I decided then that Lily and I would just eat at an entirely different location from then on. I never saw Tamy in the banquet hall, either, but considering her slutish reputation in school, she was probably trying to avoid people while adapting to this new world. She was likely learning to defend herself from any danger, too, especially from people in our class like Victor. With all that power we have gained now, I knew many were getting a swollen ego. All it would take is a boy from our class thinking that their new powers meant that they deserved a little action from a girl for a situation to erupt. Right, Tamy would be a likely target for something like that. I¡¯ll have to check in on her and see how she¡¯s doing. There was still time before training started, so Lily and I went to a garden near the courtyard and took a seat on the bench, with my Companion helping herself to my lap. I just wrapped my arms around her waist and enjoyed the comfortable alone time. ¡°How are you feeling, Lily? Feeling better?¡± I asked. ¡°A little,¡± she answered in Goblin. ¡°That¡¯s good. I know it may be difficult to say at times, but let me know anytime if you feel nervous or uneasy. I¡¯ll take us out for some air like this. Do you know what these plants around here are called? Do you have a word for it in your language?¡± I asked as I gestured to the flower beds. ¡°... Gobas.¡± ¡°I see. We call these ¡®flowers¡¯ in our language. Flowers,¡± I enunciated slowly. ¡°¡­ Bow ¡­ bas ¡­ bowbas,¡± Lily tried to say. Perhaps they don¡¯t have the ¡®F¡¯ sound in the Goblin language, but I continued, ¡°There are many different flowers with their own names, and they come in all sorts of colors and shapes. Like that one, over there. Do you recognize that one?¡± She turned to where I was pointing, towards a familiar red-orange flower, ¡°Chris ¡­ put flower on Lily.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. We call that kind of flower a lily.¡± ¡°What?! Goblin is Lily!¡± she exclaimed while turning her head to me and patting her chest. I nodded, ¡°Right, that¡¯s your name. I gave you that name from that flower. I named you after it.¡± ¡°¡­ Flower lily ¡­ pretty. Why give Goblin Lily that name?¡± she asked while looking back over her shoulder. ¡°Because a pretty girl like you deserves a pretty name, and Lily was just the right name for you the moment I saw that flower,¡± I answered. She blinked in surprise, ¡°Chris sees ¡­ Lily pretty?¡± ¡°Yes. I think you are very pretty, Lily. Beautiful, even.¡± Lily faced forward and didn¡¯t utter a sound. I couldn¡¯t see her face while she sat on my lap, but I could see her ears turning dark green. From that reaction, I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. I could get used to spoiling her like this, I thought. I then felt Lily take one of my hands wrapped around her and place it against her own by the palm. Though I couldn¡¯t see it from behind, I could feel her hand had grown bigger overnight. The tips of her fingers could now reach around the middle of my own digits, compared to last night when she could only take up my whole palm. ¡°Chris, wait for Lily. Lily grow more strong, more pretty, for Chris,¡± she muttered so low under her breath that I hardly heard her, but she held my hand to her chest earnestly. I figured Lily had recovered from the heavy air in the banquet hall by then, and I was calmer than earlier, too. I still want to punch that royal bitch in the face, though, or at least scare her in some prank. Maybe one of the monsters Bargamus listed could help me accomplish that? I thought as I pulled out that list again and quickly went over the ones I circled once more. There was one species that caught my eye. It had a different name from what I was familiar with, but if it matched close enough to the animal from Earth that I was thinking of, then I saw enough possibilities in what I could do with it to make me smile mischievously. ~~ I was still sore from yesterday, so I was worried how intense today¡¯s training session would be when it arrived. Morgan had us run five laps along the entire castle¡¯s borders before switching to bodyweight exercises, which was different from yesterday¡¯s training, but just as bad, if not worse. He wouldn¡¯t let Lily sit idly by, either, but she somehow managed to pull through with only a slight shortness of breath, while I was barely able to move by the end of it. For some reason, I felt Morgan had something against me, and my suspicion was proven further when we moved onto our weapons practice. ¡°Why ¡­ am I ¡­ sparring against you, Captain Morgan?¡± I asked between breaths while holding a practice sword, the same kind I used yesterday, but it felt much heavier than it did before, along with my arms and legs. I couldn¡¯t even hold my weapon correctly. ¡°You neglected your training while you were with your mentor yesterday. ¡®Augustus reported he took down the Bloodhounds himself, which means Christopher didn¡¯t perform a lot of physical training while he was out taming his Companion. Give him some special attention to make up for the time he lost.¡¯ Those were the orders given to me straight from His Highness, himself,¡± Morgan answered. What the hell? I thought, What kind of logic is that? I know I¡¯m getting some specialized training due to my Unique Job, but is this some sort of penalty against me? Did Omar suspect something when Bargamus made his report? Did Morgan put everyone else through that hell because of me, too? ¡°With all due respect, Captain Morgan, I¡¯m still sore from yesterday¡¯s morning training, I don¡¯t have a ¡®Sword Mastery¡¯ skill, and I¡¯m very weak compared to Max, who was barely able to hold his own against you in a spar. Is there any way you could give me a handicap, at least?¡± I asked. Morgan looked up in thought, then a malicious glint appeared in his eyes before looking back to me, ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll let your Companion join in, and the two of you will have to land a total of three hits on me. If you can do that within 10 minutes, you can finish early and may do whatever you want the rest of today and tomorrow without coming to training. If you fail to do that, then you and your Companion will have to run fifteen laps around the castle¡¯s border through all of tomorrow.¡± That¡¯s three times more than today¡¯s laps! Is he trying to kill us?! Wonder if I can turn it down and settle for getting the shit beat out of me instead? I turned to Lily who had been standing to the side to get her opinion, but just as I was about to ask, I was met with a surprising sight. Lily was just running back from the direction of where the practice weapons were supplied, carrying a practice dagger, before she came to a stop and stood in front of me, facing Morgan in a fighting stance. I had noticed that she had [Dagger Mastery] at LV 2 in her skill list when I skimmed her status yesterday, so it made sense she¡¯d pick the weapon she was most proficient with, but what surprised me most of all was her resolve to take on Morgan. Last night over dinner, Bargamus taught us how to speak through telepathy with the [Companion Bond] skill¡ªsomething that Tamers are capable of doing with their Companions through the link that connects them. Its effectiveness was based on the strength in our bond. I didn¡¯t think to practice it before this, but this was as good a time as any to put it to the test. I concentrated on connecting with my Companion. Time in our surroundings seemed to have slowed down, with only the two of us acting at normal speed, making a second or two feel like minutes. I asked. I sighed internally, <¡­ Strong. Lily must get strong. Lily ¡­ must not run away. Not again,> she answered. My eyes widened. I then noticed Lily¡¯s shoulders were trembling, Morgan chuckled with condescension, cutting Lily off, ¡°Well, your Goblin looks eager to fight. What about ¡­?¡± The training instructor trailed off as he looked in my direction. As if fueled by Lily¡¯s resolve, I somehow regained the strength in my arms and legs. It felt like yesterday with the Bloodhounds all over again. While it looked bleak, we wouldn¡¯t back down without a fight. I didn¡¯t know what Lily went through before I found her, but she was able to fight back yesterday with me at her side. If I couldn¡¯t do the same here, what would that make me as her Tamer? As a rising harem king of Monster girls that I myself would raise and grow in number? The exhaustion in my eyes was gone, replaced with a cold, hard, calculated focus that stared Morgan down in its place. I let my sword lean against me before I fixed my glasses, ¡°So, the time limit is 10 minutes to score three hits on you, and if we win, we can roam freely without coming to training for the rest of today and tomorrow, right? And if we fail, then it¡¯s fifteen laps around the castle¡¯s borders. Any other rules or conditions we should know of? Might as well make this an official duel with these odds on the line.¡± Morgan laughed again, ¡°Sure, why not? We¡¯ll go three rounds, one for every hit you successfully land on me, and they must be done by your weapons against my armor.¡± ¡°Will you be going on the offensive at any point?¡± I asked. He waved his hand dismissively, ¡°No. I will be entirely on defense throughout the 10 minutes. Anything else?¡± ¡°¡­ No. That will do nicely, aside from raising the stakes.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Morgan asked, intrigued. ¡°What happens after getting this done in 10 minutes still stands, but ¡­¡± I then thrust my open palm towards Morgan, all five of my fingers spread out, ¡°If we win this in a total of 5 minutes, then the time we can roam freely will be for the rest of today and 3 days starting tomorrow. Win this in 2.5 minutes, and we¡¯ll get the rest of today and 5 days starting tomorrow. Just to be sure we¡¯re clear, the time between rounds will not count, and if you do somehow go on the offensive, then that¡¯s an automatic win for us. Do you accept these stakes and conditions?¡± ¡°Quite ballsy for you to ask for so much when you¡¯re so sore. Eh, I¡¯ll humor you this once,¡± Morgan answered while shrugging his shoulders. ¡°So, you do accept these conditions?¡± I asked once more. ¡°Yes. I, Morgan Trissand, accept these conditions to our duel, and I swear to follow them on my honor as a noble and captain of the royal guard. Does that satisfy you?¡± he asked me. ¡°Plenty, thanks.¡± ¡°You, play the judge for us! And you get a Magic Hourglass! On the double!¡± Morgan commanded while pointing fingers. ¡°Yes sir!¡± the two guards Morgan pointed out replied before one of them ran off. The other guards as well as my classmates and Ms. Heatherway stared at me in shock, especially Max, Rachel, and Tamy who happened to be off to the side. I then relayed my plan to Lily through [Companion Bond]¡¯s telepathy while we waited. ¡°The Magic Hourglass can keep track of how much time has passed and can be stopped or resumed with a tap,¡± Morgan explained, part of my attention was directed to him while I continued telling Lily my strategy, ¡°This is used for some training sessions and tracking records. We can use this to set 10 minutes on the time limit and see exactly how much time has passed, including when we hit the 5-minute mark.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. So, like a magical, medieval stopwatch, then? ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± I said. The second knight came back with the Magic Hourglass moments later, which stood tall enough to reach his hip when placed on the ground. The first knight then set the time on the hourglass before turning it over. Its sand amazingly didn¡¯t flow down to the bottom half even though it was flipped over, as expected of magic, I guess. My classmates, teacher, and the rest of the knights were watching on with varying expressions. ¡°So ¡­ Christopher and his Companion versus Captain Morgan,¡± the first knight announced with slight uncertainty, playing this duel¡¯s judge as Morgan ordered, ¡°The time limit is 10 minutes for three rounds, with Captain Morgan on the defensive while Christopher and his Companion must land hits by weapons against armor. Each successful hit will mark the end of one round, of which the hourglass will pause until the participants go to their starting positions again and begin the next round. This duel will end when the time runs out, Christopher and his Companion win all three rounds, or if Captain Morgain goes on the offensive. Do both participants agree to these conditions?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Morgan and I answered at the same time. ¡°Then, take your starting positions.¡± We readied our weapons and got into fighting positions. I fixed my glasses as my eyes locked onto Morgan¡¯s. I asked her through telepathy. my Goblin Companion answered. I scream in my heart. ¡°If all participants are ready, I will begin the countdown!¡± the knight judge declared while raising a hand, ¡°Three! Two! One! Start!¡± He slams on the hourglass, and its sand starts to fall. At that same time, I stabbed my sword in the ground and moved aside, ¡°Lily!¡± Lily turned and dashed forward, keeping her dagger low while sticking her other hand out, approaching my side in a fast sprint. I took her by the arm and spun, using her momentum to my advantage. ¡°Grrrraaaaaaaaaah!¡± We yelled at once as I threw Lily as hard as I could, my sore arms and legs screaming just as loudly in pain. She spins once in the air with a somersault, before preparing to attack Morgan with a flying overhead strike. While Morgan¡¯s and everyone¡¯s eyes were on Lily in shock, I chanted [Heal] as soft as I could, praying it heals my sore muscles as good as it replenishes LP and fatigue, and it worked. I pulled my sword from the ground and sprinted forward with renewed energy in my legs, keeping myself low. ¡°What the?!¡± In a fluster, Morgan raised his weapon and guarded against Lily¡¯s overhead attack, both eyes on her, just as I planned. I unleashed an upward sword strike, low from the ground and towards the torso of his armor, which hit with a loud clang. Despite the stunned shock on everyone¡¯s faces, including Morgan, the knight judge tapped the hourglass, stopping the sands of time, ¡°F-First round to Christopher and his Companion! 10 seconds have passed! Participants, return to your¡ª¡± ¡°Ready!¡± I exclaimed. Before anyone had a chance to register what was going on, Lily and I went right back to our starting positions with weapons at the ready once our hit was confirmed. ¡°H-Hold on! What the hell was that?! You can¡¯t just¡ª¡± ¡°Throw my Companion at my opponent?¡± I interrupted Morgan, ¡°We didn¡¯t establish that specific rule when we discussed our conditions, so that means it¡¯s okay, right? Lily and I work together as Tamer and Companion, together as one unit, so she¡¯s just as much a part of me as I am of her. You can¡¯t fault a Tamer using their Companion however they need to to achieve victory in a duel after giving me such a handicap, can you?¡± Morgan clicked his tongue, ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll give you that one, but don¡¯t think you can luck your way into winning this duel.¡± ¡°Are both participants ready?¡± the knight judge asked before we both gave our confirmation. I informed her through telepathy. ¡°Round two between Christopher and Captain Morgan! Start!¡± the knight judge declared, hitting the hourglass to continue the time. At that, Lily and I dashed in opposite directions, drawing our paths that would look like a diamond from how we closed in on him in a sprint. Morgan¡¯s eyes shifted left and right, unsure of which of us would strike first, then locked his focus onto me when he noticed I picked up the pace. He tightened his sword grip, ready to parry whatever I threw at him. Just as I was in closing distance to land a hit with my sword, I faked out, making a sharp cut with my feet when I was right in front of Morgan. Without slowing down or shortening my pace, I stepped past him on his other side, surprising and throwing him off. This was an American Football technique I memorized in theory from all the times my dad had me watch those games with him while I grew up. He was talented in the sport back in his high school days and he even coached for recreational teams¡ªof which he had me help him with drills to get me outside for some physical activity back in the day. Not only did he get really heated up watching professional football, but he really liked to point out the specifics of plays to me and his friends who¡¯d come to spectate with us. I was never a fan of sports, but I couldn¡¯t be more thankful for my dad¡¯s obsession with them. I had learned a few things from them that could be applied to other scenarios, like running away from a few of my old school bullies. From those annoyingly ingrained memories, I used a sharp cut running technique to fake Morgan out, passing him with Lily rushing up after, but she didn¡¯t attack him like before. Instead, she took a handful of the castle courtyard¡¯s dirt she scooped up on her way over, just as I instructed her, and chucked it at Morgan¡¯s face. ¡°Gah!¡± Morgan yelped as he instinctively reached up and tried to rub the dirt out of his eyes, leaving him wide open for me to give a come-from-behind ambush with a sword against his torso again, its armor sounded with a loud clang. ¡°Stop the time!¡± Morgan yelled angrily before the knight judge complied. By the time he got most of the dirt out of his face, not so much from the eyes, Lily and I were already back at our starting positions before he glared at us with partial blindness. ¡°Do you seriously expect me to give you a point for that in a sword duel?!¡± I looked up and tapped my chin in faux thought, ¡°Hmm ¡­ I don¡¯t know what you mean with this being a ¡®sword¡¯ duel. This is a regular duel where our main objective is to hit your armor with our weapons three times while you defend. There wasn¡¯t any mention in our prior discussion about what isn¡¯t allowed, so anything goes so long as we successfully hit you on your armor with our weapons.¡± ¡°That is preposterous!¡± ¡°We have all these witnesses here that heard our rule discussion to take into account, but just in case, I took the liberty of getting some insurance,¡± I said before I reached into my pocket, pulled out my smartphone, and played a track. ¡°So, the time limit is 10 minutes to only get three hits out of you, and we can roam freely without coming to training for the rest of today and tomorrow, right?¡± the track asked with a familiar voice. ¡°What is that magic?!¡± Morgan exclaimed. I fast-forwarded the track until coming to the part I was looking for, starting with Morgan¡¯s line, ¡°We¡¯ll go three rounds, one for every hit you successfully land on me, and they must be done by your weapons against my armor.¡± ¡°Will you be going on the offensive at any point?¡± ¡°No. I will be entirely on defense throughout the 10 minutes. Anything else?¡± ¡°¡­ No. That will do nicely ¡­¡± ¡°We all know the raised stakes I proposed, right? Then, I¡¯ll fast forward this a little more, and ¡­¡± I trailed off while adjusting the recording¡¯s playback position on my smartphone. ¡°So, you do accept these conditions?¡± ¡°Yes. I, Morgan Trissand, accept these conditions to your duel, and I swear to follow them on my honor as a noble and captain of the royal guard. Does that satisfy you?¡± ¡°You heard it here, ladies and gentlemen of the courtyard,¡± I announced after stopping the track, ¡°Straight from the captain of the royal guard himself, Morgan Trissand. From this raw, unaltered recording I started after he made the offer, there were no mentions of what isn¡¯t allowed in the duel, so my Companion, Lily, throwing dirt on his face can be considered fair play. I shared a copy with Rachel and Max on their smartphones so you all can listen for yourselves the whole discussion on our rules and conditions.¡± ¡°Ah! He¡¯s right! I just got it! Wow, I can¡¯t believe this thing actually still works,¡± Rachel commented as she and Max looked at their phones in surprise. Just in case, I also secretly sent a copy to Tamy, too. ¡°And with that, we can end this round with a point for us, right, judge? How much time has passed now?¡± I asked him while putting my phone away. ¡°U-Um ¡­ yes, that is technically correct. The second round goes to Christopher and his Companion. A total of 23 seconds has passed,¡± the knight judge declared. ¡°You heard the judge, Captain Morgan, so let¡¯s get to our starting positions and move onto the last round,¡± I suggested before I realized the captain¡¯s head was low enough that I couldn¡¯t see his expression. Morgan¡¯s shoulders started to shake before he started chuckling, then escalating into full-blown laughter while clapping his hands. ¡°Bravo, Christopher!¡± he praised before turning to the others, ¡°Take this lesson to heart, heroes, for he has proven knowledge that is very valuable. While established rules are what differentiates duels from other battles, war is also the difference in that there are none. To win, to survive, you must use any means necessary to your advantage, whether it¡¯s your skills, your weapons, or your surroundings. To keep on fighting until one remains standing, that is one of the keys to win this war against the Demons. You¡¯d do well to learn this early on while you can, like Christopher has.¡± Well, shit, I thought, Should have expected as much from an esteemed noble, to even take a negative situation and spin it to his advantage, and I was hoping to get him a bit angry over this too ¡­ no, he¡¯s still angry, very much so. His eyes looking my way certainly say so, despite the confident, artificial smile he has. He¡¯s really gonna let me have it, now. Better be ready for anything. I then got myself in a fighting stance. Lily, despite sensing my wariness, moved behind me for the last phase of our plan. ¡°Prepare yourself, Christopher Monty,¡± Mogan warned, not going into his own fighting position, his malicious eyes staring down my soul with that empty smile, ¡°For this last round, I, too, will take advantage of the ¡®rules¡¯ we put forth for this duel and show you just how different we are. Judge, give the signal.¡± ¡°Y-Yes, sir! The final round between Captain Morgan versus Christopher and his Companion! Ready ¡­ begin!¡± the judge knight declared. At that, I charged head-on towards Morgan. He didn¡¯t have his guard up and was completely vulnerable. Just as I was within range with my sword up, Morgan chanted, ¡°[Shield]!¡± A translucent barrier suddenly appeared before I ran right into it face-first, bouncing me back and leaving me slightly sore in front. Despite the pain, I tried whacking the practice sword against the barrier in the shape of a tall pillar. It was like I was smacking metal against stronger metal as I kept delivering blows. Not a scratch or hint of damage could be seen. Morgan, only a few yards away at the center of the pillar, gave a boisterous, condescending laugh, ¡°Go ahead and keep trying, you¡¯ll never break it! This [Shield] spell allows me to erect a boundary that lets nothing pass over, person, weapon, magic, or otherwise! Each blow inflicted on it will only lower my MP, and not only do I have a lot of it, but your attacks are weak! But don¡¯t worry! If you keep at it at your pace, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll break it eventually! Maybe 6 hours from now! Because as long as I have this spell activated, no harm will be brought to those within this circle! Nothing can get in, or out! This duel will be done long before you¡¯re able to break this down! It¡¯s over! You¡ª¡± I stopped trying to break the barrier moments ago, as I foresaw signs of the end of this duel drawing near. The noise that rang throughout the entire courtyard and shut Morgan¡¯s big mouth was the repeated clangs of his armor. ¡°¡­ Lose?¡± Morgan asked. ¡°No ¡­ Human lose with talk. Chris and Lily win,¡± Lily said in Landrew¡¯s language as she continued stabbing Morgan¡¯s armor, whether it was to make certain of our victory or out of annoyance was anyone¡¯s guess. ¡°Th-That is the third round! Christopher and his Companion win the duel with the final time of 2 minutes!¡± the knight judge declared. ¡°H-How did ¡­¡± Morgan trailed off with a blanched face while releasing his barrier. It was when he looked down that his eyes widened. At his feet, next to Lily who was covered from head to toe in dirt, was a large hole about her size in the ground. There was a second hole around the same size some yards behind me. My original plan was to distract Morgan with my barrage of blows, with his eyes still stinging from the dirt and knowledge of how I had dealt the previous two blows. With his focus entirely on me, Lily would use her [Digging] skill to go underground out of his sight, pop out from behind him, and deal the finishing blow, herself. I was aware of his defensive Grace-type spell after using [Appraisal] on him, but neither of us expected he¡¯d pull out such a near impenetrable magic shield, and I was almost certain that my plan wouldn¡¯t work. Then I noticed how its border was drawn, and from that, I felt we should still give our plan a shot. So, I adjusted the plan a bit and we went about it the same as we would have from the beginning. Fortunately, though things can¡¯t pass over Morgan¡¯s [Shield] spell, passing under it was another story. With him blabbing up a storm while his ass was totally unprotected, it was almost anticlimactic for the duel to end by Lily¡¯s literally dirty, but silent ambush. Still, a win¡¯s a win, and from it, Lily and I would get the rest of today and the next 5 days off from his hellish training. ¡°We did it, Lily!¡± I exclaimed while tossing my sword aside, squatted down, and opened my arms wide for a hug. I was sure my smile was pretty big and goofy, too. ¡°Chris!¡± Lily said in kind, her beady black eyes gleaming with joy while an open-mouthed grin revealed her pointy chompers. She tossed the dagger aside and ran towards me with her arms spread just as wide as mine, ready to leap from the ground and into my embrace. But then horror struck me when I saw Morgan approaching my Companion from behind, his face twisted with rage and bloodlust. He had his weapon above him and was about to drop it down onto her head. It may be a blunt practice sword, he may not be the strongest knight, but still, with his Strength over 300 against a low-leveled Goblin ¡­! ¡°LILY WATCH OUT!¡± I screamed as I rushed to her side while everything was in slow motion. Lily stopped and looked over her shoulder in confusion. I just tackled her to the ground, wrapped my arms around her, and braced myself for dear life while Morgan delivered his worst. ¡°You fucking, filthy Goblin!¡± ¡°GRAAAAAAAUUUUUGH!¡± ¡°AAAAUUGH!¡± I felt a crash that rumbled the ground after that scream, followed by a clang of metal, but nothing hit me. ¡°Chris! Ye alright, boy?!¡± ¡°¡­ A-Augustus?¡± I asked as I tentatively lifted my head up. Squatting down to my level was my Tamer mentor, Bargamus, or ¡®Augustus¡¯ in public with Humans. His Companion, Siggins, was pinning Morgan to the ground with only a paw on his sternum, baring his large, beastly, slobbery teeth as he angrily growled at his prey. The captain of the royal guard was white as a sheet from getting overwhelmed by a monster much larger than him. His practice sword was sitting in the dirt. ¡°Did he hurt ye anywhere?! Bruises?! Broken bones?!¡± Bargamus exclaimed. ¡°N-No ¡­ other than the skid marks on my arms from the fall, I¡¯m fine,¡± I answered, albeit clumsily with my lack of composure at the moment. He breathed a sigh of relief, ¡°Thank goodness I intervened when I did. With his Strength, who knows how ye¡¯d end up?¡± I got up to a knee and pulled Lily to standing before I rested my hands on her shoulders, ¡°Lily, are you okay? I didn¡¯t hurt you anywhere, did I?¡± Lily blinked in confusion, then shook her head, ¡°No ¡­ Chris no hurt Lily. Lily ogay.¡± I sighed a shaky breath and pulled Lily into a tight embrace, holding her by the head and lower back while I rested my head on her shoulder. ¡°Thank god, I¡¯m so glad. I¡¯m so sorry, Lily, I¡¯m so sorry ¡­¡± I trailed off with shoulders trembling. Lily, still confused on what was going on, still returned the hug anyway, and just as tight. I didn¡¯t care if I was crying right there, or how everyone was staring in. Never had I felt so afraid of seeing Lily getting killed right before my eyes, and this was almost accomplished by a fucking knight. Not only this duel, but this aftermath was all the more reason for me to try and get us out of here as soon as possible. Within, my fear at almost losing Lily, transformed into a mix of anger and animosity towards Morgan, Omar, and everyone under him inside of me. No Human working for Omar in this damn castle can be trusted from this point on. I will get us out of here ¡­ even if it means staining my hands red with blood. Life Update Announcement (Copied from Subscribestar) Hello readers, whether you¡¯ve been waiting for a long time or have just picked up my works recently, I thank you for checking them out. First, above everything else, I must sincerely apologize for my long absence and that I haven¡¯t left any updates since I last posted. I¡¯ll admit that one thing led to another, and that while I could have left something of a short excerpt during my brief moments of calmness, with how long it had been since I posted anything (March 27, 2023), I was anxious of showing myself again under the circumstances at the time. I¡¯d like to take this chance to explain the main points of what¡¯s been happening since I last posted anything and where I now currently stand, but if you want the short version of this announcement, you may scroll down to the TL;DR on the last page. My Life So Far So starting with what happened after I last posted, I fractured my ankle after falling off my bed one morning. I was in a bit of a writer¡¯s rut at the time, but that injury really affected my daily life for a while, even after getting out of the medical boot and going through physical therapy for recovery. At any rate, I was too preoccupied with that among other things to worry about my main projects, so I put those on hold and just wrote whatever I liked during my free time. Things were starting to pick up a little bit until I was terminated from my last job as an accounting assistant from August, about four months after my ankle incident. This was the result of breaking too many company policies in my company that have stacked up slowly over time, even after having received warnings of them, and I admit I¡¯m still embarrassed of falling to such a low, having it been the first job I was ever let go from instead of me leaving it for another job. The only bright side was that I was given a generous severance pay that would last me for a while if I was prudent with my spending, even after setting enough aside for taxes. Despite that, though, I had to find a new job, and my writing certainly won¡¯t earn me enough to live off from, so I had to put most of my time and energy into job hunting while receiving unemployment benefits. What made this most difficult was the increasing credit card and loan debt that had me going to my parents for financial assistance, which certainly helped me greatly and are still helping me to this day, yet I¡¯m still ashamed to rely on them as old as I am now, living single and alone. And of course, I¡¯ll inevitably have to pay them back once most of my debts have been paid off, so that¡¯s something worth looking forward to. Finally, after eight months since that termination, about one year since my ankle incident, through trials and tribulations, as well as poor money-handling decisions, plus a short contractual job at a warehouse for a few weeks, I finally got a long-term, part-time job at Walmart (mainly out of desperation as my unemployment benefits ran out shortly before that). It wasn¡¯t until six months after hiring that I was able to relocate to another location that¡¯s better for me transportation-wise. I was still in a rough spot, money-wise, and I¡¯m back in a position that I dreaded before I moved to become an accounting assistant, but it seemed like I was finally in a position where things would start to improve some for me. It seemed like things would start to look brighter beginning next year. That was until fairly recently. I¡¯ll admit that I¡¯ve lost quite a lot of money out of my lack of judgment in the people I meet and associate with, including scams, and that goes for what I¡¯ve been through the past year. I¡¯ve already taken measures in filing for fraud against the latest one that I fell for, and unfortunately, they¡¯ve denied my claim after a few weeks of investigation. I¡¯m now down a couple hundred dollars without any hope of getting it back. The difference between those other times and now is that back then I had a fair cushion of money set aside for emergencies, and I was still living with my family. Now, however, I¡¯m quite in a bind, and I¡¯ve barely been living from paycheck to paycheck. I¡¯m honestly anxious whether I¡¯ll have enough to pay rent and other bills the following month, and I¡¯m currently minimizing what I can spend on food. Which brings us to why I¡¯m here to see you all now. Turns out there are a select number of you who have still supported me in one way or another. For those, I thank you, and if you¡¯ve left a message or comment anywhere asking where I¡¯ve been, I¡¯m sorry again for keeping quiet until now. As rough as I¡¯m in right now, I¡¯m still very much alive, and I still write whenever I¡¯m able and motivated, most of which have been edited, cleaned up somewhat, and compiled within the last year and a half or so. To thank those who have patiently waited and for those who are waiting to see something new, I¡¯ll put not only all the chapters from my main projects free for the public to see, but also the works I¡¯ve done on the side as I try to get back to posting regularly, once a month at minimum, but for this month of February, I¡¯ll try to get most of my main projects out there on the public platforms. As for where things currently stand with those main projects, I¡¯ll list them down here. Story Updates OP Brawler: I¡¯m sorry to say that I¡¯ve hardly touched this project, nor even thought much about it over the past year and a half. I¡¯ve reached a point where I¡¯ve grown tired of writing my first story that had set me up to regular posting as a writer, and comparing the quality of my work from when I started to now is staggering. I don¡¯t even have the heart to go back to the beginning and clean it up to match the quality of my current works. Aside from trying to finish the last chapter I was working on, once that¡¯s been posted, I¡¯ll have to officially drop this series so I can move on. As cringeworthy as this story was after looking back on it, I don¡¯t regret posting it, as I wouldn¡¯t have gotten my start as a writer without it, but it is regrettable that I don¡¯t have the heart to give it a satisfying conclusion now.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Xeno King: This is in a similar spot to OP Brawler in terms of writing and progress, but since this is higher in quality than my first story, I don¡¯t think I want to give this up yet. With how painstakingly-slow this is becoming in pacing and how it veered off from my main objective to this series, though, I¡¯m tempted to give this a reboot. I¡¯d like to hear your guys¡¯ thoughts on its current standing after posting everything to where I stopped right now. For the time being, though, this will remain on hiatus. Great Sage: This one has been on-and-off for me, mainly because it has become more of a collaborative project with my proofreader/editor, Tnega Terces. Previously, it had gone through rewrites, retcons, and reboots, probably the most out of all I¡¯ve posted publicly so far, and the latest version we¡¯re working on now is certainly far different than what it was before. It has currently become more of a work of guilty pleasure, raunchy to epic proportions, to where the ¡®story¡¯s¡¯ pacing, development, and world-building would only make sense in a cheesy, physics-defying hentai/porno. It¡¯s become more of a story where you can just turn your brain off and just enjoy the smut it brings. Once Terces and I get it cleaned up and organized, I¡¯ll post all that we have so far, but updates will be agonizingly slow if I¡¯m being honest. As for the other stories I¡¯ve posted on SubscribeStar (including Bad Paladin, Piggy Hero, Side Character, Black Gardener, and the like), I¡¯ll post all the chapters I have written for those, as well, and then some, including one new story that I¡¯ve put most of my time and effort into writing as of late that has turned into a new main project of mine. I¡¯ll likely put that up on ScribbleHub and my other platforms some time in the future, but do let me know which of the other stories you¡¯d like to see more of, or if you want any of them seen on ScribbleHub, as well. In short, all the chapters posted on SubscribeStar will be viewable for free, no tier subscriptions to limit you from what you can see. You¡¯re welcome to change or delete your subscription there, if you¡¯d like, and I¡¯ve even set up a new Ko-Fi account (Will post link in comments) if you only wish to leave a one-time tip. This is just my way of saying thanks for the support you¡¯ve given me despite my absence, and if you can help me during my admittedly stupid yet harsh time, I¡¯ll be forever grateful, but please don¡¯t force yourself if you¡¯re having your own financial difficulties. A word of thanks and moral support can be just as plenty for me to keep moving forward. For now, once I put up everything I can this month, I¡¯ll keep writing what I like as I have been and will try to post semi-regularly this year. It¡¯s been mostly as a means of escapism at this point, but seeing how you guys enjoy it helps make the work I¡¯ve put in all worthwhile. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this life update, and though things are rough for me right now, I¡¯ll keep trudging forward and writing for you guys, even after things get better. Please wish me luck in surviving this year and beyond, and until next time, This is Orange Rain, signing off. TL;DR Shit has hit my fan repeatedly over the past year and a half and I¡¯m in a very harsh, very dumb time in my life, having lost a lot of money to scammers, but I¡¯m still living, and I thank you all for sticking by me so far. As my way of saying thanks, the chapters from my main projects as well as my other stories will now be viewable on SubscribeStar for free. I¡¯ll post all that I can in the month of February, but after that I¡¯ll try to post chapters once a month, at minimum. Things to note about my main projects and their current status: OP Brawler: Dropped once all chapters are posted due to lack of motivation to continue. Xeno King: Hiatus until I decide whether to continue or give it a reboot, leave your thoughts in the comments about what I should do. Great Sage: Still in process of preparing with my proofreader/editor/collaborator, Tnega Terces, but be prepared for a lot of smut compared to the previous versions. Other stories in SubscribeStar with their chapters will be put up in due time and will have their statuses be posted when we reach the end of their piles, but I have one I¡¯m consistently working on that has become a new main project that I¡¯ll post in ScribbleHub in the near future. Do let me know if you want my other stories to be posted on ScribbleHub, as well as which of them you want to see more of. Once again, all chapters and stories posted on SubscribeStar are now free to view in the public. You are more than welcome to change or delete your monthly subscription there, and I¡¯ve set up a Ko-Fi account (Will post link in comments) if you¡¯d like to make a one-time tip. For how tough things are for me financially, anything helps, but please don¡¯t force yourself if you¡¯re having difficult times, too. For now, once I put up everything I can this month, I¡¯ll keep writing what I like as I have been and will try to post semi-regularly starting next year. It¡¯s been mostly as a means of escapism at this point, but seeing how you guys enjoy it helps make the work I¡¯ve put in all worthwhile. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this life update, and though things are rough for me right now, I¡¯ll keep trudging forward and writing for you guys, even after things get better. Please wish me luck in surviving this year and beyond, and until next time, This is Orange Rain, signing off.