Monster Variant

My first battle ended like that. Since Janis was the expert here, I asked her for her opinion. To be honest, I thought I would panic over killing such a creature. Sharing none of that sentiment, I feel it was a relief that this was the case. I knew I was emotional, and fighting with my emotions was the last thing I wanted to do.

"For your first battle, you did great." Janis walked to the minotaur, pointed her fingers at the head, and punctured the monster in the head.

"Monsters are resilient creatures. While they may seem dead, don't let your guard down unless you know they're really dead. The best way to do that is to blow up the head or destroy their core." So that's why Janis poked a hole into the minotaur's head. I nodded, taking this as a lesson.

"Your starting point was great. Since you're new to magic, it can't be helped that you have trouble using mana. The first step to becoming a first-rank magician is to control your mana. While you have enough mana to contend with high third and low fourth ranks, it's useless if you can't use them properly." This was my main concern, but if I practiced using it daily, this problem would soon leave.

"From a monster-hunter standpoint, what you did to this minotaur was the worst possible thing. The skin is ripped messily, and the horn is broken." Janis didn't seem disappointed while saying these things. Money wasn't a concern to her, but if I did sell the monsters I killed to this state, I wouldn't be able to earn as much as I wanted to.

After beating this monster, I knew my limits. That last attack cost me a tenth of my mana. It would have been enough to blow up a few houses entirely simultaneously if I had used everything.

"Hey, Janis. That tool you're using to store everything, would it be possible if I had it on as well?" I was slightly jealous of having such a convenient tool. Her pouch, which could even store every part of the minotaur alone, showed how much storage it had.

"Are you sure? You said you wanted to repay me. Your debts will increase even further~!" I knew it was just teasing, but I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Even if I don't have any debt left, I accepted the fact that you would enter my room regardless of the conditions." This wasn't hard to accept if you could stop caring about the negative side of things. Janis's smile became so wide that she waited for me to say those words.

"This should do it for now." Janis then took something out of her pouch and handed me a ring. If it were back on Earth, this would seem like a downright proposal, as she put the ring on my ring finger.

I stared at Janis and watched her expression. She didn't seem to think much about what she had done, and knowing that this wasn't done on purpose, I ignored those thoughts, and we continued onward.

"Hey Janis, why is she naked?" Somewhere in the forest, we encountered a naked female humanoid chicken.

"It's a cockatrice." Unlike the minotaur we fought earlier, this cockatrice made Janis wary. Judging by Janis' reaction, I shouldn't treat these things as intelligent beings but as monsters that could cause harm.

"Roy, I'm going to need you to use everything you have." Seeing Janis's seriousness, I listened to her and did what she said.

"BAK BAK!!!" The female humanoid cockatrice roared out at us.

"ATTACK AND RUN!" Doing what she had told me, I launched an attack that tripled the amount when I tried to finish off the minotaur.

Since this cockatrice was smaller than the minotaur in size, like my first attack, I made a condensed attack, which should penetrate its flesh.

Janis made a broader attack that used more mana than mine and combined it with my attack. After doing that, we made a run for it, unsure if the monster was harmed in any way.

"Janis, why did we need to run?" Five minutes of nonstop running was enough for us to escape until we were sure nothing was on our tail.

"The cockatrice we face is a monster that should be the ruler of the forest. If the cockatrice wanted to, we would have died without us allowing it to fight back." Her chilling tone meant what she said. A chill crept on my skin as I wondered how our deaths would be.

"A normal cockatrice wouldn't pose as a threat, but an evolved species would." Evolved species? How do the monsters in this world evolve? Were humanoid female creatures an evolved species?

"How could you tell if a monster is an evolved creature?" I wanted to ask for clarification.

"Evolved species are monsters that transform into humanoid forms. What makes them terrifying is their increase in mana and intelligence." 

"Usually, once they evolve into their humanoid state, a monster's mana increases by two stages in the ranking. A normal cockatrice would be marked at the third stage, and the monster we saw should be at the fifth."

"Even those at the same stage would usually avoid a cockatrice. Their power of petrification is annoying to deal with, and if overwhelmed, they would be turned to stone indefinitely." Now that this was explained, I could see why Janis wanted us to run. A sudden sigh from me was released, and I thought to myself. Why was there so much hidden danger around us?

"Roy, let's return. We may not have gained much, but facing a dangerous situation was enough for one day." Saying all of that, Janis leaned her body against mine and hugged me tightly, wanting to be pampered. 

Since my goal of wanting to use magic was also completed, I only needed to practice channeling it. Done with what we had planned, we returned to the village.