5 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.
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—and, I had to admit, she was heavier than she looked, probably because of all the food she ate—while 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—Siggins 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.
