Chapter 9: Holiday, Defeating Monsters in the Forest
This chapter is updated by wuxiaworld.eu
Today was the rest day, so we came to the forest where I tamed Lime. We have to defeat some monsters, or else we wonât get stronger.
âNow, Lime.Weâre going to get stronger here today.â
ââŠ!âpurupuru!
Good thing youâre motivated. Iâll wear them down until it canât move anymore, so eat them Lime.â
ââŠ?â purupuru?
âWell, I can use something like body strengthening a little, so Iâll manage. I wanted to bring Ruu, but it doesnât look like sheâd be able to hold backâŠThat and she stands out, so monsters might not come out.â
ââŠâ purupuru
âAlrighty, off we go!â
Things like swords, Iâve only ever used them in kendo class, but I only have this as a weapon. Just in case, Iâve been continuing my practice swings, so if I get into my kata then I can use it. Hell, I wonder why they make us practice swinging with a bladed sword. Ainât it dangerousâŠBecause of that though I was able to get my hands on a weapon, so I guess I canât complain.
In terms of heaviness, I can swing it around with one hand. Shouldnât overdo it, huh.
We entered the forest, and quickly encountered a monster. Itâs a huge caterpillar. The nameâs also exactly the same, âCaterpillarâ. Seems like villagers can also beat it easily, and itâs something often served on the dining table.Is it deliciousâŠMust be full of protein.
It looks at me, and suddenly springs toward me. Hey hey, youâre a caterpillar arenât you! Whyâre you so violent!?
When I dodge itâs body blow, itâs back is left wide open.I quickly draw my sword, and strike it down as it is.
My sword sinks deeply into the caterpillarâs body. When I pull it out, bodily fluids fly out with a âbushaâ! sound. The blade is even coated with fluids. But, the caterpillar doesnât die yet. Only insects have vitality this strong.
âOryaa!â
Before Iâm attacked again, I stick my sword behind the caterpillarâs head. It looks like itâs going to die soon, so I have to make Lime deal the finishing blow.
The caterpillar is reduced to squirming. Sâabout Limeâs turn.
âLime, go ahead and dig in.â
â··· âȘâ purupuru âȘ
As if bouncing happily, Lime jumps on top of the caterpillar. It spreads its body thin, and completely enveloped the caterpillar.How long will it take for it to digest?
Digestion finished in about five minutes. Looks like organic matter digests quickly. Since we were attacked by caterpillars a few times while Lime was digesting, I left them barely alive. They have a lot of vitality, so they wonât die that easily.
The caterpillars keep coming, so no matter how much Lime eats the stock wonât run out. They wonât surround us so itâs not hard, but itâs gotten a little tiresome.
âHmph! Lime, eat faster now. If you donât, the caterpillars will die.â
ââŠâ purupuru
âHang in there hang in there. Eating caterpillars is your job.â
After continuing to beat down caterpillars for a while, they finally stopped coming. Finally a breakâŠ
Lime is trying its best to eat the caterpillars, there are still some left. Gotta make it eat faster.
âLime, is it tasty?â
ââŠ!â purupuru!
Looks like itâs delicious. It was worth it to swing my sword around that much then. Though, body strengthening is amazing. My breathing got heavy, but I can still move around.
After about an hour, all of the caterpillars were finally eaten. Now then, shall we continue beating caterpillars?As I moved to stand up, I heard a âGurururu âŠâsounding low growl in my ear. When I looked in the direction of the sound,
ââ Gurururu⊠ââ
Two brown-furred dogs slowly approached us. GeezâŠitâs just one thing after another.
âLime, get behind me. Itâs dangerous.â
ââŠâ purupuruâŠ
Lime hides behind me and trembles. Lime is really scared, huhâŠIf I can feed them to Lime, it looks like it would get a lot stronger.
Duel with the dogs, eh. From their looks, they donât look that strong, butâŠAs long as there is no fear of disease, then there shouldnât be a problem even if I get bitten. Even if bitten by a dog, it doesnât hurt that much. Weâre okay as long as it doesnât hit an artery.
â âGuaaa!â â
The dogs jump in from both sides. I decide to beat one of the dogs first, and rush towards the one of my right. As though they didnât think we would react, the dogs appear surprised.
I thrust my sword, and pierce the dogâs stomach. The dog on my left pounces in, so I guard with my left arm. A sharp runs through my arm, but I bear it and pull out my sword.
The dog on my arm shakes its head, and the wound slightly widens, but doesnât do much damage. I thrust my sword through this one too, and half-kill it.
Under my feet, the dogs are writhing. Just in case, Iâll cut off their legs tooâŠ. And weâre good!
âLime, devour these guys.â
ââŠ! ⊠âȘâ purupuru! purunpurun âȘ
Lime quivers in delight.Like an arrow, it flies into the dog. Guess Iâll treat my wounds. For now, letâs wrap it in a clean cloth. Good thing I brought one.
Lime quickly finished eating the first dog, and is delightfully eating the second one. I hadnât been feeding you meat, so I wonder what you think about it?
ââŠ. âŠ!â purupuru. . . . purupuru!
What, you want to eat more!? Was it that good? Honestly, itâs like Iâll get injured every time I fight so I donât wanna butâŠWell, Iâll try my best, but⊠Donât ask for the impossible okay?
After feeding Lime six dogs, it seems that it was finally satisfied. Its body has also grown a size larger.
ââŠâ purupuru
âAlready full? Okay then, letâs go home. I want to eat lunch too.â
I ended up with 16 wounds on my arms, but well the results were good one could say. But, the hunting up until now was a warm-up. From here on out itâs the real deal. Before that though, letâs get back to a safe spot.
âLime, weâre heading back. Letâs be careful, so that we donât run into any caterpillars.â
ââŠâ purupuru
After smoothly returning to school and eating lunch, Lime and I face each other on the field.
âNow, Lime. You ate a bunch of caterpillars and 8 dogs, soâŠhas your body changed in any way?â
From my point of view, I can only say that it looks like itâs gotten bigger. Itâd be faster if I had it tell me.
ââŠ? âŠ!â purupuru?⊠purupuru!
âOh, you got something? Show me!â
When I say so, a string-like substance comes out from Limeâs body. Although it feels soft when I try to touch it, the exterior feels hard. This isâŠsome kind of thread?
âHey, Lime. Where does this thread come from?â
ââŠâ purupuru
âWhat, youâre taking your body and turning it into thread!⊠Is that, are you okay? â
ââŠâ purupuru
ââYour mass isnât reduced by that much, so itâs fineâ huhâŠ.Thatâs fine I guess, but donât overdo it okay.â
ââŠâ purupuru
The thread made from Limeâs bodyâŠcaterpillars spat that stuff out huh. I wonder if itâs the same thing. The reason it was kinda hard, was probably because I made it eat metal huh.
âLime, can you harden your whole body?â
ââŠ?⊠â purupuru? purupuruâŠ
When Lime answers with quiver, its surface quivers less. When I try touching it, it doesnât have a jelly-like texture and is easy to grasp. Usually, a little bit of its gel pokes out from between my fingers. Mustâve gotten a little bit harder.
âItâd be nice if you eat more metal, and become able to repel attacks.â
ââŠâ purupuru
âOh, thereâs still more? Show me please.â
When I say so, Lime suddenly jumps at the ground. Where Lime jumped, I can see that the brown earth is slightly gouged out. That movement⊠itâs like when the dogs attacked me with their clawsâŠLimeâs form looked like that, anyways.
âA claw attack, you can do that kinda thing?â
ââŠ. âŠ!â purupuru. purunpurun!
Seems to be correct. It doesnât have claws, but is hardening its body to attack. If I feed it more dogs, the mimicry proficiency might increase.
âThatâs everything huhâŠShall we go to the forest tomorrow too then?â
ââŠâ purupuru
âGuaaaa!â
A familiar voice came from the sky. When I look up, Ruu had just returned. In each leg, sheâs holding one of those birds that attacked us above the sea. Theyâre pretty worn down, but barely breathing. Looks like she brought back a souvenir for Lime.
âGuru!â
ââŠ!â purupuru!
Ruu holds the birds down, while Lime pounces on them. Its mass has increased, so it was somehow able to envelope one bird whole at a time.
â··· âȘâ purupuru âȘ
Lime continues to digest the bird in a good mood. If it keeps eating like this, I wonder if itâll be able to make wings eventually.
âThanks, Ruu. For looking out for us. A monster like that, we definitely couldnât have beat it. Doing thisâll make Limeâs growth faster, so could I ask you to keep bringing things from now on?â
âGuru!â
âSorry, and thanks. Iâll make sure to pet you a bunch later.â
âGuru~u~â
After stroking her head, I move my hand under her chin. I feel as though there was one spot with a different feel than the others, but I wonder what it is. When I stroke there, she looks usually comfortedâŠ
The birdâs size is larger than a dog, so it takes time to digest. Well, it wonât take long if I pet Ruu though.
ââŠâ purupuru
âFinished, huh. Was it delicious?â
ââŠ!â purun!
âThatâs good. Be sure to say thank you to Ruu.â
Lime gets on Ruuâs head, and hops with a âpon ponâ sound. As though it were saying thank you with that, Ruu looks pleased.
From then on until dinner, I flirted with Ruu and Lime. I donât know if âflirtedâ is the correct term for it, but Ruu is female, and Lime doesnât have a gender, so I donât think thereâs a problem.
After that a few days passed, and itâs the day of Taming class. At the Martial Arts class two days ago, many people were able to continue to do practice swings until the end. All thanks to body strengthening, yup.
Today was to be on the field, and everyone brought their monsters. I also brought Ruu and Lime.
Next to that pig bastard Pig stood a small man. Heâs armed with a large sword and wearing leather armor. Thereâs a small horn on his forehead, so I think heâs a goblin. Only him, the atmosphereâs on a different level. Why is that sh*tty pig able to tame such a monster?
âNow, we will start the lesson. Today is the basic of the basics, practicing the âlinkâ with your monsters.â
Dear me, whatever could âlinkâ be? Then again, I feel like there might have been something about it in the âHow toâ taming book.
âLink is, the mana link between the tamer and the monster. Through it, the tamer and monster are able to read each otherâs thoughts. â
I see I see, no wonder I was able to read Ruu and Limeâs thoughts.
âIn addition, by using Link to send mana to your monster, you are able to strengthen them.â
Mkay, so the reason I was able to send Ruu mana wasnât because I had Magic Hands.
âFrom your body, there are mana lines which extend to your monster. Mana is sent through these lines, and therefore a slight loss will occur. Although, if you have skills such as Magic Hands, no loss occurs.â
Chira, Sasha-sensei looks towards me. Donât look at me! I ainât gonna do nothing!
âNow then, please try it out, everyone. Feel the lines between you and your monsters, and place mana in them. With proper skinship, and a certain extent of emotional attachment, then this exercise should not be such a difficult task.â
Well, Iâve been petting them like crazy everyday. No way I didnât have enough skinship.
I send mana to Lime. Up until now Iâve been sending mana through touch, but even if apart I was able to send it. Along the way, I feel mana diffusing into the air. In the end, probably better to send it directly.
The pig is also sending the goblin(?) mana, but most of it is lost along the way. If there is no bond between the monster and tamer, I guess itâd be like that.
âAll, it appears youâve done it. Then, let us test it with duels.â
Duels, ehh. Well, not that it applies to me. Maybe Lime, but Ruuâs level is too different. So I was thinking butâŠ
âBastard, duel me!â
â⊠Haaâ
Fat arrogant little sh*t that the piggy is, he says something like that.
Liked it? Take a second to support Novels on Patreon!