Tamer 27
===
Chapter 27: Bonds
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
「Sigh… so all my effort was for nothing.」
It was dangerously close. If the timing had been even slightly off, she might have realised I was the one who wrote that forum post.
It wasn’t wasted effort, though. Haruno wouldn’t notice. Not now.
「H-Hey, Kikyo… This is a bit sudden, but… Would you go on a date with me? A dungeon date… I think it’d be really special.」
She slipped her arm around mine, her shy smile glowing with unmistakable happiness.
She’s grown attached to me… no, far more attached than I ever expected...
I might actually end up with my first girlfriend in a year. But hold on a moment.
Lately, things have been going rather well with Sana too, so what should I do? Well, for now, I’ll ask what I wanted to know first.
「Before that, there’s something I want to ask. What kind of occupation is a monster tamer? You don’t need to tell me everything. I’m just interested in the overall skill structure.」
「Are you... Interested in me?」
Man, this girl’s confidence was bulletproof.
Well, I’m certainly interested in Haruno in various ways.
「Alright then, Kikyo. I’ll show you my status, VIP access. Total secret, okay? Status」
Status
Name: Teito Haruno
Occupation： Monster Tamer
Lv：76
HP：294
MP：578
SP：0
EX Skill
4X EXP Acquisition Half EXP Requirement Monster Limit Break
Skill
Physical Ability Enhancement 10 MP Increase 10 Monster Taming 9 Monster Recovery 17
Monster Enhancement 16 Monster Command 10 Monster Skill Sharing 10 Monster Evolution
Monster Appraisal Monster Fusion Monster Reborn Monster Evolution
Tamed Monster
Wild Wolf Lv72
【Dead Slime Lv76 Goblin King Lv75 ×2
Alligator Lv67 ×2 Giant Kong Lv61
Lesser Vampire Lv54 Golem Lv45】
EXP to next level: 27114
I never imagined Haruno would open her status to me, but this was astonishing.
She’s got way more skills than me. Like, way more.
Guess people who could actually become proper high-rank explorers were built different from the factory. Still though… EX skills aside, regular skills aside, why are my job skills so embarrassingly few?
Perhaps it was time to ask.
After revealing her status without hesitation, it felt like there was nothing Haruno wouldn’t answer now.
「You’ve got nothing but good skills. Is this what’s normal for a monster tamer who can become a high-rank explorer?」
「For someone my age who’s reached the high rank, this is probably about average.」
「The monster tamer I know isn’t anywhere near this level.」
「Is that person high-rank explorer?」
「Nope, just some mid-rank nobody.」
I said ‘someone I know’, but of course, I meant myself.
「That person doesn’t have Monster Command, Monster Skill Sharing, Monster Communication, or Monster Appraisal.」
「Eh!?」
Haruno looked at me as if I’d just confessed to something unthinkable. I had no idea why she was so shocked.
「Wait, are you sure they’re a real mid-rank explorer? Maybe they’re lying. Every monster tamer I know learns those four skills before they hit that rank. If they don’t have them, it just means they’ve never bonded with their monsters.」
What was she even saying?
There was no such thing as a bond between humans and low-tier creature. At best, there was a clear relationship of master and servant.
「Kikyo, if you ever meet that person, please give them some advice. Monsters can display incredible power when you truly connect with them.」
「Yes.」
Even without such feelings, monsters grow strong. Tools did not need hearts.
I became even more convinced that my way of doing things was correct.
「So what does the EX skill Monster Limit Break do?」
「Oh, that? Uh, it’s kind of a panic button with a ton of downsides. It doubles a monster’s stats for a bit, but my max MP drops by one every second. And it doesn’t recover naturally, so it’s honestly an awful skill. In fact, I was about to use it earlier.」
I see. In a true crisis, it could function as a final card to play. Still, letting my maximum MP be drained for the sake of low-tier creatures were out of the question.
If it were me, I’d use monsters as sacrificial pawn.
Though, if one were sealed inside a boss room, perhaps it would have its uses.
「How does EXP gain work for monster tamers?」
「Oh. Are you interested in such thing even if you're not a monster tamer?」
「Well, yes.」
I mean, my real job was monster tamer, so obviously.
「Basically, monster tamers get the same amount of EXP as their monsters. If it’s me and three monsters, then all four of us get the same EXP. No splitting like a party.」
「I’ve heard that one.」
「But here’s the annoying part. If the monsters are more than 700 metres away, or if they kill something outside your line of sight, then boom. Zero EXP. For anyone.」
Yep. Figures.
That explained it. When the goblins gathered magic stones while I wasn’t watching, neither they nor I received any EXP.
I hadn’t known about the distance limitation. The moment I did, my grand vision quietly packed its bags and left. Giving monsters cameras, watching everything in real time, dispatching multiple exploration teams into dungeons like clockwork… all of it, cancelled.
「Looks convenient, but it’s really not.」
「Yeah. People already tried the monster-with-cameras thing, distance ruined it.」
「Figures」
Honestly, I’d be more shocked if no one had tried it already.
Bit of a shame, yeah, but hey, at least it means other monster tamers won’t turn into walking natural disasters. Small victories.
「Oh, by the way, what’s with those bold brackets in the tamed monsters list?」
「That’s a monster I left behind in the Ueno Dungeon. Since I tamed all my monsters there, I was only able to bring one with me to the Aomori Dungeon.」
「So you’re limited to just one monster when you move to a different dungeon?」
「Uhm.」
I mentally underlined that information several times. That was important.
One day, I’d definitely be heading into another dungeon. If I’d gone without knowing about this little travel restriction, it could have ended in a spectacularly painful lesson.
「“Then how much does monster appraisal actually show?」
「For monsters that aren’t allies, just their level and species name. And if their level’s higher than mine,I can’t see a thing.」
「So what’s the monster enhancement skill actually like? How strong does it make them? Are there real numbers? The description doesn’t give any specifics at all.」
「For every level you raise the skill, it adds one per cent. The MP cost stays the same too, so it’s absolutely worth levelling.」
I resisted the urge to sigh. That information should have been written plainly from the start.
I didn’t care whether a god made this system or some overworked intern, but the status screen explanations are incredibly half-baked.
「Kikyo, are you asking on behalf of someone you know? If so, tell them to form a proper bond with their monsters. Without it, they won’t gain skills, and even the skill descriptions stay vague. A high-ranking official from the Dungeon Association mentioned it before, so I’m confident that part’s true.」
「Figures」
I didn’t trust the Dungeon Association, but there was an undeniable logic in the words of that unnamed official.
Haruno was probably telling the truth. Even so, the question remained. How was I supposed to nurture a bond in the first place?
No matter how I looked at it, expecting anything beyond a simple master-and-slave relationship with low-tier creatures felt unreasonable, if not outright naïve.
「“H-hey… Kikyo, would you actually go on a date with me? The dungeon date was obviously a joke, but I have to go home the day after tomorrow, a--- Ah—wait. You’re not dating the receptionist, are you?」
「We're not in that kind of relationship.」
Though we were on good terms.
「Then how about lunch tomorrow?」
「Nope.」
「Eh? Why though?」
「Because I'm also diving into the dungeon again tomorrow.」
「E~h...」
I’d completely lost my motivation, but seeing Haruno’s status made me change my mind.
There was no doubt that Haruno was stronger than her level suggested.
Japan already had high-rank vanguard explorers who surpassed her. If I allowed myself to stagnate, it wouldn’t be long before someone even stronger appeared… And got myself captured.
Also, let’s be honest. Long-distance relationships were pain in the a*s.
And if I was being honest, between Sana, the sexy older woman, and Haruno, the cute girl with her boyish way of speaking, my tastes clearly leaned towards Sana.
Yeah, no. Haruno as my girlfriend was not happening. Losing out on Sana would be an absolute tragedy.
「I know it sounds odd to say it myself, but I’m actually fairly cute, you know? And I’m pretty friendly too. There might be a chance, right?」
「……」
Please don’t hype yourself.
「Let’s exchange LIME contacts. I’ll come back again.」
「Yes.」
There might still be things I’d want to ask Haruno in the future.
Exchanging contacts wasn’t insurance in case things didn’t work out with Sana. It wasn’t about hoping for a miracle either.
It was simply, you know… Just in case.
「Man… I want to go dungeon exploring with you, but there’s no way I could keep up with you, Kikyo.」
「Even I have my limits. I can’t look after you that much.」
「I know, I know. We’re almost at the 2nd floor, so this is enough. I shouldn’t interfere with your dungeon run any more. See you, okay? I’ll message you on LIME, so don’t forget to reply.」
Before I could react, Haruno planted a quick kiss on me, her face flushed crimson as she turned and ran off.
She’d been chanting on about ‘bonds’ the whole time, which I still didn’t get, but… A "boku"-speaking cute girl might not be half bad.