Tamer 29
BGM: 【MV】24 Hours with Camellya - A Private Record
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Chapter 29: The Birth of an Idol Group
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
I ride the Skelittle Dragon. Around me, goblins haul countless skulls. Pixies swirl through the air like insects. A muscular demon carries a slime in its arms.
「“This… isn’t something I can show other people.」
From the outside, it absolutely looks like I’ve murdered a ton of people and I’m now getting rid of the evidence.
A serial killer having goblins carry around piles of skulls was pretty much the only conclusion anyone would reach...
I did briefly consider whether the sight of a muscular demon carrying a slime might somehow soften the mood and stop people from thinking I’m a mass murderer.
「…Nope. They won't buy it.」
At this point, I’ve got no choice but to give up and walk through the dungeon like this.
Long story short, the experiment went brilliantly. We’d bagged ourselves a Skeletal Dragon, which is not exactly something you pick up at the corner shop. Objective achieved, ticked, stamped, and approved.
「Right, now we just grind levels a~nd...」
I wanted to say that and move on. I really did. But if I was serious about squeezing every last drop of efficiency out of our levelling, then weapons were no longer something I could ignore.
Nine goblins were already busy ferrying skulls, and my envisioned battle style was clear in my mind: riding the massive hand of the Skelittle Dragon, raining blows upon our enemies with my PixWhip. But a single, irritating flaw threatened the entire plan.
The PixWhip's current range was too short.
With forty-five pixies lending their strength, the Pix Whip could reach as far as 4.5 metres. Still, against the dangers ahead, it felt like grasping at enemies from just one step too far away.
The issue was that, although riding atop the Skelittle Dragon’s hand allowed my attacks to technically reach their target, landing a clean hit had become painfully difficult.
Using the PixWhip now meant facing an invisible wall called distance.
「Should I just leave the fighting to the Skelittle Dragon?」
No. Absolutely not.
The moment a person throws away their drive to improve, they didn’t just simply stop growing. They begin to rot.
There had to be an answer. Some clever trick, some breakthrough waiting to be found. I’d refined monster weapons before. This time would be no different.
Don’t give up. Not now.
As long as I keep thinking, a path forward must've exi—
「Look at you, casually hugging slimes like it’s nothing.」
I couldn’t help but notice Demon Lord-sama happily cradling the slimes with a smug look on his face.
While I was locked in mortal combat with my own thoughts, the devil was having cuddle time. Couldn’t he, of all creatures, come up with something a bit more… infernal?
「Huff...」
Should I start thinking about ranged weapons instead?
Wait, hold on. The first time I chucked a slime and nailed a goblin, the experience doubled. So even if I throw monsters like weapons, the EXP efficiency stays solid.
Goblin shuriken?
No… That sounds wrong. But also kind of right.
The answer has to be here somewhere, hidden among the surplus pixies, the slimes, and the ever-present Demon Boss.
Catching more monsters wouldn't fix the problem either. If I wanted to increase my numbers any further, I’d need to push my monster-taming skill to a higher level first.
「Well slimes are good for throwing, at least.」
Still, just chucking slimes wasn’t exactly revolutionary. Honestly, it’d be faster to sit back and let the Skelittle Dragon crush everything for me.
Even so, I didn’t want to waste these slimes.
Turning them into EXP was an option, but if I ever need slimes again, grinding them back up to this level would be a nightmare. And I really didn’t feel like reliving that.
「I throw the slime. I throw the slime and then… oh.」
Hang on. What if I just shove a pixie into the slime?
Huh. That might actually work.
「Rejoice, Bargain Girl. From now on, the damage won’t be yours alone. You won’t be the only one suffering anymore.」
「PIIIIIIIIIIIII!」
She actually looks thrilled at the idea that others would suffer alongside her.
※Author Note: No She isn't.
Still, talking to them like this from time to time and showing a bit of mercy to these low-tier creature wasn’t such a bad thing.
I slapped slime onto another slime, wrapped it again, then went, “Eh, why not?” and added another slime layer on top.
The result was a beautifully consolidated slime ball.
「Perfect. Four slimes, zero waste. Efficiency is king. Next…」
I then began inserting forty-five pixies into the four-slime composite, feet first, arranging them as evenly as I could manage.
Led by the bargain girl, the pixies all looked uneasy, clearly wondering what was about to be done to them. But there was really no need to worry about that.
I paid no attention to the pixies and turned the slime ball into a spiky mass, like a sea urchin.
This was my new monster weapon: the Quadra Sliball 45 Pix.
101 from the Skelittle Dragon, 49 times from the Quadra Sliball 45 Pix, and then finally me.
If everything went according to plan, this would be a combat method with a horrifying 150x EXP multiplier.
After I threw it, the Demon Boss would collect the Quadra Sliball 45 Pix and toss it back to me, keeping the whole operation surprisingly efficient.
Using every monster efficiently like this… yeah, I’m basically the poster boy for monster tamers.
※Author Note: The poster boy of monster taming would never, under any circumstances, do this.
「Skelittle Dragon. Go find something to kill.」
「Clakclak」
The instant it replied, the Skelittle Dragon surged forward, carrying me atop its massive hand.
It was as fast as the Gobleg I’d been using until now, and just as stable. This was definitely viable transportation method.
Oh? A Skeleton General---
「Take THIS!!」
BANG!!!!
The Quadra Sliball 45 Pix slammed into the Skeleton General with a thunderous crack, and the monster vanished into smoke.
The EXP gained was 66,600. Since one Skeleton General gives 600 experience, that meant—
「111 times, that's it?」
The numbers didn’t add up.
According to my calculations, it should have been 151 times, but for some reason this time the experience gain was only 111 times.
Where did the remaining forty go?
「Wait… don’t tell me...」
Do all the pixie spikes have to hit?
If that was true, then the judgement was mercilessly strict. Calling it a bug didn’t quite feel right, but no other word will do.
Hmm. If I add a powerful spin— No, that won’t work either. Even if it spins, there’ll still be parts that don’t connect.
「If I need all the spike parts to hit, then making it into a disc-shaped rotary saw might be better.」
I caught the new weapon, the Quadra Sliball 45 Pix, which the Demon Boss had picked up and thrown back to me, healed the damaged pixies with Monster Recovery, and then began modifying it.
「I’ll squash the slime down as much as possible…」
First things first, I flatten the slime ball into a disc. Slimes weren’t great at detailed shaping, but turning one into a flat disc was well within their limits.
The result was a disc about a metre across, with a thickness of around fifteen centimetres.
「Bit bigger than planned… but whatever.」
Next, I stab the pixies into the disc’s outer edge, all facing the same direction and spaced as evenly as I possible.
Led by the Bargain Girl, the pixies once again look anxious, clearly wondering what’s going to happen to them next. I ignore them.
Even if I explained that they were destined to become the blades of a saw, it would be wasted breath. Understanding was never on the menu for them.
◇◇◇
「Nice. This thing’s busted.」
I took the Pixla Rotary Saw out for a spin, literally, and wow. Absolute carnage.
The real genius move was telling the pixies to shoot fire magic diagonally upward whenever I threw it.
So now I’ve got this flaming beyblade of doom screaming through the dungeon, spinning like mad, slicing the Skeleton General clean in half, then continuing on to jam itself into the wall scattering sparks everywhere.
As expected, the EXP gain was flawless. A whopping 151 times EXP, not a single point short.
It was unfortunate accident that the pixies, now reduced to living saw blades, lose hair from the backs of their heads every time the weapon was thrown. Still, when you factor in both its sheer power and its absurd EXP efficiency, this thing was undeniably a busted weapon.
The pixies would be perfectly content with something as trivial as a few grains of rice. Any bald patches would heal thanks to monster recovery, and even if they did not, it hardly matters to me.
What puzzles me was the Demon Boss, every time he is sent to retrieve the Pixla Rotary Saw from the wall, he grimaces, his face twisting as if suppressing a groan of disgust.
Buddy. You’re a fricking devil.
It is a problem if a devil couldn't even tolerate this level of gore.
「I’m gonna whip your guts into shape myself. Not many monster tamers would go out of their way to toughen up a devil’s spirit, you know?」
You really ought to be grateful.
Once you level up, a single blow wouldn’t leave you bald, so Demon Boss’ spirit training will only be a short affair…
For now, let's call this 49-monster ensemble ‘Pixla Saw 49.’
Sounds like an idol group name, right?
A miraculous little troupe of 45 cute pixies and four mascot slimes—basically a crossover idol sensation.
Their debut song would probably be along the lines of: “Ow! That hurt—ow! That hurt—ow! That hurt—DEATH☆”. Or something equally ridiculous.
「All right, that’s enough for today.」
It had taken four hours to assemble the Skelittle Dragon, and an extra 40 minutes just to get Pixla Saw 49 up and running.
It was six in the evening. Gotta call home—don’t want Mom stressing over dinner.
PIxla 49 Saw