Tamer 32
BGM: Wuthering Waves - Unwritten In The Stars
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Chapter 32: Monster Evolution
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
20th Day
「Oi, Demon Boss. You’re taking me down to the 6th floor.」
I sat on the Demon Boss’s back, perched like a kid getting a shoulder ride.
「Goblins, carry the Skeleton General’s head and the slime. The rest of you, follow along. Skelittle Dragon… stay here on standby.」
There are traps inside the dungeon. To avoid stepping on them, I’d appointed the Demon Boss as my personal transport.
Normally I’d use Gobleg, but this time the goblins had been assigned the important task of carrying the Skeleton General’s head and the slime.
「You’re faster than the goblins huh? Don’t worry about the enemy monsters. Just flatten them.」
With that order, the Demon Boss charged forward, monsters scattering like toys kicked across the dungeon floor.
Watching dungeon mobs get yeeted into the distance was stupidly satisfying. Honestly, even getting hit by a lorry wouldn’t send you flying like that.
No surprise there. He was a boss monster from the 15th floor.
With the level gap between him and the goblins closing, he was probably our strongest solo asset now. And if I’m serious about preparing for high-rank explorers, monster evolution experiments can’t wait any longer.
◇◇◇
「Starting today, Pixla Saw 49 is up. Goblins, you’re on magic-stone throwing duty. You lot there, yes, from here to there. Not the carriers. Everyone else, just observe. Clear?」
「Gyagyah!」
At my command, the goblins carrying the Skeleton General’s head gathered into a neat cluster, while the other designated goblins took their places behind the magic circle, magic stones in hand, waiting with weirdly organised discipline.
Upon reaching the 6th floor, I completed Pixla Saw 49 and explained the re-summon combo shift to the monsters. I even made the effort to speak clearly and properly. And yet. Not a single response from anyone except the goblins.
Pixies were being pixies, as expected. But what about the Demon Boss? He turned his face away, very obviously avoiding eye contact, like a guilty employee during a staff meeting.
The slime just wobbled. No thoughts. Only vibes.
「…Alright then. Monster Summon, Skelittle Dragon.」
When I activated the monster summoning skill, the Skelittle Dragon suddenly appeared out of thin air.
It consumed an exact 100 MP
Spending that much MP before levelling even starts feels bad, but the Skelittle Dragon couldn’t switch floors, so I had no choice but to do this.
Honestly, maybe I should just leave it on the 6th floor next time.
Then, when I enter the dungeon, it should manifest there automatically. At least in theory.
「From now on, forget about delays. The moment I defeat a monster, every last one of you throws your magic stones into the magic circles immediately.」
「Gyan」
「We began right after I climbed the Skelittle Dragon's hands, got it?」
「Gyagyah!」
The reason I didn’t use a timer for the re-summon combo was simple. By riding the Skelittle Dragon, I could wipe out all the demons summoned above the neatly lined-up magic circles in one sweep.
The magic circles were arranged in a straight line. Which meant, naturally, that the demons being summoned would also appear lined up in a row.
If the demons were summoned in a neat line, then throwing Pixla Saw 49 straight down that line would drastically reduce the time required to kill them all. That was the idea.
「Hey, Skelittle Dragon. Lower your hips. Yes, more. A bit more. Right, that should do.」
I gave instructions to the Skelittle Dragon, making it lower its height to something even deeper than what humans would call a half-crouch.
Since it was a monster made entirely of bones, there was no risk of it getting back pain and forcing me to waste monster recovery on it.
Now then.. Let's begin.
◇◇◇
「…That’s insane.」
Today’s number of kills was 4,535. The highest defeat record I have ever achieved.
And these were not low-level fodder monsters either. Every single one was a demon, the kind normally placed in boss rooms.
This may sound like self-praise, but the efficient hunting method I devised is simply too outstanding.
「Status」
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Status
Name：Sakura Kikyo
Occupation： Monster Tamer
Lv：300 ↑96
HP：2073 ↑1053
MP：2608 ↑1305
SP：96
Skill
Monster Taming166 Monster Recovery30 Monster Enhancement10 Monster Fusion Monster Reborn
Monster Evolution Monster Summoning
Tamed Monster
GoblinLv300x15 SlimeLｖ300x4
PixieLv300×35 DemonLv299
PixieLv299×10
101Skelittle Dragon-chanレｖs81
EXP to next level: 41662593
===
I had only just broken past level 200 yesterday, yet today I was already level 300.
The stat increase from level 299 to 300 was even more dramatic, triple the growth I experienced when I went from 198 to 199.
「At this point… I should be able to take it easy for a while, shouldn’t I?」
It’s said that outside the dungeon, an explorer can only use power equivalent to their base stats plus one tenth of their growth.
It was a pretty rough calculation based on HP and MP, but even so, I should now be able to exert more than twenty times the strength of a normal human, even outside the dungeon.
With that much power, even being surrounded by second-rate high-rank explorers outside the dungeon wouldn’t be a problem. I could crush them with ease.
Meanwhile, the pixies, led by the Bargain Girl, stopped losing hair once I passed level 220. Thanks to that, Pixla Saw 49 has become far easier to handle, and I couldn’t be happier.
「Time to try monster evolution.」
Monster evolution was irreversible. Once you evolve a monster, there was no going back.
As for the pixies and the slime, I still need them to continue working as Pixla Saw 49, so I can’t evolve them yet. However, I should be able to try evolution on the goblins and Demon Boss.
A small, ugly goblin turning into a big, ugly goblin would be far too grotesque to tolerate.
That said, I wouldn’t be able to understand how the skill works unless I test it on at least one.
Now that I’ve reached level 300, adding a bit of experimentation shouldn’t be a problem.
「Oi, you. Yes, you there. I’m going to try evolution now.」
「Gyan」
「Monster Evolution」
The moment I spoke the name of the skill, the goblin let out a filthy cry of “Gyagyah!” and was engulfed in light, beginning to glow.
「Is this... The light of evolution?」
They say that when a monster evolves, it was wrapped in a beautiful light, and the evolved monster emerges from within it.
The goblin in front of me was no exception and was likewise surrounded by light, but…
「Revolting.」
Perhaps because I knew this glow existed for the sake of a goblin, even a light meant to be beautiful looked tainted, as if it were shining with grime.
From the dirty, ill-gleaming light stepped forth a goblin, its body stained black as though scorched by darkness.
Was this because I’d thought of the light as dirty?
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Monster Status
Name: Nightmare Goblin
Lv 300
HP：1968
MP：1439
Skill
Physical Resistance 182 Mental Resistance 177 Nightmare 1
Notes
By undergoing a nightmarish experience, it acquired the Nightmare skill.
===
「A nightmarish experience?」
Well, no need to dwell on it.
Even so, for a goblin, it was ridiculously strong. And the growth in its physical and mental resistance was abnormal.
I knew that the direction a monster takes when it evolves or learns skills depends on its experiences, but for the skill levels to increase this much means my training approach wasn’t wrong.
In other words, I raised it properly.
As for the newly acquired skill, Nightmare, it apparently allows the user to inflict nightmares on their target.
At this stage, it was probably a useless skill.
In the end, these goblins are just porters and spare weapon parts. Since evolving didn’t change how big or ugly it was, it could keep doing its job as a porter and backup parts from now on.
I evolved all the goblins I currently have into Nightmare Goblins, then move on to working on Demon Boss’s evolution next.
I hope this one turns out strong as well…
「Monster Evolution」
As I place my hand on Lord Demon and speak the name of the skill, he too becomes enveloped in light, beginning to shine just like the goblins did.
Demons are supposed to crawl out of darkness, not shine like holy icons. Yet here he is, glowing beautifully, painfully clean, as if the heavens themselves signed off on it.
===
Monster Status
Name: Saint Demon
Lv：299
HP：2457
MP：2234
Skill
Fire Magic 21 Dark Magic 54 Physical Ability Enhancement 34
Mental Resistance 74 Light Magic 1 Recovery Magic 1
Notes
A devil who was reformed after coming into contact with human malice.
===
Yeah, the skill levels are kind of meh.
I mean, I never used Demon Boss like a disposable club the way I did with the goblins and pixies. No wonder his Physical Resistance didn’t bulk up.
There is also the simple fact that he joined late, missing countless battles and tons of EXP. Even so...
「A reformed demon, huh…」
I had assumed that dungeon monsters were created inside the dungeon itself, but when it comes to the Demon Boss in the boss room, there was a possibility that he was summoned from another world.
It was only a guess, but perhaps before he ever crossed paths with me, he suffered at the hands of humans from that world. That cruelty may have shaped his evolution, granting him light magic and recovery magic as a twisted form of adaptation.
※Author Note: It's your fault.