Tamer 34
===
Chapter 34: New Face!!
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
21st Day
「From today onwards, I’m setting my sights on the upper floor again.」
Even if I tear through Demons with the Pixla Saw 49, the most progress I could make in a single day barely scratches 16 or 17 levels. Barely worth the effort.
Now, with each level demanding over five million EXP, even the 15th floor Demon boss offers hardly a morsel for growth.
I’m this close to hunting down the god who made this EXP table and smacking them with the Pixla Saw 49.
Anyway, enough whining. I need a smarter, faster way to level up. From the look of it, I could probably rocket straight to the 20th floor without breaking a sweat.
But before that, there are some things I need to reconsider.
「Better grab a few monsters I’ll need first. Let’s start with…」
◇◇◇
I nabbed a Slime on 1st floor, a Pixie on 5th floor, and a Wild Wolf on 7th floor, then made my way up toward 16th floor.
Since I would need these monsters later, there was no room to cut corners.
On the staircase between the 14th and 15th floors, the Twin-Headed Skeleton General I had sent kept staggering awkwardly and smashing into the walls repeatedly, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculous sight.
It was so entertaining that I called out while still chuckling. The right head flailed its sword at me, far out of reach, while the left head rammed its skull into the wall and clawed at it with its left hand in utter confusion.
Its body had zero coordination whatsoever.
I instructed my monsters not to attack the Twin-Headed Skeleton General and continued up the staircase, still laughing.
When I arrived at the 15th floor, the boss room—which should have had a Demon seated in the centre—was completely empty for some reason.
Last time, a wall popped up in front of the stairs down to the 14th floor, but this time? Nada. No walls, no Demons. Just… An empty boss room.
Maybe it glitched because I’d snatched the Demon Boss earlier. Who knows. Honestly, fine by me.
I shrugged, gathered my monsters, and bolted up the stairs toward the 16th floor.
「The 16th floor… a Dullahan, huh? Lovely.」
As I stepped onto the 16th floor, I spotted, in the distance, a headless knight patrolling with slow, deliberate steps.
According to George Kennedy’s autobiography, Dullahans only appear after the 20th floor. That was basically all the information I had, which meant I had no clue how dangerous this one might be.
Given our current level, there’s no way this fight could ever give us trouble. Not a chance.
And yet, it stands there headless… a grotesque parody of efficiency. Even eco-conscious monsters have limits, surely.
「Wait a second...」
If it doesn’t have a head, I could simply provide one.
It’s not like I’m short of spare Skeleton General heads. Far from it. I had tons of them.
「Oi, goblins! Restrain it—hands, feet, everything! Don’t let it get away!」
The tension was palpable, yet tinged with absurdity, like a scene from some darkly comic nightmare.
The difference in levels between the monsters on this floor and the Nightmare Goblins was absurd, these monsters didn’t even have the faintest chance to put up a fight.
I walked up to the Dullahan, immobilised and pinned by the Nightmare Goblins, holding a spare Skeleton General head in my hands.
The Dullahan tried to struggle, but with every limb locked down by the Nightmare Goblins, it could do absolutely nothing.
「Don’t worry. I know it’s been tough being headless. But I’m going to give you a brand-new head.」
◇◇◇
「Well, that went smoothly.」
Right in front of me was a monster with the Dullahan’s imposing body and the unmistakable head of a Skeleton General.
By using the Skeleton General’s head as the command centre, the Dullahan’s body now obeys the Skeleton General’s will.
Hmm. Skeleton General, Dullahan, and a new head…
「I’ll call this monster "Skehanman."」
I mean, I just slapped a new head on it, so what else could it be called?
Let’s just say I borrowed the idea from some anime where the lead was a really rare type of bread whose only friends are love and courage. Yeah… that’s where the name came from. Totally makes sense. [TN: Anpanman]
「Status」
===
Status
Name：Sakura Kikyo
Occupation： Monster Tamer
Lv：300
HP：2073
MP：2608
SP：92
Skill
Monster Taming170 Monster Recovery30 Monster Enhancement10 Monster Fusion Monster Reborn
Monster Evolution Monster Summoning
Tamed Monster
Nightmare GoblinLv300×15 SlimeLv300×4
PixieLv300×35 Saint DemonLv299
PixieLv299×10
101Skelittle Dragon-chanレｖs81
SlimeLv1 PixieLv35
Wild Wolf Lv48
EXP to next level: 41662593
===
One look at the status makes it obvious.
Skehanman was nowhere to be found in the tamed monster's list. That alone proves it exists outside the framework of the Monster Taming Skill, obeying my commands while remaining officially unbound.
By grafting the head of the tamed Skeleton General onto an untamed Dullahan, the system appears to interpret the situation as the Skeleton General itself controlling the enemy’s body.
If so, then even a legendary explorer with a rare skill capable of reading statuses would be unable to perceive the truth. To them, Skehanman would appear entirely independent.
Monster Appraisal could, in theory, expose it—but the Skeleton General stands at level 297. The gulf in power is so vast that no one would be able to glean anything meaningful.
And as if that weren’t enough, this creation was born from a surplus head of the Skeleton General that would otherwise have gone to waste. A monster born of ingenuity, deception, and impeccable efficiency.
If the body ever broke, being able to swap it out while casually saying, “Here’s a new head,” was another appealing feature.
「Let’s run a few experiments. Oi, you lot, go drag a Dullahan over here. Yes, you. You lot.」
「Gyan」
「Gyagyah!」
「Gyan」
「GyaGyaa」
The Nightmare Goblins shot off the moment they received the command.
I was fairly certain I’d only ordered two of them, yet four sprinted away. Well, no harm done.
「This is nice and easy.」
I casually spread a slime on the ground and lay down on it.
There were many monsters around me acting as my guards, so on a floor like this, there was no problem even if I lay down.
Before long, the Nightmare Goblins returned, gripping one leg of a Dullahan and dragging it across the ground toward me.
Two each, eight in total. Not bad at all.
「Oi, Bargain Girl. Beat that one up a bit. Just don’t kill it.」
「PIIIIIIIIIIIII!」
The Nightmare Goblins released their grip, and the Dullahan wobbled, clearly panicking. In that instant, the Bargain Girl’s fire magic roared forth.
Judging by her level, the flames were carefully controlled. Heat licked across the Dullahan’s armour, swallowing it whole without crossing the line.
Around medium rare, eh?
「Ah… yeah. That’s probably enough.」
「PIIIIIIIIIIIII!」
I nodded in satisfaction and slapped the Monster Taming skill onto the freshly medium-cooked Dullahan.
The Dullahan’s body spasmed once, armour rattling with a hollow clatter. No scream. No expression. No payoff. Zero entertainment value. Truly tragic.
「Oh? Level 101 right out of the box!」
===
Monster Status
NameL Dullahan
Lv 101
HP：234(780）
MP：316
Skill
Swordsmanship 38 Dark Magic 10 Dark Resistance 15
===
That’s quite strong for this level. It’s probably an evolved form of some other monster.
「Demon Boss. Heal the Dullahan. After that, have it fight Skehanman.」
I ordered the Demon Boss to cast recovery magic, then had the fully healed Dullahan fight Skehanman.
Saint Demons really are convenient.
As for the outcome, there was no suspense whatsoever. Even though both bodies were Dullahan, the match ended in a one-sided slaughter in Skehanman’s favour.
The battle itself ended almost before it began.
「Despite sharing the same Dullahan body, the difference between them was painfully clear. Skehanman dominated the fight with crushing certainty, every movement sharp, decisive, and merciless.」
Their motions alone told the story. One fought like a beast. The other fought like a seasoned commander inhabiting a borrowed body.
I might as well turn this freshly tamed Dullahan into a Skehanman too.
「Here, a new head for you.」
Saying that, I attached a Skeleton General’s head to the tamed Dullahan and checked its Monster Status.
===
Monster Status
NameL Dullahan
Lv：207(101)
HP：1731 ↑780
MP：531 ↑316
Skill
Swordsmanship 38 Dark Magic 10 Dark Resistance 15
===
「Oho~」
Just by giving it a Skeleton General’s head, the Dullahan had received a massive boost.
It seemed likely that the EXP stored in the Skeleton General’s head had been transferred straight into it.
「Alright. Bring me more Dullahan. As many as you can find.」
I’m glad I finally found a good way to deal with all those spare Skeleton General heads.