Tamer 37
BGM: [MV]Vernal Days Dreamed by the Stars - Mika Kobayashi
===
Chapter 37: Broken Love
TL : Cnine
ED/PF :
Part 1
All of a sudden, he’s screaming, “Don’t you dare get near Haruno!!” without even introducing who he was, and he comes charging at me—me, the guy who literally saved his sorry arse.
What an ungrateful bastard. I'd order my monsters to beat him up to the inch of his life, leaving him barely alive later.
「Oi, Demon Boss… Heal this Ra—」
Wait? It looks human… But isn’t this guy actually a monster?
No words. No hesitation. Just sudden violence. That was monster behaviour to the core.
And even if it was human… With intelligence scraped down to the level of a filthy rag, there was still a very real chance that what I was about to attempt would succeed.
「… Might as well test it」
I held my hand over the tattered rag, which had once again been beaten to pieces by my monsters, and said, “Monster Taming.”
The rag twitched violently, its eyes rolling back to show only the whites, exposing a ridiculous expression.
Oooh, what a monster-like reaction.
「Status」
====
Status
Name：Sakura Kikyo
Occupation： Monster Tamer
Lv：319 ↑19
HP：2396 ↑323
MP：2988 ↑380
SP：26
Skill
Monster Taming255 Monster Recovery30 Monster Enhancement10 Monster Fusion Monster Reborn
Monster Evolution Monster Summoning Monster Taming1：NEW
Tamed Monster
Nightmare GoblinLv319×15 SlimeLv319×4
PixieLv319×35 Saint DemonLv318
PixieLv318×10
101Skelittle Dragon-chanレｖs317
Giant Slime Lv301 Evil Pixie Lv301
Giant Wolf Lv301 Chaos Dullahan Lv301
Water Dragon Lv308 Shinreiji Jin Lv82
EXP to next level: 60073523
===
As listed in the Status, for some reason I had two Monster Taming skills.
When I raised my Monster Taming skill to 255, it stopped increasing, which struck me as strange. Then, for reasons completely unknown, another Monster Taming skill had somehow appeared.
At this point, this goes beyond being a bug. It feels like the game was not even test-played.
At first, I had no idea what the point of having multiple Monster Taming skills was, and it honestly left me baffled. But when I tried using them, I noticed something right away. Taming monsters felt much easier.
After testing it several times, I could tame monsters without weakening them, and I became convinced that there was indeed meaning in possessing multiple Monster Taming skills.
So when I tried using Monster Taming on this rag that had picked a fight with me, I could tame it without any problems.
I had considered the possibility that Monster Taming might work on humans, but now that I had actually managed to capture one like this…
「Could it be that this thing isn't actually a human?」
I mean, c'mon dude, even if it was a glitch, being able to tame a human was going too far. The possibility that this was a monster with a human appearance has increased significantly.
「Monster Status」
===
Status
Name: Jinreiji Jin
Occupation: Swordsman
Lv：82
HP：32（645）
MP：15（631）
SP：0
EX Skill
7× EXP Gain Greatly Increased MP Maximum Overdrive
Skill
Physical Ability Enhancement 27 HP Increase 5 MP Increase 1 Sword Techniques 35
Physical Barrier 10 Self-Recovery 1 Magic Power Sword 10
EXP to next level: 3249
===
「Yeah, no. This guy is way too strong for his level.」
His HP alone was more than double Haruno’s.
As expected of the representative of vanguard class. It was assumed that his attack power and defence, which are not shown in the Status, were also powerful.
For now, based on how the Status appears, it was practically confirmed that this rag was a human.
Yup, he was a human.
「Hey, Demon Boss. Give this rag a light healing spell. No need to fully heal him.」
If he managed to get up right now, it would be nothing but trouble.
「Oh, and as long as you don’t kill him, feel free to use him to mop the dungeon floor.」
Even though I had given permission, Demon Boss did not use the rag to mop the dungeon's floor, but instead, by using a healing spell, restored the tattered rag to a clean one.
I suppose he simply did not want to touch a filthy rag.
Jokes aside, since I had tamed a human, I wanted to ask various things.
If possible, I would do a little experiment without letting him realise that he had become one of my tamed monsters, and incidentally, use him to sell my Magic Stones.
Whether it would work or not, I would find out after talking, but well…
◇◇◇
「Ha!! W-where… is this? 6th Floor? My body… It won’t move…」
「It seems you've woken up.」
「Huh? Oh… So I've got defeated.」
I was sitting on the 6th Floor, casually eating my rice ball for lunch, while the monsters kept the rag pinned down.
He finally opened his eyes, seemingly aware of exactly what was happening to his body.
「You were talking about Haruno or something, but it made no sense at all. At least tell me the reason before attacking.」
「Ah, you're right. I am Jin, the "Sword" of the Brave Saint Sword Demon. Actually…」
Looks like the rag finally gave up and started mumbling out his reasons, piece by piece.
So apparently, this guy had a crush on Haruno, one of the party members. But because Haruno kept going on about having “found my Destined Person,” he figured he’d come snoop around for this so-called Destined Person… Just to mess things up.
Well, cheers for the effort, mate.
「Seriously though… if you’ve got time to play cupid and cause trouble, why not just confess to Haruno yourself and date her.」
「S-shut it! Haruno and I were totally vibing! I was just waiting for the perfect moment to confess!!」
Seriously… Is this guy for real?
If this guy had genuinely shared a good vibe with Haruno, there was no way Haruno would have casually thrown out a line like “I’ve found my Destined Person.”
「Oi… Have you been pulling this kinda stunt all the time?」
「Huh? Of course! Any bug that dares hover near Haruno gets chucked out by me!」
So basically, every time some poor soul got a little chemistry going with Haruno, this idiot made it his life’s mission to ruin it.
If I leave him as he is, it seems like an interesting scenario would unfold where Haruno would never get a boyfriend. But since Haruno’s feelings were currently directed at me, thinking about this guy constantly picking fights would be extremely annoying.
First, I need to confirm that he was truly under the influence of my Monster Taming Skill, then I'll try to crack his spirit a bit.
「Look, I’ve got no intention of messing with Haruno. You do what you want.」
「Oh! Phew, thanks a bunch!」
With Haruno and me, every minor disagreement over how to handle monsters threatens to ignite a full-blown quarrel… It was clear, we’re a terrible match.
Though… if she were to indulge me with just the M-shaped split… well, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t appreciate it.
「Yet… I’d been told Aomori Dungeon held no formidable opponents. Seems that information was dead wrong. Against you… I stand no chance. Pray, what name do you go by?」
「I am Sacrifice＝Jugemlin. Honour to meet you.」
「Huh? You’re a foreigner despite having Japanese face?」
「Yeah… Let’s just say it’s complicated.」
If this guy’s really the Brave Saint Sword Demon, I’d better stick to a fake name.
Couldn’t have Haruno chatting with Rag too much— if Rag blabs that I’m a monster tamer, it’s gonna be a proper mess.
「Ah… My bad for prying like that.」
「It's not a big deal.」
「You forgave me even after I lunged at you out of nowhere… In a sense, you are the one who spared my life.」
I wonder about that.
I’m the one who drove Rag to the brink of death using monsters. Well, it’s true I didn’t kill him, so calling me a lifesaver wasn’t exactly wrong.
However, I never said I forgave him. Why does he think he’d been forgiven?
「Just name it, anything you want. Cash is fine too, naturally.」
「Appreciate it. Could you handle selling my magic stones for me on a regular basis?」
「Huh? That’s it? I’ll genuinely do anything for you, mate.」
Anything, he says. Seriously?
Sure, it might just be a figure of speech, but… The intensity behind his words feels far too genuine for that.
Could this be the effect of my Monster Taming Skill at work?
He didn’t seem to realise it himself… at least, not yet.
I released Rag, who had been held down by the monsters, and with his body now free, I started giving him a series of commands.
「Go on, raise your right hand for me.」
「Sure thing.」
「Alright, then— Do a triple axel, just like they do in figure skating.」
「Okay!」
Rag suddenly jumped on the spot and spun three times in the air.
Wait… Which one is it?
Was he obeying because I’m his lifesaver? Or because he’s under the effect of my Monster Taming Skill?
I couldn’t tell from this single action.
「You said you’d do anything, right?」
「You bet I would!」
「Alright… send Haruno a LIME that says: "I love you so much I can’t contain it! Nothing can stop my heart now, Hyaaah! Wash your bottom and wait for me!? Hey, bottom! Show me how to wash it properly!"」
How’s that?
Honestly, this was the kind of thing no one would do unless under the influence of my Monster Taming Skill. If Rag backed off, I could always play it off as a joke.
「Ugh… No choice I guess!!」
I tell him this utterly ridiculous command, and Rag… of all things… Whips out his phone and, despite glaring like I’m insane, actually does it on the spot.
「Next, send an additional message: "If you need Bottom Development Proxy Services, please contact Jin Kamireiji."」
「Ugh… fine! I can’t go against someone who saved my life, can I?」
He actually sent it…
I mean, come on. This Rag. Messaging the girl he likes about a Bottom Development Proxy Service? That’s peak, genuine, bonkers stupidity.
※Author Note: It's your fault.
「Once we get out of this dungeon, the signal’ll kick back in and it’ll send automatically. You did it, so promise me: no more commands like that, alright?」
「Ah… sorry about that.」
「It’s fine… Really, don’t sweat it…」
Normally, this would be a disaster. Sending a message like that to someone you actually like? Yeah… that could go horribly, hilariously wrong.
Rag’s slumping over, groaning, “Please… make this the last time,” but seriously… Was it really fine that your love life just hit a hard stop here?
Well… not like it bothers me. Fine by me.
In a way, his spirit had probably broken.