Chapter 17
I was pleasantly surprised that the innkeeper and his wife were happy to see us. As a matter of fact, everyone who wasn't too busy to look our way as we made our way to the inn waved to us. A night and day switch between the Castle-town and here, more or less.
Ake, who had been escorting us there, nodded and said he'd find his sub captain and send him my way around dinner time, before heading back to patrol. I was also pleased to note the villagers weren't glaring at them at all either.
"Shield Hero." The innkeeper greeted us. "Here for a room? Food? It's been a little thin with the rebuilding, but we'd be happy to find something for you!"
My party and I had only walked here, so aside from maybe eating lunch we didn't need to rest much. "We're expecting some new arrivals." I said, holding up the incubator a little for emphasis, "And after they hatch, I'm hoping to learn how to raise them from the people here."
"Well, if it's about animals, we've got lots of people around who know about them." He nodded.
"But that takes a little time. We'll set up here for a few days, help out with monsters, maybe spend our spare time as extra hands in town." I added, "Do you have a room that we can set up in for about a week?"
He nodded, "We've got some space sure! Food too?"
"Please. Though, if nothing goes wrong, we'll bring something back for the cooking pots for dinner time." I replied, implying I was willing to work for a discount.
"Speaking of bringing in food." The wife cruised by with an empty platter under her arm, "The Hunter's Lodge would love to know you're in town, Hero."
"If you have any of that bread, we'll go there after dropping stuff off in our room." I said, looking down at the timer on the incubator. "Hmm, might want to hurry though..."
We were given the largest room available, though it was still a little cramped for the four of us. Four beds that were just far enough apart to walk between, a single dresser with a decent mirror and wash basin, and a tiny desk by the window. Light would be provided by candles sconces nailed to the support posts on the wall, and that was it.
But even with the recent Wave and the work going on? Smelled clean, beds were fluffy, and the candles were made of something similar to beeswax.
Raphtalia and I set the two eggs down on the dresser, and we all got settled in.
"So. Rough plan. First, we see what comes out of these. I'm guessing, like with the slave crest, the Shield will have something to help what ever it is that hatches grow." I started once we'd set down our stuff on the floor neatly.
"Are you planning to do... the same thing?" Usa asked, scratching the spot where the slave mark was on his chest. "If there is such a magic in the Shield?"
"We don't really have time otherwise. Forty three days. Some animals, I'm guessing at least, take years to grow to full size. Back home, our beasts of burden take at least half a year to even start learning what's expected of them."
They nodded, "What if they aren't really meant to fight?" Raphtalia asked.
"If they are part of the Party, they will still gain experience. Slower, but I'm already doing that compared to the rest of you." I sighed, "Don't give me that look, It's just how it works. But since that's how it works, we can plan around it. If the monsters that hatch aren't suited for combat, we can raise them, train them, then sell them back for profit."
"Gr-click." Clive asked, both his eyes looking down and away.
"Don't even think it. I would set you free before thinking about selling you. The only reason I haven't taken the slave crests off any of you is because you grow faster with it while with me. Now, we have about... Raphtalia?"
She leaned over the two incubators, "maybe a half hour for this one, and an hour for this one?" She mumbled, "The timers on them are kind of skipping and gaining time."
"Maybe even magic can't be exact with this kind of thing?" Usa guessed.
"Now, lemme explain a few common mistakes with raising animals, so none of us make them. Even if we sell them later, we will raise them like they are staying..."
Before we heard the first gentle tap come from one of the eggs, I dredged up every scrap of knowledge I had about raising animals. How to 'assert' yourself as 'dominant' without resorting to violence. How to stop 'food shyness'. How to stop them from clinging to you without being distant. All the way down to 'how to not surprise them when they are sleeping'. In every world I'd been to, these things all worked, from little cats to land dragons.
"Sir sir!" Usa actually sounded excited about something, "I hear one." His furry ears were focused on the dresser, and twitching with tension.
"Good. Now, quietly. Everything will be new to them." I said, feeling a little excitement myself.
Thinking on it... back in my old life, I had a bit of a gambling problem. I knew enough about the signs, to stop myself from getting into trouble with it, and instead played all kinds of 'gatcha games'. Except, instead of paying money for those random chances to get what I wanted from them, I just played another gatcha game.
Crack...pop...
Maybe that was why I did this? Instead of buying a full grown Filolial... Maybe? I did like taking care of things. Pets, children, other people's pets, little sisters and brothers, broken people...
Focus! One of the eggs had a split from top to bottom now.
We watched the egg crack, and I had to resist the urge to reach forward and help. Then with a sudden wobble, a little reptilian nose punched through the egg, a bit of eggshell skittering over the wood of the dresser. The egg and the life inside went still for a moment, then with a few more MIGHTY (for something the size of my two balled fists at least) wobbles, the creature inside uncurled. Little cracks and pops echoed in the room, the four of us collectively holding our breath as a grey scaled lizard opened the egg up like a pair of double doors. Little claws gripped the sides of the original crack in the egg, and the nose pulled itself out of the tiny hole it had made.
Bits of egg and a faint gleam of yolk still covered it, and for a moment it looked at the four of us. It started to move towards us, but its front and back legs were different lengths and the motions were clumsy. Its front legs weren't long enough to keep its head up, so it stopped after a moment of basically pushing itself on its belly with its back legs. It was like a tiny T-rex, though I noted that both its front and back feet had five claws, almost like hands.
And then one half of the eggshell fell over it like a cup over a nut.
"sir?" Usa started quietly, "is that..."
I looked at my party window, under 'Monster Training' and looked, "It's just asking for a name. Nothing past that." I smiled and reached for the eggshell, "Okay... first feeding is important. Who wants to go first?"
"Gr." Clive said.
Usa and Raphtalia nodded, "We agree." They said.
"Okay." I went into my inventory and took out a cup of 'Sweet nourishing beverage' (yes damn it, I altered the recipe! The Shield even respected that change.) and handed it to Clive. "Remember, you are sharing it, not giving it. We'll all take turns later, but here you go."
I lifted up the eggshell, and found the newborn critter trying to figure out its legs. We moved aside for Clive, who knelt in front of it with a "Gr." He then dipped two fingers into the cup, licked the middle one clean, and offered the other one to the lizard.
"Good." I nodded, looking at the eggshell and taking the Shield off my back. "Thought so." I smiled, seeing the green gem in the middle light up as I brought the shell closer.
Monster User Shield: conditions met
Monster Egg Shield: conditions met
Monster User Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: monster maturation adjustment (small)
Monster Egg Shield: ability locked: cooking skill 2
I considered never equipping the Monster Egg Shield, just on principal. But while I did that, I turned 'on' the maturation adjustment. However, the Shield hadn't given me the second one, to adjust stats. I could see it in the Shield Almanac, but just some eggshell wasn't enough to unlock it. Hmm... No stat adjustment just yet then.
"It's kind of cute." Raphtalia said, hovering near Clive and the critter. Clive was using one hand to help the mini T-Rex 'perch' its two shorter legs, while the other hand fed it more of the slightly sweet nutrient paste. So far, it hadn't made much noise. Just the tiny sounds of its claws trying to find balance on the wood dresser, and the almost inaudible 'mlem' noises it was making.
Since she was closer, I asked about the other one, "Raphtalia?"
"Ah, um, maybe another hour?"
"Okay. We'll take turns socializing with it, clean it up a little... maybe think of a name?" I scratched an ear.
"Sir? You could go to the Hunter's lodge?" Usa suggested.
"Good idea." I nodded.
The lodge was almost as active as the rest of the town. Guards, hunters, farmers, they were all coming and going. Then I saw why. Some, 'citizens' mostly looked to be entering with nothing, then leaving with something. Food, a tool, a fresh shirt... The guards seemed to just be patrolling, popping in, then leaving a moment later. And the hunters were going in with things, then leaving with nothing.
Stepping up to the big doors myself, I found my guess was right. The biggest, most spacious building in town was being used as an all purpose storehouse. As I walked in, and my eyes adjusted from 'daylight' to 'torchlight' I saw the back 'slaughter room' had a half dozen people in it, working on whatever the hunters brought in, from usapil to some kind of giant frog.
Along the sides were temporary shelters. Wood framed cots just wide enough to lay on, with small footlockers or 'treasure chest' style boxes for belongings next to them. Along the other wall were bags of food, stacked up like sandbags with little signposts in front of them.
"Ah Hero!" The voice of the Old Hunter pulled my attention away from the scene. "Surprised you came back!"
"When I don't know something, I ask an expert. And Riyute has farmers and ranchers." I replied, walking through the bustle towards him. He and a couple hunters were around a table, and I saw the map he'd shown us that day laid out on it. "How bad is it?" I asked, pitching my voice lower, just in case he replied with 'bad' or some other demoralizing report.
He shook his head, "Not that bad. We've got farmers who've had homes destroyed housing here. Food we salvaged from wrecked storehouses is over there, the hunters are working double time to keep the food coming in, and the monsters off our lumberjacks." He perked up, "Oh, that reminds me!" He turned around, "HEY! Where did you put it?!"
I looked in that direction, towards the 'weapon room', and a head poked out from inside, "It? OH! Hold on!" He said after spotting me. A moment later, he came over with a little leather scroll tube. "The Sword Hero left this for you Sir." He said, offering it to me.
I accepted it, and it was heavier than I thought. "I'll open it later." I nodded, just in case it really was a bomb. "Thank you." He nodded, then jogged back. "So... I'm probably going to be here a few days, maybe a week."
The 'hint' was clear as crystal to the Old Hunter. "We've been having trouble a little south of here. It's a very swampy area, but the trees there are fast growing and incredibly useful. Bigger ones are great for building, and the roots burn long and warm for colder nights. Even the vines that grow on them are used for antidote medicine. Which is good, because the monsters in the swamp are usually toxic."
"Sounds like a swamp worth hunting in." I nodded. "Huh... Thinking about it, we passed along the edge of that swamp on the way here..."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. That's where the four of us walked from when we escaped Melromarc Castle. Made our stone knives on the edge of a swamp by the river." I nodded.
One of the other two hunters chuckled, "If we weren't so busy, or the beer so low on supply, I'd pay to hear that story."
"I'll tell it for free when I'm not busy saving the world." I replied.
"Sir!" There was the rattle of armour as someone stopped suddenly outside the lodge. "Sir Hero! I've been looking for you!"
"Well you've found me." I said, "Not a problem is it? If it is, I'm busy until tomorrow after breakfast."
The knight marched over to me and pulled off his helmet. The joke wasn't lost on him and he was smiling ever so slightly, "No Sir. Captain Ake sent me to find you."
"Ah, you're the second in command."
"Yes Sir."
I offered him my hand, and we shook. He was a little older than Ake, making me wonder if he was either a 'lazy ant' or Ake was a higher rank as a noble or something. Still, he had a good grip. "There. I've added you to my list. Take then next month and a half to train hard, upgrade your gear if you can, and fill in the last spot with another person or something that can pull a carriage."
"The Captain told me about that already. Once things have settled a little more here, we will work towards that."
"Good. Carry on, don't die, and if you have family, visit them at least once before the next Wave." I replied, seeing that I might have said a little too much, "You were there, you know the dangers. But that's no excuse to not remind your family you care."
"Ah... Yes sir." And he turned around smartly and left.
"Weren't you only a child a few weeks ago?" The Old Hunter asked.
"That's a story you'll have to pay for." I said, "We'll get on the problem after breakfast tomorrow."
My ears, not quiet as sensitive as they were when I had my full strength, could still pick out the excited noises from our room. I knocked once, "Coming in." Opened the door, and did a quick look around.
Clive, the mini T-Rex in his arms (sleeping while drooling on a bit of his shirt) grumbled at me and motioned with his head at the dresser. Usa and Raphtalia were watching intently as the second egg wobbled and cracked.
Stepping next to them, I swished at their backs with my tail, "Shh, remember, everything will be new. Clive, you too."
This egg wasn't breaking like the other one had. A little crack here, a bulge there, some scratching noises... The life inside was taking its time, methodically weakening the egg instead of using sudden bursts of strength.
"What do you think it is?" Raphtalia whispered.
"It has claws." Usa said, "I can hear it scratching at the inside."
A moment later, a little claw poked through the side of the egg, as if to say "That's right!" to Usa. There was a pause, as that claw wiggled back into the egg, before something that looked like part of an ant's mandible jaw wedged itself into the little hole and started to saw and worry at the opening. Methodically, with little crunching noises, that half a jaw made a portal big enough to reveal its head.
"Huh..." I said, not expecting this at all. "Not the biggest insect I've seen."
It had a triangle head, with sturdy serrated mandible 'trap jaws'. Above its obsidian eyes were two antenna that wiggled about gently. To either side of its jaw, were two smaller antenna.
At the sound of my voice, the head wiggled back inside the egg. I feared I might have scared it, but a moment later, the egg wobbled and the jaw latched on to the opening it had made and started to widen the hole in a near perfect circular pattern. I had to hold on to the base of the egg to stop it from falling over as the insect inside shifted around.
"Gr. Click."
"I don't know what it is either." Usa said, "But... I don't hear wings?"
The neat hole in the side of the egg seemed to be big enough now, and the jaw detached. It retreated again, then started to actually crawl through.
Like the Mini-Rex, it was the size of my two balled up fists. Unlike our new reptile friend, it had a fuzzy body, chitinous limbs, and a pair of wings. The colours on it however, were my fault for certain. Most of its body was black, but instead of yellow stripes, it had silver. It still had yellow markings, but in the form of a kind of... double mo-hawk that started just above each eye that went to the back of its rounded head.
It didn't have the long lanky legs of a wasp however, but the thick 'flying ball' shape of a bumblebee. Yes, tiny stinger included. But if you discounted the jaw (that was smooth and triangle shaped when it was closed) and the stinger (that was mostly withdrawn into its abdomen), it looked like a plush toy.
"Volunteer to be its first friend?" I asked as my status window updated with the second monster's entry. There was only silence from them, all three shaking their heads 'no', "Very well." I took out a second cup of sweet nourishing beverage, and carefully reached my hand towards the giant bee.
Its wings fluttered at my approach, but they were still stretching out and hardening, not quite ready for flight. Instead of grabbing it, I just held one hand close enough for its (kinda pointy) legs to touch, grip, then climb on, while my other hand held the cup. I used my index finger to poke into the mush, like the head of an insect might, then extended it towards the Bee, as if to say 'look what I found'. Most social insects did something like this. But I was just hoping this one, being 'bigger' would be a bit smarter.
Then again, for all I knew, 'giant bee keeping' was a thing in this world. We did fight a swarm during the Wave...
The first shared taste was all it needed, and it walked off my hand to perch on the rim of the cup.
"Well then..." I gave the bee a very light brush with my fingers, "Clive? Any problems?"
"Gr." He shook his head, one eye drifting down to look at the sleeping Mini-Rex.
"We all fed it." Raphtalia said, "It's kinda cute... But how big will it grow? Do you think... Do you think we won the lottery then? Is this a Knight Dragon?"
"That's why we're here." I said, "Wow... You're not going to be able to fly if you keep that up." I said to the Bee, its body buried up to its fuzzy abdomen in the cup. "Also, we have a new task from the Lodge. Remember that swamp we didn't go in, right after we got out of the Ringmaster's care? Well, they're trying to gather wood and medicine from that area, and need help."
"That would be a good way to gain experience, and help them out." Usa said, "Though... I can't swim."
"We'll do our best." Raphtalia said, "We'll help if you end up in the water. Or mud... swamps are muddy, right?"
"Gr." Clive nodded, "Click?" He gave the snoozing reptile a pat.
"They're part of the party now. So they can just... perch on someone, or sit on a rock nearby, or... just not get eaten, and they should gain levels. Have I said how weird I find this world?"
They all nodded.
"Okay, let's find out what these little guys are, if we can, then come back here and get some reading done." I gave the Bee another pat, noting that its abdomen was starting to stretch out a little, the round black and silver 'plates' of chitin standing out in a distinct pattern. "You better sleep well after all that..."
It finally backed out of the cup, and looked up at me, its front limbs and side 'whisker' antenna cleaning its mandibles without remorse.
"Ah, sir? What's that?" Usa asked, interrupting my insect watching, the two of us brushing fingers/antenna at each other.
I looked to where he was pointing, and spotted the leather scroll tube tucked into my belt. "Oh! Nearly forgot. That's from the Sword Hero apparently." I looked at the fuzzy bee, "Raphtalia?"
"Um..."
"Just hold your hand out, and let it explore. No loud noises, no pokes or prods, just like this." I offered the critter to her, and she reluctantly held out her hand. It took a moment, but its front legs 'tap tapped' at her palm a few times before it held on and walked off my own hand.
I took the tube out of my belt and pulled it open. I would certainly keep this around, it was well made and would be very weather resistant. Inside was a bit of paper, and a small pouch, the string tied tightly. "Coins?" Usa said, his head turning slightly, his ears twisting a little to focus on the pouch.
Before opening the pouch, though now I was VERY curious about what was inside, I instead unfolded the letter. In neat hiragana was a short message. "Kodori-san. You missed the reward ceremony. Your treatment, and exclusion from the reward is unfair. Itsuki and I put a little aside for you. Not a gift. Advance payment for a lesson."
"His writing is very... brief." Raphtalia said, already warming up to the giant bee, brushing its top antenna with her index finger like I'd been doing.
"Writing with a quill isn't easy." I said, "Took me weeks to even be readable. And that was with a block letter set, not Japanese. Took even longer for that." I sighed, "And some say it isn't readable still."
"Gr gr." Clive gave my head a pat.
"There's more though." I said accepting the well meaning pat of sympathy. "Also. My party member says thank you." I chuckled, "Ha! Proper maintenance of equipment is important."
I checked the other side of the note, found nothing, and put it down. Then I undid the string for the pouch and carefully upended it. And four coins fell to the table.
Four gold coins...
"Sir? Why are you sighing? That's quite a sum..." Usa said, still a little unsure about criticizing me it seemed.
"No no." I shook my head, picking up each coin, weighing it in my palm, then putting it in the Shield's inventory. "Just my double edged luck once again..."
"What do you mean?" Raphtalia asked, gently brushing her fingers over the Bee's fuzzy back, mindful of its wings. That didn't take long at all.
"Four gold. Four hundred silver. We could have gotten two Filolial, and with the money I already had, a cart or something." This reminded me of something else. "I need a volunteer for a little experimenting. After we go see what these two are called, and maybe think up names."
"Ye'up. That's a dragon awl'right." The Rancher said.
It had taken a few minutes to find out where he was, a few more to get to him, then a few more after that to wait until he'd finished tending a bored looking filolial.
Raphtalia was holding up the Mini-Rex for the rancher to inspect, and those were his first words. "Nev'a seen that kinda colour on one, but it's a big world." He offered his knuckle to the critter, and when it didn't instantly bite him, he rubbed the underside of its chin. "Pretty calm, this'n. Ya feed it already?"
"Yes." Raphtalia nodded and smiled, "We all took turns sharing food with it. Something that Sir Hero and I drank while we grew up."
The farmer looked at Raphtalia and I, noted the ears and tails, and probably figured out the literal meaning. "That'll do for a short time. But these guys are mostly meat eaters. Eat just about everything that isn't wood or dirt, but meat is best. Though, they get hungr'eh enough? They'll eat wood."
At the word 'eat' the Mini-Rex started looking at the Rancher's finger with great interest. So I imposed my first lesson. "No." I put my finger between its nostrils and gently pushed it away from the Rancher's hand, "Friend."
It tried to push against my finger, even tried to bite me, but I just kept my finger there until it decided resisting was a waste of effort. When it did stop though, I took out yet another cup of Nourishing Beverage, and shared a little with it.
I could have used the slave mark it was born with to enforce various rules, but I saw no need to for something so simple.
"Heh, already takin' to you." The Rancher nodded in approval, "You said you had two new critters?"
Usa, who had been very still for a while now, whimpered quietly, "It's on the back of my head... I don't wanna..." With only one good arm, he wasn't really able to handle the big Bee.
"Oh! Now that's... Is that from the Wave? Naw, can't be... But..." The Rancher seemed a bit at a loss.
"Hatched an hour after this one." I said, "Hold still... There." I said to Usa quietly, letting the Bee 'sniff' my fingers with its antenna, then giving it a tiny push on the rear to climb off Usa's helmet and onto my hand, "I mean, it's a Giant Bee, right?"
"Huh..." He mused, "We don't keep bees round here. This one is pretty docile, but you get a hive of them? Get enough, an' a curious filolial might end up dead for gettin' too close." He offered his finger to the Bee, but instead of touching its antenna to the offered digit, it wiggled backwards a little and 'buzzed' for a half second. "Heh, well I'll just stay ov'r here then."
"I saw beeswax candles though?" I mentioned.
"Ah right, well, we don't keep them here. But some of the poorer noble types do. They have land, orchards, but not enough money to afford ther'own stables. Bees'll pretty much keep themselves, and with a bit o' magic smoke, collectin' honey isn't so dangerous." the Rancher explained, "As for feedin' well, not so sure. Flowers, obv'isly. But they'll buzz about anything sweet. Big enough ta eat rod'nts who bother a hive. Most monsters have tha sense to leave them... bee."
I sighed while the other three chuckled. "Well, we can do that." I nodded, "Thank you."
That night, while we all took turns with reading lessons, staying close to our two new friends, making sure they didn't fight each other or bite anything they shouldn't, I was reminded about what I said earlier.
"Sir?" Usa and I were bonding with the critters, the shy rabbit very cautiously offering the Bee a fingertip of fruit paste. "You mentioned an experiment?"
"Right, I did." Taking care of adorable things, be it children, pets, stray people, etc, made me forgetful it seemed. "So... When they hatched, and the Shield took in their shells, I got a new shield. This one just lets me adjust how fast they grow. Yes, I've turned it 'on', since we're on a tight timetable. But..." I used two fingers to 'wrestle' with the Mini-Rex, its small hand-like fore-claws gripping the ends of my index and middle fingers while it grumbled very quietly at me.
While I spoke, I brought up the 'Beast Training' menu. Very similar to the 'Slave Crest' option list, I started to really go through it. "But. When I took you three in, I got two shields. One for maturation, the other for a mild stat boost. Now... This makes me wonder, is there 'more' to the list? I see there is, but can only guess at how I unlock it."
"What if you gave the Shield... um... scales or... what can you even get from a giant Bee except honey?" Raphtalia asked.
"If that's the case, yes, we'll have to wait. That's fine. But, what about you guys?" The Mini-Rex flopped its head between my two fingers, and just... switched off. Eyes closed, body relaxed. Like a kitten expending all its energy at once then sleeping. "If an animal under the Shield's magic might need feathers, or scales, or honey. What would a person need to give?"
There was an uncomfortable pause. "Hair?" Usa asked.
"Gr. Click." Said Clive, who had no hair. He did scratch at a patch of scales on his arm. "Click?"
"Blood?" Raphtalia asked. "I mean... I saw you put my hair and fur into the Shield after you bought me... Did that work?"
"Unlocked something else." I pondered. "Well, easy way to check. Volunteer? Just need a drop of blood to see if the Shield reacts.
"Clive? Here." Usa said, backing away from the Bee (that looked like it was resting, or sleeping, its legs pulled in so it looked like a fuzzy ball with wings on the table), "I don't use this hand, so..."
He took out his emergency knife, set it down, picked up his limp hand with his good one, and rested it on the table. A moment later, he poked one of the fingers, making a little bead of crimson appear.
No reaction from the Shield though, when I picked up his lame hand and moved it carefully near the green gem on the Shield. "No... Huh... oh..." I set his hand down carefully, "Maybe this is what it needs?"
I sifted through the Shield's inventory and found the little clay cup of 'Slave Enchantment Ink' I'd absorbed during the ritual to bind Raphtalia Clive and Usa. It had a little my my blood in it, but... What if...
I picked up Usa's hand again, and gave his bleeding fingertip a little squeeze. More blood welled up, and then dripped into the dish. A few good drops later, I moved his hand away, and let the Shield have the mixture again.
Slave User Shield III: conditions met
Slave User Shield III: ability locked: equip bonus: Slave maturation Adjustment (medium)
"Aha." I said with a thin smile as the little pot of bloody ink was taken into the Shield, "Seems I was right... But wow... This is a weird system."
"Yes Sir, you've said so." Usa said, "But?"
"I think..." I looked through the new option with the Shield, "I can push your gains on a level a little further."
"You can rely on us even more then." Raphtalia said with a smile, "Now... Come read with us."
"Gr." Clive agreed.
And since our two newest friends were sleeping, I did.
We left town the next morning with a crew of lumberjacks, two empty wagons, a pair of filolial to pull them, and a couple of hunters. This gave us a few opportunities for our new party members. First, socializing. If they could learn to trust 'random people' who were not 'loud and aggressive' then they were less likely to act like an animal when surprised by one, by biting or running away. Not just with people though. But also the two filolials who were pulling the wagons. The two birds were quite even tempered, and well focused, much like a bored horse might be when waiting for something to do. The Bee seemed to just 'exist' to them. They looked at it, then ignored it, only paying actual attention when I brought it closer to their faces.
Then the birds gave me a 'what are you doing?' look. Not the bee, but me, the one holding it. The Bee on the other hand, just waved its antenna at them. Not interested. I still gave it a nibble of fresh made fruit paste (courtesy of the Innkeeper's wife), for being a good critter. The filolial too, since they were also being good. Or at least, not bad.
Our Mini-rex on the other hand was met with... less indifference. The reptile in my hands was happy to meet the new things! The oversized head making little 'rawr' noises in the face of the buff ostrich lookalikes. The birds however, glared at it. And not in the 'you are food' way. The filolial were giving it 'the stare'. A pure territorial reaction.
Too young to care, and in the hands of 'mom(or dad?)' the Mini-Rex was fearless, but not aggressive.
Meh, it was a start. At least they didn't try and eat our new friend. I'd have had to get Raphtalia to punch them or something.
We smelled the swamps long before getting to them. Hard to mistake the smell of 'living rot'. Not an unhealthy smell, but not one you wanted indoors. Slow moving water, perpetually damp vegetation, fish... Yeah, it was a swamp.
When we did stop, we had a very quick chat with the teams. It was simple. My party and I would go in and kill monsters. The Hunters would follow a little behind us, and the Lumberjacks a little behind them. After a little while, my party and I would double back, clear another potential site for chopping, then move on again.
Two steps forward, one step back. Keep the monsters thin, give the workers time to work, then go home with as much wood as the wagons would hold. Hopefully. The Hunters had already been doing this, but now that we were here, they expected it to go smoother. You know, because I was a hero or something.
I'd rather have been called 'a professional'. But different world and all...
The trees they were after looked a lot like cypress trees. With solid trunks but long thin roots that the tree 'stood' on, with most of the soil eroded away with swamp water. It looked almost like there were cages under the tree trunks.
"Thought of names?" Raphtalia asked, the Mini-rex flopped over my shoulder after eating a little Chimera Jerky I'd made.
Oh, Clive and the Mini-Rex were the only ones who could eat it. It was WAY too weird tasting for the rest of us. Like pure pepper and garlic with a mud aftertaste. And that was AFTER I'd worked with it. Worse than even bear meat.
I looked to Raphtalia, then past her to Usa, who's ears were sticking straight up and listening for something to hunt. "I'm not sure. Most of the time when I name something its... appropriate, but not very imaginative."
"Click?"
Usa seemed to translate, "What of your children?" A pause, "Oh, something! In the water ahead just past the hill."
"Talk later." I said firmly, the four of us getting ready.
Giant frogs sucked in two out of two worlds that I'd encountered them in. These ones were about as big as a wine barrel, were covered in mildly poisonous slime, had a long very accurate tongue that was not only sticky, but barbed!
But after putting the Mini-Rex into Usa's backpack, (it still stuck its head out and 'rawr'ed encouragement while we fought), the Bee on Clive's shoulder (his 'chameleon cape' actually tried to mimic the Bee's colours while it pretended to be a 'fuzzy ball') we treated it like one of the porcupine. Long range, don't touch with bare skin, clean carefully when killed.
It wasn't long before we started to find other things in the swamp. After we cleared up the first likely 'chopping spot' and marking it for the Hunters when they caught up, we found... Ah, the Shield called it 'giant salamander' (about the size of a Florida crocodile, but smooth skinned, slimy and red striped). Also on the list were more 'Big Frog' (no, not giant frogs, big frogs), a blue frog (that was in the middle of eating a salamander whole!), another type of porcupine (meaner, slightly larger, darker coloured), large mosquitoes (we got no EXP from these, they were just large and annoying), and even another breed of usapil (they were marked as 'white usapil' but ranged in colour from mud brown to albino).
But aside from the blue frog (that was basically a small island in the middle of the swamp) we had little trouble. With each of us filling our role, each threat was found (Usa usually giving early warning) drawn in (Clive either killing it with a single shot, or getting its attention so it came to us) held in place (me or Usa) then killed (everyone but me, sigh).
Our two new friends were gaining levels quickly as well. So fast in fact, I only noticed when the Shield popped a little notice into my field of view.
Monster User Shield II: conditions met
Monster User Shield II: ability locked: equip bonus: monster status adjustment (small)
Usa brought his mace down on the head of a salamander, a little EXP notice popping up in the corner of my vision, and we all paused as the swamp around us went quiet.
"I think that's all?" Raphtalia asked, swinging her sword sharply to clear the frog slime off it, then sheathing her blade.
"Gr." Clive replied.
"Nothing close by." Usa confirmed.
"Good work everyone." I said, "And it seems... huh. Once we clean these up, lets head back to the last trees we marked for cutting and have lunch."
"Did something happen?" Usa asked, setting the Mini-Rex down so it could sniff at the dead monsters.
"The Shield unlocked the stat adjustment for our new friends." I replied, feeling a little weight settle on my head, then 'buzz' as it got comfortable. I put my knife down and reached up, the giant bee tapping my hand with its antenna for a moment then climbing on, "You're getting much bigger." I said to it.
"Buzz." It replied with a tone I imagined to say 'of course I am, so what?'. It then carefully walked in a circle around the back of my hand and forearm, shaking its fuzzy rear and dusting my arm with pollen.
I looked up and spotted lots of those vines the Old Hunter mentioned. "Thank you." I said, brushing a finger against its antenna, then patting its fuzzy rear. "Well, looking at the status screen..."
Kodori: LV 24
Raphtalia: LV 28
Clive: LV 28
Usa: LV 25
Monster 1: LV 12
Monster 2: LV 13
"Wait... This one is higher level?" Raphtalia knelt next to me, taking off her glove and doing the same 'brush antenna' greeting, then letting it crawl onto her hand. "But..."
"I think... It's been eating the mosquitoes." Usa said, "Ah, I need another hand here..."
"Gr." Clive went to assist, "Gr, gr gr." He said to the Mini-Rex.
"Rawr!" It replied, now almost knee high and no longer 'unbalanced' with its longer hind legs and shorter forelegs, it stopped clawing at the 'large frog'. Clive then used some leaves to wipe away the left over slime, and cut through the skin with his knife. "gr..." This gave it a softer spot to try and worry meat off the carcass.
"You're teaching it your eating habits?" Raphtalia asked with a sigh, "Well it asked nice first?"
Clive nodded to her, then helped Usa clean up the rest of the frog. We weren't wasting anything. I'd just have to make sure to cook the frog meat well when we got to it. And that bone barb on the end of their tongue would make a great spear point... maybe...
"You mentioned names, Sir?" Usa asked, Clive and him working well together.
"Right." I nodded, "One of our children, we named Toshi, another word for 'mirror'. A little boy who looks much like my wife. Same hair and eyes, just a boy. Yuki and Yumi, twin girls, happiness and dream, though, Yuki is the sleepy one, and Yumi is quite upbeat." I sighed, "A little rabbit we called 'Chime', because my best friend Bell looks like a rabbit. He's human, just with white hair and red eyes."
"Ohhhh like a smaller bell! Chime." Raphtalia nodded, getting the 'joke'. "Well, as long as you don't call these two something... short form."
I nodded, I wouldn't do something silly and call the dragon something like 'draco' or 'drake'. Or the Bee 'Bee'. Besides, calling out 'drake' in combat might confuse people.
"I think..." I started, looking at the Bee, it's 'two fist' size having grown to almost the length of my hand and forearm together, "You will be called Kunshu." I had no idea if this bee was female, or if it was, could ever be a queen. But it was MY bee, and thus a Monarch.
"Kunshu..." Raphtalia tried the word, "What do you think?" She asked Kunshu.
"Buzz." Well it wasn't an angry noise at least. Did it even understand? Well, it did understand we didn't like the mosquitoes, and had been eating them. So maybe it did?
"And you..." I pointed at the mini-Rex, and to my surprise it stopped trying to pull a strip of frog flesh away from the carcass, and gave me a bloody faced head-tilt. I resisted the urge to call it Ryu or some other dragon related name. "I will call you Tetsu." Before I realized I DID call it a dragon related name, calling it 'Iron'. Though, its scales had started to take on the colour of forged unpolished iron.
I missed my home... "Tetsu?" Usa asked.
"It means Iron." I said, "Wont be long before those nice black scales start to become as hard as iron? Probably harder... and they even look like iron." I pointed a finger at its nose, "So long as you don't get eaten."
"Gr!" Tetsu replied, lowering its chin and turning my 'nose boop' into a 'scratch my forehead'.
So I did. "Good. You're learning. Who's a good Tetsu?" I asked, "You too." I said to Kunshu, "Thank you for the pollen."
"You sound like a proud father." Raphtalia said, "It's almost lunch time though... Shall we hurry back to the last clearing?"
White Usapil Shield: conditions met
White Usapil Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: defence 2
Usapil Bone Shield: conditions met
Usapil Bone Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: stamina up (small)
Dark Porcupine Shield: conditions met
Dark Porcupine Shield: ability locked: equip bonus: agility 12
Porcupine Bone Shield: conditions met
Porcupine Bone Shield: ability locked: equip bonus SP up (small)
NOTES!
Yes, I suck with names. But we now welcome Kunshu (Monarch) the Bee, and Tetsu (Iron) the... maybe dragon? Sassy lizard? Figure it out later.
Not too much later though. In the LN, Filo grows into a 'normal' sized filolial after a DAY of levelling, then a good sleep. So it won't be long for these two either. (This isn't even my FINAL FORM!)
Thank you for reading! And if you want to see any full colour art, join the discord!
aKAQg4bnYu for the discord!
And my actual book, Were Too? is on Inkitt.
And! I'm looking into getting some story themed merchandise made. Join the Discord to find out more!
