Chapter 32: Fang Cat
Thinking I’d gotten injured again, I hurriedly took out a Potion… which one should I drink?
The Elf from the Apothecary Guild had looked at the arrow wound and said that if I sprinkled the medium-grade one on the wound and drank the rest, it would heal cleanly, so the medium-grade one… 《Clean》 to tidy it up.
I felt for the wound with my hand, lightly sprinkled some around it, and drank the rest.
Hmm, it’s a bit grassy, but a world of difference from Kuma-san’s god-awful Potion.
While I was comparing the taste, the pain disappeared, so when I stroked it with my hand, it was so smooth I couldn’t believe there had been a wound.
It’s a higher quality than the one I drank before; as expected of an expensive Potion.
It was the right decision to buy it, but aren’t I drinking Potions a bit too often?
At this rate, I’ll end up drinking Potions 3 or 4 times a year.
《Master, are you alright?》
《The one that attacked Master has fallen.》
《I gave it a good sting!》
That’s right, if it fell, does that mean it’s dead?
Or rather, what was that thing?
《Bee-chan, guide me to where it fell.》
《Number 41 will guide you.》
《Number 8 will go too!》
《Master, it’s over here~♪》
《No fair!》
When I went to where a small swarm of mosquitoes—no, bees—had formed, there was a black furball.
Thinking they’d done a good job stinging it, I picked it up. It was fluffy, but its ears and nose were discolored.
It was a furball about 1 meter long in total, and its ears and nose seemed to have been stung because they were soft.
The furball I lifted let out a groan.
(Tame) [Fang Cat: 4…3…2…]
Whoa! (Tame, Tame) [Fang Cat: 4-1]
I managed to Tame it.
Soo-chan doesn’t look like an insect, but it’s hard to call it an animal either.
Since I had Tamed two creatures with Koo-chan and Bee-chan, I thought I could probably Tame an animal too, and I managed to Tame one.
It looks completely like a cat, but sharp fangs protrude from its mouth.
Body length about 50cm, height about 40cm, fluffy tail over 60cm, with a black and dark brown mottled pattern.
《Furball-chan, can you hear me?》
《Yes, Master.》
《What were you doing over there?》
《I was hunting. I was waiting for prey when a large object came flying and I was almost crushed.》
Well, that was my bad.
For now, let’s give it a name and check its abilities.
《You’re Mii-chan. Mii-1 is your name.》 [Fang Cat, 4-1, Night Vision, Agility, 40]
《Understood, Master.》
Hmm, Night Vision and Agility appeared.
(Skill) [Shinya, Human, 18 years old. Tamer, Ability 1, Amadeus’s Blessing, Tina’s Blessing, Domestic Magic, Magical Power 10/10, Search Mid-rank Intermediate, Presence Detection Mid-rank Intermediate, Stealth Mid-rank Intermediate, Tree Climbing, Poison Nullification, Killer Bee Domination]
[Killer Bee, 50-50, Compound Eyes, Poison Nullification]
[Slime, 30-1, Malleable Body, Jump, 8]
[Fang Cat, 4-1, Night Vision, Agility, 40]
The Fang Cat’s abilities are Night Vision and Agility, huh? Night Vision is hard to pass up, but I’ll go with Agility without hesitation.
When I selected Agility, it became [Tree Climbing, Poison Nullification, Killer Bee Domination, Agility].
I tried selecting Night Vision as well, but there was no response, so it seems I can only choose one.
I wondered how to test Agility, but the only thing I could think of was shuttle runs, so I gave up on that.
I stopped the Jump training and, wanting to see Mii-chan’s agility, had her climb the tree she’d been hiding in.
With swift movements, she dashed up to the branch she was originally on in an instant and went all the way to the treetop.
Even then, just when I thought she was climbing straight up, she’d spiral around the trunk like a squirrel or instantly reverse direction; her Agility was no mere show.
I chuckled to myself, thinking I’d acquired a great ability.
If the 40 after the ability disappears, then just like with Koo-chan, the ability should remain even if I release the Tame.
I tried playing tag with Mii-chan, and while catching her was impossible, I could move well enough to chase her.
Now that I’ve gained jumping power and swift movement, I think if I also had great strength, I’d be able to fight reasonably well.
But, even with great strength, I think Kuma-san’s kind of strength is a bit different.
Speaking of a Beast with considerable strength among humanoids, it’s an Orc.
If I could use even half of its strength, then with some sword practice, I could set out on a journey alone.
《Is this a gathering place for Master’s species?》
《It is, but there are many children, so don’t attack them. Or rather, stay by my side at all times.》
《Understood, Master.》
Wondering how things would turn out, I arrived at the village entrance.
“It’s Shinya, right? Why are you with a Slime and a Fang Cat?”
“Eh? Because I Tamed them.”
“Weren’t Tamers only able to Tame one creature?”
“Well~, I’ve never met another Tamer, so I don’t really know, but I have the Tamer God’s Divine Protection, so maybe that’s why.”
“Beasts aren’t allowed in the village, but if it’s Tamed, I guess it’s fine. If it attacks any villagers or livestock, it’s all your responsibility, don’t forget that.”
“Understood.” 《Mii-chan, stay on my shoulder for a while.》
《On Master’s shoulder… Is that alright?》
《Soo-chan is popular with the children… like a toy, so if you’re with it, you’ll get mobbed.》
When I said that, she reacted to the word “mobbed” and quickly jumped onto my shoulder.
I learned from being scratched that a Fang Cat’s claws are more of a weapon than its fangs.
Its paws are quite thick and its claws are big; you can’t tell at all when they’re retracted, which is probably why it was named Fang Cat.
“Ah, it’s Soo-chan~♪”
“Soo-chan, let’s play!”
“I’m gonna kick it!”
“Shinya’s~ carrying a kitty cat!”
“Let me hold the kitty cat~♪”
《Soo-chan, go on ahead. Don’t go too far, and try not to get anyone hurt.》
《Yes, Master.》
“Shinya~, Fran was looking for you~”
“Thanks. I’ll go see her.”
《Master, what are these small masters?》
《They’re human children. They’re weak, so don’t bite them or use your claws on them.》
《They’re kind of… staring at me.》
《Once you get used to them, play with them, okay?》
When I went to Fran’s house, she was with the village chief and others, gathered around a map, discussing something with stern expressions.
“Shinya-san, where have you been?”
“I was around the edge of the forest. What do you need?”
“It’s been decided to expand the village’s cultivated land, and since my Earth Magic has improved, I was asked to build a wall, but I wanted to ask you what I should do.”
“Hmm, can’t you just make a big version of Shield?”
“I thought so too and tried making one, but it keeps falling over.”
“Even if you fix it to the ground like a Shield?”
“I made it the same way as a Shield or Dome, but…”
A wall, huh? If it’s to prevent Beasts from entering, wouldn’t pillars be better than a wall?
In fact, the village is surrounded by a log fence, so you could just erect giant Stone Lances.
When I went with the village chief and others to see the wall Fran had built, a plank about 2 meters wide and 8 meters high had fallen over.
About 1 meter of the part that was buried had gouged out the earth, so the ground seems soft.
Fran probably has no construction experience, so she likely doesn’t know how to erect a wall vertically.
It’s a common story to think you’ve built a wall straight, only for it to be tilted due to illusions caused by the terrain’s slope or other factors.
I asked the village chief to prepare four ropes, each over 15 meters long.
In the meantime, I took Fran to the current fence and had her carefully examine the pillars.
“Memorize this pillar’s thickness, and for the length… double it.”
“This is about 30cm thick, and you want it twice as long?”
“It’s an image. It’s basically the same as making a Stone Lance, but I intend to use magic with the pillar laid horizontally. The reason you could endlessly make the same thing is because you engraved it in your mind, allowing you to create Stone Arrows or Lances just by thinking it. That fallen wall was probably just you imagining a Shield and making it bigger, right?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“For the actual length, you can have the village chief decide after you make one. For now, try making a Stone Lance without a pointed tip. Like a Short Spear without the spearhead.”
I stood my Short Spear in front of her as an example and asked for something like its shaft.
She looked at the spear and muttered something, then with a shout of 《…Hah!》, an earthen rod appeared.
I picked it up, stood it upright, and then requested one twice as long.
When she made one twice as long, I then increased the difficulty by asking for one of the same length but twice as thick.
This seems quicker than having her make a pillar all at once.
As expected, when both length and thickness were doubled, it became too heavy to hold, so I had her dispel the Magical Power and we returned to where the Shield had fallen.
“Shinya-san, did you Tame a Fang Cat?”
“Yeah, cute, isn’t it?”
“Well, its fluffy tail is nice, but it’s black and dark brown mottled, huh. Still, that makes three types now.”
“Yeah. With Koo-chan and Bee-chan, that’s two types of insects. I wonder what Soo-chan counts as.”
“Well~, it doesn’t look like a Beast, nor does it look like an insect.”
“If you were able to Tame two types of insects, don’t you think you could Tame two types of beasts as well?”
“No matter how you look at it, that’s deviating from common sense.”
“You’re already plenty outside common sense, aren’t you? I’ll try it out eventually.”
Deviating from common sense, huh.
The Divine Protections of two deities, Amadeus and Tina—and even if they were given haphazardly, possessing two official Divine Protections—I think I’m the one who’s further from common sense.
You never know until you try, and it’s definitely worth a shot.
When I returned to where the shield had fallen, the village chief was already waiting with a rope prepared.
I had the Magical Power drained from the shield, and started by digging a hole about 2.5 meters deep in that spot.
Next, I had a pillar identical to the previous one created vertically in that hole, and then had the part that was more than half-buried remade to be twice as long and thick.