Chapter 71: Additional Domination
Zalm-san and Kilza-san said they didn’t need the Gold Mash. When I asked why, they said it was because they felt bad for the person who told them the location.
Besides, even if they sold a small amount of Gold Mash to the Guild, they didn’t want it because if it became rumored as an expensive item, it would be troublesome later.
In exchange for me taking all the Gold Mash, I gave all the prey, like High Orcs and Black Bears, to the two of them.
While I was at it, I also dried and powdered some Gold Mash, put the powder into small vials, and gave one to each of them.
I aired them in the shade, and once they were moderately dry, I let them dry completely in the sun until they were crisp. Then, I put them into a Medicinal Herb Pouch inside a basket.
I managed to gather a full basket and a third more, so, satisfied, I finished my mushroom hunting. Then, I decided to return to town to sell the Beasts we had hunted in the meantime.
At the purchase counter, I declared that we had a large number of prey and was allowed into the Dismantling Area.
There was a queue forming, but there were no small groups like ours.
It was all parties of about five, six, to eight people. We were being stared at intently, which made us uncomfortable; it seemed like we were being sized up.
There were cattle with enormous horns, and a pitch-black tiger… I think.
Also, Brown Bears and a golden-furred bear, which I heard called a Golden Bear in hushed voices.
It was about twice the size of a Black Bear; I was impressed they’d even think of subjugating something like that.
When it was our turn, it was my job to line up the prey in the designated spot.
Zalm-san’s and Kilza-san’s Magic Pouches were Rank 3, and their capacity wasn’t enough for so many kills, so I had taken charge of them.
Black Tiger, 1
High Orcs, 6
Orcs, 7
Elks, 3
Forest Wolves, 9
Gray Wolves, 7
Big Tiger, 1
Horn Boars, 4
Once I finished lining everything up, I took Zalm-san’s Guild Card, and we headed to the dining hall for a toast with ale.
“It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve done something truly Adventurer-like,” Zalm-san said.
“Yeah,” Kilza-san agreed. “I’ve been hunting a bit lately, but I can’t go back to my old party, and forming a new one is… well…”
“It’s not like there are many trustworthy people just available, either,” Zalm-san added.
“More importantly,” Kilza-san said, “how did you subjugate those Forest Wolves? You told us to watch, so we did, but I seriously thought you were using magic or something.”
“I can only say it’s a power granted by the Tamer God’s Divine Protection,” I replied. “Even if you ask me to explain, it’s the work of a god, you know.”
“And sometimes, those Killer Bees fly over to you, right?” Zalm-san remarked.
“I get chills just hearing that buzzing,” Kilza-san said. “We were ordered to clean up afterward, but those faces, with countless stings, swollen and discolored from poison… they were not a pretty sight.”
“I don’t think you’ll get stung if you’re with me,” I said. “When I’m subjugating alone, they’re cute little things that help me out.”
“So,” Zalm-san asked, “now that your business here is done, are you returning to the Royal Capital?”
“No,” I replied. “I want to explore the Deep Forest and find out what kind of Beasts live there.”
“Alone?” Kilza-san asked.
“I’m basically always alone. Besides, I’m fast on my feet, so I’ll be fine.”
“You certainly do seem fast on your feet,” Zalm-san chuckled.
“That tree climbing of yours was astonishing!” Kilza-san exclaimed. “You’re just as good as Mii-chan, if not better.”
The dismantling clerk brought over the appraisal sheet, so we exchanged greetings and parted ways.
If there are many Beasts, I plan to stay in this area until spring, increase the number of creatures under my Domination a bit more, and prepare to reduce future hassles.
Among Beasts, Golden Bears and Armor Buffalos are considered the big game. Dragons, apparently, are only encountered if you venture quite deep into the wilderness.
I probably don’t need to Dominate Beasts I’ll rarely see, but I want to acquire Domination over the kinds of beasts one might encounter around Tanza.
A few men and women were standing in front of Hoo-chan, engrossed in conversation. From what they were saying, they seemed to be Tamers.
When I called Hoo-chan, they looked at each other, and one asked, “Is that your Tamed Beast, brother?” There was no hostility in his voice.
Instead, their eyes were filled with curiosity.
“Yeah, what about it?” I asked.
“You have three beasts of two different species under your command?”
“Well, yeah. I’m blessed with the Tamer God’s Divine Protection.”
“How were you able to Tame three beasts of two species?” another Tamer asked. “Ah, I’ve also received the Divine Protection, but Taming a single Gray Wolf is all I can manage.”
“Three beasts of two species, and two of them are Forest Wolves… is your ability high? Could you tell us how much ability is needed to Tame a Forest Wolf?” a female Tamer chimed in.
“Unfortunately, my ability is 1, so there’s nothing I can teach you. I can only say it’s thanks to the Divine Protection.”
“Ability of 1, you say? That’s a lie, right?”
“I’m not asking you to believe me, but I can only Tame Beasts after beating them to within an inch of their lives. If it’s the same for you all, then there’s nothing I can teach.”
“Is the Fang Cat useful?” one of them asked, looking at Mii-chan.
“She hunts for my livelihood, you know. The Wolves are my guards. Shall we talk about Taming next time we meet?”
I’m interested in other Tamers, but acquiring Domination is my priority right now, so I left town as planned and headed for the forest.
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Upon entering the forest, I called Bee-chan and asked her to search for large furballs. However, I didn’t have her use a large swarm, limiting the search to the immediate surroundings with about fifty bees.
If there were none nearby, we repeatedly moved deeper into the forest, with Hoo-chan’s nose and Mii-chan scouting the surroundings from high up in the trees.
After that, I used my Search skill to find small animals and hone my abilities. After all, my Search, Presence Detection, and Stealth skills haven’t shown any signs of improving since they reached Advanced – Low.
I’ve been living an idle life, relying entirely on Mii-chan and Bee-chan for my life as an Adventurer, so I took some time to reflect on that.
In town, just having Hoo-chan and the others around served as guards, so I also reflected on being too lazy.
For herbivores I found with Search, I would quietly move to a good ambush spot and wait using Stealth.
I’d tell Hoo-chan and Fang the prey’s location and have them drive it towards me.
This proved to be quite difficult; they rarely came right in front of me. If they got close and I drew my bow, my movement would give away my position.
It became a contest of whether they were faster at fleeing or I was faster at loosing an arrow, or it would turn into a chase through the forest.
When that happened, Hoo-chan and Fang were the fastest. They’d break through bushes and thickets, catching up in an instant and biting down.
In that regard, carnivores were easier to fight because they come at you, but Wolf-types and Dog-types were mostly already Dominated, so I left them alone.
What gave me trouble were Golden Tigers and King Tigers; Hoo-chan and Fang would get hesitant and couldn’t drive them effectively.
If things went badly, they’d get counterattacked and injured, forcing us to rely on Potions.
When I tried using a Potion, Hoo-chan’s injuries healed, so it was a good discovery to learn that they also work on Beasts.
Even fighting head-on, a giant tiger’s cat punch… no, tiger punch, was terrifying. Without impact-resistant defense, I couldn’t carelessly get close.
The Orc King’s King’s Pressure had no effect, so it became a fight relying on Mii-chan’s Agility and the Super Strength ability.
Fighting by hitting them with the Demon Steel Short Spear, injuring them just enough not to kill them, was nerve-wracking. If I failed, I’d have to repeat the same process, which was exhausting.
When their movements dulled, I’d check their name and stats with 《Tame》, and then, while holding back, I’d end up muttering 《Tame, Tame》 repeatedly.
The Domination I acquired was for:
Four types of bears: Golden Bear, Red Bear, Brown Bear, and Black Bear.
Five types of felines: Golden Tiger, King Tiger, Fang Tiger, Big Cat, and Black Cat.
Seven types of herbivores: Big Elk, Elk, Red Horn Goat, Golden Sheep, Big Horn Sheep, Orange Sheep, and Great Donkey.
As for useful abilities, I obtained four: the Golden Bear’s Peerless Strength, the Golden Tiger’s Glare, the Black Cat’s Night Vision, and the Elk’s Stealth.
The rest were all rather iffy things like Roar, Cat Punch Impact, the Red Horn Goat’s Cliff Climbing, and so on.
As for the Great Donkey’s Endurance, it was useless for anything other than pulling a cart, so I abandoned it immediately.
I checked my Skills, but I got dizzy and lost the will to read through them.
For now, I searched for usable abilities and made a list.
Tree Climbing, Poison Nullification, Jump, Agility, Super Strength. To these, Peerless Strength, Glare, Night Vision, and Stealth (from the Elk) were added.
And my Stealth skill, which was Advanced – Low, had the “Low” part disappear, becoming just Advanced Stealth.
Satisfied with the results, I decided to return to town. I had used Jump a lot to get deep into the forest, but I was surprised to see quite a few Adventurers on my way back.
A group of seven who were subjugating a Brown Bear had a Fire Magician hit its snout with a Fireball to distract it. In that opening, two people with strongbows shot arrows from the left and right. Their strongbows were far sturdier than the three-person draw bow I had, and the Arrowheads looked large and heavy, the arrows thick and long.
I shivered, thinking that if a bear were hit by something like that, it would be a goner.
The other party had formed a circle, facing the Forest Wolves. Every one of them held either a Short Spear or a sword, and they cut down and stabbed to death the wolves attacking from all sides with ease. In the blink of an eye, they’d decimated the pack.
As I was admiring them, one of them looked up and asked, “What are you doing in a place like this?”
I was surprised they’d noticed me while they were fighting, given that I’d moved from branch to branch to get to a spot diagonally above them.
“Ah~, I thought you might need a hand, but it seems you don’t.”
“Sorry to make you worry. Which party are you from?”
“I’m alone.”
“Alone? You came this deep into the Deep Forest all by yourself?”
Hmm? So there was a woman among them.
“Yeah, though I have Mii-chan and Hoo-chan with me.”
“Mii-chan and Hoo-chan?”
“They’re a Fang Cat and a Forest Wolf. Hoo-chan and Mii-chan got scared watching that fight just now. Would it be alright if I took a look at those Forest Wolves?”
“Sure, I don’t mind. Come on down.”