[ Beast Tamer (2) ]
As I emptied my glass, I organized my thoughts on the upcoming plans.
I decided to raise the Flame Horned Lion in cooperation with Haeyeon. Negotiating with the large guilds on my own would be too much to handle. Plus, it’s a hassle. Why take on that kind of trouble when there are people who can do the job well?
“You’re still going to stay unaffiliated as a Hunter, right?”
I nodded at Yuhyun’s question.
“If I were to sign a Hunter contract with Haeyeon, it would only make more people wary of me. Even if the chances are slim, there’s a big difference between having an opportunity and having none at all.”
I was already the blood relative of the Haeyeon Guild Leader, and if I went so far as to seal it with a contract, there might be attempts to crush me before I could grow stronger. The world is full of people who’d spit on a cake they can’t eat.
“At least, on the surface, I need to appear fair. Once Haeyeon gains full control of the domestic Hunter scene, I’ll sign a contract then.”
“It won’t take that long.”
Yuhyun said confidently. He had already dominated the scene in just five years, so if he adds Yerim and Myungwoo, it’ll be even faster. Kim Seonghan also has the potential to grow into an S-rank.
…Will Seok Hayan join Haeyeon too? She is Seok Gimyeong’s niece… I feel like I’m giving out a lot more than I initially thought.
Oh well, it’d be good if Haeyeon grows quickly. Yuhyun’s not the type to betray me, anyway.
“As we discussed earlier, the compensation for Haeyeon’s support will be raising Peace. We can proceed with the detailed contract after we clear the new A-rank dungeon. You said the raid would start in three days, right?”
“Yeah. I should send people to the auction house to sweep up any monster cubs and eggs.”
“We don’t need mid or low-level ones, but do you think any high-level ones are even available?”
“If we check overseas, there might be some left in inventory. They’re expensive but not very useful. We should secure a tamer in advance, too.”
…There’s no way they’re going to dump a dozen or so on me at once, right? I’d spend all my time just feeding them.
“I can’t raise too many at once.”
I preemptively clarified, just in case. There were practical limits, after all. The emotional bond took time, and rapid growth could only be achieved if I personally handled the training.
So, managing around three to four at a time seemed reasonable.
“Really? How many can you handle?”
“Three is ideal, five at most. The more there are, the slower their growth rate.”
“You’ll set aside a spot for Haeyeon, right? Even if we only have two or three each, we’d need at least ten for the S-rank team.”
“…Ten?”
“Yeah, the S-rank raid teams are composed of at least twenty members.”
Uh… A warning light flashed in my mind, signaling that I was about to be buried in work. I had planned to raise a moderate number and live comfortably without being greedy. How long would it take to raise ten of them?
Considering that higher-level monsters grow at more than twice the rate of Peace, and if I raise five at a time, it would still take a good few months.
And that’s just for the initial ten, for Haeyeon alone. Judging by the tone, it seemed like they wanted to fill in one per person whenever possible.
“…This is already becoming a hassle.”
I hugged Peace and buried myself into the sofa backrest. I had underestimated this. Even if I only trained the highest-level ones and used my skills on the high-level ones, I’d still have to feed and care for them until they were tamed. With care and affection.
I haven’t even gotten married or dated, and now I’m diving into parenting hell.
“Since the Flame Horned Lion isn’t essential for dungeon raids, can’t we raise them slowly?”
“It’s not essential, but having them would drastically speed up our progress.”
“How much faster?”
“In terms of S-rank dungeon raids, it could cut the time by more than half.”
“What? By half?”
“Even in today’s D-rank dungeon, we had to walk quite a bit. It’s even more so for S-rank dungeons. Running on foot drains stamina, and compared to four-legged monsters of the same rank, it’s much slower. So naturally, it speeds things up significantly.”
Damn, this is bigger than I thought.
I didn’t expect the difference to be that large. Is this the difference between someone who works in the field and someone who just knows the theory? I can’t exactly slack off after hearing that.
If high-level dungeon raid times are cut in half, that means dungeon safety doubles. Right now, the number of high-level dungeons is still small, but in two or three years, the number of awakened people won’t be able to cover the number of dungeons.
Naturally, the risk of dungeon breaks will increase.
However, if the Flame Horned Lions are distributed, the story changes entirely.
‘Even if the raid times are cut by just 30%, it would be like increasing the number of S-rank raid teams by 30%… Ugh.’
A world that’s over 30% safer… My conscience… My morals… My ethics…
Fine, I’ll just work hard. There aren’t that many S-rank raid teams anyway, and it will end someday. I’d like to retire as a happy millionaire before I turn 40.
“For now, get me a training room right away. Since I’ve already used my skill on Peace, there are only two and a half days of the effect left. We need to train him as much as possible to have proof to present at the negotiation table.”
“Now? It’s pretty late.”
“What’s the big deal about staying up all night? I’ll rest in between since Peace will need breaks too.”
“Still, don’t overdo it. You’ll need recording equipment if you want to keep track, right?”
“Yeah.”
While Yuhyun was on the phone, I sprawled out completely on the sofa. I hadn’t even had time to enjoy becoming one with the sofa, and here I am already. My side, where I got hit, ached again.
‘To whoever designed the system, I’ll be busy for a while, so don’t call me.’
I need to raise these kids. I’m taking paternity leave.
The place Yuhyun provided was none other than the training room for rookie Hunters.
The room was spacious enough for the young Flame Horned Lion to run around freely, equipped with various training machines. In addition to that,
“These are ten Jaw Moles.”
They even brought monsters.
“They’ve been weakened so that even F-rank rookies can handle them for training and skill testing, but please don’t take out more than two at a time.”
The training room manager warned us. The manager here was different because they handled monsters; they were also an awakened individual. Their stats were around D-rank, and they seemed specialized in defense.
“In case of emergency, press the emergency call button immediately. Please refer to this manual for the operation of the training equipment.”
After completing his explanation, the manager shot me a doubtful look before leaving the room.
Since beast taming was to be kept a secret until negotiations with the major guilds began, we made it seem like I’d be training instead of Peace, and that was why I borrowed the training room. I’d probably get some complaints for hogging the guild’s training room while relying on my brother.
“Now, Peace. Sit here quietly.”
I had Peace sit beside the Jaw Mole cage to record his current condition. The front of the cage was transparent, so I could clearly compare the size of the two monsters.
-Grrrr
Peace bared his fangs, showing interest in the Jaw Mole. The Jaw Mole, too, waved its forepaws with long claws in response. Must be a low-level monster, acting so dumb. It doesn’t even recognize its opponent.
“No, sit back down. Good.”
I turned on the camcorder mounted on a tripod to record Peace.
“This is Peace, a juvenile of a second-grade unicorn subspecies, the Flame Horned Lion. He has not grown in the two months since capture. Body length is 41 cm, and weight is 2.8 kg. The Beast Taming skill has been in effect for one day as of 11:21 PM.”
After providing the narration, I turned off the recording function. Next, I placed a large clock with a timer function on the table and noted the current time and Peace’s remaining growth time in my notebook.
“What should we start with?”
First, I needed to check the efficiency and responsiveness by using each training device. I loaded balls into the pitching machine first.
‘Not sure if it’s okay to use a machine.’
When I personally threw balls to Peace, the growth time decreased by about 18 minutes for every 10 minutes of play. Throwing balls for an hour reduced the time by 48 minutes, which was quite efficient. If only my shoulder could hold up.
“Peace, look here!”
-Kyang?
Peace, who had been sitting, sprang up and approached me. No, don’t come over here. I operated the pitching machine and lightly shot a ball.
-Sniff
Peace briefly glanced at the ball before ignoring it altogether. Hey. You were chasing after them just fine when I threw them myself.
I tried another ball, but this time he didn’t even look. He just flopped down at my feet.
-Grrrr
“…Peace.”
Don’t tell me training directly meant this. My stamina, my strength… Swallowing a sigh, I called the training room management office.
“I need equipment that increases mainly stamina stats, including strength. All parts of the body. Do I need to get special permission from the Guild Leader?”
[No, he said to provide anything you need.]
“In that case, please send equipment that boosts stats.”
The manager over the phone sounded slightly flustered at my request.
[The stats-increasing equipment is only of a low grade.]
“I know.”
Everyone in this guild is a stat hoarder. I’ll just use whatever is available.
Soon, the requested equipment arrived. After putting it all on, my stamina stat barely hit 100. That’s about level 2 for an S-rank. Wow~.
My strength was just under 50, but since Peace is still at a C-rank level, it should be fine. He doesn’t have combat experience, so he’s probably at level 1.
“We’ve already tried throwing balls, so let’s try hitting the sandbag this time.”
I led Peace over to a sandbag hanging on one side of the room. Of course, it wasn’t a regular sandbag. This one was sturdy, designed for attack training, and had automatic damage measurement.
“Okay, Peace, look. I’ll hold it steady, and you jump up and hit it like this. You can scratch it or bite it. It’s tough.”
I demonstrated, and Peace started jumping up and batting the sandbag with his head and horns. Pretty strong.
“Good job! That’s it! Keep going!”
-Grr, grrr!
I shook the sandbag occasionally, and Peace became even more excited. This feels good. I have a strong feeling that this training will be very effective.
After exactly 30 minutes of training, I checked Peace’s remaining growth period.
‘Wow, it decreased by over an hour!’
While training, the growth speed was about 2.3 times faster. At this rate, Peace could reach adulthood after the third application of the skill.
If I trained for three days straight, I could reduce the 15-day period to under seven days. But that’s a bit much, so allowing nine days would mean he’d mature in just two months.
“Great, let’s try the next thing!”
-Kyong!
Peace, excited from playing with the sandbag, bounced around. Our Peace has great stamina, too.
I spent the next five hours trying out various pieces of equipment. The most efficient one was mock combat, which had a 3x rate, while the most manageable for me was laser pointer play, at a 1.7x rate.
“…I’m dying.”
-Grr?
Peace looked up at me as I lay sprawled out on the long chair, tilting his head.
I should have a higher stamina stat, so why doesn’t he get tired? Maybe because he’s young and recovers quickly. Or perhaps this is the difference between an inherent C-rank destined to become an S-rank and an F-rank just pretending with equipment.
The visible five stats aren’t all there is to an awakened individual. Awakener researchers unanimously claim that there are hidden stats like recovery, endurance, durability, intelligence, luck, various senses, and more.
Experiments showed differences in abilities even when stats were matched with equipment and no skills were used. The side with naturally higher rank excelled in every aspect.
That’s why relying solely on equipment has its limits. Sadly.
“Still, my current stamina stat should be three times higher. Are monsters really that strong in recovery?”
-Kyong, kyong!
“No, I can’t play anymore. Let’s rest for a bit.”
Stamina potions would be great, but those won’t be developed for another year. That’s because the dungeon providing the ingredients won’t appear until a year from now. It’d be nice to get that dungeon too, but it’s overseas.
‘Wasn’t it in Japan?’
Why there, of all places? Once Haeyeon secures its position, maybe I should attack Japan. Two birds with one stone, sounds good.
-Grr, grrr!
As Peace whined for attention, he started tugging at the hem of my pants. Hey, you.
“Have you been cooped up for too long, and now you’ve got pent-up energy? Peace, do you want to play with the moles over there?”
I should test some training methods on them too. Dragging my body, which felt like waterlogged cotton, I approached the mole cage. A Jaw Mole bared its front teeth at me. Pfft, even without equipment, it’s weaker than me. Acting all tough—
-Kaaah!
Suddenly, Peace bristled his fur and let out an aggressive roar.
“P-Peace?”
-Kyaang! Kyak!
-Keek!
Peace charged, causing the Jaw Mole to screech back, despite the cage between them. Even the other moles in the neighboring cages joined in, screeching in unison.
-Keek, Keeek!
-Keekeek!
Oh no, what a commotion. Even as a cub, he’s still a monster.
“Hang on, calm down for a sec. I’ll let you out.”
I pressed the button above the cage, opening the door. Then,
-Kreeee!
In the blink of an eye, the Jaw Mole was torn to pieces. Whoa. Our Peace… you’re quite the tough one. The time you lunged at me when we first met seems like child’s play now.
-Grrr!
Peace snorted proudly, his face covered in blood. Then, as if to show off, he nudged the mole’s remains with his paw, pushing them to my feet.
“Yeah, yeah. You did great.”
I can’t use monsters for training. It’s over too quickly. And using higher-grade monsters would be too dangerous.
“Come here. Let’s wipe your face.”
-Grrr, grrrr
Peace seemed extremely pleased. Yeah, grow up fast and go wild in dungeons with Yuhyun.
–TL Notes–
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