Clarifications:
-"Person Talking"-
-(Person Thinking)-
-
[Skills or Magic]
(JC: Author's Notes)
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Let's start
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-(Finally! I was finally able to get out of the cave! After several days!)-
I was so happy that at any moment I would start jumping for joy and screaming, but... I guess now isn't the time. After all, on the ground in front of my feet was a small being moaning in pain.
-"Kyuu~"-
The small being was a small puppy with jet-black fur. It had several wounds, which seemed to have come from attacks with teeth and claws.
The puppy opened one of its eyes, looking at me with its black eyes.
And I, like always since I came to this world... panicked.
-"What do I do!?"-
-
-"But I don't have anything to heal it, not even a Skill!"-
-(Wait! I do have something!)- Then a solution occurred to me. -(The Hipokte Herb! With it I can create medicine! [Great Sage], quick, I need you to make that medicine!)-
<
I wasted no time. I quickly took out the potion and threw it at the puppy. The puppy was enveloped in an aura that began to completely heal all of its wounds.
-"Woof?"-
The puppy got up from the floor and began looking around, then its eyes turned to me.
-"Woof!"-
It barked happily, then began rubbing its head on my legs.
-(It's so cute!)-
I picked it up so it was facing me, where it took the opportunity to lick me.
-"Hahahaha, there, there!"-
It barked happily at me, then stopped licking me.
-"You're a very playful person, aren't you?"-
He just barked at me happily, as if he understood me. -(He seems to be smart too...)-
-"Tell me, little one, are you alone?"-
The puppy nodded, something I've never even seen dogs trained for television or movies do.
-(So smart and so sweet!)-
-"Do you want to come with me?"-
He barked at me happily, then nodded.
-"Really?!"-
He barked happily, then licked my face again.
-"Okay, okay! I'll take that as a yes!"- Then I put him down. -"Okay, little one, we're partners now."-
I wasn't out of the cave for more than fifteen minutes, and I already had a new traveling companion. -(Hey, it's better than being alone)-
--
-(I know, but you know what I mean!)-
I'd better give him a name. I can't always call him little.
-"I need to give you a name."-
He just looked at me and tilted his head, confusion clearly showing in his eyes.
-(It's impossible for such cuteness to exist!)-
I think ever since I met Neko-chan and had Kuro-chan, I'd become a huge fan of cuteness. Kuro-chan was a very sweet and playful cat when he wanted cuddles and attention; even more so when he didn't scratch me when he got angry.
Neko-chan might not have been the most expressive, but she had the looks and hidden personality to be as adorable as a small cat; I didn't nickname her "Neko-chan" for nothing. In fact, even when she rarely smiled, I couldn't help but blush at how cute she looked.
There had only been one smile before that made me react like that, and it belonged to a very special person from my past…
-(But this isn't the time to think about that! I need to think of a name)- I quickly shook off those thoughts to focus on my current job. -(Let's see, she has black fur. Maybe Kuro... No, it's very basic and I've already used it... Something to do with darkness... Darkness... Darkness... Night... That's right, Night!)-
-"I'll call you Night."-
The now Night barked happily. It seemed to like the name.
<
-(Huh!? What!?)- A second later the [Great Sage]'s voice began to say things I didn't fully understand. -(What's going on!?)-
<
-(Evolve!?)-
<
-(Failed!? I don't know what's going on!)-
<
I remained silent, waiting for another notification, but when I didn't hear another...
-"What the hell just happened!?"-
-
-(That's obvious, Ddraig, what I don't know is what it did exactly!)-
But now that I think about it, this is the first time I've seen the Unique Skill [Beast Tamer] activate. Now I see what their effects are, but I'm still confused as to why some of them failed.
I looked closely at Night, and he just looked at me curiously.
In the end, I shrugged. -(Maybe it's nothing...)-
I continued my journey through the forest with my new companion, Night.
....
.....
...
....
.....
It feels like it's been a while since I've been out like this.
It's been several months, now that I think about it. Hopefully, the light wouldn't burn or melt me like a vampire...
The cave, it turned out, was in a forest. The exit was just a hole at the foot of a mountain—or rather, a small hill, which stood out against the vast trees surrounding it. In fact, thanks to the dense foliage, this hill was the only point from which the sun could be seen. Take a step into the forest, and everything seemed to be dim darkness again.
As I climbed to the top of the hill, I saw some kind of strange pattern carved into it. -(A magic pentagram or something?)- it sure looked like it. -(Maybe those adventurers I stumbled upon were responsible?)- I guess it doesn't matter much now. It wasn't my problem.
So I slipped away with Night.
A good amount of time had passed since I left the cave. The sun was just beginning to set, indicating that I should have reached the cave exit right at noon. I had a surprisingly accurate internal clock, and it would have been nice if it had aligned with a standardized sense of time.
And the moment I thought about it, it happened. Gosh, is this easy to do like this? [Great Sage] is a great personal assistant to have around.
Anyway, it was now past four in the afternoon. It was about time to get ready for dinner, but thanks to Hunger Resistance, that wouldn't be necessary anymore.
I could still eat for pleasure, but it wouldn't be necessary to survive.
So I continued playing with the new Skills I'd gained from the monsters I'd consumed in the cave. How to use them, clever ways to combine them, anything else I could do with them, and so on. Also, with the help of [Great Sage], I began to learn the language of this world; I might be able to understand and read it, but it was impossible for me to speak it, for now.
I also played around with Night for a while. Like grabbing a branch and throwing it for him to catch or fetch. At that moment, I realized Night wasn't a normal puppy.
Why? Well, the reason is that for a moment I overdid it and threw the branch into the sky, but to my great surprise, Night jumped more than twenty meters in the air to catch the branch. No dog could do that!
And so I thought that perhaps Night was some kind of monster. So I asked [Great Sage] what Night's species was.
But his answer wasn't what I expected...
<
Strange indeed. It seems Night's species will remain a mystery for now.
But I put that aside and continued playing with Night.
That was what occupied my time as I continued along the path I'd found. With no particular destination. It would have been nice if there was a town or village, but the forest never ended.
After being attacked so frequently in the cave, it was hard not to receive some attention outdoors. Only once, while practicing the local language, a pack of wolves began stalking me. I tried to scare them off.
-"Oh?"-
I said, and that was all it took.
-"Yipe!"-
With pathetic howls, they wandered off. We're talking multiple enormous canines, each easily two meters long, and the sight of a teenager scaring them.
-(That was pathetic... Not even Night was scared by my presence! And he's a pup!)-
Not that I minded being left alone. However, gaining a wolf's sense of smell would be great.
The reaction surprised me enough to start paying more attention to my surroundings. It turned out it wasn't just wolves; not a single monster dared to come within several meters of me.
-(Were they really that scared? It sure seemed that way, but... Like, why?)-
As I was thinking about it, my [Magic Perception] skill detected a group of monsters approaching.
-(Nothing like a good crisis coming out of nowhere, huh?)-
They were small in size; so small that they didn't even reach my stomach. Their equipment was simple and crude. Their faces were filthy and devoid of intelligence, but with their swords, shields, stone axes, and bows, they weren't entirely bestial.
It took a mere instant for me to figure out who they were. Goblins, those infamous marauders of a would-be adventuring party. Talk about sticking to the script. They were undoubtedly here to attack the weakest of the would-be heroes—me, I guess.
-
-(Wait? Do goblins exist in my original world too? Because I'm not surprised...)-
But back to the goblins, really, thirty of them against a teenager and a puppy? A bit of all of them at once, right?
And yet, I didn't feel even a hint of terror. My instincts told me I had nothing to fear. Their swords were rusty, and their armor was thin and ragged at the edges. Some of them were dressed in nothing but stained rags.
Compared to the hard-scaled lizards and spiders with enormous saw-like blades on their feet I'd faced before, I couldn't imagine their equipment would inflict any damage on me.
Besides, if things got dangerous, I could simply go into Black Snake mode and [Poison Breath] them all into puddles of slime...
As I was sizing them up, the apparent goblin leader opened his mouth.
-"Grah! The strong one... Does he have business here?"-
-(Huh. Goblins speaking)- Or maybe [Magic Perception] is helping me decipher their growls.
And come on, "the strong one"? First they surround me with their weapons; then they're rolling out the red carpet for me... -(What do they want?)-
I was curious. They didn't seem ready to descend on me immediately. It might be a good opportunity to test my fluency in the language. There's no better time to start than now.
I gave the Goblins a quick glance.
For them, this must have been one of the most frantic moments of their lives. Their eyes, as well as their weapons, were trained on me, though at least some of them were ready to flee at the slightest provocation.
Meanwhile, the leader lived up to his post, his steely eyes practically boring holes into my body.
-(Hmm. They seem smart enough. Maybe this conversation could work after all. But will they understand me?)-
-"Pleased to meet you, I suppose? My name is Yukimaru. I'm a Human, and this little fellow with me is Night."-
Well, I'm a Sage, but technically I'm still Human.
The Goblins murmured among themselves, only to find some of them already prostrating themselves before me, weapons thrown. Strange.
-"G-Garrh! The strong one! We, we see your great power. Please! Calm your voice!"-
-(Hmm? Did I put too much force into my voice?)- Perhaps making myself understood wasn't so important after all. Clearly, I was driving them crazy.
I thought an apology was in order.
-"Sorry, I don't seem to be quite right..."-
-"We, we don't need such a grand apology from you!"-
I guess it worked. This is becoming a decent practice. I was impressed that the old Japanese worked with these guys. With all the courtesy they showed me, I thought I should return the favor, but given how terrified some of them were, I might as well boast about the confidence they thought I had.
-"So, what did you need from me? I have no business around here."-
-"I see. Our village is up ahead. We sensed a strong monster nearby, so we came on patrol."-
-"A strong monster? I didn't detect anything like that...?"-
-"G-Gaah! Grah-gah-gah! Such a joke! You can't fool us, not even in your form!"-
-(These kids have the wrong idea)-
Apparently, they thought their powerful intruder had disguised himself as a human. These were goblins, the world-famous lower species in the monster echelon. I shouldn't have expected much.
The goblins and I talked for a while longer, and before long, I ended up receiving an invitation to their village. They were willing to host me for a bit, even. Pretty nice kids, given how skinny they all looked. So I accepted. I had no need to sleep, but a little rest never hurt a kid.
Also, I need food. Not for myself, but for Night. The poor guy hasn't eaten anything yet.
Along the way, I overheard a bit of local gossip. It turned out that the God they worshipped had recently disappeared. Without that, the local monsters had started to act up much more than before. At the same time, more human adventurers—"powerful adventurers," as they called themselves—were beginning to invade the forest. And so on.
And oddly enough, the more we talked to each other, the more clearly I began to understand them. It must have been my [Magic Perception] skills getting more accustomed to it, though; the goblin language was making its way through the particles in the air.
-(Maybe getting some practice with goblins before meeting the humans was a good idea after all.)-
The village was surprisingly grim. Perhaps I shouldn't have expected much from a goblin's lair. I was led to what I assumed was the most structurally sound building. It had a thatched roof that was rotting away in places, and the walls had nothing but a few flat pieces of wood nailed to them. No slum I'd seen in my world could top it.
-"Sorry to keep you waiting, honored guest,"-
One of the goblins said as we entered. The leader of the expeditionary force I'd encountered earlier accompanied him.
-"Oh, no need for that,"- I said, flashing my best charismatic smile; one I hadn't used much since my "rebellious years." -"Don't worry about me. I haven't been waiting that long."-
Something about smiling at your conversational partner always did wonders for getting negotiations moving. Once you realized it, it was terrifying how well it worked. -(I experienced it myself.) Not that I knew what we were negotiating yet.
-"I apologize for not being able to extend more hospitality,"- the Goblin said as he brought out something resembling tea for me and a bowl of food, similar to meat, for Night. -"I am the elder of this village."-
I looked at the teacup and the bowl Night was eating from. Even Goblins must have these things.
I took a sip. My Analysis Skills didn't detect any poison, but it had a bitter, acrid taste. Still, it was good to see the Goblins trying to be nice to me, so I made sure to drink it politely.
Of course, I had to improve its flavor with the [Cooking] Skill…
Then I decided to get to the point. -"So, to what do I owe the favor?"- I asked. -"What made you decide to invite me to your village?"-
This had to be more than just monsters acting all friendly with each other.
The village elder shuddered a little. Then, firming his resolve, he turned to me.
-"You've heard, I trust, that monsters have been more active around here lately?"-
I heard it, on the way here.
-"Our God has protected peace in this land for generations, but about a month ago, he hid from us. That has allowed nearby monsters to begin intruding on our lands once again. We do not wish for this to continue, so we have fought back... But from a brute force perspective, we face an uphill climb."-
-(Hmm, was he talking about Veldora? It agrees on the timing)-
But if the Goblins wanted my help...
-"I understand you well enough, but I'm only a Human, so I'm not exactly sure I can provide the help you need..."-
-"Grah-ha-ha! Trust me, there's no need for modesty! It's not a Human who can emit the mystical force you do! I can't imagine why you're taking that form... But you have a name bestowed upon you, don't you?"-
-(Mystical... What? What's that? I don't recall expelling anything like that)- I focused my [Perception] [Magic] on myself instead of my surroundings. Then it hit me. There was, in fact, some sort of sinister-looking black aura covering my entire body.
You'd think I would have noticed it amidst all the monster transformation and [Body Armor] nonsense, but it was too late.
-(I had no idea I was releasing this aura!)-
--
-(And you're just telling me this!?)-
--
-(Obviously not! Phew. Talk about embarrassing. Here I am, exuding all this mystical stuff, and I didn't even bother to say "excuse me")-
With all the Magic Energy in the air in the cave, I had been completely ignorant. But at least it explained how the monsters in the forest reacted to me earlier. Not many of them would have wanted to face this man. No one was stupid enough to be fooled by appearances.
-"Hehehe... Impressive, old man. Did you notice?"-
-"Of course, my friend! Even in your form, there's certainly no way to hide the strength within you!"-
-"Ah. Well, if I was discovered, then I think you have a lot of promise!"-
Let's pull the old man's strings a bit and talk our way out of trouble. At the same time, I tried to find a way to extinguish the mystical aura around me, riffing on the surrounding magic to try to reintroduce it.
-"Ohh... Were we being tested, perhaps? Then I certainly hope we're worthy. Many would be intimidated by the submission of such strength."-
By this time, my mystical whatever it is was the most hidden. I returned to being just a normal teenager. However, it's fun to think, before, if I had looked like a streetwise teenager, would the entire forest have tried to kill me? That would have been a pain.
-"You're right. Anyone willing to speak to me without fear of my mystical powers must indeed be worthy."-
-"Haha! Thank you very much. I'll refrain from asking why you're hiding your true form... But I do have a request for you. Would you be willing to hear it?"-
That's what I thought. No one would go against a fearsome, hideous monster for no reason at all.
-"Depends on what it is,"- I said, trying to maintain my arrogance. -"But go ahead. State your business."-
Here's the rundown.
It turned out that some newly arrived monsters from the eastern lands had been advancing toward the area, hoping to take it over. The area was home to several Goblin villages, including this one, and even the small skirmishes so far had resulted in a large number of Goblin deaths, including some named Goblins.
One of these named creatures was the more or less guardian of this village, and with its death, the value of keeping this village intact had diminished drastically.
The other goblin communities had largely abandoned this land. Their reasoning was that they could force the newcomers to attack this village, buying them time to create countermeasures of their own.
The village elder and the expedition leader who greeted me tried to reason with them, but they were coldly dismissed. The frustration was clear in their voices as the two explained.
-"I see,"- I replied. -"So how many of you live in this village? And how many are ready for battle?"-
-"We have approximately 100 residents. Counting our women, about 60 of them are ready to fight."-
That doesn't sound like much. Pretty smart goblins, though, if you're keeping close track.
-"Very well. And what types and numbers are we talking about with the enemy?"-
-"They're the Fang Wolves, we believe, certainly wolfish in appearance. Under normal circumstances, it would take ten of us against one of them to have a fighting chance... But they seem to be hundreds of them."-
-(I... I think these Goblins don't stand a chance...)-
I didn't even need to think about it carefully to know that the Goblins didn't stand a chance against these Fang Wolves. Maybe with a good strategy, but if I got involved.
I turned my eyes to the village elder. He didn't seem to be joking; his eyes were as sincere and dedicated as any Goblin could have.
-"So these Goblin fighters took them in such small quantities, even though they knew they couldn't win?"-
-"... No. This information I told you... Those fighters risked their lives to obtain it."-
-(Oh. That might have been a rude question.)-
Upon further questioning, the named Goblin they'd lost turned out to be the eldest son and older brother of the scouting party. I spent a moment weighing the options, and the old man fell silent as he waited for my decision. It could have been my imagination, but I could have sworn there were tears in his eyes... However, I was probably imagining it. Tears don't go well with monsters.
I'm not going to lie, I feel sorry for them for everything they're going through right now. -(I think I'll help them.)-
-(But... It won't be free.)-
-"I'll help them. But you have to give me something in return. Do you have anything to give?"-
It's not that I minded helping them on a whim, but it would take ten goblins to maybe defeat a large dog or whatever, and they'd be facing a pack of a hundred. It wouldn't be simple.
Although I already had several strategies in mind to stop them...
Besides, I'm now in a world where the fittest survive. So I'll do anything, but nothing bad, to survive in this world and return to my original world.
But what they offered me wasn't what I expected...
-"We will give you our loyalty! Please grant us your custody. If you do, I promise we will swear our loyalty to you!"-
Honestly, as a gift, it's not much. But after experiencing several days of loneliness, even talking to the goblins was fun. More fun than talking to Ddraig...
-
I'll ignore that...
The idea of saving this hovel would probably have upset the humans, but I don't care. There's no need to worry about falling into a puddle and catching more infectious diseases any longer.
Also, those eyes on the old man. I could tell he really trusted me to say the best.
-"Very well,"- I nodded. -"Your request is granted!"-
And that's how I became the guardian of a goblin village.
TO BE CONTINUED!!!
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Author's Notes
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Please note that this story is mostly centered around Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken and another novel that you may recognize. Please also note that Rimuru is completely replaced by my own character (Yukimaru). You are warned.
Disclaimers:
The character or story mentioned from an anime, or novel, does not belong to me. Instead, it belongs to Ichiei Ishibumi (High School DxD), Fuse, Mitz Vah (Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken) and Patora Fuyuhara (Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni)
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Upcoming chapters (Spoilers):
Chapter 8- Battle in the Goblin Village
Chapter 9- Evolution and Travel Preparations
Chapter 10- The Girl and the Titan