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#4
“Kkiing…….”
“It’s okay now, I’ll protect you!”
A mere human, claiming they’ll protect me, a magical beast? What nonsense is this, woof… Humans were always busy tormenting me… So why… do they have such warm hands, woof…
As the wind whipped past my ears, the woman pulled out a gleaming weapon with one hand and drove it straight into a rock jutting out from the cliff face.
Deeeeeeeeeng-
The sharp sound of metal splitting rock struck my eardrums, and a powerful vibration traveled through the woman and into Cerberus’s entire body.
“Oh, I thought I was gonna die! Are you okay, puppy?”
“Kyuung…….”
“Phew… Thank goodness my Strength stat is high. Gasp, I can’t even see the bottom.”
Muttering something unintelligible while looking down the cliff, the woman soon slowly secured one foot onto the protruding cliff surface and began balancing her body.
“Puppy, can you hold onto my body tightly with your claws so you don’t fall?”
As if enchanted by the command, Cerberus nodded and dug its claws into the woman’s body, clinging tightly.
“That’s it! You understand me, you’re a total genius dog.”
Saying that, the woman then took a rope from her pocket and bound Cerberus securely to her own body.
“There, done. See, I told you it’d come in handy if I kept it? Puppy, it might get shaky, but hold on.”
With those words, the woman instantly began scaling the cliff by striking the protruding rocks with her axe.
“Heave-ho!”
Having had my spirit stolen away by her incredible vigor, by the time I barely came to, we were already atop the cliff.
The woman wiped the sweat dripping down and finally gently set Cerberus down on the ground, patting its head softly.
“You must have been scared, but you held on well.”
That voice was an incredibly warm tone Cerberus had never once heard in its entire dog life.
The woman’s face and body were covered in dirt, and to make matters worse, blood dripped from the tears in her clothes made by Cerberus’s sharp claws.
“Kyuuuung……. Lick.”
The woman’s wounds were quite deep and must have been very painful.
Cerberus looked into her shining blue eyes as she smiled innocently.
Then, it approached and began licking the woman’s battered hand.
“How cute……. Are you licking it because you think I’m in pain? It’s okay, I’m really tough.”
Saying that, the woman soon spread her arms towards Cerberus with a bright, smiling face.
“Now, shall we go home?”
Cerberus decided that day. To forever submit to this woman with absolute strength.
“……yes!”
…And to make her its new master.
“Ugh, my whole body aches…”
Not only did I burn through my body all day yesterday with cleaning, thanks to the troublemaker puppy, I used up my entire day’s allocated stamina with a grueling midnight rock-climbing experience.
[<System> Warning! HP has dropped to a dangerous level.
Use a recovery item immediately or move to a safe location!]
Even though I bragged to the puppy not to worry, it was truly maddening.
Strange sounds kept coming from the forest, the surroundings were pitch dark and eerie.
The scratches torn here and there from rock climbing stung.
And the relentless blaring of the system’s warning message terror on top of it all.
Sigh, as if things weren’t already a total mess.
If I face another irresistible crisis in this state…
Beep, beep!
It felt like red warning lights were going off in my head.
So, with no other choice, I swung my axe around in all directions while carrying the puppy and headed home.
It was fortunate no one was around; anyone seeing me would think I was just a complete lunatic.
Somehow managing to get home, I was immediately KO’d.
I had no stamina left to even go up to the second floor.
And so, waking up on the sofa under the hot summer morning sun, my entire body really ached.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
“Puppy, did you sleep well?”
I greeted the puppy wagging its tail in circles as soon as I opened my eyes.
‘Still so cute…’
“Kyuuuu!”
Perhaps having opened up to me since last night, the puppy showed its belly and acted cute.
Right, now’s the time.
To perfectly tame that cute creature, it’s time to give it a ‘name.’
“Puppy, can I give you a name?”
“Kyuuung!!”
As if understanding me, the puppy nodded its head vigorously.
Indeed, a genius dog…
After a brief moment of admiration, I put on a rather serious face and started racking my brain.
A name is, essentially, that animal’s identity. This was clearly a very important matter.
Hmm, it has black fur, so Choco, Yeontan, Kkamang…
No, since my name is Zoe Blanche, maybe something exotic and avant-garde?
William Shakespeare III? Alexander the Great II? Or, Frederick von Schneider…
…Too much?
Thanks to my disastrous naming sense heading for the hills and my indecisive nature, I couldn’t easily make a decision.
“Black fur, red eyes… Oh, red?”
After many trials and errors, I inwardly shouted ‘Eureka!’ and opened my mouth while looking at the puppy.
“……Ruby. That’s your name. Because your eyes are red like rubies.”
“Kyu, kyuu!”
The puppy wagged its tail even more fiercely at the name ‘Ruby.’
I guess it likes it?
My number one cutie, the panda Lulu.
My number two cutie, the puppy Ruby.
There couldn’t be a more perfectly fitting name than this.
“Yes, your name from now on is ‘Ruby’!”
“Kyu!”
At that moment, light began to emanate from Ruby’s body.
“W-what? What’s happening?!”
As I flustered about, a system window soon appeared.
[<System> Congratulations! You have tamed a magical beast for the first time!]
-Title: Commonly known as <Beast Tamer>
A title granted to those who possess the ability to tame monsters and magical beasts.
You have acquired a job skill.
-Skill: Beast Taming
Tames a monster, binding it to you. Upon success, the monster’s attack and defense are enhanced, and it obeys its master’s commands.
-Skill: Monster Summoning
You can summon tamed monsters into battle. However, high-grade magical beasts require high proficiency.
“W-what is this. Beast Tamer?”
I couldn’t possibly gather my thoughts from the avalanche of system messages.
Tamed a magical beast for the first time? Wait, when did I tame a magical beast… Hold on, could it be…
I slowly looked at Ruby, whose light was gradually fading.
Our Ruby is a magical beast?! No, where is there a magical beast this cute and charming!
Magical beasts in games are usually, like, monsters or creatures…
Anyway, not cute at all!
I slumped down, clutching my head in disbelief at this reality.
But even while my mental state was crumbling, the system steadfastly did its job.
Ding-
[<System> Congratulations! You have completed the special quest, ‘Register in the Monster Encyclopedia.’]
-Reward: Acquire Lucky Gacha Tickets – 5 Normal, 3 Rare, 1 Special.
-Stamina increased by +10
-Agility increased by +5
-Luck increased by +15
The tamed ‘Magical Beast’ is automatically registered in the player’s Monster Encyclopedia.
※ Magical Beast species are classified as a special existence among monsters, belonging to the beast-type.
Would you like to open the Monster Encyclopedia? [ YES ] [ NO ]
Wait, not the Animal Encyclopedia, but the Monster Encyclopedia?!
“Excuse me, Operator. Can’t you see I’m losing my mind? Clear out so I can collect my thoughts!”
I shouted at the system with a voice full of resentment.
But the system, as expected, paid no mind and brought up the window again.
[<System> Would you like to open the Monster Encyclopedia?] [ YES ] [ NO ]
I eventually raised the white flag under the system’s persistent pressure.
“Fine, fine, I’ll look, okay?! I’ll look!”
Tapping YES repeatedly with a sulky face, the window appeared.
Joe Blanche’s Monster Encyclopedia (1/???)
1.
Name: Ruby (♂)
Species: Inferno Puppy (Epic Species)
Ability: Flame Magic
Grade: S-Rank Magical Beast
I quickly scanned through the information about Ruby provided by the system window.
Species Inferno Puppy…? What is that, a puppy-type magical beast?
Can use fire-based magic, and the grade is… Huh?
“S… S-Rank?”
Th-this little guy is S-Rank? And I’m F-Rank?
Usually, it’s boss-level monsters that are S-Rank. But…
“Our Ruby looks so small and fragile to anyone!”
“Kyuuuuuu!”
