❖ “Master!” “It’s okay.” Catra started to rush forward as Margus came bearing down toward us, but I held out a hand to restrain her. “He’s here! It’s Master Margus!” “Master Margus has come to save us!” “He’ll put an end to this freakish foe!” The mood among the enemy troops around us turned from fearful to hopeful. Ever since our prep school days, Margus had always had natural charisma. And, of course, he also had the skill to back it up. “Die!!!” As Margus brought his sword sweeping down toward me, I said just two words. “Don’t die.” “Huh? ...What?! Ack...!” With the hilt of my guandao, I sent Margus flying from his horse. Page 146 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
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As I’d watched Margus riding toward us, it had finally truly clicked. “Catra,” I said. “I...really am powerful, huh?” There was no one I’d been closer to, no one I’d gone through more with, no one I’d spent more time with than Margus. And throughout all of my repeated lifetimes, I had never, never been able to keep up with him. I knew how strong he was in battle. And yet... “Master Margus has fallen! Just like that...” “It’s over! We’re done for!” “We can’t win! If we stay here, we’re screwed! Even if they let us live, it’s not worth being injured...” The soldiers around us had turned from an organized force into a panicked mob. Going to war really didn’t have much upside for them. Even though casualties were generally lower in a civil war, serious injuries were common—and fatal wounds weren’t unheard of. In theory, the soldiers were compensated financially for their efforts, but if they ended up on the losing side even that was uncertain. And in this case, to make matters worse, it seemed the troops had gotten wind of the fact that their opponents were backed by the powerful minister of the judiciary. “I...won.” After all this time, I had finally, truly, actually beaten Margus. Page 148 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
The Final Battle “Nice work. But we’re not finished yet.” “Huh?” Those were Ciel’s first words to me when I returned to her bearing the captured general and ace fighter, Lugus and Margus. “These two aren’t enough?” Not that I’d been planning to just stop here. If we didn’t immediately attack and secure the enemy stronghold, who knows what that mysterious foe with godlike powers might be capable of? I had been planning to take Lord Argus prisoner as soon as possible and put an end to the whole battle, but... “No,” Ciel said. “We’ve got a more troublesome enemy to deal with.” I hadn’t seen any especially worrisome opponents out on the battlefield, which meant... “As soon as you left,” she continued, “we suddenly observed some sort of strange activity in the enemy camp.” “What do you mean by strange activity?” Ciel’s Eye flashed aquamarine. He’s already here, I thought. That powerful foe... But Ciel’s next words were not what I expected. “They’re doping.” “Wait—doping?” “Not like the strengthening tonics you’ve made. Those were temporary. I’m talking doping potions that permanently change you, for the rest of your life.” Ciel’s Eye turned back to its normal color. I could sense the deep emotions behind those eyes. “Is there anything that can be done for them now?” I asked. “The high-grade potion you made—that would cure them.” Before I could say anything, another voice reacted to Ciel’s words. “Did you say high-grade potion?!” That voice belonged to none other than... “Lord Gitelle.” “Ah, I do apologize for the delay in greeting you,” Lord Gitelle said. “Not at all, that was on us...” I started to bow, but he stopped me with a gesture. Page 149 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
“Come, come, Master Remille, you are a hero of the realm in both name and deed. There’s no need to stand on such ceremony. Not to mention that right now you are an acting commander.” He nodded a greeting at Ciel, then continued. “Now then, seeing as you are here on my behalf, it would seem a shame for you to be forced to use something so precious as a high-grade potion. Besides, our intelligence says that those augmented troops number around twenty. I certainly couldn’t afford to pay you back for that much.” “That’s no problem,” said Ciel. “We can just add it to Argus’s bill.” “Can he afford that...?” “I’ll make him.” A smile blossomed on Lord Gitelle’s face, as though he’d been waiting to hear those very words. “So adding in the handling of the augmented soldiers, then that’s... I’ll just head over to Lord Argus’s location and put an end to this war, shall I?” “Yes,” said Ciel. “And then...” At Ciel’s nod, Lord Gitelle stood up eagerly. “And then, the spoils!” With that, he turned and strode away. Ciel waited until he was out of sight, then turned back to me. “Just to be on the safe side, you should use the Big Four instead of just these two. Things have gotten a bit more complicated than we expected, and there’s still another enemy lurking around.” “Right. That there is.” I agreed that we should call in the Big Four. If that...whatever it was shows up again this time... “Neither Crow nor your familiars were able to gather any intel on it, so chances are it’s somehow connected to that god.” “And we don’t know what it’s after...” When I’d met this foe in previous loops, it had just stared us down and then left without actually doing anything. “See what I mean?” Ciel said. “It’s a real pain not to know if you’re dealing with friend or foe.” Yeah, I did see what she meant. “So,” she went on, “how will you deploy your troops?” “I think I’ll send Emmy out with any of her slimes that can also take human form,” I said. She and her minions would be useful in securing the prisoners of war. Ciel nodded in agreement, and I turned to Catra. “Catra, can you contact Emmy and convey those orders?” “Meeep?! And leave your side, Master?!” Page 150 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
“You’re the only one I can ask to do this.” “Mmmph...” Catra nodded reluctantly, looking disgruntled. “Fine. I’ll do it.” “Good. I’m counting on you.” Okay, what else needs to get done... There’s the mysterious enemy from my past lives, and tracking down whoever supplied the doping potions...and neutralizing the transformed soldiers with my high-grade potion. “I’m gonna hand over all of the potions that I have to Catra.” “Hm? I assumed you would take care of that part yourself,” Ciel said. “I think we should recreate the conditions of my previous loops as much as possible, rather than just trying to track down an enemy we know nothing about.” In the past, the enemy had appeared as we headed to Argus’s headquarters after securing victory. “Plus, if we end up just capturing Argus without incident, that will put an end to all this.” “That’s true.” I wasn’t sure exactly how many of Emmy’s minions could transform into humans, but in any case it seemed best to leave that job to Emmy, Catra, and their crew. I explained the plan to Catra, and she quickly set out to get started. ❖ “Is it really okay for a princess to be on the battlefield?” We had decided to mount up and ride toward the enemy stronghold, taking a route that avoided their troops as much as possible. Ciel had used her Eye to map out our path, so we were able to ride basically unobstructed despite the battle being technically ongoing. “Of course. Who better to deal with a disgraced noble?” “I guess.” From my experience in past loops, I could pretty well predict the endless stream of desperate, raving excuses I would face if I went by myself. “Seems like you’ve seen this before...” “No, you’re the one who’s seen it before.” We both chuckled. Despite the fact that we were riding through hostile territory, it felt good to laugh. “At this rate, it looks like things will—” —Go smoothly, I was about to say, but the words died on my lips. “You see that?” “Yeah.” We had both pulled our horses up abruptly, and now peered at the space just ahead of us. “Ah, so you did notice... Perhaps you are more intelligent than we had Page 151 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
heard.” The figure that approached us was a man in a white cloak. The threads that stretched across our path were so thin as to be effectively invisible. Ciel had detected them with her Eye of Appraisal, and I had used my Detection skill. Without those abilities, they would have been impossible to see while galloping on horseback. Both Ciel and I guessed immediately that this man was the brains behind the augmented troops. “So you’re the one who created those soldiers,” Ciel said. “Indeed I am. I have taken a bunch of useless morons and given them a new purpose.” “Did they know what that potion would do to them?” “Of course not. Didn’t I just say they were morons?” “I see.” Ciel’s voice was quiet, but anger radiated from her in palpable waves. She turned her back on the man and spoke to me. “Take him captive. We have to get him to spill every single person responsible for this.” “Got it.” I raised my guandao. “My, my. Do you think you’ve won just because you detected my trap? So you are fools, after all.” The man spread his arms wide. When I thought of augmented troops, I imagined men with greatly increased physical strength, but... “You must be fools to believe you could fight my creations on your own!” As he spoke, the forest behind the man seemed to come to life with a deep rumbling. And crashing toward us through the trees came... “No...!” “Remille! Stay with me!” I had gone so rigid that Ciel instinctively shouted at me. It can’t be. It can’t be... This doesn’t happen yet, not for years. This can’t be happening... “Okay then...” said Ciel. “Giga Flare!” A giant flame burst forth around me, threatening to engulf me as I stood frozen in place. Seeing the monster react to the fire finally jolted me back to the present. This was it—the monster that I had faced in the previous loop. That horror against which neither the hero’s sword nor the sorcerer’s magic had been enough. It’s over. This is the end. “Ha! Did you truly believe that puny flame could harm my masterpiece?” Page 152 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
My thoughts exactly. And yet, the monster seemed to shy away from Ciel’s fire, halting its attack. It should have been able to swat away a fire spell like that without a thought... “Thanks, I...” “We’ll talk about it later,” said Ciel. “Right now, just focus on what to do next.” “Right.” The man in the white cloak laughed. He created this chimera that looks just like the monster that shows up three years from now... All the more reason he must be captured! “You got this?” Ciel asked. I nodded. Now that I got a good look at it, the similarity to the monster that had killed me was superficial. This thing was nowhere near as strong. I can take it... “Heh. Fools such as you have no prayer against my creation!” As though to mock the man’s cocky words, my guandao cut through the air toward the monster, and... “Wh-What...?! Impossible!” ...Sliced it clean in half. Without missing a beat, I cast a spell to restrain the man. “Slow!” “Unngh...” I didn’t know if he had any fighting ability, but just to be safe I wanted to restrict his movement so the tentacle monsters could take him easily. Suddenly— —Ka-THUNK. With a thud like a heartbeat, I found myself involuntarily flung backwards. When I looked for Ciel, I found her face twisted in intense pain. I suspected my expression was similar. This debilitating pressure emanated from a new arrival on the scene. “What the hell...?” I muttered. “Now what? H-Huh—?!” I couldn’t see what happened, but suddenly the white-cloaked man’s body rose into the air as though he was floating on his back. He wasn’t dead. I glanced at the being who had knocked him out with one blow... Our eyes met. Just for a moment. And then, just as suddenly, they were all gone without a single trace, as though the monster had never been there. “Ahhh... Ah...” Ciel gasped in air as though she had been forgetting to breathe. Page 153 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
It had happened so fast. The figure...whatever it was...emitted such an oppressive aura that I had only just been able to glimpse its silhouette. A basically human shape, but I felt it was slightly bigger than the god we had met in the church. “Are you okay?” Ciel asked me. “Yeah. But...” Every single trace was gone. We had no way to track them. “How...?” “For now, we should just be thankful that we didn’t have to fight,” Ciel said. For Ciel to say such a thing, with her Eye of Appraisal, was in itself a testament to the enemy’s power. “You go ahead. I’m gonna look around here a bit to double-check that there’s no trace evidence left, and then I’ll follow.” Ciel activated her Eye. After what had just happened, I felt reluctant to just leave her here— but at the same time, it also meant that it was all the more urgent to put an end to this war. “Be careful,” I said. “Same to you.” ❖ As predicted, Lord Argus did not come quietly. Catra and Emmy’s work seemed to have gone smoothly, and the whole front was now under the control of House Gitelle. With the general and the ace already fallen, the second and third sons of House Argus had been captured by Gitelle’s troops without any trouble. And since I arrived at the enemy headquarters ahead of Ciel, at the moment of his complete and utter defeat, I was the target of Lord Argus’s vitriolic ravings. “Ha, as if I could ever be taken by some pathetic noble pretender like you!” “And yet...” “You will regret this! I will have my revenge, you mark my words! I will have revenge!” ...And so on. The soldiers at the headquarters, however, already seemed to have abandoned his cause. There was nothing to do but restrain him and wait for Ciel. Mentioning her name shut him up instantly. He’d have plenty of time later to reflect on whether he would rather have been captured by the princess. Page 154 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Aftermath “Now, shall I summarize the intelligence we have gathered?” With the conclusion of the civil war, we had quickly checked in with Lord Gitelle and then made our way back to the palace. In Ciel’s words: “The aftermath of war is just a huge pain in the neck.” We had taken a bit of time to decompress, but now that Crow had returned we were going over what he had learned about those events. “First, there is the matter of the Earl of Argus. He will be stripped of his rank.” “That seems like a harsh punishment for a skirmish against another earl...” I said. “His son’s humiliation in the royal colosseum was already a stain on the house,” said Ciel. “Plus, they have been engaging in unjust taxation and funding illegal research. They brought this on themselves.” “Of course, it was ultimately the decision of the minister of the judiciary to take things this far.” Ah, of course. As a result of the whole thing, the former earl had been imprisoned and was awaiting judgment for all of his past crimes. Margus and his brothers had also been arrested. “But enough about those trifling matters. What of the white-cloaked man and the mysterious figure who fled with him?” Ciel asked. “Regrettably, I have been unable to pick up a single hint about where they absconded,” said Crow. “Catra, how about you?” I asked. “Sameow...” Well, that wasn’t surprising. In fact, given the total lack of leads, there was one obvious candidate. “It appears we should assume for now that this is connected to the gods,” said Crow. “So it seems,” I agreed. But why did it take the man in the white cloak? And what did this all have to do with the chimera that appeared in my third year? It was obviously connected, but...how? “Well, no point in dwelling on things we can’t know,” Ciel said. “What about the other thing?” Page 155 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
“Concerning the man in the white cloak,” Crow said, “thanks to testimony from some of the soldiers that Catra helped rescue, we have learned that House Keyes was involved.” “I helped, I helped!” said Catra proudly. I rewarded her with some pats. She was currently in more or less human form, so it felt a bit strange. I had already praised her effusively right after the battle ended. “Keyes...” Ciel, meanwhile, had reacted to that name with an expression of disgust. “He’s a marquess out near the border, right?” “That’s right. Just having the testimony from these common soldiers isn’t enough to move against him.” “I concur, Your Highness. It will be difficult to root out all of the illicit research facilities scattered around such a large territory. Despite having this information, there is nothing more we can do to act on it for now.” This illegal research and the white-cloaked man all tied in with the chimera, which was connected with my date with destiny. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this, whatever it takes! “Well, I mean, given that we were starting from no information at all, even a small lead is better than nothing, right?” Ciel laughed. “Look at you, Remille the optimist.” Huh. Now that she mentioned it, I guess I was feeling uncharacteristically optimistic. “Maybe you finally managed to improve my self-confidence after all.” A look of surprise flashed across Ciel’s face. “Hmm? What is it?” “Nothing,” she said. “Just thinking about how you’ve changed. Anyway, we can’t afford to get sidetracked.” With that, she seemed to forcibly drop the matter. She was right. Although Margus’s defeat had taken care of one of the main sources of my past trauma, we still had basically no information about the chimera or about the mysterious god who had appeared. And furthermore, we couldn’t assume that Rui and Aman would be as easy to deal with as Margus had been. All the more so because Rui’s family were allies of Marquess Keyes. And all that I’d really learned so far about the trial I would face in three years was that going up against a god was terrifying. “It is convenient that Lord Gitelle and Lord Rostel both owe us for coming to their aid in the war,” said Crow. “I will call in those favors to Page 156 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
enlist their help in tracking down information about the being that absconded with the white-cloaked man.” Crow being Crow, I had no doubt he would soon find out whatever could be found out. “And I am going to keep making you stronger,” Ciel said with a smile. “I can’t wait.” “Meep neither!” Two and a half years left before I hit the three-year mark. But this time would be different. It had to be different. A life this incredible surely only comes along once... “This time, I’m going to live!” Filled with newfound determination, I set my sights on the next goal. Page 157 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Afterword Allow me to introduce myself—my name is SkyFarm. Thank you so much for reading my work. This story was originally serialized on the web and was later collected into light novel format. The idea arose from thinking about how cool it would be to level up with maximum efficiency using a huge stockpile of XP. Most of my work centers around protagonists who are tamers, and this one is no exception. But in this story, the familiars can also assume human form and participate as real party members. As of the end of volume one, Remille has already tamed a variety of strange beings. Where will he go from here? I’m curious to find out myself! I very much hope you will come along for the ride. On another subject, I think a lot about how crucial it is for any creator to follow popular fads. Especially in entertainment, it’s so important to have a sense of what the audience will enjoy. With that in mind, I hope you will all continue to follow me even when it’s hard to tell if my Twitter belongs to an author, or to some kind of animal trainer or hunter (lol). But jokes aside, games these days are truly incredible, aren’t they? I really enjoy them. I often wish I could actually live inside such a world. As I come to the end of this note, I want to express my gratitude to teffish for the gorgeous illustrations! Every time I received a new illustration, it gave me a burst of motivation and excitement about the project. There were so many other people without whom this book would not have been possible, from the managing editor Yamaguchi all the way down. Thank you all so much. And the biggest thank you of all goes to the readers who gave this story a chance. I am so grateful to you. I hope to see you again in volume two! SkyFarm, May 2021 Page 158 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Bonus Short Stories Catra’s Grand Adventure “This is...an egg? Purrhaps?” I’d gotten used to doing stuff on my own away from Master. I wanted to stay by his side, of course, but as I watched him I realized that there are things I had to do myself. Master will definitely come up against foes that are too much for me to take down. So I must get stronger. And to do that, I had to be away from him sometimes. Otherwise, Master... “Meep, how strange... It’s like memories that never happened are flooding my mind...” Somehow, I knew that if I didn’t get stronger, Master would die. So I’d been doing everything I could to get stronger and to gather a lot of minions. Master will be pleased with meow! But anyway...“Mm, definitely...an egg.” It was too big for me to hold in my human hands. No parent seemed to be protecting it. And more importantly, this egg... “I can’t just leave it here.” What sort of egg could it be? I wondered. I had no idea how long it needed to incubate before hatching. “Hmph, I want to return to Master as soon as possible, so you’d better hatch quickly...” I snuggled up against the egg to keep it warm and fell asleep. ❖ “Meep...?” “Kwaaah!” “Meep?! What the...?” The egg had broken. Or, no, it had hatched— into the being that now sat right next to me. “Kwaah?” “What...are you?!” “Kwah! Kwee! Kookyoo!” There was no mistaking it: this was a baby dragon. And just as obviously, it was a dragon of overwhelming power. Page 159 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
“Kyoo! Kookyoo!” It was trying, however inarticulately, to communicate with me. “Are you saying you’re... a kukulkan?!” “Kookyoo!” A kukulkan was powerful even among the ranks of dragons—around the same level as a behemoth. Wait, the same as... “Hey, you’re not a girl, are you?” “Kwaah?” I couldn’t take it if Master liked this dragon better than me! But as long as it was male it should be okay. I think. Probably. Plus, I was the only one who could actually take human form. The kukulkan’s response was noncommittal, but for now I decided to believe it would be fine. “Right now I’m working on becoming stronger so I can help my master,” I said. “Do you want to come with meow?” “Kwee!” came the immediate reply. I wasn’t sure it had really understood the question, but as I brought the dragon chick under my command I felt power flow into me. “Incredible...” If I was feeling this swell of strength, surely it would flow to Master as well. This was too much power to be able to conceal. But I was hoping to wait until I could transform perfectly before he found out... “Ah!” “Kwaah?” “You stay here and focus on getting stronger! Come to meow when I call you.” “Kyooo!” At that chipper reply, I left the baby kukulkan there, abandoning human form and running at full speed. “Master is calling meeep!” He must have been worried about me since I’d been out all night. It made me happy to feel him looking for me, and I ran with renewed vigor. “I really can’t keep hiding it for much longer, can I...?” I was glad that my power was increasing, but I really didn’t want to show Master an imperfect transformation. But... “Eh, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it!” For right now, all I wanted was to hurry back to Master’s side. Ciel’s Boredom “You may enter.” Some cabinet minister of something-or-other—I had already forgotten Page 160 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
of what, but he was probably pretty important—ushered a never-ending stream of people into the palace chamber where I sat. Seated on my ceremonial throne, I would use my Eye to Appraise each person in turn and convey the result to them. “Ah, so this is the famous ‘uncut gem’... I am honored,” murmured the man who now bowed before me. I was so bored. With this room. With this man. With everything. My father claimed that this was vital to ensure the future of our kingdom, but if you asked me, they’d be bringing in younger people if that were the case. Appraisal was a skill that could read future potential. If we made appointments for promising young talents, then it could end up increasing the kingdom’s power. But the people who were brought here were not young. No, they were all well-dressed, well-to-do people who had led lives of luxury and paid for the privilege of coming here. And anyone who would pay to come here, without exception, was in for a rude surprise. After Appraising so many of these hopeless people, I could read them perfectly well without even needing my Eye. The whole thing was really just a way to bring in money for the royal treasury. I let out a long sigh. How many more of these meaningless morons must I spend my days gazing upon...? ❖ “Phew, it’s finally over.” “Excellent work, Your Highness. Where are you headed now?” “Oh, y’know...out. You won’t try to stop me, will you, Crow?” As I stood up to stretch after the long day of official business, my attendant Crow had approached me. “What do you think, Your Highness?” “I think you’re Crow, so you won’t.” Having Crow assigned as my personal attendant had earned me brief moments of freedom. Donning an outfit that would let me blend in, I prepared to head out into the royal capital city. My father and the other palace officials might not understand the true purpose of the Eye of Appraisal, but that just meant I would have to do it myself. “I will find us a true hero.” “Take care, Your Highness.” Bidding farewell to Crow, I left the castle and made my way toward the Page 161 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
city. This time, surely, I would find a hidden treasure. ❖ “Huh...?” I had been wandering around the capital city for a while when I spotted him. “If somehow I could team up with a princess or something, that would definitely show them, right?” He was dressed in sparkling new armor—probably fresh out of one of those training schools for adventurers. And yet, somehow, this boy possessed an astounding quantity of experience points. He didn’t look like a hardened veteran of the battlefield. And yet, there was no denying it. And what’s more... “H-How is this possible...?” The potential skill paths that branched out from him were more varied and extensive than I’d thought possible for any human. Unable to contain my curiosity, I called out to him. “Sounds good to me. Let’s do it!” “Huh?” The boy looked up toward me in confusion, and I decided to introduce myself. This guy could be the hero I’ve been looking for... No, he could be even greater. I will make him even greater. “I’m Ciel,” I said. “Or I guess I should say, the third princess of the Elton royal line.” The boy stared at me. His dazed expression didn’t exactly inspire confidence. But those experience points... There was some mystery here. It intrigued me. Something told me my days of boredom had come to an end. Training The Big Four “They’re...incredible.” “Truly,” Ciel agreed. Arrayed before us were all of the Big Four, under Catra’s command, each with some number of their own underlings. First, the tribes of the fae, led by their youthful and elegant king Oberon, aka Tron. They stood with perfect decorum, adorned in the uniforms of court officials. At a glance, you really can’t even tell they’re goblins, I thought. Other than Tron, the rest of the fae had not taken human form; they remained goblins or orcs or whatever. The clothes alone could not give them such an air of refinement. This must be the result of Crow’s Page 162 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
strict training. Next came the slimes, who were also dressed in the clothes of palace employees—specifically, maids’ uniforms. Emmy, the emperor slime, was the only one who had fully taken human shape, down to the skin color. The rest of the slimes standing behind her were easily identifiable as slimes from their pale blue skin. But much like the fae tribes, they no longer carried themselves like typical monsters. The magical beasts, led by the lycanthrope Ly, looked like a chivalric order in the armor they had donned. Incredible... “In terms of numbers, this force is a match for any noble—no, for the royal palace itself,” said Ciel. “And as for their overall combat potential...” “Seeing them lined up like this, Tron and Emmy’s forces seem like they’ll be plenty powerful when it comes down to it.” “Don’t forget meeep!” “Of course not.” Catra and Kuku, as always, remained at my side. Being literal divine beasts, the two of them were by far our most powerful weapons. “Kwaah!” The kukulkan nuzzled up against me, and I patted its head reassuringly. “So,” I said to Ciel, “now that we’ve got them gathered here, what’s the plan?” “I told you already. Training.” “Well, yeah, I know that much. But I meant like, more specifically, what are we going to do?” “I am going to observe.” Ciel’s Eye flashed emerald green as she activated her skill. Ah, of course. “Tron,” she continued, “you will practice with the spear, three hundred strokes. Emmy, you will learn more impersonations. Ly, you should be able to gain skills that will increase our forces.” She’s got this all planned out, huh? As Ciel looked on with her magic Eye, the monsters all moved to follow her orders. She moved between the fae, slime, and beast forces, giving instructions and correcting their form. Just like that first day, when she made me take practice swings in the alley... Good times. “Hey, you don’t get to slack off! Do a mock battle with Kuku! And Page 163 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
don’t pull any punches.” “Uh...” “Kweee!” Kuku chirped excitedly and clung to me. But...battling against an actual divine beast?! Even one so young... “Catra learned the Heal skill,” Ciel said. “She absorbed it with Skill Eater at some point. So you can go all out and it’ll be fine.” “What?! You’re putting meeep in charge of Master’s care?” “Kyoo!” Well, at least Kuku was into it. Neither Catra nor I could hide our misgivings, but we had no choice. Ciel had demanded it. And whatever she demanded, the results were sure to be worth it in the end. “Okay, let’s go, Kuku.” “Kookyoo!” I raised my weapon and faced the dragon chick. Kuku let out a piercing roar and rushed toward me, breathing torrents of flame. ❖ “Nice work.” “Uh... Sure...” Ciel held out a drink to me as I lay motionless on my back on the ground. In the mock battles with Kuku, I had managed a record of three wins and seven losses. The power of a divine beast was no joke, even one this young. It was pretty terrifying to imagine how powerful it would get. I’m really glad Kuku’s on our side... Catra had healed my injuries, but I had hit the limit of my endurance, and now I couldn’t even stand up. “Still...” I said, “I did pretty well, huh?” “Of course. That’s the result of everyone being gathered here and working all day.” It seemed the training with Tron and the others had gone well. Throughout my mock battles, I had felt the power flowing into me. It was that strength that had helped me win a few battles in the second half of the session. Catra’s Heal skill had already upgraded to Ultra Heal, and reached a high enough level that the ability could continue to grow. And... “Kuku got bigger, huh...?” Page 164 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
“Kyoo!” The increase was subtle, but unmistakable. “It’s just like I said. A monster’s growth is based on its power. In Kuku’s case, the improvement of the rest of the force had some effect, but the biggest factor was beating you.” “Why is that?” “You’re everything to that chick—its parent, its master, and its most important partner. From Kuku’s point of view, winning against you is the most meaningful victory possible.” “That makes sense...I guess.” After all, it’s not like I can’t relate. “Kwaah!” “I got strong too!” said Catra. “That you did.” And through me, that power was shared to the entire force. That’s the true power of being a tamer. Or at least, it sure seemed to be working well for us so far. “Okey doke, if you’re still planning to tame a god, we can’t afford to rest on our laurels just yet,” Ciel said with a grin. With more days like today, I honestly felt that I might actually be able to do just that. Page 165 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com
Sign up for our mailing list at J-Novel Club to hear about new releases! Newsletter And you can read the latest chapters (like Vol. 2 of this series!) by becoming a J-Novel Club Member: J-Novel Club Membership Page 166 Goldenagato | mp4directs.com