Chapter 125: Monster Wave (1)
The morning after the lottery frenzy was over.
I regretted not buying more tickets with the same number, as I ate ramen and played a game on my smartphone.
The lottery issue must have been resolved by now.
Now, I wanted to check the magic book I acquired yesterday.
[Magic Book: Monster Taming].
The item I received from Utenia was the main character of today’s story.
“Monster taming… Since it would be hard to command monsters with words, I guess I’ll be able to control them.”
Taming usually meant placing monsters under the influence of a player.
In other words, it was possible that I could have a character that I could control directly.
This game only allowed me to interfere with the movements of characters by talking or using skills.
Having a character that I could control directly meant that I could have more impact on the game than before.
I touched the [Magic Book: Monster Taming] with an excited heart.
When I used the magic book, a confirmation window popped up asking me if I wanted to use it.
Of course, I pressed ‘yes’ and acquired the skill.
-You have acquired <Monster Taming (Lv.MAX)>.
-You can now use the monster taming magic by consuming mana.
Along with the message that announced the acquisition of the skill, a skill icon for <Monster Taming> appeared at the bottom of the screen.
It was not an intuitive icon that matched the word taming.
And the detailed description of the skill was also vague.
It allows you to tame monsters on the field when used.
It was a description that only had abstract content, without any detailed explanation of the skill.
There was no choice but to try out the skill myself.
I looked at a farmer who was passing by nearby to test <Monster Taming>.
“I wonder if this works on people too.”
Tap.
When I touched the skill icon, a button to select a target popped up.
It looked like I had to select a single target to use it, just like Lightning.
I moved the target to the farmer who was passing by, confirmed it, and activated the skill.
<Monster Taming> was activated and light wrapped around the farmer’s body.
As I watched the farmer who was hit by the skill, he briefly looked around.
-“My eyes just flashed…”
-You used <Monster Taming> on an intelligent being.
That was all that happened to the farmer.
I followed the moving farmer and kept observing him, but nothing changed for him.
Even if I moved my finger and tapped his head, he only screamed and said nothing else.
In the end, <Monster Taming> had no effect on people.
“I guess it doesn’t work on people.”
It would be nice if I could tame people too.
I must have asked for too much in a game where there was a separate skill for <Apostle Selection>.
The only thing left to do was to find a monster and use taming on it.
After failing to tame the farmer, I started wandering around the map to find monsters.
Swish. Swish.
Every time I moved the screen, lush forests covered with all kinds of plants greeted me.
Was it because <The Eye of the Observer> had grown a lot?
Unlike before, I could see animals quite often.
“Deer. Turtle. Wolf. Don’t tell me you’re monsters too?”
As I looked at the animals roaming in the forest, I had one dilemma.
Would the animals I saw in front of me be treated as monsters too?
Usually, most of the animals encountered in games were considered monsters.
It might be a little different from the dictionary definition of a monster, but it was a plausible story if I thought of them as mobs.
Seeing a deer that came to the stream to drink water, I decided to try using the skill once.
I had to experiment to know more, after all.
-(Drinking water)
“There’s nothing but animals around here. Just be a monster.”
I brought my finger to the deer that had an emoticon above its head.
And then I placed the target of <Monster Taming> skill on top of the deer.
Squish.
When I clicked on the deer in the middle of the target, a bright light burst out from the screen and wrapped around the deer that was drinking water.
Along with the deer wrapped in light, a message popped up at the bottom of the screen.
-You used <Monster Taming>.
-The effect of <Monster Taming> lasts for 27 hours.
Did <Monster Taming> skill work properly on the deer?
This time, along with the message that said the effect lasted for 27 hours, a large amount of mana drained from the mana gauge.
The deer that received the skill effect raised its head.
Red light glowed from its eyes, and black aura flowed from its body.
I was surprised by the enhanced deer, but also stared at the gem-shaped icon that appeared in the middle of the screen.
“What is this? Did I make this appear by using the skill?”
As I was curious about the icon that appeared as soon as I used the skill, a message about the skill appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Unlike before, it was a message that had a detailed explanation of how to use the skill.
-You can guide the tamed monster in the direction where the guidance marker appears.
-Move the marker to guide the monster.
It seemed that I could guide the monster through the marker that appeared on the screen.
It looked like I could only control its direction of movement, not its detailed actions.
I was disappointed by the effect of <Monster Taming>, but I followed the message and moved the guidance marker.
The deer that was tamed by the skill moved its red eyes in the direction of the marker.
The deer that emitted a red glow opened its mouth and raised a speech bubble above its head.
-Grrrrrr.
Black smoke spewed from the mouth of the roaring deer.
It looked more like a wolf than a deer now.
I watched the deer and moved the marker towards the other animals around.
When I moved the marker to control the tamed monster, the deer’s head turned in the direction of the marker.
I pulled the marker to a distant location and tried to guide the deer’s behavior.
“Right, let’s move.”
As soon as I moved the guidance marker, the deer ran in the direction of the marker.
Clack. Clack.
The sound of the deer’s hooves echoed in the forest.
The deer that started to accelerate as it ran through the forest rammed into the animals on the path of the marker one by one.
Crash! Bang! Boom!
Every time its sharp horns collided with animals, they flew far away.
I couldn’t help but admire the animals that spun as if they were going to fly to the sun.
“Wow, this is amazing…”
As it ran in the direction of the marker, it sent all the animals it collided with flying.
Still, the deer didn’t slow down and kept running.
It felt like playing a difficult racing game with the marker.
Even if I moved the marker in a zigzag direction, the deer only had a slight delay and knocked down everything on its path.
Of course, since the tamed deer was not invincible, its horns were badly damaged.
I was moved by the primal fun I felt for a long time and dreamed of the most ideal scenario.
“This is it… I have to make a horde of terrifying deer.”
A herd of red-eyed deer running across a vast plain.
Everything would turn into a wasteland where they passed.
My heart raced at the sight I imagined and I searched around with the marker.
I had to find more deer hiding somewhere nearby.
For my dream of a deer horde that filled all ranks with cavalry.
***
“Is this your first time in Sanctuary?”
A floating island in high altitude.
There, Perin, who held a staff, spoke to Peter.
Peter nodded as he ascended to Sanctuary, which all members of the Order called it.
He knew it existed from Roan’s story, but this was his first time stepping on it.
He finally set foot on a place that everyone in the Order would envy.
Although Peter himself was not affiliated with the Order, he understood how amazing it was to face this place.
“This is… Sanctuary…”
Peter muttered as he looked down from the edge of the island.
A strong wind blew on Peter’s cheek as he looked down.
He remembered what Perin had told him as he felt the wind on his cheek.
According to Perin, there was no wind in Sanctuary normally.
It was because Egdrazil’s barrier blocked out the harsh wind that came into Sanctuary.
But now, they temporarily disabled the barrier to help Peter enter Sanctuary.
That’s why Peter could feel this kind of outside wind for once.
“Isn’t it amazing to see the world from above?”
“…Yeah.”
The view of the ground from Sanctuary looked very small.
It was a different dimension from what he saw from a high mountain.
It felt like he had everything on earth below him.
Was this how it felt like to be a god who ruled over earth from above?
Maybe this Sanctuary was created by an evil god who wanted to make his apostles feel the same way.
As Peter admired looking down at earth, Perin stroked Egdrazil with his hand and said,
“Yuto is also a very good friend.”
“Yuto?”
“The spirit that keeps Sanctuary floating. It’s a special spirit that doesn’t return to Spirit Realm!”
“Oh… A spirit lifted Sanctuary.”
A spirit that could lift an island in mid-air.
It was an incomprehensible realm for Peter.
Peter had a special sword that knights used around his waist, but even that was just something Yutenia gave him.
In the end, Peter remained ordinary from beginning to end.
Except for the fact that he had a hero’s mark on his skin wrapped in bandages.
Peter grabbed his bandages that made him feel uncomfortable and looked at Perin who was acting timidly.
“What did you say? You’re coming back to Sanctuary again?”
Perin was a fairy.
A race that Peter had never encountered before he came here.
A fairy that only existed in old stories was the guardian of Sanctuary and lived here.
Peter felt both unfamiliar and friendly with the fairy in front of him.
It was the magic of mystery created by the stories he heard long ago.
“Roan… I mean, the archbishop asked me to see what we need for fortification when he comes back.”
“Are you building a fortress in Sanctuary?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s really necessary if we have the barrier. Maybe it’s enough to just make some houses if we grow a bit more.”
Sanctuary suited the fairy very well.
The giant tree and the blue grass that decorated the floor.
It was surely a paradise for fairies to live in, except for the old man who was examining the magic stone in the corner.
Except for the old man.
As Peter was thinking that, he looked down at the ground again and saw something he hadn’t seen before.
“Huh? What’s that…”
A spot on the ground far away from Peter’s feet.
There, a huge dust cloud was spreading.
The thing that moved while spreading dust was a familiar creature to Peter.
A majestic and sharp horn.
And four agile legs.
Peter opened his mouth in surprise as he identified what they were moving so swiftly.
“De, de, de, deer…”
A familiar animal running with red eyes.
It was a deer mad with rage.
