It was obvious that I couldn't see his interface, just as he couldn't see mine, without the person's permission and being close enough to see. However, thanks to my work [as a tamer], I can easily understand the intentions of animals.
It's not exactly telepathy; it's more like understanding animal behavior, which comes from living with an animal for a long time. Just like a farmer recognizes how his animals are feeling or a trainer can differentiate a dog's habitual behavior.
Thanks to this, even though the rooster isn't one of the animals I've tamed, I can somewhat understand the intentions of the rooster and the hens.
Although I didn't need a dissonance to know that he was essentially surrendering to my brother. I couldn't help but be amazed by this. Another detail about my brother that increased my concern was the fact that his self-control was quite... "selective."
"Hey!!!! Pocket version of the annoyance of my life, can you come over here and help me a little?!"
.....
It would be a huge problem to send him flying into the living room of my house right here, you know, through two brick walls.
***********
Nando POV
After the trouble with the chickens and my sister, who, for some reason, gave me a smack that almost sunk me into the ground (yes, I know why, but come on! It wasn't that bad, right?!).
We "talked" a little more with the chicken and decided to build a basic barricade using a section of the wall that separated the two houses.
Since the chickens will effectively be part of our security system, a wall in the middle wouldn't make sense when the front, where almost all the threats came from, was essentially open.
We spent some time demolishing the wall and piling the rubble in front of their gates and ours. It wasn't perfect, much less pretty, but at least it provided some protection against potential threats.
Obviously, because of the noise, several creatures—no, let's call them what they really are: monsters.
Because of the noise, several monsters appeared; fortunately, they weren't very strong and appeared in isolated waves. First, a group of three shadow wolves appeared, about 10 minutes after we started breaking down the walls (well, the chickens broke them down, and Mari, the dogs, and I piled them on top).
Followed by one or two zombies crawling around on their own shortly after, plus a few groups of five goblins here and there. But no Bargest since the first one.
With the help of the chickens and the rooster, the work went faster, and I finished tearing down half the wall and piling up the rubble after about an hour. With all this exercise and fighting, obviously my level wouldn't stay the same, right?
[Name: Fernando Martins
Level: 5
Race: Dhampir (half-vampire)
Job: Fighter Lv. 4
SP: 15 (-6)
AP: 8
HP: 50/50
MP: 28/35
Str: 9
Def: 8
Agi: 10 (+1)
Int: 8 (+3)
Mag: 5 (+2)
Res: 4
• Unique Ability: Resistance
• Skills: Antisocial 1, Unarmed Combat 3, Item Box 0, Hide 1, Silent 1, Read 1, Clean 1, Herbalist 0, Dark Magic 2, Laziness 1, Swordsmanship 2, Archery 2, Stable Step 2, Thrown Weapon Proficiency 0.
Racial Abilities: Blood Magic 0, Night Vision 1, Body Enhancement 2, Advanced Senses 2, Obsidian Claws 3, Bloodsucker 2, Weakness to Light 2, Vulnerability to Heat 2.]
Two interesting facts:
1. Jobs grant 2 SP and 1 additional AP when you level up.
2. Thanks to jobs, some stats automatically increase. Since my job is [fighter], my strength, defense, and resistance increased the most, while magic, intelligence, and agility didn't increase at all, and I had to use SP for them.
Why do I suddenly have an Herbalist?
I thought it might be interesting, but it'll take a while for me to figure out if this skill is worth the investment. I know it's not a good idea to do this kind of thing with the world in chaos, but it only costs 1 SP, so...
Anyway, I'm still deciding how to distribute the rest; I'm leaning heavily toward increasing my mana pool, magic, and intelligence. Since these are the stats that increase the least with level-ups, and I prefer to be a balanced or generalist type, rather than specializing in a single field.
"Aaaaahhhhhhmmmm~ Well, since you've finished your test drive of the new body and your little project, I think I can go to sleep now, right?"
Mari asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. Only after she said this did I remember I'd agreed to keep watch with the Snitch and the turtles while she and the dogs rested (well, the dogs would rest, she would hibernate).
"Of course, you can go. Oh, should I put Mati (the smaller turtle that lived in my sister's room) here in front, near the pond, next to the Cleaner?"
"Better not, he's very territorial. Leave her near the roses; she can pretend she's a rock; apparently, she likes doing that."
"Okay, I'll go get her then."
Before I could, the fire rooster approached and asked what we should do now. Well, he meant to ask; I can't read his mind, only understand his intentions very directly thanks to the taming ability.
After explaining, he called two chickens, the white one that healed and the brown one that could do long-range attacks (the first one I fought). Through our connection, I understood that he wanted them to help me keep watch during the night, as long as I let them sleep, even for a little while.
"They can't keep watch if they're exhausted, let them rest over there near the car. I'll call them if I need to."
He paused for a moment to consider the idea, then walked over to the car, jumped on top, and ripped the entire trunk off with a peck and a pull.
'Yikes, if that beak had hit me even glancingly, I'd be dead, wouldn't I?'
Through the connection, I understood that the idea was for them to use the trunk of the car as a "field nest" and huddle (as best they could, considering the space available) in the back, coming to help at the slightest sign of trouble.
He then called the others and the chicks into the neighbor's house, but first, he looked me up and down and gestured for me to follow him. Even with the connection, this time I didn't understand his purpose, but I decided to do as he asked.
He then led me to the neighbor's back shed and pointed to one of the closets. Upon opening it, the first thing I noticed was the strong smell of old mothballs, dampness, mold, and an uncomfortably familiar odor of decay. I couldn't tell whether to sneeze or vomit, the combination of the smell, especially with my heightened senses.
After leaving and taking a few deep breaths, I went back inside, holding my breath, and looked in the closet. It contained several shirts and a few old but still usable jackets. As long as you could stand the smell.
A little further back, I noticed where the putrefying smell was coming from. A large rat was there, and by the looks of it, it had been dead for well over three days. The rooster said over the internet that it had tried to steal one of the eggs, and when it chased it away, it ended up with an injured leg that it dug into the closet and eventually died.
'Wow, the rooster wasn't weak even before it became magical. Or basically a cheap phoenix replica, without offense of course, even that is impressive.'
Anyway, considering I'd only been wearing a tank top and shorts so far, which, by the way, ended up in tatters after the fight with the hens. And with night approaching and the temperature gradually dropping, it was obvious I couldn't be too picky about clothing.
So, holding my breath, I searched for clothes that weren't too old or smelled too strong. Honestly, it must have taken me about 20 minutes (counting breathing breaks outside) to find something decent.
I won't say how I looked. This isn't fashion week, let's just say I looked at least decent and warm.
"Finally. So now I can—?! (＠_＠;)"
She looked me up and down three times.
"... I guess I shouldn't say anything, considering it's the apocalypse and all, but... Your dress sense is still awful."
How many people would judge me if I bit her and drained just a little bit of her blood?!!!!!.
"Okay, okay, calm down, no need to bare your fangs. You might look terrible, but it's not like anyone we know will see. And even our parents weren't "dressed well" when they went out, so... I guess it's worth it."
I still want to bite her or hit her, but that's for later.