Chapter 11 - First Kill
While Leo was waiting for Shyra to finish eating its meal, he noticed that the bumps of ribs were slowly disappearing, smoothing out in real time. What caught his attention even more was how much it had eaten as well as the fact that it was still going on.
How can something so small eat that much? It doesn't make sense…! Leo exclaimed inwardly, baffled by what he had just witnessed.
Then he shook his head. No. I shouldn't follow the common sense of my previous world here. I guess the biology here is different, he concluded with a quiet sigh.
As if on cue, a chime echoed in his mind.
Ding!
Strength – 1.1 → 1.2
"Looks like Shyra got stronger. Nice," Leo muttered, a faint grin forming on his lips.
After a while, Shyra finally seemed to have gotten full and stopped eating. It even looked visibly better—its complexion had improved, and its body looked much healthier.
Leo paid the bill, grimacing as the total came to 5 bronze coins.
"Great. Now I'm down to 4 silver and 58 bronze coins," he mumbled.
He clenched his fists, excitement bubbling within him. "Finally! Now it's time to level up."
With that, he made his way toward a hunting ground that was said to be beginner-friendly, as only low 1★ beasts were spotted in that place.
Leo had expected he would face competition and even wondered if he would even find any beasts at all, since other novice Beast Masters would definitely come to hunt, but to his surprise, when he arrived, the area was empty.
A wry smile tugged at his lips as he looked around at the empty grounds.
"Feels like I'm the only hard-working one around here," he chuckled.
Then something crossed his mind.
"System, how do I use my beast skills?" he asked curiously.
< Host just needs to think of the skill and confirm it through the system. >
< Note: The decision is irreversible, and the number of skills is limited to soul rank. >
< Currently, the host can obtain a maximum of 8 skills per beast. >
[ 1 from Common Rank Soul and 7 from Mythical Rank Soul ]
"So I get the benefits of having two souls…? Doesn't that mean I can tame twice the number of beasts if I have the same soul rank for both my souls? That's—" His eyes widened as the realization struck him.
"And there's even the fact that I can increase my soul rank… That's greattt!" he exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air.
He quickly forced himself to calm down and breathed. "Calm down, calm down. Focus. My first priority is to get strong; then I'll try to live in my fantasies."
Without wasting any time, he chose to copy Shyra's skill.
[Stealth]
< Skill copied successfully! >
< Skill acquired – [Stealth] – 30% Mastery (Low) >
"Ohh! So even the mastery gets carried over! This system just keeps making me happier!" he laughed aloud.
Just then, a faint rustling sound came from nearby bushes.
Leo's head snapped in the direction.
He spotted the movement, drew his knife, and whispered, "Stealth… activate."
[Stealth] – 50 mana units for activation, 1 mana per second for continued use.
"Expensive!" he muttered, nearly crying out. But he couldn't afford to slack when he didn't know what he was dealing with.
The moment he activated the skill, his presence dimmed—his footsteps softened, his breathing steadied, and even the air around him seemed quieter.
Creeping forward, he peeked behind the bushes.
What he saw next made him grimace.
A round, semi-transparent creature slithered forward, leaving a slimy trail in its wake. It was about half a meter wide, jiggling like mucus that had come alive.
Grey Slime – Low 1★
Ordinary Bloodline
"Uhhh…" Leo's face twisted in disgust.
"I guess I can't expect things to go exactly how I want…"
Still, a beast was a beast, and killing it meant experience points.
And so, he steeled himself.
"Damn it, looks like I have no choice," he muttered under his breath.
He knew slimes' weakness—their cores—but staring at the gooey, wobbling mess, he couldn't see anything resembling one.
"Where do I even look for the damn thing?" he muttered, his eyes narrowed.
Mana – 20/88 → 19/88
"I need to be quick!"
He lunged forward and drove his knife deep into the slime.
Ptchhh!
A wet, unpleasant sound burst out as his blade and hand sank in, only to slip straight through and appear from the other side, coated in slime.
"Auggg! So disgusting! Where's the damn core?!" Leo groaned, stabbing again and again, frustration mounting.
The slime wobbled in panic, trying to flee, but Leo's relentless attacks kept it pinned, making its escape impossible. Then, suddenly, it convulsed violently and spat a glob of sticky muck straight at his face.
"AAA… NOO! So dirtyyy!" he howled, clawing at the mess with his free hand. But it clung stubbornly.
Now truly pissed, Leo dropped the knife entirely.
"Enough of this!" he growled, plunging his fingers straight into the slime's body.
Just then, his fingertips seemed to have struck something solid.
"THERE!!!" he roared.
He yanked out the core, and the system notification flashed the next instant.
Grey slime killed – 2 XP
Level 0 – 2/10
Leo collapsed onto his back, gasping. His chest heaved, not from exhaustion, but from pure disgust.
"That was so bad! Fuck… I don't want to deal with fucking slimes again," he panted, wiping his face with his tunic.
The slime, now robbed of its core, truly looked like nothing more than a lump of spat-out snot. The only difference was—it seemed like it came from a giant's mouth.
Leo held the marble-sized core, turning it over as he inspected its strange, shifting patterns.
"Is this thing really indestructible?" he wondered aloud, turning it over.
He tested it—squeezing it, stomping on it, then hurling it at a rock. The core didn't even develop so much as a chip on it.
"Nothing… What if I use my talent?" he wondered, half-expectant.
He activated it.
[ Beastiary of Souls ]
< Beast core of very low quality, not feasible >
"Even my talent doesn't accept things from crap. I like that," he chuckled wryly.
"Then what do I do? Sell it… for ten copper?"
An idea struck, and he summoned Shyra.
The next instant, violet motes swirled as the cub appeared, its eyes glowing as they locked onto the core in Leo's hand.
Leo smirked and tossed it over. "Go on, then."
Shyra bit into it, chewing it eagerly before swallowing it whole.
Leo leaned forward. "Well? Any changes?" He clicked his tongue when nothing happened.
"Tsk. What should I expect from that puny core anyway…"