Following his steps back toward where he saw the exit, Kain took a step outside.
He was back in the familiar woods to his city’s east. ‘I entered these woods no stronger than an ordinary person, and I’m leaving as an official beast-tamer!’
Kain looked at the sky. The sun looked as though it had just finished rising, meaning that he had officially been out here for one full day.
Based on the direction of the morning sun, Kain headed west, back in the direction of his home.
The trip back home was much more relaxing than the one coming from the city. ‘This must be the comfort having a spiritual contract provides.’ Although he logically knew he wasn’t significantly stronger than before, he definitely felt a lot safer than he did previously. Less naked and vulnerable.
Snap
Kain whipped his head around in the direction of the sound.
Snap
To the left! Turning that way, Kain still didn’t see anything. However, He could sense that there was something there. Watching him. Circling him.
Then finally in the dark he saw a pair of familiar gold eyes. This time it wasn’t a hallucination.
“You again! This time I’m not defenseless!” Kain immediately summoned Bea. Only to realize that although Bea is pretty overpowered against red-grade and below creatures, she’s pretty much useless outside of water, with no way to actually infect the host.
‘Crap!’ Kain thought before bolting. ‘The river! I need to get to the river!’
Moving as fast as possible Kain moved in the direction he thought the river was. ‘Thankfully, all of the wilderness survival courses we were forced to take in school developed our sense of direction. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know which way was up.’
As he ran Kain could already feel the difference in his body after he made a contract and was able to pass the blockade of 100 SP. It wasn’t a huge difference he found it easier to weave between the trees to avoid capture. He also would have probably been out of breath by now.
‘Damn! Where is it? The river isn’t supposed to be far from where the hot spring is’
Hearing the sound of running water, he made a sharp veer to the right. ‘There!’
Making a mad dash towards the river he dove headfirst into the water.
Fortunately, this time he has some defence against what may lurk in these waters, although carnivorous plants like the one he ran into previously are still a threat.
He immediately released Bea into the surrounding waters and could immediately sense as her splits (yes, he decided that Bea was a her) spread to cover at least 10 m2 of water in his vicinity within seconds. “Hahaha! I’d love to see you come in here after me now. Nothing with a brain will be able to touch me”
Once again, the cougar remained on shore while pacing back and forth staring at him.
“Come on! You hungry?! I promise you that I will be the tastiest thing you’ve ever eaten!” Kain yelled, trying to tempt the cougar into the river.
Grrrr
It didn’t seem to be falling for his antics. Once again Kain was reminded of Bea’s limitations, if it doesn’t enter the water, he’s out of luck. He’s also not confident enough that just a quick splash with water will give Bea enough access.
‘Damn it! How do I make myself more tempting…? Should I undress? Maybe add in some innocent doe eyes like a helpless prey? I’ve never had to seduce a human before, much less a spiritual beast.’
Crash
Suddenly a giant wave formed pushing Kain towards shore. In the direction of the cougar. Thankfully it seemed to also be trying to run out of the range of the wave. Although it was unsuccessful.
As the cougar became drenched in water, Kain could sense from Bea that her splits were successful in entering the cougar, ‘it’s done!’
Relaxing, Kain spun around to see what caused the tsunami. A giant turtle with a landmass on its shell. “Haha! You’ve helped me twice now, intended or not. You must really be my lucky star.”
Slash
Vaguely sensing a warning transmitted from Bea, Kain immediately ducked down. “You’re still not down yet?!”
‘Bea, is there any way you could speed up the process,’ Kain prompted while dodging another attack. Sensing a negative signal from her that her split had just entered its brain and that it would take some time, Kain turned his other new companion.
‘System! Any help you can provide’
*Apologies. The Host has not yet earned access to the majority of the System’s features*
‘So I only have access to a stupid status menu?! You’re still useless just now you talk to me?!’
*The System’s capabilities are dependent on the host. Please continue to work hard ^_^*
The response further irritated Kain. Especially the emoticon that felt like it was mocking him.
‘Ugh! I guess can only wait this out’
Fortunately, gradually the cougar’s movements began to slow down, making it easier for Kain to dodge. Finally, it stopped attacking and tried to run away before collapsing to the ground.
No longer having to focus on dodging, Kain could spare some of his energy to watch the effects of Bea’s skill.
Approaching it, but still staying out of its attack range, Kain could see it glaring up at him in rage, but there was also fear in its eyes. “I guess you never thought the hunter would turn into the hunted, huh?”
However, Kain eventually decided to put it out of its misery, stabbing straight into its forehead for a quick ending.
*Ding. Host has killed one White-grade spiritual beast, obtaining 1 GP*
“GP? What’s GP?
*GP is the currency of the System. You can use it to upgrade the System to unlock other features as well as spend it for a variety of uses once you unlock said features*
“Great! Maybe once I upgrade you, I can finally get some help around here” Kain said rolling his eyes. “How much GP do I need to upgrade you”
*Upgrading the System from level 0 to 1 will require you to spend 100 GP*
Kain’s brow immediately twitched.
‘100 GP—That’s 100 White-grade beasts that I would need to kill! Just one of those things could kill me!’
Looking at the corpse in front of him, Kain was suddenly reminded of another point in training. “Blood Cougar fangs and claws can be used to make weapons, while their soft yet difficult-to-penetrate red coats can be used to make luxury clothes that those legacies adore.” Brandishing his wife he immediately got to work.
Rolling up the fangs and claws in the fur coat, Kain attempted to lift it, “Damn! This is way heavier than I expected. System! I don’t suppose you have anything like a storage space”
*Please work hard Host to unlock more of the System’s capabilities*
“Figured you’d be no help…” Kain muttered before putting the rolled-up fur over his shoulder and making his way slowly back to the city.