ALL NOVEL Ch2 - "I choose you!"
Chapter 2: “I choose you!” ★
After registering at the guild, Rena found herself back on the plains.
It wasn’t her choice to return, but she had no other option.
Since her only aptitude was for being a monster tamer, Rena had to tame a creature first to even start making a living. She had heard that if she worked, the guild would provide her with a place to stay. Though she internally lamented the situation she was in, feeling sorry for herself wasn’t going to change anything.
(“This is just how things work… in this world of Lanashu…!”)
Determined, she wiped away her tears with her sleeve and faced forward with renewed resolve.
(“Once I manage to survive here, I’ll also search for a way back to Japan…”)
Tears welled up again, but after crying a little, she decided to start looking for a monster.
The plains were flat, allowing her to see far into the distance. There were clumps of grass and rocky areas where creatures might live, and farther away was a forest. Heading to the forest right away seemed too dangerous, so Rena decided to start searching in the nearby grassy areas. She squinted her red, teary eyes.
(“Even though all I can do is cautiously observe from right near the city wall…”)
She glanced awkwardly at her right hand.
A whip.
The guild had given her this weapon, but it was just an ordinary one, something like a “[Common Whip: Attack +2].” Whether it would be useful in battle… well, she didn’t have much hope. Rena wasn’t athletic at all.
Her stats were apparently below average, and her luck was marked as “[Unmeasurable].” She didn’t even understand what her so-called gift (?) meant. As usual, she was still wearing her sailor uniform. In such a state, she didn’t have the courage to just charge into the tall grass.
(“I’ll just wait patiently for a monster to come out. Th-this is part of my strategy too!”)
Rena’s lack of athleticism made the guild’s decision to give her a whip for combat seem rather ironic. Apparently, you had to use the whip in combat for it to become useful and for skills to develop through leveling up. It was an oddly specific weapon to start with, but supposedly, when taming monsters, a whip was essential equipment. Life could be harsh sometimes.
Ten minutes. Twenty minutes.
Time seemed to crawl, and just as Rena started to feel it, the grass nearby rustled unnaturally.
(“!? … Is it here?”)
The tall grass started shaking noticeably, and a monster jumped out from the edge of the grassy area to her right!
What caught her attention was its long, scaly body writhing ominously. Sharp fangs and narrow, golden eyes with slit pupils stared out from its head. Its pitch-black scales gave it a fearsome appearance. A snake monster, no doubt.
It looked incredibly strong.
(“No way!!!”)
Clearly, this wasn’t a creature a beginner should be messing with.
Rena instantly decided to let this snake monster pass by.
(“Please don’t notice me…!!”)
Holding her breath, her heart pounded in her chest. The snake’s fangs looked venomous, and she had no confidence that she could survive if she faced it. The snake was about 15 meters away and hadn’t noticed her yet. She had hidden herself well, so it was unlikely to spot her, but Rena couldn’t help feeling nervous.
The monster slithered off towards a rocky area nearby, likely in search of food. Rena exhaled, releasing the tension from her body.
She crouched back near the wall, praying earnestly for a weaker monster to appear.
(“I’ll start by catching a weaker monster, raise it while handling requests… just like in a Pokémon tutorial!”)
Raising monsters was crucial.
The monster tamer profession didn’t give any stat bonuses just by taking the job, and all the skills she could acquire seemed to relate only to her tamed creatures. That meant she had no chance of surviving by fighting strong monsters alone.
(“The guild members did mention adventuring parties, but they were laughing when they said it. Haha… a party? Do I have any value for one?”)
Rena’s thoughts began to spiral into negativity…
But in every job, starting from the bottom is important. She reminded herself to focus on training her monsters and shook off her gloomy mood by imagining the opening of her favorite anime in her mind.
Soon after, a few monsters did appear, but each time Rena could only sigh.
“Ugh…”
A sheep with spiky fur and three eyes, a grotesquely red frog, and a two-headed rat…
The options were not great.
(“They’re all way too creepy to even consider taming right now! And I have no idea which ones are within my level… I’m so lost… and I’m all alone…”)
Because she couldn’t gauge their strength, she hesitated to move, and the grossness of the creatures made her freeze in place. Time just kept slipping by.
(“This definitely isn’t a beginner’s ‘starting plains’ area, right? It’s way too hard mode.”)
Indeed.
As the sun began to set, the city gates would close, meaning she would be left stranded in the plains. She had heard that even stronger monsters came out at night. She had to return before then…
(“I need to make some progress while it’s still daytime!”)
She wiped her eyes again, her sleeves getting wet.
Suddenly, the grass rustled once more.
Rena watched anxiously, her eyes filled with both fear and hope. Then… pop!
Two slimes appeared, bouncing into view. They looked like something straight out of a fantasy world—a quintessential monster. Rena’s eyes widened in amazement.
With their glossy, soft-looking bodies, one was red and the other blue. They were incredibly cute. They bounced playfully, their size small enough to fit in the palm of her hand.
(“So… cute!!!”)
Rena’s cheeks flushed as she couldn’t help but smile. After seeing so many grotesque and terrifying monsters, the slimes appeared so adorable that she could hardly stand it.
(“I… I want to tame these little guys!”)
However, given that the previous monsters had all been quite formidable, she was cautious about whether there might be some hidden danger with the slimes too. She decided to observe them for a while before trying to use her monster-taming magic.
(“I’m watching you…”)
Rena kept a close eye on the slimes.
Then, one of them started behaving strangely.
They took turns bouncing higher into the air, chasing each other in a playful game of tag. Then they switched places, spinning around in circles. It looked like they were dancing, tilting their bodies to the side before striking a cute pose with a final bounce.
They were too adorable. She was melting inside.
(“Yes… I’ll choose these ones!”)
Rena finally moved away from the city wall, standing up decisively and dashing towards the slimes.
Her entrance turned out more flashy than expected, but that was because she tripped over some grass due to her lack of athleticism. Ah… this doesn’t bode well for the future.
The slimes wobbled exaggeratedly, going “puyon?!”
▽ A sailor girl has appeared! (Slime’s perspective)
With a sharp pose, Lena activated her first skill! She spoke in a trembling voice.
“I… I want to tame you all…! Skill [Familiar Contract]!”
When a monster tamer tames a monster, they must first declare their intention to make the monster a familiar, then fight honorably and win. Monsters live by the laws of the wild and obey the strong. If the tamer can prove themselves worthy, the monster will finally become a familiar.
Two glowing magic circles appeared before the slimes with a flash. Once they pass through these, the battle for the contract will begin. Lena held her breath.
(Monsters are usually aggressive, right? They shouldn’t run away in this situation, right?)
She was so nervous that her bangs were plastered to her forehead.
Lena tried to think about what kind of attacks the slimes might use, all while enduring a headache. (If they get their slime on my skin, that’ll be bad, so I’ll have to deflect it with my whip beforehand) she thought, gripping the handle tightly.
“…Huh?”
What’s this? Despite Lena readying her whip, the slimes started playing again. They spun around, dancing, dancing, dancing. Completely ignoring the magic circles.
This was quite a troubling situation. If they didn’t pass through the magic circles, even if she won the battle, she wouldn’t be able to make them familiars.
“Um, could you please… have a proper Familiar Contract battle with me?”
Her desperate plea went unanswered. The slimes happily bounced around Lena, going “puyo puyo,” seemingly dancing to a tune of their own.
Lena stood frozen. (Could this be some kind of special dance with effects…? Are they ignoring the contract magic and already taking the initiative?) The more she thought about it, the more her imagination spiraled, paralyzing her with fear.
The slimes could easily attack her at this point. Yet, they kept dancing.
“…Huh?”
Nothing seemed to be happening to her, and the dance was kind of cute. Gradually, Lena’s fear began to melt away.
When she tilted her head in confusion, the slimes tilted theirs in unison, going “kurikuri?”
(Wait! Do they understand human speech…?)
Lena decided to try speaking to them more gently. If they could become familiars just by talking, that would save a lot of trouble. She shot them a hopeful look.
It was a very Japanese way of thinking, but what would the slimes do in response?
(If they accept becoming familiars, maybe I won’t have to fight them after all.)
“Um, Mr. Slime?”
“Puyooooon!”
“Wow!”
To her surprise, the slimes stopped dancing as if responding to her voice! They jumped high into the air, then tilted their bodies again, going “kurikuri?”
(Maybe this will work?!)
Full of hope, Lena carefully chose her words and spoke to the slimes.
“Um, my name is Rena Toudou, and I’m a monster tamer. Nice to meet you. I’m looking for companions who will fight alongside me as familiars. Are you interested in becoming stronger? If you’d like, could we train together and grow as friends?”
How would they react?
They stared at each other, unmoving. A gentle breeze blew between them.
A small rainbow-colored lizard scurried by in front of them.
“Ah—!”
Boing, boing!
The slimes happily bounced after the lizard, chasing it away. They were quite fast, too fast for Lena to catch up.
“No way…”
Her shoulders slumped. Her heart was nearly broken. The higher her hopes had risen, the harder the disappointment hit.
Dragging her feet, Lena managed to hide again behind the city wall. She’d have to start over. She sniffled as she looked forlornly at the grassy field.
“I… I won’t give up…”
She squeezed her eyes shut to shed the last of her tears, then glared forward. She couldn’t let this defeat crush her. Lena was no longer the peaceful person she once was in Japan. She had to grow as an adventurer.
(C’mon, Lena, you can do this…!)
With a firm self-pep talk, Lena was already taking her first steps as an adventurer.
For the rest of the day, she searched for monsters, but none seemed tamable. In the end, she trudged back to the guild alone.
When she consulted the guild members, one of them made a snide remark, but she managed to secure a place to stay.
Lena, having apologized profusely, wiped away her tears of relief. It was an embarrassing, groveling apology, but it worked.
She told herself, “I’ll do my best tomorrow!” and quickly settled into bed.