Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion
—————————————————————————————————-

After getting a good night’s sleep on the Nimbus Cloud, I welcomed the morning of the exam feeling refreshed.

Eating a bento takeout for breakfast, I head towards the gates of Elite Academy. 

I gave the recommendation letter from Carmel-sama at the reception and received a reference number and a school guidebook in return.

As the classroom as well as the seat for the written examination is decided based on the reference number, I went to look for my seat guided by the school guidebook.
[Let’s see…it’s the third classroom from the staircase so…it’s this one.] (Varius)

Without getting lost, I have arrived at my seat

After that, I took [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice]_[1] out using storage magic and placed it on the desk.

It’s not because I plan to go over it again.

This is something that Carmel-sama said, apparently [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice] is a famous work with limited copies in print.

In other words, to most of the examinees, those who have studied [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice] is a threat.

Just placing the book on the desk is enough to intimidate the others.

Then, with a calm attitude…relax!

Giving off the impression of a strong one would make the other examinees go weak in the knees, displaying my superiority in this manner is important.

While I was doing so…a book the examinee next to me was reading so intensely suddenly caught my attention.

The book’s title is [When Will You Do It? Today!]_[2] huh. If I remember correctly, I heard from somewhere that it is the only other book that can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with  [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice].

Taking a good look, the examinee is wearing the badge with the same logo design as the one on the [When Will You Do It? Today!] book on his chest.

…That’s nice. [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice] doesn’t have something like that.

Feeling somewhat envious, I decided that I would not lose to this examinee no matter what.

After about 40 minutes, the distribution of the question papers began. I speedily read through the instructions on the cover page.

…All right, both the number of questions as well as the time limit are the same as the previous years’. This would mean that it would be fine for me to solve this paper at the pace  I used to solve the past year questions.

While thinking about such a thing, I didn’t forget to keep an eye out for the important points of the questions…the examiner then gave the signal for the exam to begin.

Now then, laugh or cry, a once-in-a-lifetime challenge, start.

I first looked through all the exam questions.

Yep, excluding the 6 main questions, the other questions don’t seem to pose much of a difficulty.

Then, it should be fine for me to solve this paper in sequence.

For questions 1 to 5, due to them having similar patterns to those from some of the past years’ questions, I solved them without much difficulty.

For the time being, I have solved the number of questions needed to obtain a passing grade, so I’ll review the paper for now.

Confirming that there weren’t any mistakes, I began working on question 6.

After that…..my hand never got the chance to stop moving, not even for a minute.

That’s because a [Disposable Question]_[3] with a never-before-seen pattern has come out.

On top of that, the question is only one line long. In other words, a fiendish question without any guidance whatsoever. Now that it’s come to this, there’s no way I can hold back. 

Honestly, if one one asks if there’s any issues in not solving these questions, the answer is there’s none. It’s safe to assume that the majority of the examinees would not be able to solve these super-hard level questions. After all, even if it is the hardest-to-get-into academy, it has already been decided that the minimum score required to pass would be 50.

Even if question 6 was left blank, it would pretty much not affect one’s chances of passing the exam.

Even so, I feel annoyed at the thought of doing nothing.

At any rate, since I solved questions 1 to 5 in one go, I still had more than half the allocated exam time.

I wanted to at least leave my mark on this question.

……Should I use the Tamer specialized magic, [Unify Senses]_[4] in an attempt to cheat by using Caucasus?

For a moment, an evil thought popped into my mind.

But I immediately crossed it off as a bad idea.

In the first place, what I am facing now is a question that has never appeared in the past.

Consequently, this would mean pretty much all the examinees are completely unprepared for this.

Even if I had Caucasus fly around, eight or nine times out of ten I would be given a completely wrong answer.

Plus…it’s fine if I got the right answer, but if my wrong answer bears a resemblance to another examinee’s, the chances of me being suspected of having cheated would increase dramatically.

It is a lose-lose situation.

It can be said that handing in a blank answer for question 6 would be better.

That is why I brushed the thought off and decided to face the question fair and square.

Ten minutes passed in that manner…and my concentration began to wane.

I can’t do this anymore.

I thought, so I decided to review questions 1 to 5 again as a change of pace.

…..That was the turning point.

Miraculously, I noticed that the third sub-question of question 1 also serves as a hint for question 6.

Because of this, I reclaimed the concentration that I had lost earlier, and started formulating the answer while looking through the hint.

There’s not much time left.

I started scribbling furiously.

Then…

(I……I made ittttt!) (Varius)

I had managed to fill up the answer section the moment the signal for the end of the exam was given.

I made a small guts pose deep inside my heart.

I had answered the [Disposable Question]. There’s no doubt that I had put a wide gap between me and the other examinees.

In high spirits, I started towards the venue of the next exam — The practical combat examination.

*********************************************************************************************

The combat examination is to be held in the academy’s largest building.

Upon entering the building, five arena-like facilities can be seen, each with five people wearing the academy’s uniform standing in them.

It seems like the test is set up in a way where [The current students of the academy will fight the examinees in a mock battle, and the examiners would then score them].

Which would make these people in uniform our opponents.

Having five people in each arena…it’s for the sake of having a rotation huh.

Well, definitely, if they don’t do that, the students would exhaust themselves which would in turn give the examinees an advantage. This is only fair.

Since I was fine with any of the arena lined up, I simply picked the one with the least number of examinees.

After waiting for about 10 minutes, my turn came.

I took the Ruyi Staff out using Storage Magic.

Normally, one would use swords and the like for these kind of tests but…the Ruyi Staff possesses and overwhelming advantage over close combat opponents due to its seemingly infinite reach.

It can be said that there are no better alternatives besides this as long as it isn’t prohibited.

That was what I thought,  however, it seems the student who is my opponent doesn’t share my opinion.

[Haa? You gonna fight me with a stick? Are you an idiot?] [Girl]

My opponent, a red haired girl — A Hero — suddenly shouted.

……The Ruyi Staff isn’t something well known in this world yet. It would be reasonable to expect such a response.

[Listen carefully. I am the first seat of the second years of Elite Academy, Cadie Diai_[5]. In the face of my magic sword and swordsmanship, there isn’t a single examinee who has lasted even 3 seconds. If you are going to fight in such a half-hearted manner…I’ll send you to the infirmary!!] (Cadey Diai)

Even if you say that, I…yeah.

It seems that I have touched upon a sensitive point.

Hero…..Cadie Diai……Hero by KDDI…….A magical communication company in my past life…._[6]

No, I can’t, it’s better to leave this as it is.

As I was suppressing my laughter, I turned my attention to the girl’s chest.

It was then that I saw something that I shouldn’t have seen.

This bitch……she’s wearing the extra edition of the [When will you do it? Today!] badge!

Towards an examinee, are you really showing off something like that?

This, this is not something I can overlook.

I swore to end the fight in an instant.

[—Then, Begin!] (Examiner)

Just as the examiner’s voice sounded out……I extended the staff at a high speed, and stopped the staff just before Cadie’s face.

Following that…the shockwave created due to the extension of the Ruyi Staff which exceeded the speed of sound blew Cadie right out of the arena.

Notes:

[1]: After some discussions, we decided to rename [Your first choice, Non-negotiable] to [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice]
[2]: The raw text was 「いつやるか？ 今でしょ！」(Itsu yaru ka? Imadesho!) written by a prep school lecturer Osamu Hayashi. Here’s a video of him saying his catchphrase.
[3]: The raw text was [捨て問] (Sutemon) which means questions that are too hard to solve, so people generally just skip it.
[4]: Raw text was 「五感連動」which literally means linking the five senses
[5]: Her name in the raws are [ケイディ＝ディーアイ]
[6]: Reference to KDDI Corporation

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion

Sorry for the delay, we’ll try to get back on track this week.
——————————————————————————————————-

[Varius, in the middle of this bad weather, you are surprisingly able to proceed without getting lost.] (Caucasus)

[It’s pretty easy actually…… Here, 3 years ago, we made this thing didn’t we? Based on where this needle is pointing, we would be able to figure out which direction we should head to] (Varius)

Disregarding the heavy rain, providing a pleasant temperature and humidity — the inside of the Nimbus Cloud’s shield.

I pointed towards the compass held in my left hand  as I answered Caucasus’ query.

How nostalgic.

Thinking back, I didn’t have enough mana to use alchemy magic at the time, so I had Caucasus and Beelzebub lend me their mana to make a needle and coil.

To magnetise the needle, a high voltage needed to be applied to the coil with the needle placed in it but…I really worked hard using that magic.

I purposely used the defibrillation magic without chanting, expending a large amount of mana for a long period of time in order to achieve that high a voltage.

I am now able to cast lightning magic used by Heroes with ease though…having to exert so much effort in casting lifestyle magic, good times.

While I was thinking about such a thing, the Nimbus Cloud continued to speed through the sky. If all goes well, we’ll arrive in about 3 hours but…during this time, not doing anything is pretty boring.

Using storage magic, I took out a self-made Game of Life and the accompanying dice.

[Caucasus, Beelzabub……wanna play the Game of Life together?] (Varius)

[Oh, we doin’ that? Yay!] (Beelzebub)

[There is no helping it. In any case, there is nothing to do…this me shall accompany Varius in his game.] (Caucasus)

Thanks to my sporting tamed monsters, we passed the time without feeling bored.

*************************************************************************************************

[Eating Wyvern’s meat has resulted in food poisoning, return to square one…ahhh dammit! This is a shitty game! Seriously a shitty game!] (Beelzebub)

Beelzebub started acting up.

…Sorry.

After all, this isn’t the commercial version of the game but a self-made one.

The game balance can be a bit weird here and there…but I would like for it to be treated as part of its charm.

In this manner, we peacefully engrossed ourselves in the game…however, a carriage on the highway beneath us suddenly caught my eye.

On a whim, I reduced the speed of the Nimbus Cloud to observe the carriage.

[Varius, what are you looking at?] (Caucasus)

[Yeah…about that carriage, doesn’t it look like it’s stalled?] (Varius)

That’s right.

It’s probably due to that deep puddle of water, causing half of the carriage’s rear wheel to sink into it, making it unable to move.

[……Is it about the vehicle of those humans?] (Caucasus)

[That’s right. See there, they are unable to take the wheel out of that puddle right?] (Varius)

[Definitely…… Oi, Beelzebub, what are you doing, nonchalantly moving the pieces when none of us are looking?] (Caucasus)

[…Keh, got found out, huh] (Beelzebub)

It seems that while Causasus and I were looking at the carriage, Beelzebub recklessly tried to cheat.

Caucasus found out, he got  rebuked instead.

…..Putting that aside, I guess we’ll lend that carriage a hand.

 [Caucasus, you are able to lift the carriage up, right?] (Varius)

[That goes without saying. Something like that, these horns can easily lift it up.] (Caucasus)

[……How reliable.] (Varius)

Reducing our altitude, we head towards the carriage to help out.

[Yo] (Varius)

I increased the mana flowing into the Nimbus Cloud to increase the radius of the weather shield, protecting the carriage — along with the coachman — from the rain.

After that, just when Caucasus was about to clamp onto the carriage with its horns…

[You people! Who are you!] (Coachman)

The coachman drew his sword and approached us.

Well, this is to be expected.

From the coachman’s perspective, this is a situation where [Monsters have approached from the sky, attempting to take the carriage].

It can’t be helped that he is on guard.

[Ah, it’s fine. These guys are my tamed monsters. Your carriage seemed to have stalled, so we came to help] (Varius)

[Tamed monster? No matter how I look at it, you seem to be a Sage though. Also, I’ve never heard of a Tamer capable of taming a Giant Stag Caucasus _[1].

It doesn’t look like the coachman intend to lower his guard.

Ah,I see. I dyed my hair after all.

Well…I seem to have dug myself a fresh grave.

That was what I thought, however…

[Well, isn’t it fine? It’s true that a complete stranger has appeared, but he is saying that he has come to help. We won’t make any progress at this rate anyway…why not try trusting him?] (Man)

The man who came out of the carriage admonished the coachman.

He then looked at my tamed monsters and I, and spoke.

[Fumu…… A Giant Stag Caucasus and a Beelzebub, huh. That calm demeanor despite being surrounded by some pretty strong monsters, seems like they really are your tamed monsters.] (Man)

[Hahaha, what a critical analysis.] (Varius)

[It is just such an irregular situation that I could come up with no other conclusion. That goes for the mysterious cloud you are riding as well.] (Man)

The man gave a wry smile.

[This a tool capable of flying through the sky, called a Nimbus Cloud.] (Varius)

[The sky…no, it’s fine. I’ll give up trying to understand.] (man)

……..Oops, this is not the time for idle banter.

We came to pull the carriage out after all.

[Ah, my Caucasus will start moving the carriage, so please move away a little.] (Varius)

[Aah……my bad. I was in the way, huh?] (Man)

After confirming that the man had moved to a safe location, I gave Caucasus the signal.

Right after that…..Caucasus firmly gripped the carriage with its three prided horns, and lifted it up without any difficulty.

Caucasus then move the carriage a few meters away, and placed the carriage back onto the ground. This time, the carriage did not sink into the ground, be it the front or back wheels.

The rescue was a success.

[I believe that the carriage will be able to move again with this.] (Varius)

[……You have my thanks. Although it pains me that this is the best I could give as thanks, please accept it.] (Man)

Saying that, the man took a single gold coin out of the carriage.

Although I didn’t feel like I did anything to warrant such a reward…since the man might be the type who hates owing people favours, guess I’ll just accept it.

As we continued our exchange, Caucasus returned to the top of the Nimbus Cloud.

[Well then, we will take our leave now.] (Varius)

[I see. It would be nice if fate allows us to meet again.] (Man)

We exchanged farewells, and I raised the Nimbus Cloud’s altitude.

In this kind of rain, it would have been fine to accompany the man to his destination if we had time to spare, however…the test is tomorrow after all.

Since there was nothing we could do about that, it’s time to resume our journey.

[It really flew…..all right, I’ll give up on thinking after all.]

The man looked like he muttered something, but I couldn’t make out what he said.

*************************************************************************************************

There wasn’t anything eventful after that, and we finally arrived in the town where the Elite Academy is in.

By then, the rain has subsided to a drizzle, to the point where we aren’t troubled by it.

Since I was starving, I got off the Nimbus Cloud for a while and entered one of the shops for a late lunch.

After that, I got back onto the Nimbus Cloud and flew over to Elite Academy’s airspace.

Regarding exams, it’s important to conduct a preliminary inspection of the venue before the actual event after all.

The structure of the buildings, the classrooms which would be used for the exams, as well as the training ground’s location, I hammered all these information into my head.

After about an hour, I have roughly gotten an understanding of the general layout, what’s left would be touring the town I’m in for the first time.

Well…I just dropped by the weapons as well as jewelry stores, and although I didn’t buy anything…seeing so many new things made the time spent quite fulfilling.

After that, I stopped by a restaurant again, for dinner this time.

I took a look outside once my stomach has been adequately filled, and saw that the day has completely turned to night.

……..Though it’s a little early, guess I’ll turn in for the day.

I laid down on the Nimbus Cloud with my tamed monsters.

This sure is a comfortable place to sleep.

With an appropriately low resistance, it fits the entire body such that it stays in a completely relaxed posture. 

Probably due to everything that has happened today, my consciousness left me the moment I lied down.

Notes:

[1]: Recall that Caucasus’ species name is “Caucasus Ookuwagata” where Ookuwagata means “Giant Stag”

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion
—————————————————————————————————————

4 years have passed, and it is now 2 days before Elite Academy’s entrance examination.

I have come to the feudal lord’s mansion in order to get the letter of recommendation.

[Carmel-sama, regarding the entrance examination, is dyeing one’s hair to disguise their profession really not prohibited?] (Varius)

[In the first place, this is the first time I have heard of a magic that would change  one’s natural hair colour. As long as it is a magic with no precedence of use, I believe Elite Academy has no means of prohibiting it.] (Carmel)

After that conversation, the feudal lord went out of the drawing room, and I was left alone.

——My hair, after using hair bleaching magic, is now a blonde colour.

As people with natural blonde hair have an aptitude towards the Sage profession, the current me gives off the impression of one.

“If Tamers are not able to take the entrance examinations without being disadvantaged, then wouldn’t it be fine to just dye my hair?”…was what I thought, hence why I did what I did. 

First is to enter Elite Academy while concealing the fact that I am a Tamer, and reveal the truth once I have accumulated enough achievements.

That is my plan.

For the record, I have two reasons for picking the Sage profession out of the many other professions.

The first is that the Sage is the easiest profession to mimic.

In the first place, a ‘Profession Aptitude’ is defined as [Being able to use a profession’s specialised magic while consuming less mana].

A Hero using Hero magic while expending less mana, or a Holy Knight using Holy magic with a lower mana cost…things like that.

In the case of the Sage however, things are different.

The Sage possesses the trait of [Being able to use the specialised magic of all professions flawlessly while consuming very little mana.]

Of course there are exceptions. Take Awakening magic for example, not even a Sage is able to use it.

(Rather than the mana consumption being too large, it’s more of other professions being fundamentally unable to use it.)

……Taking that into account, let’s consider the Tamer class.

Me being a Tamer, using magic other than a Tamer’s specialised magic would drain a large amounts of mana.

Tamers however, are able to take their tamed monsters’ growth experience as their own, immediately raising their mana capacity to a level incomparable to other professions.

Based on everything said so far, it can be concluded that [Tamers, with their overwhelming mana capacity, are able to use every profession’s magic on par with Sages].

Hence why I would naturally pick the Sage as the target for disguise.

…The other reason is…comparably pointless compared to the first.

It’s great that turning a black hair to blonde only requires destroying the melanin in the hair, and the [dyeing] step is not needed.

—Oh, it seems that the feudal lord has returned to the drawing room.

A piece of paper is firmly gripped in his hand.

[This is the letter of recommendation from me to Elite Academy. Please make sure you take this there and be careful as to not lose it.] (Carmel)

[Thank you very much.] (Varius)

I received the letter, and carefully kept it in my Storage Magic.

Elite Academy, a place where only Nobles, or those who have received a Noble’s recommendation, are allowed to take the entrance examination.

Meaning, this letter is an extremely important item.

…..And, at that moment.

[Varius, didn’t you say that you had something to hand over to the feudal lord?] (Caucasus)

Caucasus — now shrunk to one tenth his size due to body modification magic — said telepathically while resting on my shoulder.

Now that he mentioned it, I did.

I did have something I thought of giving.

[Carmel-sama…if I recall, isn’t it up to the noble that gave the recommendation to cover the expenses of the entrance exam fees?] (Varius)

[Yes, that’s right.] (Carmel)

[Then…please receive this as payment for your expenses.] (Varius)

Using Storage Magic, I took the snake monster, Jormungand’s skin out, and handed it over to the feudal lord.

This too, is one of Caucasus’s battle spoils.

Although I do not know how much are the examination fees…as this seems to be a high-class item, I would like to believe that it is sufficient.

As I thought so, the feudal lord’s mouth opened wide, his eyes boring into the skin as if to devour it.

[Thi, This…..Isn’t this a Jormungand’s hide ! It’s a high-class item to the point where even if I had recommended an entire class’ worth of people, the change returned would be more than the cost, you know? Is it really okay to for me receive something like this? ] (Carmel)

[Eh…is it really worth that much? Well, it’s something I’ve prepared originally anyway, please accept it.] (Varius)

Apparently, a Jormungand’s skin is worth more than the examination fees.

Well, there’s nothing better than a high-class gift, I’ll leave this as it is.

Now then, I’ve done everything that needed to be done, it’s about time I head back home.

After saying my farewell to the feudal lord, I flew off using the Nimbus Cloud.

*********************************************************

That night.

Wanting to do some last minute revision, I picked [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice] up.

Since I had solved it over a hundred times, it now has a tattered appearance.

It would be easy to restore it using magic, but as it gave off the feel of it being [Proof that I had studied], I decided to leave it as it is.

I opened to the last chapter of that overused book.

It is a corner called [Making discarded questions more difficult], where questions with a low percentage of correct answers are made even harder — a corner with the author’s original questions.

[….Un. No problem] (Varius)

I reflexively answered the numerous easy, hard, and tricky questions one after another.

After a few minutes, I closed the book.

Unlike my previous life, I devoted my full attention towards the boring act of studying for an entrance exam after all. It’s obvious that this would happen since I repeatedly went over the only revision book I have.

I closed my eyes peacefully, and drifted off to sleep.

*****************

The next day.

As I woke up, heavy rain…or rather, a storm has occurred.

The rain was so intense that visibility was limited to only a few metres.

[Varius……isn’t the test tomorrow? You said it would be fine to leave the day before…but with this rain, wouldn’t that be impossible? What do you plan to do?] (Varius’ mother)

Mum is worried.

But…it’s a needless worry.

[Please do not worry, Mum. The weather doesn’t matter to me.] (Varius)

I took the Nimbus Cloud out using storage magic, and got on it.

[I’ll be on my way.] (Varius)

I said while flashing a smile to my parents……channeled mana into the Nimbus Cloud, and generated a spherical shield that is specifically designed for weather such as this.

Notes:

[1]: Regarding the Harry Botay in the title, the raw text gave the name ハリボテ (Ha-Ri-Bo-Te), which…well…when you translate it, becomes Harry Botay. Couldn’t think of a better way to name it Thanks to Kyrin Fireheart’s comment, Haribote actually kinda means a “Papier-mâché” or “Something that looks good superficially”, so we’ll go with “fake” here.

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion
————————————————————————————————————–

It has been a week since Caucasus evolved.

Since then, Caucasus has continued hunting everyday with vigour, which resulted in him bringing back a plethora of spoils from his battles.

Thanks to that, the contents of my storage magic are  increasing rapidly.

As my storage magic is able to access the space used by both my previous life as well as my current one, I should be able to manage it somehow…though if I wasn’t a reincarnator, my storage would be pressed for space right about now. 

While Caucasus was acting as he pleased in this manner, I was working hard in creating the ingredients required to make Beast Jelly.

This past week, I have been absorbed in collecting gelatin. 

Although I have only been single-mindedly repeating the task of extracting gelatin from the wyvern’s carcass……as I have finally gathered a decent amount, it should be about time to move on to real jelly making.

First, I’ll take everything that Caucasus has hunted this past week out of my storage magic, including the unused bits from the wyvern’s gelatin extraction.

Following that, I shall chant a spell.

[Oh Qilin, appear before me… form with me a trade of mutual benefits] (Varius)

Soon after… a bright light poured out from a point in the sky. A deer-shaped apparition sporting the face of a dragon, the tail of an ox, and hooves of a horse – in other words, the Qilin has appeared.

[Thy wish, awakening materials or flavourings_[1], what be it?] (Qilin)

The Qilin’s voice resonated in my head, speaking directly to my mind.

I called it for the sake of gathering the raw materials for Beast Jelly after all, so my reply was obvious.

[The flavourings.] (Varius)

[Is that so. Then…the offerings thou hast prepared, hand it over.] (Qilin)

As the Qilin declared, a spot in space distorted.

It’s all right to throw the offerings…in other words, the monsters’ carcass, into it.

I took the spoils from Caucasus’s battles that I had taken out earlier using storage magic, and threw them  into the distortion one after the other.

Once that was done, the Qilin signalled me.

[Thy offerings, have certainly been received…In return, the items thou wishest for shall be placed here. Farewell] (Qilin)

The Qilin’s figure vanished.

In its place, two bottles appeared.

If I remember correctly… the one with the blue cap should be Beast Glutamic Acid, while the one with a red cap should be Beast Inosinic Acid.

At any rate, by mixing these into a monster’s meal, the seasoning that monsters would be addicted to will be completed.

……All right, now that all the required materials are present, time to make the jelly.

I placed the gelatin and the flavourings into hot water, and stirred the mixture until it is completely mixed before putting the fire out.

As a finishing touch, I casted freezing magic to solidify the jelly.

[…..It’s done!] (Varius)

I stored the solidified, completed product using storage magic and made a small guts pose.

With this, I have solved the pressing matter of Caucasus’ food problems.

As I no longer have anything in particular to do, I took a nap while waiting for Caucasus’ return.

**********************************************************************************************

[Varius! There are 2 things you need to be informed of today!] (Caucasus)

Caucasus exclaimed excitedly the moment he returned.

I’m the one who wants to inform though…but well, guess I’ll listen to what he has to say first.

[What is it?] (Varius)

[First one, this book was dropped along the side of some road!]

Caucasus threw a slightly dirty book held between his horns over to me.

Yare yare_[2]…I thought as I caught the book.

Caucasus doesn’t just hunt monsters, he sometimes brings back lost items such as this… although 8 or 9 times out of 10 it turns out to be just thrash.

Well, it’s rare that he would treat the things he handed over with such care, so I casted cleaning magic on it for the time being and to determine what kind of book it was.

[Don’t Give Up Your First Choice…?]_[3] (Varius)

That was the title of the book.

Curious as to the contents of the book, I flipped the pages.

Then…once I understood what the contents were, a smile naturally formed on my face.

[Caucasus, thank you! You were a big help this time.] (Varius)

The book that Caucasus brought back — [Don’t Give Up Your First Choice] — contains 15 years’ worth of Elite Academy’s past entrance exam questions.

With this in my possession, I will be able to efficiently study for the exam.

In other words, my chances of being accepted had dramatically increased.

Yosh, I’ll report this to Carmel-sama in the near future.

I made up my mind.

….Which reminds me, Caucasus had said that there were [two things I needed to be informed of].

What was the other one?

I faced Caucasus with that in mind…and what entered my eyes was a single fly-like monster resting on Caucasus’ wings.

If I remember correctly, that is….

[As for the other matter, this me have made a partner!] (Caucasus)

……As I thought!

While I was thinking, the fly monster greeted me using telepathy.

[Yo. I am the king of flies, as well Caucasus-aniki’s pal…..Beelzebub! I’ll be in your care from now on, yeah?] (Beelzebub)

[…Ah, yeah. Please take care of me too.] (Varius)

……That Caucasus, he partnered up with a Beelzebub huh?

Although I had heard that, once in a blue moon, beetle-type monster would partner up with an insect-type monster_[4]…to think that it would happen with my monster…

But well, I wholly welcome the addition of Beelzebub as a comrade.

As Beelzebub is capable of inflicting status abnormalities upon enemy monsters as well as increasing Caucasus’ defense, Caucasus’ range of activities would increase.
There was no reason not to welcome it.

[Actually, I  have some good news as well.] (Varius)

As I informed the both of them, I took the Beast Jelly out using storage magic.

[I made this today. It should be seasoned to match both your tastes. To celebrate Beelzebub’s addition as well…please eat to your heart’s content!] (Varius)

Caucasus started off by stuffing his cheeks vigorously.

Seeing his actions, Beelzebub who at first looked at the Beast Jelly as if it was something weird, decided to join in on the meal.

[This……This is! This food texture is truly the best!] (Beelzebub)

[Awesome…..Caucasus’s master, to be able to make something this delicious…]

Looks like it was received favourably.

While feeling satisfied my tamed monsters’ response, I began reading [The First Choice, Non-negotiable] while reminiscing on my past life’s entrance exam period.

Notes:

[1]: Raw text was [旨味調味料] which means flavour enhancer which is basically MSG
[2]: The yare yare is important daze Jokes aside, though most of you may already know this, yare yare is a word with many meanings. One of which in this case kind of translates to “Geez”. This StackExchange answer might help.
[3]: The raw text, [第一志望は、譲れない] is actually the catchphrase/slogan for Sundai Preparatory School.
[4]: Fun fact, beetles are actually classified as insects.

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion

Translator is back! Previous chapter has some minor corrections so feel free to check it out!
————————————————————————————————————–

The day after the Tamers training course.

Today, I decided to have an earnest conversation via telepathy with Caucasus.

Caucasus is my first tamed monster since my reincarnation.

The most important thing now is to deepen our understanding of one another, and establishing an emotional bond.

[Hey Caucasus…just thought I’d ask, do you have any lingering attachments towards the forest where the Millenium Tree was?] (Varius)

[Lingering attachments…huh. It is not that there are none.] (Caucasus)

The environment that a tamed monster is in would naturally be completely different from what it was before it was tamed. It is especially important to ask about, and get to the heart of the matter regarding their lingering attachments towards the place it was in before.

[Regarding that matter, would it be all right for me to know about it in more detail?] (Varius)

[Yeah. I…if possible, I wanted to settle the score with that bastard Hercules before I left the forest.] (Caucasus)

[Heracles, huh. As one would expect from a Caucasus.] (Varius)

The Heracles in question, is a monster called the Hercules Manakabuto_[1]. A beetle-type monster similar to Caucasus, as well as the only one among the beetle-types who is endowed with battle prowess rivalling Caucasus.

By the way, it’s true that Hercules lives in that forest as well. 

However, in the event where both of them are awakened, Caucasus would actually be a level stronger than Hercules and as such, I would still have brought back a Caucasus.

[In the past, I contended with that bastard Hercules over the Millenium Tree. In the end, we were evenly matched and the battle ended in a draw. From then on, me and that bastard Hercules lived in the Millenium Tree on a monthly rotation.] (Caucasus) 

[I see] (Varius)

I appeared before Caucasus when it was his turn to live in the Millenium Tree.

[Well, the situation with that bastard Hercules was resolved by meeting halfway after all. Even if this me continued to live there, it is not known whether the score will be settled with the situation as it is. However…this me am definitely of the mind to settle things one day.] (Caucasus)

[Oo~]_[2] (Varius)

How do I put it…what a beetle-like life story.

……Hmm?

Wait a second. Isn’t this a good chance to push for an Awakening?

[Caucasus. There’s something I’d like to ask. …If you were able to obtain power far surpassing Hercules, would you want to receive that power?]

[Fu…stop joking. This me, wish to be spared from false hopes that would only lead to disappointment. Even you, Varius, do not possess such power, right? 

I see. 

[Spared from disappointment] huh.

In a sense, that statement would mean… [If that was true, I would desire that power.]

Well generally, saying empty words like [please believe me] to persuade him would probably be impossible.

In my previous life, in order to deal with emergencies, I would always have enough materials required for a single monster’s Awakening stored in my storage magic.

That…to think that the day it would actually be useful come in such a fashion.

[….Varius? What is that? Surely you are not saying that it is a tool used to bestow power?] (Caucasus)

[Indeed it is.] (Varius)

I lined the awakening materials — which I took out from the storage magic — up and faced Caucasus once more.

[Listen closely. I will be using the awakening materials lined up here to awaken you.] (Varius)

[Awa…..ken?] (Caucasus)

[Yeah. Once you undergo this, you would become so strong that your once-worthy rival, Hercules, can’t even begin to compare. But for that to happen, you would have to become one with me in heart, this magic will not work if you do not believe in me.] (Varius)

[Hm…..m] (Caucasus)

[You, even when you were awoken by me, you didn’t think that you would get to taste such a delicious item, did you? …..Once more, just once more is fine. I want you to believe in a miracle.] (Varius)

[……Well..If you insist, but just this once you hear?] (Caucasus)

[Thank you.] (Varius)

…….Preparations are in order.

[Well then, please move over here.] (Varius)

I urged Caucasus, and have him move over to the center of where 6 awakening materials were placed.

After this….is just casting the magic.

[Oh Qilin_[3]……may thou grant us the blessings of power!] (Varius)

I chanted.

As I did so… the 6 awakening materials began emitting a dazzling light, enveloping Caucasus. The lights’ colors repeatedly changed into 7 colors in the order of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple…until finally the lights died down, and the 6 awakening materials that were on the ground disappeared.

—–The Awakening was a success!

[How is it Caucasus, the feeling of that new power?] (Varius)

I asked Caucasus while barely containing my excitement.

[….Wh,wh,wh,what is this overflowing power! Right now, more so than Hercules, no matter how strong the foe, this me do not feel as if defeat is possible at aaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllll!] 

Probably due to his excitement, Caucasus’s wings starts buzzing noisily as he flies around, displaying his emotions.

What a relief. It seems that he is satisfied with the results.

Well, there’s no way anyone would be unsatisfied after receiving such unparalleled power.

[Varius. I_[4] want to test this power out at once. I shall go hunting for a bit, look forward to iiiiit!]

….Ah.

That Caucasus, he just flew off somewhere.

Even though I decided to have an earnest conversation with him today.

Oh well, he awakened ahead of schedule anyway, so this works too.

I could chase after him using the Nimbus Cloud but…yeah, that would be thoughtless of me.

Since I’ve been told to wait and look forward to it, I shall do just that.

**********************************************************************************************

That evening.

I was filled with the urge to question Caucasus about what exactly has he hunted.

Because throughout the day, I have been feeling an unimaginable amount of power surging into my body.

That power is unmistakably the growth Caucasus obtained from subjugating monsters, the master that is me would not mistake what I have seen flowing into me.

The fact that I have experienced such a huge growth would mean that Caucasus had hunted down some large game.

A short while later, I see Caucasus returning.

And…I could only be shocked at what I saw trapped between those horns.

…..Oi Caucasus.

You, why the heck would you start off by hunting something like a wyvern?

It seems like we have a lot of discussing to do.

Notes:

[1]: Raw text was ヘルクレスマナカブト (HeRuKuReSu MaNaKaBuTo). Kabuto being a rhinoceros beetle. The word “Mana” in front is just indicating that it has magic properties. By the way, Caucasus is OoKuwagata, which means “Large Stag Beetle”
[2]: Just a sound one uses to acknowledge a statement.
[3]: For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin
[4]: Caucasus referred to himself as 俺 (O-Re) instead of 我(Wa-re) here which is the typical masculine/rough way of saying “I/me”.

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion

Hey everyone, Havion here. Sorry for the delay, translator fell sick, so I took over the translations a little. Some parts may be revised later on once the translator gets better but hopefully I did a decent enough job.

In other news, I made an “About Us” page LOL

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
—————————————————————————————————————

While the trainees split up after receiving instructions from the lecturer, I took the Nimbus Cloud out using storage magic and rode it.

As one would expect, if the children were to see the Nimbus Cloud, they’d go [Ahhh, that’s unfair~] or [I want to ride on it too~!] and things would get troublesome. However, now that they have disappeared from view, I no longer have a reason to go around on foot.

Next, I raised my altitude in one go, with the thought of surveying the entire forest. I may be able to target areas where excellent monsters are likely to reside in based on the topography after all.

Once my altitude was raised, I looked over the entire forest.

Thereupon…let alone target, I decided my destination with the conviction of it being [the only possible place] 

It’s a gigantic tree to the point where it stands out even if one just gave a glance at the surroundings from the sky — in other words, a Millennium Tree has grown in that area.

A Millennium Tree is where the likelihood of monsters — who are able to rapidly increase their battle prowess as well as hasten their awakening — residing is unusually high. 

As such, Millennium Trees are known as a [Tamer’s Treasury] since time immemorial.

In my past life, due to the fierce overhunting of monsters by the Tamers, there were not many chances where one is able to approach the Millennium Tree during the timing where good-quality monsters are around……since the Tamers around here are in such a state, the chances of there being a good-quality monster should be pretty high.

Let’s head there immediately.

I approached the Millennium Tree in a straight line through the air and activated a detection spell.

……There’s one.

I have ascertained that there is one monster of the type I am looking for that has made its home there.

I took the Ruyi Staff out from the storage magic.

This is in no way the same mistake the lecturer made. In order for me to obtain the monster living in the Millennium Tree, I must first get the monster out from the Millennium Tree.

The me from my previous life could grab ahold of the Millennium Tree with both hands, give it a good shake and everything will work out but with my current body strength that would be impossible.

That is why I will be relying on the Ruyi Staff. 

Although if I stabbed the Millennium Tree using the Ruyi Staff at full strength, it would break at the roots and that would be extremely wasteful.

I will need to devise a method to shake it.

I used analysis magic in order to obtain data regarding the Millennium Tree’s mass and shape while writing mathematical formulas on the ground with a branch. 

[……All right, I’ve understood its period.] (Varius)

I muttered after crunching the numbers and took a stance with the Ruyi Staff.

I then proceeded to extend and shrink the Ruyi Staff repeatedly at a set speed, stabbing the Millennium Tree at a set frequency.

As I did that…the Millennium Tree which initially just vibrated lightly gradually began shaking, and eventually started greatly swaying. 

What I just used was the physical phenomenon known as resonance._[1]

Every physical object has something called a [Natural Frequency] based on their mass and shape, and it is possible to create a large oscillation in that object by applying strength in tandem with that frequency.

In order to apply power to the tree multiple times, I changed the point of impact of every hit by a little bit every time so that any single point of the tree do not suffer from any great damage.

Without a doubt, this is the method of gently shaking the Millennium Tree.

A short while later, a bug which body length is at least 1.5 meters fell down, revealing its appearance.
It’s a Caucasus stag beetle._[2]

Nicknamed the [Beetle Deva] due to its ferocious battle prowess, this monster is definitely the strongest beetle-type monster.

As expected, it’s pre-awakened form isn’t as strong as a chouhakai…but if that lecturer fought against a Caucasus, he would probably be killed in an instant without being able to retaliate.

[Oh rude one, to awaken this me_[3] from my slumber…] (Caucasus)

The Caucasus stag beetles’ intelligence are high as well.

That is the reason why even before becoming a tamed monster, they are able to communicate telepathically.

[Ah, I do feel bad about that. However…this time, I came with the intention of presenting you with something good that would more than make up for it. Would you not accept it first?] (Varius)

[……? Well, all right then. However, if it is not a great as you say it is…this me will kill you.] (Caucasus)

As we have reached an understanding, I took the Beast Chips out from the storage magic, and gave it to the Caucasus stag beetle.

After I did so——

[……What a delicious thing this is! Oi, human, this thing, do you have any more of it?] (Caucasus)

[……If I give it to you, could you not kill me?] (Varius)

[Certainly, there is no way this me would kill the one who offered such a delicacy. If you desire it, this me would not mind being your tamed monster as long as you provide it periodically.] (Caucasus)

…Whoa there. 

I obtained his pledge all of a sudden.

Well whatever, this definitely isn’t because the Caucasus is a pushover. It’s just a matter of the Beast Chips being so delicious to the point of overwriting a monster’s base instincts

[Then in addition to that, I shall give these to you as well.] (Varius)

I took even more Beast Chips out from the storage magic.

My stock of Beast Chips kept in the storage magic is limited so this does hurt my expenses but since it’s something that is necessary during the establishment of the Monster Contract, it can’t be helped.

[Hou, to receive this many. ……U~mu, it is indeed delicious.] (Caucasus)

Caucasus is happily stuffing its mouth with Beast Chips.

The additional Beast Chips I took out were eaten in a blink of an eye.

[……Just now, you said that you would be my tamed monster if I continued to provide this, didn’t you?] (Varius)

I went straight to the main topic.

[……Yeah] (Caucasus)

[Honestly, regarding what you just ate — the Beast Chips — I do not have that much stocked up. That is why, I am only able to give this to you once a month. Normally, I would have you eat a jelly that has a similar flavour…is what I have in mind. Even so, are you okay with that?] (Varius)

 [It cannot be helped if you do not have much in stock. Umu, this me shall agree to your conditions.] (Caucasus)

Hearing Caucasus’ reply, I felt relieved.

Unlike Beast Chips, Beast Jelly is comparatively easier to make.

Determining whether it would accept the offer or not would greatly affect the burden of procuring baits in the future.

[Then, I’ll cast the Contract Magic.] (Varius)

I announced as such telepathically, and activated the Monster Contract magic.

[Please take care of me from now on.] (Varius)

[Likewise.] (Caucasus)

……To think that I would meet such an ideal monster to be made into a tamed monster so fast.

My heart danced with so much joy at such a meeting that, all the discontent from that training course’s awful content has been completely written off.

Well then, time to return to the meeting place.

**********************************************************************************************

[W…Wh…Wha…What manner of being have you brought back?!] (Lecturer)

Once I got back to the meeting place, the lecturer suddenly pointed over here, and screamed as such as he fell on his backside.

[Ooooh, I dun really get it but ya’ sure brought back some amazingly cool fella!] (Child 1)

[Those horns are seriously cool!] (Child 2)

[With something like that in your possession, forget fighting, just its glare alone would be enough…] (Child 3)

[How impressive…I’m starting to get excited!] (Child 4)

The children who do not really know about Caucasus were saying such things amongst themselves with sparkles in their eyes.

Well for sure, Caucasus definitely look amazing visually speaking.

[Th…That legendary beetle was tamed? Am I seeing a…night…mare…] (Lecturer)

[[[[Teacher~!]]]] (Children)

…… Are you serious?

To think that the lecturer was so shocked by Caucasus’ appearance that he lost consciousness.

Now that is has come to this, it is definitely not the time to be teaching them the proper way to tame a monster. 

For now, I’ll consider it a win that I was able to find out about the current disastrous state of the Tamers’ education, and properly think about a way to improve it. 

Notes:

[1]: Raw text was 固有振動, which wikipedia returned as “Normal Mode”, which is linked to resonant frequencies. But the physical phenomenon itself is resonance so we just translated it as such.
[2]: Raw text was コーカサスオオクワガタ (Ko—Kasasu Ookuwagata), at first, I thought it was a Chalcosoma Caucasus but that’s a rhinoceros beetle which is “Kabuto” and “Kuwagata” actually means stag beetle. Closest match I could find was Lucanus Cervus because I can find the word “Caucasus” in the wiki LOL
[3]: Caucasus refers to himself with 我 (Read: Wa-Re) which is a more archaic way to say “I/me” in Japanese.

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion
————————————————————————————————————–

It’s been about a week since I recalled my previous life’s memories in my new body.

Today, I plan to take part in a training course for Tamers that will be taking place in the neighbouring town.

As for how things turned out this way, it was due to the feudal lord, Carmel-sama informing me of its existence when he came to visit my place to give his thanks.

To be honest, as long as I have my previous life’s knowledge, there shouldn’t be anything that I can learn from this training course. Even so, I have decided to take part in the training course this time.

Since I may be able to obtain a clue that would shed some light on the indescribably strange treatment that Tamers are getting from everyone.

It’s reasonable to assume that the hint is hidden somewhere in the Tamers’ place of education.

[Well then, I’m going off, kaa-san. _[1]] (Varius)

[Please take care.] (Varius’ mother)

I stored the bento using storage magic, taking out the Nimbus Cloud in its place and flew through the sky riding it.

**********************************************************************************************

[1…2…3………14…15. This time, there are 15 people participating it seems. Well then, let’s go everyone — !] (Lecturer)

This is the meeting place for the Tamers training course.

The lecturer-in-charge this time is a middle-aged man, raising his voice with the tension of a primary school teacher.

Since the trainees — including me — are around the age of 10, he must be acting out of consideration for our age.

He is black-haired — in other words, a Tamer.

One can determine the profession of others even if they were to meet for the first time just by looking at their hair colour.

Black represents Tamers, Silver for Holy Knights, Healers’ are pink…such was their condition, decided even before they were born.

Well, I can’t say for certain due to the existence of hair dyeing magic, but those who pursue battles of education tend to not dye their hair to make their positions easy to understand.

In this case, it should be fine to deem him a Tamer.

This time, we were assembled in front of a forest.

We will be entering the forest to look for magical beasts in order to learn in a real-live environment.

During the morning, the lecturer will be giving us a demonstration. Well then, let’s go and see what he’s got. 

Around 10 minutes after venturing into the forest, a single monster appeared in front of our group.

It’s a horned rabbit.

[Sensei~, don’t tell us you are going to tame such a thing~?] (Child)

[Show us something stronger to tame~] (Some other child)

Upon seeing the horned rabbit, the trainees other than me selfishly voiced their thoughts.

…..Well, yeah it’s true that since a horned rabbit could only achieve strength on the level of an unawakened lich even after awakening, there isn’t much meaning in taming it.

However, as this is nothing more than a [demonstration by the teacher], shouldn’t it be good enough?

While I was thinking about such things, the lecturer instantly killed the Horned Rabbit with a single hit.

….Well the children’s motivation are important as well, so that works too I guess.

[All right then, let’s wait here for a little while okay~!] (Lecturer)

Saying that, the lecturer began throwing pieces of the horned rabbit’s meat around the area. 

So it was a strategy to lure the other monsters in.

I feel that it would have been more effective to just crush some Beast Chips and spread it around but… well, I guess there was a budget cut or some other adult problem.

And so, it was around 30 minutes of waiting.

A different monster appeared.

A monkey-type monster called donkey-ape.

[Well then, I’m gonna tame the Donkey Ape now, so please watch carefully okay~?]

Said the male lecturer as he unsheathed his sword.

…..Hmm? What’s he gonna use the sword for?

I thought it was weird …for some reason, the lecturer started attacking the Donkey Ape using the sword.

….Really, what is this guy doing?

It doesn’t seem like he’s planning on using this second monster another bait…Moreover, this guy just declared that [he will tame the donkey ape], didn’t he?

On top of that, I felt a sense of discomfort watching the lecturer’s attacks.

Just by looking at his swordsmanship, this man has the ability to kill the donkey-ape in 4-5 hits.

Even so, I can’t seem to see any indication of the fight between the lecturer and the monster ending.

… What part of this fight requires such a struggle?

As I thought so, the moment the donkey-ape’s movements had somewhat dulled, the lecturer activated a single spell.

It’s the Monster Contract_[2] spell.

The donkey-ape received the spell and——a few seconds later, the donkey-ape repelled the spell. 

Well, of course that would happen.

There’s no way a monster would be emotionally attached to the man who attacked it.

The lecturer resumed his attack on the donkey-ape with his sword.

On top of that, he started firing a few offensive spells as well.

Finally, the donkey-ape is riddled with wounds.

While confirming its condition, the lecturer once again activated the Monster Contract spell.

This time, the spell was a success and the donkey-ape became the lecturer’s tamed beast.

[……How was that? This is the method to tame a monster. The trick is to『Constantly fight the monster while maintaining a certain level of superiority, making them understand the difference in power.』When you see an opportunity to make the opponent yield, that is the time where you should activate the contract magic okay?] (Lecturer)

[[[[[Okay~!]]]]]] (Trainees)

The trainees responded to the lecturer’s explanation without a shred of doubt.

……This is many times worse than I thought.

If I had to say…..rather than taming….. this is just plain monster cruelty.

In the first place, with the method the lecturer showed in making the monster yield, which essentially results in the monster not having any affection towards him at all, the chances of an [Awakening] succeeding is pretty much nil.

Among the conditions for [Awakening], the bonds with the tamed monster is the most crucial.

I wanted to say [This method is wrong!] right then and there but…well, the opinion of an 8-year-old would surely be dismissed as nothing more than the ideals of an oversensitive kid.

Anyway, the trainees would be taming monsters as part of their practical training from the afternoon onwards.

I will…with my methods — using the monsters’ favourite Beast Chips — definitely tame a monster.

My persuasion, will begin with its results.

Notes:
[1]: 母さん = Kaa-san = Mum
[2]: Raw text was 従魔契約

Extra Notes:
Just to clarify some terms that we have decided to standardise for the novel:
魔物 = Monsters (Previously “Magical Beasts”)
従魔 = Tamed monsters (Previously “Tamed Beasts”)
So the literal translation for the term in reference [2] would be “Tamed Monster Contract” but we shortened it to “Monster Contract” since that would be too wordy. We will maintain this convention until something else pops up that requires us to change it.

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion

—————————————————————————————————————

The man gently placed Prinzel on the ground.

I placed my fingers on the base of Prinzel’s neck.

…….No pulse, huh. It seems that my initial assumption had been right.

At any rate, it’s a race against time from here on out.

Prinzel’s laboured breathing — otherwise known as agonal breathing _[1] — is getting worse, along with the bluish discoloration of the earlobes and fingers.

It should be fine to conclude this as a case of heart failure.

For fear to be the cause of a heart failure isn’t something that happens often…but when someone who has lived a pampered lifestyle is made to experience fear for the first time — in the form of the [Book of Terror] no less — it would not be strange if the neurons of said person went haywire due to the level of fear that was received._[2]

First, a heart massage……is what I’d like to do. Unfortunately, the body weight and arm strength of an untrained 8 year old child will not be able to apply the necessary pressure to help with heart failures.

It’ll be little of an irregular procedure, but I guess I’ll start off with that magic.

Making up my mind, I began my chant.

[With the forces of Coulomb born from my magic, right the beatings of thy Heart!!]_[3] (Varius)

I chanted while pressing my hands onto the left side of Prinzel’s chest.

Immediately after that, Prinzel’s chest received a large surge of electric current, causing his body to jump up in a jolt.

What I used was [Heartbeat restoration magic].

Similar in effect to defibrillation and heart massages, it is a magic which sends a set of electrical signals throughout the body periodically — A lifestyle magic for medical purposes.

As it is merely lifestyle magic and not healing magic, an 8-year-old Tamer child would be able to invoke the spell with ease.

[Haa……..huff…, …huff] (Prinzel)

Prinzel’s agonal breathing seems to have subsided as his breathing has now quietened down to a regular pace.

I was worried I would run out of mana if one time was not effective enough…but it seems like it was a needless worry. 

In any case, he will be on a path to full recovery with this.

[Seems that everything is fine now. Let’s pick up from where we left off, and head towards the feudal lord’s mansion.] (Varius)

I said to the man. 

But…there was no response.

I turned to face the man while thinking it was strange, what greeted me was the man’s round eyes which seemed like they’ll pop out of their sockets.

[T…Ta….A Ta…A TAMER JUST USED HEALING MAGIC——?!] (Man)

The man nervously approached Prinzel, his gaze fixed upon that peaceful face.

[Nah, that just now wasn’t healing magic, you know? It’s was clearly lifestyle magic for medical purposes.] (Varius)

[I’ve never heard of a lifestyle magic capable of saving a dying person though…] (Man)

The man said with a bewildered expression.

That’s weird.

Defibrillation magic should be at the level where it is taught as part of the learning content in safety classes for children. 

…No, wait a minute.

Come to think of it, I don’t have any memories of my post-reincarnated self ever taking a children’s safety class.

At first, I thought this man flunked his studies during his period of compulsory education…but perhaps it was I who reincarnated into a place where the degree of education is lacking. 

[But really, you…what was that, chant magic? Despite knowing a lifestyle magic which no one else knows, you sure used quite an outdated method of using magic.] (Man)

[Since that magic was the kind where it would have an adverse effect if the strength is too great, I thought it was better to use chant magic which does not rely on one’s mastery over their magic control.] (Varius) 

[……I see! To think that there was such a way of thinking. That level of creativeness at such an age…”genius” doesn’t even begin to describe it.] (Man)

The man said while nodding his head.

……Even this kind of knowledge hasn’t been taught?

The thought that this situation is as ridiculous as [A great hero with a military service who, while giving medical treatment to a child, made the great mistake of burning the entirety of the child’s internal organs instead.] flashed through my mind.

[……For the time being, let’s hurry to the feudal lord’s place. Looking at your situation, it seems like I will have more things to discuss with the feudal lord.] (Man)

The man urged.

Although a serious problem has been resolved for now, it doesn’t change the fact that those weakened by the [Book of Terror] requires rest as soon as possible.

Seeing the man walking off while once again carrying 2 of them, I too carried the remaining one on my back and began walking.

*******************************************************************************************************

Upon reaching the feudal lord’s mansion, the man explained the situation to the feudal lord, and the 3 victims were carried to one of the rooms in the mansion.

After that, the 3 of us — me, the man, and the feudal lord — convened in the reception room.

[For saving my son today, thank you very much. Is it true that you are the one that subjugated the chouhakai?] (Feudal lord)

The feudal lord asked.

Unlike his son Prinzel, the feudal lord — Carmel-sama — has a warm-hearted personality, and is a sensible gentleman who does not discriminate against Tamers.

[Yes, Carmel-sama. Even if it was a chouhakai, since it was still an infant, even I was able to deal with it.] (Varius)

[Even if it was an infant, your opponent was a chouhakai, I feel like that wasn’t much of an excuse…in any case, you were a great help. Besides that, it seems that you used an unheard-of spell to revive my son? Exactly what sort of spell is it?] (Carmel)

[It wasn’t revival magic actually. It was just a lifestyle magic to normalise one’s heart rate.] (Varius)

[The person himself is like this, speaking as if it wasn’t anything special…Varius, to be honest, I believe your talent is at the level of being able to qualify for the top seat in Elite Academy [Note: 精鋭学院_[4]]. Carmel-sama, what do you think?] (Man)

Said the man as he interjected into my conversation with Carmel-sama.

Elite Academy…somehow something incredible was brought up.

[I think so too…… If only Arkes-kun_[5] wasn’t a Tamer, I would definitely write him a letter of recommendation…… No, wouldn’t this child be able to use this chance to strive towards raising the status of Tamers instead?] (Carmel)

The feudal lord began brooding.

…That, is weird.

Somehow, hasn’t the conversation turned into how seemingly difficult it is for Tamers to enrol into an academy?

Disregarding Prinzel, I didn’t think the feudal lord, Carmel-sama would be someone who would say something like that.

Guess I’ll just probe the matter a little.

[Are there any problems with Tamers?] (Varius)

[I do not think so…however, society thinks otherwise. I’ll be honest, you being a Tamer is unfortunate. It is to the degree that if I were to give you a recommendation, even I would be made a target of ridicule.] (Carmel)

[Is that so?] (Varius)

……It seems like the world I am in now is many times weirder than I thought.

While I had that thought, the male adventurer blurted out.

[Speaking of which, you said that you had the weapon that defeated chouhakai on hand. About that, could you let us hear about it in detail?] (Man)

I clicked my tongue in my heart.

……Are you really bringing up that topic now?

[Now that you mention it, I too am interested in hearing about it in detail.] (Carmel)

Even Carmel-sama is joining in, looks like I have lost the chance to come up with a plan that dodges the topic.

[……I defeated it using the Ruyi Staff.] (Varius)

[[……Ruyi Staff?]] (Carmel and man)

[Yes. ……my apologies for it being a tale of merely using a powerful weapon despite both your expectations.] (Varius)

For the time being, I apologised.

However, the reactions I got from the both of them was a little different from what I imagined.

[Hey, that was unheard-of weapon isn’t it?] (Carmel)

[That’s right. If there wasn’t the achievement of it defeating a chouhakai, I would not realise that it is the name of a weapon……the situation is becoming more and more complicated.] (Man)

……This reaction as well, this is weird after all.

It shouldn’t be a weapon with an obscure name.

[Ah, but I do not normally use it, you know?  I just have it for the sake of self-defense…] (Varius)

I glossed over the issue for the time being.

I wouldn’t want to be thought of as the kind of person who is spoiled by their parents. Well in my case, my real strength comes from what I gained personally in my past life, but there’s no way the feudal lord and the others have any way of knowing that.

[Why is that? With such a powerful weapon, isn’t it fine for you keep using it in order to continue defeating powerful magical beasts?……Well, in the worst case you could lose your life and that would be putting the cart before the horse.] (Carmel)

[It is as Carmel-sama said. After all, the weapons Tamers possess  outdated when compared to the other professions right? Even if it means ignoring your own safety, you should continue using it.] (Man)

[……Is that how it is? Well, if it’s fine for me to use it freely then I shall continue using it though…] (Varius)

It was a needless worry.

As usual, there are some parts about how Tamers are treated that I am doubtful of…but I’m grateful that I am able to use my drop items freely.

At this rate, I feel like it would be fine to utilise the Nimbus Cloud for daily uses.

[Well then, I’ll leave the 3 people resting here to you. Would it be all right for me to take my leave now?] (Varius)

Since I don’t really have any reason to remain here any longer, I decided to head back home.

[Ahh, that’s right. I wanted to discuss the matter with you a little more,but you must be tired. You can return for the day.] (Carmel)

With that said, the 2 of them sent me off when I left the mansion.

[Well, see you later!]

I took the Nimbus Cloud out using storage magic and rode it through the sky.

*********************************************************************************************

Side Story: The feudal lord and the others

[……Huh? He went home flying through the sky?] (Carmel)

[So he did, riding a magic tool which I have not seen before…No, a tool which I’m not even sure if it is magic or something else entirely.] (Man)

[We have just seen another one of Varius’ mysterious parts haven’t we?] (Carmel)

[So we have.] (Man)

[This is…it might be better if I seriously consider giving him my recommendation to Elite Academy without being constrained by his profession.] (Carmel)

Notes:
[1]: For more info, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agonal_respiration
[2]: Just a small disclaimer: We’re as knowledgeable as Jon Snow regarding biology.
[3]: In case anyone wanna give the raw a go for the chant:「我が魔力より生まれしクーロン力よ……汝の心の臓の細動を正さん！」
[4]: 精鋭学院 (Seiei Gakuin) literally translates to Elite Academy. We plan to use Elite as the academy’s name from here on out, but we welcome everyone’s opinions on whether you all prefer otherwise.
[5]: Seems to be Varius’ family name

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis
Editor: Havion
———————————————————————————————————–

Taking the Ruyi Staff out using Storage Magic, a thought struck me.

…Thinking about it properly, it can’t be helped that I was thought to be the one with the lowest combat power here.

Tamers are the strongest profession; however, that is only true when their tamed beasts are included.

The current 8-year-old me has not tamed a single magical beast.

Without even a single tamed beast — which obviously results in the inability to obtain shared experience — Tamers would definitely be considered as the weakest.

The idea that [Tamers are accompanied by tamed beasts] was so obvious that the thought had not crossed my mind.

Yeah, that must be it.

The statement the feudal lord’s son made about [(Eight-year old) Tamers (without any tamed beast) are useless] was not entirely wrong with that premise in mind.

Generally, to say that Tamers are worthless is…nah, there’s no way.

With that out of the way, I took a stance with the Ruyi Staff.

In any case, in addition to me possessing the highest combat power here with the Ruyi Staff, the situation is such that leaving the battle to any one else would result in casualties..

Usually — even if it’s a child — ignoring a noble’s demands would not end well; however, as the saying goes, “you can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs” — I’ll be taking this battle.

–As I confirmed my thoughts…

[……This is bad!] 

Seeing the Chouhakai pulling a single book out of thin air, I instantly stabbed the tip of the staff into the ground.

I then clung tightly to the staff, willed strongly for the staff to extend, and shot up towards the sky in one go.

Right after that, the book the Chouhakai was holding emitted an ominous light, releasing a creepy aura in all directions.

It’s a specialty skill of Chouhakai — the intimidation skill [Book of Terror].

[The Book of Terror] possesses no other effects beyond intimidation, dealing 0 damage in return for an outrageously short cast time.

That’s why, as I failed to defeat the Chouhakai before it made its move, I had no choice but to temporarily retreat to the sky.

Despite being pretty high up — and well out of the effective range of the skill — I still felt a chill run down my spine.

If I had taken a direct hit from that…the fear would paralyse my entire body, leaving me as a helpless prey without even getting the chance to swing the Ruyi Staff.

I took out the Nimbus Cloud using Storage Magic and rode on it.

Since with my current body, I will not be able to avoid breaking some bones if I fall from this height.

Moreover, it’s easier to target and attack the Chouhakai from the sky.

Returning the staff to its original length, I observed the Chouhakai.

Without sparing a glance to the ones who collapsed due to [Book of Terror], the Chouhakai fixed its eyes on me.

Its eyes seemed to express the desire to [Not allow even a single prey to escape].

I aimed the tip of the Ruyi staff at the Chouhakai, targeting its cranium.

At the same time, the Chouhakai began chanting a spell while gathering mana into the palm of its hands.

Could it be that it didn’t think that the Ruyi Staff’s ability to extend could be used as a means of attack? It is completely ignoring its defense while focusing entirely on attacking.

(——Extend)

So I willed the staff.

The next instant, due to the overwhelming kinetic energy brought forth by the high-speed extension of the Ruyi Staff, the targeted Chouhakai’s head exploded like a crushed tomato without leaving any trace of it ever having one.

At the same time, the half-gathered mass of mana in its palms flew off to the day after tomorrow.

The enormous boost in physical and magical strength that I feel is proof that defeating the Chouhakai was not a mistake.

This kind of growth only happens after a successful subjugation. 

I can be relieved for now.

I descended onto the ground feeling as such.

**********************************************************************************************

…..Well then, what do I do now?

Everyone of those hit by the [Book of Terror] skill was left unconscious while foaming at the mouth. Doesn’t look like they can move for the time being.

While it is unrealistic to carry every single person home, I can’t exactly leave them here to call for help either.

It would be putting the cart before the horse if these children were attacked by another magical beast while I was calling for help.

While I was racking my brains for an answer, as luck would have it, a single man approached the area.

[Are you okay? There was an unpleasant feeling coming from this direction so I followed it to find out what was going on.] (Man)

……I see. I thought it was an uncanny timing, but it was that huh.

It seems that he came running after sensing the waves released from the [Book of Terror].

[Somewhat. It’s just that…the others have fainted due to fear, so would you mind lending me a hand in carrying them to a safe place?] (Varius)

[Of course. Still, what exactly happened which caused such a thing to happen? ] (Man)

The man turned his eyes towards the Chouhakai’s corpse as he spoke.

As soon as he did, the bag that he was holding fell from his hand.

[An orc……no, it’s a little different. Which would mean…could it be a Chouhakai?] (Man)

[I believe so. Since it did use [Book of Terror] just now.] (Varius)

[To think that such a thing would appear here…] (Man)

The man sighed after he muttered those words.

A few seconds of silence followed. The one who broke this silence was the man’s question.

[……N? Wait a minute. You, were you the one who defeated this thing?] (Man)

He had an expression of disbelief as he looked between the Chouhakai’s corpse and me.

[Uh, well…It just so happened that I had a weapon that was capable of defeating the Chouhakai]

I answered ambiguously.

Originally, the Ruyi Staff was not meant to be used by a child, and as a projectile weapon no less.

Although it’s fine to use the excuse that it was due to self-defense this time, it’s also true that many would not think too highly about a child being in possession of a Ruyi Staff.

Taking that into account, it’s unquestioningly better to simply conceal the specific name of the weapon.

……Yeah, let’s change the subject.

After all, this is not the place to be talking about how the Chouhakai was subjugated.

[The feudal lord’s son, Prinzel,  is among those who are unconscious. Hence, I think we should carry all of them to the lord’s mansion for now.] (Varius)

I suggested as such. 

Since the lord’s mansion is the nearest building from here, that would be the best course of action logically speaking.

[Yeah, you’re right. Let’s divide the work and carry them separately.] (Man)

The man readily agreed.

….Thank goodness.

The man did not press further on how I subjugated the Chouhakai.

The number of people that accompanied Prinzel numbered at four including me, which means that the number of victims due to the [Book of Terror] is 3.

The man carried 2 of them — one of them being Prinzel — while I carried the remaining one on my back.

It would be faster to just use the Nimbus Cloud, but it has a mechanism where only the subjugator of Son Goku, along with their tamed beasts are capable of riding, while others would simply slip through it.

Well, it’s a matter of asking for the impossible. 

After ten minutes of walking, the lord’s mansion came into view.

……Just a little more.

As I thought so-

[Cough, Ha…haa…haa…]

I could suddenly hear heaving sounds next to me.

As I faced the source of the sound, pale blue discolouration could be seen on the hands and earlobes of the feudal lord’s son, Prinzel.

This is bad…..

As the thought crossed my mind, the man who was carrying Prinzel increased his walking speed for some reason.

[Please wait! …….Let’s put Prinzel-san down for the time being] (Varius)

I suggested.

However, I couldn’t believe what the man replied in response to that.

[What are you saying. Prinzel-san does not have much time left. If we do not arrive at the feudal lord’s place posthaste, he would not be able to even see his parents’ face for the last time you know?] (Man)

I seriously doubted the man’s sanity.

……..This guy, did he just assume that Prinzel was going to die?

[“Does not have much time left?” Right back at you, what are you saying? Rather than accepting his death, wouldn’t it be better to prioritise taking measures that ensures his survival?!] (Varius)

With that counterargument……the man went silent for a few seconds, and said quietly.

[You, are you saying that you can save Prinzel-san in his current state? I can’t think of it as anything else but a brat’s selfish ideal.] (Man)

It seems that it would take some time to persuade him.

As I had that thought, the man continued.

[……Is what I would like to say, but you have accomplished the miracle of defeating a Chouhakai alone. Just once, I’ll put my trust in you] (Man)

Notes:
ED: As Chouhakai is treated as a species’ name rather than a unique name similar to how one uses orc or goblins, that would be how we’ll treat it. As for why the “C” is capitalised, it’s because it feels weird to not do it…I guess? LOL Well this may change in the future.

Previous | TOC | Next

Translator: Cialaxis

Editor: Havion

TN: I hate typing long introductions and stuff so without further ado let’s begin.

————————————————————————————————————-

There was a high-difficulty dungeon of which not even half of the so called chosen geniuses — known as the Holy Knights and Heroes — could conquer even after becoming veterans.

I — a Tamer — have arrived at the lowest level of that dungeon, together with 3 of my tamed beasts.

Ahead, the door leading towards the Dungeon Master’s chambers is visible. Opening the door will start the battle.

The door was opened, and what appeared beyond it was a single Monkey-Type monster, brandishing its long staff. It is the dungeon’s boss — Son Goku.

Giiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee!!!!!!

As soon as we entered the room, Son Goku unleashed a barrage of thrusts towards my tamed beasts and I using its Ruyi staff._[1]

High speed attacks that leaves countless afterimages using its staff is one of Son Goku’s specialties. It was a brutal attack that is capable of pulverizing a Holy Knight instantly without much resistance. However-

I easily saw through it.

After all, Tamers are a class that grows by absorbing a fraction of the battle experience of their tamed beasts. By making these powerful tamed beasts fight frequently, even a Tamer can obtain power that would easily outclass Holy Knights or Heroes.

Having said that, these tamed monsters are still the main combat potential.

First, I had one of my Tamed beasts, an Awakened Ultra Slime, intentionally take a hit from the Ruyi staff, melting the part which pierced its body with its acid.

The damaged staff would then be unusable for an hour, drastically reducing Son Goku’s combat potential.

@#$%%^&!

Following that, my other tamed beast, an Awakened Lich, began chanting. While I do not understand the language of the Lich species, I could tell that it is a powerful spell.

Gi, Giiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!

Right after the Awakened Lich began its chant, Son Goku started to hug its head in agony.

I see. So it was a spell to activate the effect of the circlet worn on Son Goku’s head. (ED: O.o San Zang is a Lich now?)

While the circlet provided Son Goku with frightening power, it has the demerit of tightening around its head when a specific spell is applied.

Seems like that was the purpose of the spell.

However, there is no way Son Goku would just sit idly by without counterattacking.

A bunch of its hair was roughly pulled out and blown towards us. Each strand of its hair turned into mini-clones of the original and attacked us.

But at that moment, another of my tamed beasts, an Awakened Yog-Sothoth, leaped in front of us.

“Keh, bringing out slimy worms. All of you, drown in the Sea of Knowledge!!” (Yog-Sothoth)

With that, countless balls of light were shot out and Son Goku — along with its clones — was blown away.

Along with that attack that resembled a carpet bombing, thunderous booms echoed throughout the chamber.

After a few seconds, the lights began to subside. The clones were erased without a trace, leaving only the lifeless body of Son Goku to be seen.

Subjugation Complete.

“This is the strength of a Tamer…” (MC)

These words slipped out of my mouth unconsciously.

That’s right. Out of all the combat professions, the Tamer is the strongest.

There is only one reason for that.

Tamers are the only class that can utilize the unique spell [Awakening]_[2], that can power-up even common tamed beasts to ridiculously absurd levels of power that only can be called legendary.

Originally, these three tamed beasts — Ultra Slime, Lich, and Yog-Sothoth — aren’t existences that are powerful enough to defeat Son Goku by themselves…However, by successfully awakening them using my unique magic as a Tamer, defeating the likes of a high-difficulty dungeon boss proved to be nothing more than a trivial task.

In the face of such power, hardened Heroes, Holy Knights, and even Sages would all be blown away like scrap paper without exceptions.

This was the most common of common sense of this world.

……Well then, time for some rewards.

With that in mind, I pulled out some Beast Chips using Storage Magic.

“It’s Beast Chips time, you guys.”

I called out while I opened and placed the bag of chips on the floor.

All 3 tamed beasts instantly jumped at it.

It is said to be delicious to any magical beasts, no matter the species, truly a wonder chip.

While they were voraciously munching on the chips, I collected the spoils of the battle.

The only items were the Ruyi staff, and a cloud-shaped vehicle capable of flight, the [Nimbus Cloud].

The corpse of the monster Son Goku has no material worth, and since the circlet on its head only garners interest from people with inhumane hobbies, I left it as it is.

I stored the items using Storage Magic.

However—

“……Shit!”

As the sensation of being pulled by Storage Magic creeps over my arm, I braced for death.

It is said that the chances of this happening is less than one in a hundred-million but if it does, the caster is guaranteed to die — a Storage Accident.

To think that such a thing would happen to me……

**********************************************************************************************

“Get out of the way! This useless piece of shit of a Tamer!” (Youth)

Shouted the youth as I was blown away.

That was the moment I regained my memories from my previous life.

…… [People who die in a Storage Accident, inherits their memories and spatial inventory as they reincarnate]. I seem to recall hearing about this at some point.

I thought it just some nonsense, but since it has happened to me, it seems to be the truth.

Alright, time to figure out my current situation.

It seems that in this life, I am called Varius.

A common 8-year old villager, with a job aptitude unchanged from my previous life as a Tamer since birth.

As for the youth that had sent me flying, it seems that he’s the son of this region’s feudal lord.

15 years old, with a job aptitude as a Holy Knight.

There actually aren’t many nobles that flaunt their arrogance at the commoners; but for a youth at the height of puberty, it is only natural for one to flaunt his superiority with his position.

That’s why both his speech and actions were not that big a deal…is what I’d like to say, but it seems that I can’t turn a blind eye to that statement.

A Tamer is…useless?

While it’s excusable that given the social standing, being looked down upon is unavoidable, to think that such complaints are slapped onto a profession.

Moreover, the profession known as Tamers surpasses every single combat job class, including the feudal lord’s son’s profession — Holy Knight. It is the strongest combat profession.

Using that as a reason to look down on someone…there is a limit to being unreasonable.

……Oh well. I’ll think about it later.

After all, there’s a bigger problem in front of us right now.

We — both me and the feudal lord’s son — as well as a number of commoners from the lord’s territory, are approaching a single magical beast.

“Heh, I can hunt a single measly orc by myself!”

The lord’s son shouted, asserting his authority.

It’s true that a single orc isn’t even an opponent for a 15-year-old Holy Knight.

But…that’s just if the opponent is really just a mere orc.

Unfortunately, the opponent isn’t actually an orc, but the infant form of the magical beast, Chouhakai.

On the surface, it seems strikingly similar to an orc, even veteran adventurers have trouble telling them apart from the outside.

But it is evident in combat. Its strength is close to two fully grown adult Heroes even in its infant form.

It’s entirely possible for the lord’s son to receive a mortal wound from just a single attack.

Previously, I could have easily killed such an enemy in one hit via an Awakened Ultra Slime’s ramming attack…however, I have zero chance of winning without my tamed beasts.

In other words, it is a dire situation.

As I was thinking as such, I recalled an important point.

[People who die in a Storage Accident, inherits their memories and spatial inventory as they reincarnate]

In other words, I currently possess the Ruyi staff obtained from subjugating Son Goku.

The top speed of an extension from the Ruyi staff is faster than the speed of sound.

Just by willing it to [Extend], it is capable of morphing into a weapon of destruction filled with kinetic energy in no time.

The cycle of extension and shrinking of the staff is absurdly fast, capable of unleashing tens of thrusts in a second at maximum output.

With such an attack, not even Chouhakai would stand a chance.

Notes:
[1]: Son Goku’s/Sun Wukong’s staff (Original text just used Ruyi Staff so we’re going with that)- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruyi_Jingu_Bang

[2]: The original text was「覚醒進化」which literally means “Awakening Evolution” but it’s a mouthful so we’re using [Awakening] for the time being

TOC | Next