Chapter 91

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The feeling gradually returned as I logged in.

The thing in my arms.

The black, glossy object that entered my blurred vision.

The pitch-black object was cool, smooth, and very hard.

Very hard.

When I fully awoke and opened my half-closed eyes, I could see a white shoulder framed by black hair within reach of my outstretched arm. Then, what was the black object in my arms?

Yeah, it's Bahamut.

I'm glad it was a size that could fit in my arms. If it had been its original size, it would have overflowed this room.

"Good morning, Bahamut. Are you okay now?"

"Peek!"

《Set ‘Bahamut’ as a pet.》

《Set ‘Bahamut’ as a mount.》

Huh?

Did it announce because I called its name? The announcement came rather late.

Besides, is it really a pet? Is it okay to be a pet?

Is it a mount?

Am I really going to ride that big thing?

Bahamut, if that happens, please be a size that can fit in this room.

Reading the mount description, it says that to ride, you need to give the mount a gem or magic stone. The reason Galahad and the others were throwing gems might be because of this. Depending on what you give, you might not be able to ride, or the distance you can ride might be limited. The type of gem or magic stone that the mount likes varies, and even among the same type of mount, it can be different.

Tamers specialize in pet training, but even without tamer skills, you can ride by offering a gem. There are also mounts that will let you ride with food or a token gem, depending on their personality and your intimacy with them, like horses and cows... it seems that horse-like and cow-like monsters enjoy carrying people.

However, there are also mounts that cannot be chosen even if they are pets.

It's impossible to ride a horned rabbit, for example, due to its size.

There is a tamer profession.

Pets can be obtained by hatching eggs or capturing and training adult beasts.

Non-tamers can bring out up to three pets for battle and mounts, but can keep more than four pets if they buy a house, though they cannot bring them out of the property. You cannot switch the pets you bring out outside of your house.

For professional tamers, the number of pets and mounts they can bring out for battle increases with their level. Since pets count towards the party limit of six, the maximum number of pets that can be brought out at once is five, but you can choose which pet to call depending on the situation. However, while you can return pets during battle, you cannot switch them.

Another thing is that without a tamer, no eggs drop after battle. However, the drop rate is very low, and some enemies don't drop eggs at all. It's easier to increase intimacy if you raise them from the moment they hatch. For non-tamers, since you can't choose stats or skills even if you raise them from level 1, it's faster to capture adult beasts. However, adult beasts are harder to tame.

Even with a pet, you are treated as a solo player, but since pets count towards the party limit, it's an unpopular profession for raid groups. However, for players who only group with friends and take it easy, it's a popular profession because they can use pets to fill in when the party is short. Currently, wolves with fluffy fur are popular because large monsters haven't appeared yet. Once large monsters start appearing, it might become popular among raid groups, especially since Bahamut is like that.

I had never been interested in pets until I got this charming fluffy thing.

In the city, pets are supposed to be kept in a special accessory, so I had never seen one. I wonder if this ‘Dew of Azure Moon’ is the special accessory, though it's specifically for Bahamut.

Pets that are the size of a human or can fit on their owner's shoulder or in their pocket are apparently fine in the city, but I haven't really checked, so I'm not sure.

"Do you want something to eat?"

I put out raw meat, steak, and fried white fish (with tartar sauce) to see what he would eat.

He ate the steak. Is raw meat not okay? He ate the steak with great enthusiasm, so he must have liked it. It seems he prefers steak over raw meat and doesn't eat anything else.

Hey, Bahamut, your breath stinks.

He must have eaten twice his small body size. He's quite a hearty eater, or maybe he's a very light eater considering his original size? While I was thinking this, I cast ‘Purify’ on Bahamut, who had finished eating.

Later, I found out that the food dragons consume is mostly for pleasure, and they maintain their bodies by absorbing magic elements from the air and the earth, with excellent efficiency. Moreover, they absorb other elemental magic and convert it to their own, releasing it, which can change the climate and vegetation of an area. The localized climate distribution in this fantasy world, regardless of latitude and terrain, is mostly due to powerful spirits or strong individuals with elemental attributes.

"Bahamut is so cool."

"Peek!"

Oh, he's blushing. He seems to be in a good mood.

Bahamut looks like a miniature version of his giant form. His belly is slightly rounded from eating meat, but his form gives a sharp impression with a hard shell rather than scales, making him look cool, like a living figure. The slightly rounded belly is unappealing in his original size, but at this size, it's endearing.

While absentmindedly stroking his throat and polishing his shell with a soft cloth, Eagle woke up.

"Good morning... What's that?"

He asked with sleepy eyes.

"That's my pet dragon, Bahamut. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, nice to meet you."

He started getting ready, washing his face.

"Why is there a dragon here!?"

Well, this person is the first to wake up, so I thought he was a morning person, but it seems he takes a while to fully wake up. Eagle's voice woke up the other two.

"Good morning! What's that?"

Galahad, who wakes up and gets ready quickly, poked Bahamut with his finger.

"Hey!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Before I could tell him to stop poking, Bahamut bit Galahad's finger.

"Bahamut, stop, stop!"

I hurriedly pulled them apart. Thanks to the ‘Dew of Azure Moon,’ it didn't turn into a disaster. Or maybe he's weaker because he's small? At least Galahad's finger seems to be fine.

"That's loud..."

Camilla, who had woken up but was still sitting dazed, seemed to be fully awake. She pushed her black hair out of her face, revealing a surprisingly clear face. Maybe she looks better without makeup than with her thick eyelashes and red lips.

"Homura, where did you get this little one?"

"From Vers. When I was asked what I wanted, I said I wanted a mount, and this happened."

While casting a recovery spell on the teary-eyed Galahad, I answered Eagle. I hadn't noticed when the "you" had dropped and we were on a first-name basis.

"Vers, huh."

Eagle sighed, and I understood his feelings.

"The first time I saw it, I was more confused by its size, but it's cool, so I'll overlook the details. I was also told where to encounter mounts. ...It doesn't seem to be at full strength yet."

Fortunately, it seems to have shrunk, either because it heard the conversation or by chance. Maybe it's because it's small, but there's a bit of blood seeping from Bahamut, probably because the wound would open up if it returned to its original size. I cast a recovery spell on it as well. Despite the blood seeping from various places, Bahamut seemed unconcerned. Is it not painful, or is the freedom more enjoyable? Probably the latter.

And my MP is completely drained.

Even though it looks small, it's beyond my ability to heal.

Damn...

At that moment, I didn't realize that Eagle and the others had misunderstood my "small" to mean "too small to ride." It was my poor choice of words.

Anyway, breakfast preparation.

Bread, avocado salad, bacon and eggs, coffee or tea.

Additional meat for those who want it—Galahad and Bahamut.

I need to get rice quickly. Oh, I also need to go gather berries before they run out. Even though the harvest period is longer than in the real world, summer vegetables and fruits are starting to appear, and I'm reaching the limit.

"Are you bringing that little one along?"

As we were clearing the campsite and preparing to continue the raid, I was asked.

"Sorry, I don't have the ‘Taming’ skill, so I don't know how to return it."

"Most pets will return when shown their accessory, but if the bond isn't strong or the pet is stubborn, it might not return."

Camilla, who had put on her makeup, said. I showed Bahamut the ‘Dew of Azure Moon,’ but he flew around my shoulder and turned away, refusing to return. Incidentally, I had polished it to a glossy finish like obsidian.

"Since the bond seems strong, it's probably just stubborn. Well, it will return if it gets scared."

That's how it turned out.

The enemies from the 26th floor onward are mainly lizardmen, snakes, and crocodiles. On the 28th and 29th floors, there are lamias.

As you can tell from the enemies, the field is damp and sometimes knee-deep in water. Unlike the narrow cave-like areas before, this is a vast space with swamps and platforms, and deep mud obstructs your path.

Well, we can fly.

"‘Levitation’ is still not natural."

"Oh, it's quite comfortable."

"The feeling of pushing off is fluffy and unreliable."

The two melee fighters and the ranged mage had different opinions about the ‘Levitation’ effect I cast.

As for me? I'm using a combination of ‘Sky Soaring,’ ‘Aerial Movement,’ and ‘Aerial Action,’ and with the added ‘Carry’ skill, I have the same stability as being on the ground, with increased freedom. Without ‘Aerial Action,’ you can't activate skills or cast spells while moving, so getting the set was a stroke of luck.

Hmm, can I ignore the enemies here except near the stairs because of the ceiling height? Well, ignoring them would reduce experience, which is not ideal. I'd like to get used to dealing with them, but it's a hassle. I might be told to carefully search for platforms at first.

Lizardmen are mostly spear users, so they have a long reach. They attack from a stable platform across the swamp's depths. They are strong and have high defense, and they even use magic. While the lizardmen here don't use them, they are skilled with short bows, but their MID is extremely low. MID is crucial for determining mental status effects like charm and confusion, so if there were a tea-steeped area, a ‘Lulu’ spell would start a spectacular fight among allies.

...I can't tell the gender of the lizardmen, but are there females?

I tried using the wood magic ‘Sleeping Scent’ as a test, and it worked well, making me wonder if it was a good idea. Unlike the single-target dark magic ‘Sleep,’ the area-of-effect ‘Sleeping Scent’ can affect multiple targets but is more likely to be resisted. However, they wake up if hit.

I tried a small trick of using slip magic before putting them to sleep, but with the ‘Lizard Slayer’ skill, it might be faster to just use attack magic.

Bahamut is flying quietly near my right shoulder.

He seems happy to see moving things after being indoors for a while.

"The enemies from the 26th floor onward are stronger, but thanks to the ‘Lizard Slayer’ skill, it's easier."

Galahad said, not entirely convinced, as he cut down a lizardman.

"But there are many mistakes due to the unfamiliarity with aerial movement, so I'd like to practice aerial combat later."

Eagle pointed out while cutting down another one.

"Yeah, for the future."

The two melee fighters need it more than the ranged Camilla, who is still getting used to ‘Levitation.’ By the time they get used to ‘Levitation,’ I hope they can learn ‘Flight’ (tentative name). Since Val said he would eventually be able to fly, I'm sure it's possible with magic someday.

There are quite a few skills and titles with different names and systems but similar effects.

For example, ‘All Weather Resistance’ and ‘All Climate Resistance.’ Normally, ‘weather’ and ‘climate’ are used differently depending on the period, but in this world, when attached to skill or item effects, they have slightly different meanings.

‘Weather’ invalidates hindrances and damage from natural phenomena like strong winds and lightning, and reduces slip damage from extreme heat or cold. ‘Climate,’ on the other hand, reduces hindrances and damage from natural phenomena and invalidates slip damage from temperature.

The difference is subtle, but I think they are useful in different situations, like scorching fields or probably freezing fields. Having both would be great.

No, that's not what I meant. I accidentally let slip my true feelings and desires.

I think it's probably designed so that you can get slightly different skills and titles depending on your profession and actions.

Just as I was thinking this, we reached the boss area.

The mud and swamp water from the battle and movement are really convenient to clean with the ‘Purify’ spell. Without it, we would have to fight with wet shoes and heavy clothes.

The 30th floor boss is a motivated Black Hydra, ‘The Poison-Breathing Black Dragon.’

"Homura, you have the ‘Dragon Slayer’ skill, right?"

Galahad asked without taking his eyes off the Black Hydra.

"Yeah."

I've never used it, but I have it.

"Usually, it's a Yellow Hydra here. I've never heard of a Black one."

"A rare boss."

"Even a Yellow Hydra is troublesome because of its regeneration ability, but this one looks tough."

"Is this the effect of Vers' title?"

I can't decide whether to be happy about the rare boss or wary of the strong enemy.

The chest of the Black Hydra has a shield-like shell supporting five writhing necks.

The Yellow Hydra has a slimy appearance, and its necks regenerate after a while if cut off, so you have to cut and crush them, then burn the wounds with magic or a torch to prevent regeneration.

The Black Hydra looks even more defensive. Well, in my case, I can ignore the enemy's defense and deliver powerful attacks.

"When the Hydra breathes, its throat swells, so watch out. The effect range is narrow, so it probably won't reach the back row, but if it's an acid-breathing type, droplets might fly."

"Well, it's strong, unlike that little one over there, so be prepared."

"Peek!"

"Hey, Bahamut!"

Bahamut, who had been quiet until now, let out a protest at Galahad's words and rushed at the Black Hydra without stopping.

《You have obtained the solo first kill title [Black Explorer].》

《You have obtained the solo first kill reward [Orb of Resurrection].》

《Announcement: The rare boss ‘Poison-Breathing Black Dragon’ on the 30th floor of the dungeon has been defeated in a solo battle.》

《You have obtained 5 fangs of the Poison-Breathing Black Dragon.》

《You have obtained 5 hides of the Poison-Breathing Black Dragon.》

《You have obtained the gauntlets of the Poison-Breathing Black Dragon.》

《You have obtained the magic stone of the Poison-Breathing Black Dragon.》

《You have obtained 10 black opals.》

《You have obtained a +4 Ring of Strength.》

《You have obtained the horn of the Poison-Breathing Black Dragon.》

He rushed in and went right through.

□ □ □ □ □

・Increase・

Title

[Black Explorer]

Pet

[Bahamut]

□ □ □ □ □

Homura Lv.35

Rank C

Clan Zodiac

Profession Magic Swordsman, Alchemist (Assassin)

HP 1219

MP 1570

STR 64

VIT 34

INT 123

MID 43

DEX 40

AGI 70

LUK 58

NPCP [Galahad][－]

Pet [Bahamut]

Title

■General

[Communicator][Circulating Power][Mystery Solver]

[Economic Leader][Lone