Chapter 20 - Rare Skills and Pioneers
"Phew, the tent is safe again today…"
"Woof!"
"Whoa?!"
Suddenly, the wolf pup I rescued yesterday jumped at me just as I sat up. It immediately started licking my face all over.
Shou-kun, are you ready yet?
Ah, sorry. Just a moment.
I want to turn on the stream quickly, but the wolf pup is right in front of my face…
"Can you see it?"
Shou-kun, hello. Wait, is that the pup from yesterday?!
"Yeah. It suddenly jumped at me… Hey, hey, I get it now."
I picked up the wolf pup—yep, it's a boy—and set it down in the middle of my crossed legs.
Its injury seems to have healed.
"Looks like it."
Looking at the wolf pup…
[Wolf?: ]
The '?' was still there as usual. It's good that the 'Minor Injury' display is gone, but the display frame had changed from white to green.
"What's with this green frame? I thought red was enemy, white was non-aggressive, blue was player, and yellow was NPC. Do you know anything, Mion?"
I don't know either.
Hmm, as a possibility, it feels like 'friendly,' maybe? If so…
Of course, I opened my skill list and searched for [Taming]. If I could get it, it should be lit up!
"It's here! [Taming] skill! Requires 9 SP?!"
Normal skills are 1 SP, so this is nine times that! This must be a rare skill, huh? Is it like Common 1, Uncommon 4, Rare 9?
Shou-kun, are you going to get it?
"Of course… I'm getting it. I want to keep this pup!"
I made up my mind and acquired it! Okay! My remaining SP suddenly dropped to 18.
"Um, how do I do this?"
For now, I looked at the wolf pup.
[Wolf: NoName: Friendly (Tamable)]
Oh! Alright, I guess I'll try taming it right away.
[Taming successful. Please decide on a name.]
"Eh, a name? Crap, I haven't thought of one at all!"
I had a hunch it might happen, but I didn't expect to have to decide on a name right here and now.
Um… I've been thinking of a name, would that be alright?
"Eh, you thought of one?"
Yes. How about Lupi?
"Yeah, decided."
As expected, it's a good name; cute, and also sounds a bit strong.
With my naming sense, I probably would've just named it 'Pochi' without any thought…
"Alright, your name is 'Lupi.'"
"Woof!"
[Wolf?: Lupi: Intimate]
Oh, the '?' is still there, but a name has been properly set. Crap, I'm incredibly happy. Just as I was thinking that…
[Pioneer of Taming: Acquired 10 SP]
"Eh?!"
Amazing!
My SP, which had decreased from acquiring the Taming skill, returned to 28. In fact, it increased by 1 compared to before acquiring it. Is this balance okay?
Also, I felt like someone playing the game normally would have tamed a horse or something already…
"Woof?"
"Hm? It's nothing."
When I slowly and gently stroked it, it narrowed its eyes contentedly and wagged its tail. Crap. I want to stay like this forever…
So cute~
"Ugh, I want to stay like this forever, but what should I do today…"
I thought while stroking Lupi.
I want to explore a bit further west, but it might be tricky for time if I start now?
For now, how about hunting some rabbits for Lupi-chan?
"Ah, right. And you're hungry, aren't you?"
"Woof!"
Yeah, that's right. Since it was in here, it probably hasn't eaten.
"Just a minute."
I took out rabbit meat from my inventory and minced it, just like before.
The fact that it stayed sitting and waited the whole time I was working suggests that the [Taming] skill is working properly.
"Alright, you can eat now."
At that, Lupi pounced on the meat and started devouring it. I also had to give it some water.
"What does Lupi do when I'm not logged in?"
It's probably sleeping, isn't it?
Hmm, should I leave some rabbit meat for it for that time?
"Well, it's a game, so it's probably fine if it doesn't eat for about a day, but…"
Wouldn't it be fine if Lupi-chan could hunt rabbits herself?
"Ah, right."
It's a wolf, so once it gets bigger, it should be able to hunt rabbits… or Bicobits, normally.
"Lupi. After you eat, we're going hunting."
"Woof!"
Oh? Its expression suddenly seemed a bit more spirited.
Its injury just healed, so don't push it too hard, okay?
"Yeah, yeah. I'll watch it in the shallow parts of the east side."
Should I deal a certain amount of damage and then let Lupi finish it off? And does Lupi even have levels…
…
…
…
After about an hour of continuously hunting the rabbit monster, Bicobit.
[Character Level Up!]
"Oh, my character level went up."
Congratulations!
"Thanks. But I'm only level 3, huh?"
Bell-buchou is around level 7 now, right?
The Closed Beta apparently lasted two weeks, with a level cap of 5. They said characters, levels, stats, and skills were carried over, so a direct comparison isn't possible, but…
Even so, going from 5 to 7 probably requires more experience than 1 to 3, and doing that in 6 days since launch… isn't she playing quite hardcore?
"Should I put all my [BP] into stats again?"
I still have 28 SP left for skill acquisition, after all.
Again, 3 to [STR], 2 each to [DEX], [INT], and [VIT], 1 to [AGI], and [LUK] skipped. It's a good stopping point, so I'll end here.
"Alright, time to head back. Lupi!"
"Woof!"
I remembered that you usually let them play with weakened prey at first, so I tried it with a Bicobit, but Lupi won easily.
So when I let it fight normally, it won without needing any assistance. It's about as strong as I am…
Lupi-chan is smart, isn't she?
"She's amazing, right? The fact that she understands what I'm saying, I wonder if it's thanks to the [Taming] skill."
I'm relieved that she seems able to hunt on her own even when I'm not logged in. But there was that goblin settlement further in…
"Lupi, you can go hunting if you get hungry, but don't go too deep, okay?"
"Woof."
Yeah, she's smart. Maybe smarter than me?
"It's about time, isn't it?"
Yes. It's just before 5:30.
"Alright, it's a good stopping point, so I'm logging out."
Okay!
When I lay down with a thump to log out for sleep, Lupi lay down next to me.
Hmm, I really want to build a log house soon and live a relaxed life there…