Tomoe was completely stunned and spaced out after my wooden sword shattered the rock.
Eventually, she gazed at the blade with an entranced expression.
"I… I can't believe it…! A wooden sword that can cleave even stone…!
'Rock Cleaving' is one of the goals every warrior strives for…!
And yet you did it so easily…!"
"Not bad, right?"
When I spoke, Tomoe shook her head as if someone had splashed water on her face.
She immediately pointed the tip of the wooden sword at me.
"Y-you… what exactly are you planning!? Giving things to your enemy like this!"
"I don't think of you as an enemy."
"Silence! If I felt like it, I could split your skull in two with this 'Rock Cleaving Sword'!"
"You even gave it a name, so you must really like it."
Tomoe's face flushed bright red like the setting sun.
"Th-that's not…!"
"Well, whatever. Let me borrow it for a second."
I took the wooden sword back from Tomoe and quickly carved an inscription into it with my knife.
--------------------------------------------------
Ogre Wood Sword (Inscribed "Rock Cleaving Sword")
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 19 (Material Level 2 + Dexterity Bonus 5 + Job Bonus 12)
A wooden sword carved from Ogre Wood.
Thanks to the various bonuses, it is easier to swing than ordinary wooden swords and possesses high attack power.
--------------------------------------------------
"Here, take it back."
When Tomoe saw the inscribed sword, she melted again.
"So… so cool…!"
She looked like a young swordsman who had just picked up a blade for the first time.
"Take good care of it. See you later."
I turned to leave, but Tomoe stubbornly called after me, "Wait!"
"What? You still have something?"
"Yes! You still haven't answered my question!"
"What was it again?"
"Why did you give me something like this… this stick with an inscription!? Answer me!"
"You were still worrying about that? It's because you're trying to protect Kotone."
"What?"
"There are a lot of bad bugs around Kotone, right?
I figured a poor-quality wooden sword wouldn't be enough to protect her."
"You're the biggest bug of all!"
"Maybe. But right now, whether I'm a bad bug or not doesn't matter. I just sympathized with your feelings of wanting to protect Kotone. That's why I made it."
Tomoe bit her lip with a still-red face and muttered, "Gnuuu…!"
She thrust her hand into her hakama, pulled out her Slave Ticket booklet, roughly tore out one ticket, and shoved it against my chest.
"Take it."
"I didn't do it for…"
"Take it! I refuse to owe you anything!"
Tomoe forced the ticket into my hand, then quickly turned her back.
As she left, she glanced back once and said,
"Don't get too close to Kotone-sama."
With those words, she stomped away.
I watched her broad shoulders disappear while holding the ticket with a face value of "100,000" and a portrait of Tomoe with a sharp expression.
"'Never approach her again' became 'Don't get too close'… i guess she acknowledged me a little."
As I muttered that to myself, my body was enveloped in the familiar light.
--------------------------------------------------
Leopin
Job: Celestial Carpenter Seres Carpenter
LV: 12 → 13
HP: 1810
MP: 1810
Status
Vitality: 181
Stamina: 181
Toughness: 181
Spirit: 181
Resistance: 181
Agility: 181
Focus: 181
Strength: 181
Magic Power: 181
Divine Power: 181
Intelligence: 181
Culture: 181
Five Senses: 181
Sixth Sense: 181
Charm: 1
Luck: 2
Dexterity: 580 → 680
Jobs Available for Change
Production
Woodcutter
Appraiser
Celestial Carpenter Seres Carpenter
Stonemason
Leatherworker
Woodworker
Mana Farmer
Exploration
Ranger
Treasure Hunter
Combat
Axe Battler
Ninja
Martial Artist
Trapper
NEW! Tamer
--------------------------------------------------
"Oh, the new job is Tamer. That's a completely new genre for me."
On the way back to my house in the forest, I immediately tried changing jobs.
--------------------------------------------------
Leopin
Job: Celestial Carpenter Seres Carpenter → Tamer
Job Skills
Animal Charm
Makes animals more likely to like you
Animal Taming
Tames animals within a 1-meter radius
Taming Release
Releases a tamed target
Animal Command
Gives orders to tamed animals
Animal Emotion Vision
Allows you to see changes in an animal's emotions
--------------------------------------------------
"Now that I think about it, the forest is full of animals. Maybe I should try taming something right away.
I recall that taming is easier with animals that have lower intelligence."
I looked around near the house and spotted a rabbit sniffing the air in the distance.
I tried to approach slowly, but the moment a leaf rustled, the rabbit bolted away like lightning.
Undeterred, I tried approaching birds, squirrels, and deer, but it was no use.
Hunting was common in this forest, including by me, so the animals were highly wary and would not let me get close.
"I guess trying it suddenly won't work…
Come to think of it, Tamers usually catch animals with traps, put them in cages, and gradually tame them over time."
I changed jobs to Trapper.
I quickly made a simple net cage using tree branches.
Then I attached a stick with "Giant Crane Thread" as a trigger…
--------------------------------------------------
Hiroeda Bird Trap
Quantity: 1
Quality Level: 20 (Material Level 1 + Dexterity Bonus 6 + Job Bonus 13)
A trap made by combining Hiroeda branches to capture birds.
Thanks to the various bonuses, it is difficult for even large birds to escape once caught.
--------------------------------------------------
I set the completed trap on the flat ground near the house.
I scattered some nuts under the net cage and set up the trigger stick.
I hid in the grass, holding the string attached to the trigger.
After a while, a Mean Bird glided down.
It pecked at the scattered bait and stepped under the trap…
"Now!" I pulled the string.
The net cage snapped shut, trapping the Mean Bird inside.
I leaped out from the grass and pressed down on the cage with all my weight.
Then I activated the "Animal Taming" skill while shouting "Calm down!"
No matter how many times I tried, the Mean Bird kept thrashing wildly.
I finally gave up and released it.
With a mocking cry, the Mean Bird circled above my head.
"Taming is really difficult… What exactly am I doing wrong? My stats should be plenty high…"
Only after muttering that did I realize.
"That's it! My 'Charm' stat is too low!
The success rate of taming skills depends heavily on Charm!"
I immediately activated the "Dexterity-Poor" skill's "Skilled Body" and dumped 3000 points straight into Charm.
--------------------------------------------------
Leopin
Job: Tamer
LV: 13
HP: 1810 → 10
MP: 1810 → 10
Status
Vitality: 181 → 1
Stamina: 181 → 1
Toughness: 181 → 1
Spirit: 181 → 1
Resistance: 181 → 1
Agility: 181 → 1
Focus: 181 → 1
Strength: 181 → 1
Magic Power: 181 → 1
Divine Power: 181 → 1
Intelligence: 181 → 1
Culture: 181 → 1
Five Senses: 181 → 1
Sixth Sense: 181 → 1
Charm: 1 → 3001
Luck: 2
Dexterity: 580 → 200
--------------------------------------------------
Almost immediately,
…Dodo dodo dodo dodo…!
The ground began to rumble around me.
An earthquake!? I thought, but the cause quickly became clear.
From every direction, all kinds of forest animals were charging straight toward me with hearts in their eyes…!
"Oh no! I raised my Charm too high! The passive skill 'Animal Charm' became way too strong! Quick, change it back…!"
But the next instant, I was completely smothered by a wave of fluffy animals.