The Goddess Granted Me the [Hatching] Skill and Somehow I Became the Strongest Tamer, Commanding Mythical and Divine Beasts - 14

The morning after arriving in the royal capital, I armed myself with weapons and armor and left the inn.

Accommodations in the royal capital were expensive; just staying overnight cost several herbs.

This was because the cost of living in the capital was different from the town where I lived. I had prepared travel expenses in advance, enough for a month, but if I didn’t do anything soon, I wouldn’t be able to continue after ten days.

“Well then, it’s just me from today onward…”

Celia and Purple, who had been traveling with me until now, were not present. Celia had enrolled in school, and I had left Purple at the Tamer Guild. From today on, I had to undertake the subjugation of C-rank monsters alone.

During travel, I could have left the Magic Worm behind in a carriage without issue, but going solo meant the Magic Worm, which couldn’t move quickly on its own, might become a hindrance.

Therefore, taking advantage of an offer to hold on to it while checking the results of my reports, I decided to quickly meet the qualification conditions.

“Right, there were trolls occasionally on the plains north after leaving the northern gate of the royal capital, wasn’t there?”

Last night, while talking with the Tamer Guild staff, I mentioned my reasons for continuing as an adventurer. When I told them I had taken the national adventurer exam, they gave me this information.

“When you head straight north from the northern gate of the royal capital, there’s a plain where goblins, kobolds, orcs, and occasionally trolls live.”

She continued,

“In the forest beyond that, rare plants grow, but the monsters that appear there are strong, so I don’t recommend going too deep.”

With that in mind, I decided to follow the staff member’s advice and head north for the time being.

“For now, today is just reconnaissance. First, let’s see how many of the monsters on this plain I can handle…”

Thanks to the training from my father, my stats had improved slightly.

Klaus: Human

Gender: Male

Age: 16

Title: Blessed by Goddess Muse

Strength: D

Endurance: D

Agility: D

Magic: E

Spirit: D

Luck: G

Status: Healthy

Skill: ‘Hatching’

Grant: [Small Magic Increase]

Taming: ‘Magic Worm’

With ‘Strength,’ ‘Endurance,’ and ‘Agility’ each at D, I was now considered a D-rank adventurer. Generally, the standards that come up with this “status” in mind align with monster rank and adventurer rank, so facing a C-rank troll would be a formidable opponent for me.

“Even so, the increase in magic power is thanks to this ‘Grant’ called ‘Small Magic Increase,’ right?”

When I made a contract with Purple and hatched, it seemed that abilities were granted. Indeed, after that, when I hatched, I didn’t get as tired. Perhaps when I hatch a monster and make a contract with it, some of its power is ‘granted’ to me, but it’s still in the verification stage, so it’s not confirmed.

Whether hatching without a plan or increasing herb consumption after raising, there were circumstances where I couldn’t earn the target amount.

For now, since I was able to enroll Celia safely and got a year as an adventurer, it should be okay to watch for a while.

In the royal capital, there was also the Tamer Guild, so I could consult the staff if anything happened.

I left the north gate and headed to the plains to battle monsters.

“Ha!”

“Gobbuu!”

“Hey!”

“Garru!”

Half a day had passed since I arrived on the plains.

“Haa… haa… haa… Looks like this is it for today…”

The bodies of goblins and kobolds lay on the ground.

“But still, after half a day of searching, only these two…”

Before setting out, I confirmed that the rewards for permanent subjugation requests were no different from those in town.

Goblins were worth one herb, and kobolds were worth two herbs. In other words, if combined, I could secure enough to cover today’s lodging fees…

“Am I numb to my senses, or is gathering herbs more efficient than hunting monsters?”

The plains were vast, and despite half a day of moving around, I had hardly found any monsters. Upon closer thought, during the two weeks of carriage travel to the capital, I encountered fewer monsters than I could count on both hands.

The area around the royal capital was patrolled regularly by soldiers, so the security was good, and there weren’t many monsters around.

“At the very least, I want to confirm if I can defeat an orc alone.”

Considering it was the second day of my stay, I wanted to assess my abilities early on.

Later, as I continued exploring the plains…

“Buhihuhuhu!”

An orc with muscles about to burst, clad in leather armor and wielding a stone axe, appeared.

“I’ve been waiting for this!”

I opened and closed my right hand, wiped sweat from my pants, and drew my sword.

“Buhiii!”

Before I could even get ready, the orc charged towards me with heavy footsteps.

Its movements were slow, but due to its weight, taking a frontal attack was not wise.

“Buhiii!”

Anticipating the orc’s charge, I slid to the side and used its momentum to slash sideways with my sword.

“Buah!”

Blocked by the leather armor, I only managed to graze its skin. The armor cracked, and blood seeped from the exposed flesh.

“As expected of an equal match. This feels different from before…”

I had fought orcs twice during the journey to the capital, both times in a supporting role, where a warrior in the vanguard had crushed the orc’s skull with a heavy blow.

“Calm down, me. Just because I’m alone doesn’t mean what I do changes.”

Calming my pounding heart, I squared off with my sword in a proper stance.

“Buhiii!”

“I see you!”

Adjusting to its movements, I maneuvered to gain an advantage.

As the orc swung its axe down with its right hand, I dodged left and wounded its right arm, causing it to drop the axe.

“Here we go!”

It wasn’t something I could use in every battle, but fighting meant reducing the opponent’s strength.

Injure the dominant hand, make them drop their weapon, wound their leg, make escape impossible.

Without trying to end it with a single blow, as long as I could stand my ground in the end.

Drawing from my experience, I gradually wore down the orc’s stamina.

“Haa… haa… haa… haa…”

Before me, the orc lay sprawled and defeated.

I wounded its limbs, took out an eye, and finally pierced its heart with my sword.

“…I did it.”

For my first solo fight, I did surprisingly well.

Without letting the orc land a single attack or even get injured, I defeated it single-handedly.

“With this, today’s earnings are in the black.”

The reward for orc subjugation was ten herbs—equivalent to ten copper coins. I earned enough to cover four days’ lodging in just one day, giving me a great confidence boost to continue as an adventurer in the capital.

“For now, let’s gain experience and maybe even confront a troll if possible?”

Deciding on my next steps, I returned to the capital to rest at the inn after today’s accomplishment.