"Ugh..."
The day after meeting Lexia and the others, Shinji decided to continue exploring the other world for a change of pace.
His thoughts were all over the place.
First, there was Lexia and her sudden marriage proposal.
He didn’t dislike the girl, but he didn’t really know her either. Getting married just like that would be way too anticlimactic.
He needed to make sure he learned as much as possible about these visitors from another world before making any decisions.
Then there was the DxD plotline.
Shinji thought deeply about it. Rias’ group would eventually need Asia’s healing powers, but he didn’t want to see her suffer through the torment Reynare and her minions would put her through.
"I guess it’s time to rewrite DxD’s plot again."
An idea flashed through Shinji’s mind.
"Although... I can already tell this is going to cause some problems."
He sighed as he continued exploring.
Surprisingly, he hadn’t encountered a single monster so far.
"Hmm... maybe I need to go deeper if I want to find more monsters..."
Shinji walked for a while longer, but the results were the same. No monsters.
"Can’t be helped. Guess I’ll call it a day and continue another time."
Since he couldn’t use teleportation magic yet, exploring deeper came with a major inconvenience: if he wanted to continue from the same spot, he’d have to walk all the way from his house again. A complete waste of time... maybe not completely, but still inefficient.
"If I’m going to walk back anyway, might as well see if I missed anything on the way."
With that in mind, he turned back.
After a while, he heard a sound that caught his attention.
Something was growling and yelping. Judging by the sound, it wasn’t human...
Curious, he activated his [Stealth] skill and carefully approached, holding his breath.
And then...
"Fugooooo!"
"Kyain!"
A massive humanoid monster with a pig’s face was attacking a small black dog. The pig monster’s weapon wasn’t top-tier, but even to Shinji’s untrained eyes, it was good quality. On the other hand, the small black dog looked like a newborn pup—tiny and fragile.
The pup was battered and bleeding, but it stood its ground desperately.
Some kind of dark, smoky aura briefly rose from its body before vanishing, and the pup staggered, finally collapsing to the ground.
The pig-faced monster wore an evil grin—like a stereotypical villain reveling in tormenting the weak.
Shinji knew this was the law of nature: the strong prey on the weak. Even so, he felt the pig monster was going too far with the helpless pup.
Since it was a monster he hadn’t seen before, he decided to appraise it.
[Orc King][Race: Orc]
[Level: 600]
[Magic: 5,000]
[Attack: 20,000]
[Defense: 15,000]
[Agility: 5,000]
[Intelligence: 5,000]
[Luck: 1,000]
[Weakness: Head, Heart...] Thɪs chapter is updated by Nov3lFɪre.ɴet
Shinji blinked.
Its stats were insane. Much higher level than the Demon Bear or Goblin General. Even higher than him.
Definitely an S-class monster.
One hit from that thing and he’d be toast. Against the Demon Bear, he at least felt he had a chance, but this one? It was on a completely different level.
"Yeah... better to leave quietly while I can..."
He turned to go.
"Fugogogogo!"
"Kyain!"
Shinji froze mid-step.
... Sigh.
"Goddamn hero complex..." he muttered.
He knew it was reckless. Hypocritical, even. But he couldn’t just walk away.
So, instead of fleeing, he turned back toward the Orc King.
Fortunately, it hadn’t noticed him yet.
The best move here was an ambush.
"Hit and run isn’t cowardice... as long as you make sure next time, you hit hard enough to finish the job."
He summoned the [Absolute Spear] from his Item Box and silently took aim.
"One, two... go!"
With all his strength, he hurled the [Absolute Spear] straight at the Orc King.
The moment it left his hand, he summoned the [Absolute Sword] and rushed out of hiding to draw the monster’s attention.
"Come on! Over here!"
He roared defiantly, readying his sword for the counterattack.
But then...
The Orc King’s upper body was gone.
"...Eh?"
A clean, gaping hole had been carved through it.
"...Wait... no way..."
The [Absolute Spear] returned to his hand like a boomerang.
Shinji stared at it in stunned silence.
So... the Orc King was dead. Just like that.
"Ehhhhhhh..."
All that determination for nothing. When had he turned into Saitama?
Thinking back, even at level 1, he had killed a level 300 monster. And Ruthra, despite its strength, hadn’t been able to block the spear completely either.
This outcome actually made sense.
The [Absolute Spear] really was ridiculous.
"Just... what kind of guy was that Sage?"
The more he learned about the house and weapons the Sage had left behind, the more absurd it seemed. At this point, he wouldn’t be surprised if the guy had been a god.
"Well... whatever. More importantly..."
"Whine..."
The black pup, still wounded, growled weakly at him.
Shinji sighed. Even animals didn’t like him, apparently.
But he couldn’t just leave it there. He pulled out a [Full Recovery Herb Juice] from his Item Box.
"Hey... you probably don’t like me, but... you’re hurt, right? Drink this, it’ll heal you."
The pup growled at first, but as its strength gave out, it collapsed.
"Hey!"
He quickly grabbed it and got it to drink the potion.
Within minutes, the pup’s wounds healed completely. It blinked in surprise, checking its own body as if it couldn’t believe it.
"Made it just in time, huh..."
Then, unexpectedly, the pup licked his hand.
"Huh?"
"Woof!"
It barked softly, tail wagging.
"...So, what happened to your parents? Isn’t it dangerous for you to be out here alone?"
The pup whimpered sadly and shook its head.
"No parents... huh?"
"Woof..."
It nodded.
"Want to come with me then?"
"Woof?"
"My place is safe. Some people live there, so you’ll have to behave, but I’m sure you’ll like it."
Leaving it here would just get it killed.
"So, what do you say?"
The pup barked once, eyes bright.
"Woof!"
At that moment, a message appeared.
[You have acquired the skill: Tame.]
[Black Fenrir has been successfully tamed.]
"A new skill? Sweet. Wait... Black Fenrir? That’s its race? Hold on—wasn’t there a Fenrir in DxD? Things might get crazy soon..."
"Woof woof!"
Shinji checked the skill details.
[Tame: Allows you to turn a monster into a companion with a certain probability.]
Just as expected. He also checked the pup’s status.
[Black Fenrir]
[Race: Black Fenrir]
[Level: 500]
[Magic: 10,000]
[Attack: 10,000]
[Defense: 10,000]
[Agility: 15,000]
[Intelligence: 10,000]
[Luck: 10,000]
[Note: Follower of Motohama Shinji]
"You’re strong!?"
"Woof?"
The pup tilted its head, not understanding.
It was way stronger than him. With stats like that, it could’ve taken out the Orc King easily.
"Maybe it was just caught off guard..." he muttered.
Still, Shinji wasn’t upset. Having such a powerful companion was a blessing.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Alright, alright... now that you’re my companion, I guess I should give you a name..."
He looked at its sleek black fur, shining like the night sky.
"Alright, your name is Night."
The pup—Night—wagged its tail happily.
"Woof!"
It leapt straight into his chest.
"Whoa... alright, let’s head home."
"Woof!"
Carrying Night, Shinji gathered the Orc King’s loot into his Item Box and started walking back.
He could check the drops later.
And so, Shinji gained a new companion.
A family member named Night.