Behemoth’s Pet

Chapter 78 : New Power, And Transformation

TL : Cnine

ED/PF : Seshat

Part 1

   (Fumu… It’s been a while since I last visited this labyrinth.）

Tama went to the labyrinth while being rocked within Stella’s cleavage. He slipped out after they had entered the labyrinth, landing skillfully on the ground.

「Muuh… Only this far, huh? What a pity…」

Stella seemed extremely disappointed with the end of her hugging time.

Tama ignored Stella and then used his 《Status》 skill on himself. The entries in his field of vision were like below.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

Name：Tama

Race：Behemoth (Infant）

Inherent Skills：《Elemental Howl》《Skill Predation》《Elemental Tail Blade》《Divine Protection of Lion King》《Elemental Bullet》

Predated Skills：《Storage》《Poison Fang》《Flight》《Fireball》《Icicle Lance》《Iron Body》《Summon Tentacles》《Unlimited Mucus Bullet》《Crossbred》《Dragon Fang》《Dragon Claw》

Potential Evolution ：▷ Behemoth 3rd Form

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

(I got 《Elemental Bullet》 as my new inherent skill, and… The new evolution entry.）

There was a new skill called 《Elemental Bullet》 in Tama’s inherent skill column, and 〝Behemoth 3rd Form〟 in the evolution entry which had vanished until then.

The new abilities had probably appeared because Tama raised his proficiency level after the battle against the Undead Dragon in Gladdstone.

(Evolution… 3rd form means that it’ll be different from the 2nd form. Well, I get the point, but… Like hell I’m gonna try this when I don’t even know whether I can turn back to my infant form or not. Let’s keep this as my last trump card. Moreover――）

He wanted to try his newly gained inherent skill, 《Elemental Bullet》.

Going by its name, it might be something along ‘shooting energy bullets imbued with the elements’.

Tama’s consciousness focused on the《Elemental Bullet》 entry.

A new status display appeared in his field of vision.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

《Elemental Bullet》：《Flame Missile》《Aether Missile》《Water Missile》《Rock Missile》

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

(Missile… The heck is that? Oh, well… I guess I’ll know once I try to use it.）

Tama, who wasn’t familiar with the word “Missile”, entered the labyrinth to test his new skill.

「What’s the matter, Tama? Why are you so quiet?」

While he was deep in thought, Stella was shouting some nonsense.

「MY TIME IS COMING!」

Tama sighed, exasperated.

Part 2

――Whatever, I’ll understand once I use it. Hey, small fries appeared.

… But he still reminded Stella via telepathy.

『GUGYA!』

The monster that appeared and screeched an indescribable cry had a grotesque appearance. A Goblin.

――Stella, get back. I’m gonna try my new skill.

「New skill! Since when did you get a new skill?!」

Stella’s complexion brightened. Her eyes were brimming with light as she received that telepathic message from Tama.

Even under normal circumstances, Stella had been madly in love with Tama’s power.

It was natural for her to become extremely excited about it.

「THEN HURRY UP! LET ME SEE IT!」

Stella, who couldn’t wait for it any longer, urged Tama to invoke his new skill.

Tama was preparing to use it while smiling wryly at Stella’s childlike reaction.

   (I guess there should be no problem even if I use a bit more power for the new skill. There’s still quite a long distance between us and that Goblin.）

After he had decided, Tama invoked his new skill without even confirming first.

「NYAN!（《Flame Missile》！）

A long and thin flame appeared in front of him along with his adorable cry. Its diameter was around as big as a human fist.

That thing wasn’t something that existed in this world. It resembled a〝Ballistic Weapon[Missile] 〟from another world called Earth.

The moment it appeared, the 《Flame Missile》 headed toward the Goblin while making a thunderous noise.

The Goblin couldn’t react in time to dodge and the incoming 《Flame Missile》 hit it right on its solar plexus.

Everything was fine… Until they saw what happened next.

   DOGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO――NNNNNNNNN!

The 《Flame Missile》 exploded after it struck the Goblin. The body exploded into pieces, scattering in every direction.

Every single bit of the Goblin’s body was carbonized, maybe due to the effects of the flame element.

「W-WOOOW! JUST WHEN I THOUGHT A STRANGE THING APPEARED, THAT GOBLIN’S BODY SUDDENLY GOT BLOWN TO BITS!」

Stella exclaimed as soon as she saw what remained of the Goblin.

Part 3

   (This is… I see. This might be an extremely useful skill.）

Tama looked at the excited Stella from over his shoulder and then nodded at her.

Different from the wide range skill 《Elemental Howl》, The 《Elemental Bullet》 he fired just now induced an explosion and impact damage.

《Elemental Howl》 was a nice choice of skill when Tama had to face many enemies at once, but it became less effective if he fought alongside Aria and co. They could get caught in his attack range.

That was why these new skills, which packed a lot more punch and narrowed the range, were more suited for party battles.

Especially when they had to face a case similar to Gladdstone, where he had to protect the citizens while cooperating with Aria and co.

At that time, Tama was forced to use close combat skills to minimize the damage to his surroundings.

The new skill’s appearance might be related to that situation.

   ―― Stella, let’s get going. There’s still another skill that I want to try.

「… EH! There’s another new skill?! As expected of Tama!」

Tama went even deeper into the labyrinth while leading Stella. By the time they reached the second floor, Tama’s disappointment was evident on his face.

(… The monsters seem to be taking a vacation today.）

In fact, Tama wanted to test his new skills on the small fry monsters, like the Goblins on the 1st floor. But they had yet to encounter any monsters until they arrived on the 2nd floor.

He thought that the guild might do a sweep while they weren’t here.

The labyrinth had the ability to give birth to monsters, but there was quite a big gap in time between each monster being born.

It would take quite a while for the labyrinth to be filled again with monsters after a large scale sweeping by the guild. One would rarely encounter any monster during those periods.

(Well, I guess I’ll find a slightly more challenging monster on the 2nd floo-… Oh, there you are! A suitable opponent to test my new skill.）

After walking through the 2nd floor for a while, Tama and Stella saw an Orc.

And it seemed that it saw them too because the Orc’s eyes opened wide as it rushed toward them with a war cry.

『BUHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!』

   (Great! A perfect target for the next skill!）

「Nyaa!」

Tama sent a piercing cold look toward the Orc as he raised another adorable cry. The skill he chose was one of the《Elemental Bullet》, 《Ether Missile》.

Unlike the previous one, this missile color was pale green and it made a rumbling noise.

(GOOO!）

Part 4

The 《Ether Missile》 headed toward the Orc as soon as Tama ordered so.

Maybe it was instinct, but the Orc couldn’t see the incoming missile and yet it leaped to the side.

But that was futile.

The 《Aether Missile》 changed its trajectory, following the Orc.

「「Uhn?!」」

Both Tama and Stella held their breaths in surprise.

Never in their wildest imaginations did they consider that a fired skill would follow the movement of its target.

『BUGIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!』

The Orc’s scream resounded in the labyrinth.

Different from the exploding 《Flame Missile》, the 《Aether Missile》 shredded the Orc’s body with a sharp vacuum blade.

The body was literally shredded in the most gruesome manner.

「I-It’s already scary enough with just its “chasing after the target” perk, and yet to think that even its power… Just how powerful have you become, Tama?!」

――Honestly, even I have no idea, but there are still two new skills. I came to this place to test them.

「WHA!?」

""

There was still another skill…

Stella was speechless.

And then another Orc, having heard the sounds of battle, appeared in front of Tama and Stella.

There were two of them.

(Oh, those kind souls just offered themselves to become guinea pigs of the other two 《Elemental Bullet》…）

Tama took a deep breath.

And, just like that, he invoked the other skill.

「NYAN! (《Water Missile》!)」

The skill shone a pale blue color and flew toward the Orc on the right.

「?! The orc… It’s trapped in a water sphere!!! 」

Stella was even more excited than before.

The 《Water Missile》 exploded upon impact, generating an unbelievable amount of water.

The water formed a sphere, trapping the entire Orc’s body in it from head to toe.

Part 5

The Orc writhed in agony inside the water prison until it eventually choked to death.

At the very same moment, the water prison vanished without a trace.

(What a terrifying skill. I can just kill almost all kinds of living enemies by choking them to death. Well, there’s surely some kind of calm and composed opponent out there who would be able to counter this attack with some skill, though…）

This skill was fairly simple compared to the previous two skills, but just as terrifying.

Meanwhile, the other Orc realized that they targeted the wrong opponent the moment its comrade perished.

Thus, the remaining Orc turned around and immediately tried to escape.

『B-Buhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!』

「AH! That Orc is running away!」

Stella screamed as she pointed her finger toward the Orc.

「NYAAA!（《Rock Missile》）!」

(You think I’m gonna let you off that easily?)

Looking at the escaping Orc with cold eyes, Tama fired the last 《Elemental Bullet》, 《Rock Missile》.

The color of the last missile was dark grey, with a sharp helix shape. The 《Rock Missile》 went after its target while rotating at high speed.

GYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII――!

The 《Rock Missile》struck right in the middle of the Orc’s back. The helix blade, rotating at high speeds, drilled through the orc’s back.

『GUGYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!?』

The Orc screamed in pain, falling forward as a huge mass of blood gushed out of its body. Its last expression was one of despair along with tears of blood.

DOSHA!

「That’s… Truly a nasty skill…」

――Yup… It’s a really powerful one, though…

Both Tama and Stella were speechless from that gory scene unsuitable for young audiences.

But he was right to call it a powerful skill.

Since this skill could easily drill through the Orc’s hard skin, it might be a suitable skill against a Golem.

Part 6

 ――Yup. Now that we have tested all these new skills, it’s time to go home, Stella. The evolution one is rather worrying, but it’s not like I can test that particular choice.

「Evo-….-Lu-…-Tion? Tama… Did you just say evolution?」

 ――…? Yeah, something along the lines of “Behemoth 3rd Form”. The one you saw when I fought you to the death last time was the 2nd form. Think of the 3rd one as a stronger version of that.

「Evolution means… You become even bigger than your current form… The reason you can’t copulate is that you’re still in your infant form, but if you evolve… You’re basically turned into an adult.」

 ――O-Oi, Stella. What in the hell is-…

Tama retreated immediately as soon as he heard Stella’s voice, which caused chills to run along his spine.

Stella suddenly started screaming at the top of her lungs.

「TAMA! EVOLVE RIGHT NOW AND 〝IMPREGNATE〟 MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!」

「NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! (POLICE! HELP! THERE’S A PERVEEEEEEERT!!!)」

Tama narrowly escaped from Stella, who chased after him with rough breaths.