Chapter 67: Taming (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 67: Taming (2)
The creature named Soul River—fondly called “River” by some eccentric human—had watched his satisfaction with life plummet recently.
Life inside the Void Zone had been lived with extreme fidelity to basic instinct. It was a place where everyone tried to devour one another, where the weak died at the hands of the strong, and where everyone took that for granted.
Those had been idyllic, harmonious days of predation. A world away from where he was now.
This place, this civilization outside the Void Zone, was overflowing with a vitality fundamentally different from his home, and it was full of pretentious humans. He couldn’t quite remember how he had been dragged out of such a fine place, but one thing was certain: someone had slapped a leash on him.
River snorted, glancing down at the human sleeping peacefully against his forepaw. This was the first human he had encountered after regaining consciousness outside the Void Zone.
It was hard to tell if the man lacked a sense of personal space, had a broken sense of fear, or both. Even the instinct-driven Demonic Beasts of the Void Zone would flee in terror at the mere sight of River, yet this human treated him with an overflowing friendliness, as if snuggling up to a beloved pet.
Piecing together the circumstances, he knew this human must have helped him. Otherwise, he would have succumbed to Berserk, rampaging mindlessly until he eventually collapsed and died somewhere.
But still.
“…”
River huffed and pulled back the forepaw the human was using as a pillow. The man’s head slammed onto the floor with a dull thud, but he paid it no mind and kept right on sleeping.
Even if the human had saved him, River felt no obligation to be grateful. From a Demonic Beast’s perspective, every living creature other than oneself was prey. Normally, being this close would have turned the human into minced meat sliding down his esophagus long ago.
However, he couldn’t do it.
River let out a dissatisfied snort. Though his mind recognized the desire, and he had both the ability and the means, his body simply wouldn’t translate it into action. It felt as though his mind had been forcibly bound to prevent such acts.
Obey this human’s commands. Do not act violently. It was as if such compulsions had been branded into his very being. Earlier, he had even let this human ride on his back like a common mount. It was a truly horrific experience.
Soon, River yawned, his eyes drooping. It had been a long day. Even a Demonic Beast boasting his terrifying specs could feel fatigue.
Someday, an opportunity for freedom would arise. Until then, whatever this human did, River could just let it go in one ear and out the other. After all, the only one he was bound not to harm was this human. As for the rest of humanity, he could just kill and eat them whenever he got hungry.
That was the plan. Definitely.
[…?]
River blinked and looked around.
His face, which most closely resembled a wolf’s, now wore an expression of utter bewilderment, though it lacked its usual ferocity and intimidation. He was in a pitch-black space, his body floating adrift.
Wherever this was, the sense that it was an ‘alien space’ distinct from the real world sank in immediately.
“First time in a place like this?”
At the words coming from beside him, River turned his head. Floating in midair just like him was the man who had been sleeping against his forepaw. Aiden, was that his name?
“This place is called the Inner Mindscape.”
[…Let me out. Before I mince you into pieces.]
Sensing intuitively that this human had dragged him here, River growled. The other party, however, was surprised by something completely different.
“You can talk?”
[I simply chose not to, as there was no need. Communicating with mere humans is a waste of time.]
“Everything you do has this weirdly theatrical vibe. Are you some kind of aristocrat, despite being a Demonic Beast?”
[I hold no such sense of entitlement,] River snorted. [Not that an inferior creature like you would understand.]
“…”
Oh, is that so.
“Guess I don’t need to feel much guilt then,” Aiden said.
[…What?]
“Oh, nothing.” Aiden yawned and ran a hand through his hair. “I risked my life to save you, but you don’t show an ounce of gratitude.”
[…]
“So I figured a little manners lesson was in order.”
[…]
“The rules are simple. Promise to listen to what I say for the most part and drop the obnoxious attitude. Then I’ll treat you with courtesy and respect, too.”
[And if I refuse?]
“Then I guess we take this all the way.”
The corners of River’s mouth twisted hideously. […So? Are you going to torture me or something?]
“No. Training.”
[…?]
The beast looked at him as if he were spouting nonsense, but Aiden was dead serious. Training was training, plain and simple. Even if it was sometimes hard to tell the difference between training and torture.
“What’s this, why are you late again today—what is this?”
With those words, River’s and Aiden’s bodies settled downward as if pulled from the air. It was as if gravity, which hadn’t existed moments ago, had suddenly materialized with that single sentence.
[…What on earth is this—]
Just as he was about to speak, River’s mouth snapped shut. His eyes were fixed on the newly appeared human in front of him, who was scanning him from head to toe.
Demonic Beasts were creatures that lived a life of constant violence and mortal struggle. Estimating the gap in ‘tier’ between oneself and an opponent was practically instinctual.
“A Demonic Beast? Are you keeping something like this now?”
And this human… was a monster who could grind someone like River to dust hundreds of times over with his eyes closed. River could feel the crushing difference in their tiers.
As River’s eyes darted around, overwhelmed by a presence far more oppressive than anything he had ever felt, even from the strongest Demonic Beasts in the Void Zone, Aiden spoke nonchalantly.
“He’s a test subject, Senior.”
“A test subject?”
[…]
He didn’t know what that meant, but it certainly didn’t sound positive. The scruff of River’s neck began to break out in a cold sweat.
“Honestly, Senior, haven’t you been complaining all this time? Saying there were all sorts of techniques and combinations you wanted to test out, but you couldn’t use them because I was too fragile.”
Hearing that, Mayer looked River up and down, an intrigued glint in his eyes.
“Is he durable?”
“He’s sturdy. He took a hit from a guy in our generation who’s pretty well-known for his attack power and didn’t get a single scratch.”
The scruff of River’s neck was now sweating at an even faster rate. Meanwhile, Mayer grinned brightly, rubbing his hands together with the most amused expression in the world.
“Looks like there’s a ton of things to test out.”
And that was truly the case.
* * *
[…Stop! Stop!]
The declaration of surrender came far earlier than Aiden had anticipated. To be precise, it happened right around the time Mayer was testing out his thirteenth technique—one he hadn’t dared to use on Aiden.
Even Aiden, who was watching from the side and jotting down notes on various improvements and applications, widened his eyes in shock.
“Huh? What? Already?”
[…]
Already? Already?!
By now, River had been torn apart by this humanoid natural disaster named Mayer at least several dozen times. It was as if the concept of death didn’t exist in this Inner Mindscape; even when he died, he would immediately revive, only to get beaten up, die, get beaten up, and die again…
For Aiden, however, it was a true shame.
— System Message
▶ The effect of ‘Skill: Analysis’ is activated.
▶ The target’s combat technique level is exceptionally high.
▶ These are extremely useful techniques. While it is impossible to copy them as they are, the proficiency of your existing Martial Paths skills will increase!
Until now, Aiden hadn’t even been able to properly withstand the techniques Mayer used, so he rarely had the chance to level up his actual combat skills, the Martial Paths. But River was holding out much better than he ever could, allowing these gains to accumulate at a terrifying speed.
For him to say he couldn’t take it anymore now—what a pity.
[…I surrender. I’ll do as you wish. Just… just stop already…]
Still, demanding that River, who was now on the verge of losing his mind, keep fighting would be going too far. The sensation of death wasn’t something even a Demonic Beast could easily endure. In fact, River was flinching at the mere sight of Mayer moving. It would be strange if anyone could maintain the will to fight after watching a human kill them dozens of times without batting an eye.
“Demonic Beasts these days have no grit. He didn’t even die that many times, did he?”
“Right? It feels like he only died about fifty times. Don’t I die in the triple digits daily, at a minimum?”
“…Uh, is that so? He died that many times already? I wasn’t even keeping count.”
“…If you back off like that all of a sudden, it makes me look like the weird one, doesn’t it?”
“No, you are a weird guy. After clashing with someone like you every day, I think my head’s gotten a bit messed up too. Nowadays, whenever someone dies, I just take it for granted that they’ll get back up and attack again…”
“…”
As Aiden scowled at Mayer, River groaned in a hollow voice.
[…You clashed with a monster like this every single night?]
“Yeah, that’s right. Why?”
[How are you still sane? Doing something like this hundreds of times a day, every single day…?]
Hearing that, Aiden tilted his head. From the perspective of someone who would inevitably die during the Main Story unless he grew stronger by any means necessary, the question felt strangely refreshing. If he didn’t do this, the world would perish, which meant everyone he wanted to protect would die too.
In short, for Aiden, no matter how many times he died, this was simply ‘something that had to be done.’ Which meant…
“If it has to be done, you just do it.”
[…]
“Doesn’t it actually make you feel healthier? The more you do this, the more your skills improve, and with every passing day, you progress. A person ought to live proactively.”
[…]
Looking at Aiden speaking so nonchalantly, only a single thought crossed River’s mind.
Crazy bastard.
A lunatic with clear eyes, no less. Unless one’s sanity was completely scrambled, there was no way anyone could reach such a conclusion.
“Well, can’t be helped then. Rest over there. From now on, Senior and I will spar.”
[…]
The moment he heard those words, River wheezed and collapsed to the ground as all the tension coiled throughout his body released at once.
Of course, a chill ran down his spine the instant he heard the sentence that followed.
“Make sure to get a good rest so you can come back tomorrow.”
[…What?]
“From now on, you and I will have plenty of chances to fight side-by-side. We can’t afford any accidents when that happens, so wouldn’t it be better if we trained together?”
River’s mouth gaped open and shut. He looked as though he wanted to say something, but the words simply wouldn’t come out.
He was going to have to do this shit every day from now on?
“Of course,” Aiden added, “the ‘intensity’ of the training will depend on how well you behave.”
[…]
“Got it?”
[…]
…You demonic bastard.
A glare laden with that exact sentiment shot across and stabbed into Aiden.