Thrillzhak's Legacy

"Gya-rung?"

Hello? Is anyone there?

It's a tiger.

I was a tiger who knew his manners, so I offered a bright greeting. Ordinarily I would have gone with a "Krrrng" or a "Grung!" — but that one had been a special service, you know?

"……."

Hmm. Looks like nobody's home after all.

Still, just in case, I kept my senses sharp and carefully made my way down the stairs. The bottom opened into a dim, shadowy basement — and curiously enough, after I'd gone a certain distance, stones set into the walls like night-pearls flickered to life.

Motion sensors or ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠something?

I could feel a faint thread of mana in them, so they were probably magical items too. It was one of those moments that really drove home the fact that I'd come to another world.

So this is the kind of lighting people use around here.

Not bad.

If I ever built a lair of my own, I should decorate the place with night-pearls like these.

Though… does it really have to be a lair?

Living in a grand manor, waited on hand and foot, might not be so bad either.

— "Grung!"

— "Yes, sir. Succulent venison, as requested."

— "Grrrng."

— "For dessert, we've attempted to develop the 'ice cream' you mentioned previously. Does it suit your palate?"

Hooo. Not bad at all.

Decision made.

If I was going to be reborn as a tiger, shouldn't I at least aim to become a king?

But setting a goal that huge out of nowhere was a little short on realism, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so first things first — grow stronger, and start by becoming the king of this forest.

And to become a king, I'd need underlings. In other words, I needed to build a force of my own.

I'd said it half as a joke, but meeting Brother Beak and Thrillzhak had made me feel the truth of it. Thrillzhak had been a bastard, no question — but he'd had goblins who followed him. That was how he'd so easily captured Brother Beak, who was far stronger than he was.

And I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠myself would have struggled just to evolve if I hadn't met Brother Beak. Look at me now. Because Brother Beak had turned into an egg, I couldn't even attempt a growth breakthrough despite being ready for one. If I turned into an egg too, there'd be no one left to protect us.

In the end, whether human or beast, we were all frail creatures who couldn't accomplish a thing alone.

I can't believe it!

So those depictions of dragons working dwarves like ruthless bosses hadn't come out of nowhere!

It took becoming a tiger for me to finally understand the value of social skills.

Wait. Then shouldn't I just boss people around like a dragon myself?

I was a genius tiger with a phoenix as my backer, after all!

"Grung!"

Plotting my future as I descended, I finally reached a broad cavern where the path split three ways. The moment I arrived, my eyes narrowed. From somewhere far off came the ring of metal on stone.

— Clang, clang…!

A steady, rhythmic hammering. Klang! Klang! — the kind of sound you heard all the time in games.

Mining?

I scowled at the sound of ore being chipped away beyond the dark.

You've got to be kidding me. This insane goblin?

Apparently Thrillzhak had been working slaves down here.

Grrrng……

I erased every trace of my presence and crept carefully inward. From this point on, the floor was laced with traps — but thanks to Sensitivity and Spirituality, I picked them out without much trouble.

They called it a hideout, but this is basically a dungeon.

That was my honest impression. Goblins prowled the three branching paths that led out of the cavern, and at the far end of the rightmost tunnel, slaves labored under goblin watch.

But to my surprise, those slaves were neither human nor goblin.

I decided to check one of their status windows.

They were the tiny fairy folk you always heard about — like something out of Peter Pan. Each of them had transparent wings, and a soft light radiated from their bodies. Being Earth Ellafae, they glowed with a warm, woody brown — though for most of them, that light was so faint it looked ready to go out at any moment.

Then one of the Ellafae collapsed in a heap on the floor.

"Ferrrr……"

"Kruk!"

The goblins showed no mercy. The instant the little fairy hit the ground, they started laying into him with their whips.

"Ferk! Ferk!"

"Ferurururu…!"

With every crack! of the lash, the fallen fairy's light flickered as if it were about to snuff out entirely.

I scowled and counted the goblins.

Three overseers in total. But there was no telling how many more goblins were lurking in this hideout.

Ordinarily I'd scout first, but…

The status window of the Ellafae who looked ready to die at any second was far too alarming to ignore. I decided to take the gamble.

I slipped silently around behind the goblins who were having the time of their lives beating a fairy half to death. And the moment they raised their arms for the finishing blow—

Swishhh!

"Kruk!"

"Krwarra!"

I drove into their blind spots in a single burst and raked open their throats. I could see it — the thread of the opening.

Shraaak!

A single, chilling flash cut through the dark of the cavern. And with that, it was over.

"Kru——."

All three goblin overseers died with a death rattle on their lips.

Oh. What do you know.

That was a lot stronger than I expected. I'd been a little nervous about not learning the Steel Hide skill from that bear — but the moment I could channel Wildness into my claws, my attack power had skyrocketed.

At this rate, I can handle whatever's in here.

Confidence surged through me — and at the same time, Ellafae came swarming around me in a rush.

"Ferrrrrr!"

"Feruferu!"

They bowed their heads in gratitude, then hurried over to the prince and fretted around him, stamping their tiny feet in agitation.

Hmm.

Even to my eyes, the prince's condition looked dire. The light radiating from his body flickered so faintly it seemed ready to go out at any second. Leave him like this and he'd die — but what was I supposed to do?

"Ferrrrr!"

"Feruferu!!"

Then the Ellafae started circling me, gesturing urgently, joining hands to draw arrows in the air and guide me along.

"Feruferu!"

They wanted me to hurry. The desperation in their faces and voices was unmistakable, so I quickly followed them.

We raced through several chambers and into the innermost room — and the moment I stepped inside, I understood exactly what they wanted.

Potions!

The second I entered, a vivid red vial caught my eye. The problem was that the potion wasn't the only thing in the room.

I eyed the goblin sitting in a chair at the table.

"Kruk?"

He was far bulkier than an ordinary goblin. More than anything, the heavy armor he wore set him apart. I stared at him with a faintly incredulous look.

What kind of goblin geared up this hard? Anyone walking by would think he was some knight-in-training.

"Krwarrawarra!!"

And with a frame that big, I couldn't even tell if he was an orc or a goblin, you idiot!

Sure enough, the moment he saw me he let out a bellow, raised a vicious mace, and charged.

Whoosh!

Whoa — the mace whistled past my head with a murderous rush of air.

Yeah, well. Even if I'd wanted to sell the danger, I couldn't have managed it.

Why? Because the source of this guy's confidence was that armor of his.

KRAANG!

"Kruk?!"

A heavy impact rang out, and disbelief flooded the goblin's eyes. He clearly hadn't expected that kind of weight to come from my tiny paws. Before he knew it, he was staggering and landing hard on his rear.

But rattled as he was, his fighting spirit wasn't dead yet. Wrapped head to toe in full plate armor, of course he was overflowing with confidence.

Cheap shot, buddy. You dare try to win on gear alone?

But he had no idea. He was dealing with a super tiger who knew exactly how to handle full plate armor!

"K-kruk!"

Do you know?! The effort I put into studying armor for historical accuracy?!

Full plate's greatest strength was its extreme defense — but its weakness was that it made you slower than you were without it. And blunt force worked better than slashing.

In other words, a goblin who was already slower than me had just gotten even slower. And I knew exactly how to crack a slow opponent.

So—

You're getting hit today!

KRAANG! KRAANG! KRAANG!

"Kuk, kkuuk, kruk!!"

I knocked his helmet askew and hammered him from every angle until he couldn't tell which way was up. Whenever his stubborn fighting spirit flared and he tried to counter—

Flash!

"Kruk!"

—I'd bare my razor-sharp claws in a threat, then—

Yeah, that was a fake~

—tuck them away again and rain tiger punches down on him.

You dumb goblin! You should've been watching boxing manga!

Oh, they don't have those here? That's your problem, not mine!

Thud! Thud!

Mixing in Gigantification, I threw one-two jabs until his armor crumpled and he screamed.

"Krrrrrng!"

For the finish, I thrust my claws toward him. He seemed to have learned something, at least — instead of leaning away, the warden curled into a ball to block the blow.

Shunk!

Yeah. This time I'm actually stabbing.

"Kruk…!"

My Gigantified claws drove deep into the gap at his joint.

A cheerful message floated up — and the Ellafae swarmed around me, cheering at the top of their tiny lungs.

"Purrrrr!"

"Purr!!"

This felt kind of like becoming a hero. Not a bad feeling at all.

"Grung!"

Basking in the fairies' cheers, I strode over and hopped up onto the table. Boing!

The name was a little worrying, but it was definitely a potion. I carefully worked the stopper free. Don't underestimate paws — with the right use of claws and toe-pads, a little potion like this is… pop!

Whew.

Okay, fine — I didn't actually open it myself. The Ellafae helped on their own.

Anyway, fortunately, for all its "crude" branding, the potion's effect was incredible. I carefully fed it to the fairy prince and sprinkled some over his wounds, and the light of his body began to grow steadily brighter.

"Grung!"

And once he'd come to, he gave me a gift I never saw coming.

This drops here?

I only learned it later, but that item was exactly what I needed to break through my current situation.