Subjugation, The Boss

I narrowed my eyes and focused hard on the eagle-owl.

A double-digit level. Something about it looked dangerous.

To figure out what actually separated single-digit levels from double-digit ones, I shifted my gaze.

A tiny bird that might as well have been called a sparrow.

Even a rat that looked suspiciously like those black mole monsters from before.

Creatures too pathetic to really call monsters generally sat in the single digits. And right under their names, traits and skills were listed with perfect clarity.

The weakest-looking of the bunch—the sparrow—even showed this:

It even listed status information. That was the difference—the detailed breakdown under the name. Single-digit monsters got the full readout. Double-digit ones did not.

So I still can't read what this Blade Eagle-Owl is packing, huh?

The status window was being bluntly honest with me. The Blade Eagle-Owl was stronger than I was right now. So lower your tail!

Ah—yes, sir!

Under normal circumstances, the smart play would have been to keep my eyes down and wait for an opening. If this weren't the wild—if I didn't have every reason to get stronger as fast as possible—I absolutely would have done exactly that.

But the last few days of getting jumped by moles and hunting rabbits had taught me something crystal clear: the creatures here were suspiciously strong. The only prey I could reliably take down was rabbits, and even that stopped being smooth the moment an interrupter showed up.

On top of that—

"Grrrrrook!"

The Blade Eagle-Owl was sharp. It was using weak little me as free auto-hunting labor, and the whole time it kept watching me with that sticky, relentless stare.

Why?

So it could kill me the second anything felt off. I would bet my life this bastard was waiting for the perfect moment to ambush me mid-hunt and finish me off. The second it realized how fast I was growing, it would attack on the spot. Guaranteed.

So.

Today's your funeral day, you son of a bitch!

I opened my eyes in the most pathetic, submissive way I could manage and gathered power into my hind legs. From the expression alone, I looked like Puss in Boots blinking up with those big, pleading eyes.

"Grook?!"

But this cold-blooded eagle-owl took one look at Puss in Boots and still poured out raw killing intent. It had already figured out that my crouch was a spring-loaded leap, not a bow.

Okay, so its instincts are sharp. Fine.

But listen here, birdbrain. You dared to come down to the ground? A bird, of all things? There's a limit to how much you can disrespect a tiger cub!

"Grrrrngh!"

I blasted out a low-frequency roar and kicked off the earth. The combo I'd been drilling while hunting rabbits—every bit of that practice had been for this exact moment. And with Sensitivity layered on top, my movement was already light-years beyond what a Level 2 should be capable of.

KRAANG!

"Grook!!"

I shot forward like an arrow and slammed into it. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But the eagle-owl was no pushover—it immediately swept its wings and raked its talons across me. The infrasound did absolutely nothing; the level gap must have nullified it completely. I forced the charge through anyway, getting shredded by those claws the whole way.

That hurts, damn it! You filthy newbie-slayer!

"KRAAAANG!"

"Grook! Grrrrrook!"

In an instant we were tangled together in a full brawl. I was only a Level 2 tiger cub, yet somehow I could match the eagle-owl in a raw contest of strength. A bird's power came from gliding acceleration—one big hit delivered from the air. Sharp talons and a hard beak were nice, sure, but a ground fight of pure attrition was a completely different game!

"KRAAAANG!"

I gritted through the talons carving up my body, planted my rear legs, and drove a hard step into the dirt. The soft baby fat of my cub frame compressed, and the fine muscle underneath showed through.

CRACK!

This was a technique I'd been deeply moved by ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in a certain boxing manga—the kind of scene that makes a man's chest burn. Boxing fans, look upon this! A tiger is recreating it right here!

I clamped my jaws hard onto the wing joint of the bird trying to take off, then used the solid base of my planted weight to whip my whole body into a spin. Somewhere in the background, the accelerating roar of a plane taking off should have been thundering in my ears. Steam rising off a fist that had just hit the floor, heat building with every rotation—that was the bonus track.

My core muscles turned hard, adding rotational force to the rising, angled strike from below. With every ounce of centrifugal power I could muster, I smashed the eagle-owl with everything I had.

Yes. This is the Tiger Smash, you bastard!!

KRAANG!

My finishing Smash landed clean on the eagle-owl's wing joint. Aiming for the jaw would have been textbook, but my arms were short, so—anyway!

"Kieeeeeek!!"

The eagle-owl that had just taken a direct hit to the wing shrieked and went berserk. Completely spent, I flopped helplessly onto the dirt. With a frantic flutter of wings the bird tried to rise—then listed hard to one side and crashed back down.

"Kieeek!"

I lay sprawled out, staring at that bent wing, and allowed myself a satisfied smile. Didn't see that coming, did you? Serves you right!

"Grrrrrook!!"

The Blade Eagle-Owl was furious now. Its eyes blazed as it closed in on me. Looking at those talons—sharper and brighter than even Big Brother Mole's—I genuinely thought this might be the moment I checked out of this life for good.

Honestly, looking only at the results, what I'd just done was pure insanity. I was completely drained. The eagle-owl had lost the use of one wing, but it still had more than enough left to take my head.

"Grrngh—!"

But listen, you dumb owl. You think I took those injuries for no reason?

Like I said—the creatures here are suspiciously strong. And just as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cunning. An eagle-owl that bullies a weakling into free auto-hunting can only pull that off because this is its territory.

But this is the wild. To stay on top in the wild, you always have to answer the challenges of the number twos. And those number twos never, ever miss the moment a top dog gets hurt.

SHWIIIP──!!

It happened in a blink. Something screamed down from the sky and smashed straight into the eagle-owl's face.

"Kieeeek!"

The first ambush burst one of the eagle-owl's eyes. Then came the follow-up barrage.

Pat! Paaat, SHRAAAK!

The attacker wheeled through the air, ruptured the remaining eye, then landed on the owl's back and finished it with its beak.

"Kieeeeeek!"

THUNK!

Oh, shit.

I couldn't help the awed sound that escaped me. Strong. Whatever had just dismantled the eagle-owl was clearly a predator stronger than the owl itself from the start.

Then why the hell has it been sitting on the sidelines this whole time?

"Kik."

Okay, this was not quite the scenario I'd planned for. I was genuinely terrified, but I put on a brave face and met the newcomer head-on. Running wasn't an option anyway.

The eagle-owl's corpse slumped aside, and the new arrival came into view.

Holy hell.

The second I saw the name I nearly blacked out.

A named monster?!

Not just any Savage Talon—it carried the full title. Savage Talon turned its blood-dripping beak toward me and looked down with quiet intensity.

No. Sir. Teacher. Sir.

Things like this were flying around up there this whole time? It hit me all over again. The only reason I'd survived this long was because I was just that pathetically weak. Waaah, baby tiger is too sad to live. For real.

Still—if a Level 9 hit this hard, then level clearly wasn't everything in this world.

Some kind of superior specimen? Or maybe an evolution off a regular Savage Talon?

Two options left. Either I finally lowered my eyes and hit it with the classic "Please spare me just this once," or I charged again. Choosing the second option right now would get me killed for certain.

"Grrngh!"

So my choice was this:

"Grrrrr!"

Option three. Act like an absolute unit.

The status window was clearly something only I could see. If Savage Talon had one of its own, that eagle-owl would already have been paste.

And I had one solid piece of evidence for that theory.

Whether it was credit for breaking the eagle-owl's wing or not, my level jumped three times—straight to five.

Unexpected rewards, too. A rise in standing. That turned out to be far more useful—and far more immediate—than I'd expected.

Ohhh! Now that was a genuinely useful change.

I made my call in a flash. Savage Talon. This guy seemed a little short on street smarts relative to his raw power, didn't he?

In that case, this Zhuge Tiger will be your brains.

"Nyaaang!"

I squared my shoulders and gave a firm nod, as if I had predicted every last beat of this entire sequence.

Haha! Now here's a bird that knows a thing or two!

"Kiiiiiiik!"

It suddenly let out a high, almost sweet cry. Then—

Thuk.

It carved off a portion of the eagle-owl's meat and left it for me.

Flap!

It nodded once in my direction, then took the rest of the eagle-owl's corpse and left.

No—

"Kiiiiiiik!"

It circled once overhead, crying out the whole way, and it sounded for all the world like, Farewell, friend!

"Grrngh!"

That's right. You are the king of the sky—Savage Talon. I am the king of the earth—Baby Tiger!

Mm-hmm. What? Is there a problem?

I looked at the status window and shook my head. Even the system had bugs. I am not a Weak Siberian Tiger Cub. I am Zhuge Tiger.

Grr!

In high spirits, I chomped happily into the eagle-owl meat.

Wait—what? No way!

So this really was a boss mob? The process had been brutal, but the rewards were no joke. The advanced form of Claw Sharpening that I'd been craving this whole time! So that's why the name had "Blade" in it!

And my happiness didn't stop there.

"Grrngh!!"

Obviously!!!!