Special Growth

Growth.

Just hearing the word made my heart race.

Boop.

I looked down at my stubby little forepaws. A few days of eating well had plumped them up nice and chubby. There was a time I'd looked at these paws and dreamed of an S-rank cat life.

……

Once I grew, would I have to say goodbye to all this cuteness?

I felt a little sad about that…… no, I didn't. Cuteness, my ass!

This was a tiger's life — one where even a damn mole had the nerve to completely ignore me. What good was this tiny, pathetic exterior? I was a wild tiger, for crying out loud!

……Wait.

Then, suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

Why didn't Savage Talon ever treat me as a threat?

Come to think of it, I hadn't seen a single creature look at my appearance, get spooked, and run for it. What if the reason Savage Talon accepted me wasn't simply because I'd helped him?

……Because even if he left me alone, I didn't look like I'd ever become a threat?

Brrr.

Ugh, goosebumps. Every hair on my body just stood on end.

I scanned my surroundings, steeled my resolve, and started climbing a tree.

I need to check!

Whoosh!

Oh. Huh.

I'd avoided climbing trees until now for fear of drawing attention, but once I started, I scaled the trunk without the slightest trouble. It occurred to me that felines were natural climbers to begin with. Leopards climbed for safety, and tigers could climb too — they just got the short end of the stick because of their weight. I'd seen it on YouTube and shrugged it off at the time, but now, as someone who'd tried it firsthand, I could say this with confidence:

Aren't I basically monkey-tier at this point?

My absurdly powerful muscles combined with my tiny body weight meant there was nowhere I couldn't go.

Correction.

I wasn't just the king of the land — I was the king of the land and the jungle. From now on, any punk who got cocky was getting a surprise meow-meow punch from the treetops!

As expected, I was clearly one clever Zhuge Tiger.

Whoosh!

I'd said it half as a joke, but my reasoning turned out to be roughly on the mark. Climbing the tree was how I planned to confirm that very theory.

Whoosh! — and in an instant I was at the top. For the first time, I looked down over the jungle I called home. The grandeur of nature went without saying, but what I'd really come to check was something else.

Nothing.

The monsters here settled their scores with massive size and tough hides, yet strangely, there wasn't a single creature that looked like a dinosaur. The reason was easy enough to figure out.

A massive animal skeleton visible even from a distance. Staring at the skull left behind like an elephant graveyard, I could tell exactly who this tomb belonged to.

A brachiosaurus??

No way — was that an actual dinosaur fossil? Fossils that would make a fortune back on Earth, just lying around out here in the open. Through that creature's remains, I could piece together what had become of the big ones.

The dinosaurs of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this place hadn't gone extinct from climate change or a meteor strike. They'd simply been outcompeted.

Bulk-up wasn't always the answer.

The animals here were strong, sure — but they were also smarter than I'd expected. Why had I wanted to become a cat in the first place? Because I wanted to look harmless. Sick of a dog-eat-dog competitive society, I'd chosen that path hoping for an easy, pampered nade-nade life.

But what was this place like now?

Damn it. The monsters here were worse than modern society. These bastards didn't tear a tiger down with words — they tore it down with actual teeth. I wasn't even hoping for nade-nade anymore. I'd settle for just not getting ambushed.

A big, intimidating appearance wasn't purely an advantage after all. Realizing this before I grew was lucky. There was no way the "growth" the status window offered was going to be ordinary!

Wait, what?

This time I got genuine chills. What the hell — I really might be a genius tiger.

Whoosh!

Using Leg Strength Enhancement and my keen senses, I scrambled down the tree in a hurry, snatched up another bunny along the way for a snack, and sank into thought.

If I evolve out here, I'm definitely getting attacked.

In the old days, shouting "Tiger-mon Digivolve!" and starting your evolution meant nobody would attack you mid-process — that was the golden rule. But there was no way these crafty bastards would wait around for that.

And I can't use my nest, either……

The premium hideout I'd hatched from felt like a beginner safe zone. Once I outgrew Pomeranian size, I wouldn't be able to use it anymore. If I evolved in there, I might get stuck and starve to death before I could even crawl out.

So I guess there's only one way, huh?

But don't worry. This Zhuge Tiger already had a plan.

Back when I'd dreamed of becoming a web novel author, I'd been a big fan of fantasy novels as a kid. The dragons in those stories always created a "Guardian" before going into hibernation, to keep themselves safe.

That was it. The safest nest for growth was a place with a minion… no, a companion to watch over you!

I went looking for the friend I'd formed an alliance with a few days ago, sharing my precious meat. He'd built his home on a mountain peak that jutted up like a sheer cliff face. Without a skill like Tree Climbing, even I probably couldn't have made it up there.

"Screeeeeech!"

As I scrambled and grunted my way up the cliff, a high-pitched cry unique to birds of prey rang out from the sky, and he appeared. The slightly startled look in his eyes told me he hadn't expected me to actually climb all the way to the top.

Affinity up — nice!

I waved a forepaw in greeting.

"Grrngh!"

Hold on — thanks to devouring that eagle owl's meat, Savage Talon had already blasted past level 10. As expected of a named monster, totally broken!

I wanted to grow fast and become a named monster too. So how about carrying me a little…?

"Scree-uk!"

Yeah, that was a hard no.

Big bro Savage Talon had welcomed me warmly at first, but once it became clear I had no intention of leaving his territory, he started making his annoyance painfully obvious.

What a disloyal bastard! His place looked plenty spacious, and he couldn't even spare a friend one room?

"Grrngh!"

"Scree-uk?"

But I hadn't shoved my face into his business empty-handed, either. The closer the bond, the more you ought to treat them well. I decided to show him a marvel of civilization no mere beast should ever possess.

"Grrngh-grrngh!"

He watched with interest as I gathered fallen branches from around us. He probably thought I was building a nest. Not even close.

Rattle-rattle.

I wandered around the cliff corners collecting small stones. After testing them with my claws and picking the ones that passed, I stacked them on the pile of branches, gave big bro Savage Talon a heads-up so he wouldn't freak out — and then I unleashed a flurry of meow-meow punches.

Fwoosh!

Sparks flew from the stones scraping against my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠claws, and the branches caught fire in an instant.

"Grrrngh!"

I huffed and puffed, blowing carefully to nurse the embers into a proper flame. Watching me suddenly throw a campfire party in his front yard, big bro flapped his wings and made his displeasure known.

"Screeeeeeeech!"

Crap — can't let the affinity drop. Before big bro's patience ran out completely, I quickly pulled out the prop I'd prepared in advance.

Thud.

Its name? Bunny Skewers!

Carefully stripping the bark from sticks, skinning the bunnies, and threading the meat on wasn't easy work. Especially since for every five I made, two of them went straight into my mouth.

Slurp.

Drooling, I tossed a bunny skewer onto the campfire. Instantly, the smell of cooking meat filled the air, and big bro's front yard transformed into a charming little campsite.

"Scree-uk?!"

Big bro's eyes went round as the insane aroma hit his nostrils. Had he ever imagined that stripping off the fur and hide and roasting the meat would produce a smell like this? I held out a properly cooked bunny skewer toward him.

"Scree-uk!"

Hmm. Figures. In that case—

"Chomp-chomp!"

I demonstrated by eating a bunny skewer first. Honestly, it was my first time trying it too……

"Krrngh?!"

In that moment, my eyes met big bro's.

"……"

"……!!"

A beak and a tiger's paw shot out like lightning and demolished the bunny skewers in a frenzy.

Damn!

So this was what campfire meat tasted like?! Insane. Absolutely insane!

That tender, just-grilled texture, the juices flooding my mouth — I'd forgotten, but now I understood why humans cooked everything they ate. Hygiene was one thing, but the flavor was on a completely different level from raw meat.

"Screeeeeeeech!"

Big bro must have been deeply moved, because he let out a soaring cry and suddenly rocketed into the sky. A moment later—

Thud.

He dropped a freshly caught bunny right in front of me.

"Scree-uk!"

"Grrngh!"

That day, we threw a full-on bunny skewer party.

Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!

I grinned with pure satisfaction. Rank-1 Guardian successfully recruited.

"Grrngh!"

"Scree-uk?"

"Grrngh, grrrngh!"

"Scree-uk!"

That night, I set up a hideout somewhere big bro could easily keep an eye on. Just in case, I pointed at the shelter and mimed sleeping — and big bro thumped his chest with a thump-thump! as if to say, leave it to me.

Did becoming a named monster raise your intelligence too? I liked big bro's bold, generous personality.

Alright then — time to grow.

Whew. This was a tense moment. I settled into a gap between the rocks near the mountain peak and camouflaged my surroundings. Buried among the branches, I blinked up at big bro, who was watching me with a look of quiet satisfaction. Guarding someone seemed to suit him surprisingly well.

"Grrngh…"

Reassured by the sight of my reliable big bro, I gently closed my eyes. Drowsiness washed over me, and words floated up before my darkened vision.

Oh, options appeared.

Numbers one and two would reinforce the Weak label stuck in front of my name, while three was the safe, ordinary choice. I thought of big bro. He'd had the prefix "Swift" attached to him, right? In that case, picking a strong trait now was more future-oriented than jumping straight into full growth.

Still, it's a little disappointing.

I wanted to become a named monster like big bro! Was I aiming too high at a mere level 5?

But who was I, again?

This body was a super tiger of infinite potential!

I cheered and looked over the new choices. Achievement-like text glowed brightly and transformed into fresh options.

No way?!

I was stunned the moment I saw the first option. Below it, attributes like ice, wind, earth, and lightning were lined up — and not a single one looked ordinary.

Hallelujah! So this was what all that suffering had been for! Climbing that tree and allying with big bro had been the absolute best decisions.

I hummed a little tune and savored the luxury of choosing. Building a PC was most fun when you were picking the specs, and customizing a game character's runes and traits was always the best part. And this choice was directly tied ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to my entire future, so I took it even more seriously.

Let's check the skills first.

Whoa. The traits alone were no joke. The only downside was that I couldn't preview what [Dexterity] actually meant, or what form the skills took. I imagined wrapping my claws in roaring flames and smashing something. Honestly, even just that would be pretty solid. And the fact that I could throw a barbecue party anywhere was already winning me over.

Ooh, Thunder Blow? Does that mean I'll get Thunder Storm later too?

As I continued my happy deliberations, I spotted a suspicious option.

What was this?

Tigrasis was an unfamiliar word. It looked like a compound of "tiger" and some term from this world, but……

The moment I saw the traits and skills, I couldn't help but cry out.

[Miniaturization], [Giantization]?

If I could use Giantization right away, I'd never have to feel inadequate about a cub's physique again. And walking around miniaturized meant size wouldn't be a problem either. No becoming a target like that brachiosaurus for being too big, no starving to death because my fuel efficiency was terrible.

And on top of that—

[Special]

I thought back on every powerful being I'd encountered so far. Honestly, there was only big bro. And even he didn't have the prefix "Special."

More than anything else, there was that word — "Cub" written differently from all the others. Everything else said "Tiger," so why was this one different?

Could it be…… a named species?

Yesss!

Any further deliberation was pointless.

The text blazed with light, and an extraordinary atmosphere filled the air. And then I realized my choice hadn't been wrong.

I hadn't grown.

Instead—

I'd surpassed mere growth and evolved!!

Hell yeah!

I threw my head back and roared it out.

Tiger-mon Digivolve!!!