Second Familiar & Rival
"Run away! We have to catch her!"
With that, White hurriedly dashed back out the exit. In the process, her skirt fluttered up, flashing her panties, but when I slipped my hand into my pocket, the panties I'd swiped earlier had mysteriously vanished into thin air.
As expected...
I'd already suspected it from my little experiment with Mom back home, but it was still disappointing. I'd been planning to collect panties alongside the Pokedex entries. Now I had no choice but to settle for sniffing them fresh on the spot.
"Sh-should we chase her, Master?"
Completely immersed in the moment, Slamming alternated her gaze between the front door and the windows, stamping her feet anxiously.
"Nah, no need to rush. Better to take the long way around."
Even if I chased after her tomorrow, she'd probably still be there, and this was a crucial branching point anyway—I needed to play it carefully.
For now, I headed over to where Black had been standing. Right by the window, an item was sparkling blatantly, practically begging to be picked up.
◈ Slightly recovers a familiar's stamina.
A potion that slightly restores a familiar's stamina—according to the lore, it was something Black dropped on her way out.
"Oh, that's the item the thief dropped! It'll make a great clue. As expected of Master!"
...You can think of it that way?
It was just something free along the path, no real loss if I grabbed it. This was merely a pit stop; the real prize was elsewhere. No need to go far—Slamming knew the spot well too.
Good, it's still here.
One card left on the table. The one neither White nor I had picked at the start, and Black hadn't managed to steal—a partner familiar left behind.
I picked it up without hesitation. It was a kind of interaction prompt.
"Lucky! There's still one left!"
The Magic Engineering PhD approached, exclaiming in surprise.
"...Does he have really bad eyesight? It was right there..."
Even Slamming couldn't quite believe it.
"Probably."
Otherwise, how else could a total newbie like him lose to someone who'd just gotten their starter familiar?
"Right, more firepower is always better! Take that familiar along too!"
His hearing must be shot too—he just nodded along without a hint of suspicion.
Received Sylph from the PhD.
Would you like to give the received Sylph a nickname?
[Yes / No]
[No]
With that, the acquisition process was complete. This was the Easter egg that let you snag two partner familiars in one game.
Call it an easy mode perk—for young players who might struggle even on this difficulty. Of course, for an adult like me, Sung Ji-woo, I could've cleared it with just Slamming no problem.
"Come out, Sylph!"
The game wasn't just about clearing, after all.
With a shout while holding Sylph's card, a gust of wind and a flash erupted.
"By your summons, I arrive as your sword, my liege."
There knelt a girl with teal hair, gripping a short sword, in an archaic bow.
"Are you my liege?"
Oh ho, this type, huh.
"That's right. Looking forward to working with you, Sylph."
"The honor is mine. From this day, my blade is yours, and your command is my fate."
A resolute loyalty different from Slamming's—she seemed sturdy and reliable.
That part was great, but...
"And say hi. This is Slamming, my first partner."
"Sl-Slamming...!"
The real issue started now. Could they get along as a team? Unlike the actual game, these were full personalities with their own thoughts—friction wasn't impossible. Slamming and I had only known each other less than a day, after all.
"L-let's serve Master together from now on... diligently!"
"...Guh..."
Sylph flushed deep red, clutching her chest.
Sniff sniff... I could smell it. Me.
"Um... a-are you okay, Lady Sylph? Your face is so red..."
"...I'm fine. Senior is so... cu—no, beautiful. To think she'd worry over this junior's shortcomings..."
And it was the thick scent of lilies.
"N-no...! It's just what teammates do, and I'm new to being Master's familiar too."
"Kuh...!"
"A-are you really okay!?"
"...Ngh, y-yes, I'm fine."
Seemed my worries were unfounded. Far from friction, this party was lubed up like it had been greased to perfection.
Alright, greetings done.
"Time to head out?"
"Yes! Let's go catch that familiar thief quick!"
"Familiar thief?"
Right—newly joined Sylph didn't know the situation. Slamming helpfully summarized the gist in her soft, jiggly way, standing in for me.
Hearing it, Sylph's eyes narrowed sharply.
"...Such insolence! Stealing another's familiar and mocking them to boot? Unforgivable!"
She dove right into the roleplay with full sincerity.
"Yeah. Let's go get her."
No reason to stop her—it was more fun this way, and strictly speaking, she wasn't wrong.
The moment we stepped out of the lab...
"Ji-woo!"
White came running up like she'd been waiting.
"Who is she...?"
"She asked the PhD along with Master... and, um, we're chasing the thief together."
Maybe recalling that loser sex scene from earlier—mid-explanation, Slamming's face went boom, bright red.
"Kuh... I-is that so."
Chain reaction—Sylph flushed too, her face turning crimson.
After enjoying the reactions, I hit [Dialogue] to advance the story.
"The thief ran that way. Let's chase her together!"
She pointed to a thick patch of grass. And in such grass, there was always... rustle, rustle! A monster lurking.
As we pushed through the grass together, a familiar sound effect rang out.
Shwish! Shwish! Shwish! Shwish!
It was subtly different from the battle start chime—the encounter sound for wild monsters.
"N-no way...!"
"An enemy...!"
No need to tense up that much. The monsters around here were low-level scrubs you could handle fine as long as your partner was healthy.
"I'll take this one! Ji-woo!"
And even that was White's turn this time—not ours.
Capture tutorial.
"Cheep cheep!"
A chick monster, Chick. Normally it'd be a big-winged chick, but hit with Sexmon World's moe ray, it was kindergarten-sized now. Even I drew the line there.
"Come out, Salamander!"
Out came Salamander, whom she'd owed me big time for earlier.
"Will she be okay? She went down pretty hard in the last fight..."
"She'll be fine. She got healed up."
Not a guess—her status screen showed full HP.
"Th-that's a relief then..."
"Still, just watching makes me worry, my liege."
Not quite worry, but from a certain angle, yeah.
On the field: sudden wild Chick vs. opposing Salamander. We were off to the side like spectators beyond the stadium seats.
"Shouldn't we join in?"
"Eh..."
Even if we did, we probably couldn't land hits. Considering how my pummeling Salamander earlier did zero damage, our interference wouldn't change much. Likely, only monsters directly in the battle could hit each other via system skills.
"She stepped up so confidently herself—feels rude to butt in."
"...Indeed...! My thinking was shortsighted, my liege!"
A plausible excuse, and Sylph bowed her head in instant agreement.
We were just spectating anyway.
[Battle] ← [Equipment] [Switch] [Run]
The controls were mine, after all.
Following the guide arrow, I selected Battle.
[Normal: Tail Whip (35/35)] ← [Normal: Tail Swing (30/30)]
The two skills from before popped up. She'd spammed them in the last fight, but skill points were full again—must've hit a monster center on the way out.
Salamander's Tail Whip!
Tap the command, and Salamander whipped Chick with her tail. Chick tumbled, HP bar halving.
Then Chick's turn.
Chick's Tackle!
Chick countered with the same type of move as Slamming's.
But...
Pfbt...!
Embarrassingly weak for a Tackle. Salamander barely budged, losing just a single dot of HP.
"You throw the monster card like this when they're weakened!"
"Sh-she's so kind. Explaining to me mid-battle..."
"Yeah."
I already knew, but she spelled it out anyway—super friendly.
[Battle] [Equipment] ← [Switch] [Run]
Arrow shifted; I picked [Equipment].
[Recover] [Card] ← [Buff] [Other]
Selected [Card].
[Monster Card x5]
Using one from the PhD.
White used a Monster Card!
"Threw the card!"
As Sylph said, White hurled it under my control. It hit Chick and sucked her right in.
Thump, thump, thump.
The card vibrated like a heartbeat, then...
Sizzle...!
It glowed bright, signaling success.
With that message, battle ended and the screen transitioned.
"So, if you meet a monster that seems useful, capturing it like this is an option."
White looked down at me like a teacher, despite getting utterly wrecked earlier.
"The path splits here, so I'll go that way. You take the opposite, Ji-woo."
Not content with that, she bossed me around and left without waiting for a reply.
Next round two, I'd wreck every last inch of her.
"Alright, let's move out."
"Yes, Master!"
"As you command, my liege!"
Anyway, for story progression, we headed off. Even if we wanted the opposite way...
This path is for White. Head the opposite way.
...An invisible message blocked me—visible only to me. It physically stopped my body.
Rustle... rustle...
Half willingly, half not, we pushed through the opposite grass. A warm-up before the rival encounter, I guess.
A few blocks in...
Shwish! Shwish! Shwish! Shwish!
The encounter sound kicked off. Our first wild monster battle had begun.
And the grand opponent was...
"Cri-cri-cri!"
"Whoa...!"
A cricket monster, My Friend's Son. Nicknamed bug in these parts. Low stats were standard, and with only Cry Out and Hold Fire as skills, it couldn't even attack properly—Monworld's poster child for trash mobs.