The Stray of Sanjiva
"Yeah, I'm just going to do whatever the hell I want."
There was a reason the Beast Shop was so massive. Stepping inside, I was greeted by a sea of iron cages, each as large as a house. Inside them were Twin-Headed Ogres, Dueoksini, Gargoyles, Jackalopes, Eoduksini, Chupacabras, and Wyverns. In a massive aquarium, I even spotted marine monsters like Leviathans and Krakens. Perhaps they were artificially bred subspecies, as they were smaller than I expected. Well, if they were the real deal, they wouldn't have fit in here anyway, and even these subspecies easily exceeded ten meters in length. They had every monster under the sun, yet not a single horned horse. Was this a joke?
"Call me if you need an explanation," the shopkeeper said, wiping a monocle with a cloth.
It was actually better that he paid me no mind. Ever since I got cornered by pushy sellers back in Dongdaemun, employee attention had become a trauma of mine. Whether it was a hard sell or a friendly explanation, I preferred being left alone. With a relaxed mind, I strolled between the cages, scanning them one by one.
Beep!
[Lv. 51] A Jackalope, a horned rabbit. It was just a cute rabbit with horns, but its level was absurd. A max-level rabbit, so to speak. Even if it wasn't a powerful monster suited for a dungeon, I wanted to keep it as a pet. It was cute, and conversely, I liked that it was weak. At Level 51, I would easily be able to control it.
"Shopkeeper. How much for the Jackalope?"
"Exactly 1.1 million cells."
I wondered if he was ripping me off. Even with haggling, the lowest he'd go would probably be a million. Buying a pet for a million cells? It was rejected without a second thought.
[Lv. 56] Next to the Jackalope was a monster that looked vaguely like Slender Man. It was an Eoduksini, a creature that operated with maximum efficiency in the dark. It was a monster perfectly suited for a labyrinth dungeon environment.
"How much for the Eoduksini?"
"That one is 800,000. It's tricky to handle."
An Eoduksini for 800,000 was a decent deal. Since he said it was hard to handle, I put it on hold for now. Having finished window shopping, I began inspecting them one by one, attempting to use my Evolution skill.
Since they were managed beasts, not a single one was dying. If a 1/3 popped up in the notification window, it would mean they possessed ample potential. Contrary to my expectations, not a single beast with potential was in sight.
This is disappointing.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Honestly, this was the norm, but I guess I had gotten my hopes up for nothing.
"By the way, shopkeeper. If I purchase a beast, how is transport handled?"
"Is the destination a dungeon? Or a mansion?"
"Why would a mansion be an option?"
"Nobles buy beasts as luxury goods, you see. Anyway, if it's a dungeon, we have the Chamber of Commerce's portal, so we can transport it immediately. If it's private property like a mansion, you'll have to take it yourself."
As it turned out, this Beast Shop was a subcontractor of the Chamber of Commerce. Classic Dungeon Chamber of Commerce. There were perks—or what felt like perks—for dungeons, their primary target. Since they handled the transport, I was deeply debating whether to just buy a Dueoksini when...
"What is that room?"
A large room caught my eye in the corner of my vision. For some reason, it didn't look like a warehouse. The shopkeeper snorted and shrugged.
"Why do you want to know? Nothing good comes from knowing."
"I would still like to know."
"It's the slaughterhouse. That's where the unsold ones go to be disposed of. Beast carcasses do fetch a decent price, after all. Also, beasts that killed their masters or severely injured them are slaughtered there too."
Slaughter, not euthanasia. But after a moment, I realized there was no reason to be surprised. Even before considering this demonic realm, a medieval empire wouldn't have had euthanasia.
It's a bit unsettling, but... should I buy a carcass from there?
I was still human. I had no hobby of buying corpses, nor did I want to look at them. The only reason I was considering this was because if Charlotte resurrected them as undead, it would be a highly profitable venture. Setting aside the cheap price of a carcass, he might even just give them to me for free. A compact but powerful beast carcass would be incredibly useful.
...Am I gradually becoming a real Death Knight? No. My heart is human. The very fact that I'm self-aware of this makes me human, I think.
"May I enter?"
"The slaughterhouse? Since you're undead, do you have no aversion to corpses? Or are you some kind of necromancer?"
"What if I am both?"
"Oh. Well, that's great for me. I was actually wondering how to dispose of them."
Realizing my intention, the shopkeeper readily agreed. He was so delighted that he finally unstuck his feet from where he had been standing like a stone statue and approached me.
"I'll give them to you cheap. Take a good look and think it over."
The moment the door opened, the stench of blood and putrid rot filled the air. It was a cruel irony of being undead: I had no sense of taste, yet my sense of smell remained perfectly intact. Levels didn't display on corpses. I had no choice but to look around, identify the species, and judge based on the shopkeeper's explanations.
Ah, I feel like I'm going crazy.
Regret washed over me like a tidal wave. Staring at the monster carcasses made me incredibly depressed. While my eyes scanned them one by one, my mind was entirely consumed by the urge to leave. But if I backed out now, it would put the shopkeeper in an awkward position.
"Do you see this one here? This is a Chupacabra, a blood-sucking beast..."
At some point, the shopkeeper's voice faded into the background. As my visual senses became highly focused, my hearing grew dull.
[Lv. 58] There was a beast that was still alive. A Level 58 beast, no less. Unlike the carcasses strewn about haphazardly, this one was trapped inside a transparent capsule.
Whimper...
It had the general appearance of a Doberman mixed with a hellish aura. A Hellhound, a lesser subspecies of the Cerberus. Among the guardians of the 7 Abyssal Palaces, there existed a Cerberus. Even a fallen dragon is still a dragon—or in this case, even a lesser subspecies was Level 58. The capsule on the opposite side was filled with blood, which I assumed belonged to the Hellhound.
"What are they doing to it in that capsule?"
"The Hellhound? Drawing blood, of course. That guy is just going to have his blood drained until he dies of blood loss."
"Why?"
"Hellhound blood sells for a high price to vampires, you see. If there's money to be made, you gotta make it."
"No. I mean, why does it have to die?"
"This one was sold to the castle of the Archduke of Sanjiva. As a pet. But it bit its master, the young lord. Apparently, the young lord was bedridden for ten days because of it."
A pang of sympathy had risen, but it vanished at his last words. Even in reality, a dog that bites people has to be euthanized. It's harsh, but what else can you do? If left alone, there could be more victims. I wasn't just blindly emotional; I was realistically emotional.
"Do you see the wounds on its body? Looks like it was severely abused by the young lord before it finally snapped and bit him... It's a shame."
"..."
"The young lord of Sanjiva is quite young, you see. Demons consider abusing and killing beasts during their childhood to be completely normal. You don't even need to see it to know what happened."
Choke! Whimper...
The Hellhound's body went limp. Its watery eyes turned toward me. It was unmistakably a look pleading for its life.
"Whoa! What are you doing?!"
Without a second thought, I opened the capsule. I gently reached out and placed my hand on the Hellhound.
Evolving the Hellhound.
Two conditions have been met. Success will be determined with a 50% probability.
Even after succeeding, I was surprised. I had tried it just in case, and two conditions had actually been met. Since it was currently dying, that condition was obvious. And since self-sacrifice was out of the question, the remaining condition had to be potential.
Whimper...
A 50% chance. A coin flip.
A cold breath, like a sigh of relief, escaped my mouth. As expected, a shroud of light gathered around the Hellhound's body. Its half-closed, dim eyes slowly widened, opening round and bright. Having finally regained its vitality, the Hellhound sprang to its feet.
Pant, pant! Bark!
It rubbed its entire body against my hand, acting just like a puppy clinging to its master. It seemed to know for sure that I had saved it.
[Lv. 65] Naturally, looking at its level alone, it would be difficult for me to control. But seeing that its level color was a deep green, it seemed like it would be fine.
How could I possibly resist being chosen by a puppy?
As I gently stroked the scruff of its neck, it stuck its tongue out and panted happily. No matter how you looked at it, it was the face of pure bliss.
"How on earth did you...?"
Beside me, the shopkeeper stood with his jaw hanging open. It was only natural to be shocked when a dying creature suddenly sprang back to life.
"I'm taking this one."
"Huh? Wh-what do you mean? You can't just take it because you want to! Didn't you hear me say it bit the young lord of Sanjiva? You could get bitten too!"
"I will handle that."
"No, seriously, you can't!"
His booming voice was starting to make my ears ring. Left with no choice, I reached into my coat, pulled out the summons, and held it out.
"What's that?"
"Read it."
Taking it in a daze, the shopkeeper glanced at the summons. As he read the first line, his eyes began to widen.
"Come to think of it, this time, the 7 Abyssal Palaces... a Death Knight...?"
He muttered to himself, his pupils trembling as if an earthquake were occurring within them.
Thud!
The shopkeeper dropped to his knees with enough force to make a sound. Despising cliché developments, I cut him off before he could speak.
"Skip the formalities. May I take the Hellhound?"
"Of course! Absolutely! If there is anything else you require, I shall offer whatever I have!"
"I need nothing else. Just this one."
Bark!
What a cute little puppy.
I left the slaughterhouse with the Hellhound in tow. It trotted right beside me, panting happily. It seemed this fellow had indeed chosen me as its master.
"What should I name you?"
I had absolutely zero talent for naming things. Still, I figured I'd be much better than Charlotte. Recalling the nightmare of 'Bonely,' I felt a sudden surge of confidence.
"Hellboki. Do you like it?"
Its unique, squinty-eyed smile looked as happy as a golden retriever's, so I combined 'Hell' with 'Bok' to make the name.
Pant, pant.
Hellboki grinned widely, beaming with joy. Just looking at him made me feel better. In my past life, I had to satisfy my desire to raise a dog by watching MewTube, but to think I'd actually raise one here. Truly, if you live long enough—or rather, die and become undead—anything can happen. Thanks to Hellboki, I'd be able to enjoy a pleasant rest for the remainder of the day.
Slap!
My elevated mood plummeted to freezing point in an instant. The moment I opened the door, I saw a sight that made me doubt my own eyes.
In the middle of the street, someone was being grabbed by the hair and slapped across the face.
There was only one person I knew here in Sanjiva, the capital of the demonic realm.
Slap! Slap!
Some unknown werewolf was repeatedly striking Charlotte across the cheek. Charlotte, losing her balance and swaying, immediately stood back upright. Even as her lip split and blood trickled down, she just took the blows without any resistance.
Who does that son of a bitch think he is, hitting my deputy?
Did I care about Charlotte more than I realized? I didn't even care to hear the explanation of how things had ended up this way. Only a single, impulsive, razor-sharp thought echoed in my mind.
That motherfucker is dead.