<h4>Volume 2, Intermission: Ancient Beast Tamer</h4>
Name: Gi Gi
Race: Goblin
Level: 95
ss: Rare
Possessed Skills: Tracking; Throw Projectile; Axe Mastery D+; Omnivorous; Jeer; A Monster''s Feelings; Beast Tamer
Divine Protection: None
Attributes: None
Subordinate Beasts: Two-Headed; Ostrich Double Head
There is love in discipline.
Gi Gi who always rode on his beloved steed always believed that. In fact, he believed it ever since they captured Gi Gu’s vige, back when the king was only a noble ss. But that belief grew even more fervent when he saw how the Paradua Goblins lived.
The Paradua Goblins truly lived as one with their ck tigers.
A Paradua Goblin could say ‘A!’, and the ck tiger would finish with ‘hum!’.
The Paradua Goblins were truly in sync with their beasts.
“So one must be in harmony with his beast.”
His dear friend, the stealthy Gi Ji, nodded.
Gi Gi looked at his beloved steed.
Though they could not talk with words, their feelings shoulde across as long as they have love.
Gi Gi tried to talk to his beloved steed with his eyes.
“A,” Gi Gi tried saying, but his beloved steed only tilted its heads. Four eyes nkly looked at Gi Gi, but he wasn’t about to give up.
His love was not enough. That’s all there was to it.
“A!”, he tried shouting again, and the Two-Headed OstrichDouble Head inclined its heads even stronger. Gi Gi started to worry that the doublee head might tumble over if they kept this up.
What was he doing wrong? Gi Gi wondered.
“A-hum,” Gi Gi muttered. “I see, so that’s how to harmonize.”
Then he shook his head. What’s the point in ahum-ing alone?
Both Gi Gi and the double head tilted their heads in confusion. Then for some reason, the double head happily cried as it wrapped its two heads around Gi Gi’s neck.
“You get, along well. That’s good!” Gi Ji said, having misunderstood the situation.
“…Of course!” Gi Gi happily eximed as he started to feel the same.
“Let’s hunt!” He suddenly said as he rode on his double head, who happily cried in response. “Onward!”
And they set off with Gi Ji running alongside them.
The king had just conquered the Fortress of the Abyss, and was busy with the tribe chiefs. In fact, he hadn’t been seen during this rare moment of peace since he defeated the ogres and the ogre lord. It was the perfect opportunity to tour the area.
◇◆◆
The ecosystem in the forests near the tribes’ viges waspletely different from the eastern vige. The old adage ‘monsters grow stronger as one heads west’ has certainly proved itself true.
Naturally, the monsters to be hunted also grew stronger. The prey Gi Gi and Gi Ji set their eyes on was the Green CaterpirGiant Caterpir known for its hard skin even among the monsters of this area and its ability to spit mucus. The giant caterpirs could be as big as an adult goblin when fully grown or small enough to crawl on one’s hands when still young.
Double heads love to feast on baby green caterpirs. They would frequently stick their head into the ground or into fallen trees to look for baby green caterpirs to eat. Asrvae, the green caterpirs’
skin were still soft. Biting into one would release this irresistibly, delicious juice that’s to die for.
The older ones are much bigger. Goblins can’t even eat them unless they cut them up first, but they are also delicious. In fact, when the king set off for the tribes, they hunted one along the way. It was chewy and delicious.
Gi Gi, Gi Ji, and the double head spent all day looking for green caterpirs from fallen trees.
“Found one! And another one!” Gi Gi said.
“There’s one here!” Gi Ji said.
When Gi Gi would speak, Gi Ji would also speak. But then without even so much as a cry, the double head went up to Gi Gi and ate a green caterpir from his hands.
“What are you doing!?” Gi Gi asked.
The double head feigned ignorance as one of its heads ate the caterpir in front of Gi Gi, while the other started eating caterpir after caterpir out of the opening in the fallen tree.
“Mumumu…” Gi Gi growled as he looked for other green caterpirs.
“We made a, killing today!” Gi Ji happily eximed as he threw the green caterpir he found over to Gi Gi, who nodded as he munched on one of the baby green caterpirs.
Meanwhile, the double head that had started feasting through the opening in one of the fallen trees suddenly found itself unable to pull its head out when it stuck its other head in too. It started to desperately p its wings.
“…Aren’t you going to help him?” Gi Ji asked.
“He did that to himself,” Gi Gi curtly replied.
“Gue!? Gue!?” the double head cried.
The two goblins who were happily feasting on the trove of green caterpirs lost themselves in the moment, and they failed to notice the approaching threat. A truly foolish mistake for a rare goblin.
“GOKYuUuRUuuu!” angrily cried something behind them.
When they turned, what greeted them were 10 giant caterpirs.
In his shock, Gi Gi lost his grip on the baby caterpir, and then he looked at Gi Ji, who looked at him in turn. They both drew cold sweat as they stood there frozen stiff.
Meanwhile, a certain double head was still pping its wings.
The two goblins tacitly came to an understanding.
They gradually retreated as therge number of giant caterpirs slithered toward them.
Then when they finally neared a certain double head whose head was yet stuck in some fallen tree, they turned around, and made a run for it.
“…Amen.”
“Sorry, it’s thew of the jungle. You know how it is.”
“Gue!?”
Despite looking so glum, the two goblins ran foolishly with their tail between their legs.
They passed by the double head, as they bolted off with all their strength.
The double head panicked.
You actually left me behind! In a fit of anger, the double head found its heads free. By all means, the right course of action was to shake the giant caterpirs off. But the double head wouldn’t be satisfied with just that. No. It had to at least make those two goblins suffer too. So it ran through the forest with the caterpirs in tow.
◇◆◆
As one might expect, an army of giant caterpirs had no say against two rare ss goblins and a furious Two-Headed OstrichDouble Head in a game of cat and mice, but they weren’t about to take having their home destroyed lying down either. The army of caterpirs formed a line as they continued to pursue the double head through the forest.
Giant caterpirs did not excel at running, but they had long lost their minds to anger, and they wrung out every bit of strength they could as they sought to punish their unjust invaders.
Unfortunately, reality was cruel, and the caterpirs who weren’t even good at running started to find themselves running out of steam.
But then the double head who was right ahead of them suddenly cried out.
The caterpirs and the double head did not share amonnguage.
—It’s those pesky goblins!
But they understood each other all the same. And with that, the will of the caterpirs unified. The enemy is near!
—We’ve caught up to the goblins!
Though rotten, the double head was after all a double head, and its speed was not something the caterpirs could match. But just as they were on the verge of giving up, the double head cried out.
“You can do it!” it seemed to say.
One of the double head’s head was talking to them as it ran.
“Gue!” it cried.
He’s such a good person, the caterpirs thought. As the double head gantly cried out, they passed through the break of the forest. Then like a knight charging toward its enemy, the double head jumped.
“Gue!” it cried.
—Onward!
The army of caterpirs wrung out thest of their strength. They would give the highest of merits to the double head once they caught those pesky goblins, then the scenery of the open forest unfolded before them.
◇◆◆
The double head had seen through a hole in tree that Gi Ji managed to pick up the caterpir that Gi Gi dropped.
And he certainly had it in his hands when they left him their when they ran.
—I want to eat it!
Right! Once they get caught by the caterpirs, they won’t be able to eat thatst piece anymore!
Thatst piece was his!
When the double head turned around, the adult caterpirs were right behind him.
—Can’t eat those. Pe!
“Gue!”
The two heads didn’t realize the contradiction in his thoughts. Like that they passed through the break in the forest.
—Found them!
“Gue!”
Joy filled the double head when he noticed that the baby caterpir was still in that goblin rare’s hands.
“Oh, you came back.”
For some reason, the goblin was happily caressing his wings, but the double head ignored him and went for the caterpir.
“They followed him.”
“Let’s, do this.”
The goblin took the caterpir, and threw it toward the forest.
—No, the worm!
“Gueee!”
The double head caught the caterpir in midair. A spectacr technique even he had to admire!
But there were caterpirs below him!
—You’re in the way!
◇◆◇
When the army of caterpirs left the forest into the open fields, what attacked them was none other than the very same double head that led their chase.
Itnded right on top of the leading caterpir. As its great weight trampled one of the caterpirs, it sent another flying as it started to run.
—But why!?
The caterpirs were confused. Why would the double head attack them all of the sudden? But then one of them saw the baby caterpir in its mouth.
—Have we been betrayed!?
“KyuURURURUuu!”
Even the wails of the caterpir was drowned out by the double head’s mad charge.
The caterpirs were spent after running through the forest. They could only watch as the crazy bird sent them flying left and right.
Then finally, the two goblins that had supposedly run away appeared.
“Good, job,.”
“You’re quite the devil too, huh?”
To the powerless caterpirs who’d been turned over to their bellies, the two goblins were no different from a pair of demons.
◇◇◆
“…There sure are a lot of giant caterpirs today,” I pointed out as I ate supper in the Fortress of the Abyss.
“Lord Gi Gi and Lord Gi Ji managed to catch an army of them today,” Kuzan said.
Didn’t I tell them that the four tribes will take care of the hunts? Or did they still want to hunt despite that? Hmm… Anyway, greed isn’t bad for growing stronger.
“It won’t be long.”
ording to the One-Eyed Snake’s Evil Eye, the both of them would soon promote a ss.
“Won’t be long for what?” Kuzan asked.
“It’s nothing,” I wryly smiled. “Come, let us eat.”
The next day, I received word that Gi Gi and his subordinate beast promoted a ss.
◆◇◇◆◆◇◇◆
Name: Gi Gi
Race: Goblin
Level: 1
ss: Noble
Possessed Skills: Tracking; Throw Projectile; Axe Mastery D+; Omnivorous; Jeer; Beast Tamer; Tacit Understanding; Ancient Beast Tamer; Beast Trainer; Cooperation; Friend of the Horde; Bug Eater
Divine Protection: None
Attributes: None
Subordinate Beasts: Two-Headed Ostrich Double Head
Author’s Note:
Gi Ji: “Boss, you’re so evil…”
Gi Gi: “Not as bad as you, Your Majesty.”
Gi Ji and Gi Gi: “Bwahahahaha!”
These sort of conversations may or may not have happened.
Anyway, until next time.