To be a Cast-Off: Monster Reincarnation CYOA Chapter 11

Link if you need/want a refresher. Adult story. Has "Plot".

https://forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/to-be-a-cast-off-monster-reincarnation-cyoa-si.8527/

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Day 62

I sat, and once again found myself glancing over at the spot Balto had called his, and sighed.

I missed my doggo, but what was done is done. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but I didn’t expect it happen this way.

My encounter the day we went out was illuminating, and sad, but ultimately for the best.

2 days ago

Balto was barking and running into the grass, with me chasing him, grunting angrily the whole way.

“Stop! You’re gonna attract attention!” I hissed as I followed the pup through the grass. We were just walking and looking about for anything I could gather, when suddenly the Wolf sniffed something, his ears perking up, and then he barked excitedly, before running off.

We’ve been running for close to five minutes, and I was wheezing. The lack of stamina on my part due to my weak stats reared their ugly numbers. It was only because the wolf was a puppy instead of a full sized one that I was even able to keep up, not to mention the grass was an obstacle for a critter of his size.

Eventually, we ran out into the open, and I saw Balto on a small fox. Licking up a storm on the small critter. It didn’t look like it appreciated it, but it didn’t shy away either. At least until it saw me, and suddenly went still in fear.

Golden slitted eyes met my own golden eyes. I blinked slowly before glancing over at Balto who was still licking on and nuzzling the little fox kit. When I stepped forward, the kit tried to move, but only fell over, and it was apparent it was weak.

I frowned, and Balto whined in concern for its apparent friend.

Using what knowledge I did have about animals from my innate knowledge, I soon realized that the kit was near death from severe dehydration.

It growled in its foxy way as I approached, and I was unconcerned with that. It’s bite may hurt, but I could take whatever the little one could dish out.

It tried to bite my hand, but I used that to catch its mouth and hold it open, and uncork a waterskin with my free hand. Slowly I poured the water into the little mouth that had been spitting, and grunting, until it realized it tasted water.

Slowly it started to drink, before then taking every drop I could give it. I released its mouth and kept giving it water until it had its fill.

For half an hour, it drank and rested, before finally it was strong enough to get up and move on its own. Balto was jumping about happily, and the Fox yipped irritated at him.

It glanced at me, and I could see the intelligence in them. It was no mere fox, but it wasn’t much more than a kit either. I didn’t know what it was thinking before it glanced at Balto, and then began walking away.

Balto stayed by me, but stared after his friend for a moment, before the fox turned and yipped not at him, but at me. It then waggled its tail in a gesture that was unmistakably “follow me”.

I was leery, but Balto trusted it, so I decided to take a leap of faith.

For another half hour, we walked and avoided most of the predators and powerful critters of the area before reaching what looked like a giant briar bush. The fox looked at me, and motioned into the large hole, before going in itself. Balto rushed in after it happily.

I sighed. “Well, in for a penny.”

I crawled through the entrance, and kept crawling to wards a light down a tunnel that obviously was not part of the bush.

I exited, and found my eyes widening, and ears rising, as I saw what I could only call “Paradise.”

The sun was warmer, the grass greener, and the smells richer. Groves of trees and streams of crystal clean water made up the rolling hills of the place. I could not see any limit to the place, so for all I knew, it was a new location in the grasslands entirely.

The sound of barking filled my ears, and I saw Balto running about with other wolf pups, and being licked upon by an obvious female. The markings made it obvious who it was.

“Ah…so that’s momma.”

I felt a sudden pressure, and felt my breath taken from me. I fell to my knees, my chest sinking inwards. The sense of overwhelming threat filling my core. I couldn’t move, save my eyes.

The source became apparent though, as a large male, a Wolf Prince, surrounded by the ethereal energy of Mana, its fur of black and bronze both swallowed light, and glowed with it. Its glowing blue eyes bored into mine, and I knew it could kill me within a moment if it wished to.

The pressure stopped however when I heard loud barking and yipping. I weakly raised my head, and saw Balto and the kit making a racket at the prince who just looked down at the two in what I could only say was slight surprise. After a few moments it glanced at me again, less threatening, but the danger still present.

Balto sniffed, his tail raised, before running to me, and leaning into me. I petted his head a bit as the other pups and mother came over. Its glance curious, but also suspicious. Now that I got a look, she was a high-wolf. Just under the princess rank, so she is just as capable of ripping me apart as the prince is. So, I just stayed where I was.

Unlike normal wolves however, I knew she was intelligent. Likely smarter and wiser than I am. You don’t get to this level of power without having a brain.

I looked down at Balto with a wry grin.

“I knew it was weird that you were alone out there, but really? You left this place and its safety?”

Balto, having rudimentary intelligence, scoffed, until a look from mom made him shrink a bit.

I glanced at her. “When he met me, I was just trying to get stronger, since I’m weak. He played with me…it was nice. Then he ran off and got caught in the coils of a grass serpent.”

Momma’s eyes widened before staring hard at Balto who whined at me vocally like a kid saying “Don’t tell her!”

I just smirked. “Yup, and if I hadn’t decided I like him, he would have been a snake’s meal that day.”

Momma narrowed her eyes at her wayward pup before looking at me with questioning eyes.

“Why did I save him?”

Nodding.

“Well, my elder says I have the makings of a beast tamer. I have always liked animals, when they weren’t trying to kill me. Plus, he’s a puppy, and I just…didn’t want him killed.” I answered plainly.

That moment, the fox sat beside me, and yipped for a bit, momma listening before blinking a few times, looking at me with new eyes.

She sniffed me a few times, and I felt a bit of fear, before surprise when she licked my forehead. I looked up into her eyes, and I could see a warmth in them. She then turned around and woof-howled before walking away. The pups, save Balto, followed after her.

Then the Prince disappeared, before appearing before me. Fear filled me as I stared into his glowing eyes, which simply looked at me with a mild disinterest. Then I felt lightheaded, and a gold mist surround me. I didn’t know how long it was, but it ended, and the Prince stared at me, head cocked in wonder.

He growl-spoke in the wolf way. The lack of teeth showed it wasn’t a threatening gesture. I could only blink before Balto howled, and danced about happily.

Then, before I could even question what the hell was happening, the princes eyes shone brightly, and I was struck by a wave of power. I collapsed upon myself like a ragdoll, and sat there for several minutes as my mind was bombarded by knowledge.

I realized what just happened. I was rewarded for saving their pup, and now, while I had not awakened the power just yet, as I didn’t meet the requirements in my stats, I was now officially a Beast Tamer. I had the knowledge, and the magic, and the power of Command. I just needed to get stronger.

With it’s reward given, the Alpha disappeared again, leaving me alone with Balto.

I laid there for a time, before I finally was able to lean up.

“Oof…your dad really packs a punch.” I groaned as I rubbed my aching head.

A lick to my face was his reply. I glanced at him, and then suddenly felt really hot. I smelled cooking meat, and then saw smoke coming off my arms. I realized what was wrong, and in my panic, remembered a simple rule.

Monsters were creatures of Sin, and as such we absorbed and used Miasma as our source of power. Not always, but for the most part.

The opposite, Mana, was the product of the virtues of this world, and was diametrically opposed to creatures like me.

As such, this place, an obvious safe zone powered by Mana, was now rejecting me. I had to leave.

Balto seemed to have realized this as well, and whined sadly as he glanced longingly towards his pack. I chuffed, and using the basic knowledge I now had, that didn’t require power to use, I commandedhim.

“Stay with your pack.”

He turned to me with wide eyes, shocked at the sudden use of power, but then began to wag his tail happily.

I scoffed. “Yes, you dumb pup. I am not gonna take you away. This is your home, and they’re your family. So, you stay.”

He agreed with his motions and obvious expressions, and I pulled him into a hug. He gave me some licks before I let him go.

“Keep the vest. With Mana, maybe you can make it grow with you?” I said as I stood up. The burning was getting bad now, so I had to leave.

I began to climb into the hole, giving the pup one last look, who also gave me a look. He barked and howled, a goodbye, before then turning and following the pack.

With a sad sigh, I crawled out of the space.

Present

After that I came back, and kept to myself what had happened. I already was a target due to suddenly being worth something, even if it were next to nothing, I did not need to deal with more crap now.

So, I kept playing the craftsman, until the next day, when I tried my hand at hunting with my newfound abilities.

I have to say…I never felt more empowered in my life.

Yesterday

I stared at the prowler. Technically speaking, it is a “greater” cat. The second level Manas reach on the road to becoming Lords, but the goblins call them by their type rather than rank. Seems something only I do really.

The huge, gold, and brown tiger striped cat tried to ambush me, but I had already been aware of it before hand. It hadn’t nearly been as quiet as it thought it was, and when it leaped out of its hiding place, it found my mace swiftly moving to meet its face as I swung it.

Despite the momentary advantage, I was still no real match for the creature. Pound for pound, it was stronger than I was in every manner. However, I now had an edge.

As the cat recovered from the face smash, I pulled out a clay pot from my travel bag, and tossed it into the air. Just as the cat recovered, facing me with an angry scowl, my mace had been swung, right into the jar. I backed away quickly as the contents exploded into a cloud, and the cat hiss loudly as it was caught in the spread. It sniffed and sneezed, trying to attack me despite the dust, but within moments began to sway as the drugs took effect.

I carefully moved about, avoiding its random swipes as it tried to handle the intoxication it was experiencing. It couldn’t handle it though, and when it finally was on the verge of falling over, I sprung my trap.

“Fall.”

With a jerk, the command power I had used took effect. I felt all my power suddenly gone, and I fell to my knees, instantly exhausted as my MP was drained to zero. The eyes of the cat dilated to black, and it fell onto its side, its body like a ragdoll with its strings cut. Despite my body shaking, I had a triumphant smirk. I struggled to stand, but I slowly made my way over to its body. With the target spot in view, I pulled my knife out, and pushed it through its chest, and into its heart. Within moments, the creature was dead.

I felt a rush of energy pour into my being, like a cold vacuum, and just like that, I suddenly had souls to spend

Despite the I could not help but cackle manically.

Present

In the end, I managed to raise my stats by a whopping seven points! I allocated three points to my Lewd stat and the rest to my agility. While I wasn't significantly stronger, I wouldn't be as hindered by my armor when moving about anymore, at least for the moment.

As I examined my "stats," I realized that my MP takes a significant amount of time to recharge. I regained only two points per hour, and using "Command" on anything that is not a companion cost me fifty points. That's all my MP in one shot, and it takes twenty-five hours to recharge. It turns out my Wisdom and Intelligence determine the recharge rate, so that's another aspect I need to improve.

I couldn't help but recall Shoo, who was now presented as a shaman in the village. Being a shaman meant she also had MP to use, and she must have had a high intelligence and wisdom stat to replenish her magic quickly. I wondered how intelligent she really was.

Shaking my head, I pushed aside such thoughts. I didn't have time to dwell on them. I needed to plan out my days carefully if I wanted to become stronger in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, I continued my work as the tribe's crafter. Some members had taken notice of my recent kill, and despite cats being notorious murderers regardless of their Manas level, some were impressed.

As I returned to my small hole, I hadn't even settled in for five seconds when I had an unexpected visitor.

Yesterday

I swiftly turned, mace in hand, as a male goblin stepped into the room. Ready to fight, despite the likelihood of losing, I was taken aback when he then stood aside and assumed a guard position beside my "door."

Blinking, I watched as a female goblin entered. She was very curvy, elegantly dressed, and visibly pregnant. It was clear she was a den mother. While all females could get pregnant, only a select few devoted their lives to being breeding machines. They earned this role by proving themselves worthy of the best male attention due to their beauty and by passing on traits that made their offspring stronger than normal.

I was not born from a den mother, and had I been, I likely would have been quietly eliminated to prevent any scandal, as my existence would have been a mark against her ability to produce powerful goblin children.

Once she stepped into the room, she lifted her veil, revealing a face that could only be described as stunning. Her eyes, a bright violet, seemed to catch the light in the dark surroundings. I almost didn't notice the rest of her face, which was equally beautiful. Full lips, flawless skin, perfect symmetry.

Physically, she was a sight to behold. Her belly wasn't even particularly large, suggesting she must have been pregnant for just a few days.

She surveyed the room as if it were her domain, and her lack of impressed expression didn't bother me. A guy like me wouldn't have been in the same room as this creature unless there was a purpose. Given what I had brought home, it didn't take a genius to figure out what she was seeking.

Indeed, as soon as her eyes landed on the cat, they gleamed with excitement. I grimaced but remained silent. Though I had grown stronger, I knew her guards could easily overpower me with their bare hands and put me down with just a hit or two.

She locked eyes with me, dismissing me instantly. I simply crossed my arms and waited for the inevitable. It came when she pointed at the cat, and a guard swiftly approached, pushing me aside and picking it up. Covering her face once again, she turned and walked out.

The guard with the cat followed her, and soon the other guard left as well.

After a minute, waiting for the other shoe to drop, I let out a growl and sat down near my pile of belongings.

"At least I got my souls," I grumbled.

Present

In the end, I found myself less consumed by anger over the loss of the cat than I would have been before I gained these newfound abilities. Instead of dwelling on my frustration, I focused my attention on a different problem: the slow recharge rate of my MP. With a 25-hour recharge time, I could effectively use the "Command" ability only twice a week.

"Way too slow," I muttered, feeling the need for a faster recovery.

Considering my options, I realized that I had a choice to make. Should I focus on raising my recharge rate, or should I prioritize strengthening my physical attributes such as strength, defense, and agility? It seemed clear to me that I couldn't neglect one without affecting the other.

I let out a sigh, knowing that I had a full day ahead to ponder my decision. Perhaps by the time my MP was fully recharged, I would have a clearer idea of the path I needed to take.