Today, Redhead Shorty and I rode on Jiro while Saburo walked beside us as we explored the uncharted parts of the forest. Recently, Redhead Shorty had improved her combat skills, but since she hadn’t killed any creatures herself, she hadn’t gained much experience.
In other words, her level hadn’t increased. While her strength had improved slightly through daily training, it was minimal compared to the benefits of genuinely leveling up. Currently, Redhead Shorty was at Level 18. She had gained some levels during the hind bear hunt, but frankly, she was still too weak.
With her current level of enhancement, her physical capabilities were even inferior to those of an ordinary goblin. This was why, while the surrounding goblins hunted daily and improved their levels and stats through the mysterious powers of the world, Redhead Shorty had reached the point where she couldn’t win against any of them, regardless of her skill with techniques and tricks.
To address this issue, today’s hunting expedition was meant to help her level up. I didn’t provide Redhead Shorty with any extraordinary equipment. Giving her powerful weapons while she was still inexperienced could have made her overestimate her abilities. Therefore, she was equipped only with standard gear.
Her primary weapon was a steel kukri knife. As her secondary weapons, she had three ring daggers. For defense, she carried a round shield reinforced with carapace. These were all standard-issue weapons for goblin infantry, classified as Normal grade. Her armor consisted of casual clothes made from hind bear fur and my thread, topped with a breastplate and a gray cloak. She also wore steel gauntlets on her forearms, steel cuisses on her thighs, steel poleyns on her knees, steel greaves on her shins, and steel sabatons on her feet. Despite what it looked like, I had enchanted each piece to reduce its weight, so it wasn’t all that heavy. As a result, Redhead Shorty’s movements were nimble.
Her first target was an armored raccoon dog. Although she struggled a bit with its shell defenses, she eventually managed to take it down, possibly due to the combat bonuses from her Warrior job or the results of her training, or perhaps both. She succeeded in dismembering the armored raccoon dog, and I fed its meat to Saburo.
Her next prey was a group of three night vipers. She was slightly intimidated by their fierce gaze but maintained her composure. She expertly observed their movements, defended herself with her round shield, and eventually beheaded them. Jiro enjoyed the viper meat.
After that, she faced three kobolds. I quickly captured two of them with my threads, creating a one-on-one situation for Redhead Shorty. The remaining kobold, seeing no escape, targeted Redhead Shorty and engaged her head-on. Although the kobold had the advantage in physical strength as a monster, Redhead Shorty’s combat skills, honed through daily training with the goblins, bridged the gap. She dodged and blocked the kobold’s attacks and, without sustaining serious injuries, ultimately decapitated it.
After a short break to recover her strength, I confirmed that Redhead Shorty had regained enough stamina for the next step. I released one of the captured kobolds—not to set it free, but to fight her. This time, she sustained some minor injuries but managed to cut her enemy down again.
With one last kobold remaining, I decided to interrogate it to find out the location of the kobold settlement. It divulged the information under threat of death. I might visit the settlement someday. Meanwhile, Redhead Shorty, having somewhat recovered her strength naturally, asked for the next fight. I released the last kobold.
This final kobold put up a better fight than the previous two, but it ultimately fell to Redhead Shorty’s sharpest strike of the day, which severed its head. After fully healing her injuries and exhaustion, I fed Jiro and Saburo an entire kobold each.
As I was about to munch on the last kobold myself, Redhead Shorty expressed a desire to try kobold meat too. We decided to cook it as yakiniku and ate it together. I couldn’t help but be impressed by her adaptability. The fact that she no longer hesitated to eat monster meat was remarkable.
While I might not be one to talk about eating habits—being able to eat almost anything, from raw meat to metal—I realized that having someone like Redhead Shorty, with her level of grit, was beneficial.
[Ability learned: Mountain Traversal!]
As I was contemplating our next target, Redhead Shorty tugged at my sleeve. When I looked down, I noticed her usually sapphire-blue eyes had turned a dull red. Moreover, her pupils, which were now square and black, resembled those of a monster—but felt different, emitting a strange aloof chill rather than malice. It seemed she had acquired a new job unlock, possibly due to consuming the kobold or training with the goblins. I put my thoughts aside and listened to what she had to say.
Redhead Shorty’s new job was called Monster-Eater Warrior / Noir Soldier. It was said that if a Warrior with a high affinity for monsters consumed the meat of a monster they had killed themselves, they could gain this rare job under certain conditions. This was likely due to my influence. I felt no regret about it.
With this new job, Redhead Shorty’s combat abilities soared. The Noir Soldier job required regular consumption of monster parts, such as meat or blood, to avoid rapid physical decline and eventual death. Still, the boost in combat capabilities was remarkable and well worth it.
Laughing as she deftly dodged the twin-horned attack of a red-antlered deer, then kicking its side to lift its massive body and cleanly severing its thick, muscular neck with her kukri, Redhead Shorty looked oddly endearing. We collected the antlers and shared the meat.
[Ability learned: Twin Horn Dance!]
[Ability learned: Melody of the Red Crystal!]
We continued hunting various creatures. At dusk, we took a slight detour before heading back. It was confirmed that Redhead Shorty’s new job had significantly boosted her abilities, especially when she consumed something from my body. This suggested that the stronger the monster she consumed, the greater her power would grow—likely, but not definitively.
For now, I’ll keep what she consumed of mine a secret.
During today’s hunt, Redhead Shorty’s level soared to 34, showing a remarkable leap in her abilities.