Another day in Taming City had come to an end without any results.
Still, there was one improvement.
"It's soft, so soft!"
Excel bounced up and down on the bed.
Unlike when he was hunting slimes with no money to his name, his wallet was now well-stocked.
Excel hugged a pillow bigger than himself and closed his eyes.
"Ugh... this is nice..."
Normally, he would have needed to find out information about the Apostle staying here.
At the same time, he had to find a way to level him up.
"That's it, Won. No matter what I try to do, I keep getting swept up in the atmosphere."
"Exactly! There's just too much fun stuff here!"
Excel agreed.
If there was a problem, it was that this place was simply too much of a fun tourist spot.
Finding information on the Apostle wasn't easy, and there was no reliable source for such high-level intel.
On top of that, there were countless sights to tempt their eyes!
"We can't just kill time like this. If we do, Sado might disappear."
"But if we go around acting suspicious, we'll get caught right away, won't we?"
As Excel said, conducting an open investigation would be foolish.
Asking around for information about the kingdom's most powerful figure instead of enjoying the sights and food at a tourist spot like this?
It would look incredibly suspicious to anyone.
"Then there must be a way to do this while pretending to be tourists."
At that moment, something came to mind...
At the same time, he stared intently at Excel.
"Excel. You..."
"No."
"Wait, I didn't even say anything yet."
"I said no! Absolutely not!"
Excel snapped.
"You! You're going to say something stupid like telling me to enter a popular pet contest, aren't you?"
"Tch..."
This guy's sharp.
Has he figured it all out now because I've been treating him like a pet all along?
"Ugh, well, I guess I have no choice..."
Actually, since I'd just blurted it out as a joke, Newbie didn't really try to persuade me either.
The two of them, pretending to be tourists, scoured the area for information on the Sado and on how to obtain tamed pets.
"Hey, look at this! What do you think of this?"
Just then, Excel brought over another pamphlet.
"It's not even Pokémon. What is this?"
"Don't you think it'll be fun?"
"It definitely sounds interesting... Huh? The prizes..."
<1st Prize: Mansion on the 2nd Floor, Zone 1-14, Unreal Palace>
...
In reality, this was a trick by the organizers.
Although rare, Level-Up Potions were completely useless.
Those who could actually level up had disappeared decades ago, and since they were important strategic resources for their enemy players, they weren't items to be discarded lightly either.
As a result, they were decorative items with enormous storage costs but no practical use.
In essence, this was a way to get rid of that dead weight.
"...Let's do it. We have to do it."
Of course, for a newbie, it was a completely different story.
For someone who was desperate for even a single level, a level-up item?
'Lord Bald said that since these are items you can't buy with money in the outside world, you have to grab them whenever you can.'
However, a minor problem arose.
"Hmm..."
He stared blankly at Excel, who was wearing an innocent expression.
"What is it? Just say it! Don't just stare at me like that—it's driving me crazy."
"Sigh... If only I had half the fighting power I have for talking..."
"Are you saying I can't fight?"
"Isn't that what you're saying?"
"No, I'm not! I'm strong! How many times have I saved you from attacks, anyway?"
"No, that's just your durability. Well, I guess you can't even call it durability."
"I can fight well!"
"Don't other tournaments have prizes like that?"
"Hey! Don't ignore me!"
I searched through the pamphlet diligently, but unfortunately, there were absolutely no prizes that would be helpful to a newbie, like level-up items.
The only thing I found was...
"The Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts."
"Ah, that! I heard it's the best event in Taming City!"
"Sure enough, they're parading all the monsters around that Horror Crypt Lord guy we saw before. I'm sure all sorts of big names gather at events like this... but surely not."
"Just as I thought."
*
Starting the next day, the two began working on their plan in earnest.
First: Win as much as possible at the Companion Colosseum!
Second: See the Apostle in person at the White Ghost Night Parade!
Third: Find a mount—no, a riding pet—to travel around with!
That was the plan.
They decided to start with the easiest task: finding a riding pet.
They didn't even need to look for information.
The pamphlet was filled with ads from all kinds of riding pet shops begging people to come to their stores.
"Here! This place looks like it has the most people!"
Excel, who had already checked out the shops listed in the pamphlet, recommended one.
The logo, a stylish depiction of a winged horse—a Pegasus—was striking at first glance.
When we visited, it was indeed bustling with people right from the entrance.
"Hello."
When you think of animal handlers, you might picture people in overalls and wide-brimmed cowboy hats, but a gentleman dressed in a neat, fantasy-style tuxedo appeared.
"I am Aheltaque, the manager of Sweet Blood Market."
" "Hello. Um... about the riding pets—"
"Of course. Please follow me."
"No, we're just looking around..."
"It's fine. We're happy to help you look around as well. Hahaha."
He looked more like a luxury car dealer than a riding pet keeper.
With a bit of small talk, he led Newbie and Excel right out.
He went out of his way to ensure Newbie and Excel didn't get bored.
'Whoa!'
'Before we knew it!'
For the first time, the two realized just how impressive the sales tactics of this world were.
Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the riding pet exhibition hall.
There, every kind of creature imaginable was on display.
"Grrrrrrr!"
"Roar!"
From ordinary horses to giant dire wolves, elephants with gleaming tusks, and rhinoceroses.
"Roar!"
There were even monsters straight out of fantasy, like wyverns and saber-toothed tigers.
It was hard to tell whether these were truly mounts or combat machines.
However, the manager led us past them to the very center of the area.
"Now, this is our top-of-the-line flagship model: the Pegasus 700Lv."
True to his boast, a majestic winged white horse reared up, lifting its front legs high into the air.
At the sight, the onlookers around us all gasped in unison.
"LV?"
"That's the model's level. We add the pet's level to the end of our model names. The pet's performance varies depending on the level. If the performance is too much for you, we also have 500-level and 300-level models."
"Oh, I see..."
Normally, one would be in awe.
But the newbie felt a bit deflated.
'Its level is lower than the pet I ride...'
He also explained in detail the Pegasus's various additional abilities and what kind of feed it required.
But then
"Above all! What matters most is the sense of exclusivity and rarity. Wouldn't you feel a bit disappointed if everyone was riding the same model?"
"I suppose so...?"
"That's why we not only adhere to the population limits set by the Kingdom, but we also impose our own separate limits on sales."
"Population limits?"
"Ah, I see you're not familiar with that. That's fine."
He kindly continued his explanation.
"All monsters have a set population limit. That applies to most monsters, including riding pets. However, thanks to the Kingdom's new technology over the past 10 years, the population caps on all monsters have been lifted."
"Huh."
"Nevertheless, we still maintain our own population limits. That's because indiscriminately increasing our inventory would be a betrayal of the customers who have already purchased from us."
In short, it means they're preserving the value of their luxury goods.
Usually, by this point, you can't help but buy it.
The problem was that Newbie was just as easily swayed in that regard.
"Um, well… how much is it?"
"Hey. Hold on a sec."
Excel suddenly grabbed his ear and whispered.
"Hey, do you really think something like that would be cheap?"
"Don't worry."
For him, the memory of his poverty back when he was a slime was still fresh—it hadn't even been a month.
But the world is always changing.
'This guy. Was that one hard time he went through really that big of a deal? I'll have to treat him to something big later. "Well, first things first."
The newbie planned to treat Excel to a soda.
He rummaged through the pouch he'd taken out of his inventory beforehand and asked the manager.
"I was thinking of paying with this—is that okay?"
"Our policy is to accept gold payments first... Huh?"
Just as the manager was about to explain his business policy, his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened.
"Of course! Absolutely! That's no problem at all!"
"Then, could I take it for a test drive first?"
"Of course! Come on, come on, this way!"
With those words, his already friendly demeanor became even more so.
To put it bluntly, he went from treating a customer like a king to treating a real king.
What's the difference, you ask?
"Excuse me, everyone, please step aside."
The manager and staff surrounded Newbie and Excel, escorting them to a separate room.
The other customers could only watch the scene with a mix of surprise and envy.
Before they knew it, the two had arrived at the market's VVIP room.
All the riding pets they'd seen earlier were arranged there so they could be easily seen.
In the center, the manager led Newbie and Excel with an even more friendly expression.
"Alright, please try riding whichever one you like first!"
"Wow... really?"
"Of course!"
"Yayyy!"
Excel, who had been so nervous, now flew around excitedly with a beaming smile.
Newbie felt as pleased as a father watching a child who had been too nervous to pick up a toy now holding an armful of them and smiling brightly.
"Then I'll go too."
Newbie let Excel play and headed straight for the riding pets.
First up was the Pegasus, which everyone had unanimously recommended.
"Whoosh!"
The creature must have been well-trained; far from being startled or wary when Newbie approached, it struck a cool pose instead.
It looked like it was saying, "Aren't I cool? Don't you want to buy me?'
"Hey, you're pretty good at self-promotion, aren't you? You remind me of my old days as a job seeker."
With that, he slowly reached out to stroke its mane.
At that moment, the black pupils of the previously docile creature turned wide with horror.
"Hii, hiiiiiiing!"
The creature suddenly began thrashing about!
"Huh? Huh?"
"C-customer! What are you doing! Protect the customer!"
The manager called out to the staff with a panicked expression.
Fortunately, the Pegasus didn't attack the newbie or try to kick him with its hooves.
It was simply afraid.
"Hiiiiii..."
Pegasus bolted as if the newbie were some kind of butcher's knife.
"I'm, I'm so sorry! Why on earth is this guy...?"
"No, it happens."
The staff and manager were practically prostrating themselves in apology, so much so that the newbie felt he had to be the one to reassure them.
"Ah, um... there are plenty of others here, so let's take a look at them first!"
He hurriedly tried to calm the situation by approaching the other creatures one by one, but.
"Grr, grrrrrrr!"
"Poo! Poo-aaang!"
"Hrrrrrr..."
The moment Newbie tried to touch that massive saber-toothed tiger, not to mention the elephant, and even the wyvern—known as the "little dragon"—they all panicked, either fleeing or crouching down in a defensive stance.
The strange thing was, not a single one of them got angry or showed any signs of attacking.
They were all just trembling in fear.
As if they'd seen something they absolutely shouldn't have.
Thanks to that, Newbie had to watch as the manager, staff, and even the owner of the shop all prostrated themselves in apology.
"Ah, no, I told you it's fine..."
"We're truly sorry! What are we to do now! Please, forgive us!"
Murmurs.
"No, it's just...
"
"I feel like we've turned into total troublemakers..."
It wasn't just a feeling—it was a fact.
Newbie and Excel had become legendary troublemakers in the Riding Pet community.
Because of this, the two had to spend the rest of the day searching for places where they wouldn't be noticed.
"Ugh. What kind of mess is this?"
Not being able to ride even though they had the money.
And to make matters worse, they weren't supposed to be seen, yet here they were, killing time in the wild pet zone—the very place everyone was talking about but no one dared to visit...
Life really is full of things that just don't go right.
"I guess we'll have to stay here for a while? If we go back to the inn, everyone will recognize us."
"Ugh... things are getting even more complicated."
Just as the two were wondering what to do,
a rolling sound reached their ears.
Rumble...
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
What lay before them was...
"Nice to meet you."
A skeleton.
One with piercing blue eyes.
"Eeeeeek!"
"Waaaaaah!"
With screams that were similar yet different, the two greeted the skull.
"Wait, hold on... Quiet! Quiet! Of all times, right at our first meeting."
Snap! Crack!
With those words, the little skeleton reattached its head.
It had definitely grown taller, but it was still a tiny, tiny skeleton, barely any different in size from Excel.
Despite that, the little guy crossed his arms and introduced himself with great confidence.
"You, who are you!"
"I am none other than the Lord of Horror, Horror Crypt Lord."