I Became a Mountain Tiger in a Fantasy World

< Chapter 26: Obedience Level 100, What’s the Reward? >

The days continued, where not a single day could be spent carelessly.

Even though I was born as a tiger, it felt like nothing had changed from my previous life.

However, my mood was certainly different from before.

‘This is fun.’

A life where I had become a monster, not a human.

I had made a choice without calculating the probability of failure, with a mind hoping to win the lottery.

At first, I thought I had succeeded.

I imagined myself basking in the glory of my excellent choice, receiving praise and rewards, but it didn’t take long to realize that I was wrong.

I had to feel with my whole body that a single wrong judgment could make me slip.

It was a moment where I felt again that I was just an immature human.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Even if I slipped once, I decided to gather my courage once again, believing that if I kept running steadily, I would someday achieve completion.

So,

“Grr!”

“Fer! Fer!”

Let’s not be frustrated by the reality that I had become a tiger now.

The demon god’s mark? Well, that could happen!

What mattered was that I was still alive.

I still had the potential to grow, and now I had two reliable friends.

Brrrr.

Ah, is one still in the middle of hatching?

Anyway, that was the reason I could continue thinking positively even after becoming a tiger.

And the reason I suddenly started self-reflecting now was because of a very trivial incident.

—

‘Oh, a deer?’

【Elk of Tenacity Lv.15】

– Characteristics: [Endurance], [Horns]

– Skills: [Running Lv.4], [Headbutt Lv.2], [Back Kick Lv.1]

– Status: [Calm]

It was an elk with the unusual descriptor of “tenacity.”

This creature, with its large antlers, was one of the tastier monsters, much like a rabbit.

‘You’re my lunch today!’

I was hungry from marking my territory, so I boldly charged at the elk.

Usually, I would approach stealthily and hunt by ambush, but today I was a bit impatient.

“Grrr!”

“Geeeong!”

Elks are creatures that make incredibly high-pitched sounds.

They sound almost like musical instruments, but the problem is that once this guy cries out, the sound travels far, causing all the surrounding animals to flee.

In other words, I had to catch this elk no matter what for today’s lunch.

“Rooar!!”

「Using ‘Leg Strength Enhancement’!」

I decided not to use Shadow Leap to savor the thrill of the hunt and ran after it.

My mind seemed to be gradually turning into that of a tiger, but maybe it was just my imagination?

Anyone out there ever turned into a tiger?

If you know this symptom, please let me know.

“Geeeong!!”

The elk was disgustingly fast.

Was it because it had the running skill? I couldn’t tell if it was a deer or a cheetah.

Huff huff, in fact, it wasn’t just for the fun of the hunt that I didn’t use Shadow Leap.

There was this desire to beat this creature with the ‘running’ skill using my pure physical ability.

You say it’s not pure physical ability since I used Leg Strength Enhancement?

Be quiet. I almost lost the elk.

“Growl!!”

Swish!

What? This elk had real tenacity.

I thought it would be caught easily if I just swung my forepaw at it, exhausted as it was, but it dodged?

And then,

“Riiiiing!!”

The elk that dodged my attack started running crazily fast.

No way, it could run even faster from here?

“Huff, huff.”

I was momentarily flustered.

Swish, snap!

I used Shadow Leap to bite its nape.

Yeah, skills are the best.

If you don’t have good skills, your body suffers! Got it?

…Hmm!

Crunch!

Oops, I bit too hard out of anger and broke the elk’s neck.

How could such a weak creature run so well?

“Roar!”

[The obedience rate of surrounding monsters has increased! Currently 70%]

Phew, it finally increased.

Anyway, the main goal was achieved.

“Chomp chomp chomp chomp!”

I thought while eating the elk meat.

I was still agonizing over the fact that I couldn’t catch the elk quickly.

At first, I was almost catching up with Leg Strength Enhancement, but as time went on, the distance grew wider.

Why was that?

A thought crossed my mind.

‘Feline animals have poor stamina.’

To explain it would take too long, so I’ll keep it short.

Roughly speaking, they gave up stamina in exchange for flexibility, strength, and claws.

Feline animals run using their whole bodies with flexible spines, but deer and horses like the elk I chased were different.

Their spines don’t move, and they run efficiently with thin, long legs.

Moreover, the difference in claws was significant too.

I had sharp claws for cutting the enemy’s throat, while they had hooves for running fast.

The mobility that comes from long legs with hooves can’t be ignored.

To catch up with such creatures’ speed, I had to move my whole body like a spring. Naturally, the energy consumption was different.

In other words, my hardware was like a flame that burns brightly and then fades.

‘If the opponent is also a monster, does it mean I lose in stamina?’

It was astonishing.

That’s why my attack missed.

“Huff, huff.”

I caught my breath and eagerly devoured the elk meat.

Felines. Inefficient energy consumption when running.

I thought of one solution to completely overturn this reality.

A hope to eliminate my weakness!

Stamina trait! Did it appear?

“You have found a clue about [Stamina] by continuously preying on the elk!”

What? Is this some kind of voice recognition game?

Unbelievable, does this really appear?

It was astonishing.

When I caught goblins, imps, or gargoyles, the skills appeared, but the traits never did?

The only trait I had obtained so far was the ‘Sensitivity’ from the rabbit, which made me marvel at my own bad luck.

“Chomp chomp chomp!”

Anyway, what does it matter if I’m unlucky?

If it doesn’t appear, I’ll keep hunting until it does!

I was the king of this ‘little forest’! Hahaha!

“Fer!”

Then suddenly, looking at Eryllion, I had a thought.

If I gobble up the fairies, could I also gain a trait like [Affinity with Nature]?

“The ‘Exiled Prince’ shivers with cold.”

“Growl!”

No way, how could I do that to a friend who’s been helping me all this time?

…Well, maybe if it wasn’t Eryllion?

Just kidding. That wouldn’t be loyal of me as a tiger.

‘…Huh?’

Then suddenly, something written in Eryllion’s status window caught my eye.

-Trait: [Fairy]

Fairy, fairy race.

Seeing that word gave me a strange feeling. It felt like I was on the verge of realizing something.

I recalled the creatures I had hunted a lot.

Rabbits, elk, spiders, bears, goblins, imps, and gargoyles.

I had only gained a trait from the rabbits. Now the elk was added to that.

Rabbits, elk, bears.

Goblins, imps, gargoyles.

Do you see the pattern?

Animals and humanoids.

When categorized like this, it fits perfectly, right? Of course, the gargoyle was neither an animal nor a humanoid, so it’s excluded.

‘No way?’

Is this what you call a realization? My mind cleared, and I got goosebumps.

The puzzle was solved. The culprit was within me!

Traits were literally traits I possessed.

I could only gain traits from monsters that shared similar characteristics with me.

For example, I didn’t have horns, so I couldn’t gain the [Horns] trait from the elk.

I smacked my forehead.

‘No. What about Potential?’

It says potential, but it seems to have a lot of limitations?

Potential (slim). Is it something like this?

Given the situation, I could only think that the goddess’s power was weak.

Goddess, are you unwell?

I’m seriously asking out of concern.

Who knows.

Maybe the entity that gave me the status window wasn’t the goddess but a ‘demon god’, and that’s why they’re not helping me.

“Growl!”

Anyway, I’ve reached a conclusion.

From now on, I’ll start collecting ‘traits’!

This is getting out of hand just to catch one Teravore.

“Growl!”

“Fer! Fer!”

“The ‘Exiled Prince’ tells you the elks are that way.”

Oh, how did you know?

Anyway, thanks, Eryllion.

I decided to quickly deal with the elks without any unnecessary stubbornness.

The time for fooling around was over.

It was also time to finish the obedience task.

While I was at it, I wanted to get that ‘guy’s’ skill before time ran out.

I figured his ability would be a great help to my strategy.

“Growl!”

I actively used my skills to assassinate the elks while steadily marking trees with my claws.

* * *

Finally, all the preparations were complete.

“The ‘Leader of the Little Forest'”

– Increases physical abilities when active in the Little Forest.
– Current obedience rate of surrounding monsters: 100%

Yes! A sense of satisfaction filled me.

This was like achieving a real-life accomplishment!

By the way, it wasn’t easy at all.

These proud monsters wouldn’t bow their heads unless they saw blood.

I had a hard time tracking each one down.

I waited for a while.

Since I filled the obedience rate, there would naturally be a secondary effect.

Depending on the ability, the difficulty of hunting Teravore could vary.

At that moment, the awaited message appeared.

“You have achieved full obedience and become the true owner of the Little Forest!”

“‘Potential’ grants value to your first domain.”

Unbelievable!

Who spoke ill of the goddess?

Potential, you can do it!!

“The Little Forest has recognized your existence. It provides the location of the ‘Little Essence’ it harbors.”

I stood there, mouth agape at the successive rewards.

What? Little Essence?

I thought of the Savage Beak.

Essence meant an elixir, without a doubt.

“Growl!”

“Fer?”

Eryllion tilted his head as I jumped around.

Eryllion! Shout out! It’s here! The essence!

.

.

.

I followed the aura of the elixir.

And what appeared before my eyes was a cave hidden behind a small waterfall.

Was there such a place in the Little Forest?

Eryllion and I cautiously entered the cave.

【Unknown Night Tiger, Lu-deus Lv.29】

– True Leader of the Little Forest.
– Traits: [Potential], [Spirituality]…, [Stamina]
– Skills: [Miniaturization]…, [Poison Resistance Lv.1], [Running Lv1], [???]