“Bark!”
Momo jumped energetically out from within the shadows.
Ohh, Momo! What would she look like—uh, what?
…She looked the same?
“…Momo?”
“Bark?”
I looked at her carefully.
She looked exactly the same as before she had been covered by the shadows.
Huh? What did this mean? I thought she had reached the highest level and was going to ‘evolve’…?
No, now that I look again, she seems more ‘impressive’?
…It’s probably just me.
She was the same old cute Momo.
I pet her.
Yeah, it was the same soft fur.
Momo closed her eyes comfortably.
“Momo, is anything different with you? Do you feel pain, is anything strange?”
“Bark!”
Momo said it was all good. And she shook her tail happily.
It seemed like there was nothing wrong…
“Hmmm…”
Oh, I know.
I could just open the status plate and check.
And so I opened it and checked the party member tab.
Momo
Assassin Dog LV1
It read.
…Assassin Dog?
That’s a bit…intimidating for a name.
But I guess since there were police dogs and guide dogs…it wasn’t too weird?
No, it was weird alright.
Well, considering our fighting style, it did make sense.
We used ‘shadow’ to rob enemies of vision and freedom of movement. And then we approach them and slit their throats.
Yah, it was assassination alright.
It wasn’t surprising that she would evolve like this.
No…but, was this really evolution?
If anything, it seemed more like a slightly advanced version of her previous job.
I had just assumed that she would evolve into something like that shadow wolf.
I had imagined that Momo would come out looking like a monster.
But I was ultimately glad that she didn’t change.
We could continue to move around together like we always had.
And she was so cute. That was the most important thing. The most important thing.
“But still…”
I think, as I watch Momo.
Was it a bit much for both owner and dog to be ‘Assassin’ and ‘Assassin Dog’…?
Was it too dark?
I was 100% sure that other people would take this very wrongly.
Yes. I would definitely have to hide this fact from others.
It would have all kinds of horrible consequences if word got out.
And I doubted that I would be able to make a satisfying explanation.
In short, we would just continue as we always had.
Yes, that is good.
…Was I, slowly walking down the road of working solo?
Was it just me?
“Bark?”
“…(shaking)”
Oh, I was spacing out there. Momo and our new friend were looking at me worriedly.
Sorry. Sorry. I’m fine.
Yes, that’s right.
I have Momo and Aka with me.
I’m not alone…I think.
And anyway, I didn’t feel like getting involved with others at this point.
I had wanted a partner with ranged attacks, but it wasn’t really important.
I wasn’t particularly dying for company.
I wanted to maintain a business-like relationship with others.
There had to be merits for both of us, and we would not get too involved with each other.
That was the best kind of relationship.
Well, reality wasn’t always so convenient…
“Let’s just continue to move for now…”
I wanted to get a better look at Momo’s skills and abilities after evolving.
But it might attract attention if we did that here.
And so I was cautious of my surroundings as we left this place behind us.
After that, I chose a random house that had been abandoned and looked further into Momo’s skills.
I was not so stupid as to find out what they were during an actual fight.
I needed to learn everything in advance.
And through this, I learned that Momo had gained the same skills that I had.
Skills like ‘Presence Block’, ‘Silent Movement.’ Skills that helped you find the enemy’s weakness.
Even her skill of controlling ‘shadows’ had become more powerful.
The area of effect had increased, as did the binding power of the shadow, and even her attack power.
And her physical abilities had gone up as well.
I think that she was probably equal or even above the shadow wolf that we fought.
No, since she was much small, and could move faster, she far surpassed the shadow wolf.
In short, Momo was a much stronger version of her past self.
Now that this inspection was finished, it was time to do some leveling along with testing.
“Oh, perfect timing…”
‘Scouting’ detected something.
It was several goblins.
And there was a hobgoblin too.
They may just be the perfect enemies to try Momo’s abilities on.
“Let’s go, Momo and Aka.”
“Bark!”
“…(shaking)”
We moved to where the goblins were.
They still had not noticed us yet.
Right when we were as close as we could get, I sent Momo the signal.
Momo nodded and unleashed her ‘shadow,’ capturing all of the goblins.
The speed at which she had put out the shadow and wrapped around them…
It was so much faster than before.
We successfully disabled the goblins in no time.
The binding power of the upgraded shadow power was so strong, that not even the hobgoblin could not escape it.
They frantically tried to resist, but there was no hope of breaking the shadow.
“Bark!”
But it didn’t just end there.
The binding power of Momo’s shadow increased, and it squeezed the goblins to death right then and there.
The goblins die as their bodies and necks twisted and turned in odd directions. The magic stones rolled onto the ground.
Wow. Normal goblins were no match for Momo at this point.
The only one left was the hobgoblin, as so I dealt the finishing blow.
Goblins and hobgoblins had the same weak point.
The same weakness.
I quickly stabbed and twisted.
The hobgoblin died immediately.
<<You have gained EXP points>>
<<Your EXP points have reached a new level>>
<<Kazuto Kudou’s LV has gone up from 11 to 12>>
The voice announces inside my head.
It was quite different from when I had been fighting at the supermarket yesterday.
I could feel just how strong I had become.
But I wouldn’t get too cocky.
If anything, seeing my own level go up made it even more obvious how different in power I was from ‘it.’
–I still had a long ways to go.
That’s what I currently felt.
Also, there was a sense of agitation that I felt.
It would probably be best to leave this town as soon as I gained a few more levels.
At the same time, at the shopping mall–.
The monster was bored.
It wasn’t fun here. Nothing held any interest for him.
He thought as he crushed the corpses on the ground with his feet.
When would some prey appear? Prey that could blow away this boredom that he felt?
No matter how long he waited, the only people that would arrive were small fry that offered no challenge.
They would quiver with fear by just seeing him, freeze or run away like the foolish cowards that they were.
His wish was not to trample over enemies.
It was to fight.
Fighting would fulfill his instincts. It was a holy ritual that gave meaning to life.
He needed an opponent worthy of him.
But when would such a person arrive?
He had had high expectations for the people who had come through the sky, but they had disappointed him.
Those who had just been here turned out to be nothing more than worthless beings.
He was becoming very irritated by this, and his fists pounded into the earth.
His brothers cowered.
He did not care.
He was disappointed in them as well, for being so weak.
Ahh, it was no use.
He could wait no longer.
He had reached the limits of his patience.
If no one would come to him, then he would go searching.
He would find prey, an enemy who could satisfy this hunger he felt.
He roared.
The sound of it shook the earth and tore through the air.
Then he moved.
Now—the time to lie down and rest had come to an end.