So, what exactly is a monster? Most people think it’s a synonym for “dangerous beast,” but that isn’t true. The distinction between a monster and a beast is whether they have mana in their bodies. A hobgoblin, which is a monster, has mana present in its body, and occasionally this manifests as a shaman. A wolf, which is a beast, does not have any mana in its body. By this metric, humans are technically monsters.

The wagon I’m riding in hits a rock, causing my butt to painfully hit the seat and interrupt my thoughts. I’ve never been one for traveling, and now I know why. I’m not even doing anything other than sitting down, but I’m still sore all over my body.

After getting fired, and learning that Ashirra was in fact telling the truth about the book being magic, I quickly began to believe the rest of her story. Apparently, she found the tome when she was young, and it’s been instrumental in guiding her through her life. It’s also the reason that we ever had the chance to meet, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful.

 According to Ashirra, The Bestiary, as I’ve taken to calling the book, told her that in approximately 1 year something cataclysmic is going to happen. my Monster Tamer class and The Bestiary are supposedly a powerful combination, and together we can be instrumental in something about that event. Ashirra doesn’t seem to have much more information than I do on what my role is actually going to be, nor how big the event will be. Kind of vague for a prophecy, don’t you think?

The plan we came up with is to travel to Arindet, a city no more than a week’s travel away. Arindet is located close to several dangerous monster spawning grounds and is a great place to begin taming monsters. Now, I say that I’m going to be taming monsters, but I have absolutely no idea how. I technically tamed Ashirra, but if I’m being completely honest she pretty much tamed herself. All I had to do was have sex with her to seal our bond.

Speaking of bonds, they’re quite strange. By bonding with her, several interesting things happened. Firstly, I can tell where she is at all times. It’s like I have a new sense, and it’s only purpose is pointing me in Ashirra’s direction. Secondly, she got a page in The Bestiary. The bestiary is full of blank pages, and apparently, when I make bonds, they’ll be filled out with information about the monster I’m bonded to. On Ashirra’s page, there’s information about her race, life, and overall strength. Magically, she’s about as strong as a trained mage, which is really impressive. Thirdly and finally, She became really clingy. I guess that she’s been waiting so long to find her master that it makes sense, but she traded the comfort of the sanctuary just so that she could sit next to me in an uncomfortable, cramped wagon. 

We can’t even talk to each other, because when we do, it’s in Goblinic. Most people wouldn’t be able to tell what language we're speaking, but I’m not willing to risk somebody recognizing it as a monster language. People are generally terrified of monsters, and if they knew Ashirra was a hobgoblin under her cloak, would freak out. This is another reason I thought she should stay in the sanctuary and hop out when we got to our destination. Instead, she’s affectionately resting her head on my shoulder as the wagon nears our destination.

The city is surrounded by a sturdy looking stone wall. It’s a necessity because of the terrain the city’s located in. The wagon rolls towards a closed gate and stops.

“Security inspection! Everyone out of the vehicle.”

We’ve arrived at the gates of Arindet, and are now being searched. I gesture to Ashirra and she nods, touching The Bestiary and disappearing inside. I step out of the vehicle, with the Bestiary stowed safely inside of my backpack. We’ve been traveling for so long that my legs feel wobbly just holding my own weight. I’m going to be glad to be in the city.

One of the guards, a small portly man whose armor seems ill-fitting, digging into his generous frame, steps towards me.

“Son, I’m gonna need to check your bag before you can enter.”

“Ah, sure thing.”

I hand him the backpack. He digs through, pulling out spare clothes, rations, and other odds and ends until he pulls out a familiar leather-bound tome.

He flips it open.

“There’s nothing written in here. What’s this?”

The Bestiary has a lot of security measures that Ashirra told me about, one of which is the ability to hide its contents. Right now, the only thing it’s hiding is Ashirra’s page, but I don’t want a guard seeing that.

“Oh, that’s my journal.”

“Haven’t been writing much in it for a journal.”

“I’ve been meaning to...”

He barks out a laugh “Journal keeping is a hard thing to do, but lemme tell you, once I started having kids I was glad that I kept at it. Memory fades, but written words last.”

“Ah… I’ll keep that in mind.”

He places everything back into my bag haphazardly “Alright, you’re clear to enter the city. If you don’t want to do this every time, you can get a pass with one of the guilds by becoming a member.”

I start walking away and wave thanks to the surprisingly jovial guard. Now that I’m in a new place, where nobody knows what my class is, people seem a lot nicer. The caravan that I was part of was always meant to dissolve when we reached Arindet, and they’ve already been paid, even though it was most of my savings. I have enough money for a week at a cheap inn, but I’ve got different plans. I’m going to sign up with the Exterminator’s Guild.

Due to the unique and rather precarious position of Arindet, routine clearing of dangerous monster spawning grounds is a necessity. In order to tame monsters, I need access to these areas, but you aren’t allowed in them unless you have a pass with the Exterminator’s Guild. The current predicament I’m facing is how I'm supposed to get a pass. Most people who exterminate monsters have classes suited for combat, but I have the complete opposite of that.

It’s midday, so there’s no reason to delay. I begin my long, arduous journey to the Exterminator’s Guild. Actually, where’s the Exterminator’s guild? A tall man with short hair is walking further into the city, so I decide to ask him.

“Excuse me, sir, I’m a little lost, do you know where the Exterminator’s guild is?”

The man continues walking, I guess he didn’t hear me.

“Sir, do you know where the Exterminator’s guild is?”

He finally turns around and I get my first good look at the man. He’s very tall, standing a full head above me. He’s got a very pretty face, with a mop of golden blonde hair complimenting his attractive features. Not much is visible under his clothing, but I can tell he’s very muscular. I’m a little intimidated. Maybe I should’ve asked someone else.

He points to himself,  “Are you talking to me?” He says, in a very feminine voice.

Oh shit.

“Did you just call me sir?”

“Uhhhhhh.”

“I asked you something. Did. You. Just. Call me. Sir?”

I’ve made a critical mistake. What I thought was a pretty man is in fact a pretty woman. I’ve got 2 options here. Deny all wrongdoing, or beg for forgiveness. This woman looks like she could pick me up and rip me in half like a piece of paper, so it’s time to grovel.

“I’m so sorry.” I bow my head, “my eyesight’s bad and because you’re so tall I just thought...” My eyesight’s not actually bad, but I’m doing my best to not get my ass beaten.

She huffs and walks away. That wasn’t a great way to start my time in this city. Time to ask someone else. A nearby shopkeeper is more than happy to point me in the right direction, and I begin to walk there. I’m definitely going to need to play this by ear when I get there. Not getting that Exterminator’s pass is not an option.