Chapter 68

Taming (3)

Baron Sigmund Helmut was a man at the very bottom of the Imperial nobility's social hierarchy.

Power within the noble society was typically measured by two standards: the height of one’s title and the amount of 'material wealth' they actually possessed.

And lacking both money and a clear title meant it was very easy—even for a noble—to be scorned and spiral into ruin.

Unfortunately, Helmut was a man who refused to compromise with such reality.

"So you're saying he enjoyed putting on airs despite having nothing to his name?"

"……Could you perhaps call him a true noble who still held onto romance?"

The other man scoffed and cut Helmut off with a sharp retort.

"Not only did he squander his entire fortune on gambling, women, and drugs, but he couldn’t even stop halfway, and now he's a heartbeat away from getting his guts torn out by loan sharks—what part of that is romantic?"

"……"

"Should I call it the aesthetics of a maggot instead?"

"……"

…That hit where it hurt.

Still, Helmut held back his anger.

This person was a ‘client.’ Biting back at him just because he was angry wouldn't lower a rope into the pit he was trapped in.

"So, what would you have me do, sir?"

But that didn’t mean Helmut had no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

At the very least, he was cunning, sly, and exceptionally talented at ‘deceiving’ others.

The only reason he was still alive despite his disastrous lifestyle was because of that slippery knack for lying his way out of trouble.

And the task the client had in mind for such a man was simple.

"There’s something I want you to do regarding the Lionhearted’s husband."

"……Excuse me?"

Helmut's voice trembled, overwhelmed by the sudden drop of such a colossal name.

"Sorry, but I’m just a lowly baron, you know? If you suddenly tell me to mess with someone like the Lionhearted—"

"Not the Lionhearted. I’m talking about her husband."

With those words, a photograph dropped in front of him.

A delicate-looking man with a face that seemed perpetually worn down by fatigue.

"…Aha…"

Helmut let out a clearly dissatisfied voice.

Even if it wasn’t the Lionhearted herself, it still looked way too dangerous, honestly.

"Isn’t being one step away from losing your guts to a loan shark also dangerous?"

"……"

…This guy really needed to stop hitting him where it hurt.

"Don’t worry. I won’t have you doing anything dangerous."

With that, the client got to the point.

"If I pull this off, you’ll clear all my debts?"

"Of course."

From the man who laid out this ridiculous offer, only a light reply came back.

And Helmut’s debts weren’t just a small matter. He owed money to some fairly dangerous places.

It had to have snowballed into a mountain by now…

"……Honestly, it’s a hard offer to believe. Not that I have much of a choice."

"Really?"

"Yes. At the very least, if I could get some sort of proof that I’d receive that reward when this is over—"

Before he could even finish, Helmut clamped his mouth shut as his eyes landed on the nameplate that was abruptly set on the desk.

Embedded into it was the insignia of a certain ‘organization.’

Even someone at the very bottom of noble society like Helmut couldn’t possibly fail to recognize it.

If you’d ever had to entrust your life to the underworld even once, you’d have no choice but to know who they were.

"……You mean, the ‘Merchant of Death’ gave the request personally?"

"If even this doesn’t convince you, then forget it. I hope you’ve got the ability to breathe without your organs."

"—No, no, it’s not that I don’t believe you."

Helmut gave an awkward chuckle as he opened his mouth again.

Saying something like that to someone pulling out this level of proof wasn’t just rude—it bordered on blasphemy.

With a wry smile, he asked another question.

"If this guy’s just a live-in son-in-law, why would someone so formidable be interested in him?"

After a long silence, the client finally spoke, his voice heavy.

"……Just thought I’d mess with someone I like a bit."

That line—

"To see whether he’s someone I can build a strong relationship with, or not."

—drifted through the dark room, spreading like a chill.

"This is the beast from that time?"

On the train heading back into the capital, Noel looked curiously at the creature sitting by Aiden’s feet.

What looked like a medium-sized dog sat there with a sulky expression, surprisingly quiet.

It was River, who had shrunk his body. Compared to the way he had rampaged like a living tank, grinding through everything, it made sense that anyone would react like Noel did.

From appearance alone, reacting with shock wouldn’t be strange, but on second thought, maybe it wasn’t all that surprising.

This guy had once made his enormous body completely vanish from sight—an absurd feat of stealth.

It had been clear that he wasn’t completely incapable of manipulating supernatural powers, but Helmut hadn’t imagined he could even shrink his size like this.

Noel had tried to poke his cheek a few times, but as soon as River growled like he was ready to bite her finger off, she quickly pulled her hand away.

[Don’t touch me. I’ll kill y—]

Of course, as soon as Aiden smacked River on the head and glared at him, the creature settled down.

Clearly, after last night, River had fully internalized the concept of the hierarchy…

"He even talks?!"

"……."

And in response to Noel, who seemed more intrigued by the situation than by being threatened with death, Aiden answered with a reluctant expression.

"Yeah. Oddly enough."

"I’ve dreamed of having a talking dog as a pet since I was a kid!"

As Noel beamed with sparkling eyes, Aiden quietly closed his mouth.

…And seeing her happily petting the growling River with both hands, he found himself at even more of a loss for words.

River, unable to act out against Noel due to the established hierarchy, looked a bit pitiful as he just sat there.

"……Seriously, what the hell did you do to tame that thing?"

It was a rare moment where Katya asked a perfectly reasonable question, but Aiden couldn’t give her a proper answer.

It was better to stay silent than to explain what River had gone through in the mental world the previous night.

River had looked nearly insane by the end of the training, enough that Aiden even felt moved to offer him some mercy.

—If you listen to me from now on, I’ll let you skip a few days of training.

—Senior, go easy on him. He’s more mentally fragile than I expected.

…And this was the result of those words.

-System Log

▶ Affection level of ‘Soul River’ has increased.

▶ Bond stage has advanced!

▶ You may copy 1 skill!

"……."

Just how rough had it been for him to raise his affection just from the promise of skipping a few training sessions?

And even after being called mentally weak, no less.

‘If I’ve got it, might as well use it…’

Still, he had brought it upon himself by being stubborn and getting wrecked.

Whatever the case, Aiden wasn’t the type to turn down something that was handed to him. If there was a skill he could copy right now, he’d use it for sure.

When he checked River’s skill list through the system window, he found them simple yet effective—straightforward and intuitive in their effects.

To put it simply, things like ‘increased durability’ or ‘enhanced strength,’ fundamental boosts to physical stats.

The issue, however, was that since these were skills copied from a non-human, they came with various penalties when Aiden tried to use them.

Still, despite the drawbacks, they were simple, immediate, and effective… but honestly—

‘Kind of boring.’

Fitting for a top-tier beast whose greatest weapon was raw physical ability, the skills were geared in that direction. So they were moderately helpful for someone like Aiden, who lacked in base stats.

But using only these felt underwhelming.

Wasn’t it Aiden’s survival strategy all along to compensate for his weak specs with ridiculously powerful skills?

Good, yes but not that good.

If that was the case, then another option worth considering was—

‘Maybe I should look for something that gives synergy.’

It was a proven fact, through countless real battles, that combining multiple skills was far more effective than using just one in isolation.

He still had a few unused Skill Copy Tickets left. If he looked carefully, he could definitely find combinations that worked well together.

First, one from His Holiness the Pontiff. Then, another one recently acquired from the Aslan Ducal House—taken from the young lady there—

‘…Huh?’

While skimming through Liza Aslan’s skill window, Aiden’s expression twisted.

He had stumbled upon a skill he hadn’t expected at all.

‘Why does she have this?’

After reading through the entire skill description, Aiden let out a short, bitter laugh.

-Skill Info

◆ Beastification

Unleashes the latent beast abilities within the body. Temporarily changes racial value to ‘Beast,’ and greatly amplifies effects if beast-related abilities are present.

…Well.

He figured it must’ve appeared because Liza was the first known case of returning to human form after undergoing full beastification. Aiden had cured her after she was injected with the beastification potion, after all.

And the fact that he could copy this skill—

Also meant he could fully utilize the most tempting of River’s abilities.

-Skill Info

◆ Primal Power

Beasts at the top of the food chain who prey on other beasts naturally possess immense physical strength. Among them, Soul River possesses especially outstanding strength and also knows how to amplify it effectively.

★ Racial value is not ‘Beast.’ Effect is reduced by more than half!

Exactly.

If he combined skills like this, it wouldn’t be just a run-of-the-mill skill combo—it could create powerful synergy capable of flipping a battle in one blow.

Even something as simple as “increased strength” was a versatile ability that could be applied in countless ways.

They say if you’re not smart, your body will suffer. But the reverse was true as well—a truly powerful body could make up for even the dumbest brain. It was an overwhelmingly strong weapon.

And as for the other skills—

‘His Holiness’s skill is…’

He could just save it for later when it might be useful. After all, the issue with this man’s skills was that each one was too advanced.

Most of them required specific preconditions. Even if he copied one right now, it wouldn’t mean much.

As Aiden finished skimming through the rest of that information, he sighed inwardly and ran a hand down his face.

Even with just this much, what he had gained during Chapter 2 was already more than satisfactory.

He had strengthened himself, and even obtained something new… something akin to a “mount.”

Still, it wasn’t quite enough to call the situation satisfactory.

As always, the time given to him was limited.

‘Time left until Chapter 3 starts…’

Considering how tight the pacing was in the original work, especially in the final arc of Imperial Capital Fracture with the coup d'état, he wouldn’t be granted much breathing room.

If he had to guess—at best, a few days to a week.

Comparing that span to the progress he’d made so far might make it seem like he had time to spare. But when accounting for the scale of the upcoming events and everything he needed to prepare for, it was suffocatingly tight.

‘What should I start with…?’

By then, he needed to accelerate his growth as much as possible. What was the fastest way to become stronger?

Just as Aiden was stroking his chin, deep in thought—

-System Message

▶ Emergency event triggered!

▶ A bonus quest has appeared ahead of the main event.

Apparently—

The system window was kind enough to ease his worries.

-Quest Info

▲ Bonus Quest!

▶ A person who already holds goodwill toward you is about to make contact.

▶ This is a chance to raise their affection level far beyond the current amount. Respond wisely!

▶ An event related to ‘Ganesha Aldebaran’ will soon begin!

What was this now?

Aiden blinked slowly as he read through the notification.

Well. He didn’t know the details, but—

‘…This doesn’t seem bad.’

Really.

No matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem like a bad thing.

If someone was practically begging to let him copy their skills, why on earth would he complain?

The only issue—

‘But… Ganesha?’

—was that this name felt oddly familiar.

‘Why is she taking an interest in me?’

Ganesha Aldebaran.

Also known as the “Merchant of Death.” A powerful figure in the continent’s underworld.

And, as a bit of exclusive information only Aiden would know—

‘Isn’t she supposed to be hard to even encounter in the game?’

She was a “special NPC” who only appeared under certain conditions.

"……."

As he mulled over the details about her, Aiden once again stroked his chin.

‘…This could be…’

Very likely—

A jackpot.