Reborn into Beast Tamer Clan with Monsters-Only Affinity-Chapter 61: The Monsters

Axelius stared at the dark part of the forest where the Schattler had vanished. He gulped again and thought:

"So you’re saying... those are the kinds of monsters I’ll be taming?!"

He shivered a little.

Owen quickly tried to lighten the mood. "W-Well! There are still good-looking monsters out there! Let’s focus on those! Like, uh... shiny ones. With feathers. Or something."

Theo looked at Axelius, a bit concerned. "Should we go back? I don’t think Axelius is ready to see monsters that gruesome."

But Seraphina shook her head firmly. "This is part of training. These creatures live with us on this continent. If he’s going to become a real Tamer, he has to get used to them."

Axelius took a deep breath. "...There’s probably much better ones here," he said with a shaky grin, looking around the trees again. "Yeah... better looking... less creepy ones."

They started walking again, following the narrow forest path. The trees above blocked more sunlight now, and the violet fog swirled gently around their feet. freewёbnoνel.com

Suddenly, Seraphina raised a hand.

"Hide," she whispered.

They ducked into the thick bushes without hesitation. Axelius crouched next to Theo and Adelheida, holding his breath.Not again...

"I’m not looking," he muttered and buried his face in his arms.

Liselotte snorted. Adelheida was already giggling. "Oh no, Axelius," she whispered teasingly. "It might be another kinds od schatter!"

"Shut up," Axelius hissed back, red-faced.

Owen peeked through the leaves and gasped softly. "It’s clear, Axel. Look. It’s not that bad, I promise."

Hesitating, Axelius peeked through his fingers.

Axelius crouched behind the bush, arms wrapped around his knees, still shaken from what he’d seen earlier. The image of the owl-like monster with deer horns and a human arm in its claws kept flashing in his mind.

"I’m not looking," he mumbled, eyes squeezed shut.

"Axel, it’s fine now," Owen said from atop his head. "It’s not that bad this time, promise."

"Seriously?" Axelius peeked through his fingers, just a little. Then he slowly opened one eye.

Standing just a few meters ahead, in a clearing bathed in golden sunlight, was a large creature. It had the shape of a powerful stallion, but unlike a normal horse, its mane shimmered like silver threads, and its hooves seemed to float just above the grass. Mist gathered around its legs as it grazed quietly. Along its back, there were faint glowing lines—like ancient runes etched into its skin.

"Woah..." Axelius breathed, stepping out of the bush. "It looks... amazing."

Owen nodded with pride. "Right? I told you it’s not scary."

"What kind of monster is that?" Axelius asked, still staring.

"That is a Velstrum—a rare mist-type monster with wind attributes. They belong to Monster variant due to its can’t be trained, aggressive behavior. From the book it also said this monster was a cursed monster, it attract insect types monster." Owen said.

Axelius blinked. "How do you even know that?"

"I read Liselotte’s monster catalog earlier," Owen said smugly. "Every single page."

"For real?" Axelius looked surprised.

Owen puffed his gooey chest. "Yup. My memory got super sharp when I became a slime. Like, I can remember everything I’ve read—even smells and sounds now. It’s weird but pretty cool."

Adelheida leaned closer, whispering with stars in her eyes, "A real Velstrum... this is insane. They’re so hard to find outside of magical fog valleys."

Wilmar glanced around, hand on the hilt of his sword. "Let’s not get too close. Even docile ones can be dangerous if spooked."

Axelius was looking around when he suddenly felt something—a shiver ran up his neck, like someone was watching him.

He turned his head sharply.

And froze.

His eyes widened as he spotted something moving in the mist behind them.

His voice rang out without thinking, "DUCK!"

Everyone hit the ground on instinct just as three pale, fast-moving shapes shot over their heads.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The creatures landed ahead of them, snarling.

They looked like giant rats, about the same size as Axelius. Their bodies were hairless and white, their eyes glowing blood red, and their long tails twitching. Yellow teeth gleamed in their narrow snouts.

Theo stood up quickly and stepped in front of Axelius, shielding him. "What in the world—?!"

"Whoa," Axelius muttered from behind him, peeking out. "They’re huge! Rats aren’t supposed to be that big, right?"

Only he heard the answer.

Owen’s tiny voice echoed in his mind. "Those are Rauchratten, fog rats. They sneak around in mists like this. Not too strong, but they bite fast and always hunt in packs."

Axelius blinked, stunned. "How do you know that?"

"I read Liselotte’s monster catalog when you were sleeping," Owen answered proudly. "Also, I have sharp memory now since I became a slime!"

But there was no time to talk more. The rats hissed and prepared to charge again.

"Stay low!" Seraphina ordered.

One of the fog rats dashed toward her.

In a single move, she drew her sword and struck it down. Another one darted toward Axelius. Theo stepped forward and swung his sword, blocking it. Wilmar aimed his bow and shot the third in the leg, making it squeal and tumble over.

Adelheida summoned her spear with a bright flash and struck the wounded one before it could get back up.

The short battle ended in seconds. All three fog rats lay motionless on the ground.

Axelius stood up slowly, breathing heavily. "They came out of nowhere... Why?"

"They probably sensed our movement," Wilmar said, putting his bow down.

Liselotte looked over the dead creatures, opening her book again. "Fog rats are tricky. Good thing we spotted them early."

As they kept walking deeper into Farenhald Forest, Axelius was slowly getting used to seeing strange and scary monsters. Every now and then, creatures would jump from the bushes or trees, but Seraphina and the others quickly fought them off like it was nothing. Axelius didn’t even scream anymore. He just watched from behind Theo, sometimes even whispering to Owen about how cool or creepy the monsters looked.

Owen, still sitting on top of Axelius’s head like a tiny hat, seemed just as curious as him.

While walking, Axelius suddenly stopped, his eyes wide.

"Whoa... look at this, Owen," he whispered, bending down.

In front of him, growing from a patch of moss, was a strange flower. Its petals shimmered and shifted colors—pink, blue, gold, then green—like someone was painting it in real-time. It didn’t look dangerous. Just... magical.