Chapter 40: It's a tough job (1)

Louis clenched his fists tightly.

This piece of shit should be dead!

H-hold on, sir!

Silent communication passed between Louis and Pablo. With great difficulty, Louis suppressed his anger and pondered the situation.

Is this bastard really Lavina Trujan’s ancestor?

He had doubts due to how dim-witted Jacob seemed. Additionally, he reached one conclusion:

I don’t know what’s at Cash Tower Mountain yet, but it’s definitely not a dragon.

If the creature were indeed a dragon, Louis wouldn’t have let Jacob proceed with taming it, as that would eliminate any chance of Lavina Trujan ever existing in the future.

Then what could it be?

Louis stroked his chin.

The most likely candidate is probably thunder tiger.

A thunder tiger was a life-form evolved from consuming numerous light attribute stones. In the distant future, Lavina Trujan would control a fully grown thunder tiger.

On average, a thunder tiger lived for four hundred years, with one hundred of those spent maturing to adulthood. If the Trujans had raised and evolved a thunder tiger pup, it was highly probable that Jacob encountered this creature during its juvenile stage around now.

If what was spotted near Cash Tower Mountain truly is a thunder tiger…

Despite the slim chances, the power of an evolved thunder tiger was unparalleled. Some even claimed it as the only living creature capable of standing against the Dragon King Genelocer on Earth’s surface.

And there was a one-hundred-percent chance that the Trujans’ thunder tiger would evolve into a Mad thunder tiger, based on what Louis knew of the future.

Then I need to make my move first!

Before Jacob met the thunder tiger and before the Trujans could tame it, Louis needed to secure it for himself. Doing so would eliminate a potential threat.

His eyes lit up like crescent moons.

I must follow as soon as Jacob departs tomorrow!

Louis intended to disrupt the Trujan family’s fate. However, he had forgotten something crucial: his own dragonspawn wouldn’t let things go smoothly. He realized this fact the next morning.

“Where did those two go?” The twins were nowhere to be seen despite usually sleeping right next to him every night. Pablo and Jacob shook their heads when Louis asked them about the boys’ whereabouts.

Louis grew anxious and muttered restlessly, “Those rascals! What trouble have they gotten themselves into now?”

Although young, the twins weren’t the type to pick fights or get beaten up by others. If anything, it was more likely that they would beat someone else down.

Nonetheless, worried for his sons, Louis trudged around the campsite searching for them.

After some time, Fin peeked out from behind Louis’s chest and pointed somewhere off in the distance.

“Sir Louis, aren’t those the twins over there?”

“Where?”

“Over there!” Fin pointed toward some faint shadows that caught Louis’s eye in the distance.

“…I think you’re right.”

Louis cocked his head as he took them in. The shimmering silver hair cascading down the slope could belong to none other than the twins. However, the problem was the creature being dragged behind them. As they drew closer, Louis felt his heart sink further and further.

When the twins spotted him from afar, they sprinted toward their father at full speed.

“Louis, Louis! Big kitty cats!”

“We found kitties!”

“…” The excited twins beamed at Louis.

Louis was rendered speechless by their casual attitude as if they’d found stray puppies on the street. However, the hind legs sticking out from under each twin’s armpits were far too thick for pups.

Louis’s gaze shifted to what lay behind them: a massive beast lying limp on its side. It stood over two meters tall with glossy white fur and fore- and hindlimbs as thick as a child’s head. Anyone could tell it was a tiger, complete with a large blue gem embedded squarely on its forehead.

Louis knew exactly what kind of creature this was, and he muttered quietly, “A thunder tiger…?”

Fully grown, these creatures exceeded ten meters in length, so judging by size alone, this one appeared quite young.

“Ohhh…” Louis let out a laugh filled with exasperation.

Judging by its chest rising and falling, it appeared to be alive, but there was a huge bump on its head, indicating that it had been knocked unconscious from some kind of impact. The culprit was obvious—or rather, culprits were obvious.

“You two… Where did you find this creature?”

“In the mountains!”

“It came up to us asking to play! So we played with it!”

“…”

Only the unconscious thunder tiger could clarify whether it had approached them for play or as prey…

At a loss for words, Louis watched the twins release their grip on the beast’s hind legs and run toward him.

“Aww, isn’t it cute?!”

“Can we keep it?”

“We should raise it!”

“Oh geez…” Louis groaned at the twins’ pleading eyes.

I was looking for thunder tigers anyway, but…

This wasn’t exactly what he had envisioned.

To make matters worse, Pablo and Jacob rushed over due to all the commotion. They gasped upon seeing the unconscious creature on the ground.

“Whoa!”

“Wh-what is that?!”

Jacob, especially, was more astonished than anyone else. As a druid, he’d extensively studied various monsters and spirits found throughout the world, so there was no way he wouldn’t recognize this particular species.

“A-a-a thunder tiger?!”

Among the living spirit beasts roaming the earth, thunder tigers were considered apex predators, and every druid dreamed of taming one. To top it off, this thunder tiger appeared to be just a pup.

This was the perfect opportunity to tame it. Jacob’s eyes nearly popped out of his head at the sight.

“Wh-where did this creature come from?” He rushed toward thunder tiger for a closer look but was blocked by the twins.

“No way! It’s ours now!”

“Don’t touch our Nabi!”

Jacob looked flustered as they stood their ground.

They’ve already named it…

Louis shook his head when he noticed thunder tiger’s eyelids fluttering slightly.

“Huh?”

The wolf’s eyes cracked open briefly before quickly shutting again upon spotting the twins. Louis quietly moved closer.

“Hmm…” He crouched down next to thunder tiger and whispered softly. “Hey, you…”

The sound of Louis’s voice made thunder tiger tremble and prick up his ears, indicating he was fully awake now. Chuckling, Louis tapped him on the forehead.

“You’re not fooling anyone, you know. Pretending to be dead because you’re scared of them?” At this, thunder tiger cautiously peeked open one eye before abruptly sitting upright, his face nearly brushing Louis’s hair.

Jacob gasped while the twins cheered.

“Whoa! Look at that!”

“Butterfly!”

“Butterfly woke up!”

Graaaaah!

thunder tiger bared his teeth toward Louis. Most children would have recoiled in fear, but Louis wasn’t most kids. As thunder tiger lunged forward, Louis extended his hand.

“What kind of manners is that, yawning like that?!” Louis’s tiny fist landed precisely on thunder tiger’s nose.

Pow!

Yip!

Despite its tiny size, Louis’s fist contained unimaginable power. thunder tiger’s nose instantly started bleeding as he clutched it and rolled on the ground.

Whimper…

Tears welled up in his eyes. Despite his large frame, thunder tiger was still just a pup who wasn’t used to pain.

The twins rushed over to him.

“Does it hurt, Buttefly?”

“We’ll make it all better, hoo…”

As they stroked his face, thunder tiger flinched at each touch, memories of their previous encounters flooding back.

Jacob could only stare with his jaw dropped open.

“Wh-wh-wh-what is this?!”

Even though thunder tiger was technically a pup, he had a reputation for being fierce and brave. Yet here were two kids handling him like one would an alley cat. Jacob felt everything he thought he knew crumble before his very eyes.

Pablo laughed awkwardly. “Ha-ha-ha. Th-these nephews of mine have always been… A-a-little fearless…” He tried to smooth things over with Jacob, who was rendered speechless by the situation unfolding before him.

The twins patted the squawking thunder tiger on its head as Louis observed them all and shook his head disapprovingly.

Just then…

“Huh?” Louis turned toward one side.

What’s this?

He sensed a powerful presence emanating from the direction of Cash Tower Mountain.

Soon after, he heard:

Thud, thud.

Swoosh, swoosh.

As massive footsteps approached, snow fell off evergreens, and birds took flight. Louis tensed, sensing something drawing near.

It’s incredibly strong! The energy felt so potent that even if everyone here attacked together, they wouldn’t stand a chance against it.

Is it the mother?

Considering thunder tiger was still young, its parents must be nearby.

However, Louis’s guess turned out to be wrong.

Stomp, stomp!

Emerging from between trees with thunderous footsteps was an enormous reptile standing fifteen meters tall on four massive legs and sporting a thick neck. Shock filled Louis’s eyes as he took in the sight.

“What the hell?!” Louis cursed loudly at being the first to spot the creature. “Damn!”

But no one else seemed aware of the danger lurking behind them; their attention remained fixed solely on thunder tiger.

If I run away now, it’ll only draw more attention to us!

With that assessment, Louis sprinted toward thunder tiger without hesitation.

“Everyone, stay quiet!”

“Mmph!”

“Mmph, mmph!”

With his hand clamped over their mouths, Louis cast space attribute holy magic.

Space Distortion: Invisibility!

Soon, everyone blended seamlessly with their surroundings and vanished from sight.

Whoa!

Jacob’s eyes widened as he realized they had become invisible.

He quickly covered his mouth after spotting a massive creature approaching them from one side.

A-a drake?!

Even ogres feared these creatures, but they were extremely rare; the last reported sighting was four hundred years ago.

Is that really a drake?!

No matter how hard Jacob rubbed his eyes, it was undeniably a drake descending from Cash Tower Mountain. First thunder tiger, now this—seeing two mythical beasts consecutively left him dumbfounded. Then suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

Wait, could it be…? The dragon rumored to reside on Cash Tower is actually—?!

A drake was easily mistaken for a dragon.

Jacob managed to wrap his head around the situation and calm down slightly before turning his gaze toward Louis, who had his hand over one of the twins’ mouths.

Who exactly…is this child?!

Not only did he detect the presence of the drake first, but he also cast advanced holy magic to make everyone invisible. His ability to assess the situation quickly, think on his feet, and cast spells rapidly were all incredibly impressive for someone who looked no older than seven or eight years old. He truly possessed extraordinary talent.

Can we even call him simply “gifted”?

Despite being in dire straits—or perhaps because they were—Jacob couldn’t help but marvel at Louis’s abilities.