Is It Wrong to Try to Tame Monsters in a Dungeon? (Written seriously)

(This chapter was uploaded on Saturday 26/October/2024 8:10 PM, timezone GMT+3) 

(This chapter was finished getting edited and reuploaded on Saturday 16/November/2024 10:00 AM, timezone GMT+3)

('1), ('2), ('3), etc. means that there is some explaining for the thing in the chapter's footnotes. 

"..." small moment of silence. 

"Talking" 

[Different Language Dialogue (Different from the language of the PoV)] (What language it is: Accent if necessary) 

"He-" Someone was interrupted. 

'Inner Monologue' 

{Skills' names, chanting, spell keys and spells' names} 

(PoV) 

(Flashback, including the text) 

Don't shy from commenting on typos and/or inconsistencies. That and/or suggesting a modification to certain things that didn't make sense to you. 

I hope you enjoy reading this chapter. 

(Line Break) 

(Friday, 16/10/1058, right before sunrise) 

(Shira's PoV) 

"You finally awake, Henry?" I asked Henry, having remained awake for most of the night. 

It was a new experience that made me want to help him more. He normally slept fine. During our month-long trip from Preblica, he was quiet. But once we slept in the same bed yesterday, or as we were supposed to try, he slept and I was kept mostly awake by his tight hug and shaking body. He shook in his sleep, somewhat reminding me of a scared child. 

'To think I would liken this bear to a child' I thought jokingly while looking at Henry's thick beard. "But how quickly did his beard grow again?' 

Upon hearing my voice again, Henry's eyes snapped open. His eyes then became downcast as he brought me closer in. It startled me as he looked too confident, too prideful, to do something like this in this abrupt manner. 

'No. Now that I think about it, it didn't occur to me why he never actively deepened his relationships with other villagers. He solely relied on them approaching him, including my advances. He scarcely did anything to invest into his relationships with anyone' A pit formed in my stomach when I remembered his words. He did warn me that I might have married the wrong man and that I should think about it more. 

'He isn't suffering from some residue trauma, is he? He explicitly told me that he dealt with it before. I should observe for now'

"Henry, can we talk about something?" I said in a stagnant voice. I wanted answers to my doubts. 

"Can I stay like this first?" He said in a muted voice. He then said, "It's strangely comforting. I never thought that having a wife would feel like this"

I didn't reply. I wasn't sure what to say to him in this situation. Henry clung to me like I was a core aspect of his life for some minutes until the sun rose, illuminating the room. Due to that, I could now see the telltale traces of some sweat beads having rolled down Henry's forehead and onto the pillow. 

'Did he have a nightmare? But why would he be scared?' I got lost in thought until I felt his hold around me loosen. 

Henry's voice contrasted with his condition, making me go through some disturbing thoughts. 

'Has he ever shown me his true self?' 

Though I had that thought, I suppose that I should talk it out with him first. 

"Henry, are you deceiving me?" I asked him bluntly. I hoped that his previous image was the true him, that he wasn't deceiving me.

"And what makes you think that?" He replied calmly, looking directly into my eyes with relaxed eyes. 

"A portion of your personality just surfaced while waking up" I said as I saw his face pale a little. Sleeping behind him was Fey. Was. She woke up and chose to hook his shoulder to flip him on his back. Feeling Fey's beak, Henry closed his eyes and pretended to be asleep, scarily accurately. 

"Papa~! Wake~! Up~!" And just as she did most days, Fey started pecking on Henry's forehead with astonishing speeds. Her pecking was hard such that it produced a blunt sound with each strike against Henry's skull. As fast as her head was moving, Henry's hand intercepted her beak. 

"Okay! Okay! I woke up!" Henry pretended to wake up with a panic. 

"Fey woke Papa up~!" Fey danced with what Henry calls 'The Big Bird Stance'. 

'With Fey's wings wide open and stretched upwards, I can see why he... calls it... that....' While lost in thought, my thoughts almost stopped when my eyes gravitated towards Fey's mesmerizing feathers.

In my nearly blank state of mind, I could barely register that Henry, while combing and rearranging her plumage, told Fey to wait outside the room until we got ready. 

"Shira" Hearing my name, I was dragged back to reality from fantasizing about sleeping with Fey's wings around me. I looked at Henry, who looked quite guilty. "I'm sorry. I feared that showing you my weaker side might make you hesitate about me. I... hah... I am insecure, Shira. I've been hurt by people who I thought were close to me before" Although he hesitated a little, his answer was firm. 

An ugly emotion dwelled within my heart when I the people whose treatment of him made him paranoid about the stability of his relationships. If everything he told me about them is true, then I hope they suffer for an eternity. They ruined the life of a person who was a child at the time.

"Henry, will you show me those sides of you with time?" I asked. 

"With time" Henry smiled. 

"Now" My stern tone made his smile falter for a moment. "Should we talk about how you don't show a desire for me?" 

Henry froze as his mind probably went blank. His face heated up, the first time since I knew him. I refused to give him a chance to recollect himself and attacked him again. 

"I purposefully didn't tell you not to stare as I wiped myself during our travel. And yesterday, I was looking at you expectantly but you never took a glance at my bare skin when I presented it to you willingly" I said as I poked his chest repeatedly, making him shift away awkwardly. 

'It feels good to be able to act dominant with this unnaturally composed bear!' 

As I felt some form of victory over him, he regained control of the situation when he held my wrist and brought me closer, our faces almost touching. I got flustered and any thought of winning slipped out of my mind. Henry kissed my forehead as I closed my eyes. 

"I didn't want to be a perv who leers at you because I couldn't control my desires" He said in a sensual voice, right into my ears. I felt my body boiling and my heart racing, throwing me completely off my feeling of superiority. Henry then gave me some space to calm down, so I did. 

'The fact he had to specify controlling a desire means that a desire to look at me does exist. Him being attracted is enough' I was content with him simply being attracted, even if he didn't openly nor actively act on it. 

"Thank you for being so considerate. But I want you to know, I felt wronged. You not openly nor actively taking your chances at me made me feel like you don't see me as a woman but just a friend" I poked his chest again. It amazes and confuses me how Henry's muscles feel both firm and hard, yet they also feel squishy at times. 

"I'm sorry you felt that" Henry said with a mildly melted expression of worry.

"Forget it. Instead, I have a question. In your country's culture, do you have a bridal night?" I asked, wanting to confirm something else. To my amusement, I saw Henryk struggle to get a word out. He then shook his head slightly.

"Do you mean a wedding night?" Henry asked me.

"Cultural differences!" We said together, throwing me into a light fit of giggles.

"We do. I just didn't want to bring it up when I knew nearly nothing about the marital traditions in Preblica" He said as he put a hand on the back of my head and started rubbing it, bringing me a sense of calm.

"We also do have that tradition between married couples. I actually expected you to become a beast that night, but then couldn't mention it senselessly when we had a journey ahead of us. Now that we are settled... Anyway!" "Careful!" *thud* "Oww!!" I was about to say something once I jumped out of our bed, but I fell on my face. Henry attempted to catch me, but it was too late by the time he moved.

The reason I fell is because of the shrunken space I could step on of my feet. Also, my back being longer made it even more awkward to find my balance.

I was going to attempt getting up when I caught a glance of my now bone-white and rough nails. They now became thicker. Looking at them from the top, they hardly changed beyond their new color and extending a bit forward to a narrow tip. But from other angles, they became like what tigers have; stout claws with sharp points for tips. Even my fingers got thicker bones and muckles, and I quote from Henry, "To deal with the force that would normally break either the claws or the fingers supporting said claws". I need to practice retracting them, if at all possible.

'What a terrible skill! My delicate hands and feet got much thicker than I have been used to for all of my life! I even have to deal with the bones of my feet getting too long that I need to readjust my walking posture!' ('1) 

I lamented the sudden undesirable change to my body. Henry tried to support me during the pain and the following grieving, but the pain deprived me of my mind. I almost slapped his hands away. He caught my hand and gently lowered it as I started hyperventilating over the chance that I might mutilate someone by accident, especially him and Fey. 

I barely slept last night, not before covering my claws with a thick cloth covering, a temporary measure, to prevent myself from stabbing Henry in my sleep. Something that made me just a little more comfortable was that Henry never mentioned this matter or commented on it until I fell out of the bed. He also refused to act wary of me, which made me feel just a bit better about my current situation. 

'If there was one benefit that makes me content with them for now, it is the fact that Henry had to help me walk to the wardrobe, then helped me change because I would rip my clothes to shreds without his help. He is ready to actively and openly help me when I actually need it, even if that took from his time, precious time he could spend on other things that will benefit him more than helping me' While having those thoughts, I felt a calming warmth spread throughout my body.

Remembering the past few minutes of me wobbling my steps over to the wardrobe made me smile. The feeling of having someone I love helping me, a family member, I like that I don't lack this feeling even when far away from home. 

"Happy about something?" Henry said as he braided my hair. He was awkward at first, doing many of the steps wrong. But up to today, his skills improved at a frightening rate. Today's braid is nearly perfect. 

'He is... good with his hands. Maybe, just maybe, he can teach me a few things? maybe if he wore a gauntlet to imitate my claws, he might be able to teach me some things?' 

"Happy you prioritized me over your own benefit!" I said, letting my satisfaction take over me as I smiled.

"Expect this to recur later" Henry's words made my smile wider, strained, as I didn't know what to say.

My smile got wringed when Henry's face popped up in the periphery of my vision unexpectedly, startling me. He rested his head on my shoulder as he looked in the same direction as I do.

"By the way, you grew more beautiful overnight" He said before pulling back and continuing to braid my hair. I knew he said that to support me. I now look less like a human woman and more like an abomination that has features from both cats and humans.

While I sat there, silently getting my hair braided in a calming manner, my gaze fell on my claws again. And the memories of yesterday came back. 

(Early evening the day before) 

(3rd person PoV) 

Henryk and Shira were led to a room Loki used often to give falna and update already existing ones.  

"Now, kiddos, we need to sort out something. Why did you get in both at the same time?" Loki turned around to look them in the eyes.  

"For me, knowing your reputation, I want to make sure that you don't molest my wife" Henryk said adamantly.  

"And what about the young lady?" Loki turned to Shira. She paid Henryk's justified glare no mind.  

'The nerve of this woman! She didn't bat an eye, nor did she even as much as attempt to deny it!' He visibly could be seen vibrating in rage for a second before he calmed himself. 'Calm down, me. Her not telling me off means that she isn't harassing Shira sexually, joke or not'  

"I don't mind him looking" Shira said, unconcerned.  

"I was asking him if he's fine with you looking at his falna" Loki corrected Shira's misunderstanding, making her blush slightly from embarrassment. 

"I wouldn't look at his falna" Shira looked to the side.

"Then, sit here!" Loki said with a nasty smile, patting the space in front of her on the couch. It was the smile of a child who snatched someone else's property and was going to toy with it. Not to be misunderstood, she would care for her new familia members even if she played with them a little.  

"Swear, then, that our falnas wouldn't be shown to your executives or anyone else, outside of what level we are" Henryk said as he walked up to the couch, stopping just out of reach of Loki's hands. Loki looked at him, pondering for a few seconds before nodding.  

"I swear on my divinity. Your statuses remain between us and whoever you allow to know" It was an easy choice, since most statuses were never shown to others, superiors or not. It was just an extra insurance that would have been given to them regardless of them asking for it anyway.  

"I'll be in your care, Loki..." Henryk's mind caught his error. "Should I start addressing you as 'my lady'?" He turned his head to look her with one eye, catching the sight of her pricking a fingertip.  

"None of that overly formal talk between us!" Loki slapped his shoulders dramatically. "I'm already fed up with most of my children calling me with such distant and detached reverence! I longed for someone talking to me casually! All the time at that!" Loki poured her heart out into that complaint. It was her genuine feeling.  

"Then hurry up, Loki" Henryk sneered.  

"Hey! That's a different thing entirely!" Loki protested.  

"And you fell for it, again" Henryk's sneer transformed into a victorious grin.  

"Well, I need to play along, don't cha think? Now, take off your shirt, brat!" Loki cheerfully said as she urged him to start baring his back.  

"Henry... you weren't like this half a day ago... or at all..." Shira's brain short-circuited trying to understand how Henryk developed this much mischief when he never showed it in Preblica.  

"I was always like this, my dear wife. I just suppressed it since it would've been more of a burden on our fellow villagers" Henryk sagely nodded as he removed his shirt, baffling Shira.

"By the way, Loki. I was wondering, why did you seem desperate? What trick were you playing on us back then?" Henryk blatantly asked, unconcerned for what his words came as.

"I wasn't faking anything. I really was desperately trying to have you join the familia because you are a tamer" Loki said, holding back a snicker.

"And?" Henryk sighed out his words.

"It was a trick all along!" Loki burst out laughing. "I tricked you into thinking I was tricking you with my words or actions! I wasn't!" Loki's laughter came to a sudden halt.  

"..."  

"..."  

"..."  

"Umm... I don't believe you. You're tricking us on a deeper level, I'm sure" Henryk said, voice lax.  

"Kid, how did you get these scars?" Loki asked sharply, changing the subject, her eyes slightly open. 

"I gained most of them fighting kobolds and loup garou from the surface, mere goblins couldn't touch me, while the rest were gained from my lifestyle I had for a decade until I moved to Preblica" Henryk said dismissively. 

"Those are... serious, kid. Some of the more veteran adventurers still don't have some of the kinds of scars you have. Stabs, slashes, and even a burn or two. Then there are those weird scars that seem as if stitched together using string, even though the string doesn't exist. Was it removed?" Loki asked with lots of concern. Nevertheless, she started updating Henryk's falna. 

"The stitch marks are from bigger wounds that needed to be forced shut. As for where the string went, it was made from a material that dissolved and went away on its own" Henryk said as he was suppressing a growing urge to laugh. His ticklish back was not comfortable with Loki's blood being spread across it with such tickling motions. 

"By the way, kid, I think I get why you wanted your falna a secret" Loki commented grimly. She was looking at the existence of a skill AND a spell, not only one but both at once. That alone would have made it a problem. Coupled with those effects of theirs, and no god would pass up the opportunity to either obtain him or mess him up so much he either gets ruined or dies.  

"Ah, that! Well, now you know" Henryk said dismissively, again displaying less care than one should regarding some subjects. 

"Now, into the most important part of this process" Loki became serious. "You are eligible for ranking-up as a direct result of being able to fight, and then proceed to defeat, so many loup garou. Even if they were surface ones, they were supposedly strong. The way you utilized your mass advantage was also impressive in and of its own" 

"Don't. Not yet. I want to bring my parameters as close to maximum as possible, even if it takes time. A better foundation makes for a more stable building, much like how a more maxed status board makes for much more power in later levels, or so I assume after I heard what my previous familia's members said" Henryk said. 

"I respect that choice and the determination driving it. But I won't wait for too long. The most you have is a year or I would force the level up regardless, for your own good" Loki mildly praised him as she copied his status into a paper. 

"Your turn!" Loki said to Shira with some enthusiasm returning to her voice.  

"Loki, remember that I'm keeping an eye on you at all times" Henryk reminded her. He then leaned on the wall facing them.  

"Killjoy!" She whined as her perverted hopes were shut down again.  

Shira sat down and loosened the strings holding her dress, exposing her upper half, which started taking shape after picking up the bow daily for some months. She then had Loki ease the rest of the process by undoing the string holding the undergarment hiding her privates, so that it does not obstruct the process of granting her falna. Still, Shira held the piece of cloth in place with her arms at the front. 

Henryk, for his part, did not look at her. He was decisively focused on Loki and had no time to veer his eyes off her to look at Shira's bare skin. Shira formed the wrong thought about this, something that was mostly resolved by next morning.

"I mus've 'n drinkin' before this, yeah?" Loki staggered and fell back on the couch at her own luck.  

"Hmm? A skill, perhaps?" Henryk wondered. As soon as Loki was done copying Shira's status on her own paper, his intrusive thoughts, as they should, intruded on his nervous system, seizing control, and making his eyes gravitate towards Shira's shoulders. And as soon as his eyes moved, he barely caught them and veered them off course, looking down to the ground instead. 

"Both of you, come to the mess hall for breakfast. Though it's normally because it's mandatory, tomorrow's is a special occasion, your introduction" Loki said as she walked out of the room, grumbling something about Soma wine and forgetting something. 

(Later) 

(3rd person PoV) 

While preparing for bed, Shira started screaming in a voice shrill with pain. She crumbled on the floor, holding her hand, the itch and the pain that caused it ripping her hands apart. And when it finally settled, with Henryk helping her as best as he could and Fey fretting over her hysterically and raising chaos, Shira's feet's turn was next. 

Shira begged to be knocked out to not be able to feel the pain but Henryk could not attempt such a thing. It was too dangerous as her body might have severe reactions to falling unconscious during the change. Henryk gave her some of the potions he was reserving to the dungeon, helping her by closing some of the ruptures that opened up space for the new claws to rapidly grow. 

(Flashback & Chapter End) 

Name: Henryk Williams 

Familia: Artemis Familia --> Loki Familia 

Level: 1 

STR: E424 --> E478 

END: F395 --> 410 

DEX: E456 --> E488 

AGI: E401 --> 413 

MAG: D514 --> D591 ('2) 

Magic: 

Incrementum Imperium (Latin, =~ Growth Control): 

Magic used to direct a being's growth. 

Chant: 

{I ask thee, thou who oversees the fate of every living being, thee who directs the flow of things. Answer my prayer and grant my humble wish} 

Skills: 

Kefalés Tou Tyfóna (Greek, =~ Heads of Typhoon): 

Forms a mental link with creatures of choice. 

Magic stones are required. 

('3) 

(Line Break) 

Name: Shira Williams 

Familia: Loki Familia 

Level: 1 

STR: I0 

END: I0 

DEX: I0 

AGI: I0 

MAG: I0 

Magic: None. 

Skills: 

Klófreki (Norse, =~ Claw Devourer, '4): 

The more claws eaten, the sharper and more durable claws become. 

(Line Break) 

'1: 

Feline feet. That's it. Shira's feet transformed to the likeness of feline feet due to her skill.

Her limbs still have no fur and her fingers are still long enough to grab and grasp things with. Her hands' thumbs are still opposable. 

Back to her legs, the feet took some of the legs' length for themselves. Meaning, Shira still stands at the same height but could now utilize a more feline running movement, minus the front limbs.

Something I changed, when re-editing the chapter to re-upload it, is Shira's body. The skill didn't stop at changing her hands and legs. It changed the proportions of everything under the neck. Her arms became longer. Her spine also became longer, just enough to allow her arms and legs to keep some distance between them.

Basically, the skill changed Shira's anatomy to better match that of an anthropomorphic cat, but without the fur, feline ears nor the tail.

'2: 

He has been resetting certain things in his personal enhancements and redoing them on the daily to exhaust his mind. 

'3: 

Those of you wondering why the status showed everything again, even though the magic chant, especially, should only be shown once, it's an AU element at play here. When transferring from a familia to another, the details show again for the new god/goddess. 

'4:

The funny thing is, I wanted to call it "Claw Devourer". I did that, but not before discovering that the Old Norse word for giant, "Jötunn", also means devourer. And so, I made the skill increase Shira's overall height even though the name itself doesn't really imply it. And hey, Loki won't be killing her as the giant slayer she is.

(Line Break) 

Greetings, dear readers 

Let's start by saying that I'm not sure if the wording of this chapter is misunderstanding-free. If it caused you to misunderstand anything, then tell me before the chapter after the next comes out. The more chapters come out, the harder it is to change things without also changing all of the subsequent chapters to match it.

So, how is the chapter? Do you think the interactions are done well? 

Does Loki follow her cannon personality? 

What do you think would happen with Shira's skill? The size and shape of her claws certainly rendered all her bow training useless for the time being.

What do you think Bete would do next chapter, at the daily breakfast gathering of the Loki familia? 

Be well, ladies and gentlemen.