Chapter 23 - My Name Is Yom
Translator: Roshi
A gasp of admiration slipped out before I could stop it.
"Wow...."
30,000 EXP?
That had to be the most I'd ever earned at once.
It was the first time I'd leveled up twice in a single go.
Was this otter more impressive than I'd given him credit for?
'Or maybe it's because he said he'd used up all his power to travel between dimensions....'
It could have been that restoring a full month's worth of dimensional travel energy was what drove the EXP so high.
Either way, leveling up had boosted my effectiveness, proficiency, and Restoration speed.
My EXP gain rate should have gone up by 2% as well.
On top of that, just one more level-up would bring me to Level 10.
Which meant a new Trait would unlock.
I wonder what kind of Trait it'll be.
"Oooh, my strength really is all back, yom!"
"Right?"
"Yep. And my knees had been aching a bit, but that's better now too, yom."
So that 50 EXP came from fixing that.
The otter padded across the floor with his short legs, then asked me a question.
"By the way, I have more questions, yom."
"Ask away."
"You said leveling up made Recharge possible, yom, but what exactly is a level, yom?"
"Ah, well, you see, we Hunters have this thing called a Status Window...."
Scribble scribble scribble.
Speed-writing again.
"An EX-grade skill with a Penalty preventing treatment of one's own kind.... Growth-type.... EXP.... I see, yom. So that's how this dimension's defense mechanism works, yom."
"Defense mechanism?"
This time the otter explained it to me.
In summary, our dimension had independently Awakened humans to combat invaders, meaning the Gate crisis.
And based on the power granted, Penalties were applied through the law of causality.
"Everything is fascinating, but that Status Window that pops up with a ding seems like the most convenient thing, yom. The whole leveling-up concept is very intuitive too, yom."
Fair enough. This game-like system was pretty convenient.
"Shin-hu-nim."
"Yes?"
"Watching you has made me even more curious about this dimension, yom. Would you perhaps be able to help me a little with my exploration of this dimension, yom?"
"Oh, don't you need to go home?"
The otter shook his head.
"We otter folk have a custom, yom. Once we reach the age to set out on our exploration, we leave our homeland and don't return until we've filled this Tome of Exploration, yom. We wander the vast dimensions and pursue knowledge on our own, yom."
I looked at the thick book the otter was carrying on his back.
Setting aside how thick it was.
From the way the pages had been fluttering earlier, there seemed to be far more pages than the outside suggested.
Could he really fill the whole thing?
"I see. But how exactly would I help? I feel like I've already told you everything I know."
"Exploration isn't just about raw information, yom. That ice cream from earlier was a form of new knowledge for me too, yom."
"Aha. So basically you're asking me to make you good food?"
The otter gave a small, clearing cough.
"That's part of it, but you also mentioned that thing called a phone contains an enormous amount of knowledge, yom. I'm curious about things like that too, yom."
"Ah, right. I mean, the internet does hold a massive amount of information. Sure, I can help with that."
All I'd need to do was hook up a spare old phone to the Wi-Fi and hand it over. Not exactly a tall order.
"Thank you, yom. Of course, I don't intend to ask for help for free, yom. You said you need EXP, right, yom?"
"That's right."
"I'll be exploring not just this dimension but nearby dimensions and clusters too, yom. As I travel around, I sometimes come across friends who are hurt, and I thought it'd be great to introduce them to you, yom."
"Ah, friends like Cer, you mean?"
"Exactly, yom."
Kkiing?
While we'd been talking, Cer, who had been playing off to the side with Serintia, perked up at his name.
Serintia looked over as well, stroking Cer.
"Appa, so does that otter become part of our family too?"
She was already calling me appa like it was nothing.
Honestly, I still found it a bit awkward, but....
Serintia's voice sounded so genuinely happy when she said it that I could endure a little embarrassment.
"Yeah, looks like it."
"Yes! The cute otter is family now!"
Kkiing! Welcome!
"Hey, otter, I've been thinking about this for a while now...."
"Yep?"
"Can I touch your cheeks just once? You're so cute...."
"Eek...!"
The otter took a small step backward as Serintia approached with a grin.
"J-just for a moment, yom!"
"Okay!"
Serintia squeezed the otter's round little cheeks and smiled in pure bliss.
"Hehe, so squishy!"
Kking!
Cer had come over at some point too, nuzzling his face against the otter and giving him a lick.
Overwhelmed by the sudden onslaught of affection, the otter lost his balance and plopped onto his rear.
"Oof...."
"Oh, sorry. You okay?"
Kkiing! Sorry!
"I'm fine, yom. I'm just tired from using too much of my dimensional travel power, yom."
Ah, come to think of it.
My heal could Recharge abilities, but it couldn't recover fatigue.
Would that eventually become possible through a Trait someday?
"Ugh, I was planning to go check out other dimensions right away since my strength was back, yom. But I should rest a bit after all, yom."
The otter looked around from where he sat.
"Shin-hu-nim, is there a pond or something nearby where I could rest, yom?"
Otters are animals that basically live in the water.
They even sleep while floating around in the ocean, so that said it all.
Water was both their home and their bed.
"No ponds, but would you like to come this way? I'll fill up the bathtub for you."
It was a fairly new studio apartment, and with the generous floor space, it came with a bathtub.
"You like cool water, right?"
I turned on the faucet.
Gluuug!
The otter's eyes went wide.
"It's not even magic, but you can control water to come out whenever you want, yom?!"
"Of course. Just turn the faucet and you get hot water, cold water, whatever you need."
Scribble scribble scribble.
He really does write down everything.
Oh, right.
He said he can't go home until he fills all that.
I gazed at the otter with a hint of pity.
Glug glug.
Once the tub was full,
"Thank you, Shin-hu-nim!"
The otter climbed in and floated on his back with the happiest expression he'd worn all day.
Of all the expressions I'd seen from him today, this was by far the most content.
He rubbed his cheeks with both paws and covered his eyes snugly.
Click.
Too cute. One more photo.
"Alright, I'll turn off the light. Sleep well."
"Okaaay."
I turned off the light and quietly closed the door.
Somehow, an otter had ended up living in my bathtub.
*
After putting the otter to sleep and coming out, the living room was quieter than expected.
Creep.
I poked my head out to look, and sure enough.
Wheeze, whooo.
Huff, hff.
Both of them had fallen fast asleep on the sofa.
I smiled and, click, took a photo.
Cute over here, cute over there.
Just looking at them made my heart feel warm.
Ahh, this is what happiness is.
I carefully sat down beside the sleeping Serintia.
Normally I should wake her and send her back to where the Bloodline Clan was, but.
A little nap should be fine.
I gently stroked Serintia's hair.
And then, just then.
Ding!
[A treatable subject has been detected.]
'Hm?'
Treatable?
Serintia had clearly said that her condition wouldn't start declining until a week from now.
Had she said that just so I wouldn't worry?
But that didn't quite add up. She hadn't asked to be healed at all when she came today, and both her condition and her mood had seemed better than ever.
Hmm.
At times like these, the right move was to just use it first and think later.
'Restoration.'
Flash.
Swoosh!
A cluster of light seeped into Serintia.
Ding!
[You have earned 1,794 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.9 (Stage 2) effect: EXP gain is slightly increased.]
[You have earned an additional 251 EXP.]
Oh, nice.
After reaching Level 9 from healing the otter, the increased bonus EXP rate was noticeable.
And on top of that.
[Achievement: You have cured the True Progenitor vampire's 'Bloodlust Precursor' state.]
[Additional EXP is awarded.]
[You have earned 5,000 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.9 (Stage 2) effect: EXP gain is slightly increased.]
[You have earned an additional 700 EXP.]
'Bloodlust Precursor?'
When I wondered about it, for once, additional information popped up.
[Bloodlust Precursor (Debuff): Slows the True Progenitor's natural ability growth. Can be removed through consistent blood intake.]
'Ah...!'
Come to think of it, Serintia had mentioned that her Barrier ability had somehow improved when she came here.
'All this time, she'd only been drinking blood once whenever the pain hit....'
Even when the Bloodlust state was removed, she'd just slip into the Bloodlust Precursor state instead.
It didn't actually solve the underlying problem.
But since my heal cured everything in one clean shot, the Bloodlust was completely removed without the Precursor state ever manifesting.
Serintia's abilities had temporarily improved as a result.
But now that she hadn't been drinking blood, she'd entered the Bloodlust Precursor state again.
This was a completely asymptomatic condition with no decline in well-being, so neither of us had noticed.
'Then what if, from now on, I heal her every time the Bloodlust Precursor appears?'
Her abilities would keep growing without any side effects?
She'd already been plenty strong when I first met her, and she could get even stronger from here?
So this is the power of a True Progenitor...?
"Mmm.... Shin-hu? No, appa...!"
Right at that moment, Serintia woke up.
"I felt like something seeped into my body...."
"I used a heal on you."
"A heal...? But I'm not hurt?"
I explained what had just happened.
"Th-that's what it was? So if I'd been drinking blood regularly this whole time, I could've gotten stronger ages ago...?"
"That's true, but there's no way you would have, right?"
"...Right. The thought of having to drink blood every day is horrifying."
Serintia stuck out her lower lip in a pout.
But soon she looked up at me with a bright expression.
"Still, now you can cure me all the way through the Precursor, appa! That means I can keep getting stronger without drinking blood!"
"That's right. Just to be safe, you should probably come by once every two or three days."
"I'd love that! Once my Barrier gets stronger, I'll come see you every day, appa. Hehe."
"Sure, sure."
I stroked Serintia's hair.
Serintia leaned her head comfortably against me.
"Hehe, it always makes me feel at ease when appa pets my head."
Kkiing...?
Right on cue, Cer woke up too.
Given that he hadn't stirred during our conversation, he must have been in a deep sleep.
He shook his head, then came over and rubbed his body against me.
Kking! Pet me too, please!
"Alright, Cer."
I spent a good while petting the two of them.
*
The next day.
"Hup. I slept so well thanks to you, yom. Thank you, yom."
The otter woke up from the bathtub, shook off the water, and came out to greet me.
"Glad to hear it. By the way, starting today I'll set up a separate tub in a room for you, so sleep there from now on."
It occurred to me that if I needed to use the bathroom at night, having the otter in the bathtub was a bit awkward. For both our sakes.
"Got it, yom."
I prepared breakfast for our growing family.
For Cer, it was meat first thing in the morning, as always.
Whoosh!
Chomp chomp chomp chomp!
Kkiing!!
And for the otter, I pulled out a can of tuna.
I'd wanted to prepare proper seafood since otters love it, but unfortunately I didn't have any in stock.
For this morning, this would have to do.
"Canned tuna...! So you can preserve food for a long time this way, yom!"
Scribble scribble scribble.
After jotting that down,
he happily ate the tuna rice balls I'd made.
They were simple, just tuna and mayonnaise with a touch of soy sauce, mixed into rice and wrapped in seaweed.
But they were surprisingly tasty for how few ingredients went into them.
"D-delicious, yom!"
The otter forgot all about taking notes and scarfed down the rice balls in the blink of an eye.
The sight of him holding the round rice balls in both paws, munching away, was impossibly cute.
"Mm, not bad. The seasoning's just right."
Since I'd already opened the tuna can, I tried one myself. A real treat, as expected.
"Phew, that was so good, yom!"
After eating his fill, the otter got up and gathered his Tome of Exploration.
"Well then, I'll be off to explore other dimensions, yom. If I find any friends who might help with your leveling, I'll bring them along, yom."
"Have a safe trip, yom... I mean. Have a safe trip."
The otter waved a paw through the air, and a Gate formed.
Hummm.
Just before the otter stepped through the Gate,
"Oh, wait. Otter-nim."
"Yep?"
I asked the question that had been on my mind.
"What's your name, Otter-nim? We're sharing meals now, so it feels odd to just keep calling you Otter-nim."
At that, the otter placed a paw on his cheek.
"Hmm, normally a dimension explorer doesn't reveal their name, but.... Since I'm receiving your help, I'll tell you, yom."
The otter spoke.
"Yom. That's my name, yom."
Yom disappeared into the Gate as soon as he finished.
On second thought, maybe just calling him Otter-nim wouldn't have been so bad after all.
*****
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