After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World

A/N: Theo image up in the fandom~!

...

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There had been very few Battle Pet bondings after the initial batch.

It was very difficult for the hopefuls who wanted one of their own! It was just that Terran animals were really choosy! TSK!

Speaking of successful bonds, the ones from the last batch had been living well with their new masters.

Like Fufi, Snow, and the others, though, they had much higher experience requirements so their leveling was naturally quite slow. Fortunately, their skills and physiques easily made up for it.

They also had to be careful with them, lest they get too injured or even die!

So, like the Young Valors, the Battle Pets were currently going through a guided training period where they would just be going against weaker monsters they captured.

The soldiers blessed with pets would also give extra training time to accompany their pets in battle, letting them get the last kill while strengthening their bonds and cooperation.

The Barracks was currently busy with this strengthening plan, with the Young Valors and the pets all gathered there to train.

It was more practical this way. Oftentimes, they’d even be grouped together. Whoever made the last kill will depend on skill and get corresponding rewards on top of the EXP points.

At this time, it was Luis’s Coyote—named Wiley—who was training with the Young Valor Rian, who seemed to be developing a specialization in spearmanship.

They were going against a Level 8 Sabertooth Hyena. Its level was higher than either one of them, but with synergy and cooperation, the two had managed to reduce the damage inflicted on them.

Wiley would serve as the distraction and tank (in a way) while Rian was focused on targeting the monsters’ weak spot and chipping away at its life.

Luis was the one watching over them and would also be the one to rescue them if things got too dangerous. The spectator role also allowed him to more accurately observe the strengths and weaknesses of the two, letting him formulate a specific training regime if needed.

”Wiley! Can you be more confusing?” Luis yelled at the side, referring to his evasion tactics. Coyotes specialized in trickery and evasion, and the plan was for the canine to master those skills and distract the monster well, giving his temporary human partner to attack the monster.

”Move a little more unpredictably, study your opponent’s movements, and move accordingly. You seem like you’re not passionate enough!”

Yip! Yip!

Asshole! I’m injured!

”...”

Wow.

Of all the things this brat learned from him—

Luis ignored the damned dog and focused on Rian instead. ”Rian! You should take advantage of the confusion this guy’s doing...regardless of how little that actually is.

”Take advantage of what you get! Haven’t you picked the weakness yet?”

”I...I haven’t read about this monster yet—”

”Even if you hadn’t read about it or if it weren’t discussed, remember that certain creatures would have weaknesses depending on their movement type, skin, patterns, and the like.”

This was one of the lessons taught at Alterran high school. Since they were still studying this large world, no matter how much they studied and recorded findings, it was inevitable to encounter monsters they hadn’t met before.

So...their fighters, biologists, and animal experts banded together to study the monsters they did know and formulated some patterns. They made a disclaimer that it wasn’t a rule applicable to everything, but it was good to know where to look when encountering a new monster.

This took months of work, and the group (a private one) had recently published their book under Ansel’s publishing company, and it was now available for purchase in bookstores and taught in schools.

Rian was very good at studying. It was just that he wasn’t very familiar with this particular monster. Fortunately, he had read the first half of the book (he was still reading it), so it wasn’t like he was helpless.

The monster this time was very similar to the other four-legged furry monsters. The weaknesses were therefore probably on the neck, joints, and the eyes. However, the neck and eyes were difficult to target because of the monster’s sharp teeth. Typically, it’d be difficult to reach without risking one’s appendages to those long teeth and quick clamping techniques.

However, Rian was using a spear. If he just used enough strength and accuracy, he should be able to create more damage.

Soon, after much nagging, Wiley was able to trick the monster from time to time. Rian would take advantage of the distraction and use his long reach to safely cause damage to the monster bit by bit.

In time, the two memorized each other’s patterns and cooperated well even without much communication.

Eventually, after the two gained a few wounds, they did get into the groove until finally—

[Killed! Sabertooth Hyena (Lv8)], the last shot courtesy of Rian.

As such, Wiley pawed Luis, giving him a stare.

Yip! Yip!

Luis’ lips twitch. ”Fine, one more,” he said, signalling the guards to let another monster enter the arena.

”Last hit is yours this time.”

...

Turbo’s Battle pet was a mutt-ish Doberman named Doberdude. It was partnered with two people: Chris’ mole rat Dagul and Sheldon, Shiela’s brother.

Dagul’s skills were more for sneaking around. Chris also trained its skill well, making sure it could hide and protect itself well even if the enemy was overwhelmingly strong.

However, the little animal had to level up if he didn’t want to become an easy target if they went against stronger monsters.

On the other hand, Sheldon also didn’t seem like he’d ever become the brute force type. Rather, he had some talent in archery, so they were developing him that way.

As such, the team formation was Doberdude would serve as the vanguard, Dagul would create disadvantages to the enemy, while Sheldon would shoot or kite at a distance.

However, at some point, Sheldon accidentally grazed Doberdude, causing him to bark annoyingly at the human.

Arf!

Sheldon flinched. ”I’m sorry!”

Turbo sighed. Fortunately, it was just a graze. Though even if it did hit, he doubted that amount of strength would cause the dog much damage either.

Still... his dude was surprisingly cool about it. So mature. Turbo made a mental note to give that good dog a treat later.

Sheldon, though, entered a slump due to the mistake. ”I’m sorry...” the boy mumbled, eyes heating up in tears, and the bit of confidence he had gained during the past days of training immediately drained.

It was Loki who was teaching the lad since he was the archer. He patted the boy’s shoulder.

”You just have to learn to observe more,” he said. ”You are observant—Introverts tend to be —but you need to direct it well, observe the tells, the patterns, and so on.

”Do not be intimidated by the fast pace of battle,” he told him. ”Everyone has their own personalities and their own talents. You just have to believe in yours.

”Besides...they need you.”

Sheldon flinched at his words, and the boy lifted his head to look at the fight.

Because there was no damage dealer, they were completely on defense. If he hesitated even more, then his teammates would get injured.

For them to get out of this without any more injuries, he had to take that monster down.

The lad forced all his anxiety down, steeling himself. He raised his bow and arrow once more, but this time, his hold was much steadier than before.