I slashed at Abella’s stomach. I didn’t bother holding back. She was a hero—there was no way I could actually hurt her.
But my blade didn’t even touch her fabric. She stepped back just in time, dodging the edge of the beautifully compacted axe.
I was never into axes, but swinging one felt amazing.
When Abella jumped back, her purple veins pulsed harder than before—like they were trying to burst out of her skin.
She bit her lower lip. Before I charged at her again, I asked, “Are you sure you don’t want someone else to do this for you?”
“I can handle the pain.”
It didn’t look like she could.
I pulled out the black knife and bit down on it, then the other knife—getting a total of 12 + 6 + 7 strength bonus. A 25% boost overall.
Then I twisted the axe’s handle and watched it extend to my height.
I asked, “Mind giving me a crash course on monster fighting before I tag you?”
“You wouldn’t be able to follow it. But I’ve already been teaching you.”
She opened her [Personal Space] and pulled out a blue lance. Blue, except for the end of the handle, which was white with snowflake-like patterns.
She slashed in my direction. “Why don’t you have a monster out?”
I blinked, confused. How was her lance supposed to reach me? Also, this wasn’t part of the deal! I did the chasing—not the other way around.
From the lance’s tip, an explosion of cold, white air surged forward.
The green grass between us froze instantly, solidifying mid-bend, trapped before it could finish swaying.
My instinct was to summon Crusbull. Then I remembered something I’d just learned.
I threw my helmet behind me and stuck my hand into it, partially summoning Crusbull’s head.
Before it could push the helmet off, I called for [Earth Armor].
The rocks began forming around my leg—
Too late.
The white air touched my skin, and it was an agony I couldn’t describe. Not just cold—torture.
My skin turned completely pale. Then... nothing. The frost didn’t spread further.
The cold air faded like fog in sunlight.
The armor finished molding around my body as I stared at Abella, bewildered.
She said, “Sealed Weapons.”
She spun the lance around her with elegance. “They’re built to channel the powers of Sealed Tokens—Compacted advanced tech that store monster skills.”
So she’d just been giving me a taste. A warning shot.
I asked, “Like the Blinding Axe?”
“No, those are just weapons with combat features. Like coating a sword’s tip in blu-dust, so when it touches blood, it sets it on fire. I like those better.”
She opened her [Personal Space] again and pulled out a red metallic ball. “This one’s filled with concentrated Jile leaf oil. If it explodes, you’d be high out of your mind—barely functional.”
Then she took out a weird spongey plant. “This is soaked in Mal’quisha. Alcohol from Emermyne—too strong for humans. Releases fumes that kill from alcohol poisoning. Good for stealth kills...”
It was insane what the human mind could weaponize.
Still... I charged again. I slashed upward at her, the axe slicing past her chin. “You wouldn’t actually get hurt, right? I kinda don’t want to sleep on the road.”
“Just thinking about dodging hurts me more than you could. I mean that sincerely. I don’t believe in belittling others.”
That somehow felt more insulting, but it was true—so, whatever.
I slid to a stop, grass tearing beneath my feet. Then I stepped forward and hurled the axe at her.
She watched it spin, then flicked a finger in front of her, slitting space itself in two...
My axe hit the watery tear—and vanished into it.
I just stood there, stunned. That... wasn’t fair. That was cheating! If I’d thought to use [Personal Space] like that, I would’ve taken it!
She then tore the air near the ground, letting the axe fly back out with all its original momentum.
The blade flashed in the sunlight before slamming into the earth.
“Don’t be jealous. Life buffs are all balanced in their own ways.”
I asked, “Can you force them on people?”
“Not unless they’re unconscious. If they’re awake, their will will resist it.”
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. Stupid, stupid me!
No. I was making an investment. Remember what I told Ferzan? If I have multiple monsters out, then a lethal blow won’t kill me.
Actually... I adjusted that thought. A lethal blow still would. That’s how I killed that Temple Defender.
A lethal blow to my monster wouldn’t kill me.
“Language, child.”
I raised an eyebrow. How the hell did she hear me?
“Super senses...?”
“No. I can read lips.”
She could be lying, but whatever.
Then Tarnisha said, “She’s lying. She has the Super Senses Life buff too.”
...That’s a thing?
Abella barely reacted. “You shouldn’t let others know your life buffs, your monsters, their powers, or what your weapons can do.”
Solid advice.
Then I asked, “What’s your level?”
“Around 193. I’ve killed a lot of strong people.”
“193...” I blinked. “How rare is that?”
“Very. The strongest adventurers in Terrafall usually range from level 100 to 120. Level 100 is considered the peak of reason. Beyond that? Foolish. Waste of life.”
“Didn’t stop you.”
“No. But I never cared about levels. I did want level 200 though—for the teleportation Life Buff.”
She looked at my stone-covered hand. “Why haven’t you summoned a monster yet?”
Because you’ve got super senses and you’re literally training me, miss? When her mother was around, she didn’t give a damn about what was going on, or the details, at least.
I pointed to the axe near her foot. “I want to train with this and my monsters at the same time.”
She kicked the axe at me. It flew fast, but I caught it, nearly stumbling from the force behind it.
Sick woman, my ass.
I grabbed the handle with my other hand and took a firm step back to balance myself.
She sighed. "In a real fight, never do that. That was an easy diversion, and I could have partially summoned a monster and killed you."
"Why partial summon?" I held the axe by the head, ready to remove the sheath.
"If you think you're going to look out for a bright flash of white, I'll make sure there wouldn't be. Thus, partial release."
"Oh... Hm. That ever worked on you?"
"Hm. In a real fight? No. Most of my opponents weren’t other vlandos. They were... Oh."
I shut my eyes as I unsheathed the axe, releasing a bright white light.
Then I summoned Forwing—and my new monster, the metallic scorpion.
Forwing flew up into the sky and began hurling sharp winds with [Wind Blade].
All while I examined the scorpion's powers.
-
Tunneling
-
Iron Will
-
Gigantic Pincher (That sounded cool as hell)
-
Sharp Tail
-
Metal Venom
-
Shedding
Abella pulled something from her inventory—a giant shield, red with yellow in the center.
I could immediately tell it was made for Starlights, with its kite-like shape resembling a twinkling star.
The blades of wind cut down at her, and the shield didn’t break the attacks. Instead, the wind blades were absorbed into the yellow center.
Overpowered...
She looked at my monster, about to say something, when suddenly I made it rush forward.
Its pinchers grew majestic and massive—almost as big as Abella.
If I commanded it to use more ether, I could probably make them bigger.
She swiped her finger in its direction, and the shield split into two, blocking the assault. "Two at the same time. You know, that isn’t a rare skill."
"What do you mean?"
"The rare skill is controlling two monsters near your level—since their mentality would be stronger. Do I have to explain the rest?"
I was doing that...
"Hm... I get it. Don't be too cocky and think only I can do this." I hesitated, thinking hard. "If I do, my opponent could fool me into thinking I’m only facing one monster."
But I bet that was still difficult to pull off.
"Yes, yes. Very well done."
She then disappeared—suddenly behind me—and I felt a rush of air. "What do you think is the lesson here, now?"
I grunted. "If I can manage multiple monsters... keep one close to me for defense or on the lookout? No. Both."
She silently judged me. Was I wrong?
Then she said, "You’re doing very well."
"Yeah? Why the long face then?"
"I was merely impressed. But right, defense. Monster Fighters must work in squads if they’re to face a challenging opponent. One handles defense, offense, scouting, travel—and the last one is special. Special in case you need a person to have skills only useful in unique situations."
I asked, "What about a healer? And why a traveler?"
"So everyone’s mind can be well rested before facing the enemy. And for healers... that’s optional. Healing monsters—efficient healing monsters—are quite rare. The Defender should have skills that include some healing."
I paused before asking, "I could be a one-man squad?"
"Yes."
"Wait, wait. This feels complicated. To be the best in a role, doesn’t that mean their life buffs, weapons, armor, and time spent collecting and leveling monsters must be extremely precise? Like, before they even start leveling, they have to plan for this?"
"Yes. Despite what you typically see, there are many who take pride in what they are—and are taught and raised at an early age for this."
"In Star families?" That was the only way it made sense to me.
"It’s very common and expected in every nation that cares about national defense. Some are just secretive about it."
"Terrafall?"
"It exists here. Even for personal affairs, it exists—just on a much smaller scale. Most noble and Corporator families can’t be public about it."
"Oh... Noble and Corporator vlandos. I never really thought about that."
She’d mentioned it a couple days ago. For some reason, I hadn’t processed what it actually meant.
"Haha... Almost all of them hide it. But they all love it." She smiled cruelly. "Like druggies that hide their addiction from the world."
That made sense. If they raised their vlandos family members well, they could shape their business or political affairs on a grander scale.
Getting rid of opponents or suppressing 'dangerous' individuals would be so much easier.
Some reporter going to expose your money laundering? Not anymore. Because they literally forgot they ever talked to you.
Damn it. I could feel Tarnisha wanting to say, I told you so.
Then a thought dawned on me. "Has there ever been a case where a noble family was exposed?"
"Oh yes. Cechul Yebul. He tried to kill Venie, who had almost won the governor elections at Shinetown about... twenty years ago. His son was supposed to use a Mind Monster to trap him in a dream, leaving him in a coma. An almost flawless plan, since Venie had already been in a coma twice as a young boy."
She kept going on, and... then I suddenly tapped her ankle.
Her mouth was still open when that happened—and it stayed open for a while.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Then she frowned and shrugged. "Very anticlimactic."
"You’re level 193, miss. I don’t know what you expected."
"Is that so..."
I looked away from her and stared at the axe in my hand. My axe.
A killing device.
A good weapon should be able to determine what’s evil and what needs... I looked at my left hand. What needs healing.
Abella asked, "What is it? Is it about being a weapon again?"
I looked at her in shock, and she responded, "You tensed your hand when we were discussing being a weapon."
I groaned and looked away. "I know what you’re going to say."
"Maybe not. Being a weapon isn’t a bad thing. A knife can kill babies, yet it can also protect someone."
"And what if that knife kills everything it’s pointed at?"
"Where did that worry come from?"
"Just answer. What if... what if existing merely brings harm to others? If a part of ourselves did that. If that was the case—who would want to be a weapon? I’m just trying to make you understand."
"Then I would be careful with that part of me. Careful to make it only point at those who deserve to die."
As a person, I knew that.
But when I thought about my healing aura... I didn’t want that. I wanted it to be a good thing. To help others. Not kill them.
Abella sat down and said, "Let’s forget this for a while and focus more on training. Educating you, I suppose.
"First... Monsters in their first form are noticeably foolish. This changes as they..."
Her words faded away. And I wandered back to the horror park with Katie.
I was so against being a weapon. I thought of it as an agency issue.
Was it truly just that? Today, Abella said I’d tensed my left hand during the conversation about being a weapon.
I wasn’t even thinking about my healing powers then. So I’d done it subconsciously.
Ah... this power of mine.
Was I ever going to be able to accept its true nature as part of me?
It took a good while before everything was done. About an hour and a half. Then Abella left, saying she needed to rest.
She also gave me a leather holster for the axe. It fit well on my back, with the strap coming from below my arm on one side and over it on the other.
When I started growing breasts, and they eventually developed into massive knockers, that was going to be a burden.
And yes. Massive. That’s childish. That’s stupid. How immature.
I don’t give a fuuuuck. I was going to have what I couldn’t in my past life. What I envied.
If I hate it, I’ll call myself a dumbass and fix it somehow. But if I didn’t—I’ll be living my best life.
Hmm... okay. Not uncomfortably massive.
I was suddenly thinking of the practicalities, visualizing my adult body.
Ew Ew. Too much!
Maybe not massive...
I tweaked the image in my head again. Ah, fuck it.
I’d worry about such things later. I had many years to get through until that became a real concern.
What about hair texture... I’d probably make it curly. Crazy curly. And fangs.
Hehehe. A mouth full of fangs. And red eyes. Blood-red eyes.
It was cool I could have such things. Very cool.
I lay on the ground and looked up at the sky, which appeared greener than usual.
Huh. In four days, it would be Uquel—the sixth month. Just twelve more months until the sky could be as black as it possibly gets.
I thought of a dumb joke and chuckled to myself. Firebenders would absolutely hate Zenmeith. The month, not the ancient princess who favored the dark.
I assumed the shift in sky color had something to do with atmospheric thickness changing over time.
Earth had an almost permanently blue sky because of the scattering of blue lightwaves. Blue had the shortest wavelength range, I think?
It had been a while, so I couldn’t quite remember. Anyway, during the Eighteenth month—the longest one—Korshu’s atmosphere would grow so dense that light wouldn’t be able to pierce it.
In other words, not only would firebenders hate Zenmeith, but Earth’s farmers would too.
My mother wasn’t a farmer, but she liked gardening. No—she liked making pocket change from gardening.
She’d be cussing from morning to night if she ever experienced something like that.
Anyway, I got up and headed to the library. It was located on the third level of the left wing.
I entered and spotted the Zec’op guy near the window.
His sandals rested against the wall, and he was reading a large book with a title I couldn’t make out from this distance.
I greeted him, saying, “Hello.”
I didn’t get why he was sitting near the window though. The sunlight hitting his back must’ve been hot.
At least he looked somewhat cool. I made a mental note to try something like that when I became a physical adult.
Not to be seen—I’d die of embarrassment—but just because it seemed cool to me.
Anyway, Zec’op responded, “Greetings. Verni...sha?”
His accent was thick on the vowels, especially the Es. I didn’t have much experience interacting with different kinds of punchios, but it never sounded like that. They usually reminded me of the French. Guttural Rs. No pronouncing Hs at the beginning of words. Nasal vowels. You get the idea.
“Hi.” I made my way to the history books, located on the third sheath of the first row. “How are you today?”
“Excellent. You?”
“Living.”
“Living?”
“I mean, decent. Cool. Nice.”
“Haha, I understand what decent mean.” He coughed, clearing his throat. “Is this your first time being here?”
“Nope. I was reading about your country last time. Well, and Terrafall. A monster eclipse sounds amazing—from a weaponization point of view.”
“Oh. Hm. Weapons aside and other issues, it’s a beautiful nation.”
“Richest too.”
He was silent for a second. “You ever been to it?”
“No way. A bit too fascist for me.” Terrafall had its issues, but it didn’t have what Emermyne had.
He laughed at that. “Isn’t that so... Isn’t that so. Terrafall is interesting.”
He closed the thick book. “I was surprised the news wasn’t controlled by the government.”
“That’s probably what they want you to think.” I found a brown leather book, depicting a heavily scarred brown woman. One that looked exactly like the drawing of the Lucky Queen. Holy shit, Katie is good at drawing.
“Not very nationalistic, I see.”
“Not really. Got a little bit of it deep in me. In a way. You? I take it that you’re not at all, since you’re here in Terrafall.”
“Got that right.” He flicked his fingernails. “Got that right...”
I pulled a stool from near the wall and cracked open the book. “So what kind of books do you like to read?”
“The Pre-Monster Era. It’s interesting.”
“Seems boring to me.”
I began reading the book.
'The Lucky Queen. A title given to her to mock her, was taken with pride.
'Holvioins are a race of Merkins, a now-extinct tribe closely related to the Rejuks, that once lived in the previous Merthluion before merging with Belflin, Tarnio, and Queros. The systematic genocide took place after the First War with Holvious, where Terrafall suffered a massive defeat due to having a far inferior navy to the Holvion Queendom. The Queendom is an island nation, meaning all their enemies and conquests required a powerful navy and specialized defenses hyper-focused on repelling naval attacks from across the Pyro Ocean.'
I read all that incredibly fast and understood it.
Zec’op said after a while, “You know of it? You read it? Most young human girls tend to like Fairystalk Empire.”
“Yeah? That’s completely bullshit. The empire, that is. Clearly, some historian read a maniac’s bullshit fantasy story and believed it for real.”
He chuckled. “I used to believe so, but I visited Kmel-hul once. And saw how naturally magical that place was. If that can exist, a colony of living plant people is believable.”
“The plant people, I mean... Sure, I can believe that. The bullshit part is that the culture feels too fake. Powerful and rich men often fell in love with peasant women because peasant women always had something special about them?” I looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. “Bullshit. You know what’s cool? The Jond fascist nation. So obsessed with their ego and bloodlines that they led themselves to extinction by inbreeding themselves into hell.”
His eyes widened in subtle shock—like I said something he wouldn’t expect from a child.
I then said, “Well, cool is the wrong word. Ironic or interesting is better. I mean, I only read a couple of pages on them. I was skimming. But their warrior code was cool, and I find their belief in equality among citizens super interesting.”
He said:
“A Jond is a Jond. Not man, not woman.
Not rich, not broken. Not clever, not dull. Not whole, not wounded.
We are not parts—we are one.”
I continued it,
“How can you have wealth, but your neighbor goes hungry? How can you be clean, but your sister lies in filth?
How can you be healthy, while your aunt rots with fever?
Why should your mother bleed to bear children, and you be fruitless, proud, and untouched?”
He responded,
“Why should your father bury under the bodies of invaders to be called a man, and you sit alive, yet wear the same title?
How can a home be warm, if even one Jond is cold? How can your feet be safe, if your brother’s are bare?
How can you dream, when another chokes on smoke to keep your oil running?”
I found this somewhat fun, so I put down the book and continued.
“A king who feasts while one Jond gnaws on bone is no king. It is better he hang by the tongue that speaks of peace than live in peace while others burn.”
He smiled, drumming his fingers against the wall.
“There is no mine. There is only ours. Your joy is my joy. Your blood is my burden. Your failings, my shame.”
“The world builds walls. Jond tears them down. The world says earn. Jond says share. The world says you. Jond says us.”
“Jond Jond Jond. If I suffer, all should. If I thrive, all must. Because we’re one.”
I clapped, impressed more by my ability to remember the national pledge than anything else. “That’s probably one of the only four I can remember.”
“You got good memory.”
I smiled brightly at that—not because I cared about the compliment (it was nice of him)—but because of what I was about to say: “I have been improving my mind.”
I spent a couple of hours reading. After I got bored, I sat up and stretched my limbs.
The Silo was still up in the sky, so I wondered what to do with the time.
Read more? I was exhausted from all the reading.
I stared at the clouds... then got an idea. I needed a space to practice using monsters in peace.
The training with Abella had been eye-opening. Who knew what other tactics and techniques I could learn by spending time practicing with peace of mind?
But Ferzan.
I could find an area, then tell him to give me a damn break—because what the fuck was this? A prison?
On a serious note, I could say a good person would respect the privacy of others. Especially a growing child.
Yes yes...
I made my way out of the mansion and left the estate.
Instead of following the road that led to Sundawn, I decided to go up the hill on the left side.
The estate and the roads were mostly the only flat pieces of land.
I weaved around the many trees, careful not to step into an ant nest.
Then... I looked up and groaned. The incline was much steeper than expected.
I took out my compact axe from its holster and pretended to practice my swings.
After doing that a couple of times, I unsheathed my axe and released a blinding light.
Then I summoned Crusbull. If there really wasn’t anyone watching, please kill me.
I got on Crusbull and rode up that damn hill.
It climbed for about twenty minutes until we reached the top. The air was much crisper, and the view—
I spun around, taking in the trees and plants, hills and mountains.
This wasn't secure enough. I tried to activate Blinding Light again.
It only emitted a faint flicker. I guess it needed more time to absorb light.
Damn it. But Forwing was small. So I ran my hand through the grass and released Forwing.
Fly high.
And so it did—soaring into the sky, darting up and down.
All I saw through its eyes were trees, blue deer, birds, grass... and—
Wait.
It stopped. At the edge of its vision was a crack in the hill, just before a faraway slope. Running through that crack was a narrow waterfall.
I got back on Crusbull and rushed over. By the time I was halfway there, the mental strain had grown too intense.
So I called Forwing back and absorbed it. Using my memory, we followed the path. About twenty minutes passed again. But, eventually, I heard running water.
Clear streams splashed over rocks. That water had a narrow path that stretched for several dozen meters before descending down the hill.
I looked at the cave. Inside it was nothing but rock walls and a fairly roomy interior.
Not very roomy, of course—it could fit about five vans side by side. Height-wise, though, it was decent.
I stayed on Crusbull as I commanded it to enter the cave.
As we passed under the waterfall, cold water soaked me. It felt... refreshing.
Then we entered the cave—grey and bluish-grey rock.
From the ground to the walls, that was all there was. It reminded me of a riverbank, which made me think this place had been flooded recently.
I dismounted and walked farther in. Was the monster clown going to leap out of the shadows and slit my throat?
I smiled to myself, knowing that with Crusbull, the darkness was my ally.
Still, it was strange—no animals at all.
Not even bats? Maybe the waterfall was a barrier?
Or maybe the flooding was frequent? It didn’t look wet, so hopefully not.
But then again, weekly floods were common. Wouldn’t there be a fishy smell or something, though?
I considered it and thought, [Earth Armor]
Rocks covered me from head to toe. Then, for the first time, I used [Sight Adjustment].
I had no idea what the skill did, but the name sounded self-explanatory.
Crusbull’s eyes turned white and then... nothing.
Huh.
It was suddenly blind. I was blind.
Turn it off.
I could see the cave clearly again.
Use Sight Adjustment again.
Once more, everything turned white. I must’ve been using it the wrong way.
Adjust your eyes to... blue light?
Suddenly, the only color I could see was blue.
Hm.
I touched Crusbull and absorbed it into my seal. Then I summoned Aquren.
Although it couldn’t smell as well as Mon, it was still a snake-like monster.
Why monsters resembled animals, I had no idea. But I had seen humanoid monsters before, so maybe it depended on the Monster Zone. That made sense to me.
Anyway, instead of using its eyes, I wanted to see if it could detect heat.
...
It couldn’t. Sigh. That was probably a locked skill.
Smell.
And so it did. It picked up something faint. The sweat of a human male.
And that scent was suddenly near. God damn it. If I had Mon, I could’ve caught the smell earlier.
Maybe the water weakened the scent. The waterfall parted as a massive man walked in, a glass lamp in hand.
Blue fire burned inside. He stared at me, not showing much surprise.
I waved at him. "So... I'll take my leave."
I actually wanted to take the cave for myself, but I always hated thieves. I didn’t want to become that kind of person.
He scratched at his scruffy brown beard, then raked his fingers through long, unkempt hair. "What's your level?"
I blinked, momentarily confused.
Level 22
I responded, faking anxiety. "Only 10. I'm trying to reach level 12... by the end of the week."
Then I asked, "How did you know I was a Vlandos?"
He scoffed, like I was some clueless kid. Yes sir, clearly I wasn’t aware I looked like a golem and had a water snake next to me.
He set his leather side bag down. "And monsters? How many?"
And why would you want to know?
"Only... two. My friend says having multiple monsters is super dangerous."
I thought about saying four, to bait him even more. But two was perfect. A solid lie that would make him underestimate me.
Also, the [Earth Armor] was giving me away.
I only knew two things about him. Homeless. Level 24. And no Inspect skill. He’d taken +10% defense.
His lips curled into a slow grin. "Is that so?"
Le dumbass.
I asked, "Yeah? I'll go."
He shook his head and looked at me like I’d said something absurd. "Go? Haha... You ain't going anywhere. The Stars brought you to me for a reason. Yes yes..."
On his knuckle was a white “M” with a faint glow. A glow that was getting brighter. Talk about being trigger-eager.
"Stay here? Sure. But... Can you first collect my doll for me?"
Suddenly, the glow faded. "What doll?"
I pointed upward. "I was testing my new strength."
And the fool actually looked up. His eyes narrowed, trying to spot something that didn’t exist. "What doll are you—"
He never finished the sentence. How could he? There was a gaping hole in his chest.
Aquaren’s mouth dripped with water, traces of the [Water Pulse] still present.
The man lost control of his body and collapsed.
Personal Level: 21
Aquaren: Level 19
That was purely self-defense. An opportunity I gladly took, of course—but self-defense nonetheless.
Yet I wasn’t particularly happy. As I watched the blood gush from his body, all I could think about was how easy it would be for me to die.
To be tricked like that and one-shotted.
I reached for my armor and realized I’d actually covered it with [Earth Armor].
Haha... muscle memory. What a thing.
My gaze dropped to my monster.
Vlandos were made to fight these things. To protect super-sentients.
Yet... they were so much stronger than us.
It was like a bad joke. Whatever. I had a cave now—and a corpse.
I frowned. I didn’t like how little killing affected me. It was weird. Too weird. Too... inhuman.
But what could I do about it? Nothing.
I went over to him, picked up the leather bag, and threw it away from him.
"Use [Snakes Of Water] to sink the corpses."
The snake monster dashed to the body and whipped its tail near it, turning the ground beneath it into water.
What came next was a mass of water snakes coiling around the corpse and dragging it deep in the waters.
I sat on the ground. This place was perfect.
But to think I only gained a single level from killing someone that much stronger than me. Not to mention the number of monsters he surely had sealed.
Wait!
System. What level is Crusbull?
20
And what new skill does it have...?
Muscle Massceleration
I jumped up with a grin. It was definitely a strength-boosting skill.
It seemed monsters typically had a balance of offensive, evasive or/and defensive, support/status effects, or racial-type skills.
Before summoning Crusbull, I wanted to check on my other monsters.
Forwing's level, and the other monster's?
Forwing: Level 20
Melorpion: Level 18
Forwing leveling up caught me off guard.
What's its new skill?
Sonic Screech
"Ouuuuuuuuuuu." I couldn't help myself. What was this? Was I finally starting to enjoy gaining new monster skills?
Maybe it was because I got them so easily—without any real hardship or pain.
I absorbed Aquaren and summoned Crusbull. It canceled the [Earth Armor] on me. When I commanded it to cast [Earth Armor] again while the old one was still active, the overlapping effect destabilized the structure and caused it to collapse.
Back when the armor had been infected, I didn’t bother using Crusbull since it lacked the ether for it.
Anyway. "Use [Muscle Massceleration] on both of us."
It stomped with its front legs, and suddenly, its body began to glow red. Me too. Red like a tomato.
Then its shells began to open, giving its rapidly expanding muscles space to grow.
And it grew... by about 50%. My body felt strange too, and when I looked at myself, I was shocked.
It looked like I’d been fed nothing but steroids since birth, and I was so red!
In simpler terms, I looked heinous. Not that it mattered—it was just a skill. Although it seemed contradictory, I obviously didn't care too much about my appearance when it involved fights.
I ate raw monster organs to survive. The disgusting rotting smell, the gross texture were still clear as day to me.
Looking like this was nothing.
I took a step forward, feeling slightly slower. Then I punched the air, and the power behind it was far greater than ever before.
Okay. I like this.
It felt like my strength had doubled. I took a swing at the rock wall. When my fist landed, there was a loud thud, followed by a crack splitting through the stone.
[Earth Armor].
Crusbull tried... but only a small stone formed around my feet before crumbling apart.
So this muscle skill consumed around 49% ether. And after 15 more seconds, our muscles deflated.
My skin also returned to its usual tan-white shade.
My head felt slightly strained. So, I absorbed Crusbull and carried out one last experiment for the day.
Forwing shot out of my hand. I covered my ears and ordered, Sonic Screech.
That day, I learned something. This must’ve been what Jer-kal felt when her fairy used a sonic attack.
The air trembled, and my hands were useless against the sound.
The pitch was so high, it felt like a microphone feedback—but ten times worse. Then came a pop, and everything went silent.
I’d made myself deaf. Amazing.
I coated my hands with a red healing aura, which... flickered out.
I stared at my hands and reminded myself that I had to force it to obey. In the short time I hadn't used my healing power, I’d forgotten just how much effort it took for that flickering to nearly disappear.
I healed my ears—and damn, it drained a lot of energy.
Still, I requested another [Sonic Screech], this time with 50% ether.
I covered my ears again. When the screech ended, I wasn't deaf.
But my vocal cords were in pain. Damage shared with Forwing.
Maybe if I tweaked it to 65%... I could get most of its power without rendering myself deaf.
I tapped my chin, deep in thought. Forwing floated back to my hand and was about to heal its throat.
Then an idea hit me, and I almost laughed. Instead of touching it, I directed my healing energy toward my own throat.
When I was done, my monster’s throat was healed too. Long-range healing, achieved.
See, Lu’jol? I was way too slow to be considered smart.
[Sonic Screech] with 65% Ether. I blocked my ears.
Of course, I doubted monsters could precisely calculate their ether. But they likely had rough estimates.
The screech was... painful. I groaned and endured it until the ten seconds were over.
I pulled my hands away and looked at my palms. Wet with blood—but I wasn’t deaf.
60% it was. I healed my ears.
Time to experiment again.