“A system?” Flay asked as he heard the term.

“Yes. The Eos group known as the Sol were among the strongest members of the Eos. I was bestowed by each of them this power and was ordered to assist a might hero that will rise. They never told me who, but it’s getting more and more obvious that they meant you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. Your battle instincts allowed you to take a simple ability to stick to stuff and use it to flee a monster that is several Ranks of power greater than you! Not even the heroes that I knew can do what you did!”

Suddenly, the gator began to shake as they tried to move around.

Flay was stunned as he could feel the gator moving up in the hill.

“Stupid gator! It’s moving because it no longer sees the Pteranodon! But I can still hear it!” Flay cursed.

“Master, try removing me out of this and stabbing me again. Maybe if my power leaks quickly enough, it might cause the Pteranodon to roar or make a commotion!”

“That’s a great idea! Ready? Go!” Flay instantly pulled the sword down and immediately stabbed it back up.

The gator groaned in pain but then…

“ROAR!”

The Pteranodon shouted in rage as it began to fly around.

The instincts of the gator forced it to stop moving as the Pteranodon was moving.

Flay listened carefully and smiled.

“It worked! The Pteranodon is flying around this area. It was too fast and too faint that he couldn’t tell where the energy was!’ Flay rejoiced.

“Have you recovered enough energy, Master? That attack was faster!”

“...Yeah. I noticed. It wasn't that just that I recovered. I guess I hadn't gotten used to this new body and was moving like my former speed. But now that you told me I'm stronger, I tried to move faster, and I did. Maybe it was because I’ve been constantly on the move that I never got to reflect on my new speed and power. You’re right. I am slightly faster and stronger than I was. But I don’t feel that this is at the level of an Apprentice.”

“Your strength is actually fluctuating. When you took in the attack, your body manifested the Brute power when it sensed your bones breaking and muscles tearing. It seems that this power appears when you are forced into such situations. But other than that, I also noticed that what is constant is how you add the Brute power on your sword. You could perform attacks that are several levels than Rookie-6 and even reach up to Apprentice with your sword. But if you use other attacks like punching or kicking, then you could only use attacks up to Rookie-6.”

“That’s very confusing.” Flay frowned.

“Master, this means that the stronger you get, the more power you can tap on. So you need to increase your level!”

“Yeah, I don’t think increasing my level just like that.” Flay chuckled.

“Actually, you can, Master. If you could kill this gator, I could use Mars’s power to drain the life essence in this monster's core to increase your rank!”

“...What?!” Flay was stunned. Absorbing the energy from a monster core was a very expensive investment for the Tamers of Monster’s Edge. They would have to go into the Kingdom which despised them, pay a hefty sum to wizards, Core Extractors, and so on to increase each level. And the higher the rank, the more expensive it would be.

“You can harness the power of the monster cores and bestow it to someone?!”

“Yes. That’s the power of the Eos Mars. However, your surprise tells me that your village doesn’t have access to this. Is that why you said no one in your village only reached Apprentice 5? Your village cannot afford to pay wizards, Core Extractors, druids, or certain groups to harness monster cores? Or is it related to your branding as traitors?”

“Both! We can only make this request in the castle. And they charge a hefty sum! This is another reason why no one in the village can cultivate a higher level of power! The price to become an Apprentice-6 is triple that of Apprentice-5! The Kingdom did this so that we would only be this strong! But if you can do that, my village is saved! What exactly are your powers?!”

“I have the powers of Eight Sol Eos.”

“Who are those? You’ve been saying things about Eos. I know they are gods, but you seem to be more familiar with them. What exactly are they?”

“There are two types of gods. You are probably familiar with those who transcended the heavens and attained the powers to become gods. These are the gods that remain in this world. The Eos belong to the second type. They are the ones who created the very universe itself. They stepped into this universe from a dimension we cannot comprehend and caused light and healing to disrupt the darkness. After that, they left. Most of the gods you call Eos in this world aren’t real Eos but only imitated and took on their titles. The real Eos have left. They are journeying from one realm to another.”

“Woah… And you served these original Eos?”

“Yes. Eight Eos took me in as an apprentice. I served them for a long time, and then, something happened as we were attacked. I was tasked to aid a hero since they needed to leave to another Realm, but something happened. The next thing I knew, I woke up in that drained pool of mystical water you claim to found me in. Luckily, the System they gave me is still here. And as my Master, you can use it.”

“Can’t they find you? The Eos?”

“And I do not hear their voice or call. So either they moved on to the Realm beyond, or they died fighting the enemies that they were looking for in the infinite realms.”

“Alright… That sounds like an interesting story. But we have more pressing matters at hand. What are the special abilities that you have now?”

“Let me show you instead. I’ll link the powers to you so that you can see and access these powers.”

Suddenly, a strange screen appeared in Flay’s vision.

///

Kairo’s Slime Sol System

///

Form of Mercury- Lvl. 1

Metal Devourer- Can devour low-grade metals and assume their form. Strengthens base metal strength and durability of assumed metal form by 10 percent.

Level up Requirement- Devour 2 tones of metal ores.

---

Passion of Venus- Lvl. 1

Fire Entity: Can absorb low-grade forms of fire and release 10 charges of fire magic.

Level up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Fire Core.

---

Nature of Gaia- Lvl. 1

Mineral Devour- Can absorb low-grade energy from minerals, ores, and elemental cores. Is used to strengthen other Eos Systems.

Level up Requirement- Level up Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.

---

Bloodlust of Mars- Lvl. 1

Monster Devour- Can absorb and bestow life essence from monster cores of E-Ranked creatures and lower.

Level up Requirement- Devour D-Ranked Monster Cores.

---

Bolts of Jupiter- Lvl. 1

Lightning Entity- Can absorb low-grade lightning energy and release 10 charges of lightning magic.

Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Lightning Core.

---

Life of Saturn- Lvl. 1

Plant Devourer- Can absorb plant essence from low-grade plants.

Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Heart of the Forest.

---

Winds of Uranus- Lvl. 1

Wind Entity- Can absorb low-grade Wind energy and release 10 charges of Wind magic.

Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Wind Core.

---

Baptism of Neptune- Lvl. 1

Water Entity- Can absorb low-grade water energy and release 10 charges of water magic.

Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Water Core.

///

Flay was amazed at the details.

“I’ve already shown you Mercury’s ability. Any weapon of low-grade material I can devour and transform into. But right now, I can only do it on the weakest of weapons. So I took your sword and ate it, and I can assume its form, increasing its strength and durability by ten percent.”

“So that’s why you’ve become harder than my sword! Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier?”

“We were busy escaping from the Pteranodon! And I didn’t see any use of telling you since a mere sword can’t kill it! I didn’t want to waste precious time talking to you about such unimportant matters. Besides, you had nothing for me to absorb energy from!”

“Alright, I get it. But how did you get water? I know that you are casting Water magic to heal me, but what’s the source?”

“This is. We are in the mouth of a Gator. This beast has low-level water energy emerging out of its saliva. It’s very faint. That’s why it took me a while to be able to heal you.”

“Wait a sec! You mean to tell me you’ve been healing me with gator spit?!”

“Well, if you put it that way, it sounds disgusting. But yes.”

“If not for the great hope you’ve given me, I would have puked. Your name is Kairo?”

“Yes.” The Slime answered.

“Alright, Kairo. Since you call me Master, I’ll embrace it now. Kairo, we have to come out of this alive! Your powers can change the fate of our village! We could make strong warriors without having to pay that astronomical price! We have to think of a way to get out of here! If we kill this gator, will the Pteranodon detect us if you use your power?”

“I don’t think so. As long I remain hidden in this, we should be fine. Besides, the Death Mark is dispersing. We should be able to escape soon.”

“Good! Let’s kill this gator!”