Chapter 5: New Comrades

I and Lumond gained EXP after defeating the boss of those monster frogs. My HP, MP and magicite level increased too. Though, we didn’t get a new skill except Poison Resistance. Well, fair enough at least we beat them. We are just waiting for them to gain their consciousness and will ask them if they want to join us in our endeavor.

After a while, the leader of these monster frogs have woken up, then, followed by its two members. But they can’t escape because they are confined in a spell I and Lumond called Crystal Prison. 

“Release us!” their boss demanded in a shrill voice. 

“I’m afraid we can’t,” I responded. The frog glared at me. According to Solomon earlier, these monsters are the so-called ‘frog ninjas’. They are trained in Valor’s ancient martial arts and employed especially for espionage and assassinations. 

“Are you related with that atrocious monster dwelling in this place?” the human frog asked me with sternness in his voice. 

“You mean tyrant monster ruling this whole place?” I can sense a deep-seated anger within him as he mentioned about that cruel tyrant. Were they also one of the victims of that monster? 

“Yes, it is!” 

“Nope. What made you ask that?” 

“You and that monster have the same vibe. Your presence and that monster’s presence are almost the same. It’s very dense,” he replied that made my forehead crease. 

“We got the same vibe? I don’t know what you’re talking about but I am 100 percent sure I am not affiliated with that tyrant monster. Actually, we’re in a journey to become stronger, build a group of monsters in this cave and defeat that evil monster to be free from here,” I told them. I caught their mouths went agape. But their leader managed to withdraw its shocked expression. 

“To defeat that kind of atrocity is like a faraway dream. No one in this cave can beat it. No one stands a chance. But a group of monsters… I think that’s a good idea. We want to join. Please count us in to your group,” their boss stated and just before I knew it, I jumped because of joy. They looked all at me, fascinated and shocked. 

I felt embarrassed but I muster my confidence to pull myself together. I cleared my throat and looked at them. 

“Okay, with that being said, you are agreeing to form a bloodline pact with me,” I uttered. Their eyes widened and their countenance said they were in astonishment. Maybe they were not prepared for it. 

“I guess you don’t want the idea to form a bloodline pact with me. It’s okay, you can still join in the group we are going to build. I res－”

“Wait… don’t get us wrong. But forming a bloodline pact with you means we will be under your lineage and will be named by you, right? Having a name in this world is such a privilege. Monsters were born here without bearing a name and no one wants a monster to be under their lineage. Good monsters are just treated as pets here or accessories in a journey. And yet, here you are offering us, monsters, to form a bloodline pact with you,” the leader of the frog ninjas uttered in a voice full of fascination, cutting my words off. 

So this is where their shock is coming from. I didn’t respond to him immediately. I turned back to my wolf form and said, “Well, fair enough, I’m also a monster－a hybrid for that matter.” 

After I told that, I transformed again into human. They gasped for an air as if they were baffled even more. 

“So what’s your decision then? Do you want to be part of my lineage or just to be in my group?” I reiterated but in a form of questions. The leader looked at his members as if they were talking to each other through stares. 

“It’s an honor and privilege to accept your offer, Miss?” 

“Call me Luna. And from now on, you are hmmm…” I paused momentarily to think of names that suit these three. 

“You are now called Zephyrus.” I placed my hand on top of their leader’s head then it suddenly glowed with bright blue light. He was already released from my Crystal Prison. This naming thingy is draining my magicite. 

After a few seconds of being enveloped by a glowing light, Zephyrus have became an elite ninja dressed up in a silky dark-blue uniform. His clothe seems like it’s characterized by both softness and firmness. He got a dark blue headband with a metal plate in front and there are three blue sparkling diamonds engraved on it. In addition, there are now two swords attached on Zephyrus’s back. He bowed at me as a sign of gratitude. I tapped his right shoulder and proceeded to his members. 

“From now on, you are Aurus and you are Carios.” I did just like what I did to Zephyrus. And the same thing happened to these two. They got the same weapons as Zephyrus, the only difference is their uniforms. The last two I named got uniforms like what regular ninjas have, though the color turned to blue too. 

“Report: You have tamed an elite class of monsters. 

Basic Skill, Agility has been acquired. 

Special Skill, Wind Cutter has been acquired.

Special Skill, Shadow Control has been acquired. 

Special Skill, Poison Creation has been acquired.

You are awarded with 1,000 EXP. 

Your HP storage has been raised to 4,000. Your current HP is 3,234.

Your MP storage has been raised to 4,000. Your current MP is 3,456.

Your magicite storage has been raised 15000. Your current magicite level is 55.

Please recharge your magical energies to continue your adventure,” Solomon segued in my mind.  

I almost lost my balance when my magicite level quickly dropped to 55. Naming these three monsters one at a time while maintaining my human form took a lot of magical energies. Good thing, Lumond was able to catch me just before I fell down to the ground. 

“What happened?” Zephyrus asked with concerns in his voice. 

“I ran out of magicite. Lumond, please take me to where the Dairy Mineral is. I need to replenish my magical energies,” I instructed him. 

“Understood, Master. Please pull yourself together. We’ll be there in no time. You, three, follow us and recharge your magicite too,” Lumond uttered, then, he carried me on his arms. 

I don’t have that much strength to speak so I just let him carry me the way he wanted and closed my eyes. My body automatically returned to its wolf form for the purpose of conserving my remaining magical energy.

*****

I stretched my feet on the ground as I woke up. I even yawned but I stopped when I realized I’m in my wolf form and was lying on Lumond’s lap. Oh, did I just slept on his lap? I immediately stepped out of him just before he gained consciousness. So mortifying! 

I just brushed off the embarrassment in my head and check on my status points. I let out a sigh as a relief upon seeing my magicite level being restored on its own. I see, I can raise my magicites too by resting or sleeping. Though, sleeping overnight is not enough to fill up my magicite storage which has been raised to 15000 yesterday. I failed to dink from the lake of Dairy Mineral last night after I passed out and maybe Lumond opted not to wake me up. Nonetheless, the lake is just there. It’s time to max out my magicite level. 

Since, my current magicite level now is enough to activate my skill, Metamorphosis, I transformed into human again. I took off my boots and have my way to the center of the lake to catch the dripping Dairy Mineral from the pointed rock hanging down on the ceiling of the cave. 

“This is really delicious!” I exclaimed in a blissful tone after drinking from my palms. It took me how many minutes before I was able to fill up my magicite storage. Having a lot of magicites is very important in naming monsters.

“Solomon, is there any possible way to store more magicite in my body?” I inquired. A screen suddenly appeared on my vision. 

“Using your skill, Manufacturer, it is possible to create a virtual chest within you and small bottles which you can use to store excess Dairy Minerals and utilize them for later consumption,” he replied. Just as expected, I can always rely on Solomon. 

“Please proceed to the creation of virtual chest within me, Solomon, and store the Dairy Minerals my body doesn’t need at the moment,” I commanded. 

“Copy that, Master! The creation of virtual chest within you will proceed in 3… 2… 1…” A suspenseful music suddenly played in my head. Then, there was this big bright blue light in my sight. After the light vanished, a beautiful box materialized with diamonds designed around it. It opened and hundreds of small glass bottles came out of it.

“Awesome!” I gushed out mentally. 

“The creation of virtual chest has been successful. You can now store Dairy Mineral beyond your body’s magicite storage,” Solomon prompted.

“Way to go! Now, I can drink Dairy Mineral beyond my limit,” I uttered then started seizing the white liquid flowing from above. But I stopped what I was doing when Aurus and Lumond showed up. The former seemed exhausted as he was barely catching his breath.

“Miss Luna, please drink moderately. Anything that is too much is bad,” Aurus reminded me while trying to regain his composure. 

“Yeah! Aurus is right, Miss Luna,” Lumond seconded. I laughed with hesitation as I mindlessly scratched my face because of embarrassment. 

“Sorry, for that. I was just maximizing my Magicite storage so I can utilize the excess Dairy Minerals that my body doesn’t need at the moment when the situation calls for it,” I reasoned out. 

“I see, Miss Luna. Anyway, I, Prince Zephyrus and Carios were exploring the cave early this morning to search for potential monsters to join in our group but unfortunately, we ran into a strong monster that already went berserk even before we encountered it. I left Prince Zephyrus and Carios fighting the monster to ask for your help,” he reported that made me speechless for a moment. After a few seconds, I managed to grab myself together and snapped back into my senses. 

“Take us to them, Aurus. We need to hurry before it’s too late.” My coordinate just nodded at me then we immediately left the place. I have a bad feeling about this. What kind of monster are we going to face this time? 

We came into halt for a moment when a long loud scream echoed inside the cave and it’s inflicting damage to our eardrums. We couldn’t help but to cover our ears with our hands. The ground started to shake, causing rubbles and broken fragments of rocks to fall from the ceiling. What the hell is going on?