《Catch monster, Raise monster, Evolve monster.nope lets fuse them! idgaf!》 1 The Start? ''More than 1000 years ago, scientists conducted experiments on manipulating genomes to forcefully "evolve" and "reconfigure" animals, re-creating extinct beings like mammoths and new breeds of animals such as double-uddered cows.'' *chop* *chop* *chop* ''200 years later, two scientists, "Professor Tajiri" and "Professor Sugimori", successfully created the first animal imbued with an element by infusing various ground and rock essences into a rhinoceros''s embryo while reconfiguring the genome to accommodate the change.'' ''This resulted in a new arms race in developing what people would call "monsters", rapidly advancing the technology while severely affecting the advancement of other technologies.'' *sizzle* *pop* ''The situation went out of control when PETA extremists simultaneously blew up over 100 laboratories around the world demanding a stop to arms race of the participating nations. Development was immediately brought to a halt but the effect of blowing the laboratories had a worse effect as the various chemicals left abandoned within the labs seeped into the atmosphere and clouds enveloping the whole world and brought change to all living creatures including humans.'' *kling* *plop* *thud* ''Animals gave birth to monsters in just one generation immediately replacing them, and some of these monster are infused with elements according to their traits and/or environment. Also, some humans mutated, enabling them to have the ability to gain control to some of these monsters.'' *nom nom nom* *gulp* *gulp* ''This event sparked a 3rd world war, lasting for more than a hundred year, and as the war was resolved, the majority of human technology was lost, including all the technology and knowledge used to develop monsters.'' *burp* ''30 years ago, humanity managed to climb back to a state, where the technology is similar to the ancient time of 2019.'' *sigh* Ji Liu shakes his head as he turned off the T.V. after eating dinner. The show was a rerun of the program played earlier in the morning. It was a documentary special celebrating the 30th year anniversary of Meiji, the leading tech company responsible for researching monsters. ''It has already been 30 years and we''ve barely scratched the surface'' he thought to himself. Tomorrow would start Ji Liu''s day as a researcher assistant in the Yun City''s Meiji branch. Although it sounds good, the branch is as good as dead since Yun City is near Wanqiang Metropolis which is where one of the Meiji leading branch is located. Nevertheless, a job is a job and he needs it to sustain his study since he''ll be out of the welfare program next month after turning 16. Although orphans are allowed to work starting at 14, there are some who are like Ji Liu who would focus on studying and would only start to work when they near 16. Welfare is only up to 16 years old since people would awaken their ability to form contract with monsters at that age and getting a job as a tamer by then is easy. And so, night falls and Ji Liu heads to his room in the school''s dormitory exclusive for outstanding students. Although the bed is a bunk bed, there are few students who actually stays in the dorm so he doesn''t have to share the room with anyone. Ji Liu wakes up earlier than usual today so he could prepare for both school and work which would usually be impossible. Good thing there was a recently hired researcher that prefers starting to work late else he would not be able to get this job. Preparing then eating breakfast, he greets the dorm guard Mr. Wei before leaving the dorm and walk towards the school. The school is separated to the dorm because there was no place for the school to fit the dorm so they just bought a separate small building for it. Ji Liu bump into his usual mob classmates also heading towards school and without anything eventful, almost 4 weeks already passed and today would be his 16th birthday! ''Wow, weeks sure fly fast.'' Ji Liu thought to himself. Today is the day that he would awaken his ability. All he have to do is get an ''awakening potion'' that he can afford from a government certified chemist, present his identification and drink it. Drinking it at another day aside from your 16th birthday would cause a rapid spreading cancer due to the forced gene mutation and only being at your 16th birthday would one not be affected due to the cellular state of the body complementing with the potion. Abilities may differ greatly depending on what type of ''awakening potion'' one drinks, one may be able to tame only fire type monster while another can only tame monsters with yellow color. This is one of Meiji''s discoveries that cemented their position as a global influence. But since he is working on one of Meiji''s branches, his ''awakening potion'' was given to him for free by one of the researchers, the one who he is an assistant to, Doctor Fei Hua. "Doctor, why is this unbranded?" asked Ji Liu as he look at the potion suspiciously. "Wait let me put a sticker." Doctor Fei Hua took the potion and set it in the table, then, took a piece of paper, scribbled something on it and took some transparent sticky tape and then taped the paper to the potion. When Ji Liu got the potion back, when he read aloud "rank 5 type-less" he wasn''t even finished reading and he is already shocked. "Doctor are you serious? Rank 5 type-less for free?" Ji Liu almost yelled asking. A rank 5 potion would allow him up to 5 tamed monsters, type-less is even more awesome as it would allow one to tame any type of monsters. Although not rare, it is quite expensive. An aspiring normal tamer would only get around rank 3 or 4 type-less, although rich young masters would have rank 7-9, meaning he has advantage over normal tamers is enough of a boon for an orphan such as Ji Liu so he was grateful. 2 Picking a Monster After seeing Ji Liu finish drinking the potion, Doctor Fei Hua then took out some booze out of nowhere and offered his assistant to drink, even though they are still supposed to be working. Ji Liu refused at first but When Doctor Fei Hua insisted that it was a special occasion, he agreed. When Ji Liu drank the first cup he was offered, he immediately fainted, the last sight he saw was Doctor Fei Hua''s back while the doctor was talking to someone on his phone. When Ji Liu came to, the sun was already almost up, and he was back at his dorm room. He looked at the clock and was surprised that the date shown was Monday. ''Monday? I''ve been asleep for 2 days?'' he wondered but his body demanded food, and without energy, his thinking would just be of food. he decided to ask Mr. Wei how he got home, so after preparing, washing and eating, he went out earlier and asked the dorm guard. "Good morning Mr. Wei!" Ji Liu greeted as he went down the stairs. Mr. Wei was sitting outside near the front door, drinking his coffee from a paper cup and eating his breakfast. He looks like the Hulk, but he is nicer. Than the hulk at least. "Well if it isn''t Ji Liu! Had your fun last Friday? You were walking like a zombie that night. hahahah!" "I don''t even remember what happened that night, did I went home on my own?" "Nope, you were accompanied by a beauty! I''m so jealous. Did you had your fun with her?" "Really?" "pfftt of course not! I had to drag you into your room after your boss carried you here. You were disturbing the neighbors." "Oh come on, stop teasing me like that, anyway, sorry about the trouble and thank you, Mr. Wei, for helping me get to my room, well, I got to go now else I''ll be late for school" Ji Liu waved goodbye and went to school. ****** During break period, he was swarmed by his classmates because of the news that he got a rank 5 type-less ''awakening potion'', some were amazed, some jealous while there are the inevitable non-believers. He had asked around and gathered info on what good monsters to get as a first monster and after school, he quickly went to the Monster Depot, where uncontracted captured monsters were sold. Monsters sold here are nothing special, but at least he can afford to buy one of them, and these monsters are also not too picky on making contracts so it''s the best place for poor sobs like him to buy monsters. On his hand is a list with 4 monsters that he had narrowed down to be his first contracted monster while waiting for the shop clerk to bring the monsters, he gave a final view on his list and his notes on them. Green Donkey ¨C rideable, fast, trainable, decent attack and defense Yellow Mouse ¨C very strong attack, poor defense, fast, noisy White Turtle ¨C very strong defense, can use light to camouflage, very poor attack, slow af Brown Chimp ¨C High intelligence, poor attack and defense While still waiting, a customer came out of the monster showroom with her recently bought monster, but what shock Ji Liu was what he saw ______ Red Cat Type: Fire Level: 2nd Stage Mortal Status: Healthy Abilities: warm attack Evolution condition: Slay 500(168 left) lesser monsters, Survive for 150 (61 left) days ______ Ji Liu was still in a daze when the clerk approached him notifying him that he is up next. He only recovered when the clerk tapped his shoulders and just mindlessly followed, his mind still a mess. He came back to his sense when a guard was frisking him for security purpose and then he and the clerk arrived inside the showroom after passing another guard responsible for the monsters. He was still at a doubt at first but when he saw the display showing again, this time for the four monsters in front of him, he was slightly convinced it''s real. He noticed he was even able to will it to shown or not. After looking at the status of the 4 monsters, Ji Liu decided to pick the White Turtle since it was the only one of the four with the most potential. ______ White Turtle Type: Light Level: 4th Stage Mortal Status: Healthy Abilities: Flash, Camouflage Evolution condition: Slay 5(5 left) lesser monsters, Survive for 730 (0 left) days Special evolution: Absorb sunlight for 1460 (0 left) days, Consume 1 (1 left) Metal-type monster core ______ ****** "Still alive I see." Arriving at the lab, that was the first thing that Doctor Fei Hua told Ji Liu. Smiling shyly, Ji Liu immediately started working. During idle time, the doctor noticed the White Turtle on Ji Liu''s desk and so he asked him. "You bought this stupid turtle as your first monster?" "What''s wrong with my turtle doctor? It has a good defense and can camouflage too! It can protect me when I start exploring so I think it''s a good deal for my money" protested Ji Liu. "The only attacks it would protect you against is an old man''s strike! You''re blinded by the defense and forgot about its speed! You could have bought an armor and shield made from its materials and it would protect you just the same, and cost cheaper!" "Tsk tsk tsk, that''s where you''re wrong doctor, this White Turtle is nearing its evolution towards a dual type of metal and light, I just need to feed it a metal type monster core now" "Oho? Well, ain''t that nice? Now you''ll make it even slower smartass. You really plan on making armor out of it, aren''t you? Well, good thing the company is providing one monster for each employee, and since you can contract one now, the company has sent a monster for you. Pick it up later after work" After that Ji Liu worked like mad till his shift ended. 3 Fusing Monsters Ji Liu got a free Purple Tailed Swift thanks to his work. On the way home, he checked the stats and was elated at what he saw ______ Purple Tailed Swift Type: Lightning Level: 6th Stage Mortal Status: Healthy Abilities: Lightning Trail, Lightning Attack Evolution condition: Slay 100(84 left) Mortal level monsters, Survive for 76 (24 left) days ______ ''The Purple Tailed Swift is an offense type monster, which complements my defensive type White Turtle. Although this guy still got a long way to break into bronze level'' Ji Liu thought to himself. There are 6 known monster levels and they are mortal, bronze, silver, gold, legend, and divine. And each level containing 9 stages. Although there are monsters called ''lesser monsters'', these are mortal monsters that have no connection to nature meaning they have no element and abilities. Advancing through stages requires monsters to absorb element they are in tune with, so lesser monsters cannot advance a stage, although, they can evolve in rare cases. Absorbing element is not just eating it however, a monster also has to gain some understanding to it, so battles and training are helpful in that regard, meditation and reading may also help, but it is only applicable to monsters with high enough intelligence. Mortal monsters breaks into bronze level once they reach the peak of the mortal stage. They could also reach bronze level if they evolve regardless of their stage. However, once reaching bronze, a monster''s stage plays a crucial role on how strong a monster is and monsters need to be at their peak stage before they could evolve in order to break through the next level. Heading home, Ji Liu slept after eating and school days passed quickly. ****** Saturday, Ji Liu just got back to his room after breakfast when his eyes fell on his two monsters laying lazily on the top of the bunk bed. ''Fuck! I forgot to make a contract with them!'' He then proceeds to make a contract with the two lazy bums by pricking his thumb till blood flowed and then pressed it on their forehead one at a time. After drinking an ''awakening potion'', a person''s blood would mutate to have a mutualistic trait that could invade a monster''s consciousness via their cerebral cortex. If a person wills its blood to form a contract while in contact with the targeted monster and the monster accepts, both would feel a stimulation within their cerebral cortex making a connection to each other, linking their consciousness. But should a monster decline, a backlash to the human would occur raging from coughing up blood to brain damage. Monsters that have weak consciousness, or those unconscious, would have weaker resistance given that the person initiating the contract have a strong enough mental strength. People, on the other hand, who used an ''awakening potion'' that has a type limit, would always fail the contract attempt and receive backlash if they tried doing so on other types not covered by the potion. While exceeding the contract amount would overload one''s consciousness, making the person fall into a coma. After the White Turtle, the Purple Tailed Swift''s turn was also quickly finished, but just as Ji Liu finished, he heard a ring followed by a soothing female voice in his heard. *Ting* "System has detected that Young Ji Liu successfully contracted his 2nd monster, initializing fusing tutorial" *weng* Just before Ji Liu could react, a scruffy male voice started the talking about the fusing feature of the system. "The fusing system is simple, let''s use your 2 monsters as samples, you just have to bring out their status window and will the fusion to commence, just make sure that the two monsters are contracted to you and a new window will appear like so." ______ Monster 1: Purple Tailed Swift Type: Lightning Level: 6th Stage Mortal Abilities: Lightning Trail, Lightning Attack + Monster 2: White Turtle Type: Light Level: 4th Stage Mortal Abilities: Flash, Camouflage Result: Fulminating Balearica Type: Divine Lightning Level: 1st Stage Legend Abilities: Divine Lightning Trail, Divine Lightning Attack, Illumination, Conceal Presence ______ Ji Liu''s jaw dropped when he saw the fusing result, he was already starting to fantasize the future when the male voice resumed talking. "Then you just have to will it again to commence and wait for a while for the fusion to finish." The male voice concluded. "Fusing process waiting time ranges from 15 minutes to a month or possibly more depending on the resulting monster and the monsters used as fusing materials. Also, please do remember that monsters used as fusing materials will be gone and you also cannot fuse another pair while there is an ongoing fusion or else your brain would turn into liquid." The female''s voice added before the fusing tutorial for Ji Liu ended. The fusing window stayed open and Ji Liu noticed the ''Fusing Duration'' at the very bottom and the word ''6 months'' beside it. ''Too long, maybe I can cut the time if I evolve my White Turtle to bronze level, who knows? Maybe I''ll even get a divine level monster instead!'' Ji Liu daydreams as he closes the fusing window. It would be payday in two days, by then, Ji Liu can buy the metal type monster core needed for his White Turtle to evolve to bronze. He immediately marks it on the calendar and set a reminder on his phone so he would not miss the day. After doing boring school stuffs and cleaning the dorm room, morning till afternoon only taking a break for lunch, Ji Liu was studying his monsters and writing down his observation on them when a sudden loud banging on the door erupted. *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* Ji Liu wasn''t even able to react yet, when his monsters were startled and they quickly and reflexively took precaution. The White Turtle used camouflage and then hid inside its shell while the Purple Tailed Swift was ready to burst forth activating its Lightning Trail ability. *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* "POLICE! OPEN THE DOOR NOW!" 4 Down in the Sewer Ji Liu opened the door and the Purple Tailed Swift immediately shot towards the open door. Lightning element follows the monster as it hit the man in his stomach. This is the skill [Lightning Trail], where the element would follow the monster till it halts or collide with an object or target, it doubles the force of the attack and imbues it with the element. The man knocking on the door was surprised, he didn''t have the time to react when he is stunned by the lightning attack. Ji Liu followed the attack by grabbing the guy on his collar and throwing him inside the room. "Please stop making a scene Wang Zi, just imagine what would Mr. Wei do when people complain?" Ji Liu complains to the man in spectacles. "It''s not like there''s anyone else besides us during the weekend in the dorm. Everyone else would have gone home for the weekend." Wang Zi rebutted while making himself comfortable by sitting on the only chair in front of a study table. "So, have you already decided where we''ll be exploring tomorrow? I heard there''s a good amount of poison types in the southern forest just before the beach." Ji Liu asks while busily taking a look at the Purple Tailed Swift, Wang Zi already experienced getting hit by the swift twice this week when he kept bothering Ji Liu. "Nope! We''re going to the sewer!" Wang Zi declared. He just recently ''awakened'' and had a poison type as the only type he can make a contract with; and since he is even poorer than Ji Liu, the only way for him to get his first contract monster is to tame a wild one. ****** After contracting two monsters, which is his maximum, Wang Zi was elated since it wasn''t even noon but he already got a Pale Tounged Cottontail and a Green Flying Nope. Ji Liu, on the other hand, got a Meek-Eyed Mouse, Orange Spotted Eleuth, and a Smogged Anole. Ji Liu let Wang Zi head home first while he stayed behind still in the sewers as he was planning on checking if fusing his new monsters would be fast, and if so, He could catch some more while waiting the on the fusing duration. So he took a look at two of his monsters, but what was displayed was very different to what he expects. ______ Monster 1: Meek-Eyed Mouse Type: Dark Level: 3rd Stage Mortal Abilities: Whistle + Monster 2: Orange Spotted Eleuth Type: Poison Level: 5th Stage Mortal Abilities: Poison Attack Result: Stealth Bone Rat Type: Dark / Poison Level: 1st stage Bronze Abilities: Shadow Steps, Advanced Dark Attack, Dark Stealth Fusing Duration: 15 minutes ______ Ji Liu was surprised, it was too different from the result from the tutorial, and so he quickly tried fusing his White Turtle and Purple Tailed Swift to check but the result made him cry. ______ Result: Storm Cloud Eagle Type: Light / Lightning Level: 1st Stage Bronze Abilities: Advanced Lightning Attack, Light Stealth, Advanced Lightning Trail ______ He tried different methods of showing the status of the two; swift first then turtle, turtle then swift and, even both simultaneously but the result is the same. The order of showing the status doesn''t affect the result, the result didn''t change. "Hey system voices, where are you?" Ji Liu lost it and shouted out loud but no response was given no matter what. ''Tsk, what happened? A malfunction? But then why would the window still appear? Maybe the fusing feature? Hmm, let''s try if it works.'' Ji Liu tries to figure out the problem so he began fusing the Stealth Bone Rat to try it out. After 15 minutes, he already contracted another monster, another Meek-Eyed Mouse, but the fusing result went smoothly, so the system functions as normal. He then tried fusing the Smogged Anole he caught previously to the newly caught Meek-Eyed Mouse. ______ Monster 1: Smogged Anole Type: Poison / Wind Level: 8th Stage Mortal Abilities: Smog Breath, Venom Fang, Wind Movements + Monster 2: Meek-Eyed Mouse Type: Dark Level: 3rd Stage Mortal Abilities: Whistle Result: Hazy Moon Shrew Type: Dark / Poison / Wind Level:3rd stage Bronze Abilities: Dark Stealth, Illusion Attack, Advanced Poison Attack Fusing Duration: 3 hours ______ Since it''s going to be a long wait, after catching a Black Snail, Ji Liu leaves the sewer to head back home to take a shower, eat lunch and study. Along the way home, however, just as he was passing by a store, he noticed his reflection and how he was carrying the Black Snail and White Turtle on each hand, the Purple Tailed Swift was perched on his head while the Stealth Bone Rat was following behind. The Hazy Moon Shrew was hidden inside his bag because while monsters are still being fused, they turn into embryos created by the bodies of the two monsters used as materials. They look similar to an egg without a shell but a rapidly developing embryo instead of a yolk in the middle. Evolution process looks similar, but only use one body instead of two. ****** Days passed by and it is already Saturday, Ji Liu''s White Turtle already evolved into a 4th level Bronze Radiant Baby Carbonemys after feeding it the Metal-type core. Doctor Fei Hua did not miss it and insisted on evolving it in the lab so he can observe the process. Ji Liu also fused his Hazy Moon Shrew with the Stealth Bone Rat, which just finished fusing today. And the result was quite pleasing ______ Illusory Bone Mouse Type: Illusion Level: 5th level Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Illusory steps, stealth, Advanced Poison Attack, Illusion Attack Evolution condition: Slay 300 (300 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 730 (730 left) days Special evolution: Slay 50 (50 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Slay 1 (1 left) Gold or higher level monsters ______ Ji Liu then brought up the fusing window, this time, the ones fusing would be the Radiant Baby Carbonemys and the Illusory Bone Mouse. ______ Result: Sunset Silver Duprasi Type: Illusion / Light / Metal Level:8th stage Bronze Abilities: Stealth, Advanced Illusion Attack, Advanced Poison Attack, Flash, Augment sense Fusing Duration: 3 hours ______ 5 Talking with Doctor Fei Hua *Ring* *Ring* *Ring* Waking up to the sound of a phone ringing, the man lying beside the bed used his pillow to cover his ears. He let it ring a few more times before looking who would call him so early in the morning. He suddenly sprang up and immediately picked it up once he saw the name ''Branch Manager ¨C Wu Ken'' display on the screen. "Good morning Manager Ken, what can I do for you?" He answered the call while setting up his wireless earphone. {Doctor, regarding the observation report you made about a White Turtle evolving into a new species, do you still have the specimen? The main branch is curious.} "Oh! Sorry Manager Ken but that monster is not from the lab, but my assistant''s monster. I''ll ask him to bring it over." {Okay. Bring it to the lab tomorrow morning.} Doctor Fei Hua was just about to tell the Manager that Ji Liu would be at school at that time and won''t be able to bring the monster when he already ended the call. ''Tsk'' with nowhere to vent his anger, he dialed Ji Liu''s number and set the phone to the side. {Good morning Doctor Fei Hua. Is there something up?} "Yes indeed, can you bring your Turtle to the lab today and leave it till tomorrow?" The doctor asks as he takes out a sandwich from his refrigerator and heats it in the microwave. {Uhhmm. The thing is Doctor, I won''t be able to bring it.} "Why? If it''s about food, don''t worry about it, there will be people taking care of it too." {It''s not like that doctor, you see, I don''t have it anymore.} *Teet* *Teet* *Teet* Ji Liu was so slow to talk that the microwave is already done heating the sandwich. "What? Wait, don''t tell me you already butchered it to make armor and shield?" The doctor asked as he munches on his sandwich, but there was an even longer pause that he already finished eating the sandwich before Ji Liu replied. {Can you keep a secret doctor?} ''Secret? What secret? This kid is being dramatic. Maybe he''s being bullied and that''s why he got the turtle? Poor kid.'' The doctor thought to himself. "Alright, alright, let''s meet and talk about it at the lab after lunch." The Doctor told Ji Liu in a consoling way. Ending the call, he washed his hand and went back to sleep. ****** It''s 4 o''clock. A man who carries what seems to be his half-eaten lunch was walking toward a two-story building. He is only 29, but his shoulder-length, wavy, ash-gray hair coupled with his decrepit appearance have people think he already have grandchildren. On his way, he noticed the door was still locked, and no sign of people inside the building. ''Weird, he must have left already.'' He thought to himself, as he had made an appointment with his assistant earlier in the morning. Displeased, he went inside and made a call. "Where are you?" "You arrived Doctor? I''m in the employee''s lobby. Please wait for me, I''m on my way." ****** Ji Liu arrived at the lab where Doctor Fei Hua was waiting. He already planned out what he would say and what he would keep as a secret. "Doctor, after awakening, I seem to be able to see a monster''s status window, and that was how I was able to evolve the White Turtle into a Radiant Baby Carbonemys." "I see! So the experimental potion works after all! Heheheh" Doctor Fei Hua beamed with joy at what he heard. "Ex- Experimental? Doctor, were you the one who made the potion? And you tried it on me?" Ji Liu was horrified at what he heard. "Well, nothing happened to you anyway so it''s all good right? But you have to keep it a secret okay? Also, I didn''t made that thing. It''s one of Meiji''s latest breakthrough and is at the final testing phase. I have to report this." There was nothing Ji Liu could do even though he is unconvinced at what the Doctor said. But then again, he wasn''t sure if it was true or not. And the reason the Turtle is gone hasn''t even been explained yet. "Doctor since that is the case then you should compensate me. I only need two simple things, the first one is that that the matters concerning the turtle should be dropped." Ji Liu demanded as he thought it would be the easiest way to avoid the matter. "I didn''t even agree about compensating you." The Doctor replied while shaking his head. "But consider that one done since I would be reporting the matter concerning the potion anyway." The Doctor added. "The second one is information. How was it possible develop such potion." Asks Ji Liu, his curiosity preceding him. "What''s the use of knowing that?" Doctor Fei Hua scowled. But he then proceeds to answer the question. TL;DR, two researchers made it some time ago by adding a mutating agent that would modify the DNA causing a mutation within the optic nerve during the awakening process. Pitying Ji Liu for asking such question, the Doctor had an idea and gave the kid a task. ****** A kid wearing his school uniform was walking around the forest outskirts east of Yun City. He has a mid-length, curly, fiery-red hair contrasting his small sea-blue colored eyes. Although a little lacking in height, his aura is of that of a mature person. Yes. This person is Ji Liu. In front of him are 3 monsters. An unconscious 9th stage Bronze leveled Silver Edge Eaglesong, an 8th stage Bronze leveled Sunset Silver Duprasi and a 3rd stage bronze level Thundara Sparrow. Ji Liu just finished making a contract with the Silver Edge Eaglesong. It was unexpectedly strong and prey on smaller monsters and was only subdued due to the support of the Thundara Sparrow. The Thundara Sparrow was a result when he fused his Purple Tailed Swift with the Black Snail, and currently, he has these 3 as his contracted monsters. 6 Exploration Doctor Fei Hua gave Ji Liu the task to find a monster with Wind / Water dual type. Sadly, capturing it for the lab was the aim so Ji Liu can''t form a contract with it. Exploring the forest outskirts of the city instead of going to the lab was what the Doctor advised him to do. At first, Ji Liu thought that it would be an easy task since this Yun City, but it was already the 3rd day and he still hasn''t caught one. The good thing though is that Ji Liu learned a lot about fusing in these 3 days, first was that fusing different leveled monster would result in the same higher leveled monster. An example would be like fusing his Sunset Silver Duprasi with any Mortal level monster, the result would still be a Sunset Silver Duprasi no matter what. In short, no mutation occurs, but a new monster is still created, meaning that if a 1st stage monster had increased its stage to 5th stage and was fused, the resulting monster would be at the 1st stage. Another discovery was that fusing the same monsters would result in the same monster, only weaker. He took note of this and he decided to call it ''redundant mutation'' where, to put it simply, the resulting monster''s DNA code which would look like ''ATG'' is mutated by two fusing monster, but the resulting mutated code is still ''ATG''. There is also the ''Unexpected Mutation'' in which the resulting monster turns out different than what the system showed. The first time he experienced this was when he got a 2nd stage bronze leveled Ice Mantis when he fused his Thundara Sparrow and with a Crystal Mantis instead of the predicted 6th stage bronze leveled Rainbow Oriole. ****** Ji Liu thought that he may have to wait for Saturday since the time he is able to hunt is quite late till night, but he still goes around hunting so he could fuse monsters and currently was a number of minutes away from finishing another one. Bored, he decided to name his monsters. First was the 9th stage Bronze leveled Silver Edge Eaglesong, it was fast so he named it as ''Xiao Su''. The other one was a no-brainer since it is a 5th stage Bronze leveled Ruby-Eyed Nomad-Bee, he named it ''Beedrill''. The Sunset Silver Duprasi was next on the naming list since the other two is currently being fused and Ji Liu was reluctant to name the monster in advance since he knew it can still undergo ''Unexpected Mutation''. He then caught a 4th stage Bronze leveled Skull Donkey and after defeating it, started forcing a contract to the monster, and as the contract slowly completes, the blood collar also forms slowly. This so-called blood collar is what differentiates contracted monsters to non-contracted ones, is made out of the contractor''s blood and is easy to detect even from far away so people know if a monster is tamed in advance. Just as he waits for the donkey to gain consciousness, pondering what good name he''ll give his Sunset Silver Duprasi and the new guy, he spotted a 5th stage Bronze leveled Cloud Mamba, a dual typed monster of wind / water near another monster''s nest by the river. It was just what he was looking for. He commanded Xiao Su and Beedrill to secure the perimeter while his Sunset Silver Duprasi, which he decided to call ''Xiao Cike'', would mount a sneak attack since its skill set is very good at executing assassinations. Xiao Cike first executed its [Stealth] to move unnoticed, slowly closing in, it then used [Advanced Poison Attack] using its fang and claws surprising the enemy monster. Poison Attacks are wonderful for sneak attacks such as these since even just a slight contact would poison the target. Just when the Cloud Mamba was about to retaliate from the barrage of attack, Xiao Cike waited for the enemy to turn around to face it before disengaging and then followed up by executing its [Flash] Ability. The effect was not great since the snake uses its pit organ to detect its prey''s location by the heat its body emits, but it still did the job of distracting the snake enough to buy time for Xiao Cike to use its [Advanced Illusion Attack]. Xiao Cike''s illusions are made by producing a sound that messes with the target''s brain. And while still under this effect, Xiao Cike used tackle and its super effective! The wild Cloud Mamba fainted. Ji Liu then immediately took out his bag and put the snake inside since the fusion was done during the battle. He decided to let Xiao Cike rest for a bit while he checks the status of his two new monsters ______ Skull Donkey Type: Dark / Earth Level: 4th stage Bronze Status: Slightly weakened Abilities: Earth Attack, Dark Trail Evolution condition: Slay 100 (53 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 183 (42 left) days Special evolution: Endure 5000 (0 left) attacks, Consume 5 (5 left) Dark-type monster core ______ Jet-Black jumping Spider Type: Ice / Dark Level: 7th stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Ice Trail, Advance Ice Attack, Advance Dark Attack, Dark Stealth Evolution condition: Slay 300 (300 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 61 (61 left) days ______ While looking at the monsters wondering whom he should fuse, he detected Beedrill''s need for help. Putting his bag on top of the Skull Donkey, he notified Xiao Su to rush there and help while he picked up Xiao Cike and ran toward Beedrill''s direction. Ji Liu arrived late. He spotted Beedrill heavily wounded while Xiao Su tries desperately to defend the bee. The monster attacking was a rare one, it''s one of those humanoid looking monsters with high intelligence. The patchwork armor it wears on its body is made from monsters with high defense, mainly water and earth type ones. It wields a spear made out of a monster''s horn, clearly worn with the amount it was used. 7 Intense Battle ______ Photophobic Orc Type: Earth / Dark Level: 5th stage Bronze Status: Slightly Injured Abilities: Dark Trail, Advanced Earth Attack, Dark Attack Evolution condition: Slay 500 (147 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 183 (21 left) days Special evolution: Slay 5 (4 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Consume 1 (1 left) Water-type monster sphere ______ Looking extremely human-like, the difference between an Orc and a Human would be the skin color, long ears, and its distinct 2 inch long fangs. They also have a more prominent jawline, defined cheekbones, larger stature, more toned body and are aloof. The Orc monsters'' origin is well documented. During the arms race before the 3rd world war, a group of fanatic geneticist made advancement on human mutation creating a human sub-species called "Homosapien Dumauris'' based on their distinct long ears but are more famous for their common name ''Elf''. After this advancement, during the early days of the 3rd world war, the new human sub-species ''Elf'' along with normal humans, were experimented by a famous ''Doctor Melkor'' which resulted to another new human sub-species, ''Homosapien Vehemens''. The newly discovered human sub-species quickly joined the war due to their strong and violent nature. Over time, this new sub-species were affected by the remnant chemicals in the atmosphere turning them into monsters capable of reason, and thus, Orc monsters are born. Orcs are solitary creatures, for they know that trust among themselves would only result in betrayal. They are hermaphrodites which means they can reproduce alone. They do this by parthenogenetically producing an egg and then spitting them and leaving the egg on its own. They only care about getting stronger and fighting stronger monsters hence the only reason they would reproduce is for the hope that their offspring would grow strong enough to challenge them. ****** Ji Liu was careful, he commanded Xiao Cike to do a sneak attack while Xiao Su is still distracting the Orc. During the commotion, the Jet-Black Jumping Spider, now named ''Xiao Yue'', would sneak and save Beedrill with its [Dark Stealth]. After all, it''s already night time and the skill can only be used with dark surrounding. The Skull Donkey would stay behind with Ji Liu to protect him and be a mount if the situation deems it necessary. The plan to rescue Beedrill started, Xiao Cike used its combo of [Stealth] and [Advanced Poison Attack] while Xiao Su used its [Metal Trail] paired with [Advanced Metal Attack] to deal heavy damage. But the Photophobic Orc is not dumb, it leaped, activated [Dark Trail] while twisting its body sideways, held its spear horizontally and used the handle to parry Xiao Su''s attack. Meanwhile, Xiao Yue sneaked closer with [Dark Stealth] and prepared its web, ready to throw it to Beedrill when the opportunity arrives. The Orc was hit by Xiao Cike''s surprise attack but it then countered by using its [Advanced Earth Attack] on its spear and feet. The spear was thrown, it was an unexpected attack which hit Xiao Su just as it was about to prepare another attack. A small quake then followed as the Orc''s feet stomped the ground shattering a small area which knocked Xiao Cike off balance. Seizing this opportunity, the Orc knew that Xiao Cike''s poison would pose the greatest threat so it used all 3 of its skill and charged toward Xiao Cike to eliminate the monster while Xiao Su was distracted. But this was a mistake. Just as the Orc was nearing, Xiao Cike used [Flash] to blind the monster. A roar of pain and anger can be heard while the Orc shields its eyes with its hands. Xiao Yue''s chance came immediately, it threw its web towards Beedrill securing the monster, and quickly jumps toward Ji Liu''s location. Meanwhile, Xiao Su already recovered and went to attack the Orc while it was still in pain. Xiao Cike also didn''t let up and used its fangs, claws and even its tail to send a barrage of [Advanced Poison Attack]. The Orc recovered too late as it was already at a semi-conscious state when it released another [Advanced Earth Attack] on its arms and smashed the ground asunder. This attack opened up the opportunity for the Orc to recover its spear and smack Xiao Cike with its 3 abilities. The attack sent Xiao Cike flying while coughing up blood. The Orc followed up by tackling Xiao Su with its shoulder and then swatting it down hard knocking the bird unconscious. This alerted Ji Liu as he thought that the battle was almost won. Just as The Orc was about to pierce through Xiao Su however, Beedrill rushed and tackled the Orc hard knocking the monster unconscious. At first, Ji Liu felt elated and was about to clap and praise the bug but then suddenly felt a sharp pain that almost knocked him down. He knew what was happening. It was Beedrill. Beedrill was dying! Ji Liu immediately rushed towards the bug''s side but when he saw its status as ''death imminent'', he lost hope and started sobbing. But then, an idea came and he thought that maybe if he used Beedrill as a fusion material, he could avoid the bug''s death and have its genes passed on. After all, personality can also be inherited through genetic inheritance. Quickly gathering his monsters, he chose the skull donkey as the other monster and the fusing immediately commenced. ______ Monster 1: Skull Donkey Type: Dark / Earth Level: 4th stage Bronze Abilities: Earth Attack, Dark Trail + Monster 2: Ruby-Eyed Nomad-Bee Type: Wind / Poison Level: 6th stage Bronze Abilities: Wind Trail, Poison Attack Result: Swamp Meganeura Type: Dark / Earth / Poison Level: 9th stage Bronze Abilities: Wind Trail, Advanced Earth Attack, Poison Attack, Advanced Eyesight Fusing Duration: 4 days ______ Ji Liu was about to go back and report to Doctor Fei Hua when he noticed a fainted Photophobic Orc just lying around begging to be Contracted. He thought at first and decided against it and just left it there and went back to the city. 8 Nothing Better to Do Of course it was only a joke that Ji Liu would be passing up a smart monster to be contracted. It has already been 4 days since contracting the Orc which he named ''Jinao'' and it learned to lead and do basic coordination with Ji Liu''s other monsters. Breaking away from the solitary ways of the Orc during battle, he stills prefers being alone when not hunting though. Jinao was also recently influenced by Ji Liu to read when he saw the student diligently reading a book. The Orc got an interest in reading and began practicing basic communication with Ji Liu. At first, since he only have small monsters like Xiao Cike, it was okay for them to stay at the dorm room and only eat food scraps, but since he got Jinao, which was bigger than him by more than a head and an appetite much larger than his. He previously talked to Mr. Wei if he could use the other bunk bed for Jinao which the guard the passed on to the school for review. His monsters also now hunts without him to get their food when he goes to school. Jinao pretends to be a ragged tamer wearing an armor and wielding a spear while covering its mouth and neck with a black scarf to hide its long fangs and blood collar. It also wears a sunglass as it dislikes any form of light. The dorm room, which recently officially became Ji Liu and Jinao''s shared quarters, was getting crowded. Xiao Yue is half a meter tall and a meter in length while Xiao Su is a meter in length with wings closed and can''t even fly inside so it spends most of its idle time hanging around the balcony. But the biggest problem is the new guy. It''s currently hidden inside the closet but it would be 2 meters in length, almost a meter in height and 4 meters of wingspan once done fusing. *Thud* *Thud* *Thud* Ji Liu was just thinking of what to do about his monsters when a knock disturbed his train of thought. ''Must be Wang Zi.'' He said to himself. He knows how the guy knocks. He did not open the door immediately but was waiting for the usual skit of his friend. Jinao reads his intention and positioned itself ready to punch the stomach of the guy behind the door. *knock* *knock* Sadly, the shouting did not occur but a different knock came in its place. Ji Liu was surprised and let Jinao sit back while he opens the door. What came into view were 3 people. Wang Zi and friends. Ji Liu doesn''t know the names of other two but he knows that they are from the student council. Come to think of it, Wang Zi is also a part of the student council, unreliable as he may look. ****** Although today is Saturday, Ji Liu is currently at school. He was brought by the 3 student council members to move some dusty old boxes from the old building to the new one. This old building would be renovated and would be going to be a ''monster stable'' for students and visitors for the school festival. Ji Liu brought along Jinao to help so that they can finish faster. "Who''s this guy? A transfer student?" whispers Qian Xuan while he carries a box full of papers. "Well, he is staying in the dorm. So he must be." Confirms Yue Guang. "He''s too quiet though, try speaking with him." She was carrying a box herself but the guy took it from her, so she ended up only carrying a book. "What? Why me? He''s definitely your type, you go talk to him." Qian Xuan protested, as the two talked while walking behind the man in question. After kicking Qian Xuan in the shin, Yue Guang walked forward and asks "Are you new here?" The man gave a deep nod without looking at her. "My name''s Yue Guang and that guy behind is Qian Xuan, What''s your name? Where''d you come from?" "Jinao. Up north." A simple reply, Jinao was still not very good at speaking to others. "Ji Nao huh, Wanqiang? Is it good?" Yue Guang asked if he is from the Metropolis while mistaking the Orc''s name. "Yup." Jinao didn''t understand the question and thought for a bit before deciding to just say yes. "That book, is it good?" Seeing an opportunity to practice communicating and also a possible book to read, Jinao followed up. ****** It was almost night time and the Swamp Meganeura is about to finish fusing. Ji Liu was at the dorm''s roof deck with the blob together with Xiao Cike, Xiao Su and Xiao Yue. The student council members thought that Jinao was a transfer student and dragged it with them to go karaoke so it was not present. The students were all being chummy with it so Ji Liu let it come with them while he excused himself with studying. The result though was that it keeps sending Ji Liu S.O.S. when they separate. Ji Liu was researching and looking at the fusing outcomes of the 3 monsters while waiting for the fusion to finish. ______ Silver Edge Eaglesong + Jet-Black jumping Spider Result: Night Tundra Owl Type: Ice / Dark / Steel Level: 9th stage Bronze Abilities: Ice Trail, Advance Ice Attack, Advance Dark Attack, Dark Stealth, Advance Metal Attack ______ Silver Edge Eaglesong + Sunset Silver Duprasi Result: Four-Winged Pacarana Type: Illusion / Light / Steel Level: 1st Stage Silver Abilities: Stealth, Advanced Illusion Attack, Advanced Poison Attack, Flash, Augment sense, Metal Trail ______ Jet-Black jumping Spider + Sunset Silver Duprasi Result: Eight-Legged Jerboa Type: Crystal / Illusion Level: 9th stage Bronze Abilities: Crystal Trail, Advanced Illusion Attack, Advanced Poison Attack, Crystal Attack, Conceal Presence ______ He noticed that some types fuse into one when a certain level was achieved, like the illusion type from dark + wind + poison and now the crystal type from metal + ice + light. He took note of this as it would help him in fusing monsters in the future. He also found out that he needs the two monster fusing to be at the 9th stage before it moves to a higher level. And so, the fusion ended. 9 Bottleneck ______ Swamp Meganeura + Sunset Silver Duprasi Result: Citrine-Shelled Fading Doedicurus Type: Crystal / Illusion Level: 1st stage Silver Abilities: Fade, Advanced Illusion Attack, Advanced Poison Attack, Advanced Augment Sense Fusing Duration: 21 days ______ Swamp Meganeura + Silver Edge Eaglesong Result: Swamp Tiger Hornet Type: Swamp / Steel Level: 1st stage Silver Abilities: Swamp Attack, Advanced Eyesight, Advanced Metal Trail Fusing Duration: 17 days ______ Although he found out that he can also get Crystal type from Earth + Metal + Light and that Swamp type can be achieved by fusing Dark + Earth + Poison, and perhaps even Water, Ji Liu was still disappointed. The disappointment comes from what he observed that Silver level fusions would take at least two weeks, and also the fact that the monsters he has right now are good, but he researched and found out that that the fusing monster results are subpar even if they are Silver level. He thought that perhaps he should have thought more about the fusion process. These were only his thoughts though because, in reality, he can still create an even better monster using these subpar monsters. In his mind, fusing monsters should only result in stronger monsters, anything else is a failure. Just when Ji Liu was considering if he should start fusing for the Citrine-Shelled Fading Doedicuru or not, Jinao arrived and saw that the fusion was finished. It then quietly sat at the side along with the other monsters. Seeing his monsters line up like that, Ji Liu remembered he should name the Swamp Meganeura, he thought hard for two seconds and concluded that ''Ting Ting'' would suit it best. Looking at its status window, he then saw and recalled that he can evolve the monsters instead to push them to Silver level when they reach peak stage. So he quickly checked their status to take a look at the evolution conditions. ______ Sunset Silver Duprasi (Xiao Cike) Type: Illusion / Light / Metal Level: Peak stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Stealth, Advanced Illusion Attack, Advanced Poison Attack, Flash, Augment Sense Evolution condition: Slay 300 (97 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 31 (23 left) days ______ Silver Edge Eaglesong (Xiao Su) Type: Metal Level: Peak stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Advanced Metal Attack, Metal Trail Evolution condition: Slay 200 (0 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 61 (5 left) days Special evolution: Consume 1 (1 left) Poison type monster Sphere, Consume 10 (0 left) Poison type monster core ______ Jet-Black jumping Spider (Xiao Yue) Type: Ice / Dark Level: 8th stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Ice Trail, Advance Ice Attack, Advance Dark Attack, Dark Stealth Evolution condition: Slay 300 (132 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 61 (57 left) days ______ Photophobic Orc (Jinao) Type: Earth / Dark Level: 7th stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Dark Trail, Advanced Earth Attack, Dark Attack Evolution condition: Slay 500 (0 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 183 (17 left) days Special evolution: Slay 5 (1 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Consume 1 (1 left) Water-type monster sphere ______ Swamp Meganeura (Ting Ting) Type: Dark / Earth / Poison Level: 9th stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Wind Trail, Advanced Earth Attack, Poison Attack, Advanced Eyesight Evolution condition: Slay 250 (250 left) Mortal or higher level monsters, Survive for 45 (45 left) days ______ Seeing their status, Ji Liu made a plan. Since tomorrow is Sunday, early morning they''ll first go to the southern forest to hunt for a Silver Level Poison type monster for its ''monster sphere'' for Xiao Su then head further south to the beach for a Silver level water type monster''s ''monster sphere'' for Jinao. These monster spheres, and also monster cores, are organs usually found within a monster''s heart. If the heart''s job is to circulate the blood, then the monster core circulates the absorbed element. Training it by using the element has the same as training muscles. If muscles grow bigger when trained, then a monster core gets denser. The denser a core is, the higher the level of the monster. These organs starts out as just a part of the blood in mortal monsters, it would then harden into monster core once reaching Bronze level, as a monster reach silver level, it is further compressed and becomes a monster sphere, then monster nucleus at Gold level, elemental core at Legend level and elemental Sphere at Divine level. ****** Sunday afternoon, Ji Liu and his monsters were fighting a 9th stage Bronze Electric Jellyfish and 1st stage silver leveled Lightning Jellyfish. These monster may be jellyfish, but they use ''Electrostatic levitation'' to float and move above ground whenever they want to. The two Jellyfish monsters are coordinating with each other giving Ji Liu''s 5 monsters a hard time. There were also no covers to use [Stealth] with to give Xiao Cike and Xiao Yue a chance to sneak attack and the Silver level monster have the ability [Lighting Overcharge] that envelopes the monster with lightning. Xiao Cike mainly uses its [Advanced Poison Attack] by spitting as it can''t get near, but its damage is almost negligible. Xiao Yue''s long-range Webs are good control but only accounts to being a nuisance as it is frequently cleared by the [Lighting Overcharge] and a tentacle with [Lightning Trail] used by the Bronze level monster. Jinao was using its spear and [Advanced Earth Attack] to fight the Silver level Jellyfish while Xiao Su provides support by shooting blades of wind enhanced with [Advanced Metal Attack] with its wings. Jinao has the type advantage but is weaker in level thus creating a tough situation. Although fighting 2v1, the Silver level Jellyfish still has time to provide support to its partner from time to time. Ting Ting also have an intense battle with the Bronze level Electric Jellyfish. Having the type advantage with equal level, It would be a won battle if not for the constant support from the Silver level Jellyfish. Realizing that the situation would worsen if the fighting continued this way, Ting Ting proposed a risky strategy. After all, it inherited Beedrill''s bravery. 10 Beach Episode Fighting the two monsters, Ji Liu''s monsters changed their pace and quickly shifted positions. Ting Ting''s plan was to first split the two monsters and take out the Bronze level Electric Jellyfish first 4v1 while Ting Tint would fight with the Silver level Lightning Jellyfish buying time. The two main point of the strategy is the execution of how the two would be separated and the 1v1. With Ting Ting''s mobility and type advantage, it could theoretically buy them enough time given there would be no slip-up. The separation, on the other hand, would entirely be on Xiao Yue''s hand to use its web and pull the Bronze level Jellyfish. The plan started with Ting Ting by initiating using its wings to blow the sands on the beach paired with [Advanced Earth Attack] to the two Jellyfishes. Blowing sand recklessly would also hit allies so they have obviously prepared for it at the cost of losing some rhythm. Although lacking in damage, it was enough to cause distraction creating an opportunity for Jinao to execute a spear combo with [Advanced Earth Attack] on the Silver level Jellyfish while Xiao Su unleashes its attacks on the Bronze level Jellyfish causing it to stagger. Prepared for this opportunity, Xiao Yue''s web with [Advanced Ice Attack] wrapped around the tentacles of the Bronze level Jellyfish and dragged it away quickly. The dragged Jellyfish is a meter in diameter, but the web was strong enough to pull it away far enough. Xiao Cike, who was sun bathing on the shore while cheering for them, suddenly sprang up and charged at the tied Bronze level Jellyfish. It previously was useless due to its weakness to lightning, but now, every damage would count to faster defeating the monster, even Ji Liu was throwing some stones and other kinds of stuff. The Silver level Jellyfish noticed its ally getting dragged and is about to rush and help but was blocked by Ting Ting who sent another wave of sand attack, but this time, the Silver Jellyfish pressed on and countered with its tentacles with [Advanced Lightning Attack] and [Lightning Overcharge] trying to swat Ting Ting out of the way. Using [Advanced Eyesight] to get a clear view of the enemy''s attack trajectories, Ting Ting maneuvered very low on the ground, turned sideways, flew upward and then back down, Ting Ting managed to avoid a direct hit but still got hit with the shock and air waves caused by the tentacles being flicked around. At the same time, the Bronze level Jellyfish had already broken Xiao Yue''s web and was fighting fiercely. Xiao Cike was using [Augment Sense], doing the best it could to avoid the 3 tentacles the enemy uses, while it rammed its body to attack the Jellyfish from time to time. Jinao was busy fighting off another 3 tentacles while doing body blows with [Advanced Earth Attack], letting out a flurry of stabs and sweeps with its spear. Xiao Yue was throwing its webs and Ji Liu was still throwing rocks and branches keeping the last 2 tentacles of the Bronze level Jellyfish busy when suddenly, a shrill cry was heard. It was Xiao Su. Xiao Su saw an opening and shot like an arrow released from a drawn bow and managed to cut off a tentacle, just like a sword, when the Bronze level Jellyfish was busy attacking Jinao. Blue-colored blood spurted from the tentacle as Xiao Su''s cry resounded signaling the beginning of an end. ****** Ji Liu was sitting on top of a rock admiring the sea during sunset. He then stood up as Xiao Su''s evolution finishes and checked its status window. ______ Rust-Crested Goshawk Type: Poison / Steel Level: 1st stage Silver Status: Healthy Abilities: Steel Attack, Advanced Poison Trail, Advanced Poison Attack, Conceal Presence Evolution condition: Slay 1000 (1000 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 76 (76 left) days ______ The first thing he was happy about was the [Steel Attack] which was better than [Advanced Metal Attack], he caught Xiao Su for its Steel type after all. He still doesn''t have any evidence but he suspects that Steel types can be made by a combination of Metal, Fire and Earth types. The other one is the [Advaced Poison Trail] and [Advaced Poison Attack] combo that would complement [Conceal Presence], which is better than [Stealth] since it doesn''t require a cover. Jinao also reached the 9th stage Bronze level which means a little more and it could evolve. It already consumed the Water-type monster sphere and was just waiting to have its level peak. While Xiao Yue already reached the 9th stage which means he can fuse it with either Xiao Cike or Ting Ting. With that in mind, he checks the results. ______ Jet-Black Jumping Spider + Sunset Silver Duprasi Result: Eight-Tentacled Crystal Jerboa Type: Illusion / Crystal Level: 1st stage Silver Abilities: Crystal Trail, Haze Attack, Crystal Attack, Conceal Presence Fusing Duration: 24 Days ______ Swamp Meganeura + Jet-Black Jumping Spider Result: Winter Swamp Scorpion Type: Swamp / Ice Level: 1st stage Silver Abilities: Swamp Attack, Advanced Ice Attack, Advanced Eyesight, Ice Overcharge Fusing Duration: 32 days ______ Ji Liu picked the Winter Swamp Scorpion because he had a good impression on the Lightning Jellyfish''s [Lightning Overcharge] and also the fact that Xiao Cike is nearer in evolving. Standing up, he took out his phone to get a picture of the sunset when a fish monster jumped and, like a painting, suspended in mid-air. The monster slowly emitted a bluish white glow and then, as if there was another sun, light shone down from above directly on top of it like a spotlight as if wanting to cover the glow the monster was emitting. It would have been a scenic view if not for the status window stuck in front of Ji Liu. ______ Magicat Type: Divine Water Level: Peak stage Divine Status: Ascending Abilities: Water Manipulation Evolution condition: Survive for 10000 (4 months left) Years Special evolution: Consume 1,000,000 (1 left) Dragon-type monster core or higher ______ He was confused, the monster was clearly trying to break-through but it''s already at peak Divine Level. If there was indeed a level beyond Divine it would still be confusing since it is still months off until it can evolve. 11 End and Beginning Ji Liu looked up the sky to check if there were any U.F.O. that was abducting the fish monster, but there was none. He looked at the fish monster ''Magicat'' again and saw that the light was fading, and then *BOOM* The Magicat was flying towards his direction but not out of its own volition. It was spewing cursing words as it flew. Ji Liu quickly ducked hiding behind Xiao Su who became 3 meters tall, securing his bag which was where his fusing monster is. Jinao was also crouching beside him holding on to its spear in one hand and Xiao Cike on the other. *THWACK* After whizzing pass them, the Magicat struck the cliff wall behind them and slowly slip down. *PLOP* Curious, Ji Liu and his monsters went to see what happened. What they saw was a meter and a half long orange carp with the face of a cat with a gold coin on its head. The Magicat flailed around just like any other fish on land. It was swimming on its own pool of blood, looking greatly weakened. It was coughing up blood when they arrive. "Are you okay?" Ji Liu couldn''t help but ask since he saw it doing something absurd. ''It''s a Peak stage Divine level monster that lived for almost ten thousand years, it shouldn''t exist since monsters were only made around a thousand years ago.'' Ji Liu was curious about this and that''s why he approached and talked to the monster. "Foolish Mortal! This Being has lived for thousands of years! Do not approach me else I will forfeit your life!" the Magicat arrogantly said. Curiosity or his life? Ji Liu is a smart person so he quickly left. before going home though, he encountered and caught a 1st stage Silver leveled Venom Crab that he named Mr. Krabs that was stomped by the new and improved Xiao Su. ****** Saturday. Almost two weeks have passed and it''s nearing the time when Ji Liu would be tested. School exam would be next week and he is currently studying Germanium-based nucleic acids which is one of the DNA structures of monsters. After studying morning till noon, Ji Liu went to the lab for his work. The lab is now less populated since he first came here to work. Only he and Doctor Fei Hua are left in the research department since it would be closed tomorrow. The reason was that the ''Terra Alliance'' finally signed the ''Carnaval Treaty'' with the ''Dong Lianmeng''. Yun City being under ''Dong Lianmeng'' would naturally be affected. Under the ''Carnaval Treaty'', all companies that conduct research on monsters would be required to join the monster researching institute called ''Fuxing'' which would compile all discoveries. Yun City being near Wanqiang Metropolis would have a lesser purpose for Meiji and thus be closed down. The good news about this treaty though is that it would create a new entity called ''Souxun'' which would enable people to become a registered ''Monster Keeper'' which can take official quests from ''Fuxing'' and the government or unofficial quests from the locals. This would encourage people to form groups and communicate with each other more instead of just individuals hunting on their own. Because previously, no one hunts or catches monsters for a living as the research institutes have their own means of procuring research materials. Doctor Fei Hua naturally was asked to move to the Meiji branch located in Wanqiang Metropolis along with his assistant, but since Ji Liu is still a student and do not have the means to transfer, he has no choice but be dismissed after the branch closed. Ji Liu was advised by Doctor Fei Hua to join ''Souxun'' and create his own group. Since he can see the status of monsters, he has the advantage of easily advancing the level of his monsters, building his monster team and finding a suitable monster replacement if the situation arrives. Ji Liu was sad about this as he wanted to continue researching monsters and Meiji''s labs are the best environment there is for any researchers. At the same time though, he is happy that he can earn more being a ''Monster Keeper'', his monsters at the dorm needs a better environment to live. Currently, though, Ji Liu and Doctor Fei Hua are still discussing the Magicat that Ji Liu saw. "Doctor Fei Hua, do you think it is possible that the Magicat I saw is from the future?" Ji Liu asked as they continued their talk. "If Time-type monsters exist perhaps, but there is still no proof they exist. And if they did, where are they? There should be reports of sightings from ''Terra Alliance'' since they are more active in exploring. As I have said before, it must have been that its cell aging was sped up by mutation." explained Doctor Fei Hua. "But Doctor Fei Hua, I have read that the ''Somatic DNA Damage Theory'' and ''Endocrine Theory of Aging'' were disproved a long time ago." Ji Liu said as he packs the lab''s fragile equipment. "Perhaps, but there''s actually a new theory regarding monster aging. It''s called ''Half-life 3'' where the half-life of the nucleic acid within a monster''s DNA is halved during the first 3 instances accelerating its growth then slows down drastically or even ''will not happen'' making monsters mature faster but live longer or forever. If we consider that the Magicat you encountered has an extremely long lifetime, it is possible to age ten thousand years within a hundred or so years." Concluded Doctor Fei Hua, realizing that it was a missed opportunity. "Is that so Doctor? Would it mean that if we catch it, we can write a paper and declare that ''Half-life 3 is real''?" Ji Liu was excited at hearing the news. "Your stupidity is showing again. Smartass, How strong is your strongest monster?" scolded Doctor Fei Hua while he hits the forehead of Ji Liu with a newspaper. "¡­.. 2nd stage Silver." Said Ji Liu realizing his mistake. ****** Arriving at the dorm, Ji Liu went to the roof deck where hid the evolving Winter Swamp Scorpion inside a locked cage with a cover which was given to him by the doctor. The doctor meant to give it to him for all his monster so that they''ll not disturb others. But the fusing Scorpion blob grew bigger as it comes closer to finish and he estimates that it would be the only monster that could fit inside once done. But currently, there are two monsters inside. Aside from the Winter Swamp Scorpion, Jinao was also inside and is about to finish its evolution to Silver level. 12 Exam After focusing on exams whole week long last week, and then taking the ''Monster Keeper'' written exam Sunday of the same week, Ji Liu was able to travel to Wanqiang Metropolis yesterday for the field test since it is a week-long special vacation. The vacation was made so that student like Ji Liu who registered to join ''Souxun'' can take the field test in the forest since the training field facilities in the area surrounding Wanqiang Metropolis are still under construction. This test would gather people living around the metropolis and would be the very first test conducted so the scale is extremely grand. Ji Liu was among the crowd gathered in an open field while their monsters are in a different area. This is to avoid too much congestion since there are around 10000 people participating and each has more than 3 monsters tamed. A man who looks like Mr. Monopoly soon went on stage silencing and gathering the people''s attention and after taking a quick look at the crowd, the man soon spoke. "Welcome participants to the first ever ''Monster Keeper Examination'', I, John Morgan of the Terra Alliance, will be the overseer of the whole field test." The people were shocked for they know who John Morgan is, but not how he looks. He is more known for his title ''General Electric'', and although he can only make a contract with lightning-type monsters, he is one of the only 5 people who have a Divine level monster contracted to them. "The first part of the field test is easy." he spoke to gather the people''s attention again and then continued "You have to catch 10 different monsters with a level equal to your monsters or higher, then identify their type, level and a brief explanation of their abilities that you observed." "You can then proceed to the second part where you will be given a list of monster materials that you are to hunt and bring back, and after that the last part where you will be given a specific monster to catch. Time is until the end of Saturday, and the result will be out on Sunday morning." He paused, looked at the crowd and left. ''This would be a breeze.'' Ji Liu thought. "If anyone has questions now is the time to ask." A young woman then told the crowd after going up on the stage. Almost everyone raised their hand extremely confused. "But before that, if anyone that asks a question that is answered in the handout, F.A.Q., ToC, and TOS, they''ll immediately be eliminated." She then added seeing a lot of hands raised. Almost all of the raised hand fell down, there were only a few that were left. The woman then pointed to a random raised hand. "How would you know that the monster''s abilities we observed would be correct?" the man asked and a lot of people nodded in agreement. "The ''Souxun'' has a tool used to identify monsters." the woman then explained in detail, shocking the crowd. After that, a couple of more questions were asked before the crowd was dispersed. ****** ______ Crystal Azban (Xiao Cike) Type: Illusion / Crystal Level: 1st stage Silver Status: Healthy Abilities: Conceal Presence, Haze Attack, Crystal Attack, Flash, Augment Sense Evolution condition: Slay 600 (597 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Slay 100 (100 left) Gold or higher level monsters, Survive for 61 (61 left) days Special evolution: Consume 10 each (10 left) Wind-type monster nucleus, (10 left) Water-type monster nucleus, (10 left) Ice-type monster nucleus, (10 left) Light-type monster nucleus ______ Rust-Crested Goshawk (Xiao Su) Type: Steel / Poison Level: 3rd stage Silver Status: Healthy Abilities: Steel Attack, Advanced Poison Trail, Advanced Poison Attack, Conceal Presence Evolution condition: Slay 1000 (965 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 76 (63 left) days ______ Swamp Hi-Orc (Jinao) Type: Swamp Level: 2nd stage Silver Status: Healthy Abilities: Swamp Attack, Advanced Dark Trail, Augment Physique Evolution condition: Slay 200 (180 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Slay 10 (10 left) Gold or higher level monsters, Survive for 183 (176 left) days ______ Venom Crab (Mr. Krabs) Type: Poison / Water Level: 3rd stage Silver Status: Unconscious Abilities: Advanced Poison Attack, Water Movements Evolution condition: Slay 500 (388 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 91 (31 left) days Special evolution: Fall unconscious 500 (41 left) times, Consume 10 (10 left) Fire-type monster nucleus ______ Looking at his monsters while holding a map, Ji Liu''s mouth was twitching as he waits in line to go out the eastern gate. The line was not the reason nor his monsters. It was because he was in a party. The party was made of him, Wang Zi who made the party just to cut in line and a girl who was just passing by that Wang Zi bamboozled to join. Party can be made to make it easier but the second and third part of the test''s difficulty would rise the more member. A two-person party would need to complete two lists and capture two monsters each, three people party need three list and capture 3 monsters each. More members would mean more list and capture target. Most parties have 2-4 members due to the rise in difficulty. Slowly advancing in the line, Ji Liu decided to check Wang Zi''s two monsters and the passerby''s, who introduced herself as Saga Bergman, monster she calls Sugar. ______ Silver Boa Type: Poison / Metal Level: 5th stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Poison Trail, Advanced Metal Attack Evolution condition: Slay 100 (100 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 20 (0 left) days ______ Winged Tarantula Type: Wind / Poison Level: 8th stage Bronze Status: Healthy Abilities: Poison Trail, Advanced Poison Attack, Illusion Attack Evolution condition: Slay 200 (200 left) Bronze or higher level monsters, Survive for 30 (8 left) days Special evolution: Consume 1 (1 left) Dark-type monster sphere ______ Snow Fairy Type: Ice / Wind Level: 8th stage Mortal Status: Hungry Abilities: Wind Movements, Ice Attack Evolution condition: Slay 1000 (723 left) Mortal or higher level monsters, Survive for 31 (0 left) days Special evolution: Absorb rainwater for 168 (0 left) hours, Consume 1 (1 left) Light-type monster core ______ 13 First Part? Done! "You should feed your spider a Dark-type monster sphere Wang Zi." Ji Liu suggested. "Too expensive. I can''t even feed them good food that they have to hunt in the sewers on their own." Wang Zi said while shaking his head. "Then let''s hunt for one later." Ji Liu said while commanding Xiao Su to scout the area. "We first need to scout monsters right? We need a good spot where there are few people and open space to observe them." Saga Bergman said as she feeds Sugar some waffles. "I think it would be better if we capture small monsters instead so that we can easily bring them back, this way, we can save more time." Wang Zi then suggested. "I think we should do the first part individually first, then whoever finishes can help the others." Ji Liu said as Xiao Su descends. "We can scout more monsters if that''s the case while also covering more ground so that when we find monsters we think the other party member needs, we can notify them." Saga Bergman then jumped down preparing to go. They can only bring one monster and Ji Liu brought Xiao Su so they can ride it while it scouts the area, while Wang Zi brought the Silver Boa he calls ''Yin Yin''. They marked a tree near the landing spot to know where they''ll meet up and started marking trees along their way as they separate. Morning came to pass and Ji Liu arrived back at the meeting spot at noon. He was surprised when he saw that the other two was already there along with 20 monsters in cages. "Where''d you get those cages?" Ji Liu asked them since they were only carrying bags when they departed. "Eh? Isn''t it natural to bring along a bunch of portable monster cages since we''re going to catch and observe monsters?" Saga Bergman wonders at Ji Liu''s question. "Don''t tell me you knock monsters unconscious to catch them? Won''t that take time? Did you even bought a portable cage?" Wang Zi followed up seeing that Ji Liu only has his bags with him. People who hunt monsters have different means to catch them. Normally, a person would set up a trap to lure a monster into the cage without fighting. These portable cages aren''t anything special, they are used to confine silver and below level monsters and this method is effective on monsters with low intelligence. Ji Liu walked towards the two and unloads the content of his bags. 10 unconscious monsters that are tied rolled on the ground. "Don''t worry, I have already noted their type, level, and abilities while Xiao Su was fighting them." Ji Liu then proceeds to take out his lunch. ****** The examiners were surprised when a party of 3 came back to the Souxun grounds located outside the metropolis to complete the first part of the exam. It was not because they were the first one since they are the 3rd to arrive, but because they are an unknown group of people. The 3 were even carrying only 20 cages which were really weird. The first to arrive was the party of 5 sent by Meiji which were elites that were directly scouted but refused since they work for Meiji. All 5 of them have Legend level monsters, but they only used silver level for this test since silver is the highest level in the area that is easy to find. The second to arrive was a 10-man party organized by Wanqiang Metropolis''s monster hunting club. These are also elites directly scouted but refused. They work for the club as guards to rich club members who wanted to leisurely explore and hunt monsters. The tool to be used for identifying monsters were still being set up since it was just after lunchtime. Ji Liu''s party entered the waiting tent and was obviously intimidated by the other parties. They just quietly sat at a corner after getting a queue number. "Ji Liu, are you sure about this?" Wang Zi asks as he looks at the notes Ji Liu wrote and gave him. "Creates a sand element trailing on its path and bursts on collision." Saga Bergman reads aloud on a note. "I haven''t even seen it do this before, how did you come up with these?" "Relax, I have already encountered all of those monsters you two caught before coincidentally." Ji Liu said as he checks the status of the monsters the other parties caught. "Maybe you have a spare Gold level monster that you can give me coincidentally too?" Wang Zi elbows Ji Liu while talking. *Ding* *Dong* But before Ji Liu could respond, an announcement that the preparations are done for and they should head to the open area. ****** "Next." Ji Liu''s party then head in front, seeing them bring 20 cages confused the examiner as they are a 3-person party, but before he could react, Ji Liu dumped his caught unconscious monsters from his bag. Tied monsters rolled on the floor, but what shocked people was that some are clearly Silver level. ''These kids have Silver level monsters, no wonder they are fast. They must''ve come from the richest of the rich.'' Though the examiner. General Electric on the side observing though was quite impressed. He knows that from the 3 kids, only one of them have a Silver level monster. Being able to knock out 10 Silver level monsters that fast with a single monster, the strength of the monster is noteworthy. After completing the first part of the test, a list of material was given to Ji Liu''s party. Each of them has a total of 15 materials to gather. They immediately departed once they got the list and then again rode on top of Xiao Su. "Have you really met with those kinds of monsters previously?" asked Saga Bergman. "I once worked at Meiji as a research assistant back in our city." Answered Ji Liu. "Oh, is that why you al---" *BTOOOM!" But before Saga could continue, a loud explosion rang out the entire forest. 14 Good Harves Six large claw suddenly rose up from underground. It slowly withdrew but another six claw immediately shot up in its place. It continued for a while as trees standing tall fell and dust clouds soon covered the entire area. *FWOOSH* As the dust settles, a monster standing 50 meters tall and 100 meters long soon towered the forest trees. It has a red and black fur pattern covering its entire body and although its arms are short, it has a 20 meter long paws with six fingers each and nails over 4 meters. 10 horns stood atop its head while the monster''s tail and claws glow a bright red hue like a saber of light. *BLLEEAAAUUU* Ji Liu''s party was surprised as the monster roared, its pressure was overwhelming, but then, a soothing female voice rang inside Ji Liu''s head regaining his sense. *Ting* "System has detected an Origin monster nearby, Young Ji Liu is advised to find a way to drink a cup of its blood. Drinking the blood of an Origin monster would improve the system." But before Ji Liu could ask why, a scruffy male voice followed up. "That means making you able to make contract with more monsters and fuse more monsters at a time." Ji Liu was stoked. He was just about to command Xiao Su to turn tail and head back to the Souxun grounds, but now, he decided to first find a way to calm his party members. "Guys calm down, judging from the fact that it came from underground, it should have eyesight more suited for the dark." "Also look at how it moves its nose around, it''s sniffing to find prey, which means we''re safe here since Xiao Su has a strong rusty metal smell to cover our own." Ji Liu explains the situation while quickly taking a look at the monster''s status. ______ Darth Mole Type: Earth / Fire Level: N/A Status: Healthy Abilities: N/A Evolution condition: N/A ______ "Perhaps, but wouldn''t it be safer to leave?" asks Wang Zi as he holds Yin Yin tightly. "Then would you just leave every time you encounter a monster like this once you become a ''Monster Keeper''?" Saga Bergman was in agreement with Ji Liu''s decision. "Don''t also forget the fact that General Electric is nearby, the commotion the monster caused would probably reach them by now." Ji Liu assured Wang Zi. "So, should we just hang out here then? Or should we probe it?" Wang Zi started to rummage in his bag. ''Attack its flank, it''s the monsters weakness.'' A soothing female voice rang again inside Ji Liu''s head. "I think it''s safe to attack it from the flank where its claws and tail wouldn''t reach us. It would be a great experience for our monsters too." Ji Liu said as he thought ''strange, why did the system suddenly become active?'' to himself. "We should wait for other parties to arrive and in the meantime, we can surprise attack monsters running away, we still need to finish the exam." Saga Bergman then suggested, not confident in the 3-man party battling such a huge monster. "Okay, you guys go down while I provide info on the surrounding and situation. Make sure to stay within sight." And the two agreed to Ji Liu''s suggestion. ****** When General Electric and his team arrived at the scene, what they saw was a pleasant surprise. 5 parties are currently fighting against the Darth Mole, although they are successful with their strategy of flanking the monster, their damage to it was also minimal. But it provided good enough distraction and prevented the monster from advancing towards Wanqiang Metropolis. The parties were weak with only 1 Silver, 6 Bronze, and 11 Mortal level monsters. The Bronze and Mortal level monsters are split into two groups to each side while the Silver level monster flies on the monster''s back. Their assault was alternately shifting, dictated by where the Silver level monster is located. General Electric then sent a scout to communicate with the attacking 5 parties, after all, a slight distraction causing a shift to the Darth Mole''s attention could kill and wipe out the 5 parties. They are here to ensure the exam''s safety, not cause death to examinees. A short while later, the scout came back and reported the situation. ****** 3 days after Darth Mole''s appearance and retreat, news programs still are still flooded with its reports, especially since General Electric participated in stopping the monster in advancing towards Wanqiang Metropolis. Although the monster was not killed, there was also no civilian casualty. The 18 examinees who participated were given C-Rank Monster Keeper identifications along with a bonus of being given 10 monster teleporter each, a rediscovered technology not yet introduced to the public. These ''monster teleporters'' are a pair of disks that works by large scale quantum entanglement. Monsters would need to be on top of one of the disk before being teleported to the other disk. The current technology can only teleport monsters as humans aren''t able to survive the process, but there was evidence that human teleportation device existed during the 3rd world war in which this device was based on. Ji Liu was still at Wanqiang Metropolis staying at the Souxun facility. He''s already doing Monster Keeper work like gathering monster materials and capturing for monster sale and experiments. He also already got a system upgrade, making him able to make contract with 5 more monsters and fuse two more. He already learned a lot from his past mistake which ended up with him having a bunch of swamp type monsters. This was mainly because he used to hunt a lot within Yun City''s southern forest which has a lot of poison type monster. But now, he doesn''t just make contract with a monster possessing an ability he is interested in but considers what type the monster can be and what combination would result in a new type. This was his current focus and was repeatedly doing fusing experiments with Mortal and Bonze level monsters the past 3 days when he goes out to do quests. 15 The Base Today is Sunday and Ji Liu just got back to Yun City. He didn''t immediately went back to the dorm but searched for an affordable place to rent where he could house his monsters safely. He decided to search for a big enough house or a house with enough open area, but there was no place that was affordable with his current savings. Wandering around dejected, he came across a construction site with monsters helping out. He got an idea and decided to head back to the real estate agency to look for a small lot within a specific area. He soon found a lot to his liking. It was a small abandoned house, it would not fit all of his monsters inside, but he plans to dig deep underground and make a basement. After making the purchase, He brought along Xiao Cike, Jinao, Silver Wood Ent, Water Lynx, Guaca Mole, and Melting Hermit Crab to do some digging. The Melting Hermit Crab was fused from the Lava Lobster and Fire Giga Louse he caught while the Guaca Mole was the result when he evolved the Sand Shrew. ****** The six monsters rotated shifts for digging and training while Xiao Su was bringing them food from their hunts. It took the amateurs two months to finish digging a cave-like basement. Ji Liu focused on studying and researching the whole time, he did not even attend the school festival, while also saving up funds to furnish the basement by accepting hunting requests that Xiao Su, Mr. Krabs, and Winter Swamp Scorpion he named ''Zhao'' could complete without his help. All of his monsters grew stronger during this time and the Silver Wood Ent even evolved into a Sliver level Mud Ent that possesses intelligence and also the [Earth Movements] ability which let it travel underground freely without digging. With all preparations done, Ji Liu could start his operations, but he decided to wait until school finishes which would be in three weeks. During these last three weeks, he plans to put research on hold in order to join a tutorial session that would be held at a famous cram school. Even though there''s still three weeks till school end, Ji Liu already decided that this would be the last day he would stay at the dorm. He bid Mr. Wei goodbye and headed to school. He already moved all his things into his new home which he calls ''The Base''. ****** Arriving at The Base, Ji Liu didn''t even put his bag down and immediately headed to the basement. The basement was 3 story underground, so apart from a stair, he added a slide so he can descend easily. "Jinao, I''ve bought you a phone so we can communicate when I''m away. Also, help me set up this computer." Jinao puts down the book it was reading and said: "thank you". After fiddling with the phone for a short while it approached Ji Liu and said: "there''s no signal." "How come my phone has signal and yours don''t? Wait let me check." Ji Liu took out his phone and dialed Jinao''s number. *ring* *ring* *ring* "There is a signal, what are you talking about?" Ji Liu ended the call. "I meant Wi-Fi." "Why would you need Wi-Fi?" "It''s not just me who''ll benefit, just the other day, Xiao Su was asking for a map so that it wouldn''t get lost." "Monsters using Wi-Fi! What a time to be alive! Maybe next we''ll have Elves in space battling space dragons" Ji Liu gave up and started assembling the PC. "So~, will we get one~?" Mud Ent suddenly appeared with its puppy eyes technique. Mud Ent looks like a mud-colored loli with branches sticking out of its hair, legs, and arms. "We''ll get one but you can''t use it." *Clink* *Clank* *Thud* "Last time you borrowed my phone you just read some web novels, mangas and watched animes." Ji Liu finished assembling the PC with Jinao''s help. "But that''s what Jinao do~!" Mud Ent protested. Ji Liu turned around but Jinao was nowhere to be found. ****** {Xiao Su~, can you hear me~?} *SCREE''AUK* {Reception is clear Jinao~} "Okay, 300 meters is clear. Increasing altitude by 25 meters." After being scolded yesterday, Jinao and Mud Ent were tasked to conduct experiments with a communicator Ji Liu made. "Wait, I spot a pack of Silver level Venom Mouse heading your way, let''s pause the test and get rid of it first." Jinao told Mud Ent over the communicator. {Okay~, How many~? Which direction~?} "I see 6, Set traps at your left side" {Done~} Mud Ent sent roots underground waiting in its left side. "All right, we''re almost there." Jinao and Xiao Su arrived shortly before the monsters appear. Upon reaching the trap area, the 6 Venom Mouse split with one heading in the middle and two at each side while the one that seems to be the leader stopped. The two pairs of Venom Mouse that went to the sides avoided the trap, but the one that went in the middle got tangled with tree roots. This trap is Mud Ent''s [Body Control] which lets it control a severed body part until it loses its nutrients and dries. When Jinao and Mud Ent saw this, they immediately responded by heading directly towards the trapped Venom Mouse to quickly dispatch the monster. They have a disadvantage in number, so they plan on making it even with the momentum. Jinao and Mud Ent quickly dispatched the monster by bombing it with their ability but were surrounded by the remaining 5 Venom Mouse in the process. Just as the 5 Venom Mouse neared them slowly, prepared to spit venom at the two once they are in range, Mud Ent calmly said "Now~!" Mud Ent activated its remaining traps with [Body Control] entangling the monsters. Jinao then struck the ground with its spear while using [Swamp Attack] turning it soft. It was immediately followed up by Mud Ent activating [Mud Attack] turning the soft group into a mini swamp, while the roots slowly pull the monsters to drown in the swamp. *SCREE''AUK* Just as the 5 Venom Mouse are about to escape, however, a rain of sharp wind came falling down killing all of the monsters. It was Xiao Su''s gust of wind attack using [Steel Attack] and [Advanced Poison Attack]. Its [Conceal Presence] while flying makes it good at observing the situation while providing Intel and dealing finishing blows to unsuspecting enemies. "500 meters is clear I guess~?" Mud Ent stares at the still on air Xiao Su. 16 Summer Plans After the final exams were done, Ji Liu went back to The Base and called all of his monsters. He current only have 9 monsters since he decided that having an open slot would be better to plan to get a better monster fusing result. After checking their status. He listed their types and his goals for his favored monsters. ______ Crystal Azban (Xiao Cike) ¨C Illusion / Crystal Rust-Crested Goshawk (Xiao Su) ¨C Steel / Poison Swamp Hi-Orc (Jinao) - Swamp Venom Crab (Mr. Krabs) ¨C Poison / Water Winter Swamp Scorpion (Zhao) ¨C Ice / Swamp Mud Ent ¨C Wood / Earth / Water Mining Mole ¨C Earth / Metal Sea Lion ¨C Water Flying Gun Shrimp ¨C Wind / Fire ______ He wanted to avoid fusing Xiao Cike, Xiao Su, Jinao, Zhao, and Mud Ent but they disagree. With the help of Mud Ent and Jinao acting as interpreters, they came to a conclusion instead that Ji Liu would discuss with them what they want to fuse with and when. It was decided that Xiao Su being already 8th stage Silver level would first wait to get to the 9th stage then fuse with a humanoid 9th stage Silver level monster to become a humanoid Gold level monster. Xiao Cike was convinced by Ji Liu to not fuse but wait for it to undergo its special evolution and then decide what it wants to do. Zhao would not budge and was adamant to fuse with any dual type combination of Water / Light / Wind monster to be a weather / swamp type which it wanted. Weather being a type combination of Water / Light / Wind / Ice hypothesized by Ji Liu during his research. Jinao wanted to have better survivability and variety in offense and asked to be fused with the result of the Mining Mole and Sea Lion since the Mining Mole have the [Earth Movements] ability similar to Mud Ent''s and the Sea Lion have the [Water Overcharge] ability. Meanwhile, Mud Ent wants to fuse with the Flying Gun Shrimp to have flames as leaves in order to look more intimidating while also getting a strong long-range attack if it acquires the Flying Gun Shrimp''s [Fire Overload] ability paired with its [Body Control]. Muscles are the source of power when a regular punch is thrown but if a punch with [Element Attack] is thrown, muscles and the monster''s core is used as the source of power. Using monster''s core as the sole source of power would need the [Element Overload] ability to be effective. Having [Element Overload] is like having legs when running, you can still run without legs but better if you have. Xiao Su was such a case where it can only display 1/10 of its strength if it used its [Steel Attack] shooting a gust of wind. His monsters resumed training after the meeting and Ji Liu decided to fuse the Mining Mole and Sea Lion for Jinao before heading to sleep. ______ Mining Mole + Sea Lion Result: Cenote Tiger Type: Earth / Metal / Water Level: 9th level Silver Abilities: Earth Movements, Advanced Metal Attack, Water Overcharge Fusing Duration: 15 days ______ ****** Morning came and Ji Liu was preparing breakfast. "I''ll be heading to Wanqiang Metropolis after eating to apply for a B-rank Monster Keeper identification." He notified his monsters. "Will you bring some of us along or just summon when needed?" Jinao asks while reading. *sizzle* *sizzle* *sizzle* "I''ll bring Xiao Cike and Xiao Su along. It may take more than a month, but there''s enough food at stock. Just send me a message if it runs low for some reason." Ji Liu started eating. "Your vacation is only two months~, won''t you take us on a trip~?" Asks Mud Ent while watching Ji Liu eat. "Come to think of it, I should fuse you now so we can do a trip after I come back, I''ll give you a name after that." Ji Liu then stopped eating then commanded Jinao, "Go get Flying Gun Shrimp". ______ Mud Ent + Flying Gun Shrimp Result: Flying Lava Ent Type: Wind / Fire/ Wood / Earth / Water Level: Peak stage Silver Abilities: Body Control, Fire Overload, Mud Attack, Wind Movements, Earth Movements Fusing Duration: 22 days ______ "I''ll be heading out now, Jinao, take care of things here. Make sure everyone is in their designated teleporters all the time. In case of emergency." Ji Liu talked to his monsters some more before leaving. "Xiao Cike, Let''s go. Xiao Su, wait at your teleporter." With Xiao Cike in tow, Ji Liu summoned Xiao Su shortly after leaving Yun City and rode to Wanqiang Metropolis. Ji Liu attached a communicator to Xiao Su and he also wore the other pair. This improved communicator can reach 10km which made Ji Liu feel accomplished after making.it himself. The three arrived at Wanqiang Metropolis and ate a late lunch. They then decided to book at a hotel that can accommodate Xiao Su and take a look at the available local requests at the Souxun website in Ji Liu''s phone. "How about this one that asks to hunt 5 Silver Wolf?" Ji Liu was sitting on a chair in the balcony. *Chitter* *Chitter* "Maybe this one, gather 7 magic orange balls? The client is a monarch named Emperor Pilaf." *Chitter* *Chitter* "Still no? Oh, this one would be great, capture 10 Moss Swine. Xiao Su, you do this one solo while we do another request." *SCREE''AUK* "Good that you''re not picky like a certain raccoon." Ji Liu then stood up and pat Xiao Su''s head. *Chitter* *Chitter* *Chitter* *Chitter* Xiao Cike was running around Ji Liu. "Okay, okay, well do the orange balls request so we can buy you a couple of monster nucleus for your evolution." Ji Liu then picks up Xiao Cike and pet it. He then climbed up Xiao Su while still holding Xiao Cike and they flew towards the eastern forest where they can gather the orange balls, Xiao Su then went north where the Moss Swines are located. After they finished gathering and caging the Moss Swines, they headed to the Souxun Building to give the requested items and monsters to get payment. Ji Liu also inquired about the B-rank promotion but the staff said he has to come back tomorrow because registration is only until 5. And so the 3 headed back to the hotel room, ate dinner, washed and went to sleep. 17 Ready to Go After waking up, Ji Liu washed and ate breakfast before heading to the Souxun Building. Upon entering, Ji Liu approached the reception. "Good morning! Welcome to the Souxun Wanqiang Metropolis branch, how may I help you?" "I would like to apply for a test to rank up please." Ji Liu then presented his card. "You''re already C-rank? I''m sorry but our branch has no ability to conduct B-rank exams." The receptionist gave back Ji Liu''s card after taking a look. "But the staff last night said to come back here today?" "Oh, that''s for pre-registration. We can pre-register you to the nearest city that would be conducting a B-rank examination the soonest." "How does that work?" "All you have to do is pay the fee and well do the rest. Then just go to the city on the examination day and take it." Just as the receptionist finishes, he added, "If you fail to go you have to pay compensation in any branch." "Okay, I just have to pay right? When would be the soonest exam? And where?" Ji Liu handed his card again so the receptionist can do the pre-registration process. "Wait let me check." the receptionist checked at the computer quickly. "Its seven days from now at ''Longyuan City''. Ji Liu left after saying thanks and paying the pre-registration fee. As he walked out of the building, Ji Liu checked his phone to see the location of Longyuan City. ''It''s a 3-day journey if I avoid areas with Legend and Divine level monsters. I better get equipment for me and my monsters since there would be Gold level monsters on the journey.'' Ji Liu then headed to find a weapon and armor shop. Previously, Ji Liu didn''t bother buying equipment since there are only Mortal and Bronze level monsters near Yun City and a few Silver level in known spots such as near the beach. He looked for a store that fits his budget and soon found he lacks knowledge on this area so he summoned Jinao and Mr. Krabs to help him look for the best deal he can find. Ji Liu first bought two similar armor made from a Water-type monster''s scale for him and Jinao that was picked by Mr. Krabs since it knows Water-type monsters better than Jinao. He then bought a spear for Jinao made from an Earth-type monster''s horn which Jinao picked itself for its weight and length. Xiao Cike was given an iron ball-like weapon from a Metal-type monster''s tail and was equipped to its tail so that aside from scratching and biting, it can also bludgeon an armored opponent with its tail or even throw it depending on the situation. Mr. Krabs and Zhao didn''t need anything so Ji Liu bought a machete made from a Fire-type monster''s fang for cutting tall grass and branches in forested areas and a shield from a Light-type monster''s shell for defending and blinding monsters as it does not lose its shine. Another thing Ji Liu bought was an ''adjustable riding set for mounting monsters'' for Xiao Su. After buying some more items such as flash bombs, repellants, and tent, it was already past 3 in the afternoon. Ji Liu decided to eat a late lunch and head out tomorrow. He sent all his monsters back to The Base to eat and rest while he looked for a good place for him to eat. He picked a caf¨¦ near the main road and ordered a healthy meal. While he was waiting for his food, he was checking out other people''s monster that was passing by the main road. Some monster were Monster Keeper''s while others are normal people''s. In doing so, he noticed a young woman who was staring at him. ''Do I know her?'' he thought to himself. Confused, he looked at the status of the monster accompanying the young woman in order to find clues. ______ Quick Strike Viper Type: Poison / Lightning Level: 9th stage Silver Status: Healthy Abilities: Improved Reflex, Augment Sense, Advanced Poison Attack, Lightning Trail Evolution condition: Slay 1000 (0 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 153 (68 left) days Special evolution: Slay 10 (0 left) Gold or higher level monsters, Consume 1 (0 left) Wind-type monster nucleus ______ ''What a nice monster, good for quick kills'' He thought but then suddenly realized something. ''Could she be an assassin from some underground organization?'' When Ji Liu made a look that he suddenly realized something, he saw that the woman noticed and suddenly started to walk calmly towards him. ''This is bad, I may get killed. Who did I even offended? Maybe I''m not her target. Better act indifferent and ignore.'' His meal arrived. Just as he was poorly acting calm and eating his food with shaky hands, the woman waved and greeted him. "Hey Ji Liu! Long time no see! It''s been months! How''ve you been?" the woman sat in the chair opposite to Ji Liu. ''FUCK! She knows me! I''m gonna get killed!'' Ji Liu''s face paled and his hands fumbled, but then he thought. ''Stay calm Ji Liu, stay calm and deep breaths. If she''s pretending to know you, then also pretend to know her. Just talk and don''t anger her. Deep breaths.'' "H- Hey! All''s good, All. Is. Good. Yup! What about you? What about you? What''ve you been doing lately?" Tears started to form at Ji Liu eyes when he messed up. ''Please don''t kill me. Please don''t kill me. Please don''t kill me. Please don''t kill me. :''( '' "After my party got C-rank thanks to your help we made this city as our base and with the help of our reputation from fending off the Darth Mole, we completed a lot of requests and finally managed to complete the B-rank promotion test last month. I really can''t thank you enough from back then." The woman chattered as she pets her 5meter long Quick Strike Viper. ''Eh? You''re from back then? Why didn''t you said so earlier! Do you know how much pain and suffering you cost me as you walk slowly here?'' "That''s nice! I''m on my way to Longyuan City to take the B-rank promotion test myself." Ji Liu managed to resume eating. The two chatted for a while longer before woman bid goodbye and left. 18 Marshland Adventure Midnight inside a hotel room, a clean-shaven middle-aged man with a stern look sporting a pompadour black hair wearing a suit and a silver-trimmed spectacle was seemingly deep in thought, sitting on a velvet sofa while petting his monster. *Buzz* The silence was broken by the sudden buzz and the man''s train of thought vanished. He looked at the door and calmly spoke, "Come in." The door opened slowly and a young woman walked inside followed by her own monster. She suddenly stopped exactly 3 meters away from the man, knelt on her left knee and lowered her head before speaking. "Sir, we successfully made contact and the target does not seem to suspect anything." "Good, initiate phase 2." ****** Morning came and Jinao was preparing breakfast for the monster at The Base. Today, all of the monsters except Xiao Su was here and are busy doing their own thing. The phone rang and it stopped the food preparation. It first checked who it was and immediately answered when it saw Ji Liu was the caller. {Jinao, prepare everyone and be on standby.} "Should I also prepare myself?" {No, our path today is still safe, continue to observe the two fusing monster and take notes.} "Okay, Okay" The call then ended and Jinao resumed food preparations. Mr. Krabs approached and asked who it was. "Ji Liu called and ordered for you all to be on standby. Please inform everyone." Jinao told Mr. Krabs. Mr. Krabs nodded with its protruding eyes and went around informing the others. ''I should make sure to remind them not to forget their equipment.'' Jinao thought after it finished preparing the food. ****** The Western part of Wanqiang Metropolis was a marshland filled with Silver level monsters and a few occasional Gold level. Very few people travel in this area due to the fact that there are few useful materials to be gathered. Ji Liu was riding on top of Xiao Su while they were flying just above the trees. He was flying low in order to hunt monsters he needed for his monster evolution. He then spotted a Gold level Tornado Sparrow which is a Wind-type monster. He commanded Xiao Su to land nearby after making sure there are no other Gold level monster nearby that can compromise the situation. They landed unnoticed thanks to [Conceal Presence] and Ji Liu then summoned his monsters to prepare for the upcoming battle. While his monsters were preparing, he snuck to observe the Tornado Sparrow''s behavior in order to devise a strategy to kill it with minimal loss. Xiao Cike initiated the battle by riding on top of Xiao Su to fly on top of the monster and with both using [Conceal Presence], went undetected. Xiao Cike then jumped down towards the Tornado Sparrow and, using its new tail weapon with [Crystal Attack], struck the monster''s head making it lose control and fall to the ground. Xiao Su caught Xiao Cike and put it down while Mr. Krabs suddenly appeared under the Tornado Sparrow using its [Water movements] then hammered the monster''s chest with its claw with [Advanced Poison Attack] sending it towards Zhao. Zhao followed up by clamping the Tornado Sparrow''s wings with its claws with [Advanced Ice Attack] and piercing the monster''s back with its tail with [Swamp Attack]. Recovering from the stun caused by Xiao Cike''s attack, the Tornado Sparrow used its [Wind Overcharge] and escaped from Zhao''s grasp. Enraged, it whipped blew a gust of strong wind with its [Wind Overload] ability blowing away Mr. Krabs and Xiao Cike. The Tornado Sparrow sent some more attacks with [Wind Overload] before trying to run away but Xiao Su blocked its path and sent a tackle with [Advanced Poison Attack] and [Advanced Poison Trail]. The Tornado Sparrow sent a gust of wind with [Wind Overload] while dodging the attack but Xiao Cike''s timed [Flash] amplified by Ji Liu''s shield distracted the monster just enough to delay the dodge making Xiao Su''s attack barely connect. Now poisoned, the Tornado Sparrow''s movement was visibly reduced making the battle easier for Ji Liu''s monsters. Xiao Su smashed its wings with [Steel Attack] to the poisoned monster sending it down again. Zhao used [Ice Overcharge] and [Advanced Ice Attack] to further decrease its speed while Xiao Cike used its [Haze Attack] ability by sending squeaking sounds to confuse and trap the monster. Confused, the Tornado Sparrow sent random attacks with [Wind Overload] destroying the surrounding area. Xiao Cike and Mr. Krabs already learned from the previous attack and, together with Ji Liu, hid beneath Zhao while it used its [Ice Overcharge] to dampen the damage. They waited until the Tornado Sparrow tire itself and brought it down. After defeating the Tornado Sparrow, Xiao Cike and Mr. Krabs dismantled the carcass while Ji Liu, Zhao, and Xiao Su were resting nearby. After eating, cleaning up, and resting, just as Ji Liu was recalling his other monsters, Xiao Su returned from flying around and sent a distress signal and pointed with its wing a direction. ****** "We can to lose them, don''t lose hope." 10 Silver level Swamp Orcs were chasing after 4 wounded Elf within the swamp. The elves were running and shooting with their bows made of Wind-type monster materials while the Orcs were holding their blooded weapons deftly dodging. The elves were losing hope as they ran out of arrows. Their contracted monsters were already killed when they were ambushed and their 3 other allies were chased down and killed one by one. An elf ran out of arrow, drew her sword and shouted, "Go ahead and I''ll hold them back" "NO!" "Don''t worry Young Miss, these Orcs are no match. I''ll follow you back after I deal with these monsters." said the elf with no arrows. "Young Miss let''s go, with Captain''s skills, She can handle even 30 of them." Another elf urged the Young Miss. Soon, the 10 Orcs arrived at the lone elf''s location. Some of the Orcs tried to fight the elf while the others ignored her but she was determined to hold all 10 of the Orcs in place to buy time. 19 Dont Trust Strangers Ji Liu was riding on top of Xiao Su when he saw a clearing filled with blood and 4 Orc carcasses. Seeing the scene, he got down and asked Xiao Su to scout the area. He then summoned his 3 available monsters again. ''5 Orcs? That''s strange.'' Ji Liu was surprised because he knows that uncontracted Orcs are solitary monsters and disliked grouping up. ''Are these contracted Orcs then?'' He commanded Zhao and Mr. Krabs to dismantle the carcass while he and Xiao Cike looked for other evidence or trail of the battle that happened. He called Jinao while doing so. "Jinao, do you know any reason why would Orcs group up aside from being contracted?" Ji Liu was using his sword to cut branches and other things blocking the way. {Hmmn.. If there happen to be a large group of Orcs in the same area then perhaps a tournament is ongoing.} "Would that result to them killing each other and leaving the corpse behind?" *Chop* *Chop* *Chop* {Nope, tournaments are pretty organized, Orcs wouldn''t leave corpses as they tend to eat their defeated enemies. Why did you ask anyway?} "Thanks, I just found 5 Orc carcasses killed with swords and arrows so it got my interest" {Is that so? Then be careful as even I don''t know why they are gathered.} "Okay, thanks for the info." Ji Liu ended the call. After a while, he arrived at a dense forest area and saw a blood-soaked Elf with one of her arm lying not far off and was battling against 5 Orcs. He decided to not act rashly and observe the situation since he was wondering where the humans are if they are indeed contracted Orcs. "Xiao Su, head to my position and look for humans around the area." Ji Liu used the communicator to command Xiao Su, he also sent a mental signal to Zhao and Mr. Krabs to head there and prepare, but don''t come too near to avoid detection. ****** An Orc slashed down towards her but the Elf rolled to the left to dodge but just when she was about to stand up, another Orc was waiting and sent a horizontal slash to behead her. The Elf responded by crouching again and gathered all her strength left to drive her sword to the Orc''s throat. As the Orc fall with the sword still stuck on its throat, the Elf''s legs finally gave up and she was forced into kneeling. Fatigue taking her over. The 4 remaining Orcs backed away for a moment, looking if the Elf is just baiting and looking at the progress of the situation. "It''s over Elf, all your monsters and allies are dead. Give up! We will spare you if you tell us the location of the village." An Orc approached the kneeling Elf, preparing to behead her. "I''d rather die than let you brutes set foot in the village." The Elf closed her eyes and raised her head showing her throat. "HMP. Let''s see if you still talk that way after we¡ªFUCK!" the Orc''s supposedly lengthy speech was interrupted when it saw its fellow Orcs'' head fall one after the other and it too experienced it shortly afterward. The Elf was surprised thinking that the Orc meant what it just said. She felt extreme despair and horror when she felt hot liquid spraying on her face and body that she did not dare open her eyes. ****** Ji Liu arrived and ordered Xiao Cike to kill the monsters quickly when he noticed that the Orcs have no Blood Collar. He is unsure whether the one-armed Elf is crazy or dangerous so he left her alive but he also did not approach her right away. Ji Liu was unsure of what to do as the Elf did not move an inch, so he decided to wait for his other monsters to arrive. Before he would talk to the Elf, he waited for Xiao Su to notify him whether there is anything else near the vicinity or not. While waiting, he sent the dead Orc bodies back to The Base to be dismantled, and also sent his other monsters back when they arrived. "Are you okay?" Ji Liu asked while being prepared to attack and defend. He waited for a while, but after seeing that the Elf is not responding, he added, "The Orcs are dead by the way." Hearing a different voice after a while, the Elf slowly opened her eyes and saw a young man with monsters surrounding her. She was unsure if the guy is the Orc''s leader and came to try to do a different approach after the Orcs failed to get anything, so she remained silent and just stared at the young man. Seeing the Elf open her eyes and not talk, Ji Liu asked, "Can you understand what I''m saying? My name is Ji Liu, what your name?" he forgot that the Elf may use another language so he asked if she can understand him. Taking a quick glance at her surrounding, the Elf saw that the Orcs were gone. ''He must really be the leader since the Orcs left.'' She decided to falsely cooperate and deceive the man. "Yes, I can. My name is Goldberry" She nodded. "You''re heavily wounded, what happened here?" Ji Liu was still not approaching Goldberry fearing she has a trick or two. "The Orcs were trying to get to the village so they attacked us. I''m the only survivor." Claimed Goldberry. "Is that so? I think it has nothing to do with me so why not let me treat your wound and we separate our ways?" Ji Liu decided to not get involve seeing that it looks complicated. ''I knew you were plotting something. Now let''s see, if I refuse, He gathers his monsters and I''ll be used as bait against the village. If I accept he can put a tracker on me to find the village. Wait! I know what to do.'' Goldberry thought hard for a while and then answered, "If you don''t mind, please help me treat my wounds and I''ll guide you to our village." 20 Elf Village It was afternoon when Ji Liu and Goldberry arrived near the village. Along the way, Ji Liu did not bother Goldberry and just let her rest after giving him the direction. When Goldberry recovered, she told Ji Liu some basic info concerning the village. "The village has no name unlike your human cities, we also have tamed monsters, but they are not contracted to us." Goldberry told Ji Liu. "How do you control them then?" Ji Liu''s researcher mode started. "We follow the way the old humans tame their pets. We raise them from birth and train them along with us." "I see." Ji Liu nodded then followed up, "So there is no guarantee that they would fully obey commands? Were there incidents of the monsters going on a rampage after experiencing unwanted events?" "We treat them as part of the family, an equal, and they treat us the same way. If they think a command is wrong, they won''t do it. They are free to decline commands, unlike your monsters." Ji Liu was impressed. Although the way the Elves tame monsters need a lot of time, the Elves themselves can entrust their backs to their monsters like a soldier trusting their back to their allies. Around 4 O''clock, the village came into sight. The Elves calls it a village but when Ji Liu saw it, he was shocked. ''It is more accurate to call it an excavation site.'' He thought as he looked at the village from above on top of Xiao Su. The village is located at a top of a small hill where there are no trees and there were monster bones surrounding the village acting as a fence rather than a wall and an unknown monster''s shell used as a gate. The village is made out of what the elves call the ''ancestral grounds'' surrounded by houses made out of monster materials. There is also a distinct house made out of the earth that Goldberry said to be the where the Elf Elder resides. No one knows it, but the ''ancestral grounds'' in question is actually an abandoned Laboratory used to research and develop monsters that closed down before the 3rd world war begun. The key to enter the building is passed down to the Elf Elder, but there were no record of anyone entering as far as the Elves know. When Xiao Su landed near the village gate, a number of guards stationed quickly responded and surrounded the monster, but when they saw Goldberry, they lowered their arms and made a salute then a man stepped forward. "Captain Goldberry, what happened to you? Where is the Young Miss?" the guard asks as he was sizing up Ji Liu. "There is an emergency, I need to meet with the elder." Goldberry then walk past the guard and whispered quickly, "I am suspecting this man as the leader of the Orcs or perhaps an accomplice, keep a close eye on him. I am not sure yet so don''t immediately put him in the underground cell." The guard nodded and told Ji Liu to follow him to an empty hut. ****** Goldberry gave a brief report on what happened to the Elf elder and told him of her suspicions about Ji Liu. "Since the Young Miss is missing, either the Orcs have caught her or she is still carrying out the mission to seek human help. We should interrogate the kid about this." The adviser of the Elf elder said. "That may be the case." The Elf elder agreed. "But concerning the matters of the human kid, I believe he is innocent in this matter." "How so Elder?" Goldberry asked. "If he is working with the Orcs, I believe they have no use for you if they have my daughter and If they don''t, they would be looking for her instead." The Elf elder explained. "Then what about getting information where our village is?" Goldberry was eager to prove that her suspicion is right. "They already know our location. The Orcs appeared at the outskirts when you were away. We don''t know how either." The Elf elder''s Adviser said, shaking his head. ****** Ji Liu was resting at a bed made from a jelly-like material, wondering what it was made of when he heard a voice from the outside. "Visitor, The Elf elder invites you to dinner, please follow me." A kid''s voice was heard. When he got up and went outside, he was surprised that the person owning the kid''s voice was actually a young man. Ji Liu smiled and said, "Lead the way." The Young Elf was quiet the whole way so Ji Liu wasn''t able to talk to him. When the two arrived at the Elf elder''s house, Ji Liu thank the elf before entering. "Welcome visitor, sorry for not receiving you earlier, our village is currently under some troubles you see. Anyway, come and have a seat, we hope you enjoy our food." The Elf elder greeted Ji Liu. "I''m named Greenleaf, but everyone calls me Elder. This is my adviser, Jefferson." Ji Liu greeted the two and took a seat on the dinner table. "Is the trouble you are referring to concerning Orcs?" "Why yes, it is. Have you met them on your journey?" The Elf elder asked while eating. "Yes, in fact, when I found Goldberry, she was under attack by Orcs." "Oh, so did you dispatched them? Or did you scare them away?" Jefferson asked curiously. "When I got there, there were 5 and Goldberry killed one then I asked my monster to kill the others." "You killed them? Then you must have a Gold level monster?" "No, my monster is at the 7th stage Silver level, but it''s good at assassination." "Oh.." The Elf elder was disappointed since he thought he could get Ji Liu to help fight the Orcs. So he decided to change the topic. "Is that so, what brings you to this area I wonder?" "I was just passing by to train my monsters while on the way to a faraway city." The three finished their meal. "You can spend the night here if you want to since you helped Goldberry." The Elf elder suggested as he walked Ji Liu out the door. "Thank you." Just as Ji Liu was leaving, a guard was running towards. "Elder an emergency! A large force of Orcs is approaching. They number about 300." 21 Against the Orcs All of the Elves and their monsters that are capable of fighting were notified and was called to assemble near the western gate of the village. The Elves sent their flying monsters to scout the Orcs'' movement while the other prepare and do their own roles. Ji Liu also sent Xiao Su to help the scouts while he got Xiao Cike, Mr. Krabs and Zhao to help the Elves setup their defense. "When did the Orcs started attacking?" He asked Jefferson who was with him setting up some traps. "A huge earthquake occurred a couple of months ago and after that, the Orcs started raiding wandering Elves and other monsters in the area. At first, it was just wild monsters they''re attacking but these past few days they started attacking us Elves too, so we decided to get some human help." Jefferson then told Ji Liu a long story about it. "Any ideas why they group up? A tournament perhaps?" Ji Liu finally finished setting up traps. "No, they are not attacking each other so a tournament is not possible."" Jefferson shakes his head. "There were Elves that managed to survive their attack that said they were looking for the ''Life Water'' but there is no proof that it is the reason." A wild Goldberry appears. "The raid is about to start. Ready your positions." She then added. ****** Under the cover of the night, the Orcs, numbering to about 300, were marching toward the west of the elf village. Although they are equipped with different kinds of weapons and armors, they are moving in unison like a trained army. Out of all the gathered Orcs, there is one peculiar Orc taller by a head than the others, dark brown shoulder length hair with eyes that pulsates a glow of green, yellow and red. It was the one leading the group of Orcs. It was an Orc Commander. After hearing these reports, the Elves readied their weapons while their monsters prepared to launch an immediate attack. When the Orcs arrived near the outskirts of the town, they were immediately bombarded by the waiting Elves and monsters. The earth shook and trees fell, but the attacks did little to the marching Orcs, just little scratches on their armors were made. When the Orcs got closer, they were slowed down by pitfall traps and another barrage of attacks came towards them. Still pressing forward, the Orcs started to clash with the monsters and Elves, Ji Liu and his monsters also joined. Xiao Su used its [Conceal Presence] to pick up an unsuspecting Orc and dropped it towards Zhao and Mr.Krabs, which had set up a mini poison swamp by digging a hole using Zhao''s [Swamp Attack] and Mr. Krab''s [Advanced Poison Attack]. Ji Liu is not accurate with the bow so he was supporting the battle by distracting the Orcs by using his shield to blind enemies instead so that Xiao Su can swoop the Orcs up. Xiao Cike, on the other hand, was breaking through the ranks. The Orc Commander noticed that Xiao Cike was the strongest among its enemies so it commanded a dozen of Orcs to lure and surround it. Trapped, Xiao Cike quickly sent a distress signal to Ji Liu before it''s too late. Ji Liu commanded Xiao Su to enter, break the Orc encirclement and then pick up Xiao Cike, so it used its [Steel Attack] to mow down the Orcs. But just as it was about to grab Xiao Cike, The Orc Commander slashed towards Xiao Su, stopping its momentum and the both of them were forced to step back. Ji Liu was surprised at the monster''s strength and movement, and immediately took a look at the monster''s status in order to create a plan to defeat it. ______ Dark Green Orc Commander Type: Dark / Wood Level: 5th Stage Gold Status: Infested, Mind Controlled Abilities: Augment Physique, Shadow Attack, Forest Overcharge, Command, Detect Evolution condition: N/A ______ Seeing the Orc Commander''s status, Ji Liu immediately notified the Elves that he would summon an Orc wearing a scarf and to not hit it. He would need Jinao''s help as it is too strong to kill with petty tactics. His monsters formed a formation to in the messy battlefield, Zhao Used [Ice Overcharge] and [Advanced Ice Attack] swiping with its claws and occasionally sending tail strikes but the Orc Commander dodged every attack without any difficulty and was counter-attacking with its sword using [Shadow Attack] and [Forest Overcharge]. Jinao then joined when the Orc Commander''s attention was on Zhao''s barrage of attacks. Jinao sent a couple of thrust making the Orc Commander parry, but Jinao was waiting for that to send an upward strike, Making the Orc Commander raise its hand due to the force and its guard became open. Xiao Cike used this chance to climb atop Jinao''s spear he held up and drop from above and use its tail weapon with [Crystal Attack] but the Orc Commander has [Detect] and knew it was coming and deftly dodged it and then counter-attacked with a punch sending Xiao Cike flying. Xiao Su Swoop down along with Mr. Krabs, their hit connected and sent the Orc Commander backward. Ji Liu used his shield to distract at this moment, creating a chance for Jinao to rush and do a sweep attack to tumble the Orc Commander, but the enemy managed to send a slash before tumbling to the ground. The slash wounded Jinao''s left flank heavily, making it unable to follow up and vulnerable in this chaotic battlefield. Zhao and Mr. Krabs sent attacks to cover up for Xiao Su to rescue Jinao while Xiao Cike sneaked at the Orc Commander''s back. As Xiao Cike closes in, it''s again detected and was welcomed with a sword slash with [Shadow Attack] and [Forest Overcharge] but Mr. Krabs came in time to shield it and Xiao Cike managed to stun the Orc Commander. Xiao Cike and Zhao then rained down attacks on the Orc Commander but suddenly, the monster roared so loud that the earth quaked and the battlefield came to a halt. The Orc Commander was still roaring when blood came out of its mouth. The blood spurts non-stop when suddenly two antennas came out of its mouth, followed by a head with two large eyes, one with a glowing, bird-shaped symbol. Soon, the full monster came into view ______ Vitannia Le Roach Type: Illusion Level: Peak Stage Gold Status: Evolving Abilities: Absolute Obedience Evolution condition: Take control of a same level monster for 90 (0 left) days ______ 22 Escape? *SCREEEE* The Vitannia Le Roach let out an ear piercing screech that made the Elves and Ji Liu hold their head in pain meanwhile, the remaining enemy Orcs all shouted "Yes, Your Highness!" and immediately re-grouped with the Vitannia Le Roach at its center. The Orcs'' offensive that was just ''march forward and fight'', was changed into a very complex and strategic movement that overwhelmed the Elves. Some Elves then started attacking their fellow Elves due to the Vitannia Le Roach''s mind control ability, causing more chaos in the battlefield. Ji Liu and his monsters retreated and were recovering at the back line when the Orcs broke through the defense and caught them off-guard. Twenty Orcs headed towards their direction and they were forced to react. With Xiao Cike still unconscious, it was up to Xiao Su to buy time by shooting up strong winds with [Advanced Poison Attack] while Zhao, Mr. Krabs and Jinao quickly set up another poison swamp. When the Orcs got into the swamp area, they were greatly slowed down enough to get picked off one by one. The plan was going well, but then, the Vitannia Le Roach suddenly appeared to help the Orcs. Just as Ji Liu was planning to blind it with his shield, the Vitannia Le Roach jumped to Xiao Su injuring one of its wings and fell down. Ji Liu felt an extreme amount of pain that almost made him lose consciousness. Realizing that the situation is worsening and that he could faint any time, he decided to send his monsters back first to The Base. Just as the Orcs were to kill Xiao Su, Ji Liu was able to send it back to The Base. He then turned towards Jinao, but as he turn around, he felt another pain coursing through his body and this time, he wasn''t strong enough to keep consciousness. This time, he fell down and fainted. ****** ''Dark. Where am I?'' Ji Liu opened his eyes but it was as if he hadn''t opened it at all. *Argh* He tried getting up but felt pain all over his body. "You finally woke up." Hearing a familiar voice, Ji Liu looked at a silhouette finally getting his eyes accustomed to the dark. "What happened?" Ji Liu managed to sit and lean on the cold wall on his right. "We almost got wiped out, we have no choice but to retreat here, deep within the Ancestral Grounds." "Where are the others?" Ji Liu finally got used to the darkness and looked around. Aside from Goldberry, there were only 16 other Elves along with Jinao and Zhao and 5 other monsters. Goldberry just closed her eyes and shook her head. "We are all that''s left." "What happened? How?" Ji Liu was full of questions. Goldberry just stared at the ground for a while, took a deep breath and said, "All was going well until the insect came out of the leader of the Orcs, it went on killing everything on its path. Everyone would have died if it didn''t start to evolve in the middle of the fight." "The insect ordered its remaining Orcs to stand guard while it evolves and that was when we got the opportunity to run away. The Elder opened the Ancestral Grounds and sent all who is incapable of fighting inside. He told us to recover here, but after a while, we can hear the Orcs fiercely trying to open the entrance to the Ancestral Grounds and even tried breaking the walls." After Goldberry told Ji Liu the story, they both fell into silence. Ji Liu then looked at his two monsters. Zhao had both of its claws badly mangled and its tail was broken at its tip while Jinao had Its whole right arm missing and is heavily covered in bandages. Ji Liu looked at the two who were previously resting, and asked, "Where are the others?" Zhao only looked down, Dejected while Jinao clenched Its spear tightly and said, "When you sent Xiao Su back to The Base, Mr. Krabs was fatally attacked by the cockroach causing you to faint. Xiao Cike participated in holding off the Orcs." Ji Liu closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breathes before saying, "I can still feel Xiao Cike''s consciousness although it is extremely weak. Perhaps it is injured and hiding." Ji Liu then sent back Jinao and Zhao after some more small talks. He can already stand up so he grabbed his shield and went towards Goldberry before asking, "Can I walk and look around in here?" "There''s nothing here to do anyway." Goldberry smiled wryly. The room they are currently in looked like a storage area and there is a distinct metal-like door that''s producing thudding sounds. The building was designed to withstand a direct nuclear blast, so any monsters with a level lower than 5th stage Legend rank would not damage it. Ji Liu walked around using his shield as a light source. The light was decent enough to distinguish thing 5 meters away. The shield can shine passively due to an altered phosphor protein that absorbs carbon, and when it slowly release the stored carbon over time, it emits the light. Ji Liu soon found a room with old computers and thought, ''can this contain anything important?'' and called Jinao. {Sorry, calls cannot be made. You are out of coverage area} He looked at his phone in disbelief and just went to summon Jinao instead. "Sorry to bother your rest but can you search back if these things can still be used? And what are they used for?" Ji Liu asked Jinao while putting one at a more visible area. "Looks like a computer to me." Jinao circled the computer. "I mean what these computers are used for." Ji Liu was dusting the rusted metallic body. "Oh, if that''s the case why don''t we bring it back?" Jinao suggested. "Can these be even ported to The Base safely?" Ji Liu was questioning Jinao''s ability to think. "We won''t know until we try anyway, let''s try one." Ji Liu then used two ''Monster Teleporter'' to teleport the computer and Jinao back to The Base. 23 Vats "It seems like you can use these teleporters safely for non-monster materials too. Just need to move them away from the Teleport area when they arrive huh." Jinao said as he watches Ji Liu place the last computer in the open space. "Ask Zhao and Xiao Su to move them off the other end of the teleporters when you get back while you help me explore here. I''ll summon you back in 15 minutes." Ji Liu then sent them back. He walked around more and found nothing interesting aside from the stairs going down. There was a stair going up but was blocked by fallen debris that he did not dare move in fear of collapsing it even more. The two went down, and then down, down and down some more. The stair just kept going down until finally, they reached a wide area where there are 5 vats. 4 of the vats were filled with different kinds of liquid while the leftmost one seems to have broke based on the machine that fell on its side. Ji Liu was looking around when he was called by Jinao. "You better take a look at this Ji Liu." Jinao was staring at the vats. "Why? What''s inside? Could it be Friez--" Ji Liu made his way and choked on his words when he laid his eyes on what''s inside the vats. ______ Baby Qilin Type: Cloud Level: Peak stage Silver Status: Unconscious Abilities: Cloud Movements, Improved Reflex, Augment Sense, Advanced Fire Attack Evolution condition: Slay 500 (500 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 2922 (0 left) days Special evolution: Consume 10 (1 left) Illusion-type monster nucleus, Consume 1 (0 left) Space-type monster nucleus ______ Swamp Troll Type: Swamp Level: Peak stage Silver Status: Unconscious Abilities: Swamp Movements, Improved Reflex, Augment Sense, Advanced Water Attack Evolution condition: Slay 500 (500 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 2922 (0 left) days Special evolution: Consume 10 (1 left) Cloud-type monster nucleus, Consume 1 (0 left) Space-type monster nucleus ______ Crystal Vampire Type: Crystal Level: Peak stage Silver Status: Unconscious Abilities: Crystal Movements, Improved Reflex, Augment Sense, Advanced Earth Attack Evolution condition: Slay 500 (500 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 2922 (0 left) days Special evolution: Consume 10 (1 left) Swamp-type monster nucleus, Consume 1 (0 left) Space-type monster nucleus ______ Space Jam Type: Space Level: Peak stage Silver Status: Unconscious Abilities: Relocate, Infest, Devour, Spatial Attack Evolution condition: Slay 500 (500 left) Silver or higher level monsters, Survive for 2922 (0 left) days Special evolution: Devour 1 (0 left) Teragram weight of monsters, Consume 1 (1 left) monster nucleus ______ ''Four monsters. And all of them looks really strong. I don''t have enough space to make a contract to all of them if I want to still have an extra 1.'' Just as Ji Liu was wondering about how he should deal with the problem, a ringing sound followed by a soothing female voice rang inside his head. *Ting* "System has detected Origin monsters nearby, Young Ji Liu is advised to find a way to fully assimilate one Origin monster. Fully assimilating an Origin monster would improve the system." ''Origin monsters? So these are Origin monsters? These are even stronger than I thought.'' Ji Liu commented then asked, ''System how do I assimilate a monster? Is there a special method or would it be automatic like fusing?'' "You eat the monster, done." A scruffy male voice rang in his head. ''I need to fully eat the monster? Is that it? WTF! Are you serious system?'' Ji Liu asked but no answer again came. ''Aside from the tutorial, the system only made contact to me twice these past 4 months. How unreliable.'' "Jinao, can you look around for a good place to rest?" "Okay" Jinao nodded and went looking around. Looking at the monsters, Ji Liu thought, ''How did this liquid manage to let them survive anyway?'' He looked at the broken vat but it was already dried. ''Something must have been here right? No corpse means they can really still be revived. I have to think this thoroughly.'' After a while of looking closely at the monsters inside the vats, Ji Liu gave up and just decided to eat the troll since it was the smallest one, only the size of his hand. He looked at the other 3 monsters and wondered why there were monsters here, ''perhaps this was a factory of some sort?'' He thought as he looked at the ancient machines all around him. "There''s no good place to rest up ahead. There''s also a stair that leads down but it''s blocked halfway, only small monsters can fit through. Some of the rooms are locked shut." Jinao came back without finding a good place to rest. "It''s okay, you can return to The Base to rest now. Just be ready to be called again alright? And also, I''ll be contracting some new monsters, be prepared." "Okay." Jinao nodded and stepped on the teleporter. ****** Ji Liu first opened the vat containing the Space Jam. Just as he was opening the vat, steam rose and the liquid immediately evaporated. The cables suspending the monster snapped and sent it plopping on the ground scaring Ji Liu as it may have regained consciousness. Judging it safe to approach, he noted that it was a basketball-sized Purple Slime-like monster with no other features aside from having a cold touch. After making a contract, he sent it to The Base to let Jinao take care of its accommodation. On the next two vats, Ji Liu learned his lesson last time so he moved quickly to take the monsters before the cables snap. He also sent the two quickly back to The Base before they regained consciousness due to the hassle of waiting. The last vat, the one containing the troll, was not opened as he decided to he returned to the upper floor where Goldberry and the rest are. It was a long day and fatigue finally came to his body. He looked at the time and it was already past 3 late in the night. Realizing this, he went to a corner and immediately fell asleep.