“A system?” Flay asked as he heard the term.
“Yes. The Eos group known as the Sol were among the strongest members of the Eos. I was bestowed by each of them this power and was ordered to assist a might hero that will rise. They never told me who, but it’s getting more and more obvious that they meant you.”
“Me?”
“Yes. Your battle instincts allowed you to take a simple ability to stick to stuff and use it to flee a monster that is several Ranks of power greater than you! Not even the heroes that I knew can do what you did!”
Suddenly, the gator began to shake as they tried to move around.
Flay was stunned as he could feel the gator moving up in the hill.
“Stupid gator! It’s moving because it no longer sees the Pteranodon! But I can still hear it!” Flay cursed.
“Master, try removing me out of this and stabbing me again. Maybe if my power leaks quickly enough, it might cause the Pteranodon to roar or make a commotion!”
“That’s a great idea! Ready? Go!” Flay instantly pulled the sword down and immediately stabbed it back up.
The gator groaned in pain but then…
“ROAR!”
The Pteranodon shouted in rage as it began to fly around.
The instincts of the gator forced it to stop moving as the Pteranodon was moving.
Flay listened carefully and smiled.
“It worked! The Pteranodon is flying around this area. It was too fast and too faint that he couldn’t tell where the energy was!’ Flay rejoiced.
“Have you recovered enough energy, Master? That attack was faster!”
“...Yeah. I noticed. It wasn't that just that I recovered. I guess I hadn't gotten used to this new body and was moving like my former speed. But now that you told me I'm stronger, I tried to move faster, and I did. Maybe it was because I’ve been constantly on the move that I never got to reflect on my new speed and power. You’re right. I am slightly faster and stronger than I was. But I don’t feel that this is at the level of an Apprentice.”
“Your strength is actually fluctuating. When you took in the attack, your body manifested the Brute power when it sensed your bones breaking and muscles tearing. It seems that this power appears when you are forced into such situations. But other than that, I also noticed that what is constant is how you add the Brute power on your sword. You could perform attacks that are several levels than Rookie-6 and even reach up to Apprentice with your sword. But if you use other attacks like punching or kicking, then you could only use attacks up to Rookie-6.”
“That’s very confusing.” Flay frowned.
“Master, this means that the stronger you get, the more power you can tap on. So you need to increase your level!”
“Yeah, I don’t think increasing my level just like that.” Flay chuckled.
“Actually, you can, Master. If you could kill this gator, I could use Mars’s power to drain the life essence in this monster's core to increase your rank!”
“...What?!” Flay was stunned. Absorbing the energy from a monster core was a very expensive investment for the Tamers of Monster’s Edge. They would have to go into the Kingdom which despised them, pay a hefty sum to wizards, Core Extractors, and so on to increase each level. And the higher the rank, the more expensive it would be.
“You can harness the power of the monster cores and bestow it to someone?!”
“Yes. That’s the power of the Eos Mars. However, your surprise tells me that your village doesn’t have access to this. Is that why you said no one in your village only reached Apprentice 5? Your village cannot afford to pay wizards, Core Extractors, druids, or certain groups to harness monster cores? Or is it related to your branding as traitors?”
“Both! We can only make this request in the castle. And they charge a hefty sum! This is another reason why no one in the village can cultivate a higher level of power! The price to become an Apprentice-6 is triple that of Apprentice-5! The Kingdom did this so that we would only be this strong! But if you can do that, my village is saved! What exactly are your powers?!”
“I have the powers of Eight Sol Eos.”
“Who are those? You’ve been saying things about Eos. I know they are gods, but you seem to be more familiar with them. What exactly are they?”
“There are two types of gods. You are probably familiar with those who transcended the heavens and attained the powers to become gods. These are the gods that remain in this world. The Eos belong to the second type. They are the ones who created the very universe itself. They stepped into this universe from a dimension we cannot comprehend and caused light and healing to disrupt the darkness. After that, they left. Most of the gods you call Eos in this world aren’t real Eos but only imitated and took on their titles. The real Eos have left. They are journeying from one realm to another.”
“Woah… And you served these original Eos?”
“Yes. Eight Eos took me in as an apprentice. I served them for a long time, and then, something happened as we were attacked. I was tasked to aid a hero since they needed to leave to another Realm, but something happened. The next thing I knew, I woke up in that drained pool of mystical water you claim to found me in. Luckily, the System they gave me is still here. And as my Master, you can use it.”
“Can’t they find you? The Eos?”
“And I do not hear their voice or call. So either they moved on to the Realm beyond, or they died fighting the enemies that they were looking for in the infinite realms.”
“Alright… That sounds like an interesting story. But we have more pressing matters at hand. What are the special abilities that you have now?”
“Let me show you instead. I’ll link the powers to you so that you can see and access these powers.”
Suddenly, a strange screen appeared in Flay’s vision.
///
Kairo’s Slime Sol System
///
Form of Mercury- Lvl. 1
Metal Devourer- Can devour low-grade metals and assume their form. Strengthens base metal strength and durability of assumed metal form by 10 percent.
Level up Requirement- Devour 2 tones of metal ores.
---
Passion of Venus- Lvl. 1
Fire Entity: Can absorb low-grade forms of fire and release 10 charges of fire magic.
Level up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Fire Core.
---
Nature of Gaia- Lvl. 1
Mineral Devour- Can absorb low-grade energy from minerals, ores, and elemental cores. Is used to strengthen other Eos Systems.
Level up Requirement- Level up Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
---
Bloodlust of Mars- Lvl. 1
Monster Devour- Can absorb and bestow life essence from monster cores of E-Ranked creatures and lower.
Level up Requirement- Devour D-Ranked Monster Cores.
---
Bolts of Jupiter- Lvl. 1
Lightning Entity- Can absorb low-grade lightning energy and release 10 charges of lightning magic.
Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Lightning Core.
---
Life of Saturn- Lvl. 1
Plant Devourer- Can absorb plant essence from low-grade plants.
Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Heart of the Forest.
---
Winds of Uranus- Lvl. 1
Wind Entity- Can absorb low-grade Wind energy and release 10 charges of Wind magic.
Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Wind Core.
---
Baptism of Neptune- Lvl. 1
Water Entity- Can absorb low-grade water energy and release 10 charges of water magic.
Level Up Requirement- Devour 1 low-grade Water Core.
///
Flay was amazed at the details.
“I’ve already shown you Mercury’s ability. Any weapon of low-grade material I can devour and transform into. But right now, I can only do it on the weakest of weapons. So I took your sword and ate it, and I can assume its form, increasing its strength and durability by ten percent.”
“So that’s why you’ve become harder than my sword! Why didn’t you tell me all this earlier?”
“We were busy escaping from the Pteranodon! And I didn’t see any use of telling you since a mere sword can’t kill it! I didn’t want to waste precious time talking to you about such unimportant matters. Besides, you had nothing for me to absorb energy from!”
“Alright, I get it. But how did you get water? I know that you are casting Water magic to heal me, but what’s the source?”
“This is. We are in the mouth of a Gator. This beast has low-level water energy emerging out of its saliva. It’s very faint. That’s why it took me a while to be able to heal you.”
“Wait a sec! You mean to tell me you’ve been healing me with gator spit?!”
“Well, if you put it that way, it sounds disgusting. But yes.”
“If not for the great hope you’ve given me, I would have puked. Your name is Kairo?”
“Yes.” The Slime answered.
“Alright, Kairo. Since you call me Master, I’ll embrace it now. Kairo, we have to come out of this alive! Your powers can change the fate of our village! We could make strong warriors without having to pay that astronomical price! We have to think of a way to get out of here! If we kill this gator, will the Pteranodon detect us if you use your power?”
“I don’t think so. As long I remain hidden in this, we should be fine. Besides, the Death Mark is dispersing. We should be able to escape soon.”
“Good! Let’s kill this gator!”
Hope.This was a precious commodity in the village of Flay, especially since the past months have been particularly brutal for the Tamers.But Flay now had great hope. And not just hope, but motivation. He could save his village and lift them out of the cruel injustice and dangers it faced. And it all would start by killing the gator.“So you think that with a sword, my power can reach apprentice swordsman because of my Brute power?” Flay confirmed after hearing Kairo’s various explanations as to why Flay’s strength was not constant.“I’m positive. By the time we reached this pond lands, you already battled across the river, and while I was healing you, it could only do so much because of the Death Mark. Now that the mark has weakened, and my healing abilities have refueled your energy, you should have enough power to kill and stab this gato
Kairo was pondering on the meaning of the vision. Why did he have that vision when he tried to force the power through the mysterious obstruction that stopped him from sending the life essence of the monster core to Flay?What was that vision? His masters talked of Pluton and attacked this person?The logical conclusion was to assume Flay is Pluton.“But that’s impossible! The Eos has the powers of Foreknowledge! They would have known that this Pluton would be here! There must be a deeper mystery!” Kairo began to think and knew that there should be something the Eos had done. Even his awakening was mysterious as it made no sense that he was a slime pool being used by the Pteranodon for whatever reasons.“Kairo? Are you alright?” Flay asked again.Kairo was startled and glanced back to his master. He st
The strange land with many ponds was an unusual place for Flay.The dark of the night was thankfully not a hindrance to Flay, who now could see in the dark with his new strange powers.It had been several minutes since he jumped out of the Pteranodon and sprinted as fast as he could. The creatures had gone into hiding at the appearance of the Pteranodon, and this meant that Flay could make his escape from the region without being detected. And so, Flay bravely traveled through the land, knowing that he could buy himself more time.Using the stars as a guide, Flay began his quick run towards the location of the Camp Site.“The Tamers should still be there! I just hope everyone is safe from the attacks of the Might Wolves!” Flay thought to himself.“Master. We can use the Pteranodon a few more times.” Kairo ad
Kairo began to devour the plants and shrubs that were nearby quickly. It would slowly envelop and digest the plant, and its slime form would change in color. A green coating soon filled it as the leaves of various plants were devoured.But as expected, the Life essence that it got was not even noticeable to Flay when he tried to absorb some.After devouring the second plant, Kairo condensed all the green coating into a small ball. Soon, a large ball was formed, and Kairo spat it out.Flay grabbed the strange green ball. It was slowly starting to melt away.“Mix that into your body, Master. That should hide your scent. It’s plant essence, so it will make you smell like a walking plant. As a result, most monsters should avoid you.”“Great! How about them stamina pills? I need to keep running out of here to avo
The successful plot of Flay led to the angry Pteranodon going after the Midnight Panther, which it saw devour the slime. With an angry Pteranodon chasing the Panther, the entire forest boomed with loud sounds.Flay continued to run through the thick forest, which was now in a state of panic. The booming thunders from the distance and the mighty roar of the Pteranodon could be heard.“Sorry about that. I made you sacrifice quite a bit of your slime. It would take a while for you to recover it, right?” Flay asked.“Yes, Master. I would need to absorb two gators and take all of its energy.”“That much, huh? Sorry. I sort of expected that. But, if the entire concoction that the Pteranodon was brewing was so thick and had several creatures, I knew that a single drop of you would be worth an astronomical value.”
Flay arrived in the oasis and could see the Bewilderbisons feeding on the marsh that grows nearby. The strange thing was that the Kragg Hippose were not alarmed by the heard but welcomed them.“Strange…”“What is it, Master?”“The interaction of these monsters… I thought the Kragg Hippos would get all territorial with a herd of Bewilderbisons approaching since it would mean their food supply would decrease. But the Hippos actually welcomed them!”“What does this mean, Master?”“I don’t know. I should have paid more attention to the classes in the village regarding the Three Hs. In any case, I need to get this green plant essence off me! Otherwise, the hippo or the bison will eat me!”Flay ran and jumped into the water to wash
Kairo couldn’t believe what he had done. It was one thing when he would experiment with the hazardous waste of creatures to create elements; it was another to clean up little nighttime accidents.“Alright. What are my stats?” Flay asked immediately.“...Master. I’m still processing that nightmare.”“That should make you more afraid of what I, your Master, can make you do! But anyway, let’s move on. You’re a slime. You’ve dived down the bowels of beasts, for crying out loud.”
The anger and frustration that Flay felt all those years began to flash through his eyes. He had gone through intense bullying, mocks, and jeers from those who were of his generation.Flay was an orphan and grew up challenging his friends to various contests of strengths. He would always win and was seen as a genius. But he soon became a fallen genius.He failed when he claimed he had finally reached Rookie-4 and took the test. And the result of the test was rather embarrassing.The Strength Measuring Sto
Flay was even more intrigued.He had just shown the entire Beastmaster tribe his ability, yet they were certain he would die.He had just fought against an Expert, and while others were skeptical of his attempts, it was still a very impressive feat.“I guess I shouldn’t press my luck. Besides, there are more important matters at hand… This place has too many enemies. I have to also regain much of my lost strength and awaken the Eos System.” Flay decided. If this Chimera was something so powerful that everyone was convinced he was still inadequate, he would have to pursue other means to gain strength.“What is this… chimera?” Estelle asked in the midst of the angry accusations of Darwood and Trailtree.“My king… That is the beast that we have sealed long ago. The creature who was once sealed at the death of my great grandfather.” Primeroot finally spoke.“Trovine Primeroot… The greatest Beast Master who achieved the impossible and reached beyond Great Expert…” The King recalled.“Yes.
Narood and the other experts and high-level adjuncts returned with a rather confident look on themselves.“It seems you finally are agreeing.” Flay smiled.“We will agree. That staff is too much of a prize for us. But... Instead of Tenscream, we will offer you another beast instead. An Expert just like Tenscream. But, you have to tame it. You are confident of taming them, aren’t you?” Narood smiled.“Hmmm... Depends. I’m not saying that I can tame any and all monsters. There are several that will take a lot of effort.” Flay recalled the monsters he faced in his world. Particularly, the Carcadon.“I wonder if they tamed him?” Flay thought to himself.The strange expression and distant gaze of Flay irritated the beastmasters.“Then since we are all agreed...” Narood smiled.“Go and start taming them. Of course, we will set a time limit. You have five minutes! Show us! Show us how one can be the pack leader of the wolves!” Narood taunted.Everyone gave a curious look at Flay.“Here’s a l
Flay's words caused a great commotion and surprise to all who listened.Zegwood was shocked at Flay's declaration. But as a few seconds passed, the arrogant rookie's implication and demand slowly settled in his head."What?! A mere Rookie demands to take away my Tamed Beast?!""I already took control of it and made it attack you. Why not?" Flay sneered."That...! That was a trick! An evil trick!""So? I have the skill! Has anyone ever controlled your monster apart from yourself?" Flay countered."My monster is linked to my staff! Without the staff, you wouldn't have tamed it!""Did anyone manage to tame your beast using the staff?" Flay asked.There was silence as everyone awkwardly looked at each other.Zegwood was turning blue from holding back his breath and the urge to smack the kid before him."And you were doing a poor job at managing the kennels, I'll tell you that much. The wolves would grow stronger if allowed to roam in the wild. I was only planning to tame a few wolves and
The three generals revealed their power, which made the beastmasters cower.These were the strongest generals who often guarded the walls!But as Kairo had explained, they were actually weaker!Most of the Experts didn't pay much heed to this. After all, the three could have only revealed whatever portion of their power they were comfortable with.Only those who knew of the poison were delighted at how fast the progress was. A few months ago, no changes could be seen. But now, it was becoming increasingly clear."... It's so rare to see all three of you abandon your post. Especially now that the Beast of Dark Savagery lingers outside our walls." Narood answered.His eyes had an arrogance in him, for he knew, soon, he would surpass these three!"The Beast of Dark Savagery has all been slain. Remember their sudden retreat in the last war? They were being summoned. And they were all killed by the Master of that boy you are trying to kill." Holy Knight Galavus answered with certainty.Eve
The people who closed the doors were now panicking to open the gates. They were being forced to keep them closed as one of the prominent beast-taming families gave the orders not to let anyone in. But now, with their lives and families on the line, no one dared to keep the gates closed and be charged with treason.Holy Knight Galavus was famous for the incident known as the Path of Red that occurred in the previous wars against the Joverus Kingdom Alliance.It was here that the power of the Kalenshore Kingdom was revealed.For while the rest practiced magic, they combined it with Brute power and revolutionized warfare.At the center of all this was Holy Knight Galavus, who was the strongest and eventually led the other Experts to his path.When a great battle between the kingdoms happened, an ambush forced the King to retreat.Galavus stayed and fought against several Experts and an army.But his defenses were simply too firm, and his Brute, too powerful that all the magics that struck
Flay continued his casual stroll about the kennels and observed the wolves one at a time.Secretly, Kairo was busy wandering just like a casual slime would and would approach the kennels.But unknown to them, the slime was draining the magic from the kennels as it moved from one place to the other.“Flay!” Darwood shouted as he rushed towards his ally. The rest of the team followed, except Vem.“You are being summoned back.” Darwood spoke.All of them could not look Flay in the eyes after they were all berated for accepting bribes.Flay shrugged and moved with them, but his slimes continued to wander about.No one took any concern of the slimes and walked back.Behind him was the chaos of the ongoing debate.“Where is he?!” An enraged official demanded.“Bring him back here before that troublemaker starts creating more chaos!”“He is here!” Darwood called out.“What’s going on?” Flay asked Darwood.Darwood looked very angry, annoyed at Flay’s casual behavior, and even wandered out.Da
The crowd was silenced by Flay's suggestion.If the Princess was saved, she could clarify everything being discussed."I'm sure she would settle and fix everything here." Flay also added."If it's the princess…" One of the High Adepts thought."The Princess? Why would we bring her here? Is she even the Princess?" The expert that healed Tenscream asked."What do you mean by... that?" Ephesus frowned."We know that within the kingdom, assassinations and infiltrations have happened. The Dark Priest enlists Mimics who have entered this city. Have you tested her to see if she is a mimic?""If you think mere mimics can stand before us and fool us, then we would not have been her guard! Is not Vallenhall with us?" Ephesus challenged."Indeed. Great Experts. I am High Adept Terence. Lava Mage and Formation Specialist. This was a suspicion we had, and I already used an area magic to see whether or not she was the Princess. After all, Mimics are fearful of the fire. But the Princess shot her ma
The fight and even the interruption of the Expert happened so fast.Apart from Ephesus, all of the allies of the Princess were watching from the side.The traitor Vem couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. He hoped the boy would die, but the battle that transpired before him ended with an Expert down on the ground.If he hadn’t seen it, he wouldn’t have believed that a Rookie was able to bringThe strongest members of the Beast Master clan arrived.Surrounding the few Experts were also members of the tribe's elites. The commotion had caused anyone near to scurry over to see what had happened. The strongest high-level Adepts accompanied the few experts.The Expert, who shouted at Flay and summoned a powerful Brute voice, was startled at his fast reaction.One of the Adepts had moved over to the frog, and by injecting Brute, the energy invading the frog’s heart was dispelled.To hide his secret, Flay stopped pressuring the frog by enslaving it with his Pluton powers. The staff tha
Because of Flay’s innate ability to gauge a person's Brute and Magic energy, Flay could quickly tell where he could land a powerful damage. He knew that Ephesus would go to his defense. He commanded the Cerberus to make a bite on the other leg. The Brute energy was divided between the legs and the arm. And because of this, Flay weakened that part of the body. Flay’s pitiful strength of 12 points, added with 20 points of Brute energy, half of his defenses of 17 points, and 10 points worth of magic, totaled 59 points worth of punch. This attack would be equal to a mid-level apprentice's. It shouldn’t leave damage to the defenses of any average expert. But in that specific scenario, the guard of Zegwood and the natural vulnerability of that area was enough. Had his stat point been three points lower, this attack would not have worked, and if the Expert was in any way more guarded, then his natural Brute could easily defend against it. POW! Flay's fist dug deep into the groin as it