The large pearl-like eyes of the Crystal Monkey were slightly dazed. However, once it felt its newfound strength coursing through its veins it was excitement that filled its being.
*Roar*
It gave a loud roar filled with elation as the power of an 8th Stage Earth Realmer was fully unveiled. Its body trembled slightly with excitement and the cracks that Mane had inflicted on its chest began to heal. It still lay on the ground, but its large eyes were now glued to the human who stood on its chest. This usually demeaning action didn't seem to annoy the Crystal Monkey. For it only looked at Mane with gratitude and with a bit of curiosity.
"What an interesting fellow," Mane was astonished by what had just occurred. He used Devour to suck out the Edict from the earth around them and transferred it to the Crystal Monkey, hoping that it would aid in its recoveries. After all, it was a Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast. A beast of that level was an elemental beast, so Mane reckoned that as long as it had earth elemental Edict, it would be able to recover. However even he didn't expect it to recover that quickly, or to achieve a breakthrough! Obviously the quick recovery was as a result of the surprising breakthrough, but Mane was not expecting either.
"Did you know that Crystal Monkeys could do this?" Mane asked Hildegarde. Since Crystal Monkeys were rare and were mostly killed for their bodies, information about them was only limited to the use of their corpses. Next to no one knew about their physiology and how their bodies operated. The universe's knowledge of this extinct beast was limited to its anatomy.
"No. I had no clue." Hildegarde was just as surprised as Mane was by the changes the creature that lay like a carpet beneath them was experiencing. Just like Mane and many other beings of the universe, she didn't really know much about Crystal Monkeys. The fact that they were rare was one reason for that. The other was that no one really observed these creatures to understand them. They were usually killed on sight for their precious bodies.
"I see," Mane nodded his head and said. He had a conflicted expression on his face, but ultimately he seemed to have come to a decision.
"True Eyes," Mane silently said to himself and activated the ability that he inherited from the 6th Supreme. It wasn't an ability he liked to use. Although he knew that the only way that the ability would grow was by him continuously using it, he didn't really have the luxury to do so. Not only was the skill incredibly draining, Mane barely had any free time. He always had to be on his toes because of Ivor, and even the month where he had to prepare for the Finals of the Grand Tourney was mostly spent training the twins. And though he did train True Eyes during that period, it wasn't with as much intensity and conviction as he trained his other skills.
"Amazing," Mane exclaimed inwardly once he saw the structure of the Crystal Monkey. His True Eyes were still at the Beginner Level of proficiency, but he was able to easily see through most things. And the structure of the Crystal Monkey couldn't be hidden from his powerful vision. Mane's eyes flashed with a faint glow. His sclera was deep blue like turquoise shells, and his iris was as crimson as a sea of blood. His pupils were golden yellow, embodying the beauty of the midday sun. What Mane saw through these eyes was a body that was entirely different from anything he had seen so far.
He had seen the structure of beasts and men. He had seen the structure of Elemental and Ancient. He had also seen the structure of a Barbarian. But none of them filled him with as much awe as the structure of the Crystal Monkey. The common thing Elementals, Ancients and Barbarians had was the presence of a star map. Although the stars differed in color, they all had stars in their bodies that held Edict. Weak Magical Beasts didn't have a star map and couldn't really store Edict, but High Class Magical Beasts and above were capable of employing some Edict based skills. However even for them, they didn't have star maps. Mane hadn't met any Pseudo Legendary Class Magical Beast before this, so he didn't know if the Crystal Monkey was an exception or not. But the creature itself was like a giant star!
It didn't have any stars in its body, but its body acted like a star itself! The large beast was capable of storing energy in its entire body. It didn't need a star map, for it a star itself! And that was what astonished Mane.
"It is no wonder that you broke through," Mane looked at the motionless Crystal Monkey beneath the soles of his feet and sighed. Whenever True Eyes were activated, the world came to a standstill. That was the main reason why the skill was so draining. If Mane could use it without stopping the time of the world, he wouldn't waste so much energy. Maybe if he was able to break into the Intermediate Level of proficiency he would be able to.
"That's enough I guess," Mane mumbled to himself and deactivated True Eyes. His eyes returned to their original color, and the world regained its times and seasons. Mane felt his vision becoming cloudy, and a bitter smile graced his lips. Even with his strength now in the Earth Realm, he still couldn't use True Eyes comfortably. His Edict that was already bottoming was instantly depleted, and the fact that he remained standing was through sheer will, and sheer will alone.
"Are you okay?" Hildegarde was a bit alarmed by these changes. She suddenly felt Mane's energy disappear. She had no idea how he used up his Edict so quickly, but she was worried about him.
"Oh I'm fine. Just a bit tired. Maybe using earth and water at the Mastery Level with my strength only in the Profound Realm was too much" Mane still hadn't told Hildegarde about True Eyes so he didn't tell her the actual reason behind his fatigue.
"That is true," Hildegarde didn't think twice about his excuse. His reason was a very plausible one after all.
"We should get off him before he runs out of patience," Hildegarde stated and Mane nodded his head. He hadn't forgotten that he was standing on top of a rare beast. He slowly got off the Crystal Monkey after he cast one last glance at it smooth crystalline chest which had no signs of the previous injury.
"Mane!" Lily was waiting for him below. She had already brought the horses over, something that Mane was very grateful for.
"Are you okay?" Lily asked whilst checking Mane for injuries. Because his clothes were mostly destroyed Mane was practically wearing rags. Usually Lily would be embarrassed to see him like this. But she wasn't even thinking about that right now. All that mattered to her was that her friend was fine.
"I'm fine. Just tired." Mane slightly leaned on to Lily. He couldn't help it. Getting off the Crystal Monkey had taken the last bit of energy he had been able to summon through sheer will alone. He was very tired now. In fact, he really wished that he could get some sleep. But he didn't dare to.
"I'd take you to Roxanne," Lily stated as she allowed Mane to lean onto her. The mounts were right next to her so carrying the taller Mane wasn't a difficult task. Besides, she was using Edict to strengthen herself, so Mane's weight was practically nonexistent to her.
"Thank you," Mane slowly said as he appreciated Lily's understanding. Leaning onto her supple body which smelled of fresh flowers, Mane unconsciously began to close his eyes.
"You cannot afford to sleep right now," a voice pulled Mane back from the approaching darkness. It was Hildegarde who spoke and stopped Mane from falling to the sweet seduction of sleep.
"I must really be tired," Mane thought to himself. It seemed that the stress from the days before and now were finally taking a toll on him. After all, he shouldn't be this exhausted from using True Eyes. Well the fact that his energy was almost depleted when he used it was a factor, but it was no excuse to fall asleep in a dangerous land.
"Devour," Mane mumbled silently, and several streams of Edict rushed into his body from the surroundings. Soon his fatigue was gone, and he was mostly fine. Slowly his body began to grow stronger and his strength crept towards the Earth Realm once again.
"Here you go," Lily had no idea that Mane could now walk by himself. After all, it had only been a couple of seconds since he asked for her help to reach Roxanne. She carried the boy who was taller than her by a head and placed him on Roxanne.
"Thank you," Mane smiled and said. "I feel much better now," he added whilst stretching.
"You're welcome," Lily smiled sweetly and said. She jumped onto Skimpy and both proceeded to ride their horses away from the place.
*Roar*
A loud roar interrupted their attempts to leave as a giant figure walked over to them.
"What is it Monkey?" Mane cocked his head in confusion. They had spared its life and increased its strength, so what else did it want?
*Roar*
The Crystal Monkey roared submissively and knelt onto the ground with its head bowed towards Mane.
"It's expressing its willingness to follow you," Hildegarde was stunned to see the Crystal Monkey's actions. Getting a beast to follow you wasn't an easy thing to do. Not only did you have to beat the beast, you had to plant seeds of respect in it for it to decide to submit to you.
"Why?" Mane didn't understand what the Crystal Monkey was thinking. How could it chose to follow him after just one fight?
*Roar*
The large monkey beat its chest and stomped the ground as its eyes flashed with excitement and eagerness. Mane didn't understand what it was saying, but he was able to pick up its answer from its actions.
"Really? You – a monkey – want to get stronger?" Mane was surprised. The Crystal Monkey nodded its large head when it heard Mane's words, expressing that that was indeed its intention. This beast was much more intelligent than he thought. Any other creature would have been satisfied with the increased strength and would have left. But the Crystal Monkey didn't forget how it had grown stronger and wished to follow the person responsible. It wanted to be right next to the one who could help it grow stronger continuously. To the Crystal Monkey, Mane was a treasure chest. And it wasn't silly enough to let this treasure leave its sight.
"We should bring it along," Lily who had been quiet expressed her opinion. To her if they had the Crystal Monkey with them, they would be able to navigate the place faster. Besides, it was a rare and beautiful beast. Lily was more than happy to have it accompanying them.
"Okay. You can come Monkey." Mane replied with a shrug and the Crystal Monkey thumped its chest elatedly.
"But you need a name. We can't keep calling you monkey or it." Mane added, and the large monkey nodded its head again.
"Why don't you name it?" Mane turned to Lily and said.
"Me?" Lily was baffled by Mane's request.
"Yes. Don't you want to?" Mane smiled and said.
"I do!" Lily clapped excitedly like a little girl. She blushed slightly when she realized the naivety of her actions and cleared her throat to hide her embarrassment. Fortunately for her it wasn't bright enough for Mane to see the slight reddening of her cheeks.
"Well, you are beautiful and bright like precious silver. So we'd call you Silver!"