HUFF.
Elizabeth snorted as she looked at the Acrid with eyes of hostility. Vines slowly began to crawl out of the ground like demons crawling out of a portal into the overworld tired of living in hell, "That creature is dangerous, Vaeden. Stay away from it, I can kill it quickly," She spoke, gesturing me to come close to her.
I remained still in front of the Acrid, trying to shield it from Elizabeth's incoming wrath, "U-uh, It's fine. He won't hurt us, think of it as our own house pet," I answered nervously.
"Raaaaaaat...I....aaaammm...nooooottt....a...peettttt...!" The Acrid hissed, lifting its upper body giving off a dominant display.
I slowly turned my head towards the Acrid and creased my forehead, "Do you have a death wish?! I'm trying to keep you alive dude!" I whispered in an agitated tone.
The Acrid remained silent for a few seconds before replying, "Duuuudeee...?....iss....thaaaattt...a...poissonssss?"
I rolled my eyes in frustration, "Ugh, just stay silent and let me do that talking. If you don't, you see these vines wriggling around us?" I pointed at the vines surrounding us with my snout.
"Yeeessss...?" The Acrid replied.
"They will rip you apart, and do you know what happens to you if you get ripped apart?" I asked again, trying to put more emphasis.
"I....diieeee...?" The Acrid answered with uncertainty.
I'm going to have a migraine, "Yes, you're going to die. So let me talk for you, will ya? I'm trying to save you here," I spoke briefly.
「Hundred-legged Acrid's affection rose by 3.」
「It has become less wary of you.」
Confusion was all that was happening in my head as the system message popped up. I quickly brushed it away and turned my gaze back to Elizabeth.
"Relax, Eli. The Acrid won't hurt us, isn't that right?" I said, looking at the Acrid behind me as it remained frozenly still.
"Y-yesss....nooo...huuurrrtt..." The Acrid agreed its mandibles twitched by my sudden question.
"See? He's perfectly harmless." I stated, trying to keep a poker face. Elizabeth is sharp at noticing emotions.
"Hmm..." Even though I couldn't see her face. I very well knew that one of her brows were raised, and she was looking at us with suspicion, "How come you don't call it by its name?" she asked. She got me there.
"B-because I haven't introduced him to you! yes, because of that..." I trailed, almost fumbling my words.
"Introduce me then," Elizabeth nodded, crossing her arms.
"Right. Elizabeth meet..." I stopped for a moment. Damn, I haven't thought this far yet. I honestly didn't expect to reach as far as this either. Think damnit, think!
"Meeeet....?" Elizabeth gestured me to continue. She was becoming more and more suspicious of us.
My eyes quickly darted around my surroundings, trying to think of a name. I saw an elongated yellow flower beside Elizabeth, and it reminded me of corn. Wait, "Kon. That's his name." I answered.
"Kon? What kind of name is that?" she asked, surprised by my naming sense.
"It's a name from my time, don't think about it too much." Little did she knew I was thinking about corn. I felt something nudging at my back, and it was The Acrid, no, Kon.
"Raaaat...." it whispered to me. It looks like it wanted to ask me about something, "Whaaaat....iss...koooon...iss...thaaat...a...poissonnss...?" It continued.
I stared at its compound eyes with a blank expression. Is poison all this guy thinks about? "No, no, no, that's your name," I whispered hurriedly as Elizabeth began to walk towards us.
"I....am....Kon...?" Kon asked, trying to grasp the idea of having a name. I simply nodded my head and switched my gaze to Elizabeth once more.
「You have bestowed a wild beast with a well-thought-out name. Kon's affection rose by 4.」
She squatted down in front of us and deactivated her Ingenium ability. The vines around us quickly retreated back to the ground. A sigh of relief escaped my lips without me noticing.
"Kon." Elizabeth called. Kon remained still and was staring at me, seemingly asking what it should do. I looked at it and Elizabeth back and forth, gesturing it to answer. Just say something to her. I can't whisper at it since she's too close.
I carefully wrapped my tail at one of its legs and pulled it towards the direction of Elizabeth. Elizabeth gave off a faint smile. It looked like she took it as Kon responded to her call. I noticed Kon's tail shaking. Was it that intimidated by Elizabeth?
"Hey, there nice to meet you." Elizabeth greeted, lifting her hand and proceeding to pat Kon in the head. Please don't try to bite her hand, Kon. I prayed inwardly, hoping the worst doesn't happen.
Kon received the pat without doing anything I hoped he didn't do, thankfully, "See I told you he's harmless." I stated, trying to get Elizabeth away from Kon before he does anything stupid.
"Look's like we're going to be taking care of him," Elizabeth nodded. Her suspicion has finally dissipated.
"That's correct." I answered.
"So, what does he eat?" Elizabeth asked, staring at Kon with delight. Kon's tail was shaking like crazy. It must be scared out of its wits to be so close to the territory's alpha, "Wait, hold on."
Elizabeth spoke and moved her hand in the air as I was about to speak, seemingly grabbing something. Her hands vanish into thin air and all of a sudden reappeared, holding on to something large. It was one of the limbs of the Chimera we were eating just yesterday. Oh, yeah, we split the corpse. I also still have some in my inventory.
She placed the Chimera drumstick on the ground near Kon and gestured it to take a bite. Kon looked at me for reassurance, and I just nodded my head. Go on, Kon, she won't hurt you.
Kon hesitatingly moved towards the drumstick and opened its mandibles. Its straw-like tongue shot out of its mouth and dug into the soft flesh of the Chimera. I wondered how it would eat if it had no teeth or even a functional mouth to chew meat.
A few moments after digging, its proboscis on the corpse. I began to hear aggressive slurping noises emanating from Kon's mouth. Huh? I soon understood what it was doing.
From what I remember on Earth, insects would use their digestive enzymes to melt their prey's insides and slurp them out with their proboscis. It looks like Kon was also doing the same thing.
After a few more minutes of slurping, it stopped and retracted its proboscis before looking at me and speaking, "Taste....nooot...gooood..."
I groaned. Then why the hell did you keep eating even though it didn't taste good?!
Elizabeth noticed my frustration and began to worry, "It doesn't like the chimera?" she asked.
"Kon likes to drink poison." I answered briefly. Elizabeth's mouth opened a bit and then closed. She was trying to process the information I just dropped on her, "Look," I continued waving my tail and activating my blight. A rosey aroma filled the air.
"Raaaat...poissoonnn..." Like a kid desperate for candy, Kon hurriedly skittered towards me and began to follow my tail. I moved my tail closer, and it began to use its proboscis to feed on the blight I was secreting.
Elizabeth looked at Kon and me alternatingly before asking, "That's poison?" she asked, surprised.
I shrugged, "I was also surprised that it was considered poison too," I honestly thought it was some type of fancy acid, "Oh, right. Elizabeth I have something to show you," I continued, opening my inventory.
「 Inventory (3/5):」
• 「Dice of Mending (1)」
• 「Partial Juvenile Sky Mirage Chimera Corpse」
• 「Almost Intact Adult Prismatic Viper」
• 「Slot Available」
• 「Slot Available」
Unlike how Elizabeth's hands disappeared into thin air and reappear holding something. The corpse of the Prismatic Viper we fought recently magically appeared in front of me, shocking Elizabeth.
"You hunted this alone?" She asked, bewildered. I shook my head.
"Kon helped me, without him I would have died," I answered. It was a total of three times that he saved my life. I was fully aware he only saved me because of the blight I promised to feed him as long as he hunts with me. Oh, well.
Elizabeth showed a worried expression, "I should have been there, Sir Vaeden," She spoke with a sullen tone. She must feel bad because she swore to protect me, but she was absent.
"It's alright, it was me who asked to go off alone," I assured her I harbored no resentment. Her face relaxed slightly.
"Sir Vaeden, then why did you show me this corpse for? I am sure it isn't because you want me to eat it right?" she asked.
"Correct, I intend to use this corpse to teach you about..." I answered, purposely stopping mid-sentence.
"Don't tell me?!" She answered excitedly. The grass around us began to wave in unison, showing her enthusiasm. Kon noticed this, and its tail began to shake again, nervous about what would happen.
It was time to teach her sorcery.
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*Author here*
Sorry I wasn't able to upload for the past 2 days, was focusing on writing my entry for WPC #198. Will start publishing daily again! Thanks for the wait! Thanks for the read!