Speeding up our pace Crystal, Sakura, and I continued on our way towards Joe's place. I left most of the killings to Crystal and Sakura because we were getting close to our rank-ups. This information I got from the system earlier before our departure.
The system told me that level 11 is the first rank up, followed by level 21, level 31, level 51, level 76, and level 91. It claims I don't need to know anything after that because I'm too weak for it to matter.
Each rank-up is as follows. The white rank which we currently are, followed by bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond, and mythical. Qualitative changes also come along with each rank-up that make us more powerful or more intelligent. Zombies that change after their rank-ups are because of these changes.
Looking forward to what Crystal and Sakura might become, I let them do all the slaughtering on the way. Sakura was the closest right now to her rank-up, so I feel she might get there first.
Crystal, Sakura, and I continued our journey towards Joe, hoping to get there sooner than later. During this time, I'm just playing with my new spear trying to get used to it. At the same time, Sakura and Crystal take care of all zombies and the beasts of the pop-up. So far, there were no more overly powerful ones, so it was pretty easy for them to kill.
I noticed that Sakura's fighting skills were relatively poor, so I gave her pointers and watched her during the trip. I was teaching her how to use her roots like a whip. Instead of just strangling her opponent, she can attack them. It didn't take too long before she got the hang of it, and I got the notification that it became a skill.
[Plant - Whip: able to use the roots as a whip to attack foes. 5 Mp per use]
Seeing that she was becoming more assertive, Sakura was very excited about the new skill.
After killing the last zombie, Sakura finally grew to level 11 and went through her first rank-up. Crystal and I watched closely to protect her during this process and take notes for ourselves because we will be going through it soon.
Sakura has a light glow around her body, and soon she was encased in what looks like a cocoon made out of light. It didn't take long for her to finish the process and what came out of the light cocoon left me stunned.
It was a very tiny person with pink hair, wings on her back, and a green dress that perfectly fits her. She fluttered her wings for a bit and struggled to fly to my shoulder to take a seat. I soon heard a sweet voice out her mouth calling me Master.
Waking up from my shock, I looked at her stats.
[Status]
Name: Sakura
Race: Pixie
Bloodline: Dryad 10%
Lvl: 11 Exp: 0/2000
Rank: Bronze (11-20)
Ability: Plant
Str: 10
Spd: 20
Vit: 40
Int: 50
Luck: 15
Charm: 13
Hp: 400 (Vit x 10)
Mp: 500 (Int x 10)
Att: 100 ( Str x 10)
Def: 250 [5x(Str + Vit)]
Free Stats: 2
Active Skills: Strangle (LVL 2), Whip (LVL 1)
Passive Skills: Telepath (LVL 2), Growth (LVL 2), Fly (LVL 1)
Sakura became twice as strong as she was before doubling all her stat except for luck and charm. She even acquired a new passive skill, Fly (LVL 1), which I understand why she was struggling with her wings just now. Even more mind-boggling is that she became a pixie and took a human-looking form, although she was still quite small.
"Sakura, can you still transform into your bonsai tree form, and before your rank up, did it automatically start after your level up, or did you have a choice?" I asked Sakura to make sure because this information was crucial.
"Master, after I achieved the level required to rank up, I chose to do so on the spot only because I knew Crystal and Master were nearby, and I had nothing to worry over. As for my bonsai form, I can take it at any time as it's my main form. I just chose my pixie form to be more like Master." Said Sakura in her baby voice right next to my ear.
"OK! Sakura, the next time, you let me know beforehand so we can find somewhere safe. Because anything could happen, and we are in the middle of the road, and zombies or beasts could have come out at any time. That was a dangerous choice even if Crystal and I were around to protect you."
"Yes, Master Sakura is very sorry for not taking into account her surroundings," Sakura said in that baby voice of hers.
"Crystal, that goes for you too. When it is time for your rank up, don't start it until we move somewhere safer or you are in the independent space."
Woof woof", barks back crystal.
Crystal, Sakura, and I continue down the street, leaving all the killing for Crystal to handle. Crystal told Sakura that she was also ready to undergo her rank-up on the next road. Stopping at a nearby gas station, I had Sakura kill all the zombies around and make sure no one was alive inside. After everything was safe, Crystal began he rank up, and like Sakura.
Crystal became wrapped up in a soft light energy cocoon that seemed to be nourishing her evolution. Crystal's rank-up was just as quick as Sakuras, and soon I was looking at a giant white wolf. Crystal had black around each of her paws that looked like it was pulsing with lightning, the fangs in her mouth grew a few inches larger, and she was at least 6 feet tall standing on all four.
When I heard Crystal's voice in my head next, I knew her rank up had made her more incredible. She sounded like a teenage girl still in high school but was soft enough to be a singer.
"Master, look at me. Do I look awesome now? I can even talk to Master like Sakura does," Crystal says while wagging her tail at a lighting fast speed and licking my face with her giant tongue.
"Crystal, Stop with the licking. You're going to drown me with your spit, and yes, you look fantastic. You're so big now that I can ride on your back. This way, we can make haste towards Joe and skip over some of the weaker zombies and beats. For now, let's take a look at your stats," I said back mentally to Crystal.
[Status]
Name: Crystal
Race: Beast
Bloodline: Raijin
Lvl:11 Exp: 0/2000
Rank: Bronze (11-20)
Ability: Lightning
Str: 52 (2)
Spd: 62 (2)
Vit: 48 (2)
Int: 42 (2)
Luck: 12
Charm: 11
Hp: 480 (Vit x 10)
Mp: 420 (Int x 10)
Att: 520 ( Str x 10)
Def: 500 [5x(Str + Vit)]
Free Stats: 4
Active Skills: Lightning Fangs (LVL 2), Lightning Steps (LVL 2), Lightning Claw (LVL 2)
Passive Skills: Lightning Absorption (LVL 1), Danger Sense (LVL 1), Telepath (LVL 1)