The sun has risen with the start of a new day. The birds are chirping, the towns are bustling, and the animals of the forest hopped on the ground and on canopies of large trees.
But deep down in the dimly lit labyrinth, there was no rising sun to be seen nor chirping of birds to be heard. In fact, there was no way to tell the time other than relying on one's body clock,
"Fuwaahhh～" ［Yuna］
Just like in her everyday life, Yuna greeted the morning with an adorable yawn akin to that of a small animal. Her eyes were still sleepy and her luscious silver hair was still disheveled from sleeping in her tent.
As she rubbed her eyes and went out of her tent, the first thing that greeted her was the sound of metal cookwares clanging and clacking. Just a few meters away from her was Grey who was already cooking breakfast.
When Grey noticed the still sleepy young lady, he then put down the pan and spatula, decreased the heat of the fire, and approached Yuna gently with a warm and gentle smile about his face.
"Good morning." ［Grey］
With no warning whatsoever, Grey gently kissed Yuna's forehead as a greeting to a new morning. The recipient of the sudden kiss was immediately woken up and became alert.
"G-Grey?!" ［Yuna］
"Hm? What's wrong?" ［Grey］
"Wh... Why did you kiss me?" ［Yuna］
"Huh? Do I need a reason to kiss my cute girlfriend?" ［Grey］
"N-No... No, you don't..." ［Yuna］
As Grey tilted his head in a teasing way, Yuna answered meekly with her voice barely audible. Inside her heart, an overwhelming and unstoppable surge of happiness was spreading like wildfire.
"Girlfriend"... That one word echoed throughout Yuna's mind as she listened to Grey's words. She had been in love with Grey for years already and the situation yesterday has yet to settle in. She still felt that everything was a dream.
Of course, along with the realization that everything that occurred was actually real, the memories of the first kiss they shared together also came flashing inside her mind. It made her blush profusely, just about as red as yesterday.
"Alright, then go have a bath first. We'll have breakfast after you finish." ［Grey］
Heeding Grey's words and at the same time, trying to hide her embarrassment, Yuna immediately went back to her tent, grabbed a new set of clothes, and went away to the corner of the stairs.
While it is called "stairs", it isn't the same as the stairs within buildings which consist of steps. It is a gentle slope which slowly spirals to the next floor. Some are straight, some spirals, and some even zigzags.
There are also a lot of flat surfaces in the stairs where Grey and Yuna rested for the night. And while they could just clean themselves with magic, there are times where they want to take a bath. Today was one of those times.
The bath they made was simple, they just erect solid walls to create a room, then hollow out and flatten the ground, making sure everything was solidified. After that, they just add water and heat it for a nice and refreshing hot bath.
While Grey does possess "Heaven's Eye", he never used it to peep on Yuna. He wasn't a pervert who would do such a thing to women, especially when it came to the woman he loves.
After taking her bath and changing into a new set of clothes, Yuna now looked like her usual self. She looked like a prim and proper lady, with the only difference being that she wore adventurer clothing.
"Hehe... Grey's my boyfriend... My boyfriend... Hehehe..." ［Yuna］
It may have been due to her mind being cleared by the hot bath, but as Yuna waited for Grey to finish cooking, she was giggling and repeating to herself that Grey was her boyfriend.
Just as Yuna giggled happily to herself, Grey had also finished cooking the dishes for breakfast. He then approached the dining table Yuna had set and served the dishes.
"Yes, yes, I'm your boyfriend. Now, please eat this warm breakfast your boyfriend made for you." ［Grey］
"Un!" ［Yuna］
With a heart-pounding smile, Yuna responded to Grey's request happily. Grey received quite a bit of damage from Yuna's cuteness but he kept that to himself. It would be embarrassing if Yuna knew of it, after all.
As they were having their lovely breakfast, Grey remembered something important that he had to tell Yuna. Now that she was his girlfriend, Grey wanted to let her know of his past without hiding anything.
Apart from him and God, no one really else knew of Grey's circumstances. Even Yuna who he trusts the most is still in the dark about his past life and the mission God had bestowed upon him.
"Yuna, after breakfast, I have something to tell you." ［Grey］
Although Grey felt a little nervous thinking about how Yuna would react, he still strengthened his resolve and decided to tell her the whole truth. After all, sooner or later, Yuna would have needed to find out about it.
Yuna, who saw Grey's sudden change of mood was a little taken aback, but she still did not question him any further. She has full trust in the man before her who she can now proudly call her "boyfriend".
Breakfast ended and it was time for Grey to reveal his secrets. His heart was pounding like crazy as he sat in front of Yuna, but now, it was because of a completely different reason from love. It was because of anxiety.
"Yuna, I want to tell you about my past... Are you ready to hear it?" ［Grey］
"Un. I'm ready." ［Yuna］
"Then let's start from the very beginning..." ［Grey］
Starting from the oldest moments he could remember, to his childhood, teenage years, up until to the point where he had met God, Grey did not miss out a single important detail about his past.
As Grey continued to tell his story, Yuna didn't make any sound and just listened to him carefully and closely. Throughout the whole time, although she was shocked inwardly, Yuna's face didn't make slight changes in expression and remained serious.
It took Grey almost half an hour to wrap up everything he wanted to tell to Yuna, and even when he had already finished his story, Yuna remained quiet as if she was thinking deeply of something.
"I sound crazy, don't I?" ［Grey］
"No... Rather, everything makes sense now..." ［Yuna］
"Sorry for not telling you." ［Grey］
"I don't really mind. Everyone has a thing or two about them that they want to hide from everyone else. After all... I've also been keeping my feelings for you hidden throughout the years. I know how hard it is to keep a secret towards the people you care about..." ［Yuna］
Yuna quickly dismissed Grey's apology as in her eyes, he didn't need to apologize in the first place. Rather, Yuna felt a deep sense of sympathy towards him as she remembered how hard she tried to keep her feelings hidden in fear of destroying their relationship.
Grey had kept somethings secret towards Yuna, and there were times that Yuna got mad because he did that. The only difference now was that Grey's past was something that Grey has no obligation to tell Yuna about.
Being told of his past, Yuna felt extremely happy that Grey had opened up to her. It made her feel that Grey has relied on her and that she was the one he trusts the most.
"About your past... I don't really mind even if you're from another world or even if you were the devil himself.,. Those experiences have molded you to the way you are. The person you are today, the you who is in front of me, is the person whom I've fallen in love with." ［Yuna］
Acceptance... That was the thing which Yuna has granted towards Grey. The anxiety and nervousness that was once present inside of Grey's heart had vanished, leaving only relief and happiness.
Well, that relief and happiness soon turned into embarrassment as he realized the meaning of Yuna's passionate words. Yuna had it worse, with her face extremely red from self-inflicted damage.
Although Yuna's lines were all sincere, one couldn't deny how sappy it was. It was as if it came straight from a romance nove. Her face became redder the more she realized what she just spouted on the spot.
"G... Grey... Umm... Please forget what I said... Please..." ［Yuna］
"No, I won't. I'll make sure to remember them until the end of time. I'll engrave them inside my heart." ［Grey］
"Uuu... Grey, you meanie..." ［Yuna］
"Hahaha, I'm so lucky to have such a cute and considerate girlfriend." ［Grey］
It didn't take long for the atmosphere to return to how it usually is... Well, a little stickier and sweeter than how it usually is. The two had just gotten together so it was only normal for them to be overly sweet.
After that, Grey continued to tease Yuna for a little while, making the latter's face blush even harder. Yuna tried to retaliate, but all she did was flap her arms, pout, and sulk. All of which only served to make Grey's heart beat faster.
Following their little banter, Grey and Yuna headed back up towards the 8th floor for some experimentation. The 9th floor was filled with rather dangerous monsters at S-rank. They decided it would be best to increase their strength first.
"Right, Grey... You said you have Divine-grade items in your 'Inventory', right?" ［Yuna］
On the way up, Yuna suddenly remembered a tidbit of Grey's story containing the contents of his "Inventory". There was one thing which had been on her mind the moment she heard those words.
While Yuna was a little shocked at first when she learnt she had been using Divine-Grade items without her knowing, she had long ago regained her composure. She is now even interested in them.
"Yeah, I did. Why?" ［Grey］
"Do you also have Divine-grade potions?!" ［Yuna］
"A... Ah, yes I do have them..." ［Grey］
"Please give me one!" ［Yuna］
Potions. Those were the things Yuna was after. The highest grade she had seen was a superior grade one so it was only natural for her to get excited at the thought of getting her hands on a Divine-Grade one which was the apex of all potions.
Divine-Grade potions have the ability to heal any injuries, illness, curses, and many more as long as the one who took it was still alive. It also has the ability to temporarily boost whomever uses it to an astonishing degree. They were truly worthy of being Divine-Grade.
"Alright, here. Just make sure not to waste them." ［Grey］
"Yaay～! You're really the best, Grey! I love you!" ［Yuna］
Yuna declared without a single ounce of embarrassment on her face. She was so happy about having a Divine-Grade potion on her grasps and having Grey as her boyfriend that she subconsciously switched "thank you" to "I love you".
On the other hand, Grey received a lot of damage especially with how bright Yuna's smile was. It made him think for a moment that he could rest in peace after seeing that smile. It was an unfairly dangerous smile.
Just as Yuna went off to her own world, the two of them finally arrived at the 8th floor where there wasn't a single monster in sight. They were very lucky since what Grey is about to perform needs no disturbances. If the stairs were a little bigger, Grey would have performed it there.
While Yuna was preoccupied with examining the potion, Grey took out 5 special crystals from his "Inventory". They were the beasts crystals Grey and Yuna got as part of the loot during the Iblis raid.
'I hope this works...' ［Grey］
After a lengthy exhale, Grey started chanting some incomprehensible words and with just a little bit of time, the ground emitted a sudden glow as a magic circle started to form. It was a magic circle full of runes and complex patterns which was sure to give anyone looking a headache if they tried to decipher it.
The magic circle grew bigger and bigger, and along with its size, the amount of light it produced and the complexity of the runes also increased by leaps and bounds. It only stopped when it was about 5 meters in diameter.
When the magic circle was complete, the outer rings on the circle started rotating like a cog. It was a sign that the magic circle was ready, and so, Grey approached the center and placed the beast crystal of the S-rank daemon there.
"Ugh..." ［Grey］
With a little cut on his palm, Grey let a few drops of his blood touch the magic circle. The moment the magic circle consumed Grey's blood, not only the outermost circles, all the layers started to rotate.
"Yuna, I need your help for something!" ［Grey］
"Hm? What is itー Grey, why are you bleeding?!" ［Yuna］
The moment Yuna saw the wound on Grey's palm, she immediately came rushing towards him with a worried face. She even dropped the Divine-Grade potion she was holding unto. Luckily, its container was pretty tough, preventing it from breaking.
It was the first time Yuna had seen Grey wounded after a long time. And whenever he had a wound, it was always because of fighting against strong opponents to protect Yuna when they still trained at the special dungeon.
It was already engraved into Yuna's subconsciousness to worry every time Grey received a wound. It wasn't because she felt guilty, but rather because she was genuinely worried about him.
"Yuna, calm down. I inflicted it on myself so you don't have to worry." ［Grey］
"Huh? Why?!" ［Yuna］
"I'll explain it to you, so please calm down first." ［Grey］
"O... Okay... But first, ⟨⟨Heal⟩⟩." ［Yuna］
When Yuna casted that spell, a feeling of warmth enveloped Grey's heart as his wound closed. He felt warmth not only because of the healing spell, but because of Yuna's concern for his wellbeing.
As soon as Yuna calmed down, Grey immediately started explaining what he was trying to perform and why he needed Yuna's help. Grey wanted to summon familiars with his and Yuna's blood as catalyst.
In the usual scenario, summoning familiars would only need a single person, but it was possible to have many people participate. The only reason why most people prefer to do it solo was because having more people participate meant that they won't be the sole master of the summoned familiars.
But there is also an advantage to having more than one summoner, and that was the familiar could inherit more possible attributes and thus, better compatibility and connection.
Well, the real reason was that Grey wanted to use his blood to nourish the familiar, while at the same time, have reassurance to protect Yuna if ever he was not around. He was still overprotective of her.
"I see... We're summoning a familiar, huh..." ［Yuna］
"Yeah, that's why I need a little bit of your blood." ［Grey］
"Un, sure." ［Yuna］
Without hesitation, Yuna gently cut the palm of her hand and let a few drops of blood drop towards the magic circle. Once again, the moment Yuna's blood had been consumed, the layers rotated faster.
With all the requirements complete, it was finally time to summon the familiar. Grey closed his eyes and reached out his hand towards the circle, and chanted more incomprehensible words as Yuna watched beside him.
Yuna already had her palm healed and she had also retrieved the Divine-Grade potion she had dropped. Now, she awaited the result of Grey's summoning with eyes full of anticipation.
"Oh Great Beast who once walked the lands of Merusia, I hereby call you forth! Throughout the sky, the lands, and the seas, let your brilliance be known!" ［Grey］
With the final words in the common language, the magic circle rotated at speeds even Grey and Yuna's eyes could not follow. The light it produced outshone everything in the labyrinth. Finally, a loud rumbling resounded throughout the ground.
The beast crystal broke and a strong surge of mana swirled inside the labyrinth like an indomitable storm, sending forth strong bursts of winds and quakes enough to be considered a natural disaster.
From the storm of mana, a mystical scene unfolded. Slowly, a figure formed from the surrounding mana, growing larger and larger as time elapsed. The ground rumbled wildly and the wind danced violently as they celebrated the birth of a new being.
Whooossshhh
A strong wind cleared out the dust and debris formed during the summoning, revealing a marvelous figure covered in platinum scales. It was a large dragon whose length easily surpassed 20 meters and stood proud at more than 7 meters. It was a figure which emanated strength just from being there.
There were only two differences between it and normal dragons. For one, it bore a large crystal which was embedded on its body. And another one was the fact that it had two pairs of wings rather than one.
"This one... gives his greeting to the Master and the Mistress..." ［???］
The beast politely spoke as it lowered its head to Grey and Yuna. It was like a loyal knight who kneeled before its liege, pledging his never ending loyalty to serve the ones before it.
⟨⟨Appraisal⟩⟩ ［Grey］
-----------------------------------
[Familiar]
[Name]...
[Species] High Dragon
[Sex] Male
[Age] 0
[Status] Healthy
[Mana Capacity] 15,097 [Mana Quality] S
[Combat Power] 7,532 [Threat Level] S
[Attribute] Null (Law)
[Intelligence] 100
[Ability] 『Shapeshifter』
[Description]
A beast born from the cleansing of corruption. It stands on the apex of all beings and boasts power greater than any. The king of kings and one who represents the power of divinity. They are able to cleanse corruption just by being present and feed on monsters born from corruption.
-----------------------------------
Shock and amazement, that is what Grey felt when he saw the familiar's status. The species' name, the attribute, and the description, all of them were not present in the knowledge God had given him.
Normally, the beast summoned would match the origin of the beast crystal, but compared to how hideous the Daemons were, the beast was a magnificent figure which looked like a work of art.
Unbeknownst to Grey, the reason for the familiar's form was his blood. The body God had created for him was by no means normal. It was a body which was the closest to a God's body, it was the body which contained the blood of divine creation.
"Master... Mistress... Please give me a name..." ［???］
With its head still lowered to the ground, the familiar requested Grey and Yuna with a sense of politeness and respect towards the two of them. It made no unnecessary movements and stood perfectly still.
"Grey, I'll leave it to you." ［Yuna］
"Ah, sure..." ［Grey］
Of course, Yuna immediately left the naming at Grey's discretion. She had full trust in Grey's naming sense even when the man himself was not a bit confident about it.
Grey thought lord and hard as to what to name the familiar which had just been summoned. It was only when he looked at Yuna and thought of their party that he had found the answer.
'Aster... Star... Alright, I got it...' ［Grey］
It was then that a fitting name came to mind. It is called by many names and known throughout Earth. It guides travelers and shines light amongst the billions of stars in the night sky. The tail of the Little Dipper, the Lodestar, the Guiding Star, the Pole Star, and the Northern Star...
"Polaris... I shall grant you that name. Raise your head and stand proud." ［Grey］
"This one... Polaris... Expresses his endless gratitude... And vows to serve the Master and the Mistress for all eternity..." ［Polaris］
"Yeah, we'll be in your care." ［Grey］
"Nice to meet you, Polaris. Let's get along!" ［Yuna］
After Polaris, 4 more familiars were summoned by Grey and Yuna. The second one was a female at A-rank with a combat power around 3,000, and the remaining ones had a combat power around 1,500, all of which were males.
From the second one summoned to the fifth, the names were as follows: Sirius, Canopus, Kentaurus, and Arcturus. All of them were named in order of the brightest stars in the night sky.
Just like Polaris, all familiars summoned were High Dragons which were covered with platinum scales. The only difference was the color of their crystals, eyes, and the shape of their horns. Polaris had amethyst-colored eyes like Grey, Sirius' was silver, Canopus' was metallic gray, Kentaurus' was golden, and Arcturus' was transparent.
All of them were also of the null attribute, each with different natures. Polaris could use Law magic which governed over time and space, Sirius could use illusion magic, Canopus' domain was curse magic, Kentaurus was the opposite of Canopus and could utilize holy magic, and lastly, Arcturus was a master of barrier magic.
On this day, on the 14th of Meruad, year 1767 of the Velterian Calendar, 5 of the 17 stars were born. In the near future, they will be known as the most powerful guardian beasts throughout the lands, but that's a story for another day.
"Alright, let's head to the next floor!" ［Grey］
"Un!" ［Yuna］
With their power increased by multiple folds, Grey and Yuna, along with their familiars in smaller forms, descended down to the 9th floor. It was time to test out their newfound strength.
CHAPTER 61 END