Nathan came out of the river with his body dripping wet. He strolled toward Edna, who sat and smiled at him.
He then sat down beside her.
Muramoto, in the distance, was still enjoying his time. He jumped from the river bank and repeatedly swam without stopping.
"Edna, tell me. Do you have any idea what Leon's motive for doing that thing to me is?"
Nathan grabbed the towel Edna had prepared and wrapped his body with it.
Edna tilted her head and put it on her knees, facing Nathan. "Hmmm…."
She shook his head. "I'm not really sure, young master. Since the two of us left the Gardner family mansion, young master Leon hasn't come to us once."
"Is it related to this thing?" Nathan grabbed the pendant hanging on his neck. "Or something else in that dimension?"
"If he was after the pendant, then why did he destroy the house?"
"Good point. I guess we won't know until we get more clues. Let's forget him for now. I hope he's satisfied enough to have done that to me." Nathan wiped his face with a towel. He then stood up and stretched his muscles.
He walked back towards the car.
"Muramoto-San… Do you want to bathe in this river until the evening?" Edna shouted to Muramoto.
"Wait, wait… Yes, yes… I'm done, I'm done."
***
Nathan opened his eyes when he was already on his new dungeon expedition.
The dungeon environment he was in looked like an ancient ruin, with wild plants and trees that grow thickly.
It was night.
The thin gust of wind wafted by and sent a rancid and rotten smell straight into his nostrils.
He crouched down and stealthily made his way to a ruined building large enough to cover his body. He leaned against it, hidden in the shadows.
Fang ran and jumped onto Nathan's lap. He was silent there.
Luna appeared. She turned around and looked shocked after studying the dungeon's environment.
"Master Nathan?" She flew closer.
Nathan nodded. "Yes, this is a dungeon of goblins. Muramoto purposely gave this dungeon because of their characteristics which are weak against fire."
Luna nodded quickly. "Yes, that's right, Master Nathan."
Nathan muttered under his breath, "Magic detection." And he activated his detection skill.
"I am not detecting any monsters around here."
He then swallowed hard and sighed. "It seems that my narrow magic detection skill is pretty useless in such a wide area like this."
Luna then floated up to Nathan. "Master Nathan, do you remember that Fang has the camouflage skill?"
Nathan nodded. "Yes, and do I need that skill to clear this dungeon?"
"Goblins like to move in groups, and it will be very dangerous if you are to be caught by them. They could easily call their companions and carry out a large number of attacks."
Nathan was silent when he heard Luna's explanation. Then he nodded after a while. "Yes, agree. I have to put my safety first."
"Therefore, the camouflage skill will be very helpful in clearing this dungeon, Master Nathan." She continued.
Nathan clicked his tongue. "Let's see. Skill Creation System."
[Skill Creation System]
[Skill Points: 596,316]
[Available Skill Slots: 6/14]
[Available Skill Tiers: 1, 2, 3, and 4]
[Available Skill Classes]
[Barbarian Champion: Berserker Form Tier 1 - Lv. 5, Self Mental Healing Tier 1 - Lv. 5]
[Treasure Hunter: Magic Detection Tier 1 - Lv. 5, Greed Empowerment Tier 1 - Lv. 5]
[Beast Tamer: Beast Companion Connection Tier 1 - Lv. 5, Wolf Riding Empowerment Tier 1 - Lv. 5]
[Flame Sword Warrior: Fire Cutting Waves Tier 1 - Lv. 5, Fire Blade Aura Tier 1 - Lv. 5]
[Skill Creation Route Quests][+]
Nathan read the information in his system and frowned after a while. "I only have 6 skill slots available."
"Hmmm…" Luna floated beside Nathan. "Master Nathan, you don't need to worry, because you will get more quests and skill slots in the future."
"Did I make any wrong choices? I mean, all the skills I've made so far should have been quite optimal. Do I need to unlock a new class?"
Luna tilted. "Master Nathan, do you have any idea of what kind of skill you need right now?"
Nathan turned at Luna with a look of deep thought on his face. "Yes, I'm thinking of some skill to increase my fighting ability while riding on Fang's back. Like, maybe a camouflage for myself. Or-"
"Or?"
Nathan grinned. "Or what if I make a skill to borrow the skill from Fang? Is this possible, Luna?"
"Hmmm..." Luna drifted away and then sat on her crescent moon. "Master Nathan, making such a skill at such a low tier would certainly have a lot of limitations. For example, the skills you can borrow must be of the same tier, there will be some time limit of use, or you can't use the skill on yourself."
Nathan nodded, "I mean, I still think it's still worth trying. Tell me, Luna, is there a chance in the future a skill can be upgraded or fused?"
Luna opened her eyes wide and nodded quickly.
"Yes, Master, there is a way to upgrade a skill, but this costs the same as creating a new one. Therefore, it might be more beneficial to conserve the skill slots. Additionally, it is possible to fuse or combine skills. However, specific requirements need to be met first in order to unlock these features. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal more information on this since it is part of a hidden quest."
"That's fine. Knowing it's possible to do that is enough for me. Okay, Let's try. Create a new Skill."
Nathan placed his hand on the digital keyboard in front of him and spent a few minutes writing a description of the new skill he wanted to create.
"Create the skill!" Nathan muttered under his breath when he was sure of the skill he was about to create.
[25 Skill Points spent to create a Tier 1 Skill]
[Analysis in progress...]
[Progress.. 100%]
[...]
[Route Quests Match: Beast Tamer]
[…]
[Tamed Beast's Skill Replication Tier 1 - Lv. 1]
[Able to mimic and replicate the skills and talents of the user's tamed beasts and be able to use the skills and talents as one's own]
[There is a possibility of not being able to access the full capabilities of the skill]
[There is a limitation on the tier of the skill]
[Level 1: Randomly replicate the skill of the targeted beast]
[Cooldown: 1 day]
"Random?" Nathan was a little shocked when he learned the description of the skill.
Nathan then lifted Fang's body and placed him on the ground.
"Fang only has 1 skill in his normal form. Will I automatically replicate his Combat Mode?" He then turned to Luna. "What will happen to me Luna? Am I going to turn into a werewolf?" He ended his question with a grin.
Luna chuckled. "Master Nathan, hmmm, why don't you try it yourself?"
Nathan then touched Fang's body and muttered under his breath, "Tamed Beast's Skill Replication."
[There is no skill available to replicate]
"Is it because Fang's Combat Mode is a higher tier?" Nathan turned back to Luna.
"Hummu, hummu…" She nodded slowly.
"Okay, let's try raising this skill to the max."
[…]
[Level 5: Choose from three random skills of the targeted beast]
[Cooldown: 12 hours]
[…]
Nathan nodded slowly, then he patted Fang lightly on the back. "Okay, Fang, Combat mode."
Fang's small body enlarged and immediately stood in front of Nathan, the figure of Fang, who was many times bigger than before.
Fang lowered his head closer to Nathan, who was still sitting on the ground.
"Tamed Beast's Skill Replication."
[Choose a skill to replicate]
[1. Powerful Bite: Because of its sharp fangs and strong jaw muscles, it could make a particularly powerful bite. Apply 170% physical attack on bite]
[2. Enhanced Stealth: A camouflage skill. Visually blend into surroundings by blending in with the coloring and form of their background to avoid optical perception]
"I think this powerful bite skill is good enough for me to choose." Nathan turned to Luna, flashing a smile.
Luna chuckled. "I think that's a good idea too, Master Nathan."
Nathan looked back at the skill information in front of him. "And the description of the enhanced stealth skill here also looks different from the one on Fang."
He nodded slowly. "It seems that this skill is quite practical. In the future, I can upgrade the tier of this skill and allow me to replicate more skills more easily."
Nathan chose Enhanced Stealth.
[Skill replication was successful]
[You got a new skill, Enhanced Stealth]
"There is a cooldown of 12 hours until I can use this replicate skill again. But it won't be a problem for me."
Nathan stood up and then muttered, "Activate Enhanced Stealth."
He looked at his body, which was covered by the shadow of the ruins, and in that instant, he saw himself becoming translucent.
Nathan waved his hands. "If I pay attention, this skill doesn't really make me invisible. Maybe it's because this skill is only at a low tier."
Nathan jumped onto Fang's back. And at that moment, Fang also became transparent.
"Fire blade aura."
The black sword in his hand was instantly wrapped in flames. But the fire miraculously also became transparent.
"What a very practical skill." He grinned.
Nathan lightly tapped on Fang's shoulder, and the wolf started to move with silent footsteps, looking like it was just a gust of wind at night.
Fang ran quickly and quietly under the moonlight. The dungeon had a fairly extensive area, but with his new skill, Nathan was sure he could move more freely without worrying about facing numerous goblins at once.