[ Thank you for your help, young man. But this is not finished yet. If you can gather 1000 more Phantom energy and give it to me, I will grant you a boon. ]
[ Dear Exceed, you have received a quest from an Exalted entity, Verenous Fate Crow. It is up to you whether you accept or reject this quest. ]
'Phantom energy, eh? How to get it?'
[ You can gather phantom energy by using your subdued Phantom to kill Exeedier-rank or similar-rank living beings. ]
'Kill?' Rei raised his eyebrows. 'Interesting. So, killing someone can produce phantom energy.'
[ Those with access to the Phantom realm and beings capable of wielding Phantom energy can generate phantom energy only after killing a same level being as them. ]
[ You can also absorb Phantom energy by killing wandering evil spirits and ghosts… if you can.]
'Nice. I am getting my answers without asking questions.' Rei thought, grinning.
He had previously asked a few things, but this mysterious voice never replied.
[ You will only get information that is deemed necessary to grant you; all Exceeds receive the same treatment.]
After that, Rei spoke a few more things and tried to ask about the Phantom realm and that crow, but he received no answers.
With nothing more to do here, Rei left his room and returned to the control room.
"Done with your tinkering? How is it?" Leo asked.
"Got a new friend," Rei said before using his Quirk, [Dark Port].
A black portal appeared in front of Rei with a faint purple hue.
"Come out, little guy."
Leo saw an amber-body Phantom squirrel with big cute eyes coming out of the portal.
The squirrel flew up towards Rei and sat on his shoulder, surprising him. "Eh? I didn't know you could fly, buddy. Haha."
"What's this creature? It's mystical," Leo asked.
"This little guy is a phantom from the Phantom realm," Rei said, rubbing the squirrel's head while smiling.
"Phantom? Interesting. You named it yet?"
"Nah. Let's think of something."
"How about Chimpu?" Leo suggested.
*Squichh!!*
The squirrel issued an angry cry and flew towards Leo, promptly rolling in the air while its fluffy tail suddenly caught fire and became stronger.
That tail squarely hit Leo's face, slightly burning his face while he stood there, making him look utterly dumbfounded.
"Hahaha, that's karma."
~Squich~
Leo snorted and left to wash his face.
"But I didn't know you could light up your tail, buddy," Rei said and quickly saw the squirrel flying back to him before standing on his shoulder.
Rei focused on the Phantom to check its status.
——
[ Amber Heart Squirrel ]
-> Uncommon-rank Phantom. Phantom of this rank can interfere with the outside world and interact with other living beings but also risks getting killed if someone manages to break their phantom core.
-> Skills: Peace Shot, Amber Burst Tail.
——
'It's rank! How did it increase?'
Rei was confused. He was sure that this squirrel was common-rank, and its name was also Warm Heart Squirrel.
[The Phantom was on the verge of ranking up. After it made a contract with you, it easily ranked up.]
'I see.' Rei understood and then checked his pet's skills in detail.
'Hmm, those skills can be useful in some situations.'
"Terrana, can you suggest a suitable name for this little guy?" Rei asked after checking the skills.
Terrana nodded before she did some research and said after a second, "In my opinion, Amby sounds like a suitable name for it."
"Amby… I like it. But what do you think?" Rei asked, turning to the little phantom squirrel.
"Squich!"
The squirrel cheerfully nodded with narrowed eyes. It looked joyful.
"So, what were you two doing?" Rei asked up upon seeing Leo returning to the control room.
"Finding a place for my blood. But our first destination is the planet with Mercury lake facing the moon. We'll reach there soon."
"Gotcha. I'll go check up on Alice and Lia. They'll be surprised by our new member."
…
After four hours, they finally reached their destination.
Star-Saber Hawk landed on an inhabited planet in front of a mercury lake facing three moons.
The environment's air was poisonous to normal people, but Exceeds could breathe on any planet.
They exited the spacecraft, and Lia scooped a few drops from mercury lake before putting them into a vial.
They only stayed there briefly for Lia and immediately took off.
"Next destination is two days away. It's for my ingredient," Leo informed others after the spaceship entered the FTL zone.
"Since we've entered FTL, I'll start," Lia said, eager to mix her ingredients and create a catalyst to develop her first Seal.
"Good luck, Lia-sis," Alice said, wishing Lia good luck.
Rei and Leo also nodded as they saw Lia closing her eyes and touching her ingredients one by one as they vanished.
All three ingredients were mixed inside her Exceed Tree's root spot before they became a catalyst, immediately transforming into a stream of mysterious energy that permeated her Exceed Tree.
The Exceed Tree pulsed with power and immediately produced a symbol that flew on top of it.
'Starbond Guardian,' Lia read the symbol while feeling the presence of a new power infusing in her.
———
[-First Seal-]
Name: [Starbond Guardian].
Characteristic: [Prime Health].
Quirks: [Toxin Farm], [Bond Barrier].
Taint: [Pain Spurt].
———
"What's the name, Lia-sis?" Alice asked.
"Starbond Guardian," Lia said with a smile. She was satisfied with her First Seal even though she had only read the names.
"What's your characteristic and quirks, oh and Taint if you got one?" Rei curiously asked. He had also told Alice, Lia, and Leo about his characteristic, Quirks, and Taint so that they could perform better as a team in a troublesome situation.
"I'll start with characteristics. It's called Prime Health. As for what it does…." Lia said, focusing on Starbond Guardian's characteristics.
[Prime Health]: Common illness, harmful viruses, harmful bacteria, and poisons does not work on your body.
"Wow, this is good!" Lia exclaimed in shock. This characteristic was outstanding!
She quickly told others about it, making everyone marvel as well.
"As for Quirks, I got two; the first is [Toxin Farm]."
[Toxin Farm]: After absorbing a certain amount of harmful elements into your body, you will automatically create a Toxin Nova.
-> Toxin Nova: You can release Toxin Nova from your hands, inflicting random status ailments on targets.
"I don't like this one, but it can be very useful," Lia said.
"It is extremely useful," Rei said with a grin. "What's next?"
"The second Quirk is called [Bond Barrier]. Haha, It's already my favorite without knowing its effect."
[Bond Barrier]: A single target pure energy barrier that can block physical and energy attacks. You can summon a barrier for yourself and also give it to the people you deem your allies. The barrier costs stamina and its strength depends on your closeness with the person receiving it.
After Lia relayed the Bond Barrier's effect to others, she wryly smiled. "And lastly, a Taint. I hope it's not too bad."
[Pain Spurt]: Whenever you are injured or receive pain, it will be magnified to a certain extent.
"This Taint can be troublesome, but the barrier is truly awesome," Leo said, nodding his head before grinning. "This First Seal is already more useful than Rei's, haha."
"You want another tail attack?"
*Squich!*
Amby also glared at Leo, making everyone chuckle.
"Let me try to use the barrier," Lia said as she activated the Quirk on Rei. "If it's not strong enough, it's useless."
Lia immediately felt slight exhaustion, as if she had lost a chunk of stamina.
Meanwhile, Rei was surrounded by a starry-silver transparent barrier.
"Cool," Leo muttered and touched the barrier. It felt cold and solid.
Rei walked several steps back, but the barrier also moved, giving him all-around protection, even below his feet!
"Alice, use Red Rex. I want to see if that laser can pierce this barrier," Rei said.
"Umm, be careful," Lie said, appearing a bit nervous.
After all, she knew the power of that laser pen but didn't know the power of her barrier.
Alice pointed the laser pen at the barrier but not at his body. So even if the laser pierced the barrier, it wouldn't hit Rei.
"I am starting it," Alice said before activating the pen.
*Zoom!*
*Ssssss....*
The laser hit the barrier, producing a sizzling sound.
However, the barrier remained unbroken!
"Continue. I want to see how long it can defend," Rei said before Alice could turn off the pen.
"This is already awesome!"
Leo exclaimed in awe. This barrier was truly tough.
Lia's eyes were shining. Her previous nervous expression was entirely gone.
Alice continued with the laser attack, but the barrier remained unbroken even after all of its energy was depleted.
Terrana was scanning the barrier's energy readings until the laser attack stopped and said, "This a top-notch barrier for someone who had just developed their First Seal."
As her eyes flashed a bit, Terrana continued, "According to my scanning and standard of Exceeds, this barrier's defense power is Silver-grade. Usually, all average grading of Exeedier-rank's Quirks is Bronze."
"Some people's First Seal Quirks are powerful enough to grade them as Silver-grade while some rare ones are deemed Gold-grade, though the major portion that decides the power and capabilities of one's Quirk depends on their Soul Rank."
"What are those ranking and grading? Can you elaborate?" Rei curiously asked. "I want to know more."
Alice, Lia, and Leo also nodded.
"Just a second," Terrana said.
A second later, she produced a hologram from the dashboard with a chart.
The char listed all types of grades and ranks related to Exceeds!