Outside the cave the siblings saw madoka make her way towards them, although it was her they felt that there was something different about her .
"Finally you're out of that god forsaken cave" amari said exasperated as madoka finally came close to them, looking around she saw the corpses of mice the size of a grown man's head and dark matte looking fur all over their bodies scattered around as it looked like a fierce struggle occurred when she was inside the cave.
A few minutes after you went into the cave these things out of nowhere began to attack but fortunately their attack ability is very little and we managed to finish them off, and while another swarm was about to attack they suddenly stopped and fled in the opposite direction as if running away from something" Alonzo said looking around at the corpses on the ground.
"So what did you find in there" amari asked her eyes brimming with inquiry and curiosity.
"Nothing, just more beasts lurking in the shadows and some hidden treasures" she said exposing some of the precious stones and gold coins she hid in her space ring
"Enough for all three of us to share" she said with a smile plastered on her face, placing her arms over their shoulders and leading them down the mountain. On the way down the siblings felt the atmosphere felt completely normal compared to when they were ascending the mountain but thought nothing of it but madoka knew it had to do with her new identity as a god that made the dangers in the mountain stay away from them and could only stare at them from the distant shadows .
Passing the scene where the fight with the kajak took place the beast was nowhere to be found but the mangled and pulverized bodies of the bounty warriors and mercenaries scattered around the battle ground creating a gorey and morbid image as bits and pieces of flesh, organs and bones could be seen here and there with the smell of metallic blood in the air attacking one's sense of smell, crows loomed in the sky and vultures perched on branches about to indulge in a bountiful feast.
"Serves them right" amari spat out as they saw this scene.
Madoka led the siblings out of the dark and depressing land and they made their way onto the road that lead back to the town .
By sunset the three decided to rest for the day by a river in a safe spot hidden by large trees from nocturnal animals. While the siblings were setting up for camp madoka sat by the river and processed everything that has happened, first her "teammates" we're killed and now she has become the successor of a mysterious and unknown entity with unfathomable powers she kept on pinching herself to see if she could suddenly awaken from a dream but alas this was reality.
Calming down her joyous mood she began going through the experiences and instructions passed down to her along with the power. She began going through every experience and felt every emotion Known and unknown from sadness to joy to anger to content all in the span of second she also saw and experienced the creation and destruction of worlds , civilizations, timelines, dimensions and planet that were unfamiliar yet a fond memory which no human mind would be able to think or even dream about in this lifetime. Going through the archives of knowledge inputted into her she knew that although although all the power was given to her they had been locked deep within her soul's consciousness as she felt it being as still as an ocean frozen in the clutches of time and because it would have been very dangerous to just transfer all the power just like that, so she would have to build up her body, mind and soul to be able to house the rest of the source.
Going through the knowledge handed over to her she began searching for something of importance to aid in her current predicament that could help her monitor and check her progress and giving advice on how to upgrade faster, she happen to come across something called an assistant or system which are commonly found in some worlds ranging from advanced technological era's more advanced than the technology in the first, second and third district of the empire to other worlds without any mana or supernatural phenomena and even some primitive worlds, these systems come in different forms ranging from spherical metallic objects to animal like characters with extraordinary intelligence and after thinking for some time she decided to create her very own system to help with her progress.
Looking down at the dragon tattoo on her wrists she concentrated enough mana into her palms and wisps of red mana floated above her palms with tinges of yellow and orange in the mix , thinking about the physical form of the dragon the mana floating in her palms rippled and shone as it grew weaving itself taking on the physical form she had in mind slowly the wisps of mana took a physical body and within a few minutes a little slender dragon was created out of nothing but her thinking of this she thought of what else she could do and what more she could do if she reached her full potential.
The dragon floated around her as if to aknowledge it's owner. Facing the dragon she initiated contact
"Hello " she said in a soft voice, the dragon peered and her with it's reflective golden eyes with vertical slits"
" Hello hosts "it said in a childish voice "I'm glad I could be be of assistance how can help"
Realizing she didn't introduce herself she went ahead and did so .
" You can call me madoka" the little dragon floated into her palms and nestled there
"Can the host also give me a name" the dragon asked
Thinking for a while madoka finally named it Ephisyx just like the mighty dragon from the fairytale read to children.
"Ephisyx,my name is ephisyx!
ephisyx at your service" the little dragon said in childish joy . petting the smooth shiny red scales of the dragon she said to it.
"Ephisyx could you show me a panel of my stats" hearing this a transparent square appeared in front of madoka showing her ,her progress and levels
Host -- Madoka Jabami
Level -- 1 (10/50)
Titles --. (Deity among men, The creator) complete hidden tasks to gain titles
Weapons-- twin dragon daggers (lv:2)
Abilities unlocked --(Creation, ancient and interdimensional knowledge, pnmesia(ability to just know) , enhanced strength) explore to unlock abilities
Body stamina-- lv1(93/100)on brink to lv2)
Soul strength-- lv1 (90/100)on brink to lv2)
Mind capacity--lv1(91/100)on brink to lv2)
You can do this host!!!
Looking at the information she thought to herself and asked"how many levels are there in total ephi"
"Fifty level for each in total !" The little red dragon answered.
Finally after sorting out everything it was time to go back to camp but another problem arose.
"Ephi could you make yourself invisible to others" she asked the silly thing
" Yes I can but it consumed energy as I was just created " it said floating around her. Thinking of an idea she suddenly started using her mana to create an amulet with a bronze dragon as the center pieces,the design of the dragon was neat and delicate making it look like the dragon would come to life at any moment
"You can enter this amulet and see if you like it" she said to the dragon and without any hesitation it entered the amulet and came out a few seconds later
"I love it, l love it,l love it l love it" it said repeatedly while circling around her making almost dizzy.
"Then you can go in to recharge" she said putting the amulet around her neck,with that she headed to the camp site.
At the camp the group had dinner and went to bed for an early headstart on their journey.