Then Seth spoke to himself, "Alright, let's check the next notification."
[Bond Level Increased]
[You have reached the designated level]
[New Skill Unlocked]
Unlocked Skill:
Storage Dimension: You can now store your monsters in the Storage Dimension. Within the Storage Dimension, monsters will be healed and restored.
Limit: You can store up to 5 monsters in the Storage Dimension. Increase your Bond Level to expand the capacity.
"What?" Seth was startled, his eyes widening in disbelief. "This artifact has a storage skill? Amazing! And it heals and restores monsters inside the storage, too. I love you, my artifact." Seth couldn't help but kiss the artifact on his arm in excitement.
After a moment, Seth composed himself and read the information again, "Alright, let's check another information about the storage dimension" He examined the interface once more. "Okay, so the limit for monsters I can tame is only five for now. Oh, and what's my current Bond Level?"
Seth gave another command, "artifact status," and a new interface appeared with the following information:
[Sovereign Gauntlet]
Bond Level: 5
Abilities:
Monster Taming: Allows the user to bind monsters to their will.
Monster Evolution: Unlocks latent abilities and transforms monsters into their strongest forms. (Command for more details)
Shared Perception: Enables the user to experience what their tamed monsters see, hear, and feel.
Storage Dimension: You can store your monsters in the Storage Dimension. Within the Storage Dimension, monsters will be healed and restored. (Command for more details)
"Huh? A command for more details? I didn't see it yesterday when the first time this interface appear, but Let's try it." Seth thought to himself, then issued a command in his mind, 'monster evolution details.'
A new interface appeared before Seth as he gave the mental command:
[Monster Evolution]
Choose the monster you wish to evolve:
Raynar (Voidshade Umbra)
Cerbyss (Abyss Howler)
"Hmm, I'll choose Raynar," Seth decided in his mind.
[Voidshade Umbra Evolution Paths]
[Path of the Shadow Sovereign] Medium
[Path of the Ethereal Specter] High
[Path of the Abyssal Predator] Very high
[Path of the Celestial Shadow] Extreme
Command to see more details.
"Hmm, I don't get it. They all sound so cool," Seth muttered to himself, intrigued. "For now, let's check out the easy one Path of the Shadow Sovereign."
Seth focused his thoughts and gave the mental command, 'path of the shadow sovereign.'
Then a new interface appeared before Seth, displaying:
[Path of The Shadow Sovereign]
Mastery of darkness and shadows.
Specialty: Stealth, and shadow manipulation.
Evolution Forms:
Umbra Warden: Gains enhanced control over shadows, allowing the creation of shadow barriers and tendrils manipulation for both offense and defense.
Requirements:
-Bond Level 10
-Defeat a Tier B-1 monster from the Shadowbeasts kin
-Consume a Prismatic Obsidian Core found in Tier B-3 Shadowbeasts
"Woah, what kind of requirements are these if this requirements it medium what about the others?" Seth exclaimed, eyes wide. "I'm already struggling to fight Tier C monsters as it is. Well, whatever. I'll figure it out later. I've only been in this world for two days, there's still a long journey ahead."
Taking a deep breath, Seth allowed a small grin to cross his face. "For now, I'm more than satisfied just having unlocked Storage Dimension."
He stretched and lay back, muttering to himself, "Alright, let's get some sleep."
Moments later, Seth drifted into a deep, peaceful slumber.
The next morning, Seth was awakened by Dean, Lyra's younger brother. "Seth, wake up! It's already morning! Seth, wake up!" Dean shook him enthusiastically.
Seth rubbed his eyes groggily and muttered, "Alright, alright, Dean. I'm up."
Dean flashed a wide grin, revealing his missing tooth. "Good morning, Seth!"
"Good morning, Dean," Seth replied with a small smile. Lyra's younger sister, still lying on her bed, greeted him as well. "Good morning," she said softly.
Lyra, busy preparing breakfast, glanced back and instructed, "Seth, go freshen up with a bath. You'll feel better."
After a quick wash, Seth joined Lyra and her siblings for breakfast. The warm aroma of freshly cooked food filled the small room as they ate together, laughter and casual conversation making the morning lively.
Once they finished, Seth turned to Lyra. "So, what's the plan for today, Lyra?"
Lyra pondered briefly before responding, "We have two options. First, we can go to Tamer HQ and check if there are any missions for beginners. Or we can head to the ruins to hunt monsters. Which do you prefer, Seth?"
Seth thought for a moment and asked, "What kind of missions do beginners usually get?"
"For Initiates like us, it's usually small tasks, like helping people or exterminating pests and small monsters in the sewers. Hunting missions usually pay around 100 AP, but helping villagers can vary, it might be as low as 5 AP or as high as 100 AP, depending on the task," Lyra explained.
Seth grimaced slightly at the low rewards, then asked, "How do we rank up? I was too exhausted yesterday to ask the staff about it."
Lyra nodded. "You can earn rank points by completing missions at Tamer HQ and then taking a promotion test. If you don't want to take missions, you can pay for the test directly. It costs around 500 AP for Initiate, 2000 AP for Adept, 5000 AP for Champion. For Sovereign and above, you have to either complete missions or accept special requests from Tamer HQ."
Seth nodded in understanding. "Alright, then let's go hunting! To carve our path toward becoming Overlords, let's start by conquering the ruins we visited last night. What do you think?"
"Since you're the leader of our team, I'll follow your decision," Lyra replied with a playful smile.
An idea suddenly struck Seth as he recalled the concept of monster evolution. "Wait, I wonder if I can only evolve the monsters I tame myself or if I can evolve other people's monsters too? Let's try it with Lyra's Nightclaws."
He turned to Lyra. "Hey, Lyra, where's your Nightclaws?"
Lyra pointed to a cozy cat house near the corner. "She's in her den over there."
"Can you call her over? I want to test something," Seth requested.
"Alright." Lyra cupped her hands around her mouth and called out, "Come here, Puss!"
Seth blinked in surprise. "Did you just name your monster Puss?"
"Yeah," Lyra said cheerfully. "She looks like a cat, so I named her Puss."
Seth suppressed a laugh and thought to himself, "Her naming sense is worse than mine! I didn't think that was possible." He smiled awkwardly as Lyra's Nightclaws trotted over.
The sleek, shadowy creature rubbed affectionately against Lyra before looking at Seth with cautious curiosity.
"This is Puss. What do you want to do with her, Seth?" Lyra asked.
"Hold on," Seth said, focusing his gaze on the Nightclaws. In his mind, he commanded, "Show me this monster's evolution paths."
An interface appeared before Seth
[Nightclaws Evolution Path]
[Path of The Shadow Stalker] Easy
[Path of The Moonlite Prowler] Medium
[Path of The Venomfang Ravager] Medium
"It worked! Turns out, I can evolve monsters other than my own," Seth thought, his face lighting up with excitement. He turned to Lyra and said, "Lyra, I can evolve your monster. Would you like your Nightclaws to evolve?"
Lyra blinked in confusion, her expression skeptical. "You can evolve monsters?"
Seth nodded confidently. "Yes, I can. Do you trust me?"
Lyra hesitated. "I want to believe you, Seth, but no one in this world can manually evolve their monsters. Monsters typically evolve on their own after consuming various monster cores and hunting endlessly."
Seth's brow furrowed as he mulled over her words. "Does no one know about monster evolution paths here?" he wondered. Determined to convince her, he made up his mind. "I'll have to tell her about my artifact," he thought, taking a deep breath.
Seth began explaining everything about the Sovereign Gauntlet, its abilities, the evolution paths it revealed, and how it worked.
When he finished, Lyra's eyes widened in shock. "What? Are you serious? You can see a monster's evolution paths and even their requirements?"
Seth smiled and nodded. "Exactly. I just figured it out last night. At first, I thought I could only evolve the monsters I tamed, but when I tried it on your Nightclaws, it worked too."
Lyra felt a swell of pride and happiness for Seth's remarkable ability. But her expression suddenly turned serious. "Seth, you must keep this ability of your artifact a secret."
"I know," Seth replied, his tone resolute. "We're on the same page. If others find out, they might hunt me down or try to enslave me to use my power. That's why I want to make our team strong first before making this public. What do you think? Sounds like the start of a journey to becoming an Overlord, doesn't it?" He gave her a confident grin.
Lyra's serious demeanor softened, and a smile spread across her face. "You're right, Seth. I want my Nightclaws to evolve. Please, help me," she said, her voice filled with determination and a spark of ambition.
"Of course. Our first goal is to grow stronger and earn enough to buy a proper home for your siblings and giving them a much more decent life. And bought a building to serve as our base," Seth replied.
Lyra's heart swelled with emotion at Seth's consideration for her family. She felt tears threatening to form but held them back. This man, who had saved her life, truly cared about her and her siblings.
In her heart, Lyra resolved, "Perhaps meeting Seth was destiny. From now on, I'll support him and entrust my life to him."