Once they arrived at the ruins, they began their hunt. As expected, most of the kills were handled by Raynar and Cerbyss. Meanwhile, Lyra focused on practicing more effective and creative commands for her Nightclaws. On the other hand, Ezra was still patiently encouraging Drakey, hoping the monster would start overcoming its trauma.
Night eventually fell.
"Lyra, are you sure it's okay to leave Dean and Sera alone for a few days?" Seth asked, glancing her way.
"It's fine, Commander," Lyra replied confidently. "I prepared meals for them in advance. They only need to reheat the food, and it'll last them for three days. That gives us enough time to hunt here for two days."
"Good to hear. What about you, Ezra?" Seth asked, turning to him.
"I'm fine, too. There's no one waiting for me anyway. Besides, Drakey is finally starting to gather the courage to face other monsters. Thank you for bringing us along and watching over us," Ezra said sincerely.
"Haha, no problem! Let's hope Drakey recovers from his emotional wounds soon," Seth replied with a warm smile.
Hearing those words, Ezra thought to himself, "This is the first time I've met someone who genuinely cares about someone else's monster."
Seth then stretched and said, "Alright, let's get some rest for now and continue the hunt tomorrow morning."
"Understood," Lyra and Ezra replied in unison.
Before settling down for the night, Seth took a moment to check the notification that the artifact has been showed when they battled earlier.
[Raynar Level Up]
[Raynar Level Up]
[Raynar Level Up]
[Raynar Level Up]
[Raynar Level Up]
Seth's eyes widened slightly as the interface updated to show Raynar's current stats:
Name: Raynar (Voidshade Umbra)
Bond Level: 5
Level: 25
Race: Aetherials
Rank: Unique
Seth nodded in satisfaction, a small grin forming on his lips. "Not bad, Raynar. You've been putting in some serious work today."
Raynar let out a low, pleased but proudly growl 'Of. Course.'
"Looks like we're on the right track," Seth muttered to himself, and commanding to shown the next notification.
[Bond Level has been fulfilled]
[Skill "Ethereal Step" has been unlocked]
Ethereal Step
Type: Mobility
Effect: Short-range teleportation through shadowed areas, enabling quick repositioning in combat.
Range: 10 meters
Limitation: Requires a shadow at the destination.
"Wow, I finally unlocked another of Raynar's hidden abilities. Ethereal Step, huh? This could be incredibly useful in the future," Seth remarked, his eyes lighting up with excitement.
He looked at Raynar, who tilted his head slightly as if waiting for his master's reaction. "With this, you'll be even more of a force to reckon with, buddy," Seth added with a grin.
Raynar let out a proudly growl as usual, 'I am.'
Tristan chuckled seeing Raynar confident and said, "Alright, let's check the other notifications now."
[Cerbyss Level Up]
[Cerbyss Level Up]
[Cerbyss Level Up]
[Cerbyss Level Up]
[Cerbyss Level Up]
[Cerbyss Level Up]
Name: Cerbyss (Abyss Howler)
Bond Level: 5
Level: 16
Race: Abyssal
Rank: Unique
[Cerbyss has gained its first subordinate]
[Skill "Abyssal Dominion" has been acquired]
Abyssal Dominion:
Type: Authority
Effect:
1. Abyssal Monsters Tamer: Allows the user to tame other Abyssal monsters. Success depends on the user's level and the rank of the target monster.
2. Leadership Aura: Grants all Abyssal monsters under the user's command a buff that increases attack power and speed. The buff's strength grows as the user levels up.
3. Aura Synchronization: Enhances coordinated attacks among all monsters under the user's command.
"Whoa, just how many surprises am I going to get today?" Seth exclaimed, his jaw practically dropping. "This is completely insane! Cerbyss actually gained a taming skill , even though the skill is limited to Abyssal monsters, it's still amazing."
He looked at Cerbyss, who was wagging his tail enthusiastically as if aware of the praise.
"Alright, if we run into more Abyss Howlers tomorrow, I'll have Cerbyss tame them too. Haha, this is going to be great!" Seth grinned, already imagining the monster army in his head.
Seth is looking for Cerbyss status again and realize that Cerbyss rank is changed, "Wait a second, Cerbyss's rank increased to Unique? Could it be because he now has a unique skill only possessed by Unique-ranked monsters?" Seth thought to himself as he absentmindedly patted Cerbyss's head. "What incredible luck."
He smiled and stood up. "Alright, let's check the remaining notifications."
[Bond Level has reached the required threshold.]
[New ability unlocked.]
[Skill "Combat Boost" acquired.]
Combat Boost
Effect: Increases the attack and defense of monsters bonded to the user by 10%.
"Haah, I want to be surprised, but I think I'm starting to get used to it, whoever you up there seeing me surprised all the time i'm sorry" Seth muttered with a chuckle. "Still, a 10% boost to both attack and defense is no joke. If we face monsters of the same level, we'd definitely win thanks to this alone."
Curious, Seth decided to check his current Bond Level. He issued a mental command, 'Artifact Status.'
[Sovereign Gauntlet]
Bond Level: 10
"Hmm, it seems like my Bond Level is the sum of the bond levels of all the monsters I've tamed. Interesting," he mused, stroking his chin.
With a content sigh, he glanced at Cerbyss. "Alright, all the notifications are checked. Honestly, I'm exhausted from all the surprises today, both morning and night. I should just get some rest."
Seth lay down and closed his eyes, using Cerbyss's warm, soft belly as a pillow. Before long, he drifted into a peaceful sleep.
The next morning, Seth, Lyra, and Ezra continued their hunt. This time, they ventured deeper into the ruins. Lyra glanced at Seth with concern and asked, "Commander, aren't we moving too quickly into the deeper parts of these ruins?"
Seth paused to think before replying, "You might be right. How about this? I'll head in deeper alone, and I'll leave Beta01 with you. If you run into danger, Beta01 will send a signal to Cerbyss, and I'll come to you immediately."
Lyra and Ezra exchanged glances, then nodded. Lyra spoke up, "Alright, that sounds like a good plan."
"Alright then," Seth said, turning to the Abyss Howler. "Beta01, take care of them, okay?"
Beta01 growled softly in acknowledgment.
"Alright, I'll head out now," Seth added.
As he walked deeper into the ruins, Seth mumbled to himself, "I named the Abyss Howler from before 'Beta01' because I couldn't think of a better name for Cerbyss's subordinate. Since I plan on having Cerbyss tame more of them, I decided to keep the names simple and easy to remember."
"As for Beta01's ability to send signals to Cerbyss—that's thanks to its skill, Intention Signal. It allows Beta01 to communicate its situation directly to Cerbyss. This skill probably emerged due to the influence of Cerbyss's Abyssal Dominion."
"Alright, let's focus on hunting in Zone D-2. Oh, and I just learned this morning that every ruin is divided into zones. The safer areas are labeled D-1, and the deeper and more dangerous the zones get, the higher their designation—D-2, D-3, and so on."
"This ruin, in particular, has zones up to D-3, where Tier B monsters serve as boss monsters. Lyra mentioned it earlier today," Seth muttered, his thoughts organizing into a clear plan for the hunt.
On his way to the center of Zone D-2, Seth began encountering Tier C monsters.
"Raynar, teleport into the shadows and attack with shadow tendrils. Cerbyss, paralyze it!" Seth commanded sharply.
After a grueling skirmish, Seth wiped his forehead. "Phew. We've barely ventured deeper, and the monsters are already this tough. Alright, let's focus on hunting here for the rest of the day," he said to Raynar and Cerbyss.
The trio started targeting Chimeric Basilisks, serpent-like monsters with small forelimbs and glowing red eyes. The hunt was challenging but fruitful, and soon, they'd defeated so many that the monsters seemed to vanish from sight.
As they rested, however, both Raynar and Cerbyss grew visibly uneasy. Their postures stiffened, and they darted their eyes toward the shadows.
"What's wrong with you two? Why do you look so restless?" Seth asked, sensing the tension.
Raynar let out a guttural growl, his voice sharp and fragmented as he spoke telepathically. "Coming. Enemy. Strong."
Seth stood up instantly, his heart racing. "If even Raynar, who's always so arrogant, admits that the enemy is strong… it must be something he can't handle alone.'
"Raynar," Seth asked cautiously, "can you defeat it?"
Raynar growled again, his words halting but clear. "Can. But. Not. Protect."
"I see... So even if you can fight it, you won't be able to keep me safe at the same time," Seth muttered, piecing the situation together. "Alright, let's retreat for now. We're heading back to Zone D-1."
Without hesitation, the trio turned and began racing toward safety. But as they ran, the ground beneath them trembled violently, the shaking growing louder and closer with every second.
"Damn it! What kind of monster is this? Pick up the pace!" Seth shouted, urging Raynar and Cerbyss to move faster.
They sprinted at full speed, their senses on high alert. Just when it seemed the tremors had stopped, Seth sighed in relief. "Phew, looks like we mana—"
Before he could finish his sentence, the ground exploded in front of them. From beneath the earth emerged a massive monster, its body towering over them like a dark shadow of doom.