"Huff... Huff..."
Sizzle... Sizzle...
A new layer of skin formed beneath Specimen 2946's burnt flesh, and his limbs regenerated at rapid speeds, it was almost as if he'd never lost them.
The only proof of his injury was his sleeveless garment which was drenched in dried, hardened blood.
[Damnit, what just happened...?]
He dragged himself up from the center of the scorched crater, and the bright pillar of energy gradually recessed back into his body.
Ding!
The familiar interface appeared before his somewhat lethargic eyes, echoes of the gruesome pain he'd endured carved deeply into his psyche.
He then winced and narrowed his eyes to read its contents:
───────────────────────────
Status Window.
> You have leveled up!
- You are now level 5!
- Most core stats have increased by 10!
> Congratulations on your monumental achievement, you have been named!
- Your Mana Pool has been greatly expanded, your Mana Veins have widened!
- You can now draw and store more Mana!
- Your life expectancy has been greatly increased!
> Notice: Due to level restrictions, your Mana [MP] has been capped at 60.
- Increase your level to have access to your excess Mana.
Ding!
> Congratulations on your impossible, 1/100 000 000 000 achievement, you are the first Monster to bestow upon themselves a name!
- Calculating suitable rewards...
-Calculating... Calculating... Calculating...
Ding!
>Notice: There are no suitable rewards for your achievement that are compatible with your current level...
-Therefore...
- Recalculating... Recalculating...
Ding!
- Your name has been etched in the Eternal Archaic Records!
-An incredible reward awaits you once you reach level 100!
- You have gained +15 Attribute Points!
- You have gained the A Rank skill, [Monarch's Aegis.]
───────────────────────────
"..."
Specimen 294 — Rather, Kaelen, studied the contents of his system notifications and his eyes slightly flickered as he staggered to his feet, but his expression remained blank.
This was not to say he was not surprised by a few of the contents he read, he merely had more pressing matters to attend to at the moment.
For example, the bipedal cockroach and his fellow Homonculi who circled him, standing around the arc of the crater.
Or better yet, the source of the bloodlust that prickled his skin, Charymos, who was glaring down at him from above, a portion of his leather onesie torn from the earlier impact.
"Groan..."
[He looks really mad...]
As he watched Charymos slide down the edges of the gaping crater, Kaelen forced his strained body to maintain a straight posture, his frame trembling not only due to fear, but because of pain and the overuse of Mana.
Crunch... Step...
"Specimen 2946, how dare you reject my Mana?"
A cold whisper escaped his grey lips, but it was audible enough to send shivers down Kaelen's spine.
"You damn reject. I had hoped you were the perfect vessel to fulfill my Lord's wish."
"What a shame... But there are other useful Specimens, therefore I have no need for you anymore."
Charymos's voice was deep, and his gestures were without their usual flamboyancy, he was now like a seasoned general about to pass down judgement on his subordinate.
Squelch...
He slowly raised his webbed right hand and a glistening, crystal-clear slime hung loosely from its palm.
He then constricted his ligaments, and coiled his arm to —
Thud...
"Master... Thank you for bestowing upon me this wonderful name, I gracefully accept it."
Said Kaelen, bowing deeply before the Kraken Spawn who bore nothing but murderous intent for him.
But upon hearing the words uttered by the pink-eyed Homunculus, Charymos slightly tilted his head and lowered his arms, his ligaments relaxing.
[What...?]
[The naming process was a success?]
[That's not possible, my Mana was completely rejected.]
The Kraken Spawn was utterly confused, causing a deep scowl to distort his already grotesque face.
[This little brat... Is he...]
He couldn't help but suspect, but even with the tiny possibility Kaelen was fooling him, there was a quick way to expose him for his deceit.
And so...
Step... Step...
Charymos walked closer and loomed over Kaelen's trembling frame, his eyes burning a hole at the back of his snow-white scalp.
"Is that so?"
"Then go ahead. Tell your name."
His voice was deeper than ever, in fact, it was coarse like the low growl of a prowling leopard.
"Yes... Of course, Master."
"The precious name you have bestowed upon me is Kaelen."
[!!]
Charymos slightly twitched upon hearing those words, as though this was something he had not expected.
[It actually worked?]
[I don't understand this...]
Charymos bit his thumbnail, and his scowl only became deeper.
The Naming process requires that his own Mana enter the vessel of the one being named, so the fact that it was apparently successful despite the fact that his Mana had not entered Kaelen's body, deeply troubled Charymos.
But then, one might wonder why Charymos had so easily believed Kaelen's words. He could have simply lied no?
Or perhaps in the world that Liam Saito had created, one had to be at a certain level in order to utter a lie?
Or perhaps there was a certain skill required for one to lie?
No... It was none of the above.
[... One that is not Named cannot take upon themselves a name.]
[Or else his Mana Veins would have short-circuited and he would have exploded from the inside-out.]
A cold sweat merged with Charymos's smile and his lips quivered and eventually twisted into a wide smirk.
"Oh my~"
He bent his posture and covered his lips, his eyes gleaming with an excitement which he failed to conceal.
He then discarded of the slime on his right hand and placed it on his waist, his left hand fanning his face, rebuking the cold sweat.
"You have done well, my children!"
He addressed all the six Homonculi present and they bowed their heads deeply.
"Go now and rest, you still have a lot to learn!"
"I, Charymoss, your father, will mould you into the perfect vessels for our Ruler!"
He twirled flamboyantly and dismissed all of the Homunculi.
"Come here."
He ordered, his stern gaze watching Kaelen's back, who was slowly climbing out of the crater.
Fwip!
"...Yes, my Lord?"
At a speed so quick that it would seem like teleportation to the naked eye, the bipedal roach moved from the arc to Charymos's side, his insectoid gaze planted on the ground.
"That child..."
■■ Life Essence.■■
As soon as he cast that spell, Charymos's eyes were illuminated by a faint azure-blue, and he could clearly see the amount of Mana within his body — Essentially, his vitality.
"...The naming process really did work, however..."
He narrowed his eyes even more.
"What's the matter, my Lord?"
The bipedal Roach became concerned and slowly stood to his feet, his beady eyes glancing at Kaelen who was already out of the crater, and then back at Charymos.
"... I am certain that my Mana did not enter his body."
[!!]
"That's not —"
Before he dared to refute his superior, the Overseer of the Basement Floor, the Roach held his tongue.
[Perhaps that would explain that strange occurrence...?]
"What are your orders, Lord Charymos?"
The Roach wriggled its antennae and corrected his posture, poised and ready to do his superior's will.
"Send word to the Guardians of both the Sixth and Eighth Floors..."
"... Tell them this: A seed of hope has sprouted from far beneath the earth, whose trunk will grow beyond clouds and whose fruit will nurture the heavens."
[!!]
Charymos spoke those words as he twirled and made his exit, humming cheerfully like a damsel who just got proposed to by her prince charming.
"B-but my Lord, what of Lady Rowena? Is she not the one who —"
"Shut up you fucking cockroach, how will I ascend to the upper floors if I don't this huh?! Whose place will I take then once I deliver our Ruler's vessel?!"
"Do you think that I, great as I am, enjoy suffocating down here with you lower lifeforms?!"
As Charymos spat those sharp words, his tentacles became extremely rigid like steel, and an intense bloodlust that transcended even the one that prickled Kaelen's skin, oozed from his every pore.
"O-of course not, Lord Charymos!"
The Roach instantly got on all fours and planted his head deeply into the charred earth.
"Good~"
Charymos skipped away and continued humming.
"..."
"Fuu..."
The Roach exhaled to quell the immense fear that rattled his exoskeleton, and he cautiously raised his head.
[Lord Charymos...]
"... Do you intend on starting a civil war?"
Those words were muttered under his trembling breath, you see, exhaling deeply earlier on did nothing to quell his fear.
───────────────────────────
Status Window.
Name: Kaelen (new!)*
Race: Homunculus.
Level: 5 (Exp: 121/2500)*
Class: Magic Spearman- Lv1.
──────────────────
Core Stats.
STR: 54*. INT: 59* LCK: 0
AGI: 56* MP: 60* VIT: 55*
%##%: ???
───────────────
Derived Stats.
HP [VIT + Gear Value+⁰]: 55*
STA [VIT + AGI(30%)]: 71.8*
ATK [STR + Weapon Value+⁰]: 54*
EVA [AGI + LCK(50%)]: 56*
CRIT [(LCK(20%) + ATK)/100]: 0.54*
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Skills.
Mana Sensitivity: S- Rank
Low-level Regeneration: C- Rank
Creator's Eye: S- Rank.
#>@$: SS+ Rank (Sealed)*
Monarch's Aegis: A Rank.(new!)*
────────────────
Attribute Points: 29*
Alignment:Chaotic Neutral.
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