Glut finally went forward and opened his wings completely to embrace Xavier, who was quite big for the little fellow to hug. Yet, the not-so-little sparrow jumped up on his lap, pressed his soft feathers to Xavier’s shirt, and placed his head on Xavier’s chest.

Xavier slowly hugged him back, careful not to accidentally pluck off his feathers. They were newly formed, so he did not want to ruffle them often. Glut let out a small chirp as Xavier slowly lifted him to bring him to eye level.

“Damn, you look so magnificent, Glut. I might be a little jealous!” Xavier grinned, and Glut chirped loudly to receive the compliment. Xavier knew Glut loved compliments as much as he loved food.

That reminded him of the worms he had specially collected to offer as a small reunion gift to his little companion.

“I’ve got something for you,” Xavier said, letting go of Glut, who flapped his wings, trying to hover in the air. He almost lost balance but quickly recovered and circled Xavier’s head impatiently as Xavier reached for the little box.

“There you go.” Xavier opened the lid dramatically, and Glut flew straight at the box, making the contents spill over.

“Easy there, buddy,” Xavier chuckled as Glut began pecking at every little worm and gobbling it up hastily. One had also somehow gotten into Xavier’s hair that Glut did not miss to notice. Xavier only kept laughing as Glut located every worm and swallowed it down, emitting a sound at the end that sounded a lot like a burp.

Glut

Unique Monster

Descendant of the Ancient Spirit Arcaes

Healthy(Happy)

200

Glut’s Foundation didn’t increase at all, but he felt stronger than before.

It was not like Glut’s speed or physical strength had skyrocketed. But Xavier felt that Glut’s fire affinity was several times more potent than it used to be. Once Glut coated his body in blazing flames, the room temperature increased so much that Xavier felt thrown in a furnace for a second. When he turned into a living torch, Xavier was certain that no ordinary monster would dare to get too close to Glut.

It would have been much easier to kill the Behemoth with Glut’s flames, and Coat of Fire would have inflicted much more damage.

Glut jumped into the air and circled above Xavier’s head. He could not stop showing how happy he was to be finally free and was absolutely thrilled to have completed his evolution. Xavier felt Glut wanted to escape outside to fly around rather than stay in the narrow room. Thus, he opened the window and released Glut. Glut left the room a second later, and Xavier followed. He jumped out of the window and landed on the ground, only to see Glut releasing a fireball into one of the buildings that had been destroyed by the Behemoth.

The fireball was the size of his fist, but it was far more terrifying than everything Xavier had seen until now. The fireball crashed into the abandoned building and exploded, destroying everything in a radius of several meters.

“What the fu–...” Xavier’s eyes widened in shock. A single fireball made of compressed flames obliterated an entire house.

Goosebumps covered his entire body as he imagined the damage Glut could inflict on monsters…and humans.

The sound of the explosion was loud enough to reach every corner of Haven. The residents had barely recovered from the Behemoth’s attack, so the sound sent them into panic mode. In a minute, Card holders and combatants rushed to the source of the noise, armed with weapons and ready to attack the intruder.

But they saw Xavier standing before the destruction, his hands thrown up and waving them up and down.

“Calm down!! It's Glut. He just completed his evolution.” Xavier shouted, but Glut chirped indignantly, not happy that Xavier blamed him for the destruction.

Xavier threw him a look as if to say sorry and then turned his attention back to the residents.

“Eh, we will just go practice somewhere else. Don’t be bothered if you hear loud noises from the south.” Then added it as an afterthought.

“However, if the sounds continue for over an hour, maybe send someone to check.”

Xavier did not want everybody to assume that everything was okay, and somehow, he was targeted by a giant monster or humans again. They had had enough fiascos, as it is.

One of the Card Holders gives him a thumbs up, and Xavier whistles at Glut, asking him to follow his lead. Glut chirped and began flying above his head while Xavier went further from the settlement.

There were plenty of abandoned homes for them to practice without hurting anyone. Thus, for the next thirty minutes, Xavier and Glut focused on utilizing Glut’s flames to inflict maximum damage.

Debris and rocks flew everywhere as explosions echoed through the surroundings. Luckily, it was broad daylight, so they would notice if any monster tried to sneak in unexpectedly.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Overall, Xavier was pleased with Glut’s advancement. Glut could conjure a fireball in a quarter of a second and launch it several meters ahead with a burst of energy, making long-distance attacks even more lethal than they used to be. At this point, it was also possible for Glut to conjure and control multiple projectiles simultaneously, transforming Glut into a little mass-destruction weapon.

He was even more pleased to find that the fire did not hurt him. Once or twice, an ember or two licked his skin while Glut emitted the fireball, but luckily, Xavier only felt a light caress of the breeze, if anything.

But that same fireball exploded and took down a huge chunk of a building’s wall upon impact.

“Woah”

He muttered. Then, to experiment some more, he used Borrow and tried to control the fireball Glut emitted, directing it towards the same wall Glut had half-demolished earlier.

The fireball collided, and the building was razed to the ground completely, leaving dust and fumes in its wake.

Xavier grinned from ear to ear. His fire control had improved a lot, and Soulshare seemed to have also gotten stronger. They were now a formidable team.

Glut chirped happily as he landed on Xavier’s shoulder, where he could barely fit.

“You want to go hunt?”

Glut chirped excitedly again.

Since his connection with Glut was strong, Xavier could understand what Glut wanted. He didn’t know the exact words, but the meanings were clear. Glut was unwilling to stay confined in the settlement. He wanted to go out and hunt.

“We can go hunting. I don’t have a weapon, though. My Onyx Blade broke while dealing with the Behemoth,” Xavier pointed out, only to hear Glut grumbling in his mind.

“Can I join you guys?” Leyla’s voice made Xavier turn around. She wasn’t around when Xavier informed others about Glut’s return. So when she heard the commotion, she rushed over quickly, worried that something terrible had happened.

A building exploded, but nobody had been injured. That was a relief. It would have been bad if Glut killed someone by accident.

“You want to hunt with us? Sure, why not?” Xavier shrugged, “But I have to get one of the Onyx Blades I gave to the Craftsmen before that. I don’t want to leave unarmed.”

“Don’t you think you should upgrade your weapons soon? I doubt that the Onyx Blade will last long with your fighting style,” Leyla teased Xavier, who could only press his lips together. She was not wrong.

“It’s not like better weapons fall from the sky because I need them. I’ll have to wait until the Craftsmen produce something better,” Xavier answered with a shrug.

“Or until you find better weapons on your own. The Kobold Camp should have better weapons, don’t you think so?”

“You want to go to the Kobold Camp? I’d rather avoid charging into the Kobold Camp without knowing if any evil Card Holders are nearby. Once we charge into the Kobold Camp, we will be busy. Furthermore, Glut’s Foundation is a little low. We must hunt for a few days until his Foundation catches up to mine.”

Leyla studied Xavier as he spoke and smiled gently at him.

“That means you’re not against attacking the Kobold Camp. Good.”

He raised an eyebrow but didn’t ask further. Instead, they walked to the Craftsmen's workshop, retrieved an Onyx Blade for him, and a bunch of arrows for Leyla before they left Haven.

Alsburg had yet to be overwhelmed by monsters, but the surrounding forests were overpopulated with monsters, especially Kobolds. The plague of Kobolds was overwhelming.

It wasn’t hard to find a group of five Kobold Warriors.

Leyla readied her arrows, but Xavier gestured to her to do nothing.

Glut ascended into the air. He quickly brushed past the trees and the treetop to reach the Kobold Warriors. Only when he reached them was Glut’s plumage set ablaze. Flickers of azure flames coated Glut’s beak as he released tiny needles from compressed flames.

A trace of azure flickered in the needles as they whizzed through the air. The Kobold Warriors sensed something was about to happen, but they noticed Glut only after he changed into his Combat Form. The temperature in the surroundings increased drastically alongside the dangerous presence.

Glut chirped lightly, unaware of the monstrous presence he exuded naturally. His fire needles burned through the Kobold Warrior’s skulls, killing them instantly. Glut didn’t even have to try hard. A single attack had been enough to take them down in one go.

Glut slayed 5 Kobold Warriors. +34 Soul Essences, +8 Common Card Shards.

Glut obliterated the Kobold Warriors quickly. They didn’t stand a chance.

“There is another group!” Leyla rushed past Xavier, readied her bow, and prepared to aid Glut. Meanwhile, Xavier just smiled.

He used Pet Boost on Glut, strengthening his companion’s strongest Foundation star.

Pet Boost has been applied to Glut. Star of Energy increases by 10% for 100 seconds.

Xavier doubted that Glut required Pet Boost to kill the Kobolds that emerged from the bushes, but he applied it nonetheless. Leveling Pet Boost should be helpful in the future.

Glut zigzagged through the forest. He released several fireballs around Kobolds before conjuring a small inferno in their center.

The Kobold Archers’ bows burned to ashes before releasing the first barrage of arrows. The Kobold Champions, Kobold Archers, and the remaining monsters were rendered helpless against Glut’s destructive power.

They tried to flee, but Leyla stopped them. She released one arrow after another while targeting their calves and thighs. Leyla didn’t obtain many Soul Essences from hunting those monsters anymore. Even Xavier wouldn’t get a lot. However, Glut was different. Glut’s Foundation was incredibly low. Every Kobold killed by Glut would reward Xavier’s companion with several Soul Essences.

Xavier emerged from the thicket to support Glut as well. He used Air Bullets amplified with Pierce Armor and Armor Break to cripple the fleeing Kobolds before Glut killed them ruthlessly.

Glut fought and killed Kobolds, whose Foundation had crossed 400 Units. He burned them to death with his meager 200-point Foundation.

“What are those flames? You can’t tell me that your little friend uses ordinary flames.” Leyla mumbled, but even Xavier didn’t know the answer.

Glut’s flames were powerful. They were terrifying.

It was thrilling!