“Honestly, I've put exactly zero thought into giving it a name yet…” Alan admitted.
“Me and that Banded Roc, well, we didn't really start off on the best of terms. So, at least in my head, I've just been referring to it as 'That little asshole that shit all over me'.“
With her head cocked to the side, Su'ong snorted and plucked a blade of grass, “That bird seems fairly intelligent,” she said absently, deftly weaving it into a tiny green ring perfectly sized for a birds leg. “I am assuming she had a reason to defecate on you? If it was an unprovoked attack, that seems like a strange first interaction. She surely knows that you could tear her in half if you wanted to. And there would be nothing it could do to stop you.“
“Thats true,” Alan nodded, “but it doesn't really seem overly concerned with that. Especially ever since I dragged it out of the lake. Now it just sleeps. And steals… I've been doing some thinking…” Alan hesitated, unsure how Su'ong would feel about the idea of 'Beast Taming'.
As the descendant of beasts, he feared she would see it as a form of bondage or slavery. Which, he guessed, would be fairly understandable. But unless he was going to bypass the [Warden of Blight] Class altogether, hiding his future Class Skills wasn't going to be feasible in the long run.
“The [Warden of Blight] Class Scroll description said that one of the Class's main abilities is taming beasts, so I've been considering trying my hand at taming it…”
Su'ong's eyes narrowed in thought as she stored the finished grass ring in her inventory. “I agree.“ She said with little hesitation. “Not only does it have a Core Skill, but more importantly, having an airborne ally to scout and keep watch for hidden dangers would be of great assistance.“
She did it again... Alan thought. Su'ong kept calling the Roc 'she' and Alan didn't understand how it was that she could tell the difference.
“You keep saying 'she'. How do you know it's a girl?“ Alan asked, unable to help his curiosity. He couldn't say that he'd done more than a casual search, yet butchering three Roc carcasses hadn't revealed anything resembling genitalia. At least not any that he was familiar with.
“Oh, I cannot say for sure what sex it is.“ Su'ong said matter-of-factly. “However, I learned a fair amount about the hierarchy of various beasts during my brief tenure as a warden-in-training. Although I've never encountered a Banded Roc, it has been my experience that male birds are most often relegated to being guardians of the nest, and full-time egg warmers. The females are hunters. As it should be." She nodded enthusiastically.
As a Human, the thought of leaving the women to do the hunting while the men just sat around on a pile of eggs was an odd thought. There were no women in the Guadalupe River Dungeon, so he had no practical experience to speak on, but according to any book Alan had ever read, men were supposed to be the protectors.
"There are a few exceptions to this, but you will find that egg-laying species as a whole have a tendency to follow a similar social structure." Su'ong gave Alan a playful smile, her pale cheeks suddenly turning a rosy pink."You would have to play your cards right," she said with a determined gaze, poking Alan lightly in the chest with a single finger, "but if we do make it out of here, perhaps one day..." Her mask of determination suddenly crumbled, leaving behind a wide-eyed stare that Alan felt was likely mirroring his own embarrassed expression.
Confidence in disarray, Su'ong hid her face behind her hands, turning her back to Alan while making a sound that was somewhere between an embarrassed squeal and a painful dry heave.
Alan stood there, stunned. Is she asking me to be her egg warmer?! Could I really... Is that even possible? Head still spinning, he looked down at the nothingness between his legs and shook his head. Not like this it isnt...
Listening in on Su'ong's personal thoughts was not only awkward and disorienting, but it made Alan feel like he was doing something wrong. Unfortunately, with her blasting them out all over the place, there really wasn't much else he could do but tap her on the shoulder and hope she stopped.
"What?!" She groaned out from behind her hands, refusing to turn around.
Alan chewed his bottom lip nervously. Should I tell her? Or am I supposed to be a gentleman and pretend it never happened?! I know less about women than I do the System... Dammit! Why didn't I take Uncle Alex up on his offer to lend me those stupid romance novels?!
Due to the humid environment of the Guadalupe River Dungeon, books were always in short supply. Rexus had a few moldy old story books, and a fair amount of manga, all of which he refused to part with, despite their wretched appearances. Alex, on the other hand, had always kept a pristine collection of romance novels.
The covers of which left Alan with the assumption that the contents of those books were less about romance, and more about a brutish man, and a damsel in distress vigorously grinding their genitals together. He would be lying if he said he hadn't ever been curious, but the idea of piling sexual frustrations on top of being totally isolated in a Dungeon with a couple of dudes had seemed like something that any sane person would avoid at all cost.
"Is everything ok?" Alan pulled his mind out of the gutter and asked hesitantly, unsure how, or if he even should, broach the subject of her broadcasting her thoughts out publicly. They were both still acclimating to the changes Evolution had wrought upon them, and he knew that mistakes were bound to happen. She already seemed worked up, and Alan saw no reason to make it any worse. Maybe I can 'Accidentally' think something embarrassing, and hope she catches on...
"Something flew right into my eye," she lied, only lowering her one of her hands and groaning under the distressing weight of her make-believe pain. Her scrunched-up face was bright red, and she was all in on her story, rubbing at her right eye as if there was actually something in it.
"Anyways," she pouted, "you named the Wraith after only knowing him for about ten minutes, so I just figured that you would have come up with a name for the Roc by now.“
Sighing at the verbal backhand, Alan rolled his eyes and shook it off with a lopsided grin. How could he realistically take offense? He knew her assessment was more or less correct after all. It had probably been a lapse of judgement on his part for failing to put far more thought into the pros and cons of naming a thousand year old monster.
“The first time I saw that Roc, it was standing on top of your cocoon. From my perspective, it looked like it was trying to peck a hole through it,” Alan said defensively. “So I tried to chase 'her' off. Except, the damned thing just flew up out of reach and started talking shit from from up above me. I... spent a bit of time plotting out a way to kill it for the Experience, but because I don't have a Class, my Beast-Folk side doesn't have access to any of my Spells. Unable to get in a decent attack without exerting far more effort than it was worth, I used [Examine] on it."
Alan shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "My best guess, it was able to sense me scanning it, and took offense.“
“After that, it swooped down, dropped a shit-bomb on me, and flew off over the lake before I could do anything to stop it.“ Alan said, quickly recounting the large Rocs giving chase, the subsequent aerial pursuit, and their ensuing bird fight. When he told Su'ong about the Roc undergoing drastic physical alterations after activating its strange attack Skill, she was quick to interrupt.
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“Wait. You said it was Level 2 when you used your [Examine] Skill? That is… Odd, but not entirely unheard of. Have you seen any of the others use a similar Skill?“ She asked.
Interrupted by another unlucky Lake Chub falling out of the sky, only to be near-instantly dispatched by Su'ong, Alan was slow to offer a response. The confusing sight of his Soul-bound partner hurling the remains out over the lake was confusing, yet it was impossible to misjudge the Roc's satisfaction.
All he could do was shake his head and grimace at the immanent down-poring of wretched smelling fish innards when Su'ong dispatched the Chub, and flung the remains into the air. The Roc screeched happily, and caught the offered snack. Skimming the surface of the lake, the beast set off. He could only assume it was in search of its next offering.
“No,” Alan said, letting go of his confusion. That damned bird's a kiss-ass. Never once had it offered to provide him with any easy experience.
“Aside from that banded shithead, none of the others that I've come across have shown signs of possessing that ability. Also,“ Alan added, “None of the others that I've seen have had that yellow collar around their necks.“
Su'ong nodded her head, “As I thought. A Level 2 beast has no business possessing such an ability. That, combined with the unique physical characteristic leads me to believe that like me, that Roc was born with an awakened Beast Core and most likely the Darkness, or Shadow Attunement. There is a high likelihood the ability you saw it use was actually the Roc's Core Skill.“
Su'ong quickly gave Alan the rundown on what a Core Skill was, and how a beast would come into possession of one. While on the topic, she also took the chance to explain her gnawing worries about her own Core Skill situation.
“So you need to use the Ice Mana Crystal to speed up the process of energizing your Core?“ Alan asked, wanting to make sure he understood. “Sure thing. Assuming we can figure out a way to get into this mutinous Storage Ring, I'd be interested in watching. Although its doubtful, there's a chance I would be able learn something about my own Core.“
“But that reminds me, don't you still have that Earth Mana Crystal I gave you? Wouldn't that have the same effect?“ It certainly wasn't the same Attunement, but it was still a viable energy source. He could feel instinctually that he wouldn't have any trouble using Mana Crystals. Yet why would he? With his body acting like a vacuum and filtration system, pulling in ambient energy and ejecting the unused remnants. It was ultimately going to be a waste. Which felt like a scam. And set his mind to wandering off the rails.
I can definitely absorb Mana, but who knows what my Core would do with the attunements, and damn near everything else. It would likely all be considered trash and ejected… Mana is only a fragment of what constitutes Celestial Energy after all. Stamina also has to be involved in there somewhere… My Core absorbed my Stamina pool, and at the same time, my Soul ate my Health Pool… Whatever that means... It really does make me wonder… Where exactly is my Soul? And what the fuck is a Spiritual Wellspring? How do all of these seemingly distinct, standalone energies come together and form Celestial Energy?
“Alan? Alan!“ The sound of Su'ong clapping finally dropped him back into reality.
Shaking her head sadly, Su'ong Alan him a blank stare.
“Now that you are back, have you remembered that I no longer possess an Earth Attunement?“ She said slowly, enunciating each syllable as she pulled the Earth Crystal from her inventory and waved it around dramatically. “I might as well try absorbing energy from those rocks around your fire pit for all the good it will do. This thing is worthless to me now…” Her voice trailed off, a gust of wind whipping her hair into a frenzy as the crystal erupted in a brilliant display of amber light, and began to shrink.
“What?!“ Su'ong gasped, staggering back several steps.
Her first instinct was to drop the Mana Crystal. Only, there was a bit of a problem on that front. She didn't understand what was going on, but it had become fused to her hand. As a Water Attuned entity, there was no reason for the Earth Crystal to activate. This wasn't good. As far as she knew, such a thing shouldn't have been a possibility.
Yet when Su'ong considered that her abnormally lucky Soul-bound partner had somehow slipped and fallen into a Blessing from Gaea, the Primordial Mother of the Earth, it was no real surprise that her own spirit resonated with the Earth Element at some unfelt frequency.
Afraid that her burgeoning Core could very well be damaged, or even worse, contaminated, Su'ong tried to return the Earth Crystal to inventory, but it was no use. The moment she tried, her Beast Core was roused from dormancy. In the span of a second, what remained of the Mana Crystal turned into a liquid-like energy that was absorbed through the palms of her hands. A flood of (E-Stage) attuned energy slammed full force into Su'ong's Core and sent her tumbling head over heels into the lake.
It felt like being hit by one of her grandmother's Skill-enhanced punches.
Another similarity to sparring with that crazy old woman, Su'ong knew immediately that she was way out of her league. She was completely blindsided by the sudden and unexpected situation. Worst of all, she had no way to fight back. An unchecked upheaval of energy was running rampant through her Mana Channels. Before striking the surface of the water, her Beast Core had already established a connection to, and then absorbed the entirety of the Mana Crystal. The cool water was a minor relief, but Su'ong still blacked out before her head sank below the surface.
******
Seeing it happen for the second time in just as many days, the flash of light, and gust of wind released by the Mana Crystal were far less surprising. At first he assumed the process was going as he assumed it should. The look of confused shock on Su'ong's face however, said otherwise. That was all it took for Alan to understand that something had gone wrong.
When Su'ong swayed unsteadily and tumbled backwards, Alan was already darting forward. He arrived in a blur of motion, but he was too late to keep her from falling. Their tiny corner of the lake surged under the heavy impact of his feet hitting the water. Grabbing Su'ong by the waist, Alan lifted her light frame up onto his shoulder.
After making it back to the area he was considering as 'camp', Alan stamped down a bed of grass close enough to the fire pit that Su'ong would be able to feel the lingering warmth, yet far enough away that an airborne ember wouldn't set her hair ablaze while she recovered from whatever it was that happened.
There was no way to be certain without talking to Su'ong, but Alan was fairly sure that her Beast Core had been activated. Chances were, the answer to her Core Skill worries would be revealed whenever she came to.
It only took the Roc a few minutes before it dropped another Chub to be sacrificed. Sighing, Alan put the suffocating animal out of its misery, and threw it up as high as he could.
Remarkable! You have defeated a Lvl 3 Silver Lake Chub! +10 Exp!
It took Su'ong a little more than twenty minutes to awaken. Alan was finishing off the second half of a Plantain when he noticed her eyes open. “How are you feeling?“ He asked gently.
Alan grinned and plopped down on the grass next to her. Although she was obviously sore, the fact that she was already making light of things went a long way towards easing his mind.
From where he sat, Alan could clearly make out the notifications that Su'ong was reviewing. While he was interested in seeing the information, he didn't like the idea of snooping over her shoulder. Right as he started to turn away, Su'ong grabbed his wrist. “You don't have to turn away you big dummy. The majority of the notices don't matter, but here,” she said, and all of the relevant notices appeared on the Party Interface Screen.
Caution! Due to the activation of your Beast Core, your Mana Channels are being rerouted and reformed… Success!
Remarkable! Your (Low Copper) Grade (Water) Attuned Beast Core has been fully energized! Your Mana Pool has been assimilated into your Beast Core!
Remarkable! Due to the activation of your Beast Core, you have regained access to your Core Skill [Hydrokinetic Body]! ERROR!
Caution! Due to the effects of binding your Spiritual Wellspring to that of System User Designation (Alan Gerald Robbins), and embarking on a new Evolutionary Path, your Core Skill has Evolved into [Dessication]!
[Dessication] (Early Proficiency)- Once activated, this Core Skill will allow you to absorb the moisture and vitality from a wide variety of living organisms. (At current proficiency, must be in physical contact with target.)
“These are the only notifications that actually matter,” She said in a subdued voice.
“It is as I feared. Even my Core Skill has changed… The description isn't very helpful either. But even without my [Hydrokinetic Body], with both of us working together, and my insane new Stats, I don't think there's anything the Dungeon can do to keep us here. Short of dropping the ceiling on us I guess...“
“I wouldn't say anything like that when you return to the main Dungeon,” an unexpected, gravelly voice called out from behind, “You don't want to go giving my delusional twin any bright ideas now do you?“
Even without seeing him, Alan was familiar enough with Reggie's voice to know who it was. Taking notice of Su'ong's calm demeanor, Alan breathed a sigh of relief.
At least I don't have to worry about breaking up a fight… Probably…