I lay on the ground, breath short and body still aching from the recent battle. The Omnigron on my wrist pulsed with a faint green light, indicating that "rest mode" was doing its job, gradually restoring my stats. This time, I felt it working on my Quantum Pack and its contents as well. Slowly, I felt the strength return to my limbs, each breath coming easier, every muscle relaxing.

"Finally, I feel alive again," I muttered, pushing myself up and glancing at the Omnigron, which, like a loyal guardian, had brought my health and stamina back to full.

Roy, with his usual impeccable timing, chimed in my head. "Alright, before you dive into another crazy stunt, we need to think about what to do with BuBull. You have to consider that—"

He didn’t even finish before a blue light shot out from the Omnigron, opening a series of holographic interfaces in front of me. Yep, it was happening again. Before I could react, Guenda appeared, her hologram floating in the air before me, with that impassive but slightly friendly expression.

"Congratulations, Ekla," she began with her calm and precise voice. "You’ve captured a BuBull, an interesting choice for your first MonMonster." She made a small gesture, and one of the interfaces behind her expanded. "Look here."

My eyes followed her hand, and I realized she was showing the stats of the BuBull.

Name: BuBull

Level: 9

HP: 260

Mana: 50

Stamina: 210

Strength: Great

Endurance: Good

Mind: Poor

Aura: Poor

Agility: Average

Passive abilities: None

Active abilities: Charge

It was massive, with impressive strength and a decent stamina level.

"Every MonMonster has unique characteristics," Guenda continued. "Here, you can see the current stats of the BuBull you’ve just captured: its level, strength, available moves, and any passive abilities."

Ekla chimed in immediately. "Do these stats grow automatically as BuBull levels up?"

Roy answered, sounding doubtful. "Wasn’t that info already given to you?"

Guenda shook her head. "No. MonMonster stats don’t change with every level. They grow at specific moments, such as during evolution or upon reaching certain milestones."

"Ah, evolution." I focused on that word for the first time, thinking about how that applied to these beasts. "So they get even bigger. I can’t wait to power up my BuBull even more," I said, slightly amused.

Roy reassured me. "Don’t worry, you should see your BuBull evolve during this tutorial." A bigger, stronger BuBull could only be good news.

Guenda didn’t acknowledge my joke, instead focusing on another screen. "Now, Ekla, look at your own stats."

I turned toward the floating hologram showing my values... but something was different. Guenda moved closer and pointed to two specific stats.

Name: Ekla

HP: 200

Mana: 100

Stamina: 300 +

Strength: Average +

Endurance: Poor

Mind: Poor

Aura: Poor

Agility: Good

Passive abilities: None

Active abilities: Sprint, Charge

"Thanks to the capture of BuBull, your Strength and Stamina stats have increased. You can see here that these improvements will remain as long as you keep this MonMonster in your pack."

"So, as long as I keep it in the Quantum Pack, I’m stronger," I said, carefully observing the numbers that had indeed grown since before. "Interesting. I could become a beast with the right MonMonster."

"Each MonMonster has different effects on your stats," Guenda explained. "And the effects are cumulative across all MonMonsters you carry. It’s your responsibility to carefully choose which ones to keep on your team."

Naturally, Roy couldn’t resist chiming in. "I wonder if you’ll actually follow this advice, considering how you’ve handled things so far..."

I smiled, ignoring his jab. "I learn fast."

Guenda continued uninterrupted. "As your BuBull levels up, it will unlock new moves and abilities, and you yourself may gain benefits. For instance, you’ve already unlocked the 'Sprint' ability by raising your Agility to Good. Now, thanks to BuBull, you’ve also unlocked the 'Charge' ability."

Roy let out a bitter laugh. "Sprint, huh? Would’ve been nice to know about that beforehand, don’t you think?"

I shrugged, trying to keep my tone casual. "Details, Roy. Just details."

Roy scoffed. "Details? You didn’t even know you had active abilities, and you’re talking about details?"

"Well, you’re the expert here," I teased. "Shouldn’t you have told me?"

"I’ve only been at this damn company for ten days, Ekla," Roy snapped, clearly irritated. "And I’ve barely skimmed the basic manual! You can’t expect me to know everything about such a complex system. Plus, you never let me talk long enough to tell you the few things I do know."

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

I chuckled. "And here I thought you were my trusted tutor. What a disappointment." I always enjoyed poking fun at Roy—sometimes I did it without even realizing it.

Roy seemed ready to continue the back-and-forth, but Guenda intervened with her serene calm. “Ekla, remember that both you and your MonMonster can only use a few abilities at a time. You’ll need to choose carefully.”

“A few, huh?” I mused aloud, thinking of possible combinations of ‘Sprint’ and ‘Charge’ with future new abilities. “I guess some strategy’s needed then.”

Roy couldn’t hold back. “Strategy? You? You’ve almost died in both fights so far.” He was visibly irritated.

“Hey, I still got the job done, didn’t I?” I shot back, pretending not to be annoyed. “And let’s not forget, you wanted me in here. I’m busting my ass to save you, not exactly here on a pleasure trip!”

Guenda turned abruptly toward me, her usual impassive expression suddenly sharpened as if she’d just remembered something. “Before we proceed,” she said, opening a new holographic interface. “You have the option to give a nickname to the BuBull you captured.”

“Nickname?” I repeated, not particularly interested.

“Exactly. You can personalize each MonMonster with a name of your choice. Would you like to give your BuBull a nickname?”

I smiled to myself as an absurd idea popped into my head, a response to Roy’s lack of faith. “Sure, why not? Call it... UngratefulRoy.”

Guenda remained expressionless, as if I’d just made a completely normal request. “Name assigned. From now on, your BuBull will be called UngratefulRoy.”

As soon as the name changed in the menu from "BuBull" to "UngratefulRoy," I burst into uncontrollable laughter. I couldn’t hold it back.

“Are you seriously going to run around all of Hexamia calling that big cow ‘UngratefulRoy’?” Roy let out a strangled sound of disbelief.

I nodded, and we both broke into laughter.

“Okay, Ekla, UngratefulRoy is exactly what that BuBull deserves... sorry, I’m just really stressed,” Roy said, trying to keep his tone serious, but I could hear a peaceful smile forming on his lips.

“I know, it’s perfect!” I replied, still laughing. “Just imagine when I use him in battle.”

Roy chuckled again but quickly composed himself. “I’m not sure your MonMonster will feel too proud of that name.”

Guenda wrapped it up: “The name UngratefulRoy has been saved. See you soon.” She vanished back into the Omnigron.

Still chuckling to myself, Roy sighed. “You’re truly incorrigible, Ekla.”

“Oh, I know,” I replied with a smirk, but before I could fully appreciate the moment, I froze.

Roy suddenly shouted, “Watch your back, Ekla!”

I raised an eyebrow, puzzled. “Watch my back? What the hell—”

I didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence. A sharp quill whizzed through the air, embedding itself in the ground just inches from my feet. I spun around, and there, hidden among the tall grass, was my old “friend”: the HeHedgehog from earlier, glaring at me with a menacing look, ready to fire another volley of quills. Upon closer inspection, I noticed a large scar circling its left eye—it looked very angry.

Roy jumped in immediately, his telepathic voice full of surprise and concern. “Wait... did that thing follow you? This is weird. It shouldn’t happen. Is this a system-forced battle or just a coincidence?”

I shook off the doubt, focusing on the MonMonster that had reappeared. “Doesn’t matter. I’m just glad it came looking for me!”

“You saved me a trip, you spiny little punk!” I said with all the bravado I could muster, a grin creeping onto my face. “Now, I’m going to kick your butt—no, we’re going to kick your butt.” I knew I wasn’t alone this time. With a swift motion, I summoned UngratefulRoy from the Quantum Pack.

The mighty BuBull materialized beside me, with its imposing horns and muscles rippling with raw power. The HeHedgehog, despite its smaller size, didn’t seem intimidated at all.

“Ekla,” Roy interjected, “I think this is the perfect time to see the synergy between you and BuBull.

“It’s called: UngratefulRoy,” I replied with an ironic tone. “Get ready, Roy, to witness a real show.”

I didn’t waste any more time. I mentally ordered UngratefulRoy to charge forward, and without hesitation, he did. I wanted him to start with a powerful charge, and turning around, I saw him already barreling headfirst toward the HeHedgehog. Controlling a MonMonster wasn’t so hard. He moved like a tank, every step shaking the ground beneath him. I sprinted behind him, using his massive body as a shield against the quills flying our way. The key was to get as close as possible.

The quills embedded themselves in my ally's body, but despite staggering slightly, he managed to push forward. Suddenly, with a swift move, the HeHedgehog dodged UngratefulRoy’s charge at the last second, and my turn came. As UngratefulRoy crashed into a tree with too much momentum, I leaped from behind him, catching the HeHedgehog by surprise. In the blink of an eye, I activated my "Charge" ability. I felt the adrenaline surge through my veins as the world seemed to speed up around me. I was too close; it couldn’t hit me or dodge my attack.

I launched myself at the HeHedgehog with incredible speed, my body becoming a human missile. I slammed into its face, feeling the impact against its tough armor. The MonMonster was sent flying, tumbling down a small slope to our right. A faint triumphant smile crossed my face as I watched it fall, its health bar rapidly draining until it disappeared from sight.

The recoil from my charge, however, didn’t go unnoticed. A sharp pain shot through my right arm, and I glanced at the Omnigron, showing my health bar drop by 25%. Clenching my teeth, I took the hit while Roy, never missing a beat, pointed out, “You know, Ekla, you took some damage too... maybe rethink your strategy. UngratefulRoy almost got KO’d by a tree, and you’re nearly halfway down on health.”

“Details,” I replied with a smirk. “In the end, we won, right? That’s what matters.” I glanced at UngratefulRoy’s health, and he wasn’t doing great either—down to less than 30%. All those quills had really taken a toll.

After a moment, the Omnigron glowed with a soft blue light, and new interfaces popped up in front of me. UngratefulRoy’s experience bar began to climb slowly, stopping at about a third toward the next level. Shortly after, Guenda appeared again, as calm and measured as ever.

“Congratulations on your victory,” she said. “Although the HeHedgehog didn’t reach zero health points, it was declared unable to continue the battle. You’ve won the fight.”

Roy chuckled. “You always manage to scrape by, don’t you?”

Guenda continued, “When UngratefulRoy has gathered enough experience, it will reach level 10. Every level can bring new abilities and enhancements.”

I nodded and tried to activate the Omnigron’s rest mode again, but the device emitted a small red warning signal.

“What’s going on?” I asked, surprised.

Guenda immediately explained, “Rest mode cannot be used continuously. Each time you activate it, you consume part of the Omnigron’s energy. If it’s depleted, you won’t be able to capture MonMonster, heal, or use any other functions that require its power.”

Roy chimed in sarcastically, “So no more spamming the healing function?”

“You can recharge the Omnigron in cities,” Guenda added, “use a quick charge via an osmosis battery, or let it recharge slowly with exposure to sunlight.”

Guenda vanished again, and I sighed, rubbing my sore shoulder. “Great, just what we needed—more limitations.”

Roy, still sounding concerned, added, “Hey, you’ve made it this far. Now let’s get out of this damn biosphere—we’ve still got work to do if we’re going to save my internship.”