The air finally seemed to free itself from the oppressive weight that the WoWolves had brought with them. Lying in the grass of the clearing, with my heart still pounding furiously in my chest, I looked up at the sky, trying to slow my breathing. The feeling of being safe was so new, so unexpected after the deadly chase I had just faced, that I almost couldn't believe it. Every fiber of my body was tense, ready to spring into action, but finally, there was no more need for that. The WoWolves were still there, hidden in the shadow of the trees, but unable to cross the boundary of the clearing.

"Roy... mission completed?" I asked again. I needed to hear him say it once more, my voice hoarse and exhausted from the anxiety and strain.

There was a moment of silence in my head, then Roy’s voice echoed, lighter than it had been in the past few hours. "Yes, Ekla, I’d say it’s finally over. We made it."

A nervous laugh escaped my lips again. It wasn’t just relief, but a true sense of liberation. It was over. The wolves couldn’t touch me anymore, not at this moment, and for a second, I allowed myself to let go, letting my body fully relax on the soft grass. I was tired, and my stamina was practically at zero.

But there wasn’t really time to rest. A metallic, almost electronic sound interrupted my brief moment of peace. I sat up slightly, looking at my Omnigron glowing on my wrist with a soft, rhythmic blue light. Then, a notification appeared before my eyes, floating in the air—a clear sign that something important was happening.

MonMaster rank updated: Rank 2 achieved!

I raised an eyebrow. Rank 2. For all the effort I had put in, I had expected at least rank 20, considering it felt like the game was trying to kill me for real. The glowing text kept floating in front of me, but another notification appeared shortly after, accompanied by a soft chime.

New skill slot available: Add a passive ability.

I hadn’t had access to passive abilities before.

Roy chimed in my head, "MonMasters consider them essential for survival and to truly become competitive in battles." He was clearly referring to the passive abilities. But honestly, I didn’t care much at that moment. My task was finished. It had been much tougher than I expected, and I was still processing all the emotions I had gone through.

Guenda, smiling and professional as always, appeared before my eyes, projected by my Omnigron. She wore the same adventurous teacher outfit that I now associated with her all-knowing presence. I could never quite decide if I found her boring or useful, but at that moment, her appearance lifted my spirits.

"Congratulations, Ekla!" she said in her usual cheerful voice, almost too enthusiastic for a situation like this. "You’re now a Rank 2 MonMaster, and this allows you to choose a new passive ability. Passive abilities will provide an automatic advantage in battle or in managing your MonMonsters. Choose wisely, as each ability impacts your playstyle differently."

Her explanation, as usual, was flawless, but it lacked the warmth that would have made it feel genuinely helpful.

I turned toward an empty spot in the sky, searching for Roy’s presence. "Roy? Honestly, how seriously should I take these explanations?"

"Zero. We finished the mission, and soon we'll log out. The rest is just chatter," he replied, his voice finally relaxed and calm.

"Alright, let’s speed this up so we can grab a beer nearby to celebrate," I said to Roy mentally.

"Passive abilities, as I was saying, can improve your stamina recovery, increase your MonMonsters’ resistance, or even boost your capture abilities," Guenda continued, completely oblivious to my change in facial expression. "For example, one ability you might find interesting is the one that…"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," I interrupted her with a strained smile. "I’m pretty familiar with the concept, so I think I can handle it. Thanks for the summary anyway."

Guenda paused for a moment, with a slightly confused look, as if surprised not to have finished her usual lesson. "Oh, of course! If you already understand how it works... Well, just remember that you now have an available slot for passive abilities. When the time comes, you can assign one."

With a quick wave of my hand, I gave a brief salute toward the Omnigron, and her holographic image began to dissolve. "Thank you again, Ekla. Good luck with your choices!" she concluded, disappearing in a shower of glowing pixels.

Finally, it was over. But the mission completion notification hadn’t appeared yet.

The shepherd, who had quietly approached in the meantime, dismounted from his goat and looked at me with an expression of gratitude I hadn’t seen before. Despite his modest appearance and the wrinkles etched by time, he seemed to radiate an ancient wisdom, as if the world of Hexamia wasn’t his only realm of experience.

Roy interrupted my thoughts. "I think now we just accept his thanks, then some blah blah blah, and the mission will be marked as complete, ending the tutorial."

"Thank you, young man," said the shepherd in a hoarse but kind voice. "I didn’t think I’d make it out of that nightmare alive. Those wolves... they’re worse than I remembered. You saved my life."

I nodded vigorously, hoping to speed up the conversation. "It was my pleasure," I replied tersely.

The shepherd smiled, a tired smile full of untold stories. "Once, I too was a MonMaster. But it’s been years since I left that world behind. Now I focus on raising livestock. It’s a simpler life, less dangerous—"

I interrupted him. "As a former MonMaster, then you’ll understand that I really need to run. I’ve got many more lives to save! I must go!" I said, hoping to skip the entire conversation.

The shepherd nodded, and for a moment, his eyes seemed to drift into memories of a past life. "Yes, a long time ago. I fought in many battles, trained many MonMonsters. But over time, I decided that violence wasn’t for me anymore. I wanted a peaceful life, so I retired here, among the hills. But the call of battle is hard to ignore, even for an old man like me."

There was a long silence between us. He had practically ignored my words entirely.

The shepherd snapped out of his thoughts, raising a hand and fixing me with serious eyes. "Before you go, let me thank you properly. I may not be an active MonMaster anymore, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

He raised both hands toward the sky, and a warm, golden light began to pulse from his palms. It was as if he had captured the sunlight and was manipulating it as if it were a living thing. A glowing dome slowly enveloped us, expanding like ripples on water.

I felt a comforting sensation spread through my body, like a warm embrace. The lingering pain, which I hadn’t even realized I was still feeling, started to fade away. Every muscle seemed to relax, as if the light itself was healing my wounds. I felt almost... light.

After a few moments, the dome dissipated, and the shepherd lowered his hands. "My healing ability isn’t as strong as it used to be, but it should help a bit." Instinctively, I checked my Omnigron. My HP bar had filled up to 50%.

"Okay, he actually healed me," I said to Roy, surprised by the precision of his ability. However, I immediately noticed that neither my stamina nor mana had been touched. Both were still close to zero.

Roy’s voice echoed in my mind, not tense, but starting to sound a bit impatient. "His ability is probably only for HP. Anyway, just let him finish his little show without interrupting too much. We’ve only got half an hour to log out, and I don’t want to waste time right at the end." He was right.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

The shepherd seemed satisfied with the result, although I would have preferred a full recovery. My body was still in a state of overwhelming exhaustion, but at least my HP was stabilized at 50%. It felt like the least I deserved after what I’d been through.

Then, I stopped for a moment to reflect on what had just happened.

"So, this genius could’ve healed himself or me while I was fighting the WoWolves, and he’s only thinking of it now? I swear, I could kill him!" I complained to Roy immediately.

“Yes, you’re right. I’ll note that this might be a detail that needs to be handled better in the storyline,” agreed Roy.

“Those wolves... they’re not common creatures, you know?” said the shepherd, ignoring my furious expression. His tone had changed, becoming more serious, almost solemn. “Especially the pack leader, he wasn’t born like that. The shadow wolf that attacked you, it’s an evolved wolf. It ate a Shadow Stone. There are very few MonMonsters that are already evolved and free in the wild.”

I heard Roy make a sound like a sigh in my mind. “Let’s hope he doesn’t launch into a long-winded explanation,” I replied to his sigh, aware that time was running short and my only goal now was to finish quickly.

“A Shadow Stone? Yeah, I’m familiar with it,” I repeated, trying to hurry along the conversation.

“Exactly,” continued the shepherd, ignoring my disinterested tone.

As he spoke, I could feel Roy becoming increasingly irritated by the drawn-out explanation. “Evolutions, abilities... we already know this, Ekla. This is basic game material. Let’s speed this up, please.”

The shepherd pressed on. “Elemental stones are ancient artifacts that can radically change the nature of a MonMonster or creature. Eating a stone grants new abilities, improves stats, and in some cases, gives access to special skills that were previously out of reach.”

I merely nodded silently.

“Every creature that eats a stone evolves into something new, even if they’ve already eaten an evolutionary stone before,” he continued, diving deeper into his explanation. “For example, a fire-type MonMonster could become an Inferno-type MonMonster by eating a fire stone and a shadow stone. Each evolution adds passive skills and modifies stats. An evolved MonMonster is a powerful force, a dangerous enemy or a valuable ally.”

Roy couldn’t hold back any longer. “Ekla, man, just interrupt him.”

So I turned to the shepherd. “Look, I could listen to you for hours, but I really have to go,” I said, taking a couple of steps back.

The shepherd seemed about to conclude his monologue. “Before you go, MonMaster, I have a special gift for you. Since you saved me and my herd, I want to give you the chance to choose an Evolution Stone. You can pick between a Fire Stone or a Water Stone. Your BuBull seems ready to evolve, and it’s at the right level. Now it’s up to you to decide which path it will take.”

The shepherd pulled out two glowing options from his pockets: an intense red stone, which seemed to emanate an invisible heat, and a deep blue stone that shimmered like the ocean under the sun. I turned to Roy in my mind. “What do we do?”

“Don’t waste time, just pick one and make him happy,” Roy said without hesitation.

Without thinking too much, I reached for the Fire Stone. I felt it pulse lightly in the palm of my hand, as if it contained a life of its own.

“I choose this one,” I said, looking at the shepherd, who nodded, visibly satisfied with my decision.

With an elegant gesture, the shepherd touched my Quantum Pack, causing BuBull to emerge. Then he handed the stone to BuBull, who gazed at it with a mix of curiosity and hunger. Before I could say anything, BuBull opened its mouth and swallowed the stone whole, without any sign of effort. Its body began to glow with a fiery light.

“The evolution is starting,” said the shepherd, with a solemn tone that made the moment even more charged with expectation.

BuBull's body began to tremble slightly, and an aura of flames enveloped its fur. Its size started to grow, while the color of its coat became increasingly red, with incandescent streaks that seemed to slice through the air itself. Its horns, which had been simple bony appendages before, elongated, becoming coated in living flames that burned with impressive intensity.

A notification appeared before me:

UngratefullRoy has evolved into a Fire-type BuBull!

And right after, its new stats appeared:

BuBull - Fire-type (Level 10)

* Name: UngratefullRoy

* Type: Fire

* Level: 10

* HP: 300

* Mana: 80

* Stamina: 230

* Strength: Great

* Endurance: Good

* Mind: Good

* Aura: Poor

* Agility: Average

* Passive skills: Fiery Heart

* Active skills: Charge, Fireball

New Moves Unlockable with Level Increases:

* Level 10 - Passive Ability: Fiery Heart: BuBull gains fire resistance and takes reduced damage from fire-type attacks.

* Level 10 - Fireball: A powerful fire globe that deals medium damage to enemies caught in its explosion. Medium-range attack.

* Level ?? - Fire Smash: A fiery punch to the ground creates an explosion of flames that deals high damage to all nearby enemies, also knocking them back a few meters. The user suffers a recoil, losing 10% of their maximum HP.

* Level ?? - Blazing Fury: Increases BuBull’s strength by 40% for 3 turns.

“Not bad,” I commented as I scrolled through the new stats on my Omnigron. “BuBull has become a real beast.”

“Told you,” Roy replied, sounding pleased. “It’ll definitely be more useful in battle now. Too bad we’re done fighting though…”

“Good choice, boy,” said the shepherd. “BuBull will be a great asset for you from now on. You’ve shown courage and wisdom on your journey, and now you’re ready to face even greater challenges.”

I limited myself to a smile, trying to keep calm despite my growing desire to escape from the world of Hexamia. “Thanks for the gift,” I said, hoping that was the end of the conversation.

After BuBull’s evolution, the glow of its flames gradually dimmed, and a new system interface appeared in front of me.

Choose a passive skill for yourself:

* Fire Eater: Recover a small amount of HP every time you’re hit by an allied fire ability.

* Grenade: You can place a fire sphere that explodes if stepped on by an enemy.

I mentally turned to Roy. “Roy, what is this?”

“Since BuBull evolved, you also get a fire passive as long as you keep him in the team. Pick something quickly and let’s wrap this up.”

I nodded and quickly chose "Fire Eater" without even fully reading the options. The notification disappeared immediately, and another one popped up.

Choose a new move for yourself:

* Fireball: Launch a fireball that deals medium damage to enemies.

* Fire Smash: Unleash a ground strike that causes a fiery explosion, but you take recoil damage.

I picked the first option, again without reading much, and the system confirmed with its usual chime.

Another metallic sound broke the silence, and this time it was the one I’d been waiting for.

Mission Completed!

Roy cheered in my head. “Finally! Now we can log out and head to the pub.”

Before I could say goodbye to the shepherd, though, I felt a slight vibration on my wrist. Another notification appeared on the Omnigron:

Bonus Reward: Earth Evolution Stone.

I widened my eyes. “Wait a minute. So I get a second stone too?”

Roy seemed as confused as I was. “Well, better that way. Maybe it’s a bonus for completing the mission in a certain way? Who knows! Anyway, just pocket everything and let’s get out of here.”

With a nod to the shepherd, I finally prepared to exit the game.

“Alright, now we can really leave,” I said, moving my finger toward the quick logout button on my Omnigron.

Roy interrupted me. “You have to hold it for 15 seconds straight, and we’re out. I’ll tell you when to start pressing the button; it’s only 11:49 PM, I’ll do a quick check.”

I froze mid-gesture, my hand near the Omnigron. “What now? Weren’t we about to leave?” I asked without receiving a response.

Roy returned shortly after. “Okay, I’ve got all the files, logs, and notes. This is going to make an amazing report. Thanks, Ekla! We’re good to go.”

“Thanks to you, Roy. This game is incredible. There were moments when I genuinely feared for my life! But it was truly something amazing. I’m sure this will be a big hit!”

“See you on the other side!” I finally said as I laid back on the grass.

I smiled and moved my finger over the logout button.

I gazed up at Hexamia's sky one last time."