Another screen, similar in appearance to the first two he saw, appeared in front of their faces. Shock spreads across both of their faces at its sudden appearance.
"I didn't think a mission would appear this early in the game..." muttered, mostly to himself.
Valentyn runs his eyes across it, his brain soaking up the new information like a sponge.
----------------------------------------
{Mission 1}
{Learn skill usage}
Conditions: Understand the basic workings of your skill and learn its limitations and expectations.
Reward: 10 Coins, new knowledge regarding your skill
-Good Luck!-
----------------------------------------
"Coins? What are those used for?"
Sorian chuckled as he covered his mouth with the back of his hand.
'I always forget how quickly children adapt to situations.' His hand falls as he leans back toward Valentyn. He glances at the screen before looking back towards him, eyes of curiosity following his movements.
"Coins are used to gain skills. The conditions for gaining skills are always the same, every skill comes for a price. In this case, they mean a physical price, whether that be coins or your own life."
The mention of death sends a chill through the room, Valentyn's face scrunching at the word.
"Thankfully, there is a trading system in place when you run short of coins, but you must trade something of equal value to the amount of coins you need."
A wave of relief runs through the room at the mention of another system in place that helps the players.
'Thank goodness there are safety measures,' Sorian mused. 'I would hate to lose my contractor through those means.'
"You gain coins through killing monsters. The higher the level, the more coins. The goblin we saw before was a level one monster, one of the lower monsters on the chain. You will see more creatures of higher level as we fight through the missions. For now, we will focus on leveling up your stats through physical and mental exercises."
"Ok," Valentyn responds, wringing his hands once more.
Sorian stands to his full height, walking back towards the table where the fruit lay abandoned. He grabs his sword and attaches it to his belt, pulling his long coat onto his shoulders once more.
He takes a seat on the opposing couch, facing Valentyn.
"The demon summoning skill is just what you think it means. You can summon demons from a different plane of existence, my plane of existence, and use them to help you defeat your enemies. At the level your skill is right now, you can summon one main demon and multiple familiars. A main demon is one like me, a high-ranked demon whose familiars you can use. As you grow, your skill will level up and you will be able to summon more main demons. Since I am a high-level demon, when you can summon another main demon, they must be weaker than me because of my rank."
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Excitement bubbled as he listened, sounding more and more like his stories.
'What does he mean by rank? Is it like the demon rankings in my storybooks where there is a demon king and multiple generals?!'
"Familiars are creatures that have been contracted under me due to certain circumstances. You can summon them to fight alongside me in battle. I suppose they could also be entertainment or whatever you feel like. Up to you to be honest."
A giggle sounded from Valentyn, who finally seemed to be relaxing around Sorian. A smile graced Sorian's lips.
Shaking filled the house, clanking the plates and cups in the cupboards shattering the peaceful atmosphere that Sorian had created despite the hellish situation.
A rumble traveled through the foundation of the house, the sound of hundreds of pieces of metal clinking together carried in from outside of the window. Tension built through the previous calm of the house as Sorian grabbed Valentyn and they hid by the way near the window.
Sorian took a glance outside, seeing hundreds of scales moving past. A hand covered Valentyn's mouth as he went to ask what was going on. A slight shake of the head was the response to his questioning eyes, deeming it unsafe to speak at the moment.
As Sorian leaned forward to look out the window again, a blue screen appeared in front of Valentyn's face, labeling itself as a time-limited notification, an image of the creature being put into the index of monsters.
----------------------------------------
{New Monster Discovered}
{Serpent}
{Level: 3}
{These deadly creatures kill using their venom and lightning-quick attacks. Though their large size slows them down, don't underestimate these monsters. Avoid getting bit, for a paralyzing effect will occur right after the venom enters your bloodstream.}
----------------------------------------
Another mission given with the arrival of the Serpentine.
----------------------------------------
{Hidden Mission}
{Defeat the low-level serpentine}
{Reward: 50 coins, Serpent's scale, Serpent fang}
----------------------------------------
He leaned over Sorian's shoulder to look at the serpent he had been watching. He noticed a health bar at the top of its head, something he had not noticed on the goblin that attacked him before in his panic. Sorian glanced back at Valentyn, nodding his head slightly. He finally moved, grabbing Valentyn lightly by the arm and crouching with him, walking slowly towards the door.
They reached the door, fear washing over Valentyn at the thought of going out into this new world where monsters now roamed. The previous day he wouldn't have given it another thought before walking outside to go play with his friends.
"Ready?" Sorian muttered, glancing behind him at Valentyn's shaking body.
A hesitant nod is all he can muster as a response.
Sorian's hand grabs the hand before pulling the door open slowly. A slight creak sounds from the door, muffled by the large serpent before them. Scales shone in the light of the sun, casting shadows upon the buildings as it slithered through them.
A loud hiss echoes through the buildings, Valentyn bringing his hands to his ears in pain, fear spreading through his body. Tears spring in his eyes from the pain as Sorian ushers them out next to the buildings. They stand and he drags him through the yards of the houses, keeping as close to the houses as possible.
They reach a two-story house, Sorian grabbing him under his armpits and pushing him onto the lower roof of the house. He jumps up and motions for Valentyn to follow him, slowly walking across the roof to a section where the roof has two points. Srian pushes him into the crack between them.
"Stay here."
A sharp nod is given before he turns and jumps to a higher section of the roof. His eyes scan the monster before looking at Valentyn's hiding spot and holding a finger to his lips. A last reassurance before Sorian's form launches off the roof, right towards the neck of the large Serpent.