Tamer Braian G. Moreiras (P.O.V.)

Day 6 A.F.P. (After Fluffals Pillars) 10: 00 PM

The rear cargo door to the Transport Drone reveals a snowstorm raging outside the aircraft. There was hardly any visibility to speak off, and the temperature outside was low enough to drop the temperature inside the flight deck by several degrees.

Thank lady luck that my Selene is a Lunar Ice-type! I did not have to fear the dark and cold outside as much as the others inside the craft.

The red light next to the lowered rear door switched to green.

Ethan. "What are you two waiting for? Greenlight means to get the fuck out!"

Angel. "Commander, I haven't changed yet!"

Ethan. "You can activate your combat style in the air! Now jump before your bubble butt meets the metal spikes under my boot."

Angel took his threat seriously since the Battalion Commander had done it several times before, but he had no metal spikes during those incidents. She was always caught by him goofing around and telling dirty jokes to the other Tamers instead of focusing on mock battles that the Commander created to assess our combat capabilities.

Angel no longer hesitated as she jumped into the cold dark void. I followed behind her without waiting to get a warning from the Commander. I had never tried Sky diving, nor have I ever tried to activate my combat style while falling to the Earth in the middle of a snowstorm. Well, there is a first time for everything.

Ice and powerful winds stung my exposed skin as I fell. We jumped out at 5000 meters in the air, so there was enough time to change without worrying about anything else.

"Selene, I need you out here!"

Summoning Monster: Blackmoon Raven (Selene)

Type: Mind, Moon, Mana, Bird, Ice

Mastery: Extra Skill Slot

Skills: Moon Rock Aura (Beginner), Razor Ice Feathers (Beginner), Icy Mist (Beginner), Lunar Charge (Beginner) Darkness Manipulation (Beginner)

Skill Features:

Moon Rock Aura - The Monster is cloaked by the Moon's aura, which allows it to withstand and recover quickly from physical attacks. This skill can only be activated at night and needs Mana to sustain it.

Razor Ice Feathers - The monster can throw a dozen sharp Ice kunai-like feathers at the opponent from five meters. It can be used twice in succession before the skill cools down for fifteen seconds. This ability requires Mana to activate.

Icy Mist - The monster can summon an icy mist to blanket ten meters around its body. All those who enter the fog will not see anything further than a meter and will suffer from a steady drop in body temperature.

Lunar Charge - The monster can absorb the Lunar energy and convert it to Mana by using the magical Lunar Tattoo and Runic symbols on its body. The stored energy can activate any skill that requires Mana.

Darkness Manipulation - The monster can create or wield weaponry with the power to solidify darkness. Mana is needed to activate this skill.

The phone, strapped firmly over my right hand, spat out a black feathered four-foot-tall Raven with Ebony talons and sharp beak. Selene has a mysterious set of glowing blue eyes and a bright blue Tattoo of an inverted crescent moon on her back. Dense Ice Armor covers most of her body except the wings that look like a fusion between feather and broken Indigo-colored Ice-shards.

"Monster-User Fusion, activate!"

Selene disappears before an opaque sphere of light surrounds my body. It shatters and reveals my new body as a Humanoid Raven covered with medium armor made of dense Ice that protects my torso, shoulders, hands, waist, knees, and feet.

Each Ice-Armor piece has glowing blue runes written all over it. In addition, the light blue Crescent moon has appeared in an inverted 'U' shaped position fused on my forehead.

My face is covered with black feathers, and my eyes have been replaced with glowing light blue eyes. In addition, the Ebony talons have been elongated and fused with my human hands like the metal claws from Wolverine from X-Men.

Two enormous wings made from broken Indigo-colored Ice-shards sprouted out. I immediately flap them hard to stabilize my fall and look for Angel with my new night-vision eyes. They were a feature of Selene's monster body and not part of her skill set.

The illuminated world I could now see through Selene's eyes revealed an accident that escaped my notice before activating the fusion.

I tuck in my wings close to my body and accelerate my descent through the storm toward Angel's falling body ahead of me. Her phone had been partially separated due to an accident of some kind. It was on the verge of breaking away from the strap that tethered it to her right arm.

Once I got close enough, I grabbed her phone and chucked it toward her outstretched hand, which thankfully connected.

Angel. "A.F.O.!"

Summoning Monster: Winged Bird Drone Carrier (Air force one / A.F.O.)

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Type: Mind, Sky, Intelligence, Bird, Metal.

Mastery: Extra Skill Slot

Skills: Bird Brainwash (Beginner), Drone Commander (Beginner), Surveillance Drones (Beginner), Basic Hangar Dimension (Beginner) Intelligence Network (Beginner)

Skill Features:

Basic Bird Brainwash - The monster can subjugate the mind of a Non-Tamer Bird species monster with less Intelligence than it and turn it permanently into a minion. Only a maximum of ten Bird minions can be controlled.

Drone Commander - The monster issues orders to any number of Bird Minions under its control to attack or defend a target. The skill is equivalent to a hive mind.

Surveillance Drones - Bird Minions can share their sensory information with the Tamer Monster.

Basic Hangar Dimension - Bird Minion monsters will be transported to a separate dimension when they are not needed. The skill can be used to summon and un-summon ten bird minions.

Intelligence Network - All Bird minion intelligence will be added to the Tamer monster and vice versa. The more extensive the network, the greater their collective Intelligence.

A smooth V-shaped metal Albatross emerged from Angel's phone. A.F.O.'s wingspan stretched fifteen feet at least. The metal body frame is pure grey, with interchanging stripes of black and white decorating the body. It had two black mini propeller engines on its wings. Angel's head is covered with a V.R. helmet that allows her to give orders to her Bird Minions from a distance.

"Equipment Transformation, activate!"

A.F.O. disappears before Angel is wrapped around by a sphere of light that quickly shatters to reveal her body strapped and encapsulated in see-through glass underneath a bigger version of A.F.O. that now stretched twenty meters in wingspan.

This was one of the few equipment transformations that lacked creativity. The Tamers, in these cases, are just strapped to a slightly bigger version of their monster. At least Zao and Dale's transformations gave them armor or weapons that made them look cool and unique. Unfortunately, Angel's was just plain boring.

Although she did gain something that looked like a dark grey V.R. helmet over her head, nothing else is worthy of note. Finally, Angel used the helmet to order A.F.O. to activate the propellers on its wings to pull out the nose dive towards the Earth.

I spread out my wings to break the freefall and, after several seconds, managed to glide into a spiral descent towards the Earth.

Now that both Angel and I had Ice resistant bodies, it was a simple matter to fly through the storm and descend until we found the forest east of Saint Petersburg where the Metal bird Monster had no interest. Unfortunately, the snowstorm here was as intense as when we jumped, but it helped to hide us from the monsters in the ruined city.

Angel. "That's Rzhevskij Forest Park! Let's circle here until the Commander gives the signal."

Angel helmet could communicate to her Bird Minions and into the heads of other Bird type Tamers within five kilometers around her A.F.O. It was an inferior version of how an AWAC talked to the fighter planes that escorted it. However, this is one of the essential features of her transformation.

You could call this a Passive skill or ability in RPG terminology. They didn't occupy a skill slot as they are more of a support feature for the Tamer to better control their combat style or avoid hampering their ability to talk to others. Although not everyone received a passive skill, it usually popped up in Tamers who invested in Intelligence or had a monster form that had its own default abilities.

Angel. "By the way, Braian! Thank you for saving my life!"

Braian. "I did? Oh ya, guess I did!"

Damn you, Braian! Why didn't you reply with something heroic? This was the perfect opportunity to look amazing, and you question your own actions?

Angel. "You know I never saw you fly even once since I got to Seward. But when I saw your skillset in the mission squad profiles, I found the reason. So you really can't operate during daylight?"

Braian. "I can transform and fly around during the day, but I wouldn't be able to use any skills."

Angel. "Aww, I guess I have to fly alone with Dale and you at night during the day. What are the chances that two guys I am partnered with have monster skills that can't operate half the day?"

Braian. "Wait! The Commander partnered you with Dale too?"

Angel. "Well, Dale can't really coordinate with the forces on the ground if he is always up above the clouds. I am supposed to be his link to the teams on the ground by using my helmet to relay orders through my bird minions. They can't talk, but they can still act out hand signs."

Braian. "He must be happy to have you as his Wing-Woman."

Angel. "I don't think so! Honestly, Dale hardly talks to me inside or outside our practice flights if it doesn't concern our objective. I would much rather be your partner, but you only fly at night. So I guess it will be rare for us to team up."

Angel prefers me over Dale? Did I hear that, right? So maybe now is my chance to ask her a few things before this mission gets in the way.

Braian. "I wondered if you are interested in anyone, or are you already taken?"

Angel. "Taken? Why ask... Oh, I see, you are interested in me!"

Braian. "Uh... Yes... I am!"

Oh god, Braian! Why did you do that! Hold it in your pants, you fool! You blew any chance you might have had. Now sit back and wait for her rejection.

Angel didn't reply. As each second passed, I could hear my heart racing. Get it over with, woman! Can't you see I am suffering for admitting it?

Angel. "Hmm... you are lucky that I find your current form very attractive, and I can't reject the guy who saved my life."

Huh? What just happened?

Braian. "You find me attractive?"

Angel. "The Bird version of you, Braian! It is like a dream to have a birdman fall for me."

Braian. "You are into Birdmen?"

Angel. "I am surprised no one has figured it out even though my skills relate to taming Bird Monsters."

My mind quickly re-read her monster skill profile, and then the dots connected. Is Angel a furry? No, the politically correct term is Avian or Feathers. So why do I know that? Ah, I have a stupid recording ability. Curse my hormonal teenage curiosity!

Braian. "So you-"

"BOOOOMMM!"

A massive explosion came from the direction where Kotlin Island is supposed to be in the sea away from St. Petersburg.

Angel. "Brian, look over there! That is the signal for us to start our infiltration!"

The transport drone we were flying in carried enough explosives to recreate the 2020 Beirut Explosion, which sent shockwaves across the land, sea, and air.

The metal bird monsters roaming around in the city felt the explosion and rushed over to inspect the blast site.

This meant the Bunker area would have less security for a short period.

Braian. "I wonder if the Commander and the others escaped the blast radius in time."

Angel. "Once you get me a bird monster to brainwash, I will send it over to the monster flock and find out the status of the distraction team."

Braian. "Don't you have any Bird minions on you right now?"

Angel. "All the Russian cities have different kinds of Metal Bird monster species. This place is overrun with Crows, and all I have in my Hangar Dimension are Eagles. I doubt they would mistake an Eagle as part of their flock."

Braian. "I didn't realize they would care since they are all Metal Bird Monsters."

Angel. "That is such a racist thing to say. Now focus on getting me a crow to turn into an enslaved person! I have been looking forward to expanding my pleasure collection, and a crow is among the top five must-try."

Pleasure Collection? Must-try? Oh god... I regret everything! Please, God! Make her wake up tomorrow without any memory that I said I was interested in her. Why did I fall for a Bird freak?