I leaned closer, doubting what I was seeing.

I mean, how did a metal box inside a monster? With the position the carcass was at, I couldn't tell if the unknown's armor was cut there and the box just got stuck inside the wound. Gross and bizarre, but technically possible. However, the only monster I saw get thrown in the city during the fight was Levi. Every time the unknown was forced to the ground, it was in this torn up field. And there was nothing rusted or old about the box inside the carcass. It was new. Well, new-ish? It definitely hadn't been sitting in the elements for the last five decades.

So, where did it come from? And how did it get in the unknown?

"What is that?" I asked Levi, but he was just as baffled as I was.

Maybe I should just leave well enough alone. There was enough on my plate, I didn't need to add anything else. But I couldn't resist.

I wedged my sword along the bottom of the box, separating it from the muscle, and tried to wedge it out. It didn't budge; the decomposing muscle on the other three sides refused to let go.

Levi bumped his smooth head against my chin as he leaned in, watching. Just before I got really frustrated with the immovable box, he seeped his water along my sword to help.

I paused, mind problem solving. "Keep your water there, Levi," I instructed.

When I was sure it was fine, I pulled my sword out and wedged it over the top of the box and repeated the same action of separating it from the muscle. I cast Water Manipulation again and slid the water down, over the top of the box and hooked it around the edges. My blade was wider than the sides of the box – they were only an inch wide – so I couldn't repeat the action there. I just hoped it was enough to get the damn thing out.

With the box secured in my water, I put my sword away. Technically, I didn't need something physical to hold on to, since the water obeyed my mind, but I still grew handles and gripped them hard. Maybe if I used my muscles too, it wouldn't cause such a mental strain.

"Okay, when I say 'one', pull as hard as you can," I told Levi and counted down. "Three, two, one!"

I jerked back with everything I had – my mind, arms and legs. Levi arched his body, pulling just as hard with his own water. Our water cords stretched taut and came to an abrupt stop. The box only moved an inch. I gritted my teeth and kept pulling with little success.

"Hang on," I gasped and loosened my hold. I stepped back, breathing hard, mind and body aching. Levi sighed and took a break with me.

"God, this thing is really cemented in there. Stupid headless monster!" I kicked the carcass, hurting my toe a helluva lot more than it.

Levi hissed, spitting his venomous hate at the unknown all over again. As irritated as I was at the situation, it was nothing compared to the huge emotion the little snake drowned my mind with.

I could just walk away. It'd be easier. I should go somewhere to hide for the next couple hours while waiting for a search party, anyway. Even so, I couldn't give up. There was something weird about this box, and I wanted to know what. Something told me it was worth the effort to dig it out.

"Ready?" I asked Levi, gripping the water bands again. Seriously, I never thought I'd use magic this way. Never knew magic could work this way. "Three, two, one!" I counted down again and pulled.

Levi pulled with all his might.

The steel box slid out another inch. At least we were getting somewhere. On and on we pulled with very little reward for our efforts, taking breaks when needed. Finally, after my arms were numb, the box slid out enough to reveal a narrow gap in the box's surface. Bits of shredded and bleeding muscle caught in the gap, preventing the box from slipping out easier.

"So that's why!" I gasped, and jerked again.

The muscle flicked out of the gap and relinquished its hold. Suddenly, the box slipped out, like it was covered in oil. I yelped and stumbled back, unbalanced by the surprisingly heavy box. Luckily, I regained my balance before I fell over. I gripped the box tight and stored my water away. For only being only twenty by twelve inches long and hollow, the box weighed at least forty pounds. Breathing heavily from all the effort I just went through, I stared down at the gore and blood covered object.

Levi leaned down, but didn't touch the grossly covered box. Honestly, if I didn't have gloves on, I'd be gagging my guts out. If I had a weaker stomach, I would already be heaving.

"What do you think is inside?" I asked, motioning to the flat panel on top. A row of screws lined the top and bottom of it. I might be able to take this apart. Humming under my breath, I shifted the box, to get a better look. Something slid around inside. Curious, I shook the box like a present. Something definitely rattled inside. Seriously, what was going on? What was in it? I had to know.

But first, me and the box needed to be clean. Since Levi never touched the carcass, he wasn't bad at all, but as a water dragon/snake, I'm sure he'd appreciate a swim. To make life easier, I stored the box in my Items Bag and hurried back to the river.

It only took a minute to rinse myself and the box. Contentedly clean, I climbed out and sat down with my back against the tall weeds along the river bank. It wasn't much, the yellow grass was tall enough to give me some cover. I paused, watching water leak out of the box barely missing my wet lap. Experimenting, I swept my hand over my body and cast Water Manipulation, summoning the water. It lifted off my person, leaving me completely dry, hair and all.

"Wow, I think I found my new favorite trip," I muttered. "Never have to blow dry my hair again. Definitely worth the MP cost."

A surprising amount of water flowed out of the box's slit. Content, I took out my tool box to search for a Phillips head.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Levi suddenly lunged up and bit the box.

"What are you doing?" I yelped, startled by his aggressive actions, and instinctively holding it tighter.

He let go when he couldn't rip it out of my hands. Instead, he climbed on top and tried to wiggle into the too small of slit. He pressed so hard, a cut formed on his forehead.

"Levi!" I gasped, and grabbed the little snake. The box slipped off my lap, whatever was inside clattering.

He bent and wiggled his thin body, trying to free himself, all the while aiming for the box. Shock and anger saturated the emotional bond between us, all aimed at the box. He opened his mouth and snapped at the metal, but never got close enough to reach it. Vaguely I could make out what he was thinking. Me! It smells like me!

"Hang on!" I pressed him to my chest and pinned him there. Hopefully, he'd forgive me for folding him like a pretzel. "Levi, stop! Just stop!"

He pressed on my fingers with his nose until they hurt and toothlessly bit my hands, but I refused to let go.

"You're going to hurt yourself," I explained, his anxiety starting to affect mine. My heart spiked as a shocking numbness drilled down into my brain. No, I couldn't lose my head too. I was stressed enough as is, having a panic attack in the wilds would be the worst. Breathe in, one, two, three. Out, one, two, three. "Calm down. Just wait until I open it and we see what's inside, okay? Calm down."

Slowly, he stopped wiggling around.

I gently rubbed my thumb over the back of his neck, avoiding where the cut was. "I'm going to let you go now. You need to be patient. Okay?" I asked.

He jerked his head in a little nod and went limp in my hands.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," I muttered and carefully set him down.

He jerked his head in a dismissive way, all his attention focused on the box.

"Then let's open this." I found my Phillips screwdriver and picked the box up. "Thankfully, it's a common screw. I don't know what we would have done if it was one of those tiny ones." Okay, I knew exactly what Levi would do – smash it with water until it came apart.

The screws were tight, but I forced them loose without stripping the heads. Thank god. Levi weaved back and forth around me, impatiently climbing on my legs, up to my shoulder then down again, as if he had ants in his pants.

Finally, the last screw came off. Levi jumped onto my shoulder and leaned down, close enough to touch the flat panel. I tossed the Phillips into the tool box and took my small knife out of my Items Bag to pry off the top of the steel box. The metal was thicker than I expected, almost a quarter of an inch thick. No wonder it was so heavy. The lid popped off, revealing what was inside.

I gaped down at the platter sized iridescent green-blue scale.

"Is this ... your scale?" I whispered in shock. I didn't actually need a confirmation, since I already knew. After all, I had over a hundred of them inside my Items Bag, and there were more scattered across the flattened battle field behind me. I just never thought I'd find one in a box buried inside another monster.

Levi hissed and bit the scale, hoisting it out of the box, furious that it was in there at all. He felt as if a part of him had been defiled and he hated the feeling.

Underneath was a small black circuit, attached to the bottom corner of the box. A tiny red light capped the circuit, like a beacon, but it was dead.

"Why...?" I whispered, trying to make sense of it all.

But it didn't make sense. Why did the unknown have Levi's scale inside it? The box was obviously man made. Did ... someone put it inside the unknown? How did they get close enough to the unknown to do it? And why?

My mind raised, flicking through all the possibilities and why. The more my mind spun in circles, the more I kept remembering how the unknown acted. It literally hunted Levi for hundreds of miles. That was something a monster didn't do. Once it chased a rival out of its territory, a monster would leave it alone to conserve energy. But this unknown never let up.

The image of the unknown horned monkey popped into my mind and its cannibalistic actions. Did it do the same thing? Tenaciously hunt down the horned monkeys? Did it have something inside it, like the unknown dragon, that prompted it to attack the horned monkeys?

As soon as the idea popped into my head, I felt it was right. It didn't make sense – why would someone do that? – but at the same time, it was the only thing that made sense.

But who had that kind of ability? This went way above and beyond taming a monster. This was turning a monster into a targeting weapon.

What ... if it was used against humans?

The thought was sickening. Unfortunately, I had dozens of questions, and no answers. And no way to solve the riddles anytime soon. If at all.

I stored the box and scale inside my Items Bag, making sure to keep that particular scale separated from the others. As far as I'm concerned it's now evidence. For what exactly, and what I was going to do with said evidence – I didn't know. Other than giving it to Uncle.

And never hear about it again.

The depressing thought crashed into my mind. As much as I hated it, I couldn't deny the obvious. Not with how low-key overprotective he was. If I wanted to know what was going on, I'd have to figure it out myself. But first thing first, I needed to get home alive.

I originally planned on waiting until noon, to see if a rescue party came. Noon came and went, yet I couldn't bring myself to leave. What if I did, and the rescue team came just after? I could miss them entirely. That same reasoning kept me in place, waiting as the hours ticked by.

Levi went fishing in the river, and I changed locations when the wind changed and wafted the unknown's stench in my direction. But no matter how long I waited, the clear blue sky never changed. It wasn't until red and gold bled into the sky that I had to accept the truth.

A rescue party wasn't coming.

My gut felt heavy as stainless steel as I swam back into Levi's home for the night. Not even the invigorating feeling of cultivating made it better.

A System message woke me up at midnight, adding to the mess. [The Host failed to complete the assigned Daily Task: Kill Two Monsters. Only two chances are left, before the contract is void and the System will detach from the Host.]

I stared at the words, all my sleepiness vanishing instantly. Oh my god, I was so anxious about the rescue team, I completely forgot about my daily task. Were there even any monsters left I could find around here? If there were, they were hiding too well.

I spent the rest of the night tossing and turning. Every time my whirling mind finally shut up enough to get some sleep, my overactive imagination filled my dreams with plays of the System dramatically leaving me while my family stood on the side, blaming me for failing. For not finding out why Mom died.

My eyes were still open when the morning alarm went off at 7 a.m. After I turned it off, a System message popped up.

[Daily Task: Kill Two Monsters.]

I stared at the words, feeling bitter and determined. When I first got the System, it just seemed like a perk. Something that was cool, but I could live without. It was different now. I refused to lose the System.

I needed it. I needed to know why Mom died. I still needed to prove that I am strong enough to survive in this backstabbing society. And I needed to know what these unknowns were. I couldn't do any of that without the System. Or waiting for someone to come rescue me.

I had to rescue myself.

With a new resolve, I put in the GPS coordinates to Boulder and put my armor on. "Let's go, Levi," I said. "We have a long walk ahead of us."

End of Book One!