Chapter 37: Deeriffin? & Seabas!
White mist billowed out in front of William the instant he used a B-rank summon token. The mist sprawled over an 8-meter area, way bigger than when he’d summoned Cent. It kept swirling for some time, then, as it started to thin, a figure came into view. It was massive, not like it was buffed with muscles, but the size of it was huge.
William stared at the figure, brain short-circuiting. From one angle, he could almost tell the race, at least from its body, but what was above its shoulders bugged him.
It stood on four eagle-like, sharp talons, its lower body sheathed in white and hazel-brown fur that gleamed under the light. Its tail, long and bushy, swayed behind it, brushing the grass with its tip at every arc.
Two massive wings flared, each flap sending a gust of wind at the surroundings. If he was standing there, he would have been knocked out. Up to this point, he could’ve sworn he was looking at a griffin, a sky beast, half eagle, half lion, which he had seen in the Neutral Zone being a spectacle for other lords.
But the creature went off-script above the shoulders. Its face wasn’t an eagle, and he was sure as hell it wasn’t a lion either, which can be somewhat expected in the vast universe.
It had the face of a deer, or maybe an elk; honestly, he couldn’t decide. Long, jagged antlers jutted from its skull, adding even more height to its already ridiculous 10-foot frame. It had an aura of a majestic beast.
The beast fixed its emerald eyes on William and then let out a loud screech.
’WRAAAAUUUUUU-KREEEEE...’
The screech echoed across the floor, startling everyone. William, being the unlucky one standing near it, gasped, getting the full blast of it. The beast loped over, eyes still locked on him. After closing the distance, the beast dropped its shoulders until its wings brushed the ground. It was a pledge of loyalty to its new lord.
William, still in awe, let out a low chuckle. "Haaaah... That was one hell of an entrance." He walked over, slapped his hand on the beast’s wide feathery shoulder, and grinned. "Get up, you’re meant for the sky, not the ground. Just do your best against climbers."
The beast stood and gave another low screech. Cent and the rest wandered over, eyeing their new companion with curiosity. William shot the beast another look and pulled up its status screen.
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Name: Aurelius (B-Rank)
Race: Elemental Antleriffin
Rank: Tier 1 (High)
Attributes
Strength: 28
Constitution: 30
Agility: 32
Intelligence: 20
Mana: 26
Affinity: Wind
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Skill(s):
SkyHunter Gale (Intermediate)
Unleashes a sharp, compressed gale from its wings in a straight line up to ten meters. Damage boost of 10% to all enemies in the path.
Gale Antlers (Intermediate)
Channels mana into its wings, increasing speed for a single dash to hit the enemy with its antlers. Speed boost of 25% and Damage boost of 35% to the enemy being hit.
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Rank Upgrade Conditions
Tower points: 180/180
Tier 1 core: 0/15
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"Truly a beast," William muttered, eyeing its stats. The attributes were on par with Cent, but the real kicker was its skills. Both were intermediate; the first was like a wind cutter’s buffed version. The second was a bloody headbutt; anyone getting smacked by those antlers would end up with more holes than before.
William snapped the panel shut and glanced at the beast. "From now on, you’re Aurel. Short and simple. Go stand with the rest of the crew." Aurel strutted over, antlers high, proudly.
William took out the other token from his inventory; this one had an A carved into it instead of a B. It was time to summon his first A-rank troop. With that, he grinned and called the command, ’Summon.’
This time, the mist rolled in tighter, barely spreading over more than a meter in front of him. As it thinned out, a new figure came into view.
Standing there was a figure, just shy of six feet, dressed like a Michelin star server with hot looks. He wore a black vest over a rolled-sleeve white shirt, slim black pants, and dress shoes at the bottom, while a black tie hung loose around his collar.
Every piece of fabric clung to him, not because the suit was tailored tight, but because he was drenched, soaked to every fiber, as he’d just been summoned from sea. The water made everything stick, showing his skin through the white shirt.
A belt circled his waist, carrying eight sheaths, maybe for knives or maybe daggers; William couldn’t tell.
The guy had a humanoid build, all lean muscle and sharp-edged teenage features, but William couldn’t call him human or a beast. His skin had a red tint, and his ears were as pointy as a fairy’s.
The real crazy part, where he became entirely something else, was his hair. Long, crimson hair dampened with water, clenching to his face, morphed into six tentacles waving behind him like they had their own consciousness. Each one was lined with suction cups, similar to an octopus, back on Earth.
The figure’s crimson eyes snapped open, now looking at William, who was standing still at some distance. He looked around, specifically at the troops, and a faint smile appeared on his face. Then he started walking towards William, each step slow and precise.
When he finally reached William, he placed a hand over his chest and dipped into a deep bow. "I greet my lord."
William’s eyes went wide, listening to understandable words from a troop for the first time. All week, besides the meetings with Julia, all he’d heard were screeches, squeaks, and Cent’s half-assed nods with grunty ’hmm.’ He’d started to think maybe something in their race- that talking comes late to them, or it’s because of their low tier.
"You can talk?" William blurted, in shock.
"Yes, Lord, I can." The tentacle-haired guy replied politely, despite William’s nonsense after hearing him the first time.
"But how? None of my other troops can talk, even the ones with the same damn rank," William said, still in disbelief.
The figure tilted his head, eyeing the silent troops, then looked down again. "No idea, Lord. But as you can see, I can talk."
William went quiet for a second, a little irritated, but it wasn’t the troop’s fault he didn’t know. Only now did he notice the guy had been stuck bowing from the start. William gestured. "Alright, stand up. And don’t bother with that kind of bowing in the future. I’m not a fan of it."
The guy straightened up on cue. "My apologies, Lord, for doing something you don’t like."
William waved off the apology. "No need to be sorry. Where I’m from, we don’t do the whole bowing thing." He paused for a second, thinking something, then continued, " Well, not often, so it’s just weird for me. Anyway. Welcome to my tower. Do your best to keep the place standing."
The figure gave a small nod. "It’s my duty to serve and keep the tower safe."
William, satisfied with the guy’s professional attitude, nodded. "Good. Now let’s see your stats." He popped open the status panel, ready to check out what an A-rank troop has in store.
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Name: Seabastentan (A-Rank)
Race: DeepSea Octarians
Rank: Tier 1 (High)
Attributes
Strength: 34
Constitution: 38
Agility: 40
Intelligence: 35
Mana: 40
Affinity(s): Water
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Technique(s):
Eight Knife Filleting (Intermediate)
Basic Mana Breathing (Low)
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Skill(s):
Water Threading (Intermediate)
Allows the user to coat a small object (up to 1 pound) with water and manipulate it within a 10-meter radius. The number of objects controlled and the duration of control depend on the user’s mana.
Perfect Butler’s Service (High)
A utility skill that enables the user to execute numerous domestic and service-related tasks at once through precise mana manipulation, reflecting the standards of an ideal butler.
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Rank Upgrade Conditions:
Tower points: 180/180
Tier 1 core: 0/15
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William whistled, staring at the panel. Damn, just one rank up, and the gap is this big? The first thing that hit him was the attributes: every stat over 30, which was what he had before awakening mana, and that was with an extra 10-point physique perk. He couldn’t help but wonder: what kind of bullshit numbers would S-rank monsters have?
Second, the techniques. The first one, something about knives, was a mystery, but the belt full of sheaths said enough. The other was a mana breathing technique that William had on his buying list.
He almost wanted to ask if this guy could teach everyone, but grilling a fresh summon right after he came here would be embarrassing, and he didn’t even know that its breathing technique would be the same for everyone. Better to wait till the first tower game.
Lastly, what really caught his eye was the name and the skills. ’Seabastentan,’ it was strangely similar to ’Sebastian,’ the famous loyal butler every damn novel seemed to have. With that second skill and the getup, there was no denying it: this guy was a butler, from whichever deep sea it came from. Now he was William’s butler, an A-rank, knife-wielding, probably-murderous butler to be precise.
He snapped the panel shut and looked at the new troop with a wide grin. "From today onward, you’re my loyal butler, Seabas."
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[A/N]: If you liked the new character, and are liking the story, consider giving some encouragement (Gifts, Golden tickets, or Powerstone); it takes a hell of a lot of brain cells to be creative.
Character illustrations for both Aurel and Seabas have been added.
