128 Veronica the Phoenix

The egg began shaking. Small cracks appeared on the side of the egg. The shaking grew vigorous, and the top of the egg broke open.

The eggshell fell onto the side of the street, and a creature that resembled a chicken popped its head out of the hole. It looked around and noticed Emile.

It looked at Emile with interest.

The contract between them made them feel closer together. Emile pushed his hand towards the Phoenix. He rested his hand a few inches away from the Phoenix's face. The baby Phoenix rubbed Emile's hand with its head.

"Hmm... what should I name you," Emile said out loud.

"Are you a boy or a girl?" Emile asked. He wasn't expecting an answer, but the Phoenix nodded its tiny head.

"Boy?" Emile asked.

The chicken moved its head to the left and right.

"Girl?" Emile asked.

It moved its head up and down.

The Phoenix had intelligence which allowed it to understand Emile's words and respond accordingly. It was a female Phoenix.

People in the city were watching Emile and the bird sitting on the ground, interacting with each other.

"For your name... how about Veronica?" Emile asked.

The Phoenix gave Emile a confused look. It didn't know what Emile was attempting to say to him. It didn't have a good amount of intelligence, so it couldn't respond. Its instincts told it to nod its head up and down. It liked the name.

"All right, from now on you are Veronica," Emile said. He felt happy as he watched the Phoenix.

The Phoenix nodded its head once more,

"It's so cute, mom can we get one," a child grabbed the side of his mother's jacket and asked.

"We live in a cold place. the chicken won't live long with us," the mother replied with care.

"People were standing around him and watched Emile interact with the Phoenix.

"You're a bad owner, why would you come to this frigid city to hatch an egg," a man from the back of the crowd yelled out. He couldn't see the bird or egg. He heard about from the others.

"It needed to be cold before it could hatch, it's a rare breed of chicken," Emile didn't want these people to know that his pet was a Phoenix. That would be problematic for him.

"I've never heard of a chicken that requires the cold environment," the man shouted out.

"Like I said, it's a rare breed of chicken. It needs cold temperatures to hatch," Emile stood up after he shouted out.

He watched the Phoenix hop out of the eggshell. As soon as it landed on the ground, it slipped on the snow and fell. It fell backward. Its body strength was too weak to pick itself up, so it lied on its back staring into the sky.

Emile walked up to it and cradled the Phoenix in his arms. It needed lots of nutrients to grow stronger. Luckily, Emile had the Phoenix the ice-related items to allow it to grow stronger. Emile gave one item to the Phoenix. It began eating it. Veronica finished the first ice fruit.

It continued eating everything, including the pieces of equipment. Emile tried to stop it, but it ate everything before he could stop it. He didn't know if it was unhealthy for the Phoenix to eat equipment.

Emile identified the Phoenix.

Ice Phoenix (Baby)

Level: 4

Strength: 23

Agility: 26

Vitality: 5

Spirit: 14

Intelligence: 40

{Skills: Blue Nova}

The Phoenix continued to eat the ice-related objects. After eating all eight items, it gave a burp.

Emile received a system notification.

{New skill: Ice Domain is now available}

Emile didn't learn the skill. The Phoenix learned it by leveling up. It was now level seven after all the items it ate.

Emile activated the space gem as he held the Phoenix in his hands. He wanted to go back to White Star City and meet up with his party. He waved goodbye to the people who watched the birth of Veronica.

Emile identified the skill that the Phoenix received during the time it required for the space gem to activate.

{Ice Domain}

A passive domain that always exists around the creature. Can block other weak natural elements. The skill won't block man-made elements. 5x5 AOE spell.

After Emile teleported into White Star City, he told his party about the abandoned warehouse which held the tool of destruction. He had the Phoenix who could prevent the toxic from reaching them. Emile was basing this off of the skill's description.

Emile asked the mayor about Veronica's skill after visiting his office, and the mayor agreed to let them enter the warehouse. He gave them a key to the warehouse. Someone would use the key to open the front door and enter inside. He wrote instructions to the warehouse.

"I hope you can destroy the machine and give peace to the folks," the mayor said.

[Quest: Destroy the Machine]

[Objective: Destroy the Machine]

[Comment: I wish you luck]

[Difficulty: B]

[Progress: None]

[Time Limit: 3 days 12 hours 22 minutes 13 seconds]

[Penalty: Another City Destroyed]

[Reward:???]

Emile received the quest from the mayor. The time was still ticking down. They needed to complete the quest quickly.

Emile met up with his party in front of the mayor's building.

"Aww, it's so cute," Flower Queen said as she came closer to pat the Phoenix's head. She was the first to arrive.

The Phoenix didn't stop Flower Queen from patting her.

"What's its name?" Flower Queen asked.

"Veronica," Emile said. He felt like a parent that had to take care of a young child.

The other party members showed up one after another. They each had their own reaction to seeing Veronica.

Veronica felt like a celebrity with the amount of attention it received. After the party had their reactions, they walked out of the city and followed the mayor's instructions. The mayor had written clear instructions for Emile.

They walked out of the South Gate. After walking for 30 minutes in the path, they found a crossroad in the paths.

They took the left path. The path had more grass since many people didn't walk down this path. The other path was more popular since it was a brown dirt trail with fresh footprints that date back to the morning.

After around 20 minutes of walking, they noticed a hill to the left. They walked off the path and walked towards the hill.

The warehouse could be found behind the hill. The hill became contaminated by the toxicity of the warehouse. The toxicity spread throughout the air and other sources and remained on the hill.

The grass had a shade of purple on the tips. The grass had to adapt to survive the poison gas. These grasses looked cool from above since they were all purple from a bird's-eye view.

No mobs exist in the zone around the warehouse. That's how toxic the surroundings were.

Emile didn't know what kind of testing they did to cause such harm to the environment.

They walked into the radiation zone to see if the poison injured them or gave them a debuff. Luckily, nothing happened.

Veronica was being useful with her skill.

They walked closer to the hill. They circled the hill until they noticed the giant warehouse. It was rundown with purple-colored moss growing on the side. Every alive being had gone through a metamorphosis due to the radiation.

Emile and his party walked up to the door. He took out the keys from his inventory.

Emile used the key to tinker with the front door.

"Uhm... I need some help guys," Emile said as he struggled to use the key. He couldn't open the door.

"Give me the key," Time Walker said as he walked forward. They couldn't go too far away from each other since they needed to stay in the ice domain. The party had their own standing and walking spots so that they don't bump into each other.

Time Walker tinkered with the keys and opened the door.

"Tada," Time Walker turned towards the party and said with jazz hands.

As soon as he said that, the floor beneath them opened and they began falling.