The Wicked Clover
The next morning had arrived and I was ready to go back into the forest.
I told the old man I would be back around dinner. Before I left, he said he wanted to give me something.
"Here you go." The old man handed me a long box. I tilted my head and shook it. It made a noise. There was something in this.
"What is this?" I questioned.
"Open it up and you will see."
I shrugged and placed the box on the ground. When I opened it, there was a broadsword. The sword had a guard with white wings sticking out from the side. The main part of the guard had a silver skull with a black cross in its open mouth. It had a heavy double-edged blade that was notched at the end on both sides of the blade. It had faint swirling patterns on the blade which kind of represented Damascus steel.
I took the sword out. To my surprise, it was light despite its size. After getting the feel of it, I placed it back in its black sheath.
"That sword is passed down through my family. I want you to have it." The old man said with a smile.
"Huh? Are you sure you want me to have your family treasure? Doesn't this mean something to you?"
"Not really. It was originally supposed to be passed onto my grandson but he didn't want to follow our family path. He can't stand the sight of any sort of violence. Even if it's a friendly spar. Though I can't blame him. He was scarred when his parents were brutally murdered in front of him."
A tear fell down his cheek and he wiped it away.
"Where is he now?" I asked.
"He has opened up a tailor shop in the capital. He visits me from time to time and always tries to get me to try his clothes on. But I mean, who am I to impress in this place?"
Another tear went down his cheek, "My son..." he muttered.
"Hmm, I guess that's true."
Can't blame him. He lost his son and his grandson lost a father. I guess I should leave him be for now.
Now... a tailor shop. I always wanted to try on a suit but I don't think someone of my height and body structure can wear a tight suit. Hmm, but maybe if I go human then yeah.
I strapped the broadsword onto my back and it felt pretty comfortable. It was almost as if this sword was made for me.
"Does this thing have a name?" I asked the old man. I mean, swords do have a name… right?
"Hmm, it was never given an official name so we always called it our family name, Peacemonger."
"That's your family name? Peacemonger?"
"Mhm."
Samuel Peacemonger? Hmm… doesn't really suit… but I'm not complaining.
"Well anyway, I'll be back for dinner."
"Alright, good luck out there."
I exited the house and walked down the road. The forest, it's been a while since I went there. I hope I can actually find a challenging monster to fight.
Wait a minute, I'm not going to the forest to fight monsters. I'm going to go get a wicked clover, whatever that is.
As I walked down the path, the sky was darkening. It started raining a few seconds after.
I made a barrier around me to keep the rain from getting me wet.
So far along the way, I've encountered small packs of Blazing Mane Wolves and decided this could be a good time to test out this sword.
I whistled to get the attention of the wolves and drew Peacemonger out.
The first wolf dashes towards me and shot a ball of fire. I swung Peacemonger, slashing the ball of fire in half. I ran towards the wolf and stepped to the side, then I swung upwards, separating the wolf's head from its body.
The wolf rolled onto the ground and blood spilled from the carcass. I swung my blade, the blood splattering onto the floor.
Impressive, I felt no resistance at all. It's holding onto air. It doesn't even feel like I'm holding a sword.
I turned towards the rest of the pack and flinched as they saw the blade. I ran towards them and they shot fireballs at me. I sent water blades towards them and with this rain they traveled faster than before, easily cutting the wolves.
I dashed forward and thrust my sword through one of the wolves. When I tried to take it out, it seems that my sword was stuck.
"Are you kidding me?" I said as I struggled to take the sword out. While I was distracted, the remaining four wolves leaped onto me and dug their fangs into my arms.
[Hp: 1,087,214/1,092,052]
Even though I didn't get much health taken away, it still hurt.
I grabbed onto one of them and tried to pull it off, but they had latched onto my arm deeply. They activated their fire manes and tried to burn me but lucky for me I have fire resistance so that was useless.
I eventually got my sword out of the wolf. I grabbed onto another and thrust my sword through its head. It let go and fell to the ground. I would do the same for the last three and eventually, I was free.
I looked at my arms and they were still bleeding. I took a look at my health points and the numbers had stayed the same. I waited for a while but they only decreased by a few points.
[Notice: Hp will not regenerate automatically, it must be done manually. Leveling up restores your health to the max.]
So I either have to level up or heal myself manually to gain health back. Well, that's nice to know. Guess I have to have some kind of drawback.
The wounds that the wolves left on my arms were still bleeding but I don't think I'll be dying anytime soon with the amount of Hp I have.
Anyway, back to my original objective.
I searched through the forest and there were no signs of any "wicked clover". Maybe I should've asked the old man if he knew what a wicked clover was like.
Eventually, I arrived in this empty field. I looked at what looked like grass and it turns out it was a clover. It was a plain of clovers.
I walked through this seemingly endless field of clovers and spotted something from the corner of my eye. As I got closer, I eventually found what I needed.
It was a black clover like I guessed. But it seemed to give off some kind of evil aura. Well, that should be where the wicked from the name comes from.
I plucked it from the ground and inspected it. It was just like any clover just with a different appearance.
[Soul Rank Ascension is available.]
Well, looks like I can finally ascend now.
I took out the fish core I got yesterday and placed it on the wicked clover. The next second, the core seemed to be sucked into the clover. I wonder why it even needed to be absorbed but I'm not questioning.
I'm guessing I have to eat the wicked clover now. I tossed the clover into my mouth and swallowed it.
Now ascend me already.
[Soul Rank Ascended!]
[Soul Rank: Anarchic]
[Task Completed!]
[New Skill(s): Dark Manipulation…]
Suddenly, I felt all dizzy and nauseous. Whoa, what's happening? The world is spinning.
[Notice: Digesting a Wicked Clover will heal a small portion of your health, but also cause the eater to feel dizzy and nauseous.]
Why does this system always warn me after I do something? So this is like a medicine, but also makes you sick right after. That doesn't feel like medicine to me.
I dropped onto the ground and passed out.
***
When I woke up, I felt something licking my arms. When I got up to see what it was, there was a black panther.
It tilted its head at me and I tilted my head as well. It tilted the other way and I followed it. It had blue eyes and it seemed to have a really dark shade of black. Jet black maybe?
Wait a minute, what am I doing? What is this thing anyway?
[Analyzing…]
[Analyzation complete.]
[This is a Shadow Panther.]
A shadow panther? Basically another way of saying black panther.
The panther was staring at me curiously and I scratched my head in confusion. What does it want?
[The Shadow Panther has taken a liking in you.]
Taken a liking? So it basically wants to become my pet.
[Precisely.]
The panther licked the blood off my arms and I realized that the holes in my arms had closed up. Looks like the wicked clover did the trick. My Hp is even at its max.
[Hp: 1,092,052/1,092,052]
"So, does this panther basically just follow me around now?"
[No. First, you must form a contract.]
"A contract? How?"
[Link your core with the panther's core.]
"And how do I do that?"
[This is where I come in.]
A familiar voice spoke.
"Pharaoh? You know how linking works? Wait a minute, I can talk to you?"
[Yes, it's been a while… again.]
"Oh… uhh, sorry. I was busy so I kinda forgot."
[No worries. Now, in order for you to link your core with your target, you have to extract its core and then pour your own energy into it.]
"Extract its core? But won't that kill it?"
[Not if it is still intact. An already living creature has a line connecting its cores to its body. That line can be snapped in two ways. One, if they are already deceased, or two if the creature allows their line to be disconnected. It can also be forcefully disconnected as well, but you won't be needing that method.]
"I see… so I just have to do the same thing I did with you?"
[Yes.]
Alright, if the Scarlet Dragon Emperor says so then I'll do it.
I placed my hand on the panther's back and began to search for its core. The panther was surprisingly calm about this so I didn't have any difficulties trying to find the core.
When I found the core, I began to slowly extract it from the heart. I was holding a blue orb a second later. Now to pour my energy.
[Mp: 283,484,827/283,484,827]
I deposited my energy into the core and kept on pouring it until the core suddenly felt weird.
[Mp: 282,104,284/283,484,827]
I opened my eyes and the blue orb I was holding a minute ago was now completely red. I looked at the panther and its eyes seemed to look different. It was now the same color as my eyes. Crimson.
Ding!
[New familiar obtained!]
[Level up!]
[Do you want to name your familiar?]
Name? What's a good name for a panther? First of all, is this a girl or a boy?
"Are you a girl or a boy?" I asked the panther but it just tilted its head.
Heh, who am I kidding, of course it's not gonna understand me.
[It is a female.]
I see. Well then, a name.
Hmm…
Ahh, I know. Shikkoku. That's Japanese for jet black if you didn't know.
[Name this familiar: Shikkoku?]
"Yep."
[Your familiar is now called "Shikkoku"]
Ding!
[Status Updated!]
Hmm? Status updated? Let me see.
"Status."
———————
[Info]
[Moniker: Yamato Pharaoh]
[Race: Demon Monkey]
[Class: Vacant]
Soul Rank: Anarchic
Core(s): Scarlet Dragon Emperor Core (Lvl1)
Title(s): Fishing Rookie
[Stats]
Level: 53
Hp: 1,310,463/1,310,463
Mp: 396,878,758/396,878,758
Strength: 104(+100)
Agility: 103(+100)
Defense: 104(+100)
Perception: 102(+100)
Intelligence: 107(+100)
Stat Points: 3
[Skills: Absolute Water Manipulation, Absolute Fire Manipulation, Absolute Wind Manipulation, Dark Manipulation, ???, ???, ???]
[Passive skill(s): Heart of the Red Emperor, Scarlet Dragon Emperor's Legacy, Wrath of the Scarlet Dragon, Dragon Tongue]
[Active skill(s): Double Edge Mode, ???]
[Familiar(s): Shikkoku]
———————
New branch? Familiars huh? So I can get as many familiar as I want?
[No, same as cores, you can only get one after another.]
Well that's a bummer.
Ding!
[Notice: Your familiars will get the same boost with the cores they were captured with. In this case, Shikkoku was tamed with the Scarlet Dragon Emperor's core. There will be a change in appearance and power.]
That would explain its new eye color. So if I tame a familiar with the core I'm currently using, it will either get red eyes and possibly red skin.
Well then, I guess that's enough for today. I should really get back. It seems I passed out for a long time since it's already dark.
"Alright Shikkoku, let's head back shall we?"
Shikkoku nodded and began following me.
***
Upon arriving back, Samuel questioned what I brought home. I said I managed to tame the panther and now it's my familiar.
"Interesting, it even has the same eyes as you." He said as he petted Shikkoku.
"Well old man, I'm pretty tired. So I think I'll skip dinner for today."
"Alright then, good night."
As I slept, my stomach rumbled all night. Looks like I can't skip dinner. I didn't even eat breakfast or lunch. Luckily, the old man left some leftover fish on the table and I ate that instead.
Tomorrow is the day I'm going to finally be learning esprit… I think.
.
.
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