Colo-Colo

Rentaro was surprised as he examined Rjuka's stats. Especially upon taking note of the smoke element.

'Even smoke is an element?' He questioned Wilhelm and Tess.

Tess quickly spoke up, [Of course, though you could consider it to be a sub element. For your affinity foundations, it's best to stick to the main elements—]

Wilhelm sharply interrupted, [It's best to establish your foundations with the five base elements of water, fire, earth, metal, and wood. If you include your elements of light and dark, which perfectly align, that would bring you to seven!]

Tess clicked her tongue in annoyance, [Tch, You're getting jealous? Anyways, there exist many more important elements, like yin and yang. There are even the spatial and chaos elements.]

Rentaro pondered quietly, thinking over his situation.

As of now, he had affinities with the elements of fire, dark, light, and wind.

Wind was the outlier as of now if he were to follow their thoughts.

So, what should he do?

Rjuka listened to their transmissions quietly, before speaking, "Where I came from, you could sense the crackling of space itself, grasping a slight feeling of the chaos element. And the chaos element created the yin and yang elements, which moved on to create the five base elements."

"If you have the chance to experience the element of chaos and those following its creation, your foundation will be unfettered regardless of how you build it."

Rentaro nodded along, his thoughts all over the place.

But where could he find chaos energy?

Sure, the Syndicate Credits of the shop held a particle of chaos energy, but they weren't tangible! And even if they were, what could he sense from a mere particle?

'In the meantime, I should focus on summoning, contracting, and enhancing my elemental affinity with other beings. Maybe I'll find a way for an affinity with chaos energy along the way.'

'I should open up the two random gifts, but I haven't had the chance to review Kyon's stats since I contracted him, have I?'

Willing the system, Kyon's stats were put on display.

***

Name: Kyon

Bio: Ratatoskr Squirrel (Ratatoskr Clan, World Tree Messenger)

Contracted by: Rentaro Eccel

Grade: Mythic

Cultivation Stage: Affinity Foundation - Stage 5

Elemental Affinities:

Wind — Paragon Stage

Innate Talents:

[Incomplete Eye of the Storm] — A tempest will brew a storm, an aero conglomeration will command the wind, and a soft zephyr will calm the storms. With enough integration, the eye of the storm can control the elements of wind, lighting, water, and even the fusion of the three as the sub element of storm.

[Ratatoskr Clan Bloodline] — As a clan of World Tree Messengers, they are blessed by the World Trees—giving them a particularly strong resonance with nature.

***

Rentaro's gaze widened when he saw that Kyon was at the mythic grade.

But he also couldn't help but tilt his head in confusion, 'Why does he only have two innate talents?'

Thinking back, Rjuka only had three innate talents.

Maybe it was just that he and Roy were the outliers for having so many.

And just because they had less innate talents, didn't mean their prowess was weak. The stats page didn't display the skills that they had—or the list could be going on for much longer.

Rentaro relocated his attention to the system's storage.

In there was: a blue summoner robe (uncommon), Grimoire of Twilight (rare, sealed), clothes, knife, the elemental essence gourd (unique), special summoning crystal 1/3, and 2x random gifts.

A small rift split open in front of him, ejecting a tiny box wrapped like a present.

It was striped blue and green, with a small red ribbon on top.

'It's quite fancy.'

Rentaro prepared to open it, feeling the heavy breathing of Rjuka, Kyon, and Roy on his neck.

They were all eagerly awaiting as well, pestering him to hurry.

"Let me open it! Let me open it!"

Rjuka cheered with his raspy voice, while twiddling his sharp claws.

"F-Fine!"

Rentaro held the box with one hand, while Rjuka's claws tore the wrapping apart.

Removing the lid, inside the box was a small stone exuding a black gas.

The automated system notification rang.

[You received: Vultamerian Gem (Rare)]

Tess spoke, [It's a—]

Wilhelm interrupted, [It's a precious stone, known as the Vultamerian gem. It takes form at the bottom of the ocean under the fusion of the water and darkness elements, alongside the pressure of the depth.]

Tess shook her head in disdain towards Wilhelm.

She continued, [It's considered a rare material, though the grade of a material doesn't always correlate to the difficulty of finding said material. I'd recommend saving it for a suitable summon.]

Kyon shook his head in disappointment, while Rentaro picked up the next box wrapped with green and yellow dots, a blue ribbon to tie it together.

"Rjuka, maybe you just have bad luck."

Roy barked, "I hope you're right, maybe I have better luck than him!"

Kyon snarled, "You and Icrin can open it together, with combined luck the odds will be even greater!"

Originally, Rentaro was going to let Roy open the box alone—but Kyon took notice of a glint in Rentaro's eyes, one of selflessness but also disappointment. And so he took charge with the best solution instead.

In excitement, Roy bared his fangs, quickly tearing apart the ribbon while Rentaro tore the paper from the box.

They felt an adrenaline rush, awaiting to see what item lay inside and already hoping to receive more of these random gifts.

'Maybe the shop sells them?' Rentaro couldn't help but wonder, quickly shaking his head.

Even if he could purchase them from the shop, he needed to show some signs of constraint. The whole loot box gimmick... it was truly unhealthy!

Roy popped the lid off with his mouth, and the four tilted their heads to see inside, butting their heads together.

Inside was a strange clockwork sculpture of a mouse.

Not just any ordinary mouse, for it had wings protruding from its back, as well as sturdy fish-like scales covering its body defensively.

The mechanical being clicked meticulously, as if every second was being accounted for. Upon closer inspection, there seemed to be small clocks built within its eyes.

'What is this?'

'How long would it take to forge such a meticulous piece?'

The four inspected it in wonder, their reactions varying. One thing's for sure, they all felt the work of art was breathtaking.

[Congrats! You received: Colo-Colo (Legendary]

Alongside this announcement was a blast of confetti from the box and a humming noise like it came from a party noisemaker.

Rentaro cast his glance towards Kyon.

Perhaps he'd have some thoughts with his special origins?

"Huh? What are you looking at me for? I know a lot, sure, but I've never heard of a Colo-Colo, nor have I seen such an intricate sculpture."

Rjuka followed mischievously, "I know no one asked, but such a sculpture would make you rich where I came from. It looks like something out of the royal vault—not that I would know what's in the royal vault. Kehehe."

Rentaro ignored that last part, turning his focus towards Tess and Wilhelm.

Tess was too exhausted to compete with Wilhelm, nudging him to give the explanation instead.

Wilhelm was more than happy to oblige, [Rentaro, it's not a sculpture, but a contracted summon. Furthermore, you could consider it as three separate entities. Actually, you can have the system display the info regarding both items you've gotten.]

[Vultamerian Gem] [Rare] — A precious gem formed in the depths of the ocean under the fusion of the water and darkness elements, as well as the depth's pressure.

[Colo-Colo] [Legendary] — Forged in a very distant realm, the Colo-Colo is a legendary grade summon of the Clockwork Series. The Colo-Colo was designed off of an unseen creature, one only spoken of in tales. Despite its mechanical appearance, it's a being of life containing its own souls.