Part 55

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Transformation beginning

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"Okay, it's starting," I said as the screen closed. I looked back to the twins, then quickly said, "Don't take your hand off the core, even if it's painful!"

The twins nodded, then turned their attention to the core.

I, as well as everybody in the room, watched as the core began to shimmer. At first, the color was white, as it always was when it leveled up, but the white glow was soon replaced with a deep orange fire that immediately began to spread to the twins, consuming their hands in a moment.

I made sure to tell them not to let go of the core, but they weren't even able to anymore. Their hands were physically gone, replaced with a blazing flame.

As the fire passed over them, the twins shouted in panic, but it didn't appear that they were in pain.

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Transformation in progress

4.3%

9.1%

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"Calm down!" I yelled as the twins continued to panic. They were looking at the flames that had replaced their hand with shocked expressions as if the scene was too graphic for them. After all, it might have looked like their body was disappearing after being burned away. The twins looked over to me, then slowly began to calm down, "It's just part of the process."

They nodded, then turned back to watch the flames climb up their body. Within the next ten seconds, the flames had completely replaced one of their arms and were beginning to move to their torsos.

I paid attention to the status screen in front of me, just in case an error screen appeared. However, as the progress number continued to climb, nothing happened. I sighed in relief, then turned back to the twins.

About a minute later, the transformation was complete.

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Transformation Completed!

Transformation Successful!

Congratulations on the Creation of Two New Dungeon Monsters!

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Jonathan and Evelyn's new bodies were larger than I had expected. Both of them were luckily shaped as humanoids but were each around seven feet tall. Both of them were more muscular than before, though the natural curves and basic body shapes of their respective genders had carried over into their new bodies.

"A fire elemental," Aros gasped in awe, "I knew what they were, but this is the first time I've seen one."

Aros's awe wasn't strange, as I was impressed as well. Both Jonathan and Evelyn were made out of fire, so they didn't have a physical form yet, but the fire raging inside of them was like a tornado of destruction, threatening to break out of their form and turn the surrounding area into a volcanic wasteland. With every movement they made, a small flicker would escape from their bodies and dance through the air before being extinguished after a few seconds. Even my dragon fire was a little less aggressive than the fire that Jonathan and Evelyn were made out of.

As we looked at them, we quickly noticed something else as well. Around their body, encasing them in a broken set of armor, were several dozen flat shards of earth. Jonathan had many on his chest and arms, while Evelyn had a few dozen on her legs. While both of them had a few on the other areas, such as the seven that covered Jonathan's hips and the eight that were around Evelyn's shoulders, neither of them had any shards on their head or face.

Both Jonathan and Evelyn were looking at their new bodies thoroughly. Neither of them spoke, so I was worried if their personalities were burned away as well, but they appeared fine, as they appeared to be getting more excited as they discovered more about their bodies.

"What are those?" I asked as I turned to Aros. I pointed to the shards of earth, which quickly caused Aros to look as well.

"Interesting. It looks like they're both elites," Aros chuckled. Then, without having to look at my confused expression, he quickly explained. Both Jonathan and Evelyn turned to him as they interrupted the inspection of their bodies. Both of them were just as curious as I was, "They're similar to the Kobold Elites and Kobolds. However, because of the requirements to create a Fire Elemental, the Elite version of the Fire Elemental is an incredibly rare monster. Not only is the fire from Elites stronger, but they are also granted a few shards of earth armor, thanks to fire's natural bond with Earth. Why don't you use『 Appraisal 』on them, see for yourself?"

I nodded, then looked back to Jonathan and Evelyn. Both of them looked at me in excitement, ready to hear their new stats.

"Alright," I muttered as I used『 Appraisal 』on them.

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Jonathan Forsyth

Race: Elite Fire Elemental

Core Level: 3

HP: 230

MP: 160

AC: 170

DMG: 100

Rank: C

Titles: Twin of the Labyrinth

Skills: Flame Fury, Flame Wall, Flame Blade, Sword Expert, Construct Body, Twin Telepathy

Status Effects: Flame Immunity, Earth Resistance

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Evelyn Forsyth

Race: Elite Fire Elemental

Core Level: 3

HP: 160

MP: 230

AC: 160

DMG: 110

Rank: C

Titles: Twin of the Labyrinth

Skills: Flaming Bow, Homing Fire Arrow, Flame Dash, Archery Expert, Construct Body, Twin Telepathy

Status Effects: Flame Immunity, Earth Resistance

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'So their MP and HP values have switched, huh?' I thought to myself, 'Maybe it's because of the roles they take when in a fight. They'll be able to support each other nicely.

I turned to their titles and skills, then quickly read through them. The skills were self-explanatory and didn't hide any special traits. I was able to simply read the name and figure out what it did. 'Sword Expert' and 'Archery Expert' were simply the second-star version of 'Sword Skills' and 'Archery'. I was pleased they managed to bring over their main skills, though a few of their others had been replaced.

For Jonathan, his 'Iron Wall' skill, which only reinforced his shield, was replaced by 'Flame Wall', a total upgrade compared to his first skill. Now he was able to literally create a wall, something he hadn't been able to do before. 'Berserker' which was similar to Aros's 'Fury' was replaced with 'Flame Fury', which was just a different version of 'Fury'.

Evelyn, who had most of her skills removed or replaced, managed to go from a ranged stealth build to a ranged scout build. She lost 'Stealth', which was obvious considering the beacon-like qualities her body now had, but had gained 'Flame Dash'. 'Homing Fire Arrow', which was previously 'Snipe', had also gotten an upgrade.

'I'm a bit disappointed that they don't have the『 Respawn 』skill. Hazel doesn't have it either, but Icarus does. Maybe the criteria for being able to have it is whether or not they were created directly through the system. So far, that's the only way I can think of' I thought to myself, 'Maybe that'll change if the twins or Hazel are appointed as one of the dungeon bosses. That'll be an interesting sight.'

Along with their skill changes, they had gotten a title.

『 Twin of the Labyrinth: There is no better synergy than the synergy between twins. In the labyrinth, that synergy will result in the deaths of many intruders and courageous adventurers. Tread with caution when in the domain of the twins, as they are a mind of one. While in the Labyrinth, both twins will gain a 40% damage bonus to skills, as well as a completely free MP usage of their shared skill『 Twin Telepathy 』 』

I quickly read out the twin's statuses to both Jonathan and Evelyn. They seemed disappointed when their rank dropped by a letter but were extremely excited with the increase in strength and the prospect of ranking up with the core upgrade.

Soon after I read out the statuses, I turned to Aros.

"Well done," Aros said. He began to clap his hands, which caused a sharp clinking noise to echo through the room as his gauntlets slammed against each other, "I didn't think it was possible, but it appears that I was wrong."

I nodded, then looked back to the twins.

"Now then, the big question," I said, "Are you two still able to speak?"

Jonathan and Evelyn looked at me and stopped. They were both silent, though Aros soon put his hand on my shoulder.

"In time, yes," Aros said, "Elementals don't speak through a physical mouth. They'll need the skill『 Telepathy 』to speak, though it's not an expensive skill to learn. And, if they don't want to bother with it, they can always speak the normal way once they learn how to change into a denser form."

"Good," I said as I turned back to Jonathan, "Sorry, buddy, but it looks like you'll have to be silent for a while."