chapter 14: Hestia is born!

Ron took Lucian to the monster trader shop that was located deeper in town towards the area Ron had told Lucian they should avoid.

After the guards had made such a big deal of little red, they had decided not to waste any more time and go and get a contract drawn up.

"Alright, this is the place," Ron said as they stood outside.

"Ok, thanks, Ron. Let's go inside and get this done." Lucian said.

With that, both of them walked into the shop, the door ringing a bell as they opened it, signalling customers had arrived to the young man behind the desk.

"Greetings." The man said as he looked Lucian and Ron up and down.

"Welcome to magical monsters and pets... How may I help you?" He asked.

Lucian almost laughed at the name and took a quick look around the shop. It was very fancy, filled with books and examples of the kind of pets or monsters you could buy.

"We have come to see Gilly," Lucian said as he walked over to the desk.

The man's expression turned hard all of a sudden.

"I assume you mean Lord Gilbert." He said in a severe tone.

Ron could feel this guy meant business all of a sudden, and he quickly spoke to try and calm the situation.

"Yes, Lord Gilbert. He's a friend, you see. He told us to come here."

The young man calmed down and looked over to Ron.

"Is that so?" He said as he bent over to pick up something under his desk.

Lucian could see the small number placed above this guys head was a seven and decided to try and read his stats.

Name - Colin Topper.

Class - Human Assassin/shop keeper.

Skills - Silent killing - dual-wielding - weapons expert - boost speed - body double - magic sense.

Rank - 8/20 - Silver rank.

States - Strength 7/10 - Speed - 7/10 - intelligence - 7/10

Magic - 2/8 - Wind - Dark.

Lucian was impressed. This guy was the strongest person he had met so far, and there was clearly more to him than met the eye.

Colin stood back up and placed a magic crystal against his ear, waiting for a moment as it started to glow.

"Hello Sir, yes, it's me. I have two men here saying they are friends of yours." He spoke to the crystal.

Lucian was amazed. The crystal was basically a phone that operated through magic, awe-inspiring.

"What are your names?" Colin asked as he looked at both of them waiting.

"I'm Ron, and this is Lucian," Ron said.

"We have a Ron and a Lucian..." He said as he went quiet again.

"Very well, sir. I shall do." He then said after a moment before taking the crystal away from his ear.

"Seems you were telling the truth." He said as he clicked a button under the desk.

"Please follow me." He said as he walked through the secret door. Lucian and Ron nodded to each other and followed him inside before the door closed behind them.

They walked along a well-lit corridor with lovely carpet and wallpaper, clearly designed for more affluent folk.

Not long after, they exited into a large warehouse that was full of all sorts of monsters that had been locked in cages.

"Here we are," Colin said as he stopped behind Gilly.

The older man turned around to look at them and burst out laughing.

"Well, look who it is!" He shouted.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to come and see me! Please come in, come in." Gilly said as he shook Lucian's hand, greeting him.

Colin didn't seem impressed but remained quiet. However, Gilly picked up on his mood.

"Now, now Colin, be nice. These two saved my life, you know!" He said, slapping both of them on the shoulders.

Colin gave a slight bow.

"Please forgive my rudeness." He said.

"Return to your duties, Colin. That will be all." He said, getting a little serious for a second before turning back to Lucian and Ron.

"I bet you have a lot of question, eh?" He said, chuckling.

Ron was pretty shocked at what was going on here but tried his best not to show it. However, nothing seemed to escape Gilly's notice, even as he poured them both a drink.

"Now I know what you must be thinking, but please. Everything here is perfectly legal. In fact, I'm under contract with the Duke here to supply monsters of all kinds for the big tournament he's holding at the end of the month!" Gilly said.

He handed a drink to Ron and Lucian as he held his cup up to cheers with them.

"Down the hatch!" He said as he drank his all at once.

Ron smelt it and took a sip, his eyes lighting up almost instantly.

"Is that what I think it is?" He said as he quickly drank more of it.

"You bet! That's dragon wine, only the best!" He said, pouring himself another cup.

"Oh by the way how is your friend? Is she doing ok?" Gilly asked referring to Scarlett.

Ron nodded.

"Yes I went to check on her today. Another days rest and she will be good as new!"

"Glad to hear it!" Gilly said.

Lucian took a sip of the wine as they were talking and had to say that it certainly was tasty. It was so good he took another large drink again and again until it was all gone.

"Haha! That's right. This stuff is the best, costs five gold coin a bottle!"

Ron couldn't believe it and almost felt bad he was drinking it. Lucian was also impressed as he placed his cup down, saying thank you.

"So, down to business then," Gilly said as he clapped his hands.

"How is that little goblin of yours?" He asked.

Lucian opened his cloak and pulled little red out, who had been sleeping. She wasn't impressed but soon started giggling as Gilly said hello again.

"Looks like she will be fully grown in another two days or so." He said after taking a look at her.

"Really, how can you tell?" Lucian asked.

"I've been doing this for a long time, lad. Besides, it's my job to know these things." He said, laughing.

"Now, let's get you a contract drawn up!" He said as he clapped his hands together, rubbing them.

Little red looked to Lucian and then around to see what was going on. She didn't seem worried and instead climbed back on to Lucian's shoulder.

"Alright, I'm going to need a drop of blood from each of you for this to work," Gill said as he finished creating the magical contract on the floor.

Lucian nodded and drew his knife from his lower back.

"Dont be scared, little red. This will only hurt for a second." He said as he pricked his own finger first to show her.

Little red nodded, understanding, and gave her small hand to Lucian.

"Alright now, place her in the circle and flick the blood anywhere inside the magical barrier," Gilly said as he finished drawing it with his magic.

Lucian placed little red onto the ground in the middle of the circle and stepped back. She seemed a little nervous, but Lucian reassured her everything was ok, and the little goblin smiled as she waited.

"Alright, this next bit is the easy part!" Gilly shouted as he clapped his hands together and started chanting.

A few moments after the magic circle started to glow and come to life. The letters and symbols suddenly ran up little reds body and covered her from head to toe.

"Don't be scared, little one. It doesn't hurt!" Gilly said as he started to control the magic with the waving of his hands.

Ron watched on in amazement as he had never seen this done before and always wondered how it looked.

Gilly finally clapped his hands together, and all of the glowing magic words on little reds body faded away.

"And that's that," Gilly said as he stood up straight and wiped his brow.

"All that is left now is to name her. Once you do that, the contract will be complete." He said.

Lucian nodded and was glad little red was unharmed from the magic.

"A name?" He said as he started to think hard about it.

"Oh, I have one!" Ron shouted.

"How about Aka!" Ron said, feeling proud he had thought of it.

"You can do better than that," Gilly said, laughing.

Lucian nodded and tried to think of something that would suit her.

"The child is gifted in fire magic... How about Hestia?" Satan suddenly said, surprising him again.

Lucian had a quick flashback to the hobgoblin he had battled with. It was also gifted in fire magic, and he guessed she would be too.

Lucian looked at little red.

"Hmm, Hestia..."

Little red smiled at the sound of the name, and Lucian repeated it.

"Hestia... It looks like it's settled. From today on, you will be called Hestia!" He said with a meaningful smile.

Everyone smiled at the sound of the name.

"Hey that's, a great name. Did you come up with that?" Ron said, surprised.

"Looks like that is settled then!" Gilly said as he looked at the small goblin.

Suddenly Hestias body started to glow in a bright light, that got brighter and brighter.

"What's happening!' Ron said, surprised by what was going on.

"Oh my!" Gilly said very surprised.

"What is it? Is she ok?" Lucian said, a little panicked.

"Calm down, little hero," Satan said from inside his head.

"What's going on?" Lucian asked.

The Demon lord sighed.

"You really are an idiot. You just named a monster. This is what happens when a superior being names a monster. They evolve."

Lucian was surprised, to say the least.

"You mean they evolve into a stronger monster?" He asked, still confused.

Satan decided to just explain the whole thing to him as he was sick of answering all his questions all the time.

"Listen here, boy. Monsters in this world don't have names. They can, however, grow and become strong just like humans. Except monsters can evolve into superior beings and stronger monsters.

For example, a goblin who has grown strong enough will evolve into a hobgoblin. A hobgoblin who grows strong enough will also evolve into the next stage, being an Ogre and so on. However, depending on abilities and other factors, a monster can evolve into different subspecies.

Monsters can also evolve if they are given a name by a being stronger than them. However, it all depends on how strong the masters magical power is."

Lucian took in all the information and watched as Hestia's body started to grow taller, her features becoming more human and more feminine.

Gilly and Ron couldn't believe it either as they each wore a shocked expression. The bright light that had surrounded Hestia had now faded, leaving her new form in full view.

She had evolved into a hobgoblin shaman and now stood at five feet and 7 inches. Her skin was still red, and her hair, white as bone now long and hanging down to her middle back. She also had two horns on her head that signified she was a shamen class hobgoblin.

Her body had also grown in more ways than one as her feminine features and asserts all hung out for show as the little clothing she had had no longer covered her body.

She opened her bright blue eyes and took a breath of fresh air as she brushed her hand over her hair getting a good look at her surroundings.

Her eyes suddenly locked with Lucians and her fangs popped out as she smiled.

"Master!"