Spirit Beast

The wolf's corpse slowly crumbled under the white energy.

Nathan was silent as he watched what was happening in front of him.

After some time, the wolf disappeared entirely. And the white energy gathered in one place, forming an egg shape.

"Luna, tell me. What is going on? This monster wouldn't evolve into a stronger form, would it?"

Nathan raised his two swords and gripped them tightly. He swallowed hard, trying to be fully alert in case another danger threatened him.

"Should I run and recharge my Stamina first?"

Luna turned to Nathan. 

"You are really lucky this time." she said.

"Lucky? What do you mean by lucky? You deliberately didn't tell me the details and confused me with your riddle." Nathan said with panic. A cold sweat trickled down his face.

After some time, the white-colored energy slowly faded away. There was something shaped like an egg, but with a large size, like the size of a human head.

"An egg?"

Luna just nodded and floated casually beside Nathan.

Nathan was still frozen in place. "Why egg? I don't understand what happened. Since when do wolves lay eggs?"

"Don't equate magical creatures with normal creatures. The wolf evolved into a spirit beast, and this egg also contains a Spirit Beast baby." Luna explained with sparkling eyes.

Nathan strolled towards the egg.

An egg was dark blue, exactly the color of the wolf's fur he had just killed.

[Elite Guardian Spirit Wolf Egg]

"Huh? It's not a Night Wolf, but a Spirit Wolf?"

Nathan crouched down and still looked at the egg.

"What should I do, Luna?"

[You've opened a new Route Quest]

[Beast Tamer]

[An individual who can tame, train, groom, maintain, handle, breed, raise, understand, communicate with, and ride on any beast they tamed. The beasts can be any grade possible.]

[Show your dominance to the savage beasts. Show them who the Master who can lead them to become the Worthy Beast chosen from among them.]

[Show your admirable and eye-catching beasts to frighten your enemies.]

[Collect them all!]

Instantly, a barrage of notifications appeared in front of Nathan. He immediately understood that the System was responding to what was happening to him.

"Woah, a new route quest instantly opened? And what is this? Beast Tamer? Don't tell me that the system wants me to become such a monster collector, too?" Nathan chuckled after reading the description.

"Wait, wait, Luna. Explain to me first what I should do. And how does this Beast Taming work?"

[Nathan Gardner]

[Greed Meter: 64%]

"There were many ways to tame Spirit Beasts. I will only explain the option that is currently available before you… Hmmm… To avoid info dumps."

"Yes, yes. I'm ready. Give me some explanation."

"Because this egg came from a monster you killed, it will automatically be loyal to you. I guess that's the only explanation?" Luna ended her explanation with a wide grin.

"Are you sure? It took you that long to explain something as simple as this?" Nathan clicked his tongue.

He then ventured closer to touch the egg.

[The Egg requires some stat points for hatching]

[Hatch progress 0%]

[How many Stat Points will you donate?]

Another system notification popped up when he touched the eggshell.

"Huh? Stat points? How much do I need for this egg to hatch?"

"Hmmm, the amount of stat points needed depends on the quality of the Spirit Beast. But with this kind of egg, I guess it would take around 20 or 30 stat points?"

"Your 'I guess' makes me a little unsure. And 30 stat points? Hmmm, how many available stat points do I currently have?"

[Stat Points: 25]

"25 stat points equal to 4 times Leveling Up. I think the price is quite reasonable. Why don't we try it?"

Nathan touched the surface of the eggshell again. "Please donate 20 stat points."

[Donating 20 stat points]

"Shit, I'm in too much of a hurry. I should have tried 1 point first."

[Hatch progress 60%]

"20 stat points were not enough. Luna…?" Nathan turned to Luna, showing a sad face.

"Spirit Beasts are intelligent beings who can hear your commands. And they can also be useful to help in the fight. They have an astronomical value."

"Looks like I need to find some more stat points. And can this thing enter the Crescent Moon Dimension, Luna?"

Luna immediately shook her head. "This is a living thing, so you can't do that."

Nathan clicked his tongue. "Okay then, I have no other way."

Nathan took off the cloak he was using and wrapped the egg. He put it on his back. "Looks like I have to bring this egg to join the fight."

***

[You've killed Rare Alpha Night Wolf Lv. 23]

[You received 430 experience]

[Level Up]

[You received 6 stat points]

[You received 100 skill points]

[Level: Unranked Lv. 18]

[Exp: 56/525]

[You successfully cleared the dungeon]

[You received 520 experience]

[Level Up]

[You received 6 stat points]

[You received 100 skill points]

[Level: Unranked Lv. 19]

[Exp: 51/578]

Nathan dropped himself to the ground when he again managed to defeat the dungeon boss.

Nathan was still on the ground, tired, trying to control his beating heart.

"Somehow my Greed Meter wasn't fully charged when I needed it. I was forced to fight that boss with tremendous difficulty."

Nathan closed his eyes with a satisfied smile on his face. "However, at least I managed to defeat him before I ran out of Stamina."

After a while, he sat down and put the large egg he had been carrying on the ground.

"I have 23 stat points available. I hope this is enough. I have no way home, I guess."

Nathan gulped, staring at the egg with a heavy heart. "Add another 20 stat points."

[Donating 20 stat points]

[Hatch progress 99.3%]

"Are you kidding me?"

Nathan raised his face and looked at Luna with a sad face. "I hope what you were saying about this egg being worth all my stat points wasn't just a false hope, Luna."

Nathan swallowed hard and continued, "Okay, this time donate 1 stat point."

[Donating 1 stat point]

[Hatch progress 99.8%]

Nathan instantly felt enthusiastic. "A little more, okay, 1 more stat point."

[Donating 1 stat point]

[Hatch progress 99.9%]

"Are you kidding me?!!!"

"Okay, add 1 last stat point."

[Donating 1 stat point]

[Hatch progress 100%]

At that moment, Nathan immediately saw the shell of the egg showing shards from various angles. A white light was also forced out from the cracks of the shards.

The egg shells fell to the ground. And what has left behind that eggshell was-

"A dog? No, A-wolf?"

A baby wolf, the size of an adult cat with round eyes, looked at Nathan.

The fur of the wolf was dark blue. And even though he was still a baby, he was larger than a normal baby wolf.

"Hey… Do you recognize me?"

The baby wolf looked at Nathan, still looking confused.

"Hey." Nathan touched the baby wolf's jaw. And the baby wolf responded by sniffing his palm.

"Let's give this little wolf a name. Hmmm."

The baby wolf opened its small jaw and showed its canines. He sniffed and licked Nathan's fingers.

"You have fine fangs. How about we give you the name Fang?"

[The spirit beast is evolving]

[Fang Level Up]

[Fang Level Up]

[Fang Level Up]

[Fang Level Up]

The little wolf let go of Nathan's finger as a white aura came out from its body and enveloped it completely.

After some time had passed, there was a slight change in the little wolf's body, although it was only visible from its softer and brighter fur.

[Name: Fang]

[Race: Elite Guardian Spirit Wolf]

[Level: 19]

[-]

[Strength: 8]

[Dexterity: 7]

[Agility: 15]

[Magic: 5]

[Constitution: 8]

[Stamina: 12]

[Skills]

[Combat Mode: Go into a mode or form made for combat, increasing all the combat skills (including attack, defense, etc.) and powers to their apex, and possibly grant new powers required for the combat.]

Additional information emerged, and Nathan was surprised when he read its skill description. He realized the wolf was not an ordinary creature.

"I think you're right, Luna. I'm really lucky this time."