Chương 53: Chapter Fifty Two

'Friend, Hungry.'

'No, you're not. You ate like six crabs on the way here. And if you want to go off and hunt something else, nothing's stopping you from doing so.' The octopus pouted. Coiling its tentacles tighter around him even as it refused to move from where it sat upon his 'head' like an engorged hat.

'Big Crab. Good Eat.' It eventually said in reply. Tone half-demanding and half adorably put-out.

'I'm not fighting a C-ranked crab just so you can gain some Species Levels. Especially considering I'm not sure you won't go all 'psycho killer' after your next evolution. It's a no.' The tentacles covering his surface writhed again as the creature began throwing a small temper tantrum. Bob ignoring it as he continued to move through the tall grass surrounding them; it not being the first of its kind. It had been about a day since he'd left the temple.

Having been forced to spend the day-or-so prior to leaving stuck there recovering his mana and repeatedly spamming 'Calming Words'. The latter having been something of a necessity, given that his newest friend refused to travel more than a hundred feet away from him at any given time. And even then, only when tempted with the possibility of food. Temptation which, unfortunately, Bob felt fairly certain was the reason they had become such 'cuddle-buddies'.

It hadn't taken long for the monster to finish off what remained of the 'Burrower' crab; a good percentage of the creature just being comprised of its massive, chitinous shell. And once it had been stripped of flesh, things had very rapidly turned… awkward within the former religious establishment. The two of them simply staring at each other as time slowly passed and Bob continually activated his newest Skill. After ten or so minutes of this torture however, Bob had a realization.

If he had managed to distract the octopus with food before, why couldn't he do so again? And, even better, why not with food that was still alive. It had taken some trial and error, but eventually he'd managed to convince the creature to follow an illusion created by 'Distant Temptation' to where all the smaller crabs within his range of detection were hiding.

'Chase fake food to real food', being an oft repeated sentence in the beginning of their relationship. It had cost him a decent portion of his already badly-depleted mana, but considering it both kept his semi-tamed monster distracted and cleared the way for him going forward, Bob felt it was worth the loss. Or at least he had, until his new companion decided these 'distractions' had made them Best Friends Forever.

It had become fairly apparent over the past two days that his octopod ally was even brighter than its notoriously intelligent mundane-counterparts. Smart enough to recognize a good thing when it encountered it, at least. And for a monster that appeared to gain experience points by eating other monsters, a mobile prey-seeking device was apparently a very good thing. Potentially too much of a good thing, in fact. At least if Species Ranking continued to affect Skill performance as it had done so far.

Bob taking another quick look at the creature currently riding him through 'Treasure Sense'. Swift-Stalker Octopus (E) Level: 19 Threat Ranking: None When he first saw it, the Octopus's Species ranking had actually shocked him; with Bob having thought the creature to be at least in the beginnings of D-rank. Though looking back, it hadn't actually managed to do much during its brief scuffle with the C-ranked crab.

Its 'all-out attack' merely putting a few extra scratches on the inch-thick armor of the monster's remaining claw. It had actually started their journey at level eighteen. With it reaching nineteen during the journey to – and exploration of – the manor he'd been heading towards before their traumatic reunion. The building in question having been far less 'infested' than his previous. Closed doors and narrow windows keeping the crustacean presence mostly limited to the bottom floor.

A total of three D-ranks he'd killed with a couple casts of 'Shattered Space' after he'd drawn out all the E-ranks to feed his new friend; much to the cephalopod's obvious delight.

'Consumption' did seem to be the key to the creature's experience gain as well, rather than simply being victorious in combat. It had still been stuck at eighteen directly after the fight. Only gaining its latest level after he'd left it to feast on the remains of their foes while he looted the higher floors. Something which Bob couldn't say went too badly for him either, given his form's recent refurbishment. Name: Bob Species: Thousand-Foot Mimic (E) + Species Level: 16 - 344. 97/655.

36 GP Titles: Rank Defier, Slayer of Ayridis + If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Class: Treasure Hunter (B) 19, Dimensional Mage (A) 7 + Health: 114/114 Mana: 144/144 Strength: 14 Dexterity: 153 Constitution: 114 Intelligence: 144 Perception: 110 Willpower: 163 A scattering of jewelry and three 'Badges of Azcoran Citizenship' managed to net him one species level and an additional two for 'Treasure Hunter'.

Putting him at only one level away from the next evolution of its Class Skill. Bob feeling quite excited by the idea of improving his early warning system. However, 'Treasure Sense' wasn't the Skill currently closest to its next evolution. That title, luckily, went to a far more recent acquisition. And one which, for safety purposes, he intended to get to rank 'C' before waging any more war against the crustacean horde.

Taming Path Skill Calming Words (D) Level: 29 – EXP: 87/100% Grants upon user the ability to calm hostile monsters Efficiency improves at greater level It was an insane number of levels to have gained in just two days. Then again, he imagined most of his other Skills would have grown similarly should he be able to spam them for almost forty-eight hours straight.

Bob being desperately grateful for the ability's lack of a mana cost, even as the more rules-lawyer part of his brain couldn't help but think it made 'The System' feel a bit unbalanced. Those were thoughts he rather quickly attempted to bury deep within his mind, however. Not wanting to give any local gods, devils, or system administrators any ideas.

Admittedly, given how well the Skill had worked on the creature at only level one, it wasn't likely that a single evolution would make the monster immune now that it was at level twenty-nine. Especially when you consider the fact that the evolution in question would only put the monster on par with the Skill's own ranking. Still, Bob didn't feel like chancing it. Hoping that the constant usage would cause it to tip over before they hit the next manor.

Otherwise, he'd probably be stuck squatting amongst the high grasses for a few hours until it finally hit level thirty. More than likely accompanied by increasingly abusive commentary from the peanut gallery.

'Friend, Mean.' A pouting voice interrupted him with near-perfect timing. Its tentacles having ceased their writhing a few moments earlier to settle into a depressed death-grip.

'Oh no. I guess you should probably leave then. Wouldn't want you to be seen associating with such a toxic individual.' The only reaction to his reply was a sort of disgruntled shudder of the creature's body. It rotating the whole of its form slightly as if to stare away from him in disgust. Though still, Bob noted, refusing to stop clinging to the top of his wooden skull.

They traveled in silence for some time after that, Bob watching the building in the distance – as well as the greater city scape at the valley's heart behind it – grow ever larger with each one of his thousand steps. He spammed 'Calming Words' constantly, even though the Skill only actually activated every hundredth or so time. Occasionally popping the ability's window up to check his progress. Which was always slower than he would have wished.

As they got to about two or three hundred feet out from the edge of the seagrass bed however, Bob came to a sudden halt after a new signal popped up on his senses; much to his passenger's distress. Distress which was only heightened when his 'lid' popped half-way open, nearly tossing his rider to the dirt. Because the signal wasn't coming from grassland in front of them. It was coming from directly above their heads. Unfortunately, by the time Bob had angled his 'face' towards the 'sky' there was nothing to see.

The sudden 'blip' having dipped in-and-out of his range in the space of a second. But not so quickly that he wasn't able to tell it was on the high-range of D-rank. Bob's eye scoured the waters above him as he ignored the grumblings coming from the other side of his head. Refusing to blindly move forward without having at least some idea what kind of monster was about to jump out and 'gank' him.

And after a minute or two of doing his best statue impression – with the added feature of having activated 'Lifeless Disguise' – his patience was rewarded. It was almost too quick to see. Without his enhanced 'Perception' score and whatever 'Dimensional Weave' had done to his mind, he doubted he would have noticed it. But he did. Bob almost able to see the 'hole' being cut through the water by the creature's passage. The rather large creature's passage.

'Friend? What do?' The octopus asked him again. The creature demanding his attention this time by flopping its bulbous form over his eye; truly choosing the best possible moment to leave him blinded.

'Bad enemy. Too strong. Too fast. We hide.' Bob said as he used his 'tongue' to push the rubbery beast out of his vision. Keeping himself to small words in hopes that each would be fully understood. Unfortunately, not realizing that the creature 'understanding' him wouldn't, in fact, lead to his desired outcome.

'Enemy!? Where!? Good eat!?' For the first time in hours, the monster decided to leave the comfort of his polished dome. Jumping into the waters above him and beginning to flit about; obviously trying to catch sight of whatever enemy it thought he had spotted. Much to Bob's consternation.

'Get down here you idiot! It's going to spot you! And then it'll spot ME and bring the whole neighborhood down on our heads!' The creature, of course, didn't listen. Continuing to spin around in search of fresh prey even as he kept trying to coax it down with various promises and threats. All of which it had unfortunately already learned to ignore during the course of their mere two-day relationship. It only began slowing its gyrations after it seemed to have fully convinced itself there were no nearby crablings.

Bob mostly busy anxiously scouting the waters above them during the process.

'Friend lie. No crab.' The octopus said, its tone almost disappointedly chastising.

'I didn't say it was a crab, you moronic cephalopod. I said-' Bob was sadly unable to finish his sentence as he sensed the 'blip' suddenly rip through his zone of detection. The angle of its path ringing frantic alarm bells in his mind despite his utter inability to act. He wasn't even able to start forming words to a warning before the octopus was hit. A shining silver blur impacting it at speeds he wouldn't care to guess and driving it deep into the seagrass bed. An enormous plume of silt erupting on contact.

Silt, and a slowly growing mass of dark-red liquid. Red liquid that an enormous fish had just exited from, a pitch-black tentacle still dangling from the side of its horrendously over-toothed mouth. Ding! Greater Mana-Mutated Pike (D) Level 17 Threat Ranking: High