Chương 27: Chapter Twenty Six: Opening Presents

"Hello, Ria! Are you ready to check your inbox for rewards?" I groaned."Be less cheery. It's too early for this."

"I'll try. Now let's head over to your mission board." The Penguin scooched me over to the blue screen with its foot. I yawned and rubbed my eyes as it pecked at the screen.

"Congratulations! Your Quest was rated A+! You'll receive the following rewards! Five hundred experience points! Five Skill Points! One Rookie Bag! One Bonded Pet!???!"

"…"

"Ria?" I roared."Don't Ria me. You asshole! Where is all my shit?!"

"You failed to complete the last requirement and subsequently lost several of your rewards."

"That's not fair!" Penguin raised his flippers and said.

"Not. My. Problem!"

"Those are fighting words!" He narrowed his eyes and raised his fins." Then come get some..." The Penguin and I engaged in a fistfight of huge proportions. The battle was long and intense. However, a winner eventually emerged and that winner was… Me. I stood on top of the penguin and heaved. Finally. Tap out motherfucker. It choked out bitterly from the floor and pointed ruefully at me." You must pay for damages to the system." I jumped off of its metal body and did a few stretches." With what?"

It cried out shamelessly." Monetary compensation."

"…" He must have lost his mind. I'm gonna help him find it. I cracked my fists."I think you want to be beaten again." It inched away from me and resorted to blackmail."Surrender fifty gold to me or I'll confiscate your prizes."

"…" Is it worth it or not? I stared at the screen which held a treasure trove that Fae money couldn't buy. The losses outweigh the gains. Fine. Surrender. I still kicked its ass. Can't make it easy though."How do I do that? I don't have access to the money right now."

"Yes, you do. You have a pouch full of gold in your inventory." I tilted my head and summoned my inventory. When did that get in there? The Penguin explained lightheartedly."I put your gold in your inventory while you were sleeping. It was very hard to do. Freesia is too observant."

"You can manipulate the outside world?!" Without my permission? It held out a fin."Give me the money." I groaned and took out the pouch from the transparent blue box. I counted out the gold coins and gave them to the greedy penguin. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. It smirked and waved its flipper over the coins victoriously.

"Transfer complete."Its injuries which were just scuff marks dissipated along with the gold. Whiny bitch. It haughtily commanded me and I rolled my eyes."Please collect your rewards. Today."

"Alright, alright." So bossy. I pressed collect and the screen popped out several items in my face.

"Congratulations Host! You have been upgraded to level five! Congratulations!"

"Status." The status screen appeared in front of me and my eyes bulged. [Miseria Noxcissa Duccanes.] [Level: 5] [Race: High Dark Elf, Pureblood Vampire,] [Age: 1] [Health: 780/780] [Mental Energy: 400/400] [Strength: 5] [Vitality: 13] [Intelligence: 20] [Agility: 5] [Skill: Telekinesis] My health and energy points doubled in value! That's pretty neat. Now what should I add to? I think my agility and strength deserve a boost. [Miseria Noxcissa Duccanes.] [Level: 5] [Race: High Dark Elf, Pureblood Vampire,] [Age: 1] [Health: 780/780] [Mental Energy: 400/400] [Strength: 7] [Vitality: 13] [Intelligence: 20] [Agility: 8] [Skill: Telekinesis] Yeah, that looks better. I should aim to get them to ten next time though. That's enough. Now it's time for those floating rewards. I turned away from the screen and towards the levitating objects.

"Penguin! Unveil the prizes!" It nodded."One Rookie Bag!" The pouch was opened by Penguin and from its depths came a series of gifts. Tiny floating lights popped in mid-air like fireworks and gave me new toys to play with.

"Congratulations Host! You have unlocked a system function!"

"Congratulations Host! You have unlocked a system function!"

"Congratulations Host! You've drawn a golden ticket!"

"Congratulations Host! You have drawn a grimoire!" In front of me was a golden ticket and a small leather-bound book. Wait, that's it? Where's all the cool stuff from last time? Stingy system. At least I got two new functions out of it.

"What system functions did I get?"

"Congratulations! You received the Gacha System Function and the Craft System Function!"

"Craft? What does that mean?"

"Please explore the menu!"

"Whatever. We'll do that later. Open the Pet thing and the???."

"As you wish."

"One Bonded Pet!" The glowing egg containing the pet shattered like glass. The contents glowed briefly before dimming.

"…"

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a chrysalis Ria. Please offer the chrysalis your blood."

"Hell's no."

"…"

"Ria." I shook my head no."Uh uh. Fuck that shit." In front of me was a three-foot-tall semi-transparent green and black bag. A chrysalis? What kind of monster is inside there? My blood?

"Wait a minute. I'm in my soul space, right? Where would I get blood from?" I'm not in my physical body right now.

"I can access your blood from outside this space. You just have to permit me to do so." Not happening."No." This thing has enough control of me. It put its fins on its hips."Would you like to be penalized again?"

"…"

"Ria. Make a decision in five…four…three…two!"

"Oh fine! Just take a little. What is that thing anyway?"

"A pet." I grumbled."It better be cute." The Penguin scoffed and held its fin out towards the bag. A ball of liquid appeared in its palm and then splattered on the bag. Crimson and lavender liquid. Ew! That's my blood?!

"Place your hand on the chrysalis immediately." I marched over hesitantly with my face twisted in a grimace. Disgusting. I put a single pinky on the bag. Ew! It's squishy and wet! Disgusting. I'm leaving a bad review when this is all over.

"Commencing bonding program…" We waited for about a minute before the chrysalis started to shake. It glowed red from the inside and grew hotter to the touch.

"Penguin, is it supposed to be doing that?"

"…" I taunted it for a reaction.

"Useless." The chrysalis shook violently again before calming down. Then a wing. A huge hauntingly beautiful wing broke through the shell. I stared in horror as a monster broke through. I retched."Is that a giant butterfly?"

"Congratulations Ria! You've successfully bonded to an Epic Grade Psychoactive Monarch Butterfly!"

"…" I stared at the thing and took a step back. The butterfly flapped its wings and followed my movement with its eyes. Its antenna twitched and then it moved closer by a foot. I backed away and it mirrored the movement. No.

"Make it go away."

"Excuse me?" My heart thudded in my chest as I stared at the beast. Paralyzed by fear. I hate bugs. I'm going to die. No. No. It trilled and I closed my eyes.

"Make. It. Go. Away."

"Oh, would you like to invest in a Pet Space Skill? That's—""Do it. Make it stop." The stupid butterfly was chittering and gnashing its teeth at me now. I think I'm going to pass out.

"Ria."

"Mhm." The Penguin questioned me."Are you afraid of insects?"

"…" It mocked me."Oh dear. That's not good."

"Just make it go away." The Penguin moved a screen towards me and I sweated. For a millisecond I took my eyes off the behemoth and bought the skill he was talking about.

"Congratulations! Would you like to—?"

"Yes! Yes! Do it!" My heart stopped as the Penguin waved in the air. Then the disgusting beast roared and disappeared. My legs gave out and I took shallow breaths in. Somewhat seriously it points out.

"You are in distress." I gasp through my words."No. Shit!"

"Would you like to—""Nope. Just shut up." The last thing I need right now is him taunting me. Of all the fucking things it had to be. Why a bug? I don't do bugs.

"Can we get rid of it?"

"No. Not without serious consequences." I shook my head and recovered from the incident."I don't ever want to see that thing again. Am I clear?" The Penguin nodded."Yes."

"Open the last thing."

"…" The last glowing orb was black. Just a pure black crystal ball. As soon as the Penguin started to open it swirls of dark clouds escaped its container. Its presence felt…unsettling. Like something was eyeing me hungrily. Honestly, this feels scarier than the butterfly.

"Wait."

"Yes, Ria?"

"Do we have to open it all the way?" The Penguin stared at it and then shook its head."Well…there's no specific rule that states we have to but if we leave it unopened you won't be able to claim this reward until a later date." I rocked on both of my feet. That doesn't sound too bad. Something tells me that opening that will give me a lot of trouble.

"That's fine. That thing gives me the heebie jeebies. Just throw it in the inventory."

"As you wish."??? was thrown into the inventory by the Penguin. With that done. I moved on to more pressing business.

"Show me the Craft Function." The Penguin summoned a new screen and sent it my way. After a couple of tutorials I understood what it was for.

"This is awesome!" In my own words. The Craft Function is a machine that can produce anything as long as you have a recipe, blueprint, and the necessary ingredients. I can make food, medicine, appliances, and weapons. Anything. As long as I know how and I have the ingredients. It's like alchemy for dummies. I can't wait.