BXBX NOVEL Chapter 357 Vol 4 Epilogue (3)
“Eh, you too are back already? Hm, is that your new Beast Partner? Interesting didn’t expect you to get a Cat…HOLY FUCK, WHAT IN THE SEVEN HELLS IS THAT THING!” Halfway through his statement, Cynrik activated [Inspect] and shouted so loud that his Raven’s flinched and jumped onto his shoulders to see what was happening.
Pointing aggressively at the tiny black-spotted blond-colored kitten in Gabby’s arms, Cynrik’s finger quivered. At the same time, a strange expression crept onto his face, almost like a mixture between fear, confusion, and shock.
Startled awake by his shouting, Milo raised his head and mewed unhappily because his nap was interrupted. Still, the instant his light green eyes landed on the two Ravens perched on Cynrik’s shoulders, Milo’s pupils turned into slits, followed by all the fur on his body standing on end.
“Meeewww!” Trying his best to be intimidating, Milo shifted his body in Gabby’s arms, preparing itself to launch forward if the birds came even remotely close to the girl holding him. Even though they hadn’t used the contract skill, he felt oddly overprotective of the girl.
But these weren’t necessarily signs of intelligence since Milo was still a baby; instead, it was similar to instinct, and he, for some reason, viewed Gabby as his mom now.
“It’s ok, Milo, that’s Big Bro Cyn, and those birdies are his contracted pets; you don’t need to be worried about them.” Looking down at her kitten’s defensive posture, Gabby rubbed behind his ears with her thumb, calming him down a little bit.
Feeling the rubbies and the gentleness of Gabby’s voice calmed Milo enough that his fur returned to normal, but it wasn’t enough to make him stop cautiously glaring at the Birds.
Even as a kitten, he knew that those two birds were dangerous, and Milo didn’t want anything happening to his new Mama, especially since he had only just found her.
[Oi, what the fuck is going on, Brancie? What kind of MONSTER did you find for Gabby? I know she is your girlfriend, and you fancy her, but isn’t this favoritism? You LITERALLY found a MYTHIC BEAST; what kind of bullshit luck is that? Did you rob a pet sanctuary or something?] Ignoring Gabby, Cynrik’s eyes darted between the kitten and Brance while he complained in the mind link.
[Sigh, long story short, it’s a bit of a freak of nature. Believe it or not, we found the little guy in one of the regular pet stores. According to the staff, it had been there for some time, and whenever someone tried touching it or buying it, the kitten would pitch a fit and injure people.]
[Not to mention, its cage was mislabeled. It was labeled as a Spotted Liollen, which isn’t entirely wrong. But the Distribution, Affinities, and such were incorrect.] Crossing his arms and watching Gabby calm her kitten down, Brance met Cynrik’s eyes and noticed his older brother’s brows knit.
[That seems pretty, Sus, don’t you think? These stores go through hundreds if not thousands of creatures a year, and the number of handlers involved in checking stats and breeds shouldn’t be few. I do not for a second believe everyone missed this cat’s Bloodline. If our [Inspect] skill can easily pick up the fact it wasn’t average, there should have been numerous people who could have as well.] Reaching first up to his right shoulder, Cynrik gave Sie a small cracker before doing the same with Vii, who was perched on his left.
[I have a theory about that one, I think that when the store received the little guy, it may have actually been a Spotted Liollen, but as the days went by, its Bloodline strengthened, giving it that increased hostility. Or at least, that’s my running theory based on the description attached to [Inspect].]
[That may be true, well, to some extent. It does, after all, say that as it gets older, the kitten will develop more of its Ancestor’s traits. Oh, By the way, what Tier is your skill at Brance?] Thinking of something and chewing on the inside of his left cheek, Cynrik had a strange feeling.
[Eh? [Inspect]? It’s at Tier-2…Why?] Shooting Cynrik a confused look, Brance replied.
[That figures, if your [Inspect] were Tier-3 like mine, you would have seen it. Let me ask you something, how many Affinities does that cat have?]
[Uh…two?]
[Wrong, there are three, it’s just the third is hidden. Focus on the Affinities section, just under the Chloro line, and pump some extra Mana into your Eyes.]
Pondering for a second, Brance quickly activated [Inspect] and double-checked his answer. Sure enough, when he checked again, Brance realized he had missed something important. The more he looked under the Chloro Affinity, the more visible a third option became.
At first, it was hazy and blurry, entirely out of focus, but after straining his eyes, he got a good look.
-Affinities:
:(BG) Terra-Tier-0 (Initial):
:(BG) Chloro-Tier-0 (Initial):
:(???) ???-Tier-0 (Initial):
[What the heck is that?]
[No idea; the only thing my higher Tiered skill did was make it instantly appear. If you still couldn’t see it after pouring more Mana into your Eyes, I would have had to explain it to you.]
“Hey guys, I am going to head to the training room and use my [Beast Partner Contract] now, so I need to be alone with my little Milo for a little bit. Once I finish up, I will write down his stat profile for you.”
Speaking up and drawing the brother’s attention, Gabby went up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on Brance’s cheek before hurrying to the Training room.
“Tsk, this girl is becoming too bold for me to handle. Hey Cyn, get your Selene under control; she is corrupting my sweet and innocent Gabby with her filthy mind.” Rubbing the spot Gabby had just kissed with his fingers, Brance glared at Cynrik while speaking.
“BAH, don’t blame Sel; this is on you for being so damn passive.” Rolling his eyes, Cynrik spun back around and returned to watching the documentary on tv, but not before both Sielu and Viisaus chirped at Brance, seeming to say, “YEAH, What Papa said.”
Hopping down off Cynrik’s shoulders, both Ravens landed back on their plush velvet pillows and fluffed their feathers, settling back down to watch the exciting show their Papa had put on for them.
Since finishing their powerup nap, Vii and Sie had grown smarter thanks to the transfer of knowledge and stats from Cynrik through the Naming Process. As such, the two had the intellect of a 6/7-year-old child, and although still innocent and young, they were smart enough to follow what was happening in the documentary.
Especially Sielu, with her more curious nature, unlike Viisaus, whose attention was only drawn in by the cool aerial acrobatics and chase scenes on screen the large birds in the video were performing.
[Cyn…how are they doing that?] Caught off guard by how well-behaved the two newly hatched Ravens were acting, Brance walked up behind his brother and asked.
[Eh? Oh, you talking bout Vii and Sie; that’s simple. They got a fraction of my stats and knowledge when I named them, so they are mentally similar to a kindergartner.] Not bothering to look away from the HoloTv, Cynrik waved his hand and sent over the stat profiles for both Ravens.
Brance froze when he read all the unique resistance stats and the Secondary Affinity they both had when he ran through the Stat profiles of the two Ravens.
[Cyn…I don’t want to hear you complaining about Gabby’s cat anymore.]
[In addition to the Secret Grade Affinity, EXPLAIN ALL THESE RESISTANCE TYPES. How on earth are they able to resist all four of your Affinities? ] Feeling the need to hit his brother, Brance clenched his fists and forced himself to calm down.
Flinching hard from the shouts in the mind link, Cynrik turned and shot Brance an aggrieved look, making both Sie and Vii tilt their heads to glance at Brance, whom they felt the need to get away from, thanks to the Light Mana swirling around his body.
[Hell, Brancie, there is no need to freak out. The Omnipoison was a reward for beating Jormie, and the resistances are due to me putting my own Mana into the incubators to hatch them.] Massaging his temples, Cynrik reached both hands out and petted the soft feathers on Vii and Sie’s backs.
[UGH! You moron, why didn’t you save the Affinity Gems for yourself? Why give it to your pets?] Rolling his eyes and gritting his teeth thanks to how nonchalantly Cynrik was acting about his decision to use the Affinity Gems, Brance took a few more breaths and calmed down.
[Didn’t want it. Sure I could have used it and got a devastatingly powerful Affinity, but I would rather give it to these two instead. This way, not only can I have two extra healers in the party, but they will also have high offensive capabilities.]
[Healers? Hold on a second, are you saying…] Hearing that Cynrik expected his Birds to double as healers, Brance was confused at first, but Cynrik quickly cut him off.
[Jormie was able to heal himself with his Omnipoison; I see no reason why it wouldn’t work on others. Of course, I will be testing it on myself since I already have a little bit of resistance to poisons, but the fact still stands, so yippy for you, you wouldn’t be the solo healer anymore.] Rolling his eyes, Cynrik retrieved another cracker for his birds, who happily took them and munched away while looking back at the HoloTv.
—
Meanwhile, in the training room, Gabby was sitting in the center of the room with Milo in her lap. If one looked closely, one would see a thin Amethyst strand connecting them.
~Ok, Milo, as I told you the whole walk home, it’s time to form our partner bond. With it, you will become super strong.~
~Mew?~
Sitting up with his little tail swaying slowly behind him, Milo curiously looked into Gabby’s gentle eyes.
~Mhm, stronger. You saw how strong Big Bro Cyn and Brancie are; don’t you want to be like that too?~
As if she understood what the kitten said, Gabby replied.
~Meeew, meww!~
Surprisingly enough, Milo seemed to understand what she had said and replied in kind perfectly. His understanding was because of the Telepathic link she formed between them with her Affinity.
Although Gabby was using words, and Milo was making sounds, the feelings and emotions were enough to get the point across.
~Alrighty, this may hurt a little, but I need you to be tough, ok?~
~MEW!~
Seeing the kitten’s head bobbing up and down happily, Gabby bit the tip of her finger and channeled Mana into the drop of blood. Next, she pulled out a small needle, one she had borrowed from Selene, and reached over, took Milo’s little paw in her hand, and pricked one of the toe beans, making the kitten flinch.
~Shhh, it’s ok. I know it stings a little, but I did it to myself too, see.~
Waving her finger as the blood dripped down, Gabby calmed Milo down and pressed her injured finger to Milo’s paw.
“Tier-2 Huntress Skill: [Beast Partner Contract],” speaking softly not to startle Milo, Gabby activated the skill and felt her Mana drop a bit as the dripping blood merged together, and both their eyes lit up with mysterious glow.