Chapter 42: Naming the Companion Monsters!
Sorry, everyone, for not posting yesterday. The pressure was intense; I couldn’t take it any more and couldn’t keep up. I don’t want to affect the future plot by rushing things, so Thursdays and Fridays have been set aside as days off, and the rest of the week will be one chapter per day. Tomorrow, a fixed time will be set for the daily post. My apologies once again.
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Kaiden looked at his companion monster, which had just been freed from the seal, his spiritual link with it fully restored.
He forced himself not to overthink what had happened. In any case, there was nothing he could do about the system's laws. Some matters were better left for the future.
After settling himself, Kaiden directed his thoughts through the spiritual link toward his frightened companion: "Don't worry — this won't happen again."
"That's wonderful, master! I was so terrified!"
The monster's mind was extremely simple. Whatever the master said was absolute truth in its mind, without the slightest doubt or further thought. It believed Kaiden's words with complete innocence.
While speaking with his summoned companion through the link, Kaiden walked slowly toward it to see it up close. Because of his spiritual bond with it, he felt no fear of it whatsoever — only intense curiosity about this fantastical creature that looked as though it had crawled out of legend.
When he reached its front and stood directly before it, he gained a much fuller appreciation of its enormous size. Even though the creature hadn't raised its front section off the ground, it was still at least half a head taller than him.
By comparison, the black snake Laura had killed on his second day in this world… next to this imposing creature, it would have been nothing more than a toothpick.
Kaiden had a habit of patting people on the shoulder as a welcoming gesture. So his natural inclination was to pat the creature on its forehead as a friendly sign. But…
Hmm.
Well.
The Subterranean Dragon Worm didn't have a forehead to begin with. And even if it did, he wouldn't have been able to reach it at his current height.
His outstretched hand froze in the air for an awkward moment. Then he chose to touch its nearest side instead. The texture was exactly as expected — like touching rough stone. Hard. With no living warmth pulsing from it.
"Subterranean Dragon Worm… welcome to our emerging territory."
After welcoming his newly summoned companion, Kaiden sent his soldiers back to their duties — Laura in particular, who was only one step away from completing her upgrade to the Nascent Champion rank.
As for himself, he opened his status board, which he hadn't checked for quite some time.
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[Lord's Status Board]
Name: Kaiden
Class: Nascent Earth Mage (Earth Affinity: 85%)
Level: 8 (715/800)
Race: Human
Traits:
- Health: 230 (HP: 2,300)
- Strength: 220 (STR: 2,200)
- Speed: 230 (AGI: 2,300)
- Endurance: 210 (STA: 2,100)
- Intelligence: 780 (MP: 7,800)
Skills:
- Mana Sense (Common, Passive)
- Terrain Modification (Rare, Active)
- Subterranean Vision (Rare, Active)
- Earth Manipulation (Epic, Active)
Companion Monsters:
- Prairie Lizard (Level 5, Common) — Tap to view companion information.
- Subterranean Dragon Worm (Level 1, Rare) — Tap to view companion information.
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Kaiden looked at the experience bar. He was mildly surprised to find he was nearly at Level Nine without having realized it. It seemed he would need to add a class advancement to his schedule as well.
But that was for tomorrow.
For now, he turned his attention to the companion monsters section newly added to his status board. He opened the information boards for both creatures, starting with the lizard:
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Monster Name: (None — please assign a name)
Level: 5 (245/500)
Race Type: Prairie Lizard (Common)
Sex: Female
Description: Lives in arid environments. Possesses stronger defense compared to monsters of the same rank, though its movement speed is slightly lower.
Racial Skills: Tough Hide, Bite, Scratch, Tail Whip.
Class Evolution Path: Unicorn Lizard (Rare)
Upgrade Requirements:
- Reach rank maximum
- Spend 20 Origin Points to complete the upgrade process
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Hmm. Kaiden had faced numerous lizard monsters since arriving in this world and had seen this type's information several times before. But now that he owned a companion from the same species, he found the information had changed — it was considerably more detailed. He also noticed the presence of a class evolution path, just as existed for the rest of his territory's residents.
He then opened the second companion's information board.
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Monster Name: (None — please assign a name)
Level: 1 (0/1,200)
Race Type: Subterranean Dragon Worm (Rare)
Sex: Female
Description: A rare monster with a high affinity for the earth element. Despite having no eyes, it can accurately sense the movement of creatures at great distances. The underground is its primary domain — through its natural affinity with the earth element, it can move there with speed and freedom. By comparison, its movement on the surface is slow. Its defense is high, possessing a long body covered in thick rocky scales.
Racial Skills: Rocky Hide (Rare), Subterranean Movement (Rare), Motion Sense (Rare), Saw Teeth (Rare)
Class Evolution Path: (Locked — please upgrade the Lord's Crown to the Silver Crown tier to view information)
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"Exactly what one would expect from a rare monster — rare even among rares!"
Kaiden exhaled in amazement. He had known this creature was remarkable, but he hadn't expected it to reach this level. When he focused on the skills, more detailed descriptions appeared before him. For example, when the creature opened and closed its mouth, its saw-like teeth rotated in a terrifying circular motion — meaning its mouth was essentially a supreme meat grinder.
Simply imagining the fate of whoever fell into that mouth sent a full-body shiver running through Kaiden. He felt a momentary twinge of sympathy for his future enemies.
And it didn't end there. Every detail of this monster was extraordinarily powerful.
Rocky Hide, for instance, granted it superhuman defense. Every part of its body was covered in solid rock. In other words, it could completely disregard physical attacks from any creature of the same rank. Kaiden also estimated that even against forces of a rank higher than Rare, it would still maintain formidable defense.
Furthermore, the combination of the ability to move freely underground with motion sensing was an astonishing pairing. It meant this creature was the ultimate ambush predator — capable of hiding beneath the earth, tracking its prey from below, and striking at precisely the right moment.
The Prairie Lizard, by comparison, was lacking in a great many ways.
But despite that, both creatures held equal standing in Kaiden's eyes. He hadn't forgotten that without the lizard monster, he would never have acquired a more powerful one. And each creature had its own distinct functions.
He imagined it in the distant future — a massive lizard, fully armored, standing at the head of the army as a spearhead. Even the strongest formations wouldn't be able to stop it.
Of course, that would be left to the distant future to be proven in practice. What mattered was that both creatures had different advantages.
Thinking about it, Kaiden suddenly remembered he hadn't named either creature yet.
Kaiden's sense of naming was absolutely atrocious — though he was entirely unaware of this himself. Otherwise, how could someone with decent naming instincts name a barren wasteland "The Fertile Lands"?
In any case, Kaiden didn't think about it too hard. Within one minute, he had found names he considered good. Since both his companions were female, he chose feminine names.
He named the Prairie Lizard: Piedra.
He named the Subterranean Dragon Worm: Ibla.
There was no deep meaning behind either name. He simply chose the first things that came to mind. Fortunately, at least, they were genuinely feminine names.
Kaiden's conscience was entirely at peace. He looked at his two companions. Piedra and Ibla were moving about with energy, as though delighted with their new names.
As far as he was concerned, that was more than enough.
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— End of Chapter Forty-Two —