Ch 324: Little Grey.

[Holy Spirit Beast] (Little Grey): Type: Beast Pet, Level: LV0, Grade: Celestial, Owner: Noah. A strange beast of unknown origins. It has a cute appearance and a very peaceful and docile nature. Hates fighting, does not seek any battle ability, thus does not have any combat ability. But it has a body with strong vitality and agility, along with mysterious strength of unknown attributes. It has a mysterious aura that makes even mother nature want to get close to it, very easily causes other life forms to have a good impression of it, makes even the most evil creatures hard to develop the desire to attack it.

Attributes: HP: 2000, MP: 50, Physical Attack Strength: 1, Magic Attack Strength: 1, Physical Defense: 200, Hit Rate: 1, Dodge Rate: 1, Critical Hit Rate: 50%, Pierce Rate: 50%, Movement Speed: 300. +200HP, +5 MP and +20 Defense per level.

Innate Gifts:

Can freely move about on land and water. Is especially sensitive towards dangerous auras, can sense approaching danger. Is very sensitive towards the smell of high-grade ores, energy crystals, energy orbs and all kinds of treasures. Can discover and accurately find their locations from a long distance. Will automatically pick up Coins and Potions and transfer them into the Master's inventory.

Noah's eyebrows shot to the top of his forehead. The Critical Hit Rate and Pierce Rate were a tragic waste on a peaceful pet, but Little Grey's movement speed was beyond great.

However, the movement skill was nothing compared to Little Gray's innate gifts. As someone who wanted to become a blacksmith, having a pet able to locate high-grade ores would be invaluable. And that without even considering his ability to find treasures.

"Qi Yue, do you think Little Grey would be able to locate nearby God Orbs?"

Qi Yue appeared by his side. She crouched near Little Grey, who seemed wary of her for a second, but after sniffing her hand, Little Grey wagged his little tail at her, and she petted him with a fond smile.

"Probably. I would not be able to estimate his detection range, but this cute little fellow might prove invaluable for finding the missing orbs."

[Holy Spirit Shield]: Current Level: LV1, Highest Level: LV5, Level required to upgrade to LV2: LV20. An invisible shield that is always protecting the Holy Spirit Beast’s body, Master, and party members, up to 6. The shield will decrease all damage received by 30%. When HP is higher than 70%, players protected by the Holy Spirit Shield will not die after receiving a lethal blow and HP will be reserved at 1. HP recovers 5% every second, after death can directly revive on the spot, HP will recover to max, will not have any losses, can revive 3 times a day.

[Soul Devour]: Cannot be upgraded. Matures by devouring the bodies of dead creatures, and at the same time using holy spirit force to refine the parts that cannot be absorbed, spitting out an unknown item of the respective attribute. [Note: The growth of the Holy Spirit Beast is not through experience, but through Soul Devour]

[Holy Spirit’s Aura]: Current Level: LV0, Highest Level: LV20, Level required to upgrade to LV1: LV1, locked, effect unknown.

[Holy Spirit’s Eye]: Current Level: LV0, Highest Level: LV20, Level required to upgrade to LV1: LV1, locked, effect unknown.

[Holy Spirit’s Gift]: Current Level: LV0, Highest Level: LV20, Level required to upgrade to LV1: LV10, locked, effect unknown.

"Holy Freaking Banana!" exclaimed Noah in shock as soon as he finished reading the first skill. Damage reduction, lethal blow protection, HP regeneration, and 3 free resurrections per day? This was beyond overpowered!

That skill alone would justify Little Grey's grade as far as he was concerned, and yet, there were four more skills.

And it sounded like two of the locked skills would unlock as soon as Little Grey gained a level.

"Welcome to the team, Little Grey." smiled Noah. "Now let's see how that second skill of your works."

"Ruff!" happily barked Little Grey.

Qi Yue smiled at them and returned inside the Lunar Scourge.

Noah killed a few more Red-Eyed Lizards almost instantly, hitting them with one hit from each of his swords. Each time, Little Grey ran over, opened his mouth, and a gray light came from it, enveloping the corpses before they would disappear. The gray light was reabsorbed by Little Gray, and when he ate his sixth corpse, Little Grey returned to Noah and barked happily before opening his mouth again, dropping a red crystal.

"Oh?" said Noah as he picked it up, using Scan.

[Elementary Strength Crystal]: Type: Energy Crystal: Grade: Elementary, Attribute: Fire, Effect: Physical Attack Strength+6%.

Noah remembered seeing one of those in the Item Shop he visited, in Azure Dragon City. They were priced at 200 Gold Coins.

"Woah, Little Grey. Thanks, that's a great gift!" grinned Noah, scratching behind his ears.

"Now I wonder, will you produce the same gift with the same number of corpses, or is it all random? Let's test it."

"Ruff!" barked Little Grey, wagging its tail.

It wasn't random. With an hour of farming, Noah had gained a level, as well as 64 Elementary Strength Crystals, netting him a theoretical 12 800 Gold Coins.

In practice, it would be a lot less, as he didn't think players were willing to pay 200 gold per crystal, but still…

Noah opened his contacts and sent a message to Yun Feng.

"Hi. I am currently on an important quest that will last up to a month. If I succeed, I'll have secured a prime location in Azure Dragon City for your sister's trading house, for 6 months. Also, I'll give her Soaring Cloud to sell in one or two weeks, and she can keep the profits."

Noah was back to farming Lizards when the answer came.

"Really? That's great! At this rate, I'll build a shrine in my home to worship you! Good luck in your quest!"

Noah nodded to himself and kept farming Red-Eyes Lizards.

Then, Little Grey's level increased, and two of his skills were unlocked.

[Holy Spirit’s Aura]: Current Level: LV1, Highest Level: LV20, Level required to upgrade to LV2: LV5, Using its Holy Spirit Aura that is void of evil and impurity to seek the protection of mother nature, upgrades the innate gifts of itself and all companions. Effect: Luck+1 and Comprehension+1 of itself along with the master and all pet companions. Effect exists even while not summoned.

[Holy Spirit’s Eye]: Current Level: LV1, Highest Level: LV5, Level required to upgrade to LV2: LV10. Using the strength of the Holy Spirit’s Eyes, a glimpse will reveal the hidden secrets of beings, the higher the level, the stronger the ability and range. Effect: Can view any player, beast, witch, demon, god, ghost not higher than 10 levels from itself for details of the spirit, and share it directly with its master, can detect this from 50 meters around itself.

Noah smiled in satisfaction.

While the effect of Holy Spirit's Aura was hard to quantify without knowing the exact effect that Luck and Comprehension had in Mystic Moon, the difficulty of raising those attributes likely meant that they were important.

The other one, however, would likely be very useful down the line, after it gained a few levels.

Suddenly, Little Grey turned his head to the side and headed toward a large patch of tall grass with furtive steps, like a predator stalking a prey.

Noah followed him, and when they got close enough, noticed another kind of monster.

"Plant Faerie: Type: Demon, Level: LV10, HP: 360, Originally a regular plant, afterwards under the influence of the strength left behind by “War God” it came alive and had weak strength. Likes auras of purity, will automatically attack outside beings that can endanger them."

There were five of them clustered together.

Noah attacked with Mirage Blade.

Under the effects of all of his bonuses, his Physical Attack Power had increased to 401 when using his two Sand Blades.

-281, -80.

The Plant Faerie died, and Noah dealt with the other four plants the same way, easily evading whipping strikes from their long and sharp leaves.

Meanwhile, Little Grey ate the first corpse and returned to Noah with a new kind of item.

[Plant Faerie Stone]: The crystallization of the Plant Faerie’s energy source refined from its body, has a pure life aura, after eating it, will forever increase HP by 10 points.

Noah's jaw dropped, then he laughed as he took Little Grey in his arms. At this rate, this little pet was going to prove even more invaluable than his hidden class.

Little grey happily barked as Noah set him back on the ground, and he wasted no time swallowing the other corpses, producing another Plant Faerie Stone each time.

Sadly, there were no other patch of tall grass in sight, and Noah decided to move and stronger monsters, hopefully some elites that would give him Skill Points, or more Plant Faeries.

He kept heading toward the east. According to the map's scale, Lonely Spirit Ridge was 200 kilometers away from Azure Dragon City. Even with a mount, he would need to spend a lot of time traveling.

Noah had traveled about 30 kilometers seeing various kinds of Lvl 13 to Lvl 15 monsters and killing a few of each to see what Little Grey would produce, but nothing was especially more valuable than the Red Crystals produced by the Lizards, and he didn't find any giving permanent bonuses. He then he logged off, as he had a tea party to attend.

…

"Thank you for coming, everyone…" smiled Shiori, opening the door.

The dorm she lived in had a few rooms on the first floor that could be used for social functions, and Shiori had reserved one for this meeting. Hatsune and Rin were already present, and instantly outnumbered by Noah's group, made of himself, Erica and Liliana, Karen and Ariana, Rikka, Shuiruo, and Origami.

"Thank you for inviting us, Princess." smiled Noah. as they all sat down, aside from Hatsune who volunteered herself to serve the tea. When she was done and took her seat, Shiori cleared her throat.

"Congratulations, Noah and Shuiruo, for being in the world's top 10 on Mystic Moon. I hear Principal Anjou is quite happy about how well represented the College is."

"In all fairness, some of us have a few advantages that are downright unfair." shrugged Noah. "And on that point, I'm afraid that I won't stay for more than an hour, as Eve is seriously threatening to take my spot."

"Are you sure, Noah-sama? You still had over 600 Fame Points over her, last time I checked." asked Hatsune.

"She got to the Class Hall before me and got the best Hidden Class, the War God one. I got another Hidden Class, but considering how good it already is, I wouldn't be surprised if she was level 13 already, while I just reached level 12."

"A hidden Class? How good is it?" asked Rin, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

"It's called 'Phantasmal Bladedancer', and it allows me to use a weapon on each hand. And I get a 25% damage bonus if the swords are identical. Which is why I am using a pair of gold-grade swords right now, and I will soon sell Soaring Cloud."

"Oh… You're going to be very wealthy." nodded Rin.

"For the first Fairy-grade item ever dropped, the guild masters from the greatest guilds will compete for the prestige of having it, not even considering the edge it would give them in leveling. It will go for well over ten million dollars." nodded Shiori.

Noah nodded.

"I have some news to share as well." grinned Shuiruo as she looked at Noah. "I, too, have a Hidden Class."

"That's great news, thought it's not that surprising, since you're one of the best." grinned Noah. "Which one did you take?"

"Fairy Priest. I like supporting others more than using a sword." smiled Shuiruo.

"That is great news indeed, congratulations." smiled Shiori.

"Thank you, Princess." replied Shuiruo.

"I'm envious." sighed Erica. "I think Bunny and I are somewhere in the top 100, if I judge by how the Class Hall was empty when we reached it, but we didn't get to take a Hidden Class."

"Kitten and I both became normal Warriors."

"The trainers mentioned that they expected less than one player out of 50 million to get to choose one." shrugged Noah. "But if I ever find a hidden class scroll in the wild, Kitten, I can promise you that you and Bunny will be among the first I think about."

"Kitten? Bunny?" asked Rin. "You guys are on a pet name basis already?"

Erica and Liliana shared an awkward glance, and Noah smiled.

"If you wish to know why I am calling them like that, I do not mind telling, but they will ask you to refer to them by their pet names as well."

"Please don't."

"Please don't, who?" chimed Yui from Erica's wrist, her voice teasing, and surprising Shiori, Hatsune and Rin.

"Please don't, my Lord." sighed Erica.

"Ah, Maybe I should have told you about Yui and Hikari, sorry about the oversight. They are both part of my faction, and connected to the bangles Kitten and Bunny wear." apologized Noah. "You have my word that nothing they hear will leak to anyone not already present in this room."

"It's nice to meet you all." said both Yui and Hikari.

"Likewise? Are you students in the College as well?" asked Shiori.

"No. We're both Artificial Intelligences that Master saved, and we live in his main Home. But we are able to transmit data through the dimensional wall."

"Please tell us, about those pet names." asked Rin. The circumstances were clearly not ordinary, and that only made her more curious.

"I think you all are aware that my first meeting with Kitten and Liliana was when they tried to enslave me, assuming I was a Spirit, still vulnerable after coming to this world."

Shiori, Hatsune and Rin nodded.

"I instantly saw that Kitten and Bunny were not just beautiful, but also brave, and skilled. And I wanted them. So, I decided that since they had tried to enslave me, it was fair game to enslave them in turn. I made them sign a five-year contract. But since I am not without compassion, and that I am confident they will both want to be part of my faction even without any constraint as long as we interact with each other long enough, I offered them a chance to reduce their sentence to just one year, on the condition that they play a game with me."

"…for the next 80 days or so, every two days, they will roll dice, and the result will determine which new rule or restrictions they will have to follow until the end of the game. If they endure without breaking the rules, they win. If I make it impossible for them to follow every rule, they get an instant win. If they lose, I will keep them as my slaves for the five years."

"They both have a rule that requires them to call me by a title, refer to themselves by a pet name of my choosing, and have to ask any third party aware of the game to use those pet names as well."

"Which mean that you can still call them Erica and Liliana, but they have to ask you to use Kitten and Bunny each time you do." finished Yui.

"I… see." hesitated Shiori, realizing that she had misjudged Noah. He was more ruthless than she expected, and she would need to be careful with him, even if some measure of ruthlessness wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "…They won't be penalized if we call them by their real names, right?"

"They won't, as long as they ask you to use their pet names afterwards. If not, that's considered a minor infraction, and the game's duration will be extended by three days." nodded Noah.

"I have heard a rumor about an expedition the College will soon organize, in one of the great lakes a few dozen kilometers north, near the dam." said Shiori, noticing how awkward the conversation was for Erica and Liliana and wanting to bring the conversation to a safer subject. They have found traces of an ancient temple, one that might date from the early years of the Land of Dragons."

"A submerged temple?" asked Noah. "Has the land changed a lot in just a few centuries?"

"Not that I am aware off." shrugged Shiori. "But they have requested from Mars one of their newest exploration ships."

"Mars?" asked Shuiruo.

"That's the name of a military port. There are three big settlements in the Land of Dragons. Mars, the College, and Avalon, a city that doubles as a logistic hub for supplies. The rest are small research outposts or small groups of hunting lodges."

Noah nodded, and the conversation continued on that subject, before returning to matters related to Mystic Moon and the other students.

Until about fifty minutes after the start of the tea party, where Shiori looked at Noah.

"Noah-sama, would you mind accompanying me for a few minutes?"

"Of course not, Princess." smiled Noah, happy that they were finally getting to the reason Shiori had invited him to this tea party in the first place.

The others sent them strange looks as Noah followed the Princess outside, but didn't ask any question.

Shiori led him upstairs, and into what he could only assume was her room. A glance at the names written beside the door, Fujinomiya and Tachibana, confirmed his suspicion.

The room inside was tastefully furnished and decorated, and Shiori turned to face him.

"Noah-sama… I would like to hire your services."

"What do you have in mind, Princess?"

"As I told you, I am the Princess that was cast out, and my younger cousin is Japan's Empress."

Shiori lifted her hand to bring attention to her platinum-silver hair.

"Those hair are the proof that I have a stronger bloodline than her. And our claims to the throne were a similar strength. No, mine was stronger. But I was shoved aside, and there are talks of having my married to Julius Caesar, the Legatus Legionis. He already expressed his interest, but he looks like he is in his fifties.

"Why were you brushed aside, if you have the stronger claim, Princess?"

"Because my cousin is significantly younger, and is… mild-tempered. To put it in less than charitable terms, she's a pushover."

"Ah, I understand. Some officials want a weak Empress that will follow their advice."

"Exactly." nodded Shiori. "I would like you to help me take over the Imperial throne of Japan."

"I appreciate the courage it took you to say it open to me." nodded Noah with a small smile. "And I can tell that you really think what you just told me."

"…But?" asked Shiori with a tight voice, her hands closed into tight fists."

"I will have to verify with my own eyes how the current Empress deal with matters of ruling, and I will need to know you better, to be sure you would be a better ruler than her. I am not going to involve myself in a power struggle before first making certain I am on the right side. You don't intend to get rid of your cousin if you succeed, right?"

"Of course not!" hurriedly replied Shiori. "We may be estranged, but she's still family. I would try to gap the bridge between us first, to return to how we were when we were little."

"I see." nodded Noah. "And what do you suggest as compensation for my service?"

"I…" hesitated Shiori, before she fidgeted, blushing. "I don't suppose you would accept payment after the fact? I could offer you a favored position within the court, or more money that you could spend in a lifetime…"

"Not interested." shrugged Noah. "I can literally create gold or diamonds out of thin hair, and I could get a good position in any court simply by showing off my power to the right people, if I wished to. Princess, you took a huge risk by essentially admitting to planning treason against Japan, so I will reciprocate by being honest about my own intentions."

"Within a few years, I will rule this world. And you, Princess, will be by my side. Just like Hatsune, Rin, and others will be. If you wish to have Japan under your personal responsibility, I won't mind giving you the authority to do so, provided I deem you to be a good ruler."

"But good ruler or not, Princess, you will be mine."

"…as your slave?" asked Shiori with a tight voice, her hands still forming fists. She was blushing, but also increasingly angry.

"No. I have no intention of making you play the game Kitten and Bunny are experiencing. Right now, I have no plan to make any aggressive move towards you, and I would prefer you to fall for me naturally." shrugged Noah.

"And I will tell you this. While I occasionally enslave young women that I find interesting, depending on circumstances, I do not keep them unless they are happy to be kept. You will not find anyone among my girls who isn't happy with how things turned out."

Shiori stared at him without a word. She felt relieved that Noah didn't plan to pressure her, but the 'Right now' he used almost meant that if she didn't fall for him, he might take steps to make it happen.

"I didn't take you for a ruffian and a scoundrel, Noah-sama."

"I am a scoundrel, at least where woman are concerned." nodded Noah. "But I also make sure to keep my word. If I decide you would be a better ruler than your cousin, and you agree to pay the price, Princess, there is no power in this world that will stop me from seizing the Imperial throne and giving it to you."

Shiori stared at him again in silence, and even Noah couldn't guess what she was thinking about.

"Now, if you do not have anything else to talk about, we should return to the others."

"…Yes. That is all, for now." replied Shiori after shaking herself. She walked to the door and opened it.

"I will give you an answer in a few days." said Shiori in a low voice as he walked out. "After I discuss your… ambitions with Hatsune."

"Very well." nodded Noah. "I do not mind if she or Rin learn about what I told you."

The end result would not change. One way or another, They would be his.