With Nyra’s ‘curse’ in effect drawing in many monsters, Kenaka, Mametama, and I took out whatever was coming our way. There was about one Special Monster in every fifteen regulars, and there were some I noticed were coming from both the floors below and above us. Some of the other dungeon trekking parties ahead of us came back running in panic and confusion, probably not suspecting the swarm of monsters they were facing would chase them. Maybe monsters weren’t supposed to leave their own floors under normal circumstances? If that were the case, then to bypass that restriction just proved how strong the magic in Nyra’s curse was. Unfortunately, that also meant some of the unlucky dungeon crawlers got caught in the monster waves and probably died in the process. I internally apologized to those who may have lost their lives in my trek to get Special Medals in between bouts, but to be honest, I wasn’t even sure if I was that sincere in my mourning.

As we were taking out the Special Monsters, while every other one or two dropped a rare item or material, the rest were dropping Special Medals. It was just as I suspected that my [Dragon’s Greedy Hoarding], an ability I earned after having sex with Ume for the first time, played a part in this treasure trove of drops. The ability seemed to only be effective for me and my familiars, probably because we were linked through master-familiar pacts. For Ren and Erizora, even if they were linked to me as my slaves, I guess that didn’t qualify for my ability to stretch out to them, which is why they didn’t get any rare drops yesterday like I am right now. I wondered if this played differently when I fought with the others, but that would have to be tested for another time. To make sure I didn’t trip over anything, I stowed the monster corpses, unrelated item drops, and karos in [Storage], mentally sorting them out as I went. Since the capacity of my [Storage] depended on my total MP and I was leveling up all my magic-focused classes, I had no problems with how much space I have left. I still have all those corpses of the White Rapture guys from the other day that I also need to take care of at some point.

I also found that I can still gain as much EXP casting magic to subjugate monsters as I would when using the tanto. Nyra had pointed out between breaks that this didn’t happen when she tried the same thing back when she possessed people in the past. They could only gain EXP in their bodies when they subjugated enemies with the tanto. The reason she didn’t point that out now was the one key difference between the people she possessed and myself: the Weapon’s Bond. She had attempted to try this by herself a few times in the past, but it seemed she couldn’t force the people she possessed to bond with her weapon. It could either be something that wasn’t in the ritual’s procedures or an effect of the curse that trapped her in the tanto that made this impossible, we couldn’t be sure. Since I was able bond with the weapon by my own will, however, all the cursed tanto’s effects were applied to my being. This means I can gain the same number of EXP, as well as level up twice when killing sentients, with both the tanto and any other means, weapon, magic, or otherwise. 

This was the expected outcome that Nyra wanted to see with the people she possessed in the past. Nothing would happen if someone bonded with an average, normally crafted weapon. If the wielder did the same with an enchanted, magical weapon, however, then they get some additional benefits that reflect the weapon’s powers. An example of this would be an enchanted flame sword giving the wielder a boost in Fire element attacks and magic, and maybe a resistance to it too. Going back to the tanto, Nyra knew the curse decreased the wielder’s LUCK just by holding it, but she didn’t know how much until I made the bond—she apparently also couldn’t pull up statuses of the people she possessed before I came around—which gave me all its banes as well as its boons. Knowing Nyra was a master blacksmith in the past, there was no way she could make any of this stuff up, so I had no reason to question her for legitimacy. 

After some time spent on slaying hundreds of monsters, I ended up with thirty Special Medals at the end. Thanks to my [Insightful Mapping] and some other skills, I could sense where other presences were moving about in the dungeon. I could even foresee how the other floors above and below me were faring. Because of the chaos we created earlier, the first five floors of the dungeon—with the three of us smack in the middle on the third floor—were totally barren, but then slowly filling back up with respawning monsters. If the dungeons in this world were really as ‘alive’ as the people around here say they were, it will probably be a while before the floors are filled back up with monsters at appropriate numbers.

The dungeon floor we were on was empty and dead silent, but if I hadn’t put my [Storage] Null Spell into use, this floor would have been littered with monster corpses, items, and money. I’d have to figure out what to do with them all at some point, but I had leveled up my magic-based classes quite a bit at the end. From the few monsters that were respawning on this floor, I could see from my holographic map that they were moving about. In fact, they were appearing as far away from us as possible. I thought the locations of where the monsters respawn was random, but I wondered if the dungeon, presumably alive, was intentionally keeping them away from us. The question was thought-provoking, but I decided to think about it further on another day.

Putting that aside, after taking a brief look at the top of my status, I had leveled up my magic-based classes quite well. We may not have reached the Dark Mage class to its max level yet, but I say this was as good a start as any. I’d look through the rest in further detail at another time.

When my familiars asked how I was able to get all those drops, especially the Special Medals, I explained my ability to them while counting them. 

<Lady Umeiyon is a Dragon?!> both my familiars exclaimed.

<Wait wait wait, did you not say Lady Umeiyon was a Lizardman you courted as your wife after you summoned me?!> Kenaka questioned with panic.

<Milord said the same thing to me!> Mametama added.

<... Ah, right, I did say that, but there were others around at the time, so I couldn’t say the truth. Yes, Ume is actually a Dragon, and she’s currently using [Ancient Magic] to make herself look like she’s a Lizardman in public,> I explained.

Mametama looked down with disbelief, <I do not sense anything that could tell me you are lying … for our lord, a human, to court a Dragon …>

<Our lord’s splendor and virility knows no bounds …> Kenaka added.

While I let my familiars take a moment to soak it all in, I checked in with Ume to see how everyone back at the inn was doing with [Telepathy]. It seemed I was still good on time. I also told her that my familiars were now aware of her true identity. Since familiars would never go against their masters, she had no problem with me spilling her secret to them, but she asked me to make sure Kenaka and Mametama would never say anything about it to anyone else before our connection cut off. With that settled, I told my familiars what Ume wanted them to do and they agreed to obey without question.

<Still, to have an ability that collects money and items like that, anyone would be able to live for themselves and then some for the rest of their lives,> Kenaka said through [Telepathy].

<… Nyra, you knew about this, did you not? You could not tell me of this sooner?> Mametama asked, sounding accusatory.

<Well, I had no idea how effective that ability would be, so I didn’t want to bring your hopes too high if you end up falling hard,> Nyra defended, I could imagine her shrugging her shoulders at this point, <But, it all worked out, didn’t it? You think these would be enough Special Medals to get them evolved, Jinma?>

<If not, this should at least be a good start,> I answered, <I talked to Ume earlier and confirmed that we still have time before meeting everyone for breakfast. Since we’re here while no one’s around, you want to see if we can get you both evolved?> 

<Yes!> they both exclaimed without hesitation, eagerness was heard in their tones. Out of excitement, they even changed into their adult forms in a puff of smoke. The adult jade and white-furred cougar and crimson bear sat on the ground.

<Okay, so how do we do this?> I asked while holding one Special Medal in each hand.

<… Just feed them to us one at a time until something happens, I guess?> Kenaka asked while turning to Mametama, uncertain. The cougar only shrugged her shoulders, looking just as unsure.

With no other option known, I went and fed them the Special Medals. They were a little bigger than five hundred yen coins, and I’ve heard some weird stories of people eating such things back in my previous job on Earth. I didn’t know how big a cougar’s or bear’s throat was compared to a human’s, but I figured swallowing Special Medals would be easy for my familiars. 

The medals were found to be ingestible, surprisingly enough. For the taste, Kenaka and Mametama described them not being something like iron or some other metal. There was so little flavor, in fact, that it was hard to even describe it. It was hard to bite into, couldn’t bend or crumple under pressure, not even with Kenaka’s bear teeth. That much was to be expected from a metal. Despite their toughness, though, the moment they tried swallowing, the Special Medals just melted immediately, almost faded to nothing, and there was no aftertaste. 

There weren’t any distinguishable changes by my eyes, but my familiars could hear the level-up tracks in their heads and feel they were stronger and more energetic than before. I didn’t even think about checking their statuses—if that was even possible for me to do as their master—but with my [Size Up] skill, I could still see their names and bars above their heads. I considered checking their statuses in full-detail, but if their moment of evolution meant they had hit their max-level, I thought I might as well wait until then. 

With that said, there wasn’t anything that indicated when it was time to evolve after the first Special Medal. So I fed them more medals, one at a time, almost like a well-oiled machine. Kenaka and Mametama swallowed each with more ease than the last, and they could feel themselves getting better and better.

Finally, after giving each of them ten Special Medals, something happened.

<Guys … this is it! We did it! Are you both seeing this?!> I exclaimed in excitement through [Telepathy].

<I can feel it … like I am about to burst with energy,> Kenaka answered.

<I cannot … believe it. Is this really happening?> Mametama asked in amazement.

Using only ten Special Medals to get Kenaka and Mametama to their max levels may not seem much, but if you think about it, they’re two of the kings and queens that rule factions in another realm. They’re likely the strongest magical beasts to lead their followers. The number of Special Medals required may not seem like much for the kings and queens. Those that stand lower in power, on the other hand, may need more to get to the same level as their rulers. Not only that, coming across just one Special Medal is practically a miracle. I just happened to have an ability that lets me win something rare in every victory. Its level of cheat power was on par with my [Dragon Scale Defense] ability, the one that Obina gave me before I arrived.

For something that relies on LUCK, the lowest stat I have in my status, I had all my skills, abilities, and items to make up for it and get this far. I was pretty sure some bad luck would come my way to balance things out, but for the time being, I wanted to be happy for Kenaka and Mametama reaching their goals. 

<Okay, Demon-Kin forms for both of you, right?> I asked through [Telepathy], they nodded in eager confirmation, <When I confirm these selections, you both will be at your strongest forms.>

<This is so exciting! Even after thousands of years, I’ve never seen something like this happen before! This world is so large and vast, indeed, even if I had my original body,> Nyra commented.

<This is it, Mametama. Are you ready for this?> Kenaka asked.

Mametama looked down while curling her tail around, <I admit … I am a bit nervous.>

I put my [Petting] skill to use and petted my cougar familiar’s head and face, <It’s going to be okay, Mametama. No matter if it’s this form or one of the other two, I’m sure you’re going to look great either way.>

I could feel Mametama’s muscles loosening up from my petting treatment, but there was still some tension as she looked at me, <… May I ask one selfish request of you, Milord?>

<Feh, and you called me selfish?> Kenaka argued.

<It’s okay, Kenaka. What would you like Mametama?> I asked her.

Mametama paused, finding the right words, <This will … not happen immediately, especially since we have the others waiting on us, but when a chance arises after this, I want to speak to you about something important … in private. Is that okay?>

I nodded, <Of course, it’s okay. Whether we’re alone or with the others, you can speak your mind to me about anything at any time. I’ll let you decide for when you think you’re ready to talk.>

Mametama placed a paw on one of my hands petting her face and closed her eyes, <Thank you, Milord. Knowing that puts my mind at ease.>

<Come on, let us get this going, already! I want to see myself in my new form!> Kenaka exclaimed.

<Yeah! I want to see how hot you both look!> Nyra added.

With that, I took a couple steps back and pulled up the selection screens, moving the cursors over to ‘Demon-Kin’ forms for both my familiars and selecting them. Both of their screens showed up like this.

<You both ready?> I asked my familiars through [Telepathy].

They both only nodded.

<Okay, I’m choosing ‘Yes,’ in three. Two. One,> I counted down before confirming my selection for both at the same time.

A moment of silence passed with nothing happening. Kenaka and Mametama only stared ahead blankly.

<… Huh, is that it? Well, that was anti—>

Nyra’s comment was interrupted when my familiars’ bodies suddenly got enveloped by peculiar auras. Mametama’s aura was a light that shined bright yellow, while Kenaka’s was like those UV blacklights one might see in parties or concerts, but far more intense, ominous, and darker. Those auras swallowed my familiars’ forms, stretching, morphing, and ‘splashing’ like lava lamps going at high speeds. There wasn’t any screaming of pain, just the strange sounds the auras were making as they moved.

This went on for a couple seconds until both auras practically exploded in puffs of smoke in their respective colors, as if someone set off a grenade of that type in the room. Yellow and violet covered the area in a thick cloud. 

For a moment, I couldn’t even see a hint of my familiars, until the clouds dissipated, and I saw two silhouettes.

Orange_Rain

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