***Velgo The Shadowborn***

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Velgo roared at no one in particular.

He had sent a group of seven kobolds—one of them being a Level 10 monster who had learned how to use the power of his Secondary Concept—to accomplish a simple mission. How hard could it be to find the uninvited guest who had killed one of their weakest members?

And yet, in less than a couple of hours, each member of the group had been slain one after another.

"Why are my subordinates so damn useless?!" He kicked the clumsily assembled armchair that was supposed to be his throne. The thing was broken in one hit, but this didn't ease his anger.

The five chosen kobolds who had been assigned to stay in the Core Hall with him watched their leader from the other side of the room. They didn't know what exactly was wrong, as no one dared to ask directly. The tyrannical way Velgo had dealt with those who doubted his authority just today was still fresh in their minds.

"Come here!" Velgo barked an order to the onlookers. "I have something good for you!"

The four of them exchanged hesitant glances with each other. Their Chief Shaman seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason, so who would believe that he really planned to reward any of them? Actually, the fifth one did have such a naive belief—Lekta the Loyal.

"Yes, Chief Velgo!" Lekta almost sprinted towards their boss while waving his fluffy tail and showing off his tongue like a good boy.

"What you fools are waiting for?!" Velgo berated the other kobolds. "What are those anxious looks you give me, you idiots?! Why can't everyone be smart like Lekta and Nenny?"

Awkwardly, all five of the Elite Guards assembled before the Shaman.

"Listen to me, Minions," Velgo started with a serious look. "There's a dirty intruder in our Dungeon who had killed seven of our brethren already. This creature hides on the top floors of the building, and it had even managed to slay Alger, who was not much weaker than any of you."

Those words made the kobolds even more nervous than before. But, at the same time, each of them was outraged at the fact that their tribesmen had been slaughtered.

"Who dares to attack our brothers without any warning?!" Lekta stomped his leg. "Allow me to deal with this insolent foe, Chief Velgo!"

The Shaman gave a satisfied nod. "That's the spirit! You know what? I planned to leave it to you the moment you proved yourself to be the most sensible by approaching me without any hesitation."

As expected, Velgo really liked the one nicknamed The Loyal. If he were to choose someone to take his place as a Chief, it would be Lekta. Of course, he didn't plan to resign in the near future, either.

"Thank you, Chief Velgo!" The enthusiastic kobold bowed politely. "Then I'm going to complete the mission right now!"

Just when Lekta turned his back and was about to sprint to the exit, the Shaman's voice called to him. "Wait for a minute."

"Yes?" The kobold turned on his heels as fast as he could, almost losing his balance in the process.

"Did you forget what I said already?" Velgo approached his favorite subordinate with what was considered a kind smile by his standards. Of course, in the eyes of the other four kobolds, their Chief smirked sinisterly at the naive fool.

"D-do you have something good for me?!" The Loyal recalled the Shaman's words from before.

"Of course, Lekta," Velgo said in an almost fatherly tone. "You are one of the best fighters of our Shadowbark Tribe, but I can make you even stronger."

Lekta's eyes started to sparkle from anticipation as his tail stood tall and waved like crazy.

Even if they were called the Elite Guard, none of them had the Rank and power of an actual Elite monster. Before the Shadowbark Tribe had left Heliron, their home planet, Velgo and Malgoc were the only Elites. After he had become the Dungeon Keeper, though, Velgo had transformed into a Champion, almost doubling his combat capabilities. And now, he had the ability to upgrade some of his Minions, but only one per day and up to five in total. This was the real reason behind the creation of the Elite Guards.

"Come closer and get on one knee," Velgo ordered, and the Minion obeyed without hesitation.

The Shaman placed his staff on the kneeling kobold's shoulder and declared in a booming voice, "I, Velgo The Shadowborn, bestow the Rank of an Elite Minion on Lekta The Loyal!"

The joyous kobold instantly felt Essence filling his whole body with barely restrained power. His Attributes significantly increased. He became stronger, faster, and sturdier. Even though his body hadn't changed much on the outside, he knew that he was very different from what he had been mere seconds ago. Lekta The Loyal had reached new heights of power!

"With this, I can be assured that you'll complete your mission flawlessly," Velgo said to the excited kobold. "We already lost seven of our brothers, and one is still being kept at the top floor, leaving only two more Unbound Slots. You are the only one who can complete this mission, Lekta. I put my faith in you. Failure is unacceptable!"

"Yes, Chief Velgo!" More loyal than ever before, Lekta was ready to fulfill the Shaman’s orders—flawlessly.

***Lex Lurker***

"How long do you t-think that doggie I left on t-the twenty-eight floor will survive without help?" I asked the cat as I left the bathroom and was on my way towards the stairs.

"He won't die," Ciesta reassured me. "Don't underestimate the vitality of monsters. Even you should survive his level of injuries. Your biology has already adapted to the Essence, thanks to the Genesis System's care. Otherwise, it would have taken a couple of days for your Health regeneration to reach its normal rate."

It seemed that after Fusion, the medical care of minor wounds became unnecessary. Then again, if, as she previously said, electricity had become a luxury, then the whole of science would need to be completely revamped after the other humans return to our home.

"Then let me get this Gear thing—"

I stopped half-sentence and almost fell on my knees from the pain in my belly.

"Oh shit!" I stood up and hurried back to the place I had visited just recently—the bathroom. The one restricted for males still stank of blood, so without any shame, I burst into the women's restroom.

Ten minutes of hard labor later, I left the toilet cubicle more than a couple of pounds lighter.

"What the hell was it?" I asked, not expecting the answer.

The cat replied, barely hiding her amusement, "Just a side-effect of improving your Attributes so much in a short period of time and then also moving around a lot just hours after having a hearty dinner."

"Ugh," I grumbled as I made my way towards the sink to wash my hands as any civilized earthling should.

"Who is this pale like death Jeff freaking Ripper?!" I exclaimed as soon as I saw the reflection in the wall mirror opposite of me.

"Ha-ha-ha," this time Ciesta couldn't hold herself back, "Is this the first time you've seen yourself, Lexy?"

Just like she said, indeed it was. Since I had awoken after the coma, I hadn't had the chance to examine how exactly I looked. The person who glared at me in the reflection was far from how I had remembered myself.

Such pale skin and sunken eyes, it's as if this guy hasn’t slept properly for a week rather than been watching dreams for three years, I mused. More importantly, though. . .

"Stop!" One word, almost screamed in a commanding tone, interrupted my thoughts. I gave Ciesta an inquiring glance.

She continued in her normal, calm voice, as if nothing just happened, "You have more important matters to complete, Lexy, don’t you?"

"Y-yeah,"—I nodded—"you are completely right."

I gave the last look to my reflection but ignored both the strange sense of incompatibility and the urge to break the damn mirror to pieces with my ax.

"Let's go." Ciesta's gentle voice calmed down my irrationally anxious mind like magic.

It's unavoidable that a person's appearance changes after being in a coma for so long, I concluded.

We talked a bit about the change Attributes bring while on our way to the stairs. Apparently, Balance also affected the nervous system in general and metabolism in particular, making the digestion process more efficient. At higher Ranks and Levels, a person's need for food would decrease to a minimum, and Gold-Rankers could sustain themselves with Essence alone.

"How are you doing, buddy?" I smiled at the kobold who had been lucky enough to survive the encounter with me.

I wondered how sinister I looked in his eyes? Honestly, I just wanted to reassure him, but judging from the way he squirmed in fear, I only made things worse.

"Only a psychopath would try to act friendly with someone after giving them a crippling injury and killing their friends," a teasingly mocking voice commented.

"A-are you still here?" I asked, surprised—Ciesta hadn't even turned invisible.

"Yeah." She sat a few feet away from the kobold who was lying on his back, breathing heavily. "Don't worry about it and get your Gear already."

Why is she suddenly so impatient? I frowned. Also, did she reveal herself just to prove to me that she isn't shy? It's unexpected that something so childish can motivate her. . .

"Think whatever you want." The cat shrugged her small shoulders.

Putting her somewhat strange behavior to the back of my mind, I opened the Menu.

Player Menu

Status Race Concepts (locked) Quests Gear System Shop Options (locked)

The two newly unlocked options urged me to explore them. I started from the fifth one.

Gear

You have no Gear equipped.

Well, duh. My palm almost approached my face in a famous gesture. Next, then.

Unlike the rest of the Screens, this one didn't just have the usual plain text but was also accompanied by a cheerful, feminine voice reading it aloud.

Welcome to the System Shop! Here, you can buy items exclusively created by Genesis System or participate in local Player Auctions. Of course, its main function is to help you upgrade your Gear. What is Gear, you ask? It's an advanced tool specially designed to support Players as efficiently as possible! It has such useful functions as Identify, Storage, Universal Translator, and Map, each making your journey easier. Of course, its main use is in battle—it generates an additional Essence Field to protect you better and allows you to Equip Artifacts, connecting them to your Essence. You will be given the basic version of the Gear for free, but only by upgrading it as you grow can it maintain its usability! Everything in the Shop costs Essence Coins, but you also need to promote your Player Tier by gaining Contribution Points if you want to update the assortment! For more information, ask your Tutorial Guide. Bye-bye!

Do you want to receive your Gear right now?

Before answering, I turned my head to the lazily sitting cat. "Hey, you can be considered as a Tutorial Guide, right? Is there anything else I need to know?"

"Just ask me if you can't understand something," Ciesta replied without looking at me.

It's time to get a boost to my strength, then! I thought excitedly. The lively voice of what I assumed to be the shopkeeper mentioned that the Gear could even provide the Essence Field on its own, something I really was eager to get.

"Yes!" I all but shouted my answer in anticipation.

Congratulations! You've received your Gear!

I had expected that a thing with such advanced functions and a name like Gear would be some type of cool-looking futuristic armor. Maybe a sci-fyish cloak or an alloy made of nanobots or something. And it would be absolutely badass if a large interdimensional portal opened up from which human-sized mech-armor was delivered to me.

Instead, a simply designed bronze-colored bangle materialized on my right wrist without any noise. As if it was a part of my skin, I couldn’t feel its presence in the slightest and would probably have missed its appearance if I hadn't been paying such close attention to my surroundings.

"This is lame," I complained as I touched it with my finger.

The bangle was about two inches in width and felt like really smooth metal to the touch. No notification appeared on contact. Upon closer inspection, the Gear proved to be incredibly thin, creating the illusion that it was just a strange tattoo instead of an actual item.

Or maybe it wasn't an illusion at all—as soon as I mentally willed for it to disappear, it became invisible, just like my cat friend liked to do.

"You’ve known me for a couple of hours, and we are friends already, huh?" She squinted her feline eyes at me.

What, do you prefer to be a catfriend, instead? I was capable of making this lame joke only because I said it inside my head.

"With a tongue like yours," she said, dead serious, "you'll either end up being single for life or with a harem, and I don't know which option is worse."

"Eh?!" I blurted. "I-I think that I'm more of a one-girl guy."

"A-are you still thinking about this Lisa?" Ciesta said something unusual, and her voice betrayed a hint of anxiety.

Before I could question her, she added while avoiding my eyes, "Sorry."

Ever since my little stomach problem, this mysterious cat acted not like her usual self. I wasn't sure what she was apologizing about. I had mentioned Lisa in my thoughts before, and it wasn't much of a secret that I had a crush on her, though I wasn't sure about my current feelings. I had been on the verge of being rejected just before my encounter with the truck-kun, after all.

Back in my school days, I started to contemplate, I had those butterflies in my stomach just from imagining her beautiful smile, but now I don't have this feeling when holding Lisa's own phone or looking at her photo. Years of coma definitely changed me, and I could bet that Lisa experienced a lot in those three years as well, in a way becoming a different person. Then again, I never truly knew her.

"Yeah, yeah, you can stop it already," Ciesta said, sounding bored. "I didn't ask you to tell me the story of your love life."

"I'm glad t-that you came back to normal, irony-cat," I said, remembering that speaking allowed me to increase Fate. "W-when you apologized for no reason. . .I almost believed that you have a split personality."

"Do you know that your teasing sounds really lame when you stammer?" From her voice, I knew that she wasn’t trying to be mean.

It's not my fault! I shouted in my mind in the most confident tone possible. You'll see how silver-tongued I am when I raise my Charisma and the Conversation Skill!

"Oh yeah, Casanova, keep deluding yourself." She tried to grin, but her feline face made it look strange.

"Ugh, it hurts. . ." Suddenly I heard an unfamiliar voice from the side. I turned my head in its direction.

"When will it heal already, and why has this monster left me alive?" The kobold whispered quietly, but as Ciesta and I had gotten silent, his words were loud in contrast.

Oh my god, I can understand this strange barking language of his! I was delighted at the finding. It still sounded just like before, but as if I had a Goggle Translate inserted in my brain, I knew what those woof-woofs of his meant.

I approached the doggie. "H-hey, pal. What's your n-name?"

The kobold squinted his eyes at me. "It tries to communicate with me? Why would it expect me to understand its language? C-could it be a Player? That's bad. . ."

Ciesta, is this guy trying to fool me? The monster's dialogue left me suspicious.

The cat entered her Encycloesta mod. "Just because you can understand him doesn't mean that he can understand you. If there's the time to check your Gear screen, then it should be now."

I had no reason to argue with her logic.

Gear

Gear Tier: F

Essence Field Bonus: 50

Equipment Capacity: 0/5

Storage Capacity: 0/15

Modules: 0/2

Functions: Equip, Identify, Storage, Universal Translator, Map

I chose to read the translation part in more detail.

Universal Translator—Allows you to understand all regular languages, translating them into your native tongue automatically. Does not help you to understand unique and unfamiliar terms. Does not allow you to speak said languages. Does not work with more advanced linguistic models used in Ancient Languages.

This had a lot of restrictions, surprisingly, but the fact that the Gear could make me understand a freaking dog still proved how awesome this function was. I proceed to check the rest of them.

Equip—Allows you to bind Artifacts to yourself and to use them effectively via an Essence Link. This function is limited by your Equipment Capacity.

I hoped that it would work on the monster weapons, but I honestly doubted that things were so simple.

Identify—Allows you to get basic information about other creatures, be they monster, animal or sentient, be they a Player or a Boss. By default, this function is limited to those within the same Rank as you or below. Additionally, allows you to Identify objects that contain enough Essence.

This one should help me to evaluate the strength of my opponents. . . I hope.

Storage—Allows you to store objects recognized by the System like Artifacts, Essence Shards, Pills, Potions, and so on. Your Gear creates an invisible four-dimensional space to keep the said items, but direct contact is required to store or retrieve them. The function is limited by your Storage Capacity.

So I can't just use it to hide my weapons and ammunition or to store food? Lame.

Before I could check the last function, I heard the most peculiar thing ever. . .

"So, what can you tell me about the Dungeon Keeper, pup?"

. . .A cat communicating with a dog by barking at it.