Mature Content Warning: Not Much, but maybe some odd imagery and potentially foul language.

Author's note: This chapter ends the 'beginning arc' of the story. So, expect more adventurishness and ero soon.

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Chapter 6: Eeep!

--

His eyelids cracked open not long after he had closed them. A tell-tale tingle had begun to skitter through his body like a tiny spider made of lightning had started to dance along his spine. For a brief moment he was concerned by that surprising sensation. However, as his sleep-deprived mind began to piece things together he slowly revealed an excited smile. It was happening, at last!

Scott checked the time then grinned. “Only a few minutes until dawn? Sweet.”

The dancing lightning spider tip-toeing along his spine was a sensation he had anticipated ever since he had begun his training to become a hunter. Unlike the experience he had gained after completing his basic course work, normal experience upgrades by the system took several minutes to update.

The so-called one thousand experience points that he had received before was actually a partial-release of what he had earned throughout the two years of studying that he had performed. He had a lot of potential EXP stored inside his body, still. It would be released as he met certain career milestones in his early probationary period.

However, the energetic feeling coursing through his body right now was new EXP energy entering his system. The council had accepted his report and granted him a status update. Had he gained EXP directly during his encounter with the Caesg girl, he would have felt this same sensation on an immediately.

Several minutes passed before the dancing spider grew tired and the energetic sensation died down. Scott watched the countdown to sunrise then smiled. A soft dinging sound echoed inside his mind. A message screen popped up.

<<< Dawn Report >>>

Congratulations Hunter, your most recent report has been logged and vetted. The American city council has granted you the following rewards for your meritorious service to our nation and its people.

Experience and Augmentation Points

General experience upgrade: + 12 EXP

First Capture Bonus: + 3 EXP, + 1 Augmentation Point

First Bond initiation Bonus: + 10 EXP, + 1 Augmentation Point

New Bond Initiated: [Caesg: F-Rank, Level 1] + 4 EXP

Spotter Selected: + 1 EXP

Awakening Probability Liability Agreement Accepted: +25 EXP, + 1 Augmentation Point

EXP Total Upgrade: 55

Augmentation Point Upgrade: 3

Monetary Rewards

Capture Bonus: [ F-Rank, Level-One] +25 copper credits

>>

“Hey, not bad! I even got a little EXP for becoming Alexis’ boyfriend.” Scott laughed at his little joke. The boyfriend bit was not why he had received that experience. He was now liable for Alexis and would be designated as an emergency contact in case she awakened.

The government would move at all possible speed to collect him and bring him to her if he was outside of the city without a means to return quickly. Otherwise, he had to be able to go to her at a moment’s notice under his own power.

Scott rubbed his chin. He had not received many credits for his efforts, but that was to be expected. The still unnamed Caesg girl was about as low-end as a Crystallim could be. She would become stronger, quickly. Scott had liked how eager she seemed to get to know him, despite her overall shyness. That girl needed a friend, badly. Luckily, she was also a member of a breed and family of Crystallim who could become very powerful water types over time.

“I’ll see how we mesh, and if we work out as a team I’ll refine her up to C-grade like Flora.” Refinement would be expensive, but it would be worth it. The extra points for all stats per level would drastically increase her capacity. When she reached the next tier she would probably automatically upgrade in rank at least once. There was a chance that she would at least be S-Rank by the time she was fourth-tier, if he refined her prior to her first advancement.

Scott called up the information on his new friend and looked through the upgrade requirements. He smiled when he found no special requirements for the first two tiers. “Good... She’ll automatically advance when she hits a certain level range.”

Of course, that also meant that he had to refine her before she reached that level. Refinement was expensive, but not really that expensive for the first few refinement periods. High-end refinement was something only the super wealthy could afford.

He decided to run the numbers a bit. After calculating the cost he nodded. “Well, I can afford to refine her to D-Rank now, but C-Rank will require a bit of fund raising.”

Refinement had standard prices for most Crystallim. Certain breeds required more money to refine, but most of them followed the standard scale. It would cost him a little over one gold credit to upgrade his new mermaid friend to D-Rank. Further refinement to the next rank up would be an additional ten gold credits. After that it would increase to platinum credits.

Scott thought about the situation for a moment then made a decision. He would only accept a new girl onto his team at the moment if she was incredibly interested in him or if she brought something unique and powerful to the equation.

Unfortunately, he could not bond with every girl he ran across, even if she was interested. Even the most dedicated person had limits. He could not sustain the Lucid nature of every girl on the planet. Until he could refine his new friend to C-Rank he would have to be judicious about any new entrants to his team.

The hunter glanced down at his bracer then considered the little blue gem stone. The Crystallim core was slightly clouded over at the moment. She was still working towards proper coherence. He doubted that it would take her too much longer, however. From everything he had learned during training, most recovering Nightmare Crystallim became coherent and Lucid within twenty-four hours after making a bond. It usually would not even take that long.

He looked to the other Crystallim core on his bracer. Flora’s core was softly shining in the darkness. She gave off a gentle radiance that seemed to match her personality.

“I should let her rest another few hours.” Scott wanted to go back to sleep, actually, but he was just too amped up at the moment.

“Hmm, the sun’s up... I could train a little then hit the sack again?” He nodded after speaking his attentions aloud. He could only use his active bond gifts when the Crystallim that the gift was linked to, was not currently manifesting a physical form.

Scott hopped up from his bed and then made his way out of his room. He strolled down the stairs and then continued onward until he was outside. The early morning light greeted him in its dull, lazy, manner. It would be another hour or two until the day brightened enough for his tastes.

He decided to check his current status since he had augmentation points to spend. He eyed the entry critically and considered his next move. He smiled when he noticed the slight adjustments made due to his synchronization gifts.

<<< Status >>>

Name: Scott Matthews | Class: Hunter | Rank: C

Age: 20 | Level: 1

EXP: 1055 | EXP to Next Level: 45

Augmentation Points: 3

City: America

V.Force: 50[55]

Attack: 4 | Defense: 4

Strength: 6 | Agility: 10[11] | Vitality: 10[11]

Intellect: 4 | Resonance: 10

>>

Scott looked at his attack and defense ratings. He did not expect that he would be directly attacking or defending in the next week or two, but that was wishful thinking. His attack and defense energy was human standard for his level. As long as he fought only weak level one or level two Crystallim he should be fine. He would definitely need to increase defense in the future, however.

He was a little leery of adding augmentation points there for the moment, however. There were several augmentations that could easily upgrade either status entry by several points. Augmentation points were hard to come by, and his other stats needed them more at the moment.

“Meh, might as well follow my original plan.” Scott placed all three points into strength. He finalized his selection and immediately felt the dancing electric spider return for another vigorous salsa along his spine. Unlike when he had updated twenty stat points at one time, he was well within tolerance. His strength would be increased to nine points within the next few minutes.

He did not want to risk any mishaps, however. Scott waited until the upgrade was completed before he began training his only active skill. Luckily, it was an incredibly easy skill to train.

After the spider stopped its dance he raised his bracer-clad arm into the air and focused on his connection to Flora. He envisioned the girl in his mind then sensed the power she granted him. He weaved his mind through the pattern of the ability in an attempt to see how it worked. Several minutes passed before he understood the process, but his active link with the Alraune guaranteed that he would be able to figure it out. Just as his humanity allowed her to remain coherent, lucid, her supernatural elemental nature allowed him to understand how to bend reality to meet his needs in regards to her abilities.

Scott activated the regenerative ability Solar Absorption. His version was an inferior variation of the true ability, but that was fine. However, what was not fine was the fact that pain lanced through his body as soon as he activated the ability.

The hunter growled and ground his teeth together as he felt his very life essence being burned away. Vital force was the fuel for supernatural power. Solar absorption at level one required fifteen points of force, or roughly two-thirds of the life force of a commoner, just to activate. Flora was a bit more efficient in her usage than Scott due to her innate nature.

Red marks appeared along his body, followed by hideous blue and yellow bruises. His vision faded in and out for a brief instant as a large chunk of his vital essence was burned away. By the time the ability activated he felt like he had gone three rounds with a professional fighter and did not perform well at all.

However, the ability did activate. Scott faced the sun and then stretched his arms out. He tilted his head back and then smiled. He could feel his vital force returning rapidly. The effect would not last as long for him as it would for Flora, but that was fine. It required fifteen points of vital force, but he would regain one point of vital force every second for around two minutes while he remained rooted in place. Of course, he would need that much time just to repair some of the damage he had inflicted upon his body while using the ability.

Scott’s vital force returned rapidly within the first few seconds. It began to fluctuate afterward, however. Every few seconds he would lose a point of vital force and his wounds would heal slightly. Every second that passed after that would end with him regaining that point of vital force. By the time two minutes had passed he had almost completely healed the damage that he had inflicted on his body.

He waited another minute for the vitality drain to stop. He had healed as much of the damage as he could heal at the moment. He would need to rest in order to regain his vital force so that he could heal further.

Scott ignored his minor wounds and activated the skill once more. He hissed loudly as pain racked his body. The bruises and red marks returned and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. It looked worse than it really was, but it felt as bad as it looked.

The hunter repeated the process six times before he decided to rest for a while. He went back inside and relaxed on his bed. He still could not sleep, however. “I wonder how many times I will have to use that ability before it increases to level two.”

There was no way to know, really. Unlike EXP energy, skill development could not be determined numerically. The exact number of times that someone needed to use a skill before their body adapted varied by a large margin. He figured it would not take more than one hundred uses, probably far fewer uses to be honest.

He checked his status then winced. His vital force had dropped by twenty-eight. No wonder he felt beat. Solar absorption would be a good skill to use in order to completely restore his vital force, or to improve his regeneration. Though, he would need to increase its effectiveness before it would be truly useful. He foresaw many bruises in the near future.

Scott winced at the wave of pain that radiated from his chest then resolved himself not to move for a while. Simple rest would allow him to slowly heal, though he doubted that he would completely heal before his vital force hit zero.

Roughly two minutes passed before he received a system message warning him of his vitality loss. He read it carefully to make sure there were no surprises, though he was used to seeing these sorts of messages. During basic training and his work with Seventy-Two, he had often hit zero.

<<< Warning >>>

Your vital force has reached a critical low. Rapid regeneration will cease. If you have sustained any serious injuries please treat your wounds or visit a local hospital.

>>

“No kidding?” Scott laughed softly at his pathetic attempt at a joke then sighed. His regeneration would be slow and tedious now. Perhaps he should only use that ability four times in a row during early training periods.

He thought about it for a moment. It made sense to limit his training, but it could take weeks to increase his skill level.

Scott opted to call up his inventory screen. He chose a bottle of vitality water and it shimmered into existence in his hand.

“Good old Power-V.” said Scott. He chugged the bottle of water then sighed softly. Several minutes passed before he noticed the effect that he had hoped to feel. His vitality increased to twelve points.

His rapid regeneration started up again and he smiled. It would not last long, but he had more water. Power-V was only six copper credits per bottle. Low-end vital force restoratives were not particularly expensive. Actual healing items and high-end vital force restoratives cost a bit more, however.

A little over half a minute later he received another warning regarding his vital force loss. He chugged another bottle of water then settled in for a nap. He could use the rest.

Several hours passed and Scott awoke once more. Most of his injuries had been healed. He checked his status and saw that he had eight points of vital force remaining. He would probably use those up rapidly now that he was awake.

He blinked then sighed. “Room Function: Bathroom.”

Scott walked into the bathroom and unleashed the contents of his bladder into the pristine toilet. Chugging all of that vitality water had led to a rather natural result. After he finished up, and washed his hands, he received a message telling him that his regeneration had shut off.

“Ah well, I’m almost healed anyway.” His body felt a little stuff but he felt very little pain at the moment. Just to be sure, he took out a bottle of water then called up his kitchen area.

Scott made breakfast, bacon and eggs with juice and vitality water, and then checked on his partners. The blue Crystallim core had started to shine a little brighter. She was almost ready to come out and meet the world. Flora continued to shine softly. She was probably fully rested by now.

A few minutes passed without received another warning message. Scott checked his status then nodded. “Fully healed, finally...”

There was no point in going out to hunt until he had a chance to spend a little time with his new partner, so he decided to give it another hour. If she was not ready by then, he would call out Flora and they would go find something to do for a few hours. It was possible that he would have to put off hunting for today, but that was fine. The well-being of the girls came first.

Scott stretched out on his bed once more then sighed. How would he spend his hour? He did not feel like surfing the Global Net, but what else was there to do?

After a few minutes he began to reflect on the last few days. He had officially been a hunter for only two days now. A lot had happened during that time, and at the rate things were going there would be a lot more excitement in the future.

“Maybe we can explore a dungeon soon?” Scott smiled after he said it. Dungeon was a slang term for naturally occurring structures that formed around ancient Crystallim deposits. Reality became twisted and warped. Nightmares roamed the area and even the occasional aberration might be found.

Dungeons could be anything from a rocky spire, or mist-shrouded forest, to an underground labyrinth. There was even a small one located in the national park. Of course, it was swept routinely by hunters and ADF patrols so there were not as many Crystallim in the area as most dungeons would have.

He rolled over onto his side then frowned. They were not ready for that sort of thing, yet. A few small missions could work, though.

A few minutes passed before he thought of something else to occupy his time. Alexis, his new girlfriend in name, was part succubus. If she awakened he would have to take care of her. He called up information regarding the succubus breed.

<<< Entry #113 >>>

Breed Name: Succubus

Family: Succubus

Habitat: Any

Appearance: Humanoid [Type I - III]

The succubus breed is a type of Crystallim that can range from a purely human appearance to a type three humanoid appearance at will. They are considered to be incredibly beautiful by human standards. They have a high sex drive, and a strong preference for human male companionship.

Their powers are fueled by intimate contact with men. If they are in a relationship with a human master this is easily handled as they will devote themselves to their master. However, if their master is a human female they will require frequent interaction with men in order to maintain their power base. This is inefficient, however. Many cities enforce a strict male master only rule for this breed due to their specific requirements.

Succubae are not normally jealous creatures and may even enjoy the idea of their master spending time with other human women or Crystallim. However, a peculiar quirk of the breed comes into play when their chosen master shows intimacy with another female to the extent that they casually use the name of their other partner. Succubae invariably dislike the name of another woman on the lips of their master, and will sometimes become moody or even violently jealous. This quirk becomes even more pronounced if they happen to know the other woman or Crystallim personally.

In short, Succubae will normally be eager to increase the sexual knowledge of her master through interaction with many women. However, they do not want their master to become intimate with them to the extent that he casually references them by name in conversation. Most Succubae merely pout or glare when it happens, however, some do become manipulative or mean spirited.

This strange form of jealousy is far more pronounced in Nightmare Succubae. A Succubus in the wild may become completely enamored by a man who passes through their area. They will attempt to kidnap the man and keep him locked away. In many instances, the man will be given a pet name such as precious and will be treated like a favored possession.

Caution: Though males are rarely forced into awakening as a Crystallim, the overtly sexual nature of a Succubus combined with her extreme attentiveness toward her precious, can cause a human to undergo metamorphosis and awaken as a Crystallim.

>>

Scott shuddered at the cautionary note at the end. Forced awakening was something every hunter feared. It did not happen often, and took a long time to initiate. Women were particularly vulnerable to it since their resonance was most similar to a Crystallim. That did not completely protect men from the effect, however.

If a man was forced into continual long term contact with a Nightmare, typically several years’ worth of contact for a man, they would be in danger of awakening as a random Crystallim breed. A woman would always become the same breed as the Crystallim they were interacting with during that time.

Metamorphosis due to awakening was not an issue for humans who had forged a bond with a Crystallim. A Lucid Crystallim would not force awakening onto a normal human. Nightmares generated a different energy field, one that was more disruptive.

The hunter called up a general image of the Succubus breed then saw the three dimensional image shift from a type one humanoid into its two alternate versions. The second version was a sleeker sexier version with cute fangs and a tail that had a heart-shaped point on the end. The third version had horns, large bat wings, and sturdier tail, and several other little differences. She wore a cruel, yet seductive, expression upon her beautiful face.

Scott gazed upon the full-on Succubus in all her glory. For a moment he thought of what Alexis would look like if she were to take on that sort of appearance. She would be beautiful, but would she also have the calculating look and bored sensuality? The image before him looked like the epitome of a woman who took pride in turning a man into a plaything. Perhaps it was just the blurb about the breed and a few things he had heard during training, but he truly he was just applying prejudice instead of seeing the truth.

He dismissed the stereotypical Succubus image then sighed. If she did awaken he would take care of her, but she had a life as a human being. He wished her the best in keeping that life.

The hunter decided to check a few more entries for other Crystallim then closed down the message screen. He was not tired enough to go back to sleep, and did not know what else to do while he waited.

He happened to glance down at his bracer after another few minutes and a bright smile crossed his face. The blue Crystallim core had begun to shine with a soft, steady, light. His new friend was ready to meet the world.

Scott stood up then stepped away from the bed. He wanted to give her a soft landing point since she had no legs. “Caesg.”

He did not know her name, yet. For all he knew she did not even have one. A soft blue light shot outward from the Crystallim core and soon the mermaid he had partnered with manifested in the room.

The mermaid blinked sleepily then looked around. “Where am I?”

“Hi! My name is Scott, do you remember me?” asked the man.

“Oh, hi! Uhm, you’re my master right? You certainly feel like someone special to Me.” said the girl. She flapped her tail up and down a few times while looking at him curiously.

“Yep, that’s me. Do you have a name?” asked Scott.

“A name... I don’t know. No one has ever called me anything, I guess?” The Caesg frowned then acquired a thoughtful expression.

It was one of the oddities of Crystallim and the bond. They had self-awareness, and developed adult personalities. However, their overall knowledge could be spotty at best. Over time much of their master’s knowledge would translate over to the girl, but even then they would need to be properly educated. Thankfully virtual reality tutorial programs easily took care of that issue. They could spend a single real hour taking basic education courses, while actively learning for several hours in the virtual environment.

“If you don’t have a name, is there anything that you would like to be called?” asked the hunter. He smiled at her and tried to give off a friendly vibe.

“Uhm, often I guess?” The Caesg smiled sweetly at him.

Scott chuckled softly. “I’ll definitely do that if you like. Still, what would you like for me to call you? Do you have a preference?”

She propped her head up on her hands then tilted her head to the left. “No, not really.”

He nodded. She had probably never had a name of her own before. If she had, she had no doubt forgotten it. Given the location he found her and her overall capacity, she had probably been born recently. She had a complete personality from what he could tell, so that was not a problem.

The hunter rubbed his chin and thought over possible names. There were many historic names for a mermaid. However, she might want a more normal name.

The Caesg sighed softly and her scales shifted color from light blue to a far darker shade in a prismatic display of light.

Her hair and eyes slowly shifted to match the new color. Scott blinked then stared openly. “What... how did you do that?”

“Hmm? Do what, master?” asked the girl.

“You shifted the color pattern of your scales. Your information said nothing about that.” said the man.

“Oh, well... I don’t know. I don’t think that I could do it before. It just happened.” replied the girl. She was just as surprised as he was.

Scott checked her status once more then noted that she now had an ability to shift the color of her scales in accordance with her mood. It was called prismatic shift and it was based on her emotional state. It seemed to have no other function except to show her mood.

“I see, probably a side-effect of our bond.” said Scott.

She smiled at him and her lower half shifted into a golden hue that gleamed in the light. She fanned her tail up and down a little.

“So pretty, like a gold fish.” Scott blurted it out, but realized it might sound offensive not long after he said it.

The girl giggled at him. She was not offended “Really? You think I am pretty with gold colored scales?”

“Sure. You’re beautiful either way.” said Scott. It was true. As far as he was concerned, she was like a work of art. Her fins and wide fan-like tail probably looked gorgeous in the water.

She made a strangled sound then hid her eyes behind her hands. After a few seconds she spread her fingers and peeked out at him with one eye. When she saw him looking at her closed her fingers and made a little *Eep!* sound.

Scott’s left eyebrow shot up in the air. What was going on with this fish? Was she shy?

After a few minutes she opened her fingers again. She cried out once more when she saw him looking at her.

“Are you, OK? Did I upset you?” asked Scott.

“Yes... N-no... I... think you are pretty, too.” she said. Her tail color shifted several times in rapid succession then stopped on a strange intermittent pattern that resembled a piece of mosaic artwork.

“Thank you, am I scaring you? If I am, I’m sorry.” said the man.

“A little... But it’s a good scary.” she said softly.

“If it is good, why not look at me?” he asked.

She opened her hands a little then glanced at him before looking down. Her face turned bright red and then her scales turned red to match. “I...I’ve never spent this much time around a boy before.”

“It’s, OK. We will spend a lot of time together in the future if you like. I want to get to know you better.” said Scott in a soft and calm voice.

She squeaked a little then hid behind her hands again. Her tail began to fan frantically, and then took on an even brighter shade of red.

Scott tried to fight back a laugh that started to bubble up inside of him. This could take a while. Advertisement Support "Galataea Crystallim: Chronicles of the Lonely World" PayPal Patreon Previous

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