Thomas and I had been fighting for most of the day in this smelly and dirty swamp, and he had finally just managed to evolve his hobgoblin Jareth into a four-armed titanium ogre. It was a variant I had never even heard of before, and he seemed to be especially powerful in combat with his additional limbs and damage resistant skin.

I was really happy for my new partner, I've only known him for a few days at this point, but he has quickly grown on me. My first impression of him during the tournament, which he had wisely forfeited, was of a determined but inexperienced summoner who was especially lucky in getting decent summons early on.

Many were unable to become summoners due to their weak initial summon, and unless they had the money or connections to get help with contracting better summons or strengthening their initial ones, they would be SOL (sh*t out of luck).

We had talked briefly after the battle, only enough to introduce ourselves and make a little bit of small talk. I had given him my designated acquaintance name with no intention of getting any closer after that. He seemed nice enough, but I was busy trying to be a strong summoner and didn't have time to try and make new friends.

Obviously my mindset has since changed since I'm hunting with said person currently. It was a new experience for me, but I couldn't say I didn't like it.

The next time I met him was when he saved my life during the recent monster break. I was about to be crushed by an ogre as my other summons were preoccupied when Thomas charged in and saved me after hearing my shout.

All of the other summoners either ignored me or were too far to help, but not him. He and his summons charged in to take down the tier 4 monster duo and then stayed by me as we worked together to survive the mad onslaught.

That incident greatly changed my perception of Thomas, and now it was hard to imagine not being by him for the foreseeable future. I didn't know if it was love or not that was making me want to be by him, but all I knew right now was that I was happier working together than being alone again.

......

I was an orphan just like him, although unlike him, I had no other family or siblings to rely on. That was true until right after the monster break where I was taken in by an older summoner who had lost his granddaughter during the first monster break.

We became each other's family when we needed it most, he treated me as his own family and doted on me whenever he could. Unfortunately, even in this era, old age gets to us all and he had to retire as an active summoner about 3 months ago. Now that I was of age to become a summoner, I had taken it on myself to take care of and support him by any means necessary.

He had saved me when I had nothing aside from the clothes on my back and the information in my brain, so now I could return the favor and give him the life he deserves. I thought for the longest time I would remain alone with no real hope for a future, and it turns out all that was required to fix it was the planet's near-annihilation *haha*.

Thomas had immediately taken to trusting me and sharing personal information as soon as we began to fight together and save each other's lives. I didn't want to betray his trust and even tried to reciprocate, but I wasn't very used to sharing anything personal so I was still working up to that.

I'll probably need to sit down with him in the near future and really talk and share myself with him. If I can trust him with my life and work with him, then there's no reason I can't share other things with him.

The more I get to know the boy, the more endearing I find him. He has such a strong drive to care for his sister and become strong to protect what he cares about in this unforgiving world that it would be weird if I didn't fall for him a bit.

I'm still not sure how I could even admit that to him, or if he even feels the same way. If Thomas rejected me and said that he thought of me more like a sister, I would be devastated. Last night might have helped confirm some interest from him, but I'm still not sure just how strongly he feels. It may just be passing interest as a result of being around each other so much, but I'm really hoping that isn't the case.

Maybe talking will help me get closer to him and if I'm lucky I'll find out if he feels the same way about me as I do him. I'm not used to expressing feelings or sharing anything about myself so I don't know when would be appropriate to confess or even hint that I like him, the thought of being rejected makes me depressed just thinking about it.

I guess, for now, I'll just enjoy being around him while I can, and as I get to know him better maybe things will progress the way I want them to. One thing I've learned through my many hardships is that it is important to enjoy and appreciate the things you have now, because nothing ever stays the same in such a wild world.

Working up my courage, I eventually manage to talk with him, "Hey Thomas... is there another name that Mira calls you, or do you only go by your given name?"

I figure that if anyone would give him a nickname it would be Mira, after all, she is his only family and he mentions her often whenever he talks to me. She seems to have a special place in his heart, maybe one day I can share that same position with her and become a precious person to him.

He thinks for a moment as we walk side by side through the squelching mud before finally replying, "Mira calls me Tommy sometimes to embarrass me."

Deciding to assuage his fears I chimed in, "I like the name, it suits you."

This seems to shock him slightly since he was usually teased with that name since it sounded a bit childish. He regains his composure a bit after a second before looking at me and saying,

"If you really like it that much, I guess I'll make an exception and let you call me that. Since I answered your question, I have one of my own for you. Why do close friends call you Alexis and strangers Alex?"

I didn't really expect this question but I guess it's only fair since I asked him a pretty personal question as well.

"I let strangers and acquaintances call me Alex since I don't care for that name as much. However, I saved my real name for close friends or family. I really like my first name since it's the only thing I have of my parents, and so Alex was the default name to give. I feel like my name is something special that I reserve for people who deserve to say it."

"Hmmm, that's not what I thought the reason would be, but it's as good as any reason if not a bit weird. Usually, it's friends who call you a nickname and strangers your given one, but I guess I can see why you chose to do it that way."

I was glad to see that he had accepted my explanation and that I got to learn something about him and also managed to share a bit of myself with him as well.

"We've been wasting a bit too much time, why don't we pick up the pace and find some more monsters for Musashi to fight. If I'm really lucky I might just find a monster to become a new summon for me since I only have two right now. Let's pick up the pace... Tommy"

......................

I managed to get my wish, as we found a few weaker tier 4 monsters for my harpy and bladed mantis to fight. Holly would fly around and shoot out feathers at their faces to distract them as Musashi got up close and dealt damage to them with his bladed arms.

They really got in some valuable fighting experience while facing these stronger monsters, even if it took them a while. I wasn't really concerned about safety since Tommy had Jareth on standby to intervene if it was necessary.

We walked from the latest battle site only to come across an odd clearing of mud with few trees to get in the way of fighting. There was a deep but small pond to the left of us with all sorts of vegetation around it, and oddly enough the plants gave off vibrantly hued colors, with the main color being some shade of purple.

I got an ominous feeling from those plants and knew better to eat them since they seemed odd and bright colors on something was usually a bad sign. They could even be poisonous for all I know.

Little did I know just how right I was about them being poisonous, but there was an even greater danger lurking around somewhere near. I could feel the ominous presence of something predatory near, but no matter where I looked, I couldn't seem to find it.

Thom... I mean Tommy must have felt the same way since he appeared to be alert and looking around like I was. I warned Musashi and Holly to be ready for something dangerous, but it was unnecessary since they were already tense in preparation for the unknown.

After a few moments of this serious silence and controlled movement, the danger made itself know by rising up from the mud that had covered its' body completely. It even had plants that had grown in the mud that was caking its back.

Taking a closer look, I could make out the deep purple coloring on the scales covering the monster that had emerged from the marsh. Its' appearance became even more clear as it shook off the mud clinging to it and emerged as a proud poisonous drake.

It was another Dragonoid variant that was a level above wyrms like Jotun which had a serpentine body and small legs to help maneuver on tricky terrain where slithering wouldn't work. This one was clearly quadrupedal with a long and nearly prehensile tail that ended in viciously curved spikes that resembled daggers.

It had spikes dotting along the spine and limb areas, and its head had become more snout-like and refined with small horns sprouting from the ridge of its' head which resembled a goat.

Deadly looking fumes spouted from the nostrils of the monster and each of the spikes on its body glowed bright purple from being adorned with poison. It would be best to avoid being damaged at all by the monster, because one scratch would be enough to potentially kill the unlucky victim.

To go along with the poison theme of the drake were longer and sharper fangs protruding from the mouth of the monster that promised a painful demise to any unlucky enough to be struck by them.

It was slimmer and lankier than other drakes that I had seen, not to mention that the horns are still rather small. This all indicated that it was a rather new drake and that it was a female judging by its' body shape.

The poison was dangerous enough as is, and anything affected would be greatly hampered if not killed by it, but it would be downright menacing if it was matured and experienced. This was the equivalent of giving a toddler a gun, it doesn't matter how powerful the weapon is if the user doesn't know how to effectively use it.

I shared my observation with Tommy and he seems to have come to the same conclusion as he didn't seem surprised by what I had shared.

Dragonoid's are strong enough even in lesser forms that it would be best to avoid fighting them if possible. They were usually one of the more powerful monsters within whatever tier they were classed as, except for drakes which were on the lower end of the spectrum of tier 4 monsters.

Wyverns were also in tier 4 and were the real dangers since they were just a step away from a real tier 5 dragon or some version of. Luckily we weren't facing one of those, and the Dragonoid that we were facing was fairly new and weak.

This weakness is only relative to tier 4 monsters, they would still crush anything below their tier, and the adult drakes could even contend with some of the stronger monsters.

Taking all of this time to think about the enemy in front of us was a mistake as the poisonous drake didn't hesitate to roar and charge us. The roar shook me out of my thoughts in time to witness the deceivingly speedy monster run right at us.

Holly already took to the air and Musashi jumped to the side since he knew I could take care of myself. Sure enough, as the beast closed in with a swipe being directed towards me, I activated my flying wings skill and took to the air with a few beats of my newly sprouted wings.

Tommy seemed to be fine as well since his ogre summon was handling the drake. Deciding I would be safest near him, I direct my wings and land next to him right as my wings disappear. They are very useful when escaping, but their only downsides were the time in between uses and the short activation time.

Deciding that some coordination is in order to take down this lethal monster I looked over to Thomas and said, "Why don't you have Jareth manage the drake while the rest will attack during openings and distract it. If possible, please leave it alive enough for Musashi to kill it, I need another summon and this one would be really helpful."

I was relieved to hear, "I'll do my best to let you get the final strike, but no promises."

And so our struggle began with us fighting a monster that we couldn't risk getting near, well all except for Jareth whose skin was now strong enough to not be pierced by any of the stray spikes. It would take a powerful attack for any of the spikes to break through, but the intimidating ogre wasn't allowing it any time to work up a move like that.

They two monsters were deadlocked with neither being able to damage the other. Jareth was too defensively strong to be hurt by casual attacks, and the drake was too fast to be hit by the ogre's hammers which he wielded with two hands on each.

The newly enlarged form of Jareth seems to have traded speed for damage nullification when moving into the 4th tier, and was, unfortunately, being countered by a speedy opponent taking advantage of his slow form.

This stalling state didn't last long as multiple attacks were launched at once on each side of the fight. The drake released a poisonous purple mist that seemed to wilt vegetation as it passed by, and it immediately curled up a defensive position to try and mitigate some of the damage.

Its' tail was curled around and protecting the face while the underside dropped to the ground to hide weak spots. This proved to be the best move as feathers bounced off the tail protecting the Dragonoid's face.

A large chunk of ice, courtesy of Jotun, who had just been summoned to join the fight, rammed into the side of the monster with a loud crash and resulted in quite a few cracked or removed scales.

Musashi and Brutus weren't idle either as they ran in from the sideline and cut and slashed at the exposed and vulnerable flank of the defensively positioned monster. Only a few attacks were able to be made before the drake got up and lashed out at the two summons within range.

Brutus got lucky and shadow traveled through the shadow of the incoming barbed tail to escape. Musashi was not as lucky, and while he may have managed to fly above most of the tail that was acting as an extended mace, he still got nicked by one of the poisoned spikes on his back left leg.

I was worried after seeing him get hurt and knowing that it was only a matter of time before he got too weak to finish off the monster. Holly was still a tier 2 monster so she wouldn't be able to damage it, not to mention that I definitely could not finish off an incapacitated tier 4 monster even if I wanted to since my strength was even less than Holly's.

"Tommy, we need to finish this quickly before Musashi falls to the poison."

"Gotcha. Jareth, go and finish the drake off quickly, but make sure not to instantly kill it."

The ogre did as expected of him and charged in through the dissipating poison mist to attack the now wounded monster. Jareth's increased regeneration was taking care of the poison being inhaled and he paid no mind to anything other than striking down the pesky lizard that kept avoiding him.

With a hind leg mauled and a few broken ribs from Jotun's ice cannon, the drake was in no position to move quickly and avoid Jareth like it did before. Instead, it readied itself for one great attack to hopefully fend the ogre off.

The poisonous monster coiled up with the end of its tail winding past its face and spun quickly while extending its tail out as far as possible. The tail swung around completely like a deadly mace packed with inertia from the rotation.

Jareth didn't slow down as he saw the move, but instead mimicked the drake as he moved and with his gravity hammer extended spun the opposite way to meet and counter the rushing tail.

A great ringing and shattering was heard as bone met metal in an explosive final move. The hammer was ringing from the excessive force crashing against it not long ago, while the breaking sound was the spikes on the tail end being crushed and broken off.

The force of the rejected tail spun the drake around wildly and left it in an unstable position, while the only backlash for the silver-colored ogre was a ringing hammer. He wasn't moved back at all, and he continued to charge forward and take advantage of his opponents' unfortunate position.

He swung with his recently evolved titanium mace spiked similarly to how the drake's tail used to be and crashed it into the front shoulder of the downed drake. The impact left the limb crippled, and a second smash to the head with the same mace left the proud juvenile drake clinging to life.

"Hurry Musashi, strike it down before it dies"

My faithful mantis summon took heed to my words and charged the immobile monster and drove both sword limbs into the vulnerable eyes of the monster before ending its' life with significant damage to the brain behind the eye sockets.

"Tommy do you have any antidote on you, Musashi is still poisoned and I didn't think to buy any."

"Luckily Mira gave me a few bottles of a new anti-venom she is working on, here's one for him and another in case of emergency."

I gratefully received the bottles and stored one away while running towards Musashi to give him the antidote. I luckily got to him in time, and the bulging purple veins that had spread across his body began to recede at a noticeable pace.

With my summon's safety taken care of, I ran over to my soon-to-be summon and dug around in her chest for the core. I managed to retrieve it despite how nasty it was to dig around in its' chest, all the while remaining aware of any spikes near me and remaining careful not to accidentally scratch myself on one, which would undoubtedly kill me.

I placed the core on the mangled body of the lesser poison drake and began the summoning contract after slicing my index finger with the dagger Tommy handed to me. A few drops of blood landed on the core and a few moments later it was all absorbed along with the body going into the core as well.

I now had a new and powerful summon with plenty of future evolutionary potential, not to mention she possesses a powerful bloodline. I couldn't keep the ecstatic grin off my face or manage to be embarrassed by how I was acting in front of Tommy, I was just so happy nothing else mattered.

Knowing that I couldn't continue calling my new summon by her species, I tried to think up a name and eventually came up with, "I think I'll call her Hemlock, naming her after a beautiful but poisonous plant suits her perfectly".

I jumped onto the nearby figure of my summoning companion and gave him a big hug for helping me get a new summon. I knew I would not have managed to survive, much less gain a new summon had I been by myself facing off against the drake.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you"

I just kept repeating the words with no other way to express my gratefulness, eventually, I worked up the courage to peck him on the cheek before turning away and heading over to my summons nearby.

I turned around so he wouldn't see my beet-red face, it would be too embarrassing to let him see me like this. I counted this as progress towards my goal of confessing to Tommy, despite how slow it may seem. To be fair I've only known him for a few days, so this amount of time isn't enough to warrant worrying about confessing just yet.

I planned to get to know him better before committing to anything, but what I had seen so far was exactly what I would want in a partner. In this era, many relationships bloomed quickly due to the volatile and unknown nature of the current world, so it wasn't out of line for me to feel so strongly about him.

His having saved or helped me at least a few times doesn't hurt either, but I wouldn't rush into a relationship yet. I needed to know that we were strong enough not to worry about losing each other to have a stable relationship, I also needed more time to work out my feelings and make sure they were genuine and not just infatuation from him saving me.

I had to be practical, even with love, the dangerous new world would allow for nothing less. I couldn't afford to give away my heart before I was completely sure about him. For now, I would enjoy his company and spend as much time as I could with him.

I decided to suggest something to get him to stay with me for at least a bit longer, "Now that the battle is over, why don't we head back and get some ice cream after all the hard work and danger we faced today."

"Sure, why not. After being able to get Jareth to evolve into a tier 4 summon, I'm in a good enough mood to pay for it too. But first I need to collect some of these poisonous plants for Mira's research, and then we can go."

We spent a few minutes gathering and storing a plethora of multi-colored plants before heading back as quickly as we could while there was still light. We didn't even head over to the core exchange or summoner associating when we made it through the gate, instead, we went right for an ice cream parlor with a large ice cream cone sign with the words Gilbert's Icecream Parlor written on it in a variety of colors.

I got a hot fudge sundae while Tommy got a chocolate milkshake. We ate in comfortable silence and just enjoyed being around each other. Despite being in our dirty hunting armor, this felt like a date to me, which improved my mood even more.

Even if it isn't a real date, I'll take what I can get for now and enjoy it as much as possible.

With as exhausting and eventful a day as this one, we decided to just head back to our apartments and rest before meeting up the next morning to sell off our goods.