Selvaria (POV)

Inside an Arctic habitat enclosure in Sea World, several Harp Seal pups play around Selvaria, who was wearing a staff uniform. She strokes their soft furry chubby bodies while they interact with the two genetically enhanced bunnies.

The adult Seals are several meters away, being fed dinner by Mason. The staff uniform was too small for his build, so he didn’t bother buttoning the shirt.

The Seals around him obediently waited their turn to receive a fish while occasionally glancing toward their pups.

“Remind me again why we are still here?”

“Rad messaged that arranging a transport ship to carry all the aquatic animals back to the moon would take a few days. Plus, I get to celebrate the New Year on Earth and see all the fireworks we can’t use on Vector.”

“I get all that, but aren’t you worried about Fluffal’s Doomsday prophecy?”

“We will find out in a few hours whether the threat was real.”

“The real-life monsters, their elemental powers, and freaky transformations in the videos of Tamers aren’t enough to take it seriously?”

“Look, Mason… I love those novels where a supreme evil god causes worldwide natural disasters and releases a zombie virus, but we aren’t in a novel so try to lower your doomsday expectations.”

“Right, but I have a bad feeling in my bones.”

“When did your bones gain Spidey sense?”

“Hey, they saved my ass quite a few times.”

“So, what are they saying right now?”

“Get on the ship, fly out to space, or get Monster Abilities ASAP. Otherwise, something bad will happen.”

“You really think monster abilities are better than our tech?”

“From what I saw on those videos, they seem useful and powerful.”

“None of those abilities can compare to the power of our Mechs.”

“Whatever! I don’t think it’s wise to sit around doing nothing.”

“If it will help to calm you down, I will get your egg to hatch and evolve immediately.”

“You can do that?”

“Just give me your phone and let me do my thing.”

Mason poured out the rest of the contents of his fish bucket for the seals to eat and then walked over to Selvaria to hand over his phone.

Selvaria inspected the device before placing her hair on it. Within seconds her hair starts to move on its own and illuminates with a soft white glow.

[WARNING! AN UNIDENTIFIED USER IS…]

The AI Butler in Mason’s phone managed to yell out before becoming silent.

“What’s going on with your hair?”

Selvaria did not bother to reply to Mason. Her mind was concentrating on breaking through the barriers set up by Fluffals. She was literally hacking into the Monster App with the aid of the nanites in her hair and High Command’s assistance.

The device projected a Monster Egg with five black rings around it.

“I have cleared the first five tasks for you. The App wants to know what kind of monster you want?”

“Isn’t that divided into several questions?”

“I am trying to simplify the process. Just tell me what species and what kind of elemental power you want.”

“Well… I always liked Vampires and Knights in metal armor. So something that is the fusion of the two would be great.”

“So a Knight that looks like a Vampire Bat with Metal Control?”

“That would be perfect!” Mason answered with eyes full of hope and excitement.

Selvaria closed her eyes and refocused her attention on Monster App. She willed the consciousness within to create a monster that would fit Mason’s needs.

In a few minutes, the Monster Egg gained another five black rings, combined with the rest into one black stripe around the egg, which expanded until the whole egg turned black.

[Congratulations User Mason! Your Monster Partner is ready to hatch. Do you approve?]

“Mason, deny it!”

“What? Why?”

“We don’t have three days for it to get ready to evolve. So let’s skip all that while I am editing its coding.”

“I see… Deny!”

The Egg that was glowing in the air became dull immediately. Then, it began to slowly rotate and orbit around Mason.

“What’s it doing?”

“I think Fluffals wanted his eggs to annoy their Tamer until they give the permission to hatch. But in this state, I can still mess around with it.”

Though Selvaria looked calm on the outside, her mind was constantly lifting large boulders and swimming against a strong sea current.

“Selvaria, are you alright?”

“The Monster App is trying to resist me, but I have already reached the final step. What combat style do you want?”

“Equipment!”

“Mastery?”

“Enhanced Mana Regeneration.”

Ding!

The egg was ready to hatch and then wait three days to evolve.

Selvaria used her overwhelming willpower to remove the three-day waiting period and go straight to the hatching stage.

The holographic egg orbiting Mason began to solidify and change its shell color. Cracks formed over its blue surface before it shattered, revealing a full-grown Black Vampire Bat. Before Mason could kneel and pet his new monster partner, Spike began to evolve into his second form.

Spike grew an extra set of limbs that turned into bat wings. His original pair was the standard size, but the new ones were far bigger than his body. The proportions made Spike look disfigured until his body began to grow until it was four feet tall.

Armor suddenly appears over Spike’s body, except for his wings and fangs. He looked like a Mechanized Bat with Red Orb eyes that caused one to shiver when they stared at them for too long.

“Have you decided on a name for him?”

Mason inspected Spike’s body, covered in Ice armor and small spikes.

“I think Spike fits his appearance.”

Mason presented his right hand for Spike to sniff. The monster revealed his sharp fangs and nibbled the fingers very gently.

“Will Spike get drawbacks from evolving so fast?”

“There will always be some trade-off, but it shouldn’t be a major issue.”

“Reveal Spike’s Skillset.”

[Monster Name: Spike

Type: Mind, Earth, Beast, Mana, Metal

Mastery: Enhanced Mana Regeneration

Combat Style: Equipment Transformation

Skills: Dark Knight’s Lance (Beginner), Dark Knight’s Aura (Beginner), Dark Knight’s Cloak (Beginner), Dark Knight’s Rage (Beginner)

Skill Features:

Dark Knight’s Lance - The Monster can expand Mana to create metal javelins that can drain Mana from the opponents they impale. The Mana obtained by the weapons will be transferred to the one who made them.

Dark Knight’s Aura - The Monster can share its Mana with friendly monsters with ‘Mind, Earth, Beast, Mana, Metal.’ The targets must be within a twenty-meter range to receive Mana from this skill. The amount of mana shared is always less than fifty percent.

Dark Knight’s Cloak - The Monster can create metal wings in the shape of shields that absorb Mana-based attacks.

Dark Knight’s Rage - When this skill is activated, a volatile ball of Mana will appear in front of the Monster’s mouth. It can be shot out like a cannon, and its explosive power is dependent on the amount of Mana infused into it ]

“Are you happy with these abilities?”

“Seems pretty cool, but I wonder why I got abilities that share my Mana with others. It feels like these skills are meant to support group combat.”

“I had a hand in that. My Monster has a weird temperature-based condition to gain Mana. So I thought if Spike had a way to share his, I wouldn’t have to worry too much when using up my Mana.”

“Hold on… you already got your monster partner?”

“I hacked my Monster App last night while you were sleeping.”

“Then where is your partner?”

“Can’t you see that she is among the Seal pups?”

Mason was surprised by the revelation and immediately focused on the animals around her. He realized the Seal pup playing with Selvaria’s two bunnies was a bit unusual. It had a frosty mist surrounding its furry body.

There was more intelligence in its eyes than the others, and how it communicated with the bunnies seemed like an actual conversation.

“This is Galatea!” Selvaria announced with pride.

Galatea paused her conversation with the bunnies to inspect Mason and then crawled toward him. She let Mason pet her head before returning to her heated debate with the bunnies.

The subject of their discussion was Selvaria’s attention. After Galatea hatched, the Bunnies felt neglected because their master was over cuddling her new partner. So they wanted to set some boundaries for Selvaria’s affection.

“Why is Galatea still in the infant stage if you already saw her combat skills?”

“I hacked the Monster App to make her revert back to the infant form when I do not require those skills.”

“Why did you do that?”

“I saw how some Tamers ended up with weird-looking monsters after their evolution. So I decided to give Galatea a reversion ability before she hatched. It’s surprisingly simple since the monster app places most of its barriers against shortcuts to further evolutions.”

“Further? You mean our monsters can evolve again?”

“I couldn’t determine how many more stages there are, but I am certain the first evolution is just their teenage forms.”

“Do you want to try out your combat style? We still have a few hours to kill before D-Day begins.”

“Sure, and you?”

“I practiced while you slept last night.”

“Do you ever sleep?”

“Never!”

4 hours later…

There is a full moon in the midnight sky above Sea World. Mason is at the snack dispenser, trying to shake it until it drops the food he paid for with little success. Selvaria was still playing with the Seals when her phone vibrated with a message from Rad.

[The third fleet has issued an SOS from Mars. They were attacked by the bugs in orbit and have crash-landed on the surface. High Command ordered all fleets to head there and save as many lives as possible]

Selvaria was shocked by the message and then dialed Rad’s number, but the connection was blocked for some reason.

“Mason! Can you call Rad from your phone?”

“Is something wrong with yours?” Mason asked as he obeyed her order to contact Rad, but the call couldn’t go through.

“That’s weird. Earth tech should not be capable of blocking our communications.”

“Mason… look at the sky.”

Mason was confused, but when he looked up, there were no stars or full moon in the sky. Instead, a fierce vortex appeared in the heavens above. At the eye of this storm, a Pink pillar of light descended into the Earth below.

An explosion of light radiated in every direction and blinded everyone. The entire city and outskirts were engulfed in this strange light that faded after reaching thirty kilometers. The Pink Pillar remained at the center of town. The explosion damaged nothing, but car sirens rang so loud that Selvaria and Mason could hear them from their location.

“What just happened?” Mason asked as he checked his body for any injuries.

“I think that was Fluffal’s Doomsday.”

“A Pink Pillar and a flash of light? That’s it?”

“High Command, go online and find out what exactly happened.”

[I am unable to do so because the blast took out all comms networks]

“Everything?”

[The Monster App’s comms feature is the only one unaffected by the Pillar of light]

“Mason, check your App and see if Tamers are reporting about the pillar of light.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I am going to get the animals to calm down.”

The two bunnies on Selvaria’s shoulders shivered, and the Seals roared in fear. The blinding light seemed to have spooked them.

Only Galatea was unfazed by the supernatural event. Instead, she approached Selvaria for instructions. Selvaria placed her right hand on the Seal’s head and ordered her to protect the other animals.

Galatea evolved into her second form, which looks like a Leopard Seal covered in Draconic Ice armor. Then, she rallied the other Seals and pups to herd up together before using her monster skill, creating a large Dome made of Ice over the Arctic enclosure.

Selvaria and Mason exited the area before the Dome sealed completely. They found themselves in a deserted facility since it was New Year’s eve.

“What’s the status with the rest of Tamers, Mason?”

“Looks like these Pink Pillars appeared all over the world. No one knows what’s happening, but the ones near the Pink Pillars say that creatures are coming out of them.”

“How many pillars are there?”

“There isn’t an exact count, but they all appeared over the most populated cities.”

“Is the Pillar near us releasing Monsters too?”

“All the Pink Pillars in North America are releasing swarms of Giant Bugs.”

“Bugs? Like the ones on Mars?”

“These seem a bit more Earth-like and can use Ice attacks. So everyone is referring to them as Ice-Bugs.”

“Call out Spike and have him recon the area around Sea World for threats.”

“Alright.”

Mason summoned Spike and repeated the instructions. The giant, heavy armored Bat took off into the night sky without making any sound. He made two circles around the facility before releasing a shrill cry.

Something caught Spike’s attention in the air. First, a two-foot shard of Ice narrowly missed his head as he folded his wings and dropped to the ground below. Then, an Ice-Bug that looked like a Hornet fell from the sky and chased after Spike while shooting stingers made from Ice.

“Mason, call Spike back here and get into your combat style now!” Selvaria ordered as she pulled out the gun she created on Vector.

“Understood!”

When Spike flew back to Mason’s side, he activated the Equipment transformation combat style. Within ten seconds, the figure of Spike reformed into armor that attached itself to Mason’s body.

Mason is covered in a sinister black-colored knight armor from head to toe. The helmet on his head resembled a Vampire bat, and the whole surface of the armor was covered with blood runes. A long white cape similar to the one used by Batman materializes on his back.

The Hornet Ice-Bug stopped mid-air and then turned back towards the sky, screeching its heart out to gain the attention of its swarm.

“Selvaria, hostiles are incoming. Should we run or fight?”

“Do I look like someone who will run away?”

“No… but there are hundreds!”

“Doesn’t matter! I will not let those bugs hurt my Seals!”

Selvaria raised her gun to the air, aimed, and fired off a shot that echoed throughout the facility. The buzzing grew louder, and then the Bugs appeared from above, flying straight down towards Selvaria with their stingers pointed at her.

Selvaria fired several shots at the swarm, each bullet through the carapace of the oversized Locusts like a hot knife through butter. Then Selvaria dodged out of the way of the Ice stinger projectiles without any wasted movements and fired her gun with deadly accuracy.

Meanwhile, Mason activated the ‘Dark Knight’s Lance’ skill, which made the Earth around him shoot out a 3-meter-long Metal Lance with Blood Rune inscription. Mason grabbed the weapon with his right hand and used his left hand to grab his white cape to serve as his shield for Mana-based attacks.

A dozen large shards of Ice fell from above at Mason’s location. The ice shards shattered against the lance, and the smaller pieces dissolved when they made contact with the cape.

“Looks like all those hours of practice paid off.”

“Focus on killing instead of showing off!” Selvaria yelled back at him.

Mason aimed his spear at the swarm above like a statue of Zeus hurling a lightning bolt. Of course, it is difficult for the human eye to keep track of their movements, but the Vampire Bat helmet wasn’t just for show. It allowed Mason to accurately sense the location of everything around him even if he closed his eyes.

Mason threw the lance into the sky and heard a cry of agony from an oversized Moth which was the source of the Ice Shards.

When it fell to the ground, Mason felt a torrent of energy rush into him from the dead husk. It restored his stamina and refreshed his mind like one would feel after a good night’s rest and a shower.

“So this is what Mana absorption feels like.”

Mason then expanded the new Mana he gained on summoning another Lance, which was quickly thrown at another target. This action, along with using his white cape to neutralize Ice based Mana attacks, is repeated several times.

After the fifteenth Ice-Bug fell to Selvaria’s bullets, the swarm decided to pull back and find easier prey elsewhere.

“I know Galatea is protecting the seal, but why didn’t you activate your combat style?”

“I will always fight my guns unless I have no other option.”

“You still believe the Monster App is a trap by Fluffals?”

“I had been warned not to rely on the power offered by the Pink fiend and use my own skills to survive.”

“Huh? We haven’t even told Rad about the Monster App, so who told you that?”

“Will fill you in on it later. Right now, we must get out of here and find a safe place.”

“One with military-grade defenses.”

“Know any?”

“The old football stadium in Dallas was built during the Cold War with China. It can survive nuclear attacks, so these Ice-Bugs shouldn’t be able to do shit against it.”

“Isn’t Dallas a bit far from here?”

“It would take an hour to get there, but putting some distance between the Pink Pillar and us is worth the trip, I think.”

“I agree. I want you to find us a big truck while I round up the Seals.”

“Hold on… are you seriously going to take them with us?”

“I won’t let the Ice-Bugs hurt them!”

“But..”

“Just do it!”

“Alright.”

Mason relented to his commander’s order and went about searching through the parking lot outside SeaWorld.

“You two should help him out.”

The two adorable bunnies on her shoulders acknowledged the command with their long ears, which made a cute salute before hopping off to follow after the Dark Knight.

Selvaria fired her gun at the Ice Dome Galatea made until she created a hole big enough for her body to get inside. To her surprise, the enclosure was devoid of any life. Selvaria deduced that Galatea must have guided the Seals into the pool to hide.

Selvaria dived into the water to search for the Seals but didn’t find them there either. When she reached the bottom of the pool, Selvaria found a narrow passageway that the Seals must have used.

There were several twists and turns that she had to navigate through before the passage ended. It was connected to a larger pool. Selvaria swam to the surface and found herself in a vast underground man-made cavern filled with equipment that brought in cold air from the surface.

Galatea greeted Selvaria when she emerged from the water. Selvaria was grabbed by Galatea’s stubby limbs and pulled towards the higher ground of the cavern.

Selvaria found the baby seals along with the adults. Otters and Penguins from SeaWorld were also present in this confined space.

“There is an intruder! It must be one of the bugs. Quickly kill it!”

An elderly man yelled from the other side of the cavern. He and two companions ran towards Selvaria with pistols in their hands. Underneath the heavy jackets, these people are wearing uniforms that belong to Exo-Gene.

Selvaria assumed they were the scientists responsible for genetically engineering all the animals in Sea World to possess human-like intelligence.

When they saw Selvaria, one of the scientists pulled out a gun from his waist and then aimed it at her.

“Huh? It’s just a caretaker from the facility.”

“How did she get in here without an air breather?”

“Who cares how she got here. Caretakers aren’t allowed here! Get out the way you came in!”

Selvaria paused and looked down. She was still wearing the Sea World CareTaker uniform.

“I am not one of your staff. I am the Admiral of Vector’s fifth fleet. I’m here to take these animals to a safe place.”

“Someone from Vector?”

“Ah… she must be the one who came here to buy all our Seals.”

“Safe place? Look around you! The Bugs can’t get us here. On top of that, all the roads on top are being swarmed by those monsters.”

One scientist pulled up a Tablet from his coat. It displayed a surveillance camera feed showing Mason fighting alone against another swarm of Ice-Bugs in the parking lot. It then showed footage from another camera observing the highway near Sea-World. The road is filled with cars and people being attacked by Ice-Bugs.

“What if there is a bug that swims through water or digs underground. You three won’t be able to protect them if that kind of bug shows up.”

“Our orders are to terminate the livestock if our defenses are breached.”

“Terminate livestock? You bastards are willing to kill all these poor animals?”

“Of course, we will! They are all the property of Exo-Gene. We can do whatever we want with them.”

“You sound like the fools who work for PETA.”

“Huh? What does PETA have to do with this?”

Selvaria did not bother to reply. Instead, she raised her gun and aimed at the scientist who was still pointing his gun at her.

“Hey! Drop your gun… or I will shoot!” The scientist yelled.

Selvaria dropped the gun to their relief, but she immediately activated her combat style.

Galatea dematerialized and fused with Selvaria. Curved Horns made of Ice grew out of Selvaria’s forehead just above her eyes. Apart from her face, the rest of the skin on her body is replaced by Leopard seal fur wrapped over by Draconic Scale armor made of Ice.

Selvaria received an audio notification in her mind that detailed the combat skills she had been given access to through the fusion.

[Monster Name: Galatea

Type: Mind, Sea, Beast, Mana, Ice

Mastery: Extra skill slot

Combat Style: Monster Fusion

Skills: Cryokinetic constructs (Beginner), Kuraokami’s Traits (Beginner), Unmeltable Ice (Beginner), Kuraokami’s Blessing (Beginner), Kuraokami’s Rage (Beginner)

Skill Features:

Cryokinetic constructs - When this skill is activated, the Monster can create structures or equipment out of Ice using Mana.

Kuraokami’s Traits - When this skill is activated, the Monster can create Draconic wings, a Draconic tail, and a set of Draconic claws made of Ice. Requires a steady supply of Mana to sustain.

Unmeltable Ice - When this skill is activated, the Ice constructs or any skill related to Ice manipulation will be unmeltable to conventional flames. Requires a steady supply of Mana to sustain.

Kuraokami’s Blessing - The Deity of Rain and Snow has blessed this Monster with the ability to breathe and move freely underwater and be immune to the damaging effects of sub-zero temperature. The beast can only gain Mana by submerging itself in cold water or below-freezing environments.

Kuraokami’s Rage - When this skill is activated, the Monster can release a powerful blast of air that will freeze targets within a ten-meter cone in front of it. This skill requires Mana to activate]

Selvaria had spent weeks agonizing whether to ignore the weird dream about the Ice Dragon or heed it. That was until Mason showed her the Monster App and Fluffal’s Doomsday threat.

When Galatea hatched out of the Egg, she looked exactly like the Seal Selvaria encountered in that odd dream. Then the skills Galatea acquired through the first evolution proved that the weird dream wasn’t something her mind made up.

Now she would use those gifts from her ‘self-proclaimed father’ to punish those who harmed the innocent. Even though Galatea’s skills require a lot of Mana, that wasn’t a problem in this environment where Selvaria has access to cold water and a below-freezing climate to constantly replenish her Mana reserves.

Selvaria activated the Kuraokami’s Traits skill, which created dragon-style claws on her hands, a skeletal dragon tail, and skeletal wings out of Ice. Her mind could control these new appendages without discomfort as if they had always been part of her body.

The scientists were stunned from witnessing Selvaria’s transformation. The eldest among them was the first to recover his senses.

“Quit staring and drop her now!”

The two companions at his side recovered their wits. They brought out their own guns and pulled their triggers.

As the bullets flew towards Selvaria’s body, she activated ‘Kuraokami’s Rage’ skill, which released a powerful blast that deflected incoming bullets and froze the scientists. Their bodies were covered by frost, and when they tried to move their limbs, the pain they experienced caused them to cry out.

“What the fuck! How did you… do this?” The lead scientist growled in rage and shock as his body refused to move.

Selvaria didn’t bother to answer his question. Instead, she walked up to him and slashed his exposed neck with the Ice Claws on her right hand. Blood sprayed out like a fountain onto Selvaria’s face from the beheaded corpse, still standing because it was frozen.

The hot blood-soaked Ice claws on the right hand were brought towards Selvaria’s lips. She licked the blood as she smiled at the other two, horrified by what had just happened. They forced their bodies to move and ignored the pain from their frozen limbs, making horrible cracking sounds as the frost fell off.

Selvaria used her skeletal Ice tail to grab the foot of one of the men and pulled it so hard that the leg came off. The one-legged man fell hard onto the floor. She kneeled on his spine and then grabbed his arms to bend them until they broke. The man wailed in fear and misery as she broke more bones in his body until his heart gave out.

The last one didn’t bother trying to run away anymore. Instead, the scientist dropped his gun and raised his arms to surrender.

“Please! Don’t ki… kill me.”

“Would you have spared your… livestock if they begged?”

The man nodded while holding back tears, but Selvaria could tell he was the type that saw these poor animals as research subjects that should be disposed of when the experiment ended.

Selvaria got up from his colleague’s shattered body and approached the last man. Her skeletal Ice wings pierced into her victim and injected nanites into the body. They broke down his body from within until nothing was left.

The rage within Selvaria and Galatea slowly cooled down as all her opponents were destroyed. Then, a notification suddenly popped up in her mind.

[Congratulations! Synchro Rate is now 10%]

“What does that do?”

[User and their Monster Partner will be inherent qualities from each other as the percentage increases]

“What happens if we reach 100%?”

[Those details will be available once the milestone is cleared]

“Cancel the combat style.” Selvaria ordered her high command AI.

Selvaria’s body returned to its original form in less than ten seconds with Galatea by her side. She looked around the cavern and inspected the animals that had witnessed the brutal scene.

None of them had any fear of Selvaria. In fact, they saw her as a savior and approached to rub their bodies against her.

“This place isn’t safe… there will be more Ice bugs on their way here, so you all have to come with me somewhere safe.”