Chapter 9: Monster
Ding!
[You have killed a Stone Spider Lv.6]
[You have leveled up!]
[Lv.1 → Lv.2]
[All stats have been increased by 1 point!]
[You have gained 1 stat point.]
For a fleeting instant, an overwhelming surge of energy flooded Pebbles’ body.
Pain vanished as though it had never existed. Torn flesh knitted itself together, bruises faded, and exhaustion was forcefully purged from his limbs.
[HP: 21/21]
His health had been fully restored.
But Pebbles barely acknowledged it.
At this mont, he had done sothing far more shocking than leveling up.
He had killed one of them.
The cave fell into a stunned silence.
Even the baby Stone spider, lying in a pool of green blood, stared at him in utter disbelief.
Her mouth hung open as words failed to form. She had forgotten to breathe. Even the agony tearing through her body felt distant, like a fading echo.
The other spiders fared no better.
They could hardly comprehend what they were witnessing.
Especially when Pebbles activated another skill.
Ding!
[You have used the skill Pretender Lv.1]
To the spiders, reality twisted.
What stood before them was no longer just an ugly, panting black-scaled dragon struggling to survive.
No.
In their eyes, it beca sothing else entirely.
A lizard born from shadows themselves, like a shard of darkness torn from the sun’s trail.
A predator rely pretending to be weak, gauging the strength of its prey.
A being playing with its victims for amusent.
A creature too rciful to kill without reason, so it created one. Too noble to dirty its own hands, so it let its prey destroy themselves.
Even the baby Stone spider felt like nothing more than a puppet dancing in its grasp.
They watched as it swung its tail with terrifying force, perhaps even holding back, smashing one of their kin aside.
The impact was brutal.
Their comrade’s body crumpled beneath the violent collapse of rocks from the ceiling.
This was no coincidence.
It was all calculated.
Fear rippled through the Stone Spiders.
The adults trembled.
The younger ones quivered, their bodies reacting before their minds could.
So remained eerily still, not out of bravery, but because their thoughts had shut down entirely.
Regardless of their reactions, every single one of them understood one thing.
What they had mistaken for prey was actually a blood thirty lizard wearing a Dragon’s skin.
The fear accumulating in their hearts, real or imagined, was enough to force their gazes downward.
Pebbles noticed their eyes dropping.
Except for the baby Stone spider, none dared to look at him.
Half uncertain, Pebbles remained ready to fight, even though he knew he could still be crushed.
Then,
Ding!
[The seed of fear has sprouted in the hearts of many Stone Spiders.]
Ding!
[343 Stone Spiders have been paralyzed due to fear.]
Ding!
[86 Stone Spiders are in a state of shock.]
Ding!
[2 Stone Spiders are unconscious.]
Pebbles blinked before taking a single step forward.
Thud.
The simple sound sent spiders scrambling away, clearing a path.
A path leading directly to the baby Stone spider.
The only obstacle in between was the crushed corpse of the spider buried beneath a rock.
Its legs still twitched faintly.
Pebbles did not care.
Crack, crack.
He stepped on the legs, crushing and snapping them as he walked forward without hesitation.
The spiders noticed this all too well. The sound of cracking only made their trembling worse.
Ding!
[5 Stone Spiders have fainted.]
Again, Pebbles did not care.
His gaze rested only on the little baby spider.
He knelt on one knee beside her.
One of her legs was pinned beneath rubble, completely crushed. One of her eyes was destroyed. Green blood pooled beneath her fragile body.
Despite having "Stone" in their na, these spiders were painfully fragile. Only their hardening ability and catapult-like attacks gave them an edge.
"You shouldn’t have done that..." Pebbles said softly.
His claw gently touched her.
"H-hehe... forgive my incwompetence..."
Using another leg, the spider awkwardly scratched her head, trying to act embarrassed.
Pebbles stared silently.
She was clearly in pain, yet she still forced a smile. Maybe she didn’t want to worry Pebbles. Or maybe she was just too afraid he would kill her... Pebbles didn’t know.
He just watched.
The baby spider dragged herself out of the rubble, leaving one of her legs behind.
A drop of tear fell from his eye as he noticed this painful scenario.
"Tehee... don’t be sad. I’ve now beco a mwonster from legends. I’m a seven-legged spider!"
She joked after noticing tears forming in Pebbles’ eyes.
Pebbles let out a weak chuckle.
And then, a strange thought crossed his mind.
Do dragons make comrades?
Ding!
[True dragons are usually solitary.]
Then do they make subordinates?
Ding!
[True dragons do not care about sothing as petty as subordinates or slaves.]
"..."
Pebbles thought of taking the baby spider with him.
But doing so might stray him from the path of becoming a True Dragon, the dream he desired more than anything.
Then must we part ways despite being connected? Isn’t it fate that we t?
Ding!
[Notice: The system has detected the host’s desire.]
[Advice: Dragons are known to take in pets.]
Pebbles’ eyes widened.
"...Pets?"
[Affirmative.]
[You can ’na’ the baby Stone spider, and she will beco your pet.]
Pebbles looked at her and asked softly,
"Do you want to beco a part of my family?"
The baby spider froze.
The joking, the bravado, all vanished.
She swallowed hard and stared into his eyes.
This question was sothing many monsters await an eternity only to be left forgotten.
Becoming a part of family? There’s one and only one way to do that if one is not blood related.
That is, sharing a family na or getting a new na.
"A-are you going to na ?"
"...Yes."
Gulp.
"T-then... I’ll join you. I’ll follow you forever."
Pebbles chuckled softly and patted the hundred-year-old baby’s head.
"Your na..."
"Nightstone. That will be your na."
...
And on this day, Pebbles gained his first companion.
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