Julian Moretti stepped out of the hut into the Azure Wilds Outpost.
Finn scurried after him, "Julian, slow down! If Viperfang sees us out here before the pens are spotless—"
"Relax, Finn," Julian shot back, "We're cleaning. Technically. And if the old snake shows up early, well…"
Mira hugged her arms tight. "You're scaring me. That thing you made... You're going to get us all fed to the hatchlings."
Julian stopped at the edge of the beast pens. Inside, low-rank trash beasts snarled and snapped: mangy rats, half-dead beetles, a couple of slime toads.
"Look," he said, "I can fuse any little shit smaller than me into something stronger. You think I'm gonna spend another day licking Viperfang's boots? Fuck him. And fuck this slave collar too... I'm breaking it."
Reaper's red eyes glowed, spider legs clicking, dragonfly wings blurring into a silent haze. The creature zipped forward, landed on a wooden post, and spat a single strand of black silk.
"See?" Julian laughed. "Rare-rank already. Imagine what I can do with better ingredients."
Finn wiped sweat from his forehead, still glancing over his shoulder. "Okay, okay, Viperfang's coming back at dusk with that new Silver-rank python he's contracting..."
A soft, smug chime rang inside Julian's skull, cutting Finn off mid-rant.
[Ding! Newbie Gift Pack activated!]
[Reward: One Free Gacha Roll – Beginner's Luck Edition!]
Julian's eyes lit up, "Gacha? Now? System, you beautiful bastard!"
Finn and Mira stared at him like he'd started speaking in tongues.
"Uh… Julian?" Mira whispered. "Your eyes are glowing again..."
"Shh. Watch this!" He focused inward. A holographic wheel only he could see spun into existence, garish colors, flashing icons of beast parts, herbs, random junk.
It slowed… slowed… landed with a dramatic ding on a wooden crate icon wrapped in rusty chains.
[Ding! Gacha Result: Common Scavenger Crate!]
[Contents: Three random low-tier scavenging materials from the Wilds.]
Julian barked a laugh, "A loot box? I love this system. Open it!"
The crate materialized in his hands as a small, splintery wooden box no bigger than a lunch pail.
Inside:
1. A still-warm corpse of a Mutated Sewer Rat – Trash-rank
2. A glistening Purple Venom Sac ripped fresh from a cave viper – Mid-Trash
3. One rusty but sharp Bone-Carving Knife – Basic tool
Finn's jaw hit the dirt. "Where did that box come from?! It just… appeared!"
Julian scooped up the rat corpse first. Then he pinched the venom sac between two fingers.
"Round two, fuckers. Let's see what happens when I fuse trash with better trash."
[Ding! Fusion initiated!]
[Mutated Sewer Rat + Purple Venom Sac = ?]
[Success guaranteed!]
Heat flared in Julian's palms again. The rat's body melted and reformed, bones sharpening into metallic spikes, fur turning sleek and armored, eyes glowing the same venom-purple as the sac.
The thing grew to the size of a small dog.
[Ding! Fusion successful!]
[New Beast Created: Ironspike Venomrat (Uncommon-rank)
[Traits:
Iron-hard bone spikes that shoot on command
Purple Rot Venom
Burrowing speed + pack-hunting instinct
[Soul-Bond ready. Name it and it's yours forever!]
It chittered happily, nuzzling his thumb with tiny fangs that dripped purple.
"Say hello to Spike. Reaper, meet your new little brother. You two are gonna be best murder-buddies."
Mira actually stepped closer, eyes wide with something that looked suspiciously like hope.
"Julian… that's two Rare-or-better beasts in one afternoon. And you didn't even bleed or chant or anything. The elders spend years trying to contract one Silver beast and you're just…"
Finn was hyperventilating. "We're dead. We're so dead."
The rat immediately burrowed halfway into the dirt, only its glowing eyes and spikes visible.
Julian turned to his companions, "You two don't have to fight."
Mira swallowed hard, then gave the tiniest nod. "I… I'm in. My little sister's still in the outer slave quarters. If there's even a chance—"
Finn threw his hands up. "Fine. I'm in too."
Julian clapped him on the shoulder, "That's the spirit, Finn. Now help me hide Spike—"
A cold voice sliced through the evening air.
"Well, well. The lazy maggots are actually working for once."
Elder Viperfang stood at the pen gate, black python draped across his shoulders. His eyes narrowed at the fresh hole Spike had left in the ground, then at Julian's suspiciously clean hands.
"Something you want to tell me, boy?" the elder purred, stepping closer.
Julian met Viperfang's gaze and smiled wider.
"Nah, Master," he said, voice dripping honeyed poison. "Just thinking about how nice it's gonna feel when I finally stop calling you that."