'So this is the Beginner Package,' Leone thought.
Except for the Rare Skill Book and the Full Restoration Potion, he had no idea what the other items on the list were for.
———
[Beginner Package]
"The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step."
This is a commemorative gift bestowed upon those who dare to walk the path of kingship and stake their claim upon history. Within this package lies the foundation upon which empires may one day rise. Use it wisely.
Contents:
1 Rare Skill Book
100 Builder Points
1 Full Restoration Potion
1 Bronze Exchange Ticket
1 Rare Familiar Ticket
Disclaimer: If you somehow waste these gifts, that is a skill issue.
———
A moment later, a silver book, a glass bottle filled with a sparkling white liquid, and two tickets materialized in front of the young man.
"Listen carefully, Leone," Daedalus said. "Opening the skill book will give you a skill. Unfortunately, this skill is completely random. You won't get to choose what ability you gain."
Leone nodded. "Any skill is worth having."
"That's the spirit!" Daedalus praised the young man for his positive mindset. "Now, open the book and let's see what you get."
Unable to hide his excitement any longer, the young man opened the silver book immediately
Before he could even read anything, the book turned into silver particles of light and flew toward his chest, merging with his body.
Suddenly, rows of text appeared in front of him, listing the information about the skill he had just acquired.
———
< Skill Acquired! >
Name: Tongue of Beasts - [Level 1]
Grade: Rare
Type: Passive
Description:
Allows the user to understand and speak the languages of monsters. This skill does not grant authority or control. Only communication.
Note:
The intelligence of the monster determines the clarity of the conversation.
———
"Hmm…." Leone rubbed his chin.
His eldest brother, Edward Frontera, was a powerful psionic.
With just a thought, Edward could lift a warship from the sea. His feats of alchemy were nothing to scoff at either. However, a permanent scowl had been etched to his face for as long as Leone could remember. The young man had deduced a terrible temper was the side effect of such power.
His second eldest brother, Alphonse, was a powerful martial artist. With a single punch or kick, he could pulverise boulders as big as houses. He was well-regarded by the martial sects in the Kingdom of Britannia and elsewhere.
As for Leone… Well, he could talk to monsters now.
"If you think about it, isn't this skill good?" Leone asked the grimoire, who was reading the information page.
"Well, it has its merits," Daedalus admitted. "If you can raise it to a higher rank, you might be able to use Dragon Tongue?"
"Dragon Tongue? What's that?"
"It's a power exclusive to dragons. They can manifest phenomena using words. Just by saying, "Fireball," in Dragon Tongue, they can summon a real fireball to smite their enemies."
"Wait, isn't this skill actually amazing?!" Leone was forever an optimist. Instead of picking up the uncertainty in the grimoire's tone, he was now convinced he could upgrade the skill to Dragon Tongue.
Daedalus remained silent. After noticing the young man's tendency to get carried away, the grimoire had deliberately downplayed how potent the skill could be.
In reality, if Leone could bring the Tongue of Beasts to Level 10, the Legendary Rank, he might as well forget about Dragon Tongue! At that point, he would be able to use any word-based ability, even if it was exclusive to a race or species.
But Daedalus was right to omit this information. It didn't want to give Leone false hope, but it also didn't want to crush his new master right at the start either. It would cost over a million BP to upgrade the Tongue of Beasts to Legendary Rank.
Even his former owners hadn't gathered that much before suffering tragic ends.
"Daedalus, can I use this ability to talk to any creature? I mean, it's not just monsters, right? I can also talk to animals?"
"That's right." Daedalus replied. "But before you get carried away and start talking to birds and the bees, let's look at the remaining items."
Daedalus then floated above the two tickets. It lightly tapped the purple one, the Rare Familiar Ticket.
"Ignore the other ticket for now and use this one first," Daedalus instructed. "You need to tear it to use it. Unlike the Rare Skill Book earlier, this Familiar Ticket is a bit special.
"What familiar you get is still up to chance, but the ticket will summon a familiar with the highest compatibility with you."
Leone blinked. "Compatibility?"
Daedalus chuckled at the simplicity of its new master.
"It means you won't accidentally summon a familiar that is detrimental to you," Daedalus explained. "For example, you know some people have a phobia of snakes and spiders, right?"
"Yes."
"This ticket will not summon creatures that will trigger those fears. People who like cats will summon some kind of cat familiars. Those who like dogs will get dog familiars. You get my drift?"
Leone nodded. "Yes!"
Yuni moved closer to the two. Things were getting interesting. Also, she finally believed Daedalus was truly a Divine Artifact. She had never even heard of these amazing things that the grimoire was giving so freely to Leone.
"So, I just have to tear this Rare Familiar Ticket, right?" Leone asked.
"That's right." Daedalus nodded. "Just tear it apart and summon your first familiar."
Leone didn't need to hear anything else. The moment the ticket was ripped into two, it transformed into multicolored particles of light. The light then shot out like a rainbow before stopping some two meters away.
Suddenly, a bright flash of light forced Leone and Yuni to cover their eyes. Only when Daedalus assured them that it was safe did they open their eyes.
A small figure no more than three feet tall stood where the lights had been.
It was a lizard-like creature standing upright on two legs.
Its body was lean but sturdy, with short arms ending in claws that looked more suited for digging and stabbing than gentle handshakes.
A thick tail swayed languidly behind it. Common sense told Yuni that the tail was most likely for balance, but something about the creature's demeanor made her wonder if it had rehearsed the pose before arriving.
The strangest thing about it was its skin color.
Instead of the earthy browns or muddy greens common among kobolds, this kobold's scales were white.
Two bright golden eyes with slit pupils locked onto Leone immediately. They were curious, intelligent eyes.
A moment later, it smiled.
It was not a threatening smile.
It was the kind of smile that made Leone understand that this monster would never harm him, not even if he treated it poorly.
Yuni frowned. "Isn't that a kobold? Why is it white?"
"Maybe it's a special kind of kobold?" Leone rubbed his chin. "It came from a Rare Familiar Ticket after all."
Daedalus then moved closer to his master's face and flipped its pages until it got to the Status Page it was looking for.
———
[Unnamed Mutant Kobold]
Race: Kobold
Grade: Rare
Strength: 15 [+1]
Agility: 12
Dexterity: 13
Vitality: 15
Intelligence: 20
Description: A mutated variant born through unknown circumstances. Unlike common kobolds that rely solely on numbers and cunning, this individual displays abnormal vitality and heightened intelligence. Its potential exceeds its current strength.
Skill: Heavy Blow [Level 2]
Signature Ability: Dragon Blood [EX] - [Level 1]
— Increase Strength Stat by 10%
— Increase Elemental Resistance by 50%
— Increase Physical Defense by 50%
Note: Naming an unnamed creature will give it Bonus Stats.
———
"Hmm… this is interesting," Leone muttered after reading his familiar's Status Page. "In school, they never told us that monsters had Status Pages."
"That's because only I can do something like this," Daedalus said proudly. "I can show you the Status Pages of both monsters and people so you'll know how strong they are."
"Really?!" Leone's eyes lit up. "Then can you show me mine?"
"Eh?" Daedalus hesitated. "I don't want to say this, but you're weaker than your familiar, Leone."
Leone blinked. "That can't be right? Just look at my handsome face! This alone is enough to raise my stats into the triple digits."
"If there were a Confidence Stat, your score would definitely be in the triple digits." Daedalus chuckled. "Unfortunately, there's none! Trust me. You don't want to see your Status Page. It's depressing."
"I don't believe it." Leone shook his head. "Show it to me. Let me see how great I am!"
Yuni wanted to roll her eyes at the young man's foolishness. Now that she discovered Daedalus could actually measure the strength of people and monsters, she wanted to know how strong she was as well!
Maybe, just maybe, this would allow her to see if her tribe had a chance of winning against the Black Wolf Tribe, whose real strength was still a mystery to her.