The Third Blessed One

The atmosphere was completely different than when they beat the Spider Queen.

Once Layla and Salma realized that the monster was dead, they ran towards each other and high-fived before hugging.

They had wide smiles on their faces.

A sense of accomplishment could be felt.

"It wasn't as tough as it seemed." Salma said while giggling.

"You're kidding right? Without those spiders we wouldn't have dared to come in here."

Salma and Layla laughed as they thought about how scared they were the first time they had seen The Great Snake.

"Anyways, your aim was great!" Layla encouraged her sister while patting her head.

Right after that, they turned towards Adam.

He was sleeping on the ground a dozen meters away from The Great Snake's body.

Layla and Salma weren't worried at all about him.

He had a couple of bruises, but wasn't bleeding much.

There were now used to seeing him passed out on the ground at the end of every fight.

"Hellooo?" Salma said as she shook Adam's arm.

He slowly opened his eyes and sat up straight.

"Oh. Nice. We did it."

His voice showed no enthusiasm or relief.

"Yes! We did! Let's go see what's inside that Treasure Chest!" Layla said while smiling at him.

"Sure."

Adam got up and the three of them walked towards the Treasure Chest that was in the middle of the room.

"Who should open it?" Salma asked.

"Doesn't matter. We can choose who takes what after opening it." Layla answered.

Adam rubbed his eyes.

He was still sleepy and his Endurance Points were still on the low side.

"Salma. You go." He said playfully.

"Yey! Alright!" Salma said as she started running towards the Treasure Chest.

She opened the Wooden Chest.

[ Congratulations! You have found a Wooden Chest [F+].]

[ You have received the following Artefacts and Items:

{Great Snake's Gauntlets [E]} {Great Snake's Vest [E]} {Great Snake's Boots [E+]}

{Great Snake's Dagger [D-]} {Great Snake's Leather [F+]} {Great Snake's Shield [E+]} {4500 Gold}

]

[The Artefacts and Items received can be found in your Storage.]

Salma told them about the Items and Atrefatcs Items she now had in her Storage.

"I'd like to get the Dagger and the Gauntlets." Layla said.

The other two nodded.

Salma took both Artefacts and handed them to Layla.

The latter read the information on both of them.

[ Artefact: Great Snake's Gauntlets [E]

Gauntlets made by using the leather and the scales of The Great Snake. As the exterior of the Gauntlets is made with The Great Snake's scales, its Defense Properties are high. The rest of the Gauntlets is made with its leather, which is why they are still very light. Defense Points: 50.]

The Gauntlets were green. The green scales on its exterior were hard, even though they were so light.

[Artefact: Great Snake's Dagger [D-]

A Dagger made by using the leather of The Great Snake and one of its fangs. The Great Snake Dagger is light but it offers high Attack Power. Attack Power: 75. ]

The Dagger's blade was one big white fang, while the hilt was green.

Since the blade was a fang, only the tip of it was sharp. But it was very sharp.

She equipped the Gauntlets while holding her new Dagger in her right hand.

"Thanks. These suit me." Layla said as she moved the Dagger around.

Weirdly enough, she was right.

Originally, she was wearing baggy jeans, a black tank top and black sneakers. The added color from the green Gauntlets and the green Dagger looked great.

[ Your reward has been chosen.]

[ The Everlasting Winter has used its authority to Bless your Great Snake's Dagger.]

[ The Everlasting Winter has used its authority to award you a Skill.]

[ The Everlasting Winter has used its authority to give you the skill "Ice Spike".]

[Congratulations! You have received a skill. Would you like to view its information?]

A light blueish light covered her Great Snake Dagger.

A second later, many ice spots appeared on the dagger's blade.

Layla also felt that the Dagger's hilt was colder. She didn't mind it.

"Sure. I'll also see the details about the Dagger." Layla said after reading the series of messages.

[ Magic Skill: Ice Spike [C]

The user can create Ice Spikes by using his Mana. They can appear from below the ground and pierce the enemy, or float above the user until he decides to shoot them towards an enemy. The power and number of Ice Spiked created depends on the user's Mana Points and Magic Affinity.]

[Artefact: Blessed Great Snake's Dagger [D+]

A Dagger made by using the leather of The Great Snake and one of its fangs. The Great Snake's Dagger is light but it offers high Attack Power.

The Dagger has been blessed by The Everlasting Winter.

Attack Power: 75.

Frost Damage: 15.

Special Effect: If enough Frost Damage is dealt, can slow down the target's movements. ]

"Alright! This is perfect. I'm going to need to raise my magic stats, but the Dagger will now be super useful." Layla said while smiling and stroking her weapon's blade.

[ The Everlasting Winter is looking at you.]

'You already have my attention.' Layla thought as she turned towards Salma and Adam.

"So? What did you two decide?" Layla asked them.

"Am taking the Vest and the Boots. That's so boring. Why am I not getting a Weapon?" Salma complained.

"I just think the Shield would be too heavy for you." Adam said with an apologetic smile.

"A Shield isn't a real Weapon anyway. I want something cool."

Salma handed the Great Snake's Leather and the Great Snake's Shield to Adam.

She equipped the boots and the vest.

"These do not suit me at all." Salma muttered. "Here Layla take them. I'll have first pick next time."

She handed the Artefacts to Layla.

As it was the end of the Dungeon, Layla wasn't really thinking about Salma's safety.

"I'll take them. But if there's a fight next time, you're putting them on no matter what."

Layla equipped the rest of the Artefacts.

She was basically covered in green scales now.

The Vest protected her upper body, the Gauntlets protected her hands and forearms and Boots protected her from the knees down.

"I don't look so good now..." Layla said as she lowered her gaze to look at the equipment.

Salma was giggling as she looked at her sister.

"You really don't!" She told Layla.

Adam was chuckling at the situation when,

[ Your reward has been chosen.]

[ A Certain Evil has used its authority to Bless your Tamed Monster.]

[ Your Tamed Monster has evolved.]

[ You Great Snake Baby has evolved into a Fire Salamander.]

[ A Certain Evil has used its authority to award you a Skill.]

[ Two of your Skills will be merged together.]

[ A third Skill has been added.]

[ A Certain Evil has used its authority to give you the skill "Disassemble-Reassemble".]

"Wait? A salamander? Wait, merged Skills? What?"

[Congratulations! You have received a new Skill. Would you like to view its information?]

"What the hell? I don't get a say in this?" Adam shouted.

[ A Certain Evil is chuckling.]

"Agh... Sure show me the info."

[ Magic Skill: Disassemble/Reassemble [B+]

A Skill obtained by merging three very different Skills: Weapon Conjuration [D], Crumbling Touch [B] and a third unknown Skill.

The Magic Skill gives the Ability to Disassemble Artefacts and Items and Reassemble them to make a merged Artefact or Item.

The Magic Skill can Disassemble organic and inorganic matter.

The Magic Skill can only Reassemble Artefacts and Items.

The Magic Skill can only Reassemble Artefacts and Items that were Disassembled by using the Magic Skill.

The Mana and Endurance Points consumption depends on the Artefacts, Items and how high the Magic Affinity Stat is.

The more similar two Artefacts or Items are, the better the merged Artefact or Item will be.

]

"That's a lot of info. It's a very cool Skill I have to admit."

Layla and Salma asked about the Skill's info so Adam told the System to give them permission to see it.

"Wait a second. Store." Layla said.

The next moment, she put down 6 Iron Sword that she had just bought.

"Can you merge these together? Merge three and three. So that it's two strong swords, maybe?." Layla asked.

"Let me try." Adam lowered himself and put his hand on the blade of two Iron Swords.

'Disassemble.' He thought.

The blades turned to dust. Since the two swords were close to each other, the dust formed one big pile.

He looked at it for a second.

'Reassemble.'

Purple light illuminated the pile of dust, before being condensed.

The dust also got compressed and changed form.

A sword appeared where the dust pile was.

Adam and Layla were surprised as it looked exactly the same as the rest of the swords.

But when Layla lifted it off the floor, she realized it was noticeably heavier.

"Info." Layla said.

[Artefact: Reinforced Iron Sword [F+]

A Sword made of Iron. Somehow, it is stronger than other Iron Sword. Attack Power: 55. ]

"Attack Power went up from 45 to 55. That's pretty good." Layla said.

"Alright. Let's make the best weapon ever!" Adam shouted excitedly.

He touched the Reinforced Iron Sword and a normal Iron Sword.

The two were turned to dust.

He then tried to Reassemble them.

[ The Skill Reassamble cannot be used on Reassambled Items or Reassambled Artefacts.]

"Oh.... I guess I turned it to dust for no reason. Sorry."

"No, that's good. Now we know it's a one-time thing." Layla said as she took out her two Iron Maces and bought two more.

"Can you make two Reinforced Iron Maces please?" Layla asked.

Adam did so and Layla put both the Reinforced Iron Maces in her Inventory.

Meanwhile, Salma had been staring at a screen with a perplexed expression.

[ Your reward has been chosen.]

[ The Fox That Blesses Men wants to show you and only you its Unique Title.]

[The Fox That Blesses Men says that you should no tell others its Unique Title.]

[The Fox That Blesses Men will be known to you and only you as The Nine-Tailed Fox.]

[The Nine-Tailed Fox wants to be your sponsor.]

[ Will you accept The Nine-Tailed Fox's Blessing?]

'Too....Many....Words....'

Salma was confused by the number of messages that she received at once.

"Salma?" Layla asked as she shook her sister's arm.

"Oh. Layla. Hi. Should I accept The Fox That Blesses Men as my sponsor?"

"What?" Adam shouted.

"I guess this is my reward for the challenge." Salma said.

"We don't know much about accepting a Sponsor." Layla noted.

"True. But I don't think it can be bad." Adam said. "Do you like him?" He asked.

"Who?"

"The fox." Adam answered.

Salma started thinking for a bit.

Then, she received a message that appeared on the right of all the others.

[ The Nine-Tailed Fox waves its tails playfully.]

Salma let out and smiled and answered "I think I do like him. I'll accept."

The next second, her body was engulfed in fierce flames.

[ You have accepted The Nine-Tailed Fox as your Sponsor.]

[ You have acquired a very small number of your Sponsor's Skills.]

[ You have acquired the Title "The Man Blessed By The Fox".]

[ You are the third Human from your World to become The Nine-Tailed Fox's Blessed One.]

[ You have acquired the Title " The Third Blessed One".]

[ Many Gods and Deities are surprised at The Fox That Blesses Men's choice.]

[ A Small number of Angels and Demons related to Fire curse The Fox That Blesses Men for snatching an incarnation so soon.]

[ A Certain Evil chuckles.]

The Flames that surrounded Salma's body faded.

She looked down at her body and her hands.

"I don't feel anything different." Salma said.

Just as she said that, a Mark appeared on the skin of her right hand, between her knuckles and her wrist.

The Mark looked like a red sun, surrounded by 9 motifs that looked like tails.

Only half of one of the nine tails was painted orange.

The rest was red like the sun.

[ You can now use an extremely small portion of The Nine-Tailed Fox's authority.]

"Authority?" Salma muttered.

"Come on! Look at the Skills you got!" Adam shouted with excitement.

"Okay, okay. Kalya, show us my new Skills and what they do!" Salma was now excited too.

[You have received the following Skills.]

[ Passive Skill: Fox Vision[C]

Activates when the user concentrates on looking far away or on detecting an enemy. The user's vision will be as good as a Fox's. Additional effect: The user's eyes will look like those of a Fox when the Skill is activated in order to heighten the user's vision. ]

[ Passive Skill: Fire Damage Immunity [A]

The user is immune to Damage originating from many types of fires. ]

[ Magic Skill: Fire Fox Summoning [B]

The user can summon a Fire Fox for 30minutes.

The more enemies the Fire Fox burns without dying, the stronger it will get.

Mana Consumption: 400 Mana Points.

Only one Fire Fox can be summoned at a time. ]

The fourth Skill was only shown to Salma.

[ Magic Skill: Fox Transformation [ Portion Of The First Tail ]

Your Sponsor's exclusive Skill.

You can use an extremely small part of your Sponsor's Authority.

The user can transform and mimic The Nine-Tailed Fox's power. ]

'Fun! If I get all the tails, I'll be a Nine-Tailed Fox?' Salma thought.

[ The Nine-Tailed Fox can feel your greed.]

"Can you hear my thoughts?" Salma asked while looking at the ceiling.

[ The Nine-Tailed Fox says that, as your sponsor, it can feel part of your emotions.]

"That's so good. Summoning a Fire Fox. Especially for you since you attack from far away." Layla told Salma.

She stopped looking at the ceiling and lowered her gaze to the Mark on her hand.

[ The Nine-Tailed Fox tells you that its Mark is Stylish.]

"You'll talk to me a lot than that you're my Sponsor, right?"

[ The Nine-Tailed Fox lowers its head and lifts its tails up playfully.]

Her Sponsor could feel a mix of happiness and sadness in her heart.

Layla kept looking at her sister.

Meanwhile, Adam had walked towards the broken Great Snake Eggs.

His shout woke up all the others from their daze.

"WHAT? PYTHON! What happened to you??"

"What is it?" Layla and Salma both asked.

Adam bent his knees and picked up Python.

He raised him up to show the other two.

Layla laughed out loud and just couldn't stop laughing.

Salma her, came sprinting towards them.

"HE'S SOOOO CUTE!" Salma shouted as she petted the Tamed Monster.

Python used to be a 2-meter long snake with green scales and big fangs. It did not look friendly at all.

But now, it was a small Salamander. It was about twenty-five centimeters from head to tail.

Its skin was red and had a couple of black spots.

Since it was a Salamander, it had grown 4 legs.

"You used to be so big...." Adam muttered while looking at his Tamed Monster.

It, too, was staring at him with its two globulous black eyes.

A moment later, Python looked to its left. It had noticed a Great Snake Baby that had survived.

Adam put Python down and he sprinted towards it.

He was surprised at the Salamander's speed, but it was to be expected since it now had limbs.

When Python was about 4 meters away from the Great Snake Baby, it opened its mouth and a mall Fire Ball went out of it and hit the monster's body.

Python shot two Fire Balls before the monster died.

It then came back and stood in front of Adam, with its head held high. It felt proud of its power.

"What? Okay. I guess that's not too bad then. Show me Python's Status." Adam said.

[ Owner: Adam

Name: Python

Species & level : Fire Salamander Lv2 (0/200 Experience Points)

HP: 50/50

Endurance: 23/25

Stats: Strength: 5

Agility: 15

Sense: 5

Vigor & Endurance: 5

Mana: 5

Skill(s): Fire Ball

Fire Resistance

]

"You're pretty weak." Adam muttered.

The Salamander lowered its gaze to the ground.

"But you're stronger than the snake babies, so that's good. Although all the Experience Points from the other snakes were wasted."

It raised its head once again.

'It looks determined.' Salma thought as she looked at Python.

"Salma." Layla called out. "Why don't you try summoning a fox?" She asked.

"Ohhhh. Right, I can do that!" Salma said.

She raised her right hand, for no particular reason, and thought 'Summon, here? I guess?'

A Ball of red flames appeared. It was about 1 meter in diameter.

Once the flames went away, a small fox was left standing with its head raised high.

The Fox looked like any other.

The only differences were that the tips of its ears and tail were covered in flames.

It was twice as big as an adult cat.

"Looks pretty cool." Adam said.

Python felt a sense of competition and sprinted towards the Fire Fox.

They stared at each other for a bit, before the fox growled and Python ran away towards Adam and climbed up to his shoulders.

"Come on, don't do that. Be friendly." Salma said as she walked towards the fox and started petting it.

[ The Nine-Tailed Fox wants you to take care of the Fire Fox.]

'I will.' She thought.

"Python, get rid of the rest of the tamed spiders. We don't need them anymore." Adam ordered.

"So? What now?" Layla asked the other two.

"I guess....we go out?"

[You have expressed your desire to leave the Dungeon "The Spider Queen's Lair".]

[You are inside a Hidden Location.]

[Please leave the Hidden Location in the time remaining.]

[Go to the Hidden Location's entrance.]

[There, you will find a Gate that will lead you outside of the Dungeon.]