After hearing what the "AI" had to say, Quinn decided to allocate his two Stat Points into Strength and Stamina respectively. This brought all of his three starting Stats, Strength, Stamina, and Agility, up to an even "16". Right now, his new "Charm" Stat was really only good for his new "Daze" Skill, and he didn't know how useful either the Skill or the Stat would even be.
As each Stat bumped up a point, he could feel his body changing ever so slightly. And the feeling was starting to get addictive. However, despite his high Stats, he was still nowhere near people like Erin. She had been able to use her Ice Ability to score a 50 on the Strength Machine during the Placement Test. And she was even stronger now, as her Ability Level had increased since then. And that wasn't even mentioning the Intermediate-Tier Knight Gauntlets and Intermediate-Tier Knight Sword Tsukuru had given her.
Quinn looked over, and saw Tsukuru and Vorden talking amongst themselves.
***
"So, uh, what's with the blob?" Vorden asked, pointing to the ball of liquid metal in Tsukuru's lap.
Tsukuru smirked, and lifted it up in the air. He held it over his head, and looked up at it.
"This little thing is my newest creation!" He replied, his voice full of pride. "My little Metal Slime Spawn!"
The Metal Slime Spawn's eyes closed in that same "happy smile", and it's tiny "arm" protrusions extended out towards Tsukuru. As if reaching for him. It made the same "cute" noise as before.
Vorden stared at the Metal Slime Spawn.
In the dark space within his subconscious, Sil, standing to Vorden's left, couldn't stop staring at the creature.
Vorden raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't..isn't that kind of atypical of your normal'Creations'?" Vorden asked. From what he had seen of Tsukuru's 'Summons' up this point, which had been limited to only his Knight and his 'Harpie', they usually took on the form of Humanoid Beasts.
Tsukuru smirked.
"Yeah, I'm sure it'll end up looking that that at some point." He replied., before turning to Vorden. "Like I said, this is a Metal Slime Spawn. It's an infant Beast."
Inside the dark space, Raten raised an eyebrow.
"What's the point of having a baby Beast?" He asked. "At least the other two can actually fight."
Back in the real world, Vorden continued to stare at the small blob.
"I see…" He replied, before turning to Tsukuru. "And what convinced you to make an…'infant' Beast?" He asked.
Tsukuru brought the Metal Slime Spawn back down to his lap, and then turned to Vorden.
"Well, I guess since we're friends I'll let you in on the method of my madness." Tsukuru said with a smirk. "See, every time I make a new TYPE of Summon, it's to serve a specific purpose." He explained. "Think of it like…different pieces on a game board. My Haunted Knight is a base infantry soldier. My Harpie is an aerial scout. My Amazon is a heavy-hitting bruiser." Tsukuru's smile widened. "However, this one was a bit…different."
Vorden raised an eyebrow.
"'Different' how?" He asked.
Tsukuru looked back down at the creature.
"Well, you see, during my time on this planet, I've leveled up quite a few times fighting those damn Rattaclaws, as well as the Palewalkers in the woods." He explained. "During that time, I unlocked a new Skill. One that allows me to switch places with one of my Summons." Tsukuru's smile widened. "Tell me, Vorden, don't you find it strange that I was able to even get in here, despite the outside door being locked like a drum?"
Vorden remained quiet for a moment. Then his eyes widened. Instantly, his gaze snapped down at the small creature.
Tsukuru smirked at his reaction.
"This little critter wasn't designed to crack skulls." He replied. "It was designed to squeeze through narrow entry holes." Tsukuru's smile widened.
'And…if that little 'battle animation' when I created it is anything to go by, it can even do more than THAT!' He thought.
Tsukuru imagined taking one of his Intermediate-Tier Knight Swords out of his System's Weapons Tab. As he did, the expected System message appeared.
[Would you like to retrieve an Intermediate-Tier Knight Sword from your Weapons Tab?
[Yes] [No] ]
As Tsukuru thought 'Yes', pixels appeared in his hand. The pixels then clustered together into the shape of the weapon. Soon, he was holding the Intermediate-Tier Beast Weapon in his hand.
Tsukuru held out the weapon in front of him so the Metal Slime Spawn could see it.
"Watch this." Tsukuru said, looking at Vorden with a smirk.
The Metal Slime Spawn looked down at the weapon. It then looked up at Tsukuru.
"Go ahead." He urged.
The Metal Slime Spawn then looked back down at the sword. A moment later, its body began to stretch and contort.
Vorden's eyes widened, as he saw the oval shape of the metal blob begin to take on the form of the sword.
When the Metal Slime Spawn finished taking on the shape of the sword, it's body hardened from malleable liquid metal into solid steel. Tsukuru grabbed the Metal Slime Spawn in his other hand, grabbing it by its new "handle", and held it up into the light. It looked like an exact copy of the Intermediate-Tier Knight Sword. Except it was the solid, metallic-silver color of the Metal Slime Spawn.
As Tsukuru looked at it, his System's "Vector" appeared over it, scanning it. Soon, information was shown.
[Name: Metal Slime Spawn [Blade Forme]
Grade: Pawn
Pawn Points: 0/5
A Metal Slime Spawn that has taken on the likeness of the Intermediate-Tier Knight Sword.
+4 Strength ]
Vorden's eyes widened until his pupils became pinpricks, and his shoulders slumped.
Across the room, Quinn's jaw dropped.
Tsukuru's smirk widened.
"Not only can it slip into nearly any opening, but it can also become any weapon I need!" Tsukuru said with triumph. "It's like living Beast Gear!"
Vorden looked down at the Metal Slime Spawn, which was now indistinguishable from the sword, appearance-wise.
"Can I…Can I see that?" He asked.
Tsukuru smirked, and held out the transformed creature towards Vorden.
He wrapped his hand around the handle. And as he did, he felt the Beast Energy from the Metal Slime Spawn flood his body. It was no different than holding a Basic-Tier Beast Weapon.
"Incredible." Vorden muttered. He gave the sword a few practice swings. He walked over to one of the crumpled chairs. Swinging the sword in a diagonal slash, the chair was immediately sliced in HALF.
Tsukuru and Vorden decided to then have a short "mock duel". While Vorden held the Metal Slime Spawn in one hand, Tsukuru held the real sword in his.
However, when the two swords met, there was a clear winner. On impact, the Metal Slime Spawn chipped, not unlike how Tsukuru's dagger had in his fight against Erin. A moment later, the Metal Slime Spawn began to shake. It let out a low whimper.
Seeing this, Tsukuru physically winced.
"Whoops, that's my bad." He replied in a strained voice. "Probably shouldn't be fighting a Basic-Tier sword with an Intermediate-Tier one."
He then returned the Intermediate-Tier Knight Sword to his System's Weapons Tab, and retrieved one of the Basic-Tier Black Obsidian Daggers.
As he held it in his hand, and faced Vorden, the Metal Slime Spawn began to change. It reverted back to its malleable, liquid-metal state, and reformed itself, mimicking the dagger. Once it reformed, there was no trace of the chip mark from before.
Vorden and Tsukuru then exchanged blows a few times. However, even with both using Basic-Tier weapons, it was no contest. Tsukuru simply was no match for Vorden.
***
Meanwhile, back with Quinn, he turned his attention back to his System. It was time to check out some of the new stuff he had unlocked earlier.
First, there was a new Tutorial Video, which was labeled "Combination Skills". It was a long video to watch, as it took the time to explain the process. Seeing as how Quinn didn't have the time to watch it now, he'd watch it at some later point.
The next thing was Quinn's System Shop. Quinn was excited as he checked this one. He had been waiting ever since he first unlocked the System for this to be available. As he opened it, he noticed that he was able to search items by category. Such as weapons, armor, rings, and all sorts of items. The only thing it didn't have were Ability Books and Skill Books. The only problem was that most of the items were grayed out. When he tried to select one of the "grayed-out" items, nothing would happen.