?-----
Pyuku suddenly started running away, very far away so fast we were shocked! The little blue slime grew several cat-like legs and ran as if his life depended on it!
"PYUKU?! Where are you going out of nowhere?!" Aquarina panicked, quickly beginning to chase him.
"W-Wait, Aquarina!" I chased her over as well.
However, for some amazing reason, Pyuku was incredibly fast.
"Ahh… W-We can't catch him!" Aquarina said.
"Wait a second, stop!" I quickly ran towards her and stopped her. "We can find him later. Can't you sense his presence anywhere he'll go? He can't get too far away."
"A-Ah… right." Aquarina sighed. "But just what the hell has gotten into him? He's usually such a lazy little slime, he does nothing but sleep and eat."
"Maybe he sensed his kin or something?" I wondered. "Well, let's gather with everyone else first, looks like it went to the Evergreen Forest, where we'll go next, so we can find him with mom and the rest."
"Right…" Aquarina sighed. "Pyuku…"
"Don't worry! He's a pretty strong little guy. Hasn't he eaten tons of monsters? Last time I remember, he grew stronger the more he ate." I said.
"Yeah, he's strong but so lazy. Barely participating in fights." Aquarina sighed. "He lacks motivation! Even in some of the biggest fights, he barely does much other than shield us from attacks sometimes."
"Hahahah… He does lacks motivation." I agreed. "Don't worry, it's going to be alright. I didn't knew you cared so much about the little goober."
"I do…" Aquarina said. "He might be silent and lazy, but he's still one of my three Familiars. We've made a bond and all… Like with Leviathan and Undine. The two of them are also precious to me."
"Right, are you two there?" I wondered.
POOF! POOF!
Both Spirits appeared in that moment, making themselves visible.
"Hello Sylphy! Hehehe… Pyuku ran away! Hehehe…" Undine laughed mischievously. "Maybe I should run away too to prank Aquarina?"
"Graarr!" Leviathan roared, nodding. He couldn't talk but he seemed to understand our words. "Roar…"
"D-Don't you dare run away!" Aquarina cried. "Why would you? Dummy…"
"S-Sorry, don't get angry out of nowhere now!" Undine sighed, patting her head with her little hands.
Since Aquarina made a bond with little Undine that she had grown alongside her in a similar fashion than my own spirts, the same for Leviathan.
After having grown stronger on their own, they were much larger, Undine looked more mature as well, but she was still mostly around the same size, maybe twice as big? But that isn't much either.
And Leviathan… still looks like a young ice or sea dragon, I think. Maybe I should help her Familiars grow stronger too. Should I give them System Seeds?
Ah, shouldn't I had thought about that much earlier?!
"They're my companions, even if they're not as incredible as your spirits!" Aquarina smiled. "So of course I miss him… Stupid Pyuku! After all the time I spend on taking care of him, he just runs away like he never cared about me!"
"There, there, it's alright." I smiled. "Well, my familiars can grow so strong because of the System Seeds too. So I was thinking… How about I give some to your familiars too? Huh? How about it?"
"R-Really?!" Aquarina was surprised. "I never thought about it! But… It would make me feel a bit guilty… You've already done so much for me, honeybun."
"I know~ But I can always do some more." I giggled. "Don't worry, you can pay me back later in some other fashion." I shrugged.
"How about I pay you with kisses?" Aquarina smiled coquettishly, giving me a big kiss in my lips. "Mooch!"
"Hehehe, maybe!" I giggled a bit. "Now, Undine, Leviathan, want to grow stronger?"
"Stronger…? What do you mean, Sylphy?" Undine was confused.
"Raarr?" Leviathan tilted his little dragon head.
As we made our way back to my house with everyone else, I decided to tell Alice about it.
"Okay, let's do it… I think I can muster two right now!" She agreed immediately. "You're running a bit low on EXP though, Sylphy, is that alright?"
"Yeah, I don't really mind, I'll get more as we explore the continent." I nodded.
"Sylphy, Alice…" Aquarina felt a bit moved. "T-Thank you for helping my spirits gain the potential to get stronger… ugh, I feel so guilty. What can I do to pay back aside from kisses? Oh, right, I am fairly good at alchemy! And also I'm getting good at crafting…" She started murmuring to herself. "Hehehe, I'll make something then!"
"Really?" I wondered. "Then I'll be looking forward to it!" I giggled. "Now…!"
Ding!
[You've exchanged 7.250.000 EXP!]
[You have created two [System Seeds]!]
Two silver-colored cubes emerged in front of my hands, as I gave them to Undine and Leviathan. The two Spirits were curious, but happily received the treasures.
FLAAASH! FLAAASH!
Their bodies started glowing with incredibly bright light, as blue circuits emerged across and then slowly receded, their Status were quickly registered and created… Well, that was quick and easy!
Ding!
[The Familiar Spirit [Undine] has been registered within the System, a new Status has been created.]
-----
<Status System>
[System Owner]: [Undine]
[Race]: [Young Water Spirit: ★]
[Class]: [River Fairy: ★]
[Rank]: [E+]
[Level]: [0/20]
[HP]: [1.250/1.250]
[MP]: [5.000/5.000]
[Strength]: [800]
[Defense]: [800]
[Magic]: [2.250]
[Resistance]: [1.500]
[Agility]: [1.000]
[Luck]: [1.000]
[Charm]: [2.500]
[Skills]: [Water Manipulation: Lv4] [Sharp Spirit Trident: Lv3] [Turbulent River Currents: Lv3] [Healing Spring Water: Lv2]
-----
[The Familiar Spirit [Leviathan] has been registered within the System, a new Status has been created.]
-----
<Status System>
[System Owner]: [Leviathan]
[Race]: [Little Ice Dragon Spirit: ★]
[Class]: [Newborn Dragon: ★]
[Rank]: [E+]
[Level]: [0/20]
[HP]: [2.250/2.250]
[MP]: [3.500/3.500]
[Strength]: [2.250]
[Defense]: [2.000]
[Magic]: [1.850]
[Resistance]: [1.000]
[Agility]: [800]
[Luck]: [800]
[Charm]: [1.000]
[Skills]: [Ice Manipulation: Lv4] [Ice Crystal Scales: Lv3] [Freezing Breath: Lv3] [Icicle Spears: Lv2]
-----
"Oh wow, their stats are much higher than I thought for E+ Rank Spirits!" I said in surprise. "I guess all this time they have still grown stronger even if they couldn't evolve!"
"Really?" Aquarina was happy, hugging her spirits.