SSS Awakening: Creating Primordial Beasts To Be My Summons-Chapter 15: Nox
The transformation of the final lynx was similar to the others, yet different.
As the Baptism reached its end, the lynx didn’t allow the change to stop.
The lynx, an anomaly already, did not merely accept the Primordial essence of the Baptism.
To prove its desire to truly be a Primordial—to be a Gray—it drew in the excess Null energy that typically dissipated upon successful conversion, retaining a fraction of the raw power that fueled Cohen’s stat-point gain.
The air warped slightly around it, as if reality itself resisted what it had become.
This resulted in Cohen obtaining another Epic-tier monster—one that had forcibly carved its way into that rank.
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Race: Null Obsidian Lynx
Tier: Epic
Level: 13
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Its size was noticeably larger than the Rare version–not bulky, still lean, but longer limbed and taller at the shoulder.
Where the Rare’s eyes were featureless obsidian with a white slit, the Epic’s eyes were fully white with a black void where the pupil should be.
The white eyes seemed to be a balance created by the world as its body seemed even dimmer compared to the others.
The white eyes were paired with a faint white starlight that it’s body exuded.
It also add an additional skill to what the Obsidian Lynxes had.
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[Null Shadow — Releases a shadow anchored to its point of origin, spreading across a defined area. Within it, energy is passively drained from anything that is not a Primordial, while the cost of actively using energy increases significantly. The mana invested determines its range and duration.
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[-67 Null Points]
"Compared to the others that used 80-90 Null Points for Baptism, you used less despite being stronger."
Cohen pondered the details.
It was easy to see that a monster’s willingness to be Baptised also affected the Null Points.
He hissed at the realization and slight frustration. "Figuring out how this Null Point deduction works is damn hard. For the meantime, I’ll just rely on my gut."
He looked back at the Lynx, chuckling with a smirk.
"Stingy brat, you took my free stat points! Still, I think I like you. That means you get a name!"
Standing at the edge of the tunnel, the Level 8 and 9 Nebula Rams shot Cohen a skeptical glance.
Cohen caught this with his Perception of Gray and laughed hard inwardly.
"You look like a starry night... so take the name of night itself—Nox."
The newly named Lynx released a breath as it bowed its head to its new leader.
The two Rams turned to each other with an expression that seemed like shock. The smaller Ram then shot its elders a glance of pity.
Meanwhile, Bobby, seated on the small Ram, expressed its laughter by stretching its body up and down.
Cohen felt refreshed, like he was engaging with his fellow workers back at his old job.
’Who would have thought handling living monsters would feel similar to handling dead ones?
’Then again, I’m probably the only tamer to have this level of awareness from monsters at this stage.
’Hmm, then again, I’m not a Tamer. I’m just a Priest.’
Cohen mused, then turned to Nox.
"You and Bobby will be coordinating the attack on the third zone. Prioritize letting Bobby and the Rams level up.
"Off you go, guys!"
The two Rams were the first to dart deeper into the tunnel, the small ram trailing behind them.
Then, the Obsidian Lynxes moved together with Nox at the front, like clouds of darkness.
Watching them go, Cohen thought:
’Having people, or in this case monsters, to rely on without feeling entitled is quite a nice feeling.’
With a slow stride, he followed his army of Baptised.
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Cohen left the gate of the dungeon and arrived in the familiar small room.
Wearing a smile that seemed more genuine than usual, he walked to the door.
There was a button beside the door that said, "Call an Attendant".
He clicked it and as he did, used his spatial storage to pull out three mana recovery potions.
In the first dungeon, he had used almost half of his mana with Null Aura, while in the second dungeon, he had to actively use Perception of Gray.
So although he drank a mana potion earlier, he had less than a third of his mana.
By the time he finished the potion and felt recovered, he heard a knock on the door and let the man in.
It was a skinny, tall man with a brown ponytail and black eyes, wearing a white shirt and black trousers.
The man smiled awkwardly.
"D-did you completely clear this dungeon too?"
Cohen smiled and nodded. "I did."
The skinny man couldn’t help but express his thoughts.
"Impressive."
He had seen Cohen’s kills in Ashenfield.
They bore different marks—some pierced by arrows, others bashed apart by familiar Ram hits. From that alone, he could already guess Cohen’s specialization.
And it was obvious—Cohen had the potential to stand at the top of this specialization.
"Well done, man. I’ll get people to cash your kills now. Will you wait or come back later?"
"Ah, we can save that for after I’m done with the next dungeon."
"Hmm? Sorry, I think you’re mistaken. There’s no other level one dungeon."
"Actually, I’m talking about the Pale Grove, the level 2 dungeon. I saw a pamphlet on it earlier."
The man blinked twice, his gaze lingering long on Cohen.
He seemed to be using basic system inspection to check Cohen’s level.
"Do you want to hire a party? A level two dungeon will be hard to solo at level 10."
"This is the underworld, right? I’ll be hunting alone," Cohen replied.
The man scratched his hair as though he found himself in a perilous situation. He hesitated, as if debating whether to say something he shouldn’t.
He then sighed and said, "One second."
He walked out of the room, leaving Cohen to his thoughts.
’Is someone from the underworld caring about me or are there ulterior motives for why he’s keeping me away from the dungeon?
’Eh... Trying to win my favour as a prospect awakened by showing concern is an option.’
Cohen’s thoughts were interrupted by the man walking back in.
"You may proceed to the Pale Groove. Do you still have the item we gave you earlier?"
Cohen stretched his hand, revealing a small crystal cased in a metallic substance and engraved with runes.
The man said tiredly, "Remember to use that when you find yourself in danger. Then, we can dive into the dungeon to help you.
"Your life is worth more than any pride, money and what not."
Cohen received the man’s advice with a chuckle.
He was then led to the room containing the Pale Grove’s gate.
The man chose to explain how the dungeon worked, leaving Cohen to silently listen while he looked at his stats.
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Name: Cohen Bennett
Race: Human
Age: 21
Level: 10 [4,263/10,000 EXP]
Class: Priest of Primordial [Mythic]
Talent: Baptism [SSS]
Stats:
[Strength: 30+]
[Agility: 36+]
[Endurance: 33+]
[Intelligence: 70+]
[Mana: 700/700]
[Stat Points: 12.5]
[NP: 2430]
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Cohen had thought on how he would handle this distribution since he reached level 10.
He chose to still follow his normal build right now.
[Agility: 36 → 40]
[Endurance: 33 → 38]
[Strength: 30 → 33]
’Now, my stats are as strong as someone between level 15-20.
’Although the beasts have normal stats, their tiers are at Rare and Epic, making them stronger than common and uncommon beasts their level.’
Cohen’s mind raced, trying to reduce the dangers of the Level 2 Dungeon.
’The only other thing I can do now is to pick a skill, but I still don’t know what yet.’
He still couldn’t make a final decision on what skill he should acquire as his level 10 skill.
He really didn’t want to make a mistake.
Although he was a risk taker, he was a strategic one.
In the midst of his internal turmoil, he entered the room that held the level 2 dungeon.
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Dungeon Name: Pale Grove
Level: 2
Description: A forest of white, leafless trees that grow without sunlight, their bark smooth and cold to the touch. The space is unnaturally silent, making the grove feel closer and more isolated than it is. The ground is pale and soft, the air carrying a faint chill. Everything here is white and still.
Monster Level: 10-25
Monster Rank: Common, Uncommon
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