"Nonsense! Have you lost your mind?!"

Slap!

The Roach slapped away Kaelen’s hand and strangled him, lifting him up high in the air with one hand.

"Why must you constantly rebel against Lord Charymos?! You have received so much of his grace and favor, yet you act this way?!"

"What possesses you to do such things, Kaelen?! This is high treason, I should execute you right this instant!"

The Roach roared and tightened his grip on Kaelen’s neck.

"Grace? Favor? Do you honestly think Charymos is capable of any of those things?!"

Kaelen shouted and...

Bam!!

"Argh!"

With his insectoid hand still gripping Kaelen’s neck, the Roach slammed the Homunculus on the ground, causing the boy to gasp for air.

"That’s enough from you, how dare you refer to Lord Charymos so casually?!"

The Roach expelled an intense bloodlust.

"Urk... You know I’m right!"

Kaelen squeezed out his voice from a constricted larynx.

"I said enough —"

"No! I won’t be silenced! Tell me, how come you’re the only member of your species on this Floor?! Where are the others?!"

"What about the Mermen, huh?! Why are there only males here?!"

Kaelen grabbed the Roach’s wrist and struggled with freeing his neck.

"How... How could you possibly know of such things?"

The Roach subconsciously released Kaelen and staggered back.

[This boy... Just what is he? We have never had a Homunculus like this.]

[Am I expected to believe that he noticed all of that in the mere days that he has drawn breath? What exceptional attention to detail.]

[...]

[No... Lord Charymos was right, Kaelen has been corrupted by those Humans!]

Feeling a migraine settle, the Roach massaged his throbbing temple.

"This is no good Kaelen, your mind has —"

"Cough! Cough! You still haven’t answered me! Where are the other members of your species?!"

Kaelen coughed out blood and stood to his feet.

"That’s..."

The Roach leaned on his desk, his breathing becoming erratic.

"We... We only exist as folly for our Lord and Master Charymos. No, more than that... We exist for our Ruler."

The Roach regulated his breaths.

"Is that what you really think?"

Kaelen walked closer to the Roach and stared deep into his beady, insectoid eyes.

"What I think does not —"

"I know you hate him."

[!!]

The Roach twitched, but this time, he didn’t have the strength to either reprimand or attack Kaelen.

"I know you do! And I hate him too!"

"That’s enough!!"

Crackle!

The Roach unleashed a fist aimed at Kaelen’s face, and the boy responded in kind, coating his with Mana.

Crack! Boom!

As Kaelen’s fist collided with the Roach’s, his knuckles fractured and he was sent crashing into the door.

"You truly are a failure, Kaelen. This will break Lord Charymos’s heart."

The Roach approached Kaelen, bloodlust engulfing the entire office.

"You can deny it all you want but I know you hate him..."

Kaelen stood to his feet and smeared the blood from his right hand on his upper garment.

"...They cry out to you, don’t they?"

Kaelen’s question froze the Roach.

"... The souls of your kin, they torment you for revenge don’t they? Everytime you close your eyes —No, everytime you even blink you seem them, don’t you?!"

"I am giving you a chance damn it! What do you have to lose?!"

Kaelen roared and stomped forward.

"L-lord Charymos has..."

The Roach stuttered.

"He’ll never give you a Name, and you know it."

Kaelen once again stared directly into the Roach’s eyes.

"..."

"E-even if you could give me a Name, what makes you think my vessel is worthy?"

"Ridiculous. How could a mere Homunculus grant me, a creature born of this Tower, a Name?"

"Just leave, Kaelen. I’ll forget this ever happened."

The Roach turned his back.

"You have two hearts."

[!!]

Those words spoken by Kaelen demanded that he turn around once more.

"W-what?"

[...C-could it be that I... No!!]

The Roach shook his head, his antennae whipping the air.

[But wait... How could he possibly know about that?]

[The Humans? No. Even they should have no knowledge about this.]

The Roach began to consider Kaelen’s offer in earnest.

Why?

Because when a Monster is ready for evolution, they develop a secondary Mana Pool that they themselves cannot access nor have knowledge of its presence.

The same is true for the second heart, the Monster in question would have no idea of its existence.

Then does this mean every Monster requires a secondary heart and Mana Pool for them to be worthy of a Name? What of Kaelen and the others when they received their Names, does this mean that they had already developed these traits before they were Named?

No, not at all.

For a Monster to receive a name and not die, their vessels have to be worthy of such a gift. This is closely tied to their tier. For example, despite her level being low at the time, Veylith is an existence with an S-tier, which is, in simple terms, her future potential.

A tier is also what Skadi’s skill, Midas Sight, is able to perceive in most living creatures.

Now then, back to the main point; although rare, some Monsters are able to reach a certain threshold where their bodies are stagnated and will never grow beyond that point, yet despite this, they keep training with a one-sided desire to grow stronger despite knowing it’ll never happen.

Where most would just give up and accept their limits, these Monsters obssess over what they cannot accept, what they cannot have, until their bodies begin to change and they develop strength beyond their reach.

"You must have worked really hard. All for the sake of surpassing him? As a coping mechanism? That doesn’t matter. Your efforts will be rewarded, if only you’ll allow me to Name you."

Kaelen extended his right hand once more, coating it’s entirety in Mana.

"Let me Name you. All that power that you can’t use right now, let me unlock it for you."

Kaelen’s eyes were ablaze with determination.

"... What’s in it for you? What will you gain from doing this?"

The Roach’s arms went limp.

"I told you didn’t I? I hate him! Help me kill him and this Floor is yours."

The Roach wanted to ask why Kaelen hated Charymos so much even though he has, objectively, received nothing but the best treatment from him.

But...

[I don’t care... If this boy can really Name me then I... I can finally.]

[I don’t care if I end up being killed in the aftermath, it’s not like I have been living anyway, not when my entire race has been exterminated.]

The Roach took a deep breath and stared at the boy below him.

"Very well, Kaelen... Do it."

"Good. Bow."

The Roach got to one knee and Kaelen placed his bloodied hand on the Roach’s exoskeletal skull.

[I really hope this works. I mean, I was able to name myself, so it should work... Right?]

"Fuuu..."

Kaelen exhaled to quell his anxiety and began the ceremony.

"I, Kaelen... Bestow upon thee a Name."

[!!]

"Argh!"

He felt a vast amount of Mana involuntarily escape his Mana Pool and swell his Mana Veins.

Ding!

> You are about to bestow upon a Name.

-Caution: You may die if the creature’s tier is greater than yours!

Ding!

> Insectoid ceature [52747907] of race [Supella Falx Orienta] is an inferior creature!

-There is a high probability of the Naming Ceremony becoming a success!

-Would you like to proceeded?

-[Y/N]

[Argh... Yes...]

Kaelen grit his teeth to bear through the pain.

"Thou shalt be known as... Megaloblatta!"

UWOOOOONG!!!

An intense pink light engulfed the entirety of the office and...

"AAAAAAARGHHH!!!!!!"

The Roach let out a scream from the depths of pure agony.

His exoskeleton exploded, exposing his inner flesh that was not only as soft but closely resembled a naked shrimp.