Scott called up the information on his new friend and looked through the upgrade requirements. He smiled when he found no special requirements for the first two tiers. “Good... She’ll automatically advance when she hits a certain level range.”
Of course, that also meant that he needed to refine her before she reached that level. Refinement was expensive at the higher grades, but not really that expensive for the first few refinement periods. High-end refinement was something only the super wealthy could afford.
He decided to run the numbers a bit. After calculating the cost he nodded. “Well, I can afford to refine her to D-grade now, but C-grade will require a bit of fund raising.”
Refinement had standard prices for most Crystallim. Certain breeds required more money to refine, but most of them followed the standard scale. It would cost him a little over one gold credit to upgrade his new mermaid friend to D-grade. Further refinement to the next rank up would be an additional ten gold credits. After that it would increase to multiple platinum credits.
Scott thought about the situation for a moment then made a decision. He would only accept a new girl onto his team at the moment if she was incredibly interested in him, or if she brought something unique and powerful to the equation.
Unfortunately, he could not bond with every girl he ran across even if she was interested. Even the most dedicated person had to set limits. He could not sustain the lucid nature of every girl on the planet. It would be the perfect answer to his desire to help all Crystallim, but it was not possible. Until he could refine his new friend to C-grade he would have to be judicious about any new entrants to his team.
The hunter glanced down at his bracer then considered the little blue gem stone. The Crystallim core was slightly clouded over at the moment. She was still working towards proper coherence. He doubted that it would take her too much longer, however. From everything he learned during training, most recovering nightmares became coherent and lucid within twenty-four hours after making a bond. It usually would not even take that long.
He looked to the other Crystallim core on his bracer. Flora’s core was softly shining in the darkness. She gave off a gentle radiance that seemed to match her personality.
“I should let her rest another few hours.” Scott wanted to go back to sleep, actually, but he was just too amped up at the moment.
Scott ran his fingers through his hair then laughed a little. "Man. Why am I so excited?"
He could not help himself, really. Now that his first real dawn report as a hunter had taken place, the reality of his situation was impossible to deny.
In truth, everything in his life was now one step away from being perfect. True perfection was denied to him due to something he currently held no control over. His elation died down as that realization bubbled up to the surface of his mind.
"Seventy-Two..." he whispered briefly. He could not feel her at all now. The slight continuation of their close bond was fading fast. There was only one reason for it, and he knew it.
Scott checked into her current status. As her most recent master he was legally allowed to determine her bond status. After checking her situation he nodded. The worst case scenario had not happened. Only one option remained.
A deep sigh escaped his lips. "She must be going through hell right now because of it..."
There were only two reasons that he would not sense her basic emotions for at least a few weeks. One reason was resonance suppression. The government locked Crystallim in a room that was suffused with an anti-materialization resonance. Unable to create a body, she would remain inside her core and spend her time utterly alone. Only her memories would keep her company.
Resonance suppression was only performed for twenty-four hours at a time, and was designed to slowly wean the Crystallim off of their bond to their former master. In many ways it was akin to helping a chemical addiction sufferer through their withdrawals. While most drug addictions were easy enough to cure with bio-cleansers, there were still the occasional psychological dependence issues that only therapy and time could cure.
"Am I a terrible person for thinking that it's great that she doesn't have a new master?" asked Scott rhetorically. It could not be a good thing to think that. Her current suffering meant that she was still available to be with him if he someone miraculously came up with the obscene amount of money necessary to buy her contract.
In truth, the best he could hope for was to have the money in a few years. He would then need to swoop in and buy her despite the fact that she would have a new master. That was the bizarre reality of their promise. Buying her out from under her current master would ruin her new happiness. She might even hate him for a while. Still, in time she would remember what they meant to each other as long as he didn't wait more than a few years.
Her temporary anger at being torn from her current lover's arms would give way to the beautiful realization that she was now free to be loved on a long-term basis. It also meant she would be free to roam about the world with someone who gave a damn about her outside of service obligations and her sweet Avatar booty.
At least, that's what Scott told himself. He sighed loudly then ran his fingers down the useful illusion that floated before him. Seventy-Two, it hurt to even think about her. They were together for years, and she was even considered part of his little sort-of family.
Thoughts of his little sort-of family made him smile. That smile turned to an amused smirk when he realized something else. "Damn, she will be super-pissed when she finds out that I plan to buy Seventy-Two first."
"I wonder how many times she'll kick my ass before she lets me sit down?" Scott laughed at his own joke. After a moment he sighed. "I'm doing it again..."
He flopped down on his bed and sighed. How pathetic was it that even when he had two beautiful Crystallim to be part of his life, he still told jokes to himself while he sat alone in his room?
"I'm not alone anymore..." he muttered. Scott repeated it a few more times and tried to believe it. Coming to terms with his new reality was difficult. Even when he was not alone, it still felt like he always would be.
Despite Scott's overly amped body, sleep did eventually claim him. Several hours passed before Scott awoke once more. Upon waking, he realized something of incredible importance.
He blinked then sighed. “Room Function: Bathroom.”
Scott walked into the bathroom and unleashed the contents of his bladder into the pristine toilet. Despite all the many wonders of modern man, humanity still needed to urinate frequently after sleeping for a while.
“Ah well.” His body felt a little stiff after his short nap, but he felt very little pain at the moment. Just to be sure, he took out a bottle of Power-V, vitality restoration water, then called up his kitchen area.
Scott made breakfast, bacon and eggs with juice and vitality water, and then checked on his partners. The blue Crystallim core had started to shine a little brighter. She was almost ready to come out and meet the world. Flora continued to shine softly as well. She was probably fully rested by now.
There was no point in going out for now, and to be honest he was still a little tired after waking up. He decided to give it another hour before starting his day for real. If he was lucky, his new fish-tailed friend would be ready at that time. If not? Well, he would call out Flora and they would go find something to do for a few hours. It was possible that he would have to put off hunting for today, but that was fine. The well-being of the girls came first.
Scott stretched out on his bed once more then sighed. How would he spend his hour? He did not feel like surfing the Global Net, but what else was there to do?
After a few minutes he began to reflect on the last few days once more. He had officially been a hunter for only two days now. A lot had happened during that time, and at the rate things were going there would be a lot more excitement in the future.
“Maybe we can explore a dungeon soon?” Scott smiled after he said it. Dungeon was a slang term for naturally o
ccurring structures that formed around ancient Crystallim deposits. Reality became twisted and warped. Nightmares roamed the area and even the occasional aberration might be found.
Dungeons could be anything from a rocky spire, or mist-shrouded forest, to an underground labyrinth. There was even a small one located in the national park. Of course, it was swept routinely by hunters and ADF patrols so there were not as many Crystallim in the area as most dungeons would have.
He rolled over onto his side then frowned. His team was not ready for that sort of thing, yet. A few small missions were needed first.
A few minutes passed before he thought of something else to occupy his time. Alexis, his new girlfriend in name, was part succubus. If she awakened he would have to take care of her. He called up information regarding the succubus breed.
<<< Entry #113 >>>
Breed Name: Succubus
Family: Succubus
Habitat: Any
Appearance: Humanoid [Type I - III]
The succubus breed is a type of Crystallim who can range from a purely human appearance to a type three humanoid appearance at will. They are considered to be incredibly beautiful by human standards. They have a high sex drive, and a strong preference for human male companionship.
Their powers are fueled by intimate contact with men. If they are in a relationship with a male master they will devote themselves completely. However, if their master is a human female they will require frequent interaction with men in order to maintain their power base. This is inefficient, however. Many cities enforce a strict male master only rule for this breed due to their specific requirements.
Succubae are not normally jealous creatures and may even enjoy the idea of their master spending time with other human women or Crystallim. However, a peculiar quirk of the breed comes into play when their chosen master shows intimacy with another female to the extent that they casually use the name of their other partner. Succubae invariably dislike the name of another woman on the lips of their master, and will sometimes become moody or even violently jealous. This quirk becomes even more pronounced if they happen to know the other woman or Crystallim personally.
In short, a Succubae will normally be eager to increase the sexual knowledge of her master through interaction with many women. However, they do not want their master to become intimate with them to the extent that he casually references them by name in conversation. Most Succubae merely pout or glare when it happens. However, some do become manipulative or mean spirited.
This strange form of jealousy is far more pronounced in Nightmare Succubae. A Succubus in the wild may become completely enamored with a man who passes through her area. She will attempt to kidnap the man and keep him locked away. In many instances, the man will be given a pet name such as Precious and will be treated like a favored possession.
Caution: Though males are rarely forced into awakening as a Crystallim, the overtly sexual nature of a Succubus combined with her extreme attentiveness toward her precious, can cause a human to undergo metamorphosis and awaken as a Crystallim.
<<< * >>>
Scott shuddered at the cautionary note at the end. Forced awakening was something every hunter feared. It did not happen often, and took a long time to initiate. Women were particularly vulnerable to it since their resonance was most similar to a Crystallim. That did not completely protect men from the effect, however.
If a man was forced into continual long term contact with a Nightmare, typically several years’ worth of contact for a man, they would probably die. However, there are instances of a male metamorphosing and awakening as a random Crystallim breed. A woman would always become the same breed as the Crystallim they were interacting with during that time.
Metamorphosis due to awakening was not an issue for humans who had forged a bond with a Crystallim. A Lucid Crystallim would not force awakening onto a normal human. Nightmares generated a different energy field, one that was more disruptive.
The hunter called up a general image of the Succubus breed then saw the three dimensional image shift from a type one humanoid into its two alternate versions. The second version was a sleeker, sexier, version with cute fangs and a tail that had a heart-shaped point on the end. The third version had horns, large bat wings, and sturdier tail. There were also several other little differences. She wore a cruel, yet seductive, expression on her beautiful face.
Scott gazed upon the full-on Succubus in all her glory. For a moment he thought of what Alexis would look like if she were to take on that sort of appearance. She would be beautiful, but would she also have the calculating look and bored sensuality? The image before him looked like the epitome of a woman who took pride in turning a man into a plaything. Perhaps it was just the blurb about the breed and a few things he had heard during training, but he could not be certain. Was it a possibility, or was he just applying prejudice instead of seeing the truth?
He dismissed the stereotypical Succubus image then sighed. If she did awaken he would take care of her, but she had a life as a human being. He wished her the best in keeping that life.
The hunter decided to check a few more entries for other Crystallim then closed down the message screen. He was not tired enough to go back to sleep, and did not know what else to do while he waited.
He happened to glance down at his bracer after another few minutes and a bright smile appeared on his lips. The blue Crystallim core now shined with a soft, steady, light. His new friend was ready to meet the world.
Scott stood up then stepped away from the bed. He wanted to give her a soft landing point since she had no legs. “Caesg.”
He did not know her name, yet. For all he knew she did not even have one. A soft blue light shot outward from the Crystallim core and soon the mermaid he had partnered with at the lake manifested in the room.
The mermaid blinked sleepily then looked around. “Where am I?”
“Hi! My name is Scott, do you remember me?” asked the man.
“Oh, hi! Uhm, you’re my master right? You certainly feel like someone special to me,” said the girl. She flapped her tail up and down a few times while looking at him curiously.
“Yep, that’s me. Do you have a name?” asked Scott.
“A name... I don’t know. No one has ever called me anything, I guess?” The Caesg frowned prettily then acquired a thoughtful expression.
It was one of the oddities of Crystallim and the bond. They had self-awareness, and developed adult personalities. However, their overall knowledge could be spotty at best. Over time much of their master’s knowledge would translate over to the girl, but even then they would need to be properly educated. Thankfully virtual reality tutorial programs easily took care of that issue. They could spend a single real hour taking basic education courses, while actively learning for several hours in the virtual environment.
“If you don’t have a name, is there anything that you would like to be called?” asked the hunter. He smiled at her and tried to give off a friendly vibe.
“Uhm, often I guess?” The Caesg smiled sweetly at him.
Scott chuckled softly. “I’ll definitely do that if you like. Still, what would you like for me to call you? Do you have a preference?”
She propped her head up on her hands then tilted her head to the left. “No, not really.”
He nodded. She probably never had a name of her own before. If she did, she'd no doubt forgotten it. Given the location he found her and her overall capacity, she'd probably been born recently. She had a complete personality from what he could tell, so that was not a problem. She could be a day old, or decades old. It was impossible to tell. Either way, she looked to be around nineteen or twenty in human years, and spoke with obvious adult mannerisms.
The hunter rubbed his chin and thought over possible names. There were many historic names for a mermaid. However, she might want something a bit more normal.
The Caesg sighed softly and her scales shifted color from light blue to a far darker shade in a prisma
tic display of light.
Her hair and eyes slowly shifted to match the new color. Scott blinked then stared openly. “What... how did you do that?”
“Hmm? Do what, master?” asked the girl.
“You shifted the color pattern of your scales. Your information said nothing about that,” said the man.
“Oh, well... I don’t know. I don’t think that I could do it before. It just happened,” replied the girl. She was just as surprised as he was.
Scott checked her status once more then noted that she now had an ability to shift the color of her scales in accordance with her mood. It was called prismatic shift and it was based on her emotional state. It seemed to have no other function except to show her mood.
“I see, probably a side-effect of our bond,” said Scott.
She smiled softly at him and her lower half shifted into a golden hue that gleamed in the light. She fanned her tail up and down a little while trying to look friendly.
“So pretty, like a gold fish.” Scott blurted it out, but realized it might sound offensive not long after he said it.
The girl giggled at him. She was not offended. “Really? You think I am pretty with gold colored scales?”
“Sure. You’re beautiful either way,” said Scott. It was true. As far as he was concerned, she was like a work of art. Her fins and wide fan-like tail probably looked gorgeous in the water. Even on land they were quite beautiful.
She made a strangled sound then hid her eyes behind her hands. After a few seconds she spread her fingers and peeked out at him with one eye. When she saw him looking at her, she closed her fingers and made a little *Eep!* sound.
Scott’s left eyebrow shot up in the air. What was going on with this fish? Was she shy?
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