144 Mysterious Creature

The golden crystal was so dazzling that Irina had to cover her eyes to not be blinded by the shimmering light being exuded by it.

"I feel like that is some kind of treasure. Something unprecedented but…" Her voice trailed as she refocused her gaze on the furballs.

They had successfully gathered in the center and before her eyes, fused. While being basked in the light emitted by the golden crystal, Irina watched how the merged, adorable bouncy little creatures transform into a stout bipedal creature. Its body was still covered in blue, fluffy fur but the eyes that she couldn't properly see earlier were not visible. They're round and adorable yet being subjected to the dark blue pupils of the creature, she found herself getting absorbed by it.

Her mind was slowly drifting away and a desire to run towards the creature and cuddle it was gradually replacing her thoughts.

That's terrifying enough since she's still looking at it through her screen.

Having noticed that, Irina hurriedly closed her eyes and averted her gaze. "Is that its ability?" she wondered. One of her Concepts was also something that targeted one's psyche but what she had just experienced was more terrifying.

"If I failed to snap out of it, it's more than likely that I would be like a mindless puppet at its mercy." She concluded.

Although her vigilance was at its highest, the golden crystal as well as the blue creature bedazzled her.

She's only a middle Stage 1 Energy Refiner. Abducted by an unknown rift monster.

She already suspected that it was the blue creature who pulled her into the dimension.

But there's one question in her mind, "Why did it not kill me right away? It even led me here…"

As seconds passed, the wave of golden brilliance from the crystal continued to pass by Irina.

And whether she believed it or not, the almost depleted backup battery started charging and she started to feel her refined Energy being replenished.

"… What should I do?" Stuck in a dilemma, Irina started racking her brains.

The blue creature wasn't hostile at all. But given that she got subjected to the magic of the creature's eyes, she still couldn't throw away the suspicion that she was being enticed to come.

As her thoughts rolled around that suspicion, the blue creature that's already half the height of her Metadome stood up.

It turned around and faced the Golden Crystal. Moments later, it started glowing in blue color as the existing Dimensional Energy gathered around it.

Following that, the golden crystal considerably dimmed until it lost almost half of its golden brilliance.

When the blue creature turned around again to face Irina, a golden ball the size of a watermelon was cusp on its hand.

It then held out its petite furry arms as though it's handing the golden ball to Irina.

"Myu~"

"Myu, myu~"

Irina had to strain her ears to properly hear that the blue creature was making that sound…

"Is it trying to converse with me? And that golden ball… I feel a dense amount of Dimensional Energy in it…"

Slowly, her mind gradually accepted that the blue creature might not be hostile at all…

She tilted her head and focused her eyes on the golden ball.

"Myu~"

After another cute sound, the blue creature let go of the golden ball and let it roll towards Irina, stopping at her Metadome's feet.

CLINK!

The sound of metal hitting metal echoed but nothing else happened.

"Is… it for me?" She asked, opening up the loudspeaker of her Metadome.

And sure enough, the blue creature responded in a rather chirpy tone, "Myu~!"

"You understand me…"

"Myu?"

"I mean, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"Myu!"

"Alright. I get it… What are you?"

"Myu, myu, myu~" As though trying to explain, the blue creature cheerfully made those same sounds successively.

"Wait. How can I understand that? Anyway, if you can understand me… I better change how I question you. Are you a rift monster?"

"Myu." It shook its body as it said that.

"Not a rift monster, huh? Are you trying to hurt me?"

"Myu. Myu." It shook its body even harder as though it's saying, 'I would never hurt you'.

Following that, Irina started her questioning with only yes and no questions without moving from her spot.

Although she's already half-convinced that the creature meant her no harm, she still wanted some kind of explanation why it abducted her.

-

-

"I finally found some traces…" Aldrin exclaimed as soon as he saw some kind of skid marks on the ground. He was aware that the ground was too hard and that even though the Metadome was heavy, it wasn't leaving any print on the ground. "Based on these marks, this might be the place Irina landed on. So, the entry isn't fixed?"

Because he failed to run into anyone or anything from where he came from, he took the other path that opened on the other side.

A few minutes later, he found himself going in circles before ending up facing another wall...

The fog still obstructed her view so he couldn't find his way properly.

"How long has it been? It's been close to half an hour ever since Irina was pulled in this Dimension and apart from the skid marks, I turn up with nothing."

Although he didn't want to give up, having no lead was clearly taking a toll on his mind.

Aldrin was about to turn around when he suddenly felt a sudden surge of Dimensional Energy.

No. Calling it a surge was an understatement. It's an explosion. Before he could turn to the direction where it came from, his Metadome staggered before completely tumbling down.

As soon as he stabilized himself he started running.

The fog cleared up and a path that was obscure earlier appeared before him.

"Irina. Please be safe…" He murmured while still reeling at the force of that explosion.

-

-

"Huh? What's happening to me?!" Irina shouted in confusion as soon as saw the golden ball dissolve from her palms. It then seeped inside her body as it started to fill her Energy Channels as well as Energy Quintessence.

Before she knew it, her whole body glowed in a golden streak as Dimensional Energy started transforming her.

However, before she lost her consciousness, she found herself being put in a warm embrace. The blue creature quickly moved and caught her to prevent her from falling to the hard ground.

She communicated with the blue creature. And in the end, she got convinced that it wanted her to take the golden ball. And so, she did… but what awaited her was something she hadn't expected at all.

By the time her consciousness returned, she found herself lying down comfortably on the lap of the blue creature. Its eyes were closed, perhaps to stop her from being lost in it again.

Moments later, before she could converse with the creature again, her ears perked up as she heard the sound of a Metadome closing into their position.

Her eyes then focused on the direction where her Metadome was left standing. Moments later, another Metadome painted in a different color appeared from behind it and the voice of someone she's hoping to hear graced her ears.

"Irina!"

-

-

"There you are…" Aldrin's eyes focused quickly on the girl lying down. However, upon noticing where she was, his eyes narrowed before focusing on the creature holding her.

'What is this? Did it really just abduct her? But then, what's that explosion of Dimensional Energy?' He had a lot of questions but he quickly focused his eyes on the IDLE Database, hoping to identify the dimensional creature next to Irina.

However, what was relayed to him was nothing short of a disappointment.

[Level ?? Unknown Creature (Difficulty: Unknown)]

'So this is what happens if the IDLE Database didn't calibrate a dimension… it would lack a lot of information.'

Since he couldn't rely on the mysterious program, Aldrin readied himself and took up a stance.

He had no idea how strong the creature was but he was at least going to try to grab Irina and exit immediately.

That way, the risk of the girl being put in danger would be minimized.

Unfortunately, as soon as he stepped forward, his sword and refined energy threatening to cut the blue creature, Aldrin saw Irina standing up in front of it.

With her arms wide open as though she's shielding it from him, Irina shouted.

"Huh? W-wait… Aldrin!"

"What are you doing?"

"This creature… Myul isn't dangerous. Look, I'm not hurt at all!" Irina spun once to show that there was nothing wrong with her.

He was unconvinced and was about to conclude that the girl might be controlled by the creature.

But before that happened, he noticed something. The girl's body was covered in a golden glow… "Is that Minor Aura Veil?"