Red was thrilled—he wasn't the kind to give up, and he proudly held the prey that had fought so bravely. To him, this monster was worthy of being his, so courageous it had been.
He began the harmonization process. One… two… three…
"Harmony!!!" Red shouted.
Fwoooosh! A powerful violet light burst between Red and the snake. The sight was just as impressive as ever for our young friends. Then the light faded, and everything slowly returned to normal. His soul stone now shone a beautiful shade of violet.
"Woohoo! I did it! I've got the power of the Violet Viper!" Red shouted, overjoyed. "I'm so happy! Ha! Ha! Ha! I'm ready to go hunt some monsters now!"
"Congrats, Red!" Cry called out, happy to see his childhood friend so ecstatic.
Suddenly, Red focused and, with a wave of his hand, summoned his weapon—a long violet whip appeared. Coiling around his soul stone, it wrapped his wrist and hand, extending nearly a meter and a half. Its texture resembled the viper's scales and looked extremely durable.
"So, you're my weapon then," Red said, strangely calm.
"You're not happy?" Cry asked, surprised.
Tears of joy welled in Red's eyes, his body trembling as he could no longer contain himself.
"Are you kidding?! I'm losing my mind here! Woohoo! A whip! I've got a whip! And it looks so strong, too. With this, I'm going to take down tons of monsters. I'm so, so happy!"
Cry and Summer burst out laughing at their friend's over-the-top reaction.
"By the way, Summer—you never told me, but I can see my stats interface now! That's so cool!" Red added.
"Yeah, I was waiting until all three of us had our first monster so we could compare our stats," Summer replied.
"Ohhh, okay. I can't wait to show Cry—he must be so jealous not having a monster yet, even if he's not saying anything. Ha! Ha! Ha!"
Touching his stone, an interface appeared:
RED'S STATS – VIOLET VIPER RANK E –
Level 1
Strength (determines the power of attacks and raw force): 8
Agility (determines coordination and balance): 5
Defense (determines the ability to withstand hits): 4
Speed (determines movement speed and attack speed): 10
Charisma (impresses monsters): 2
Weapon: Whip.
"Strength 8—that'll help us, but we're still pretty weak. We're only level 1," Summer noted.
"Ha! Ha! Ha! Yeah, strength 8!" Red said proudly. "I'm gonna crush everything—I'm the strongest! Ha! Ha! Ha! And you, Summer—let me see your stats."
SUMMER'S STATS – WHITE WILD CAT RANK E –
Level 1
Strength: 4
Agility: 8
Defense: 4
Speed: 7
Charisma: 3
Weapon: Claw glove
Passive ability: Luck +
"Oooh! You've got a passive ability—Luck +! You'll be able to find more items after hunting—so lucky!" Red exclaimed excitedly.
"Yeah, well, you should've picked a cute kitty too," Summer teased.
"Ahem!" Cry said, feeling a little left out.
"Oh, right! Cry… don't worry, we'll find yours right now," Summer said.
The hunt had taken up most of the day, and Cry was starting to get impatient. He couldn't imagine going home without a monster after an entire day of hunting. Even though he hadn't said anything, Red knew him well—he could tell Cry was boiling inside. He'd seen his friends' weapons and their stats, and he wanted to experience this brand-new Soul Warrior world for himself.
They set off again, searching for nearly an hour, but nothing caught Cry's interest. Choosing a first monster wasn't easy. They'd come across five more monsters, but Cry clearly wasn't interested in rodents or giant caterpillars.
It was getting late—the sun would set soon. Summer turned to Cry.
"We've got maybe an hour left to find yours today… sorry, but once it's dark, we won't know what kind of monster we might run into. It'd be better to head back…"
"Don't worry. I promised my mom I'd be home before nightfall too. I just… feel like I'm about to find mine very soon."
Summer and Red exchanged surprised glances. Cry seemed confident—but what kind of monster would he choose? They had no idea.
After a few more minutes of searching, Cry exclaimed:
"There's my monster!"
Red looked around, wondering where it could be. All he saw was a small praying mantis that, with night approaching, was about to hide. But to his surprise, Cry pointed directly at the insect.
"Huh?! That's your monster, Cry?" Red asked, baffled.
"Yes—it'll be my first monster!"
Summer and Red were a bit surprised, but Cry had every right to choose whatever he wanted to start with. After all, Summer had chosen a wild cat.
"Wait, I'll catch it for you," Red said, trying to grab the mantis.
But the mantis didn't make it easy—it slashed his hand with its scythes, leaving a nice cut.
Barely thirty centimeters tall, the little green monster looked anything but harmless when it rose into an attack stance. With two massive scythes almost half its body length, the mantis seemed ready to fight the three young warriors.
"Ow, ow, ow! She's tiny but vicious," Red complained, looking at his injured hand.
"Let me handle it," Cry said in a grave tone.
Cry had grown very serious—the atmosphere shifted. It was as if time had stopped. The boy slowly approached the small monster, which seemed ready to defend itself, and the closer he came, the heavier the air felt. The pressure became unbearable for the mantis—it tried to flee, but to its shock, it was frozen in place. Cry's gaze was completely different now, like he was someone else entirely. It was so intense that the poor creature trembled, unable to move, staring at him.
Red and Summer watched, stunned. Summer was deeply unsettled by seeing Cry like this. Not a word left her mouth.
Cry moved closer to the monster, which now seemed resigned, bowing its head in submission. He touched the top of its head and began to count.
One… two… three seconds passed, and Cry said calmly:
"Harmony."
Fwoooosh.
A powerful green light erupted, and the harmony was completed instantly. Even though this was the third time they'd seen it today, the sight was still just as awe-inspiring.
The light hadn't even fully faded when they heard:
"At last!!!" the boy said happily.
Summer and Red exchanged glances, still in shock over what had just happened. It had lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like an eternity. They'd never experienced such pressure before—and the intensity in their friend's eyes… it had been unreal.