Chapter 184: The Second Monthly Trial Begins When the Sword in the Stone is Pulled Out
Eileen wasn't entirely against Cheng Tian's suggestion to choose Magikarp; it was just that she unexpectedly stumbled upon a valuable item in the market—a "Totodile's Skull Specimen" from the Pokémon world—which only cost her a little over three thousand, a completely affordable price.
Driven by the thought, "It must be fated for me," Eileen decisively gave up on Magikarp and chose Totodile as her fusion material.
As a Generation II Water-type starter, Totodile has excellent growth potential. Furthermore, as a reptile, its genetic compatibility with the flying unit Aerodactyl was surprisingly good. Most importantly, it also fulfilled Eileen's aquatic needs for a fusion mount.
However, when hatching, she directly chose to deploy the newborn individual in its "Minion" form.
Unlike Cheng Tian, who already had a Research Ape, her first Minion slot was still empty. Naturally, she opted for the Minion form, which offers higher growth potential and can be revived after death.
The Aerodactyl, fused with Totodile's genes, was born in a new form: "Totodile Aerodactyl." It was incredibly Juvenile , so much so that its appearance was filled with a fairytale-like cuteness, the kind that could sit at the same table as Togepi.
Evidently, with its current size, it couldn't be ridden immediately. It would need to be nurtured to a certain stage, or even complete an evolution, before it could meet the demands of carrying someone through the air.
This was unlike Cheng Tian, who not only chose a combat mount but also had an Aerodactyl as the source material, which was a "non-evolving" individual capable of entering battle immediately upon birth.
Back in the day, Red from the Pokémon Special manga had a similar experience: his Aerodactyl could participate in battle immediately after hatching. Even before the slime on its body had dried, it possessed the strength and physique to carry people through the sky and came with an inherited move like 'Steel Wing,' which was quite absurd.
Eileen was curious about Aerodactyl's attributes, and Cheng Tian was also curious about Totodile Aerodactyl's attributes, so they directly revealed them to each other.
Eileen, who had already guessed something, visibly lost her cheerful expression but quickly recovered. While hugging the little one in her arms tightly, she kept muttering strange things like, "Mommy will always love you!" The little one, born only a day ago and as blank as a piece of paper due to no spatial intervention, looked utterly bewildered.
On Cheng Tian's side, he compared its attributes with his own Aerodactyl.
Totodile Aerodactyl's total attributes were only about one-third of Aerodactyl's, and judging by its attribute growth tendency, it seemed to be a strength-focused, tanky type, rather than Aerodactyl's agility specialization.
Its abilities and skills included 'Torrent,' which increases the power of Water-type moves when at low health; 'Water Gun,' which can shoot water jets to harm others; and 'Rock Blast,' a skill whose effect is similar to a multi-hit attack like 'Fury Swipes,' capable of striking a target 2-5 times consecutively.
To put it nicely, it has immense growth potential, as it fused with a Generation II Water-type starter and has at least two stages of evolution possible. However, it is indeed difficult to put it to immediate use, and whether it can grow smoothly will depend on how capable Eileen, its owner, truly is.
Eileen's plan to show off completely failed, but the newborn little one quickly made new friends.
The enthusiastic War Elephant Mammoth and the mischievous Aerodactyl Aerodactyl both chose to befriend the entirely blue juvenile Aerodactyl in their own ways. What surprised Cheng Tian, however, was that Tyrannosaurus Rex Red, whom he expected to remain aloof and not participate in such social interactions, actually approached on its own and then displayed a considerable degree of maternal instinct!
Although the Red Tyrannosaurus Rex, transformed into a harness mount, was not the same individual as its original self, it highly replicated all the original's characteristics, including the family cognition of Tyrannosaurus Rex groups and the protective tendencies of female Tyrannosaurus Rex towards their young.
Don't let the Tyrannosaurus Rex's fierce appearance fool you; it is one of the most family-oriented dinosaurs among the dinosaur species. Although this isn't its own offspring, it doesn't prevent it from unleashing its unchanneled maternal instincts upon it.
Watching the large red terrestrial creature caring for and attempting to teach something to the small blue creature, which was amphibious and aerial, Cheng Tian and Eileen's expressions were a bit subtle.
"By the way, let me ask you something."
Cheng Tian, who had been watching the rare ancient creature's family harmony for a while, suddenly spoke.
"Go ahead~ I'm listening~"
Eileen, with a smile that was either a mother's or an aunt's, responded directly without taking her eyes off the Totodile Aerodactyl.
"Have you ever tried to collect information about Space Dungeons in reality?"
"Yes! Of course, I have!"
Eileen's voice suddenly rose, and her gaze shifted from the small blue creature to Cheng Tian.
"Who would be willing to spend a lot of money buying from other players if they could find it in reality...? But who knows which spacetime plane Heaven's Chosen Space chose its electronic games from as blueprints? Anyway, so far, whether it's main quests or bounty quests, I haven't seen a single blueprint that can be found offline."
Eileen's face was filled with complaints.
Hearing the unique term "spacetime plane" from Eileen again, Cheng Tian's eyebrows couldn't help but twitch, and then he continued to ask without changing his expression.
"Are those, um... players from other spacetime planes also in this situation?"
"I don't know about others, but at least everyone in my circle knows this. Or perhaps someone has found it offline, but they just don't tell anyone else. If it were me, I wouldn't tell either. How cool is it to have it all to yourself~"
At this point, Eileen paused, then looked at Cheng Tian with a suspicious gaze.
"I say, you haven't found a dungeon prototype in the real world, have you?"
"I'm asking you precisely because I couldn't find it. I'm relieved to hear that you couldn't find it either."
"You M-ed a—"
The archer punched the summoner.
Eileen was actually a relatively emotionally stable hooligan, but for some reason, Cheng Mouren always managed to provoke her to the point of breaking down and resorting to physical action with just a few words. She felt that she couldn't quell the anger in her heart without hitting him.
As Cheng Mouren was being hit, he had already activated his Primordial Shell, and the fog in his heart was also dispelled.
Now, he finally understood what made him most special to the Space, and it was very likely unique.
The words spoken by the serious Cheng Tian were still very deceptive; Eileen was indeed fooled, and the topic quickly shifted to this month's main quest dungeon.
As a Black Iron-tier player, Eileen could get one entry in advance with 24 hours remaining, while Cheng Tian still chose blindly.
Eileen's dungeon entry was "Sword and Spear Combat." Upon seeing this entry, a series of options immediately popped into Cheng Tian's mind.
Samurai Shodown, The Last Blade, Heaven's Mirror, Soulcalibur, Ninja Master's, Martial Masters, Battle Axe Fighting Chapter... even the fighting mode of Golden Axe III might be included.
The sheer number made it difficult to prepare in advance, so she could only be ready for the high probability that her motorcycle wouldn't be usable and prepare more recovery potions for sword and blade laceration injuries.
As for Cheng Tian, he simply spent his 강화석 (enhancement stones) and Heaven's Chosen Coins on enhancing his equipment, then quietly waited for the second official main quest to begin.
After exchanging punches with Eileen, Cheng Tian disappeared into the pillar of light.
[Dungeon Importing—]
[When that man pulled out the "Sword in the Stone," symbolizing the arrival of a king, from the unshakeable rock base, a story representing the birth of a legend officially began.]