Monster Integration

"Are you excited about this?" I asked Nero, looking at the broken entrance of the building deep underground.

"Yes. I am sensing something from it. It will be beneficial to the three of us," he said excitedly. I nodded and looked ahead carefully.

I had not planned to enter any building, but we were sufficiently far enough from the four families. Most importantly, here I might not have to break the formations, especially to enter the door.

I looked at it for a few minutes before walking toward the door.

I am very careful as there are broken formations all over, and while I am entering through the gap. Those formations could move. So, I need to be ready to react if any of them moved toward me.

Soon, I reached the broken black door and walked through the gap, keeping close eyes closed on broken formations.

No broken formations in the door reacted as I moved through it, but it was just a starting. As I reached inside, I found everything in shambles; it is not just the broken formation but also a partial collapse space.

They had used expanded space here, but it collapsed. Though not fully, only a quarter, while the rest seemed fine.

To be honest, I want to get the hell out of here. This place is dangerous. The slightest reaction from me could cause a complete collapse of space and I am not powerful enough to survive that.

"Where is that thing, you are sensing?" I asked Nero on my shoulder. "Ahead," he replied.

Hun!

I nodded and walked with him, but soon, I stopped and crouched down before picking up something.

It is a red gem, not a ruby of some kind, but a gem with intense fire elemental energies inside it. If I am not wrong, then it is an arcos fire gem, and I have found a big piece of it.

Just a few steps ahead, I had crouched down again and picked another gem.

It is another arcos crystal, but not of the fire element. It is a faint green color and has wind energies inside it.

As I looked around carefully, I saw there are many arcos crystals embedded in the walls. The owner of this place must have been filthy rich to use precious arcos crystal this way.

They are everywhere and in every element, but I did not pick all of them; only those in safe areas and away from danger.

It is not just the crystals, I have spotted a couple of more things, but they are either within the broken formation or near it. I don't want to go anywhere near them.

I hope I will quickly find whatever Nero had sensed and get the hell out of there.

"Left father," informed Nero as I reached the end of the hall and I couldn't help but sigh in relief, as on the right side is the collapsed space.

Hun!

I moved to the left and couldn't help but became surprised. I was expecting a place with a broken space, but here, the space is stable.

Though it is still filled with broken formations, and, like the hall, they are everywhere.

I walked down the corridor but did not touch any rooms, even those with intact formation. Every small thing could trigger a collapse and I am already taking a huge risk being here.

A few minutes passed by the corridor before entering another.

On the way, I picked up some interesting things. Some of them are just as valuable as arcos crystals, some are more.

Just getting them already worth coming here.

"It is just ahead, father," said Nero when we reached the end of the corridor. I grew excited hearing that, but remain careful.

Soon, I got out of the corridor and found myself in front of the overgrown garden.

I was just looking at the garden when Nero jumped off my shoulder. "Careful, Nero," I said, seeing his sudden action.

I followed behind him, avoiding every formation I had come across.

I did not even touch the amazing resources around me. I just want to see what made Nero so excited that he would run away so excitedly.

Hun!

I was running after him when suddenly I stopped.

I had felt the reaction from my core. The reaction was small, but it sent a wave through my core.

Only once I had felt something like this and, thinking about it, I couldn't help but grow excited.

Soon, I resumed walking and resumed walking. Immediately, I received another surprise.

Every step I take seemed to be intensifying, the reaction from the core. The wave became bigger and bigger every second.

Thankfully, it did not disturb the working of my core. It is just the reaction to my core, sensing something it is truly desired.

More than ten minutes passed, and I was very close. I could sense Nero, and in a minute or two, I will reach him.

I took one step away, another, with my core becoming so excited that it literally shook. I felt like, if I get close enough to the thing, it might burst out of my heart.

Gasp!

Soon, I cross passed through the thick trees and appeared in the clearing and saw something that made me gasp.

In front of me, bubbling tar, but it also feels like a moving cloud. It is colorless or seems to contain every color in it. Maybe it has color, but my mind is too small to conceive it.

The thing has no aura, and to my shock, I could not even sense it even as I pumped it with forbidden power.

Though it seemed to react to the forbidden power.

As I move, my soul senses it to its tendrils come out, eating away the forbidden power rapidly. I immediately cut the connection, seeing that.

"What is it?" I asked Nero, while two of my clones begin to scour through the library for it. "I don't know, father, but it is very useful to me and Ashlyn," he replied, staring at me greedily.

"What about me? You said it would be useful to me." I asked. "It is useful to you too, but not this bubbling tar cloud. If you stepped inside it, you would die," he said and my expression couldn't help, but grim.

"So, you are going to just enter inside it?" I asked Nero. To that, he nodded with his little head.

"Yes, I am going to take Ashlyn with me," he said, looking at me. "She is sleeping," I said.

"It does not matter. She will absorb it," he said and seemed quite sure of it. I could sense there is something else, but I did not ask and instead, I brought out sleeping Ashlyn and gave her to Nero.

"You know she would be angry. If she knew you picked her up like this," I said to him, seeing he picked her up in his mouth.

He could have easily done that with his energy, but he chose to do it with his mouth.

The rivalry. It did not stop, even when one is sleeping.

Nero smiled with eyes full of pettiness before he walked toward the boiling tar cloud with Ashlyn in his mouth.