The Runic Alchemist

'What...? Trunkling... Summon...? Death if it dies...? What kind of dumb ass curse is this? Fuck, this system really loves making my life difficult, doesn't it? If I activate this skill—whatever this 'trunkling' thing is—probably the baby version of that elephant will be summoned.. And since it's just a temporary skill... Doesn't seem like I can get rid of it once it's here…'

"Ugh... Fuck it... I'll just sleep for now."

He could feel something unusual happening with the mana in his body, but since it didn't make him feel uncomfortable Damian was too tired to care. He deactivated the status tool and closed his eyes, letting the comfort of the bed quickly lull him to sleep.

---

What if he never activated the skill..? Wouldn't that remove the question of protecting it..? But then it will just remain there in his stats, a glaring weakness.. No matter how powerful he became. If anyone saw his status, not that he could afford to show even before, but if the skill like analysis from Vidalia had another version that a powerful higher leveled individual could use to see his stats.. No.. The control of his status tool was still in his hands so they still couldn't force him to activate it..

Before he could think further, a powerful surge of foreign mana suddenly stirred within him. It circled near his mana core, each movement causing searing pain. Why didn't he notice this before..? No, it was there but it didn't move before so he just ignored it.. It was hard to do so now..

"Aghhh..." he groaned as it pressed closer to his core, the pain becoming unbearable. Then, he felt his energy draining. No—his mana was depleting. What? This foreign mana was stealing his mana? What in the world was happening? Damian quickly activated his status tool again, spotting [Summon Trunkling] blinking rapidly with a red light.

"Damn it... Is this the system warning me what happens if I don't activate it? Fuck..."

With no other choice, Damian activated the new temporary skill. Instantly, a bright white light formed around his stomach, where he usually felt his mana core. Within seconds, the light condensed into a small bundle resting on his chest. The foreign mana disappeared from inside him, but he could still feel it within the tiny form.

As the light faded, it revealed a baby elephant, fast asleep with its legs and trunk forming a small arc, ears covering its tiny body. Luckily, it didn't have any bright energy stripes on its body, though its belly glowed faintly pinkish-red. Its soft lavender skin seemed to radiate warmth.

Damian would've found it cute if it hadn't just tried to consume his mana core..

"So... now what?" he sighed.

The sound stirred the little creature, making it twitch its ears. Slowly, it opened its eyes, locking its bright blue gaze onto Damian's. He blinked; it blinked back, then smiled, almost as if it found the exercise amusing. Raising its trunk, it let out a high-pitched trumpet, even though it was startled by its own sound. After a moment, it trumpeted again, seemingly delighted, bouncing up and down on Damian's chest with boundless enthusiasm. Not caring one bit about the person it was bouncing on.

What was the thing so happy about..? Wasn't it supposed to be a vengeful little hater of his or something..?

Before it brought people inside his tent, Damian picked up the little creature, which let out a soft hum, raising its trunk in an attempt to touch his face—though it was too short to reach.

He looked at it, baffled. What was he supposed to do with this thing? It looked as fragile as a mouse, yet if anything at all happened to it, he would die too. When it couldn't reach his face, it settled for his neck, nudging him curiously while wiggling its little feet in his hands.

"Guess I should give you a name..."

"Eeeek!"

"Yes, a name. Don't get too excited now, or I'll name you something like Popo..."

"Mreeh!"

Its trunk flailed, as if offended.

"Don't show me that sass.. What do you want to be called then..?"

"Weeeh!"

"That sounded like Muffin to me..."

"Mreeh!"

"No? How about Sparkles?"

"Mreeh!"

"Twinkle?"

"Mreeh!"

"You sure have a lot of opinions for someone barely ten minutes old... Alright, how about Sassafras? That suits you perfectly.."

"Mreeeeeh!"

Damian sighed, deciding to put off the naming for now— he wasn't getting anything good anyway. He set it down on the bed, watching it dart around, hopping and exploring with a little too much joy in life for his taste. While it played, Damian changed into a spare uniform, he was feeling hungry after sleeping the entire day.

Scooping up the little creature, Damian stepped out of his tent. The camp was dimly lit by fires, with soldiers talking quietly around them. The little elephant shivered at first, then started trumpeting excitedly at everything it saw. Damian brought it near his body a bit. The temperature was pretty low. The worst thing happening to him would be Damian dying because the guy couldn't handle some night cold. Though the worries dissipated in the nest second as Damian felt warmth on his stomach. It glowed, its belly glowed with energy, just as its previous form though the energy was too little and barely bright. It did warm up its body though.

Well, that's a handy feature. This guy could serve as a pocket hand warmer.

"Nfff!"

It snorted, looking up at him, as if it could sense his thoughts. This creature certainly had a lot of sass—training was definitely in order.

Wherever he walked people stared at him and the thing in his hand, even more so now than before. Guess he will never be able to live in the background anymore, he had totally given up on it by now. Not that he had gotten much success from the first day he had arrived on this battlefield.