The Malfae felt a spark within its mind and as it focused on it, the spark became an annoyance. The more the creature focussed on the annoyance, the clearer the annoyance became. The Malfae frowned. ‘What is the point of this?’

It gave the beautiful mortal child a reproachful look for a moment, but then its eyes flickered to the eagle sitting on the windowsill and it shivered. It focused back on the annoyance but the emotion felt like a cloud to the [Hive Monarch]. A foreign cloud. ‘That does not even make sense.’

The foreign cloud floated within its mind and the creature frowned. It could read the emotion easily enough but that did not help it any in projecting its own thoughts onto it. Thus, the Malfae thought for a moment before it sat down and crossed its legs. It observed the child for a moment more and closed its eyes. The creature focused on itself, but instead of focusing on its mana or body, the creature focused on its thoughts.

It took quite a few moments for the creature to clear its mind of useless thoughts. Once it had achieved the state though, it focused only on the foreign thought cloud within its mind and tried to probe the thought cloud but it collapsed in an instant.

“You!” One of the most beautiful of all the mortal children shrieked out in anger. “What did you do?!”

The Malfae opened its eyes and then smiled.

0.0

The Malfae remained sitting with its eyes closed and tried to clear its mind of all thoughts in its mind but one. The thought that remained within its mind was a foreign one and it was one of impatience.

The Malfae sensed the emotion and focused on it before it tried to pry inside-

The cloud collapsed.

“You ugly!” One of the most beautiful of all the mortal children huffed. “Stop cancelling my Skill.”

0.0

The creature focused on the foreign cloud and found irritation radiating from it. The creature ignored its meaning and tried to surround the cloud. But there was nothing to surround the cloud with.

The Malfae frowned and a cloud materialised. This cloud was of confusion and it originated from the Immortal itself. It did not feel foreign to the [Hive Monarch] in the way that the other cloud did. The Malfae gently pushed its own cloud forward and the moment the two clouds touche-

The foreign cloud collapsed.

“Will you stop it?!” One of the most beautiful of all the mortal children pointed a finger at the Malfae and shrieked.

The Malfae did not reply and the mortal child’s face twisted. “Ugly! Ugly! Ugly!”

0.0

Once the strange eagle calmed down the beautiful but bratty mortal child that had been jumping like an angry monkey, the Malfae closed its eyes once again and focused on the foreign cloud. The emotion radiating from the cloud was one of simmering anger.

The creature ignored the foreign cloud and materialised a cloud of its own. This cloud spoke of caution. The [Hive Monarch] gingerly enveloped the foreign cloud with its own while making sure that the two never touched.

The creature frowned as the two clouds remained in a state of mutual acceptance. Without hesitation, the Malfae plunged its own cloud into the foreign one, all at once and the two clouds touched in their entirety.

Immediately the foreign cloud collapsed.

“What!” The beautiful mortal child squawked as it stood up and looked around with cautious eyes. “What happened? What is going on?”

The beautiful mortal child’s eyes fell on the Malfae and it screeched. “Why you ugly-”

At that moment, the exquisite mortal child’s eyes widened and its mouth formed a circle as its eyed seemed to read something in the air. The Malfae, meanwhile, ignored the child as its attention was focused on the notification before its eyes.

Ting.

[Skill [Projection Lv.1] granted.]

The creature smiled and focused on the [Projection].

Ting.

[Allows the user to project intent to a single other creature or being. Cost: None.]

“My Skill Levelled up! [Projection] Levelled up!!” The beautiful mortal child shouted in joy.

At the same time, the eyes of the eagle on the windowsill widened and its head swirled around to look at the Malfae. The creature nodded hastily at the eagle and hurriedly looked away. The eagle, on the other hand, eyed the creature for a moment before it closed its eyes. Its closed eyes scrunched as it seemingly focused. The [Hive Monarch] did not have to wait for long to find out what the eagle had done as soon enough, the woman in green walked in.

0.0

The [Monster Tamer] sat down but for some reason, the majesty that had exuded from her had diminished greatly. She still seemed majestic and larger than life but the aura of the ruler of the world, that had surrounded her previously, had diminished greatly. It was as if the way the Malfae had perceived the woman had been nothing but an illusion.

Yet, the majesty of the woman and the fear that she had instilled in the Malfae’s heart, forced the creature to keep its mouth shut.

“Activate your Skill.” The [Monster Tamer] ordered and the Malfae did so without any delay. It did not even think of resisting the order; especially not with the woman’s majesty pushing it to follow her orders.

‘[Projection].’

“Hmm.” The woman’s eyebrows furrowed as she processed the awe that the Malfae had unconsciously projected. “This Skill is supposed to project intent but at such low levels, it can only project emotions. After a few Levels, it should be able to project intent.”

The woman eyed the Malfae and as the moments passed, the Malfae bean to sweat. “You are smarter than I gave you credit for.”

The Malfae subconsciously projected satisfaction, affected as it was by the woman’s Skill, [Thought Alignment]. The woman smiled in satisfaction.

“Your reward will be granted tomorrow.” The woman announced. “If you can raise his Level within the next 3 days, I will grant you another monster to hunt and Level. Do your best.”

The creature nodded and projected acceptance before it turned its head to gaze at the mortal child.

0.0

The next day, as the creature was waiting in its cell, the woman and the mortal boy arrived with the Malfae’s promised reward.

As the [Survivor]’s gaze fell on the duo, its brows furrowed minutely as it felt none of the aura that had made her seem akin to the ruler of the entire world. Not only that, but her son too seemed different than what the creature had expected. While the boy remained strikingly beautiful, his beauty did not make him one of the most beautiful of all the mortal children.

It was as if those thoughts hadn’t ever existed. It was as if all those thoughts had been nothing but an illusion.

Not wanting to raise the suspicion of the green-clad woman, the creature quickly averted its eyes from the mother and the son and instead turned its gaze to the earth cage -much like the one that the Malfae itself had arrived in- and the salamander within. Though, contrary to its own cage, the salamander’s cage was almost the size of a mortal’s forearm while the Malfae’s had barely exceeded the length size of a mortal’s finger.

If the creature had been a mortal then the earth cage would have elicited some negative emotions due to less than positive treatment it had received in it. But the creature was not a mortal. It was an immortal. It focused more on what was inside the cage rather than the cage itself.

The salamander size was slightly smaller than a mortal’s forearm while its skin was a colour that was a mixture of brown and grey. Its feet were webbed and its tail was flat. While its eyes were big and nose was in form of slits. The creature was covered in a thick layer of slime.

The Malfae eyed the creature for a moment before it activated its Skill. ‘[Malfae Shield].’

The blue shield that was in the shape of its wings shimmered into being and the mortal child squalid. “Pretty! The ugly thing has a pretty shield!”

The Malfae ignored the noise and slammed the shield through the bars and onto the salamander. Much to its surprise though, the shield slipped on the slimy skin and hit the earth wall as the salamander hissed in anger and warning. The [Reincarnated] frowned for a moment before it opened the wings of the shield and brought it down on the lizard as it closed its wings. Though, once again, the wings slipped on the slime and hit the earth wall.

The salamander opened its mouth and hissed loudly as it thrashed against the shield, which broke down under its repeated assault.

“I knew it!” The bratty mortal child shouted as it scowled. “Ugly is useless after all! Ugly! Useless! Ugly! Useless! Ug-”

The Malfae tuned out the noisy mortal child and its eyes shined as it stared at the hissing salamander. ‘Tch. Why did I not think of this method sooner? I could have hunted stronger creatures! Tch!’

It waited not a moment more and activated its Skills. ‘[Malfae Shield]. [Venom Creation].’

As the shield materialised in front of it, venom poured out of the creature’s pores and drenched its skin. The creature rubbed the shimmering shield on its body and applied as much of the venom on it as it could before sending the shield back inside.

The salamander opened its mouth and hissed in anger at the puny shield that came to harass it once again but, much to its surprise, the shield headed straight for its mouth and got stuck in its throat.

The salamander coughed but then the shield began to rotate and the creature roared in pain. It thrashed and coughed but, at that moment, it began to smell the pine trees and its body began to twitch. The shield gouged the salamander’s throat as it moved further inwards and the monster coughed out blood.

The amphibian did not last for much longer after that and soon the Malfae saw a notification it had not seen in more than two years.

Ting.

Ting.

.

.

.

Ting.

[You have Levelled Up! The level up bonus of +3 HP and +3 MP granted.]

Ting.

[Skill [Venom Creation Lv.7] has levelled up to [Venom Creation Lv.8]. The active time of the venom has been increased to 8 minutes.]

Ting.

[Skill [Venom Creation Lv.8] has levelled up to [Venom Creation Lv.9]. The active time of the venom has been increased to 9 minutes.]

Ting.

[Skill [Malfae Shield Lv.9] had levelled up to [Malfae Shield Lv.10]. Damage absorption has been increased to 200 points. The cost has been increased to 100 MP.]

The Malfae hastily summoned its Status and checked its Level that had increased from 30 to 41.

If the Malfae had been a mortal, it would have cried tears of joy, but as it was not, it merely giggled and creeped out the bratty mortal child observing it.

0.0

Escorted by guards, the creature arrived at its cell but the thing that caught its attention wasn’t its own cell but the cell next to its own. An intense scent of blood, sweat and mortal fluids emanated from it. However, it was the scent of blood that ruled them all.

As it entered its cell, the creature didn’t even think of activating [Sense] to investigate the situation within its neighbouring cell. After all, whatever had happened in that cell had nothing to do with it. It wasn’t a mortal after all. It didn’t care for anything else but itself.

The creature settled down upon the grass bed that it had been supplied and closed its eyes to work on [Mana Manipulation]. Just because the [Monster Tamer] had promised it a method to evolve, didn’t mean she would go through it. The Malfae was an immortal and it didn’t understand the concept of trust.

As it closed its eyes, a feminine voice echoed in its cell. “How cold. You didn’t even bother to check on me even once.”

The [Reincarnated] rolled its eyes. Apparently, its neighbour was in a chatty mood. It debated whether it should bother to reply or not but, in the end, it decided to. Their last chat had been quite informative, despite the mortal’s conniving intentions. ‘[Projection].’

Annoyance.

“Tch. Would you look at that? The little monster is annoyed.” The woman voice seemed to contain a hint of cruel mirth within it. “How adorable.”

Impatience.

The woman laughed. “Yes, yes. Quite a busy little monster you are, aren’t you? Playing in the big leagues you are. Would you like me to give you your big boy pants? Or is it the big girl skirts?”

Dismission.

The woman giggled like a little girl. “Oh look, is the little monster bothered by this poor little chambermaid? Tch. Tch. Tch.” The woman’s voice assumed a singsong quality. “Don’t forget that I am your first friend here. I am also your only friend.”

The Malfae audibly scoffed.

“You don’t believe me?” The woman questioned, though the mirth dripping from her voice contradicted any sincerity that the woman may have had. “Then let me prove that I am your friend.”

The creature’s eyebrows furrowed at the statement.

Curiosity.

“It’s simple really.” The woman began whispering loudly. Clearly, the whispering was just an act. “I will tell you a secret about yourself.”

The creature scoffed as it rolled its eyes. What sort of nonsense was this mortal spouting?

Annoyance.

“Tch. Tch. You should learn to trust your friends. It will help you in the long run.”

The creature shuddered at the very implication. It refused to even comprehend the concept and projected its feelings.

Disgust.

“This should not be the case.” For the first time since the creature had met its neighbour, the Malfae heard the doubt in the woman’s voice. “You should not be opposed to mortal concepts in your current state.”

The creature frowned. Just what was the woman talking about?

Confusion.

“You should still be under the thrall of her Skill. You should be worshipping the ground that she walked on.” The woman mumbled as she seemed to frown. “You should be accepting mortal concepts. You should have your nature suppressed.”

“But do you not seem to be affected at all?”

The creature’s blood ran cold and jumped up in fright and screeched at the wall separating the two cells. It remembered the Skill that its neighbour had hinted at last time. It remembered that her Skill would make the Malfae unable to dispute her orders.

Its scalp tingled and its hands trembled.

Fear.

Anger.

Terror.

Fury.

“Oh? Is all of that directed at me?” The woman seemed to be taken aback.

The creature screeched at the wall and threw it at the woman.

Fury.

Terror.

“Save your breath.” The woman scoffed as she ignored the erupting emotions of the Malfae. “I was not the one to use the Skill on you.”

Disbelief.

Fury.

“If I had used the Skill, would I have exposed it you like an idiot?” The woman’s voice dripped with condescension. “Just what kind of fool do you take me for?”

The creature faltered and its screeching stopped abruptly as the woman’s words made a sort of sense to the creature. The Malfae frowned as it considered its opinion of the woman and found that even though it considered her all sorts of crazy and utterly worthless, an idiot the woman was not.

Curiosity.

Curiosity.

Curiosity.

Curiosity.

Curiosity.

“Stop. Stop. Stop!” The woman snapped as the creature bombarded her for answers. She paused for a moment and seemed to let out a breath before her voice regained its sing-song quality. “Now, why should I tell you anything?”

That brought the creature short as it had no answer to the woman’s question. The Malfae furrowed its brows.

‘Because you are a mortal.’ The creature wanted to project but its Skill didn’t allow such clear projection. Instead, it remained silent.

“Tch.” The woman’s voice carried hints of mockery. “I will help you because I am your friend.”

The creature rolled its eyes. Even the woman herself did not believe that reason.

“You seem to have greatly weakened the effects of the woman’s Skill, which means you possess a mental resistance Skill of some sort.” The woman’s voice resounded, though it seemed more uncaring than mocking. “The [Monster Tamer] must not have known of this Skill, huh? She would have killed you without a second thought otherwise.”

The creature became still as goosebumps erupted all over its skin and its weak heart felt cold.

Curiosity.

“Of course, she would have killed you.” The woman scoffed. “No one wants a monster that can resist their control. What if the monster resisted at a crucial moment in the battle? Tch, such monsters are best culled.”

“Therefore,” The woman’s voice grew louder. “The [Monster Tamer] must never know that her Skill has been weakened. Do you understand?”

Agreement.

Confusion.

Curiosity.

“Hmm?” The woman seemed to ponder for a moment as if trying to comprehend the meaning of the creature’s emotions. After a moment, she finally, guessed. “How do you keep it a secret?”

Agreement.

“That’s simple.” The woman flippantly answered from beyond the wall. “Just continue to act as if you are still under her Skill.”

Confusion.

“And here I thought you were a smart one.” The woman sighed. “When she used her Skill on you, your perception of her would have changed to how she sees herself. So, she might have seemed fiercer, more beautiful, more intelligent and the like. What did she look like to you?”

Majesty.

Beauty.

Worship.

“Tch. Narcissistic megalomaniac.” The woman spat. “Just keep acting as if you are in her awe and she would remain ignorant. She used this skill for her son too, didn’t she? How did the perception of her son change?”

Curiosity.

“Huh? What?”

Curiosity.

“What do you want to know?”

Majesty.

Curiosity.

The woman furrowed her brows for a moment before she understood the creature’s question. “How do I know all this about you?”

Agreement.

“My vessel is a naked woman in captivity.” The woman scoffed. “I get more visitors than you think.”

“But that’s of no importance. Rather, how did your perception of her spawn change?”

Majesty.

Exquisiteness.

Beauty.

“Tch. As expected of her.” The woman scoffed. “Remember to treat her spawn in much the same way as you would treat her. Else she might see through your ruse.”

At that moment, footsteps resounded in the corridor and the woman spoke no more.

-X-

Within a desolate desert, inside a dilapidated shop, on a simple chair, a youth seemingly slept.

-X-