Tamer Mash Royce (POV)

Sergei. "Is he expecting an answer from us?"

Mash. "No, I think he is confused about what he should do. So what do I tell him?"

Sergei. "Nothing, let the others who completed their monster evolution handle it. We should focus on ours before anything else."

Mash. "You're right. Just a few hundred meters to the finish line."

After a few minutes, Mash could not help himself look back at Dale's report, and his face frowned.

Mash. "I can't help but feel guilty if we don't help them."

Sergei. "Fifty people can stay here comfortably. A hundred if you don't mind converting recreational facilities into living space and Two hundred if you are willing to eat only one meal a day and share a room with several people."

Mash. "Don't we have the tech to build more bunkers?"

Sergei. "Yes, we do have the tech, but the question is how many will be coming at once. Five we can handle but imagine if thousands decide to make their way here in a few days. Then, we would be overwhelmed, and this Bunker would be a tomb for us all."

Mash. "You sound like those nations who reject millions of refugees to protect themselves.

Sergei. "What is wrong with keeping yourself healthy and alive? Did you think there wouldn't be millions, maybe even billions of refugees in an apocalypse? You cannot save them all!"

Mash. "I just don't want to lose my humanity, alright?"

Sergei. "Oh, I see now... Do you think I am cold-hearted like my Father or my Monster? That I lost or never had any empathy for human suffering?"

Mash's eyes glance toward Ursus, who showed puppy dog eyes at him.

Mash. "Sorry, I... I don't think it's right to reject them ."

Sergei looked away in annoyance and then noticed something.

Sergei. "Mash, look at Twiggy!"

Mash looked away from Sergei and noticed Twiggy's body was glistening.

Mash. "He is ready to evolve?"

Sergei. "Great! Ursus can finally stop groaning like a sick pup. I think I will take him back to my room and let him evolve there."

Mash. "Why not here?"

Sergei. "I need to show my bodyguards that even if my father isn't around. I am still capable of defending myself with my Monster."

Mash. "Are you going to go with Zao's fusion option?"

Sergei. "Of course! I suggest you do too. True warriors are not afraid of how society views them. They wear their true nature on their body for all to see."

Mash reflected on those as Sergei left the gym. He then refocused his attention on the monster app and saw a notification mail come through.

[Would the User like to proceed with the monster evolution request?]

"Yes!"

[Choose One Combat Style: Monster-User Fusion, Equipment Transformation or Skill Transfer.

Skill transfer: When the combat style is activated. Gain all the skills and abilities of your Monster without any change in your appearance

Equipment Transformation: When the combat style is activated. The Monster can be turned into Weapons and Armor attached to the User. Gain all the skills and abilities of your Monster.

Monster-User Fusion: When the combat style is activated. The User will gain all the skills and abilities of your Monster and a change in appearance.

The combat styles can be deactivated at any time]

"I choose the combat style, Monster-User Fusion!"

[Combat style has been selected and bonded to the User's account]

Mash then looked at Twiggy to see it evolve, but nothing happened.

[Detecting Monster Type: Body, Mountain, Defence, Reptile, Wood.

Users who selected Body over Mind must choose one of the following to master]

"Master?"

[Melee Weapon Mastery, Ranged Combat Weapon Mastery or Unarmed Combat Mastery]

Zao did not mention this part after he completed his monster evolution.

"This is interesting... and what do Users who chose Mind over body get?"

[This information is not relevant to Monsters of Body]

"Im just curious. Is it forbidden to tell me?"

[Enhanced Mana Regeneration, Enhanced Elemental Damage or Extra skill slot]

"Extra Skill slots? Could you explain, or is it exclusive to Mind types?"

[Both Mind and Body type monsters can access four skill slots. Only the Mind types have an additional skill slot available during Evolution. All Monsters can learn new skills in each Form they transition into. But to obtain the new skills, the User must replace an existing skill slot. The old skill will not be accessible anymore]

"You mentioned they gain skills in each Evolution. How many times can a monster evolve?"

[This information is not relevant]

"Fine, I guess I will have to evolve and find out."

[Choose a mastery now?]

"Ah, right... I will choose Unarmed Combat Mastery!"

[Unarmed Combat Mastery has been selected and bonded to the User's account. Monster will now evolve into the Second Form]

Twiggy's body is enveloped in a white shining sphere which then shatters and reveals an Alligator Snapping Turtle the size of an Alligator.

Its shell is black granite, covered in jagged spikes of the same material. Brown Bark armor covers its bald head, green limbs, and tail. In addition, opposable claws made of Bark have appeared that almost resembled fingers.

"Gaaahhh!"

Twiggy lets out a crocodile-like roar which causes Mash to step back out of a primal instinct. But then he reminds himself that this is still the same Monster he bonded with over the last few weeks.

"Hey Twiggy, you have gotten bigger and meaner looking. Are you able to move faster now with those crocodile limbs?"

"Gah! Gaaaah!"

Twiggy crawls around Mash slowly but much faster than in the infant form. Then it slowly tries to stand on its bear-like hind limbs and stabilizes its balance. However, Twiggy could not stand straight and looked more like a hunchback. Its chest area is covered in a Yellow Bark Armor Breastplate that expands and contracts as he breathes in the air. Finally, Twiggy stops and nods with its eyes closed which Mash takes as a sign that his Monster is satisfied.

"Now, how do I find out what skill you have?"

[Monster Skills: Shell Bash (Beginner), Wood Heal (Beginner), Turtle Kung Fu (Beginner), Beak Bite(Beginner)

Shell Bash- Monster slams into the opponent with its shell. Chance of inflicting stunned status on the victim.

Wood Heal- Monster can repair damaged bark armor and cure light wounds after one minute of rest.

Turtle Kung Fu- Monster uses devastating combat techniques, strikes, and grips at close range with its own body.

Beak Bite- Monster uses its strong jaw to bite an opponent with enough strength to break human bones]

"This is pretty cool. I like the Turtle Kung Fu, but why is there a beginner tag next to each skill?"

[To advance skills from Beginner=>Intermediate=>Expert=>Master

The User must execute a skill fifty times in real combat to reach intermediate and a further hundred times to reach expert.

Once all skills have reached the expert level, the Monster will evolve to the Third Form.

But if the User chooses to attain mastery in all four skills by executing each of them two hundred times more in combat, then they will have access to Evolution Manipulation]

"Does evolution manipulation mean I can control what it evolves into?"

[Affirmative]

"Could you give me more details on it?"

[This information is not relevant until all skills are Mastered]

"By the way...When you say real combat, that means fighting the monsters from those pillars or anything like humans and normal animals?"

[Humans and Monsters are counted only]

"That doesn't sound good."

[Alert! Tamer Dale has summoned the council to the Comms room]

"Is there an emergency?"

Ten minutes later.

All the council members are standing in front of the main holo-screen in the Comms room. It showed a map of their current area.

Dale. "We have a problem, and it is coming our way."

Mash. "You mean those Tamers who wanted to come here?"

Dale. "It is related to them. Actually, those five tamers are bringing the problem to us."

Dale activated the holo-screen to display a video clip sent by one of the Tamers in that group.

[Video Message from Tamer Viren:

Hey, I don't know if you noticed, but a flying swarm of Ice-bugs has been following us from New York. Our plane is almost out of juice, so we will land in Rockville. I remember the First Tamer Mash Royce invited any Tamer willing to help the council or whatever you call yourselves to fight against the Apocalypse. But, of course, we can't help you if we get killed trying to get to you. So if you can come to the 'Rockville Mall' and save us, you will have our loyalty. I swear it on all the gods people believe in. If you look on a map, you will notice the mall is just an hour away from your bunker location by foot, so once those bugs are done with us, they might stick around this area and colonize it or some shit. Which will hurt you people in the long run, and you don't want that. Oh, and to mess with your conscience, I will tell the names of the Tamers who will die to the bugs if you ignore this message. Derek Rayerson, Carl Freeman, Braian G. Moreiras, Nicole Raymond, and Viren]

Zao. "How does she know our Bunker location in Alaska?"

Dale. "I kinda told her where to find us."

Zao. "So, they are coming here because of you?"

Mash. "Zao, calm down! Dale did the right thing. Does it really matter if he gave the exact location?"

Zao. "Because of your aide now we have Ice-bugs coming near our bunker."

Sergei. "Zao is right. This should have been a council decision to inform Tamers of our exact location."

Rebecca. "Hold on, we are not abandoning five Tamers when they are almost at our front door. All of us here except Dale has an evolved monster. You know that we need to fight in real combat to gain mastery of the skills, so why not use this as an opportunity to test out our new abilities?"

Soma. "I agree with Rebecca on this opportunity because we cannot gain strength by using treadmills and meditating to get stronger."

Markus. "After what I saw happened to my country, I will not sit by and let people be slaughtered when I can help. So I am ready to go help them."

Zao. "It's not like Sergei, or I am against saving those Tamers. We are just pointing out that it is inappropriate for an aide to make decisions that affect us. Making a speech is one thing but making decisions that affect all our lives is another matter."

Dale. "Didn't you say to handle things while you were all busy with training? I spent hours listening to requests for help and did not do anything for them. These Tamers made it all the way to the border of Alaska on their own. I just told them where to find us since they made the trip here. How could I know they had Ice-bugs on their tail?"

Sergei. "Enough!"

Everyone stopped talking.

Sergei. "Dale did what he felt was right, and Zao's point of concern is valid. But, right now, we have Tamers to save and should stop bickering over who is right and wrong."

Markus. "How do we get to them before the monsters?"

Soma. "I came here on a Transport Drone from India. It can carry twelve people so there is enough room and it's pretty fast. According to the map, I think we can reach there in fifteen minutes if we leave now."

Rebecca. "Alright, change into clothes you can fight in the weather outside. Dale will stay here and continue monitoring the status and sending us reports. He will promise to not take any actions without our vote, correct?"

Dale. "I promise, and I am sorry about acting without thinking."

Zao's face, which was a moment ago filled with anger, had calmed down and looked like it was relived.

Zao. "You are a man with a good heart, and I can respect that regardless of your broke rules. So I will let this matter go if we can respect each other's views."

Zao made a slight bow, and Dale awkwardly bowed back.

Sergei. "Now that we are all comrades again let's save some Tamers."

Sergei said as he patted both Dale and Zao on their backs.