"But how can I summon the monster?" Oliver scratched his head. He had never summoned one before as he had only seen others do it.
[Open the status to access your monster.]
The system knew what Oliver was struggling with. He opened the status and was immediately greeted by a screen in front of him. It had many categories, which he had no time to check one by one right now. He immediately selected the [Monsters] category. It shifted to a new page and showed a list of monsters he had already tamed. Right now, only Velkryss was available.
He immediately pressed the screen and summoned Velkryss.
"Come to me, Velkryss!"
A magical array appeared in front of him. Oliver looked up with a smirk, unable to wait to command a powerful beast. He expected the large creature he had seen in the dungeon to appear before him. But after a few seconds, nothing happened.
"Oii, where are you looking?"
Suddenly, a voice called out to him. He immediately looked down in front of him and saw a miniature version of Velkryss staring back. Oliver's eyes widened as he tried to process the situation.
"What are you looking at me like that?" Velkryss said, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze.
The once massive wolf, about five meters in size, was now only as big as a husky. This completely shattered Oliver's expectations. It was like ordering something online but receiving something entirely different from what you had ordered.
"This, this is a scam! Why did you become small? And you can actually talk?" Oliver was completely confused.
"Don't blame me! It is your fault. You are too weak, so the system suppressed my power to match your ability." Velkryss said lazily as he licked his paw.
"Wait a minute. The system? So you actually know about the system?"
"Well, yes. Once I was successfully tamed by you, I was given some information about this so-called system. It is actually a pretty interesting ability, I must admit. You, kid, who are you exactly? I have never met someone who can tame a boss-category monster before." Velkryss's eyes sharpened as he looked at Oliver.
"Err... we can talk about it later. Right now, we have a more urgent matter to handle," Oliver said.
"Hmph. If you say so. So what do you want me to do?" Velkryss asked.
"Well, isn't it obvious? We need to deal with the bad guys who wanted to kill you just now."
"Ohh, those ones. Let me handle it."
"Are you sure you can handle it by yourself? Because as I remember, you were so weak that you were easily defeated by them. Are you really a boss monster?" Oliver asked.
"Watch what you say, kid! I, Velkryss, am one of the twelve powerful guardians of the Ancient Forest. There is no one more powerful than me in this region."
Oliver squinted his eyes at him, still not convinced.
"It is true! The reason why I am weak right now is because my power was sealed by someone, who then threw me and sealed me inside the dungeon. What power I have right now is only 10% of my real strength."
"Someone? Who is strong enough to seal you?"
"That vile woman! A betrayer! I will not forgive her!" Suddenly, Velkryss became enraged. All his fur stood on end, and his teeth clenched so hard it made a sharp sound. He looked furious as he recalled the one who had caused him to lose everything, including his power.
"Errr... alright, let's forget I asked that." Oliver tried to calm him down.
'Looks like he has a grudge against someone. I should ask more about it later. Maybe it will give me some clue on how to restore his power,' Oliver thought.
"Huuu. Do not worry, kid. That is only half the reason. Another reason why I was weak is that I have not been exposed to the source of my power for a long time."
Suddenly, the clouds parted, revealing a bright red moon. Its light shone down onto Velkryss. The moonlight rejuvenated his power, and his red aura began to burst forth.
[Velkryss received a boost in stats due to passive skill, Crimson Moonlight]
[All stats increased by 200% as long as he is under the light of the Crimson Moon]
"Whoaa!" Oliver was mesmerized by Velkryss's appearance. Although smaller now, it still carried an air of majesty and elegance.
"There, there he is!" Jeff finally spotted them hiding in the bush. The other group members quickly began converging on Oliver's location.
"Shoot! They found me!" Oliver shrank back immediately.
"Watch me, kid! It is very rare for humans to see me fight in my Crimson form. You should feel lucky."
In an instant, Velkryss leapt out of the bush and faced Vran, Jeff, and the others.
"That—that is the boss we defeated just now! But it has become smaller!" Jeff pointed at Velkryss, confused.
"I am not defeated yet!" Velkryss lunged at one of the hunters and slashed him. He moved so fast they only saw a streak of red light. In the next moment, their comrade's head was already gone.
"Aaah!" The others screamed. They tried to retaliate, but they stood no chance against the now empowered Velkryss. One by one, they met a gruesome end.
"Hmmp!" Oliver covered his mouth with his hand as he watched the group being slaughtered before him. Although he had been part of a mafia in his past life, he was rarely involved in killing, as he mostly handled business and deals. Still, watching people get shot was far different from seeing them mauled to death.
Finally, only Jeff and Vran remained. They lay on the ground, pushing themselves backward as Velkryss approached.
"Please! Don't kill us! We are sorry for hurting you!" both of them begged for mercy.
"Why don't you ask him?" Velkryss turned his head to the side. From the bushes, Oliver stepped out and walked over, standing beside him. His face was serious.
"You... who are you actually?" Vran asked.
"Me? I am nobody. I am just someone who cannot tame monsters." Oliver smirked at them.
"W-what?"
"Velkryss, finish them." Oliver said coldly.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
"Argh!!"
Oliver turned his head away, not wanting to see the gory scene in front of him as he was reminded of his previous life.
"How many times have I ordered my men to kill someone in my previous life? It feels like déjà vu."
"Looks like my job here is done. Recall me so I can rest for a while."
"Yes. Thank you for your hard work. Recall." Oliver recalled Velkryss.
Suddenly, his head started spinning, and dizziness overcame him.
"What is happening? Is it because of the summoning?" Oliver muttered before his vision went blank.