The captain of the ship reached out.

Chapter 26 Unlocking New Familiars

With the help of several tentacles extending from the hull.

Horn could sense the situation in a small area of ​​sea near the hull of the Golden Sun.

Many fish had passed by the boat before.

However, the tentacles moved slowly in the seawater and couldn't catch up with them, so Horn could only watch with envy.

But right now, this jellyfish isn't moving very fast, so it seems like it could be caught?

Not to be missed.

Horn immediately took action.

His tentacles slowly approached the jellyfish, almost undetectable in the dark seawater.

The jellyfish never expected that it would be targeted by the tentacle monster while it was swimming peacefully in the sea.

The moment the tentacle touched the jellyfish, a slight stinging sensation was felt.

Clearly, this thing is somewhat toxic.

But that was all the resistance it offered.

After all, it's just a jellyfish, what kind of attack methods could it possibly have?

Not long after.

The tentacles tightly bound the jellyfish, dragging it back to the mushroom-shaped cabin little by little.

Elbow, come inside with me!

[Activate gene integration!]

Assimilation in progress...

After patiently waiting, a prompt appeared on the panel.

Assimilation successful!

[Can create a new companion – "Moon Jellyfish"!]

"It actually works..."

Horn was quite surprised.

He just noticed that the jellyfish also had tentacles and looked somewhat like himself, so he tried the [Assimilation] ability again.

It was a one-shot kill, a direct success!

Then again.

How should this new family member be born?

It can't possibly grow out of the fungal carpet, can it?

Soon, Horn found out the answer to the question.

The assimilated moon jellyfish sprouted small clusters of "branches" like a plant growing new buds.

A few seconds later, the "branches" detached from the main body and visibly swelled and grew.

In the blink of an eye, it grew into a small jellyfish.

"Is it somewhat like fission reproduction or budding reproduction?"

Horn's biology grades in his previous life weren't very good, and he couldn't explain exactly what kind of reproduction method it was.

However, although this jellyfish is called the "Moon Jellyfish", it is actually a kind of monster and is not a species of life on Earth.

There's no need to get to the bottom of things about monsters!

In any case, with a new companion, Horn can officially begin his exploration of the ocean.

Our goal is the stars and the sea!

……

……

【Mysterious Island】

There was a heavy rainstorm just yesterday.

The ground of the swamp forest was muddy, and the air was filled with the damp, earthy scent of the deepest part of the forest.

A moss-covered crocodile floats on the water's surface, resembling a piece of rotten, moss-covered dead wood.

Suddenly, large bubbles rose from the nearby swamp, causing it to churn like boiling water.

The Mossy Crocodile sensed danger and cautiously raised its head.

Whoosh—!

Mud splashed as a massive shadow leaped high from the swamp and slammed down on the Mossy Crocodile.

The Mossy Crocodile, being a third-tier monster, was agile and dodged the thunderous slam.

What appeared before it was...

A toad with tentacles!?

Numerous purplish-black tentacles sprang from the giant toad's mouth, flailing wildly.

Wind blades rapidly materialized as the tentacles waved, swirling and flying towards the [Mossy Crocodile].

puff!puff!puff!

The wind blades struck the back of the Mossy Crocodile, immediately leaving bloody wounds.

The Mossy Crocodile swung its tail and opened its mouth wide to pounce on the toad, attempting to use Death Roll to tear a large chunk of flesh from its enemy.

However, once you take a bite...

The texture is wrong!

【Mossy Crocodile】 used all its strength, but its sharp teeth barely managed to pierce the skin of this fat catfish.

It raised its head and met those small, dark eyes.

Caw—!

Tam opened his mouth wide, and his giant tongue and countless tentacles stretched out, wrapping around the body of the Mossy Crocodile.

After a while.

The swamp puppy then stopped moving.

I examined the wounds caused by the wind blades; they were very shallow, only cutting through the surface of the flesh.

Horn was somewhat dissatisfied.

"The attack power of the Lv2 [Wind Blade] is still too limited."

That's right, Horn has finally mastered his first spell!

Although its destructive power is limited and its level is low, it is still magic!

It was of great significance to him!

This skill comes from a group of Kingfishers that accidentally wandered into the swamp.

Strangely enough, when those [Wind Kingfishers] cast [Wind Blade Technique], they seemed to cast the spell faster and with greater power.

Is it because of the skill level?

Horn had a vague feeling that there might be a concept of "compatibility" or "affinity" between different spells and spellcasters.

Some monsters have stronger wind magic, while other types of magic are relatively weaker.

I just don't know what kind of magic would suit me best...

Suppressing his distracting thoughts, Horn patted the head of his mount with his tentacle.

"Tahm, well done."

"Master... is truly amazing..."

These days, Tahm Kench has fully adapted to his role as the mushroom henchman.

And look, they've even learned how to flatter!

Moreover, Horn's previously envisioned "biological fortress" tactic has already been put into practice.

The effect is quite good.

Tahm Kench's "Big Stomach" talent is even more powerful than Horn had anticipated.

This isn't simply because its stomach has a large capacity; rather, it's more like its stomach is connected to a special space that can even accommodate things larger than Tam's size.

So Horn simply moved his entire body into Tam's stomach.

The safety index is extremely high.

Tahm Kench is tough and resilient, but his attack methods are limited.

At this point, they brought their families along, making it a powerful alliance.

In its most brutal form, Tamm crushes nearby enemies while his tentacles launch mud bombs and wind blades from a distance.

It's comparable to an armored vehicle!

Wherever they went, the monsters fled!

No one can stop them in this swampy forest.

Thanks to this chariot, Horn's hunting efficiency has increased significantly, and in just a few days, he has already reached Lv29.

I'm just one step away from breaking through level 30 and becoming a Tier 3 monster.

Horn had heard from Alice that monsters or secret cultivators would gain a new talent every time they broke through a major rank.

When Alice broke through to the second tier, she unlocked a talent called [Knowledge Absorption].

They can read and understand large amounts of text in a very short time, greatly reducing the time required to learn magic.

The effect is quite good.

Therefore, Horn was naturally quite looking forward to his new third-tier talent.

"After absorbing this [Moss Crocodile], and going out hunting again, I should be able to level up, right?"

Horn had just returned to his own fungal carpet and was looking forward to a bright future.

Caw—!

Tam suddenly cried out in unease.

An atmosphere of extreme panic and fear emanated from the contract.

"Master...run, run!"

"...What?"

"Dragon...the dragon is here!!"

Horn instinctively sensed an extreme sense of danger, as if every cell in his body was trembling.

He looked up at the sky.

A monster with dark red scales spread its wings, which blotted out the sky, and roared across the heavens.

Those crimson-gold vertical pupils coldly surveyed all living beings below.