["But unlike other beasts where the strong rule, the king of the box jellyfish clan is passed down through bloodline."]
["When the king is still weak, the king's guardian, that is, a stronger box jellyfish, will take on the responsibility of raising and caring for the king."], As it spoke, the unicorn paused for a moment, ["After all, before the king truly matures, not only does it require a massive reserve of energy, but the king's own attack power is very weak, even nonexistent."]
["Without the guardian's existence, the king would almost certainly not be able to grow up smoothly."]
["And once the king dies, the entire box jellyfish clan, no matter where in the world they are, will enter a hundred-year period of decline."]
Asher: "..."
Asher was thinking.
'It really isn't my illusion. Why does this description feel... hiss—'
'A tiny bit familiar.'
"You guys really know a lot about the box jellyfish clan," Freya couldn't help but exclaim.
The next second, they saw an expression resembling awkwardness on the unicorn's face.
["Well... maybe it's because one of our past duties was to raise the king."]
Asher: "?"
Freya: "?"
Felter: "?"
Even Prince very cooperatively knocked out a question mark.
What was going on?
Why did they suddenly feel like they couldn't quite understand this conversation?
What did it mean that one of their duties was to raise the king?
The unicorn looked up at the sky, then at the ground.
"I think we should talk about this in more detail," Asher said seriously.
He now seriously suspected, and was fairly certain, that his pet little jellyfish was the 'king' the unicorn was talking about.
But if that were really the case...
'No, there are just too many suspicious points.'
Still had to hear what exactly was going on from this guy's mouth.
["Talk… well, aren't we already talking?"]
The unicorn rested its head on its two front hooves, blinked once, and looked so innocent and pure.
If it were someone else, they might have already softened their hearts because of the unicorn's appearance.
Unfortunately, none of the people present were softhearted.
Felter and Prince: 'Softhearted? What's that?'
Freya: 'My type is tall and strong! Preferably something like a flame dragon! What? No? Not even a little softhearted.'
Finally, there was Asher.
Asher: )
He wasn't a devil either.
Unicorn: "..."
'Didn't work? Fine then.'
The unicorn let out a long sigh.
["This has to do with our true form."]
["We are a kind of special existence, something shaped like golden-pink mist."], Asher suddenly understood.
"You mean that golden-pink protective shield surrounding this area?", As soon as Asher finished speaking, the unicorn looked over at him.
["Yes."]
["That thing."]
["That's the mist emitted by our clan's treasure, the mirage pearl. It can cover the entire island and keep us from being discovered by the box jellyfish."]
'Mirage pearl?'
'Mirage.'
Asher instantly thought of more, and also understood what the unicorn meant by "the image we take on".
["Our clan was born from the mirage pearl. When the mist it produces condenses enough, a new member of our clan is born from it."]
["Separating from the clumped mist, becoming an independent being."]
["And for a long time, the mirage pearl was food prepared for the king of the box jellyfish clan."]
"Mist is a form of energy?"
The others might not have understood yet, but Asher already figured out what was going on.
Mist is a form of energy.
So when the energy condenses to a certain level, it can give birth to new life forms of the mirage clan.
It could also serve as food, continuously supplying energy to the little jellyfish.
Only after raising a little jellyfish did he realize how hard it was.
'If there is something like this that can provide endless energy...'
he unicorn suddenly felt a chill down its back, like it was being targeted by some dangerous existence.
Unicorn: "?"
Unicorn: 'Maybe it was just its imagination?'
The unicorn wasn't very sure. Its gaze swept over the humans in front of it.
The unicorn suddenly felt even more uncertain.
["That's right"]
The unicorn regretted in its heart again, 'Why on earth did I provoke this Asher back then?'
Because there was something on Asher that made it feel familiar and comfortable, and there was also a kind of indescribable aura that made it instinctively want to pounce?
The unicorn was deeply remorseful.
But it was too late.
The moment Asher and his group appeared on this island, the initiative was no longer in their hands.
["Our clan members felt resentment from within the mirage pearl."]
["They didn't want to be food to raise the king, continuously offering energy that should've gone to the clan, just to feed the forever-hungry king of the box jellyfish."]
Hearing this, Freya rubbed her chin.
In the end, she didn't say anything.
Don't ask, because it's hard to comment.
Hard to say who was right or wrong, both sides seemed to have their own positions.
["So, during the gap between the birth of kings, our clan fled."]
["We couldn't leave this space, while the box jellyfish were the rulers of this sea. Eventually, with the mirage pearl's power, we got this place to live."]
["In areas the box jellyfish haven't reached, we sometimes take other forms to gather information, or collect food."]
["We don't have any ill will toward you, do we?"]
The unicorn blinked again, its inner voice sounding slightly wronged.
["Pioneers, can you help our clan?"], After finishing the backstory, the NPC began issuing a help quest.
"Speak! Let's hear it!", Felter was already itching to go.
Box jellyfish. Very powerful. But can't be contracted.
Felter still had a bit of self-awareness about his strength.
But unicorns, sea dragons, and those beasts supposedly in mist form, Felter was quite interested in them.
Maybe?
Maybe he could successfully contract one?
If it really worked… Felter's eyes lit up.
'Since it can take on this form, maybe it can take on other forms too.'
'Won't that mean I will have a shape-shifting pet?'
Felter: 'Isn't this just a quest? I'm down, I can do it!'
Asher's gaze was a little strange.
'Mm… don't rush to agree yet. Let's first hear what the task is. And that mirage pearl… if possible…', Asher calmly coughed twice, hand covering his lips to hide his expression.
'Tempting, right, little jellyfish?'
Asher poked at the little jellyfish in his beast space through their mental link.
The little jellyfish, understanding Asher perfectly, waved its tentacles, very enthusiastically responding to Asher.
'Very tempted, can we go for it?'
Asher soothed the little jellyfish a bit, 'First, let's study what exactly the mirage pearl is.'
'A dead object? Something like the mechanical heart?'
'Or a living thing?'
Since it could generate feelings of resentment, Asher thought it leaned more toward the latter. But not necessarily.
Asher felt that just listening to the unicorn's story was too one-sided.
Unfortunately, the box jellyfish side... was hard to approach.
The poison of the box jellyfish was not something anyone wanted to test.
Asher was a normal person.
So he also didn't want to make contact.
Who knew if the king's guardian would be grateful for him protecting the king, or furious that he dared contract the king.
You can't try to understand the thought processes of beasts.
The more you try, the more likely you are the only one hurt in the end.
The unicorn was very happy about Felter's reaction.
Not afraid of the pioneers being interested in them.
Only afraid of the pioneers having no interest.
It's just that… the unicorn glanced at Asher, then glanced again.
Although it didn't say anything, its emotions were very clear.
Compared to Felter, the unicorn's preferred choice was Asher.
As for why not Prince?
Prince clearly looked powerful, surely wouldn't be interested in them, and didn't have any contract slots left.
So what could they use to move Prince?
Asher was still better.
Felter… was fine, too.
Unaware that he had become the "just acceptable" one, Felter was getting excited.
"By the way, you said you're a clan, right?"
"Do you only have three clan members?"
Wanting to contract, Felter became proactive, actively inquiring about the unicorn clan.
Sea dragons and such… were just hard to call out loud.
'But come to think of it, these sea creatures really like associating themselves with dragons, huh?'
Felter rubbed his chin in thought.
He figured he could research that later. For now, let's leave it.
["Our clan is more than just the three of us. It's just that the others haven't been able to condense a complete, mobile form."]
["Their bodies are too weak, they still need nourishment from the mirage pearl."]
["These two children are the most outstanding in our clan."]
As it spoke, the unicorn looked at the white pony and the purple pony.
Felter also looked over.
"Tell us first, what do you want us to do?", Felter didn't get hung up on it for now. He wanted to hear what they were asked to do, then decide whether to contract and which one to contract.
["Eliminate the box jellyfish."] The unicorn said tentatively.
Felter's expression instantly collapsed.
"Goodbye, we're leaving now!", Felter clasped his fists with both hands, and Asher couldn't help laughing.
"Now that's what you call a lion opening its mouth," As he spoke, Asher nodded, "Maybe think for a moment, why are they the rulers of the sea?"
Felter nodded like crazy.
'So true, if I really had the power to eliminate the box jellyfish, I would've already figured out how to contract one.'
'Compared to these mist-like beasts supposedly called mirages...'
'A box jellyfish sounds way more tempting, doesn't it?'
Unicorn: "..."
'Very well said. Very reasonable. Suggest not saying it again next time.'
Their fragile little hearts were seriously wounded.
Just as the unicorn was about to say more, Asher spoke first, "Actually, anything related to the box jellyfish, I suggest you don't say out loud."
"Maybe try thinking from your own perspective, what help do you need?"
Unicorn: "?"
'I think all our problems stem from the box jellyfish.'
The unicorn was one step away from projecting that sentence in big text with its eyes.
"What I mean is…", Asher paused, then continued slowly under everyone's gaze.
"From your own perspective."
"Like asking us to take you away, for example?"
'Aren't you being targeted here by the box jellyfish? Then move somewhere else. Human territory is pretty nice.'
'Even if you don't want to go with humans.'
'You can go live in the Red Mill Mountain Range, or maybe the Forbidden Zone next door. Compete with other beasts, might be a better choice.'
'Just leave the mirage pearl behind. No need to worry about supplies.'
Asher: 'This definitely isn't because I've got my eyes on the mirage pearl.'
He really was being kind, sincerely offering good advice to the unicorn.
Unicorn: "..."
Felter: "!"
"That's right," Felter had a eureka expression, "I think that's doable."
"We're really no match for the box jellyfish, but we could totally move somewhere else to live."
"There's a lake in the forbidden zone of Satbury City. If that doesn't work, we could even send you to the forbidden zone of a coastal city. All of that's easier than fighting the box jellyfish to the death."
As he spoke, Felter looked at the unicorn, "How about our suggestion? Isn't it super clever?"
"Do you feel tempted?"
Unicorn: "..."
'Thanks a lot, really.'
["I can't be sure if I can take the undeveloped clan members with me."], The unicorn looked a little conflicted.
On one hand, it was tempted by Asher's suggestion; on the other, it was full of worry.
Just like how humans hesitate and overthink when moving houses.
Beasts could have similar situations and thoughts.
It needed to think it over carefully.
"No rush," Felter waved his hand boldly, "We'll still be here for a few days!"
He looked back at his companions.
"We'll be staying a few more days, right?"
"Absolutely," Prince was the first to decisively agree, "We haven't found any good stuff yet."
What? Unicorns? Mirage pearl? None of those were Prince's goals.
Resources, ah, resources.
Materials, ah, materials.
These are Prince's main goals.
"I'll fly out and take a look later. If the Box Poison Flower Jellyfish is gone...", As he spoke, Prince's face revealed a sparkling expression.
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