บท 69: Just How Strong Is Matsuo?!

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Unaware of what was being unfolded within the headquarters of the werewolves, Frank quickly reached the Monk Clan territory with Matsuo, as both of them quickly moved towards Matsuo's room.

"Okay, here it goes… Please, don't get all crazy or something," said Frank.

"Alright, alright…" said Matsuo.

Suddenly, Frank moved his shirt as a small, red-scaled lizard emerged from within, startling Matsuo.

"Grawr!"

"W-What the…? A lizard…? No, this presence… that's a monster, isn't it?" asked Matsuo.

"Bingo. I named her Ruby," said Frank.

"Don't tell me… Ah well, it is quite obvious at this point, seeing you carrying it and all… So you have some kind of Taming Skill now?" asked Matsuo.

"Kind of… I found her in a Hunting Domain I made near home, and she got fond of me, now here we are. She is surprisingly nice and obeys most of the orders I gave to her. Isn't it nice?" said Frank.

"Yeah... It is nice! Frank, do you know how rare Monster Tamers in the Underworld are?!" asked Matsuo.

"…No?" asked Frank.

"A lot! They are extremely rare, in fact. Taming Monsters does not only need for you to get friendly with the beast, but it requires a specific ability that could let you control them. And also, monsters are extremely aggressive towards humans by nature, they are beings born from our negative emotions and mana contamination, its rare for them to grow understanding and even friendly! And you just tamed one like that!?" asked Matsuo.

"Yes…" said Frank.

"That's… how do you expect me to not react surprised, man? These are pretty big news… The ability to control monsters is extremely rare, those with it are often 'Gaia's Gifted' as such an ability cannot simply be taught nor inherited. Monster Tamers can become insanely strong by gathering an enormous army of monsters, they can become an unstoppable force… the few ones that exist within the Underworld are well known for their frightening and almost endless armies of monsters…" said Matsuo.

"So, I am that awesome?" asked Frank.

"Not only that… If you can also learn how to Summon your tamed monsters, you would be able to bring them anywhere you go! You can simply leave them somewhere and then summon them whenever you need their help, this is how Monster Tamers are so powerful…" said Matsuo.

"So, in the Underworld, Summoners and Monster Tamers are the same thing? They're often separate in games…" said Frank.

"Kind of, some can summon, and others can't. And well, there are other branches of summoners that don't exactly summon their tamed monsters, but other things, such as the Spirits of the Elements, Demonic beasts, ghosts, and other things…" said Matsuo.

"Are they that strong? Man, now I want to become a summoner too…" said Frank as he rubbed his chin, Ruby had already jumped out of his shirt and was roaming the room.

"She seems to be some kind of Fire Lizard? Does she not breathe fire?" asked Matsuo.

"Oh yeah, she does, but let's not ask her to do that, or your entire room might burn to a crisp," said Frank.

"Fair enough… I kind of want to see her fighting… Anyways, did you wanted to come to my room only for this? Let's go do some tasks, I'll show you the task board around-"

"Wait, there is something else… here," said Frank, opening his Inventory as he pulled out a whole pile of purple-colored Magic Crystals of various shapes, he had saved half of them inside of his Inventory to later convert them into App Points, while wanting to exchange the rest he had gathered for Clan Contribution Points.

"Gah…! You! Did you just grind the whole night?! Are you insane?!" asked Matsuo.

"…A bit," said Frank.

"Unbelievable… there are… over eighty Magic Crystals here! Although they're all just F-Grade, you still did quite a lot of work there… You want to trade them for Contribution Points?" asked Matsuo.

"Yup, all of them," said Frank.

"Alright, put them again into your Inventory, let's go to the transaction room, we have to follow the rules," said Matsuo.

As someone with a slightly high rank within his clan, Matsuo brought Frank into a transaction room, where he is given the authority to exchange goods for Contribution Points or Money, such as Yens or Dollars.

After a brief explanation, Frank discovered the prices of all Magic Crystals grades, which were as follows:

F-Grade Magic Crystals cost 100 Contribution Points.

D-Grade Magic Crystals cost 1.000 Contribution Points.

C-Grade Magic Crystals cost 10.000 Contribution Points.

B-Grade Magic Crystals cost 100.000 Contribution Points.

A-Grade Magic Crystals cost 1.000.000 Contribution Points.

S-Grade Magic Crystals cost 10.000.000 Contribution Points.

SS-Grade Magic Crystals cost 100.000.000 Contribution Points.

And SSS-Grade Magic Crystals cost 1.000.000.000 Contribution Points.

There was a clear jump with each Grade level, meaning that their value multiplied by ten times, the difference in magic power and quality would be incredibly different within each grade of Magic Crystal, making it for such a difference in the prize.

And if compared to dollars, 1 Contribution Point was around ten dollars, meaning that anyone that was to get a B-Grade Magic Crystal would become a millionaire.

"Alright, it would be… 8.200 Contribution Points for the 82 F-Grade Magic Crystals, and 9.000 Contribution Points for the nine D-Grade Magic Crystals… Man, you got another fortune again!" said Matsuo.

Through the manipulation of the mysterious power within the crests of the clan, Matsuo deposited 17.200 Contribution Points into Frank's 'account', which showed up as a floating scroll that showcased the number of Contribution Points that Frank had, the number slowly began to raise to the number.

However, Frank's System had already integrated Contribution Points as well, which ended up giving him the System Notification of having acquired said points.

Ding!

[You gained 17.200 Contribution Points (Monk Clan)!]

"So, you're planning on spending them into something? Maybe a book or a few accessories?" asked Matsuo.

"I actually got a few accessories already… you can't see them because my ability let me hide them… But I might buy more Skill Books, anyways, for now, let's go complete some tasks. Did you said that they also give Contribution Points by completing them?" asked Frank.

"Exactly! Tasks are often subjugation Tasks, meaning that they're made by our Clan itself to slow down the production of Monsters around the city and our territory. Aside from the controlled Hunting Domains, many errand Domains often pop up and out of existence every so often, we got to weaken them by defeating the monsters inside until they disappear. Easy work, right?" said Matsuo.

"I see how it is, seems good enough, as long as I go with you, it's a guaranteed win anyways~" laughed Frank.

"Ah? Don't get too cocky! Don't rely on my strength too much, man," said Matsuo with a concerned expression.

"Sheeesh, it was a joke… Alright Ruby, come here… (Actually, this reminded me that I wanted to check Matsuo's stats… if he even has some?)" said Frank, as Ruby jumped into his shoulder at the same time he used Inspect on Matsuo.

Matsuo seemed to not even realize that power was used to see through his power and secrets, but Frank was greeted by a surprise through this.

Ding!

[Inspect] level insufficient, inspection failed…]

…

Frank tried as much as he could, but there was never a result, it seemed as if Frank's Inspect Skill Level were way too low to inspect Matsuo's capabilities, meaning that he was way weaker than him!

"…Eh? Just how strong is Matsuo…?!" wondered Frank, as he walked behind Matsuo towards the Tasks Hall.

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