Chapter 278 - Experience Sharing
"Captain!"
The peacekeeping soldiers immediately cried after witnessing Captain Nikolai getting stomped to death. But before they could grieve, Pompom turned its attention on them.
Roar!
The dragon gave its roar of fury and intimidated the peacekeeping soldiers into fleeing as it chased after them.
"Everyone, run! The dragon is too strong! It has recovered to its peak state—No, it has become stronger!"
"Ahhh! Don't kill me! I was just following orders!"
The peacekeeping soldiers fled in panic and fear.
Meanwhile, Albion gave Pompom free reign to do whatever it wanted as he focused on understanding the new feature he unlocked.
Its discovery had left him slightly puzzled.
'From what I understand, Soul Sprites that have entered an exclusive contract will be bound to the contractee and the contractee only. So why would there be a pet feature…?' Albion mused.
He could see it being possible in a non-exclusive contract. But in an exclusive contract, Goldfinger was exclusively bound to him and could only his thoughts.
It would not be able to understand the true thoughts of others.
'Unless…a connection was established through my blood?' Albion speculated.
[Correct. Goldfinger can only establish a partial connection to other creatures through the host's blood as the medium. However, it is only possible if said creature does not reject the connection and possesses a certain level of trust and dependence towards the host.]
Goldfinger patiently explained.
'I see… Pompom has this much dependence and trust in me, eh? To think it was this easy to have a wild creature as a tamed pet… Is this the effect of A Merciful Heart?' Albion rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
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[A Merciful Heart]: One who appreciates the values and importance of life and abhor willful killing. When encountering a hostile creature, there is a 10% higher chance the title bearer will spare it. In return, the title bearer may or may not earn the creature's goodwill.
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[Goldfinger cannot grant special effects through titles. Titles with effects are no different from titles without effects. They are just words based on one of the fundamental principles of the world.]
Goldfinger explained.
'I know, I know. The law of cause and effect, right? Even an injured wolf knows when to be grateful if it is saved or spared. The titles are just titles. Nothing more, nothing less.'
When he gains a title with effects, it did not mean the system suddenly blessed him with said effects. They were simply the way of the world put into words.
Albion understood that much.
'When I mentioned A Merciful Heart, I was referring to the act of sparing Pompom back then,' Albion explained.
[I see.]
Goldfinger replied.
Moving on, Albion was curious about the pet feature. Thus, he asked, 'Tell me everything about the pet feature.'
[Understood, host. In fact, there isn't much to learn about the pet feature. The host will be able to see the statuses of the host's tamed pets and receive a small portion of the EXP earned by them.]
After hearing Goldfinger's explanation, Albion's eyes flickered at once.
'Doesn't that mean that I can get…'
<2140 EXP gained>
<2080 EXP gained>
As Albion had the thought, the sudden notifications from the system confirmed his suspicion regarding the matter.
'As I expected, I can gain EXP from humans through Pompom, huh?' Albion mused thoughtfully.
Nevertheless, while the discovery was a pleasant surprise, it did not mean he will lose his sense of reason and become controlled by his instincts and desire for strength.
Human or not, he will kill who he wants to kill. Nothing has changed.
'Show me Pompom's status,' Albion ordered.
Ding!
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[Pet Status]
<Name: Pompom>
<Race: Sea Dragon (evolved)>
<Danger rating: Behemoth-class>
<Hunter Level: 31>
<Talents: Dragonic Might, Hardened Scales, Water Affinity>
<Skills: Dragon Roar, Flight>
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'Level 31, huh? Must have leveled a few times from killing these humans. No doubt, killing high-level humans is much quicker than killing ordinary interdimensional creatures,' Albion mused.
<2370 EXP gained>
<2190 EXP gained>
<2270 EXP gained>
As Pompom hunted down the fleeing peacekeeping soldiers, Albion continued to receive a share of its harvest.
'Assuming I get around 10% EXP, these peacekeeping soldiers are around Lv.41-Lv.42, huh? And yet, they are no match for Pompom. There's only one reason why this is the case. Their base cultivation is inadequate.'
Albion silently analyzed the information with a calm look.
"Master, is it alright for that dragon to be killing those humans in the middle of the city? Won't it look bad to the other humans?" Fenriri asked.
Albion listened to the crowd's cheering for a moment before he replied with a smile, "Look bad? Does it sound that way?"
"Err…" Fenriri paused.
"Good Kill! Stomp them all to death!"
"These peacekeeping soldiers deserve it!"
"How dare they go after the Silvercove Guardian!"
As Fenriri twitched her ears to listen, she heard the crowd's cheers outside the barricaded area before she scratched her head.
"I guess not…"
"Well, the people of Silvercove seems to view Pompom favorably, but the world government might take further action against it—or they might not. Who knows? It depends how big the issue blows out of proportion."
Albion shrugged nonchalantly.
At the end of the day, it did not concern him what the world government will do. Pompom has become his tamed pet and naturally falls under his protection.
They would have to think twice, whether they want to pursue the deaths of the peacekeeping forces they sent to Silvercove City.
Sometime later, Pompom returned after cleaning up the peacekeeping forces.
"It seems we have attracted quite a bit of attention here," Albion mentioned before suggesting, "Let us leave and move to somewhere more peaceful."
Seemingly understanding what he said, Pompom lowered its head subserviently and offered to take them away on its back.
"You want me to ride you, eh?" Albion asked before he suddenly paused and muttered softly, "Hm, that came out a bit wrong. I hope you're not a female."
Pompom snorted before nodding a few times, albeit nervously, as it still had some lingering fear and apprehension against Albion.
"Well, never mind," Albion's lips twitched before he urged, "Let's go, Riri."
"Yes, Master!" Fenriri answered excitedly.
After the two flew away on the back of Pompom's head, the fervor in the city did not die down with their depart but exploded instead.
[WhoKickedMyDog01: Wow, who are those two people? The Silvercove Guardian actually let them ride on its back!]
[AlbionBlack37: Damn, I'm so envious! I also want to ride on a dragon's back!]