latelenovela Chapter 160: Dual Opposite
Chapter 160: Dual Opposite
What poked through the shell was a tiny, down-feathered head, followed by a small, rounded body no larger than a melon. It resembled a dove—or at least, something very close to one. Its pure white plumage shimmered with a faint golden light. A soft, gently glowing halo floated just above its head, bobbing gently like a ring of pure morning light.
A pair of delicate white wings fluttered weakly at its shoulders as it steadied itself. Its eyes were a serene sky-blue, wide and impossibly clear, holding the quiet depth of celestial beings.
The creature wobbled once, shaking off bits of shell. Then it let out a soft, chiming coo—a sound so pure it washed away the lingering infernal aura radiating from Ember. The demon kitten bristled in irritation, letting out a disgruntled hiss.
“A… cherub?” I muttered.
Not the humanoid image popularized in paintings, but the kind described in ancient scripture—holy beasts that guarded sacred places and divine relics. Except this one was unbelievably small, cute, and radiated a purity that felt almost unreal. A celestial dove… a living symbol of sanctity and blessing. And it had hatched right beside a hellborn shapeshifting demon-cat.
[Cherub Dove Hatchling – Lv.20]
A newborn celestial beast born from a sanctified egg. Though small and unassuming, it carries a fragment of divine light within its feathers and halo. Its plumage radiates a soothing, holy aura that purifies minor curses, calms hostile intent, and disrupts low-level demonic energies. Despite its timid nature, it can unleash bursts of consecrated light when threatened, and its chiming coos can mend superficial wounds in nearby allies. With proper nurturing, it may grow into a full-fledged cherubic guardian capable of powerful support, blessing, and shielding miracles.
The cherub dove blinked up at me, then tottered forward on unsteady legs. Its tiny white wings flapped, scattering faint motes of golden light. With a soft, bell-like coo, it gently nudged its beak against my shin, as though acknowledging me as its chosen master. Or maybe as its mother?
“Hmm, how about I name you Solana?”
The cherub cooed softly in acceptance, and a warm, soothing radiance blossomed across its feathers, bathing the chamber in gentle light.
You have established a Master-Servant Contract with [Cherub Dove Hatchling, Solana].
You have acquired a skill: [Beast Pocket Seal].
You have earned a new title: Tamer of Heavenborn.
Your Magic Power has increased by 8.
Your Luck has increased by 5.
My Luck stat has increased?! I raised my eyebrows in surprise. After all, that was an unprecedented kind of event; Luck stat couldn’t be increased through normal means. Even though the amount wasn’t too large, it was still something.
Still, it was kind of funny. Two opposites—hellfire and holiness—now stood at my side.
Shaking off my thoughts, I checked the new title and the new skill.
Tamer of Heavenborn
Rank: Unique
A title granted to those who form a binding contract with a pure celestial creature through mutual recognition.
Increases affinity with holy, radiant, and celestial beast species.Grants +10% effectiveness to beast-related skills.Slightly increases healing received from all sources.Holy-aligned creatures will instinctively view you with trust and lowered hostility.[Beast Pocket Seal]
Rank: Rare
Type: Active
Creates a personal dimensional “pocket” anchored to the user, allowing them to store a tamed beast in suspended stasis. While sealed, the beast cannot be harmed, heals gradually, and does not consume stamina or mana. The user may summon or retract the beast at will within 50 meters of them, as long as the user is conscious.
This reminded me a lot of a certain monster-taming game on Earth that became popular not too long ago, though I’d never played it.
Before I could close the status window, a low hiss and a soft, indignant coo pulled my attention downward. Ember and Solana were staring at each other. Or more accurately, they were glowering at each other.
“…Er, what are you two doing?”
Ember flicked its tail, leapt up, and landed on top of my head before growling at Solana. It then perched triumphantly on my left shoulder, curling its tail around my neck like a smug little scarf.
Solana’s wings fluttered in immediate outrage. With a determined little wobble, it hopped, then hovered unevenly upward and landed squarely on my right shoulder. The moment her tiny talons touched down, she pressed her warm, feathery cheek proudly against mine, cooing in victory.
Ember hissed even more aggressively, while Solana puffed out its feathers until it looked like a disgruntled holy fluff-ball. Then, at the exact same moment, both creatures leaned forward and head-butted each other across the back of my head.
“Hey, stop that!” I yelled, grabbing them before their heavenly-hellish duel escalated into something catastrophic.
Ember swatted at Solana’s face with a tiny paw. In retaliation, Solana booped Ember squarely on the forehead with her beak. Honestly, it was like watching the most adorable war in existence.
“Listen, no fighting,” I said firmly, separating them like unruly toddlers. “You both can stay on my shoulders. But no pushing each other off. Deal?”
They both glared… then slowly turned away with synchronized, offended snorts and chirps. Just great. Apparently, both of them had decided my shoulders were sacred territory.
They were incubated in the same chamber and in the same basin, so they should’ve been brother and sister… Why couldn’t they get along? Wait, I don’t even know their genders.
Since they were now my tamed beasts, I figured I should be able to view their status screens in more detail than those of regular monsters or divine warriors. With that in mind, I activated Inspect Eye on them.
Inspect Eye has leveled up.
Ember Lv. 20/60
HP: 100%
MP: 18/18
Rank: Aleph [1]
Master: Maximillian Anderson
Species: Infernal Bakeneko Kit
Status: Normal
Strength: 15 | Dexterity: 25 | Stamina: 18
Mind: 25 | Magic Power: 30 | Luck: 15
Skill(s): [Ember Claw Lv.1], [Ember Flicker Lv.1], [Infernal Purr Lv.1], [Minor Shapeshift Lv.1], [Night Mirage Lv.1]
Solana Lv. 20/60
HP: 100%
MP: 22/22
Rank: Aleph [1]
Master: Maximillian Anderson
Species: Cherub Lamb Hatchling
Status: Normal
Strength: 12 | Dexterity: 21 | Stamina: 18
Mind: 17 | Magic Power: 35 | Luck: 25
Skill(s): [Blessing Coo Lv.1], [Cherub’s Calm Lv.1], [Holy Wing Shield Lv.1], [Radiant Spark Lv.1], [Soothing Halo Lv.1]
Divine warriors and monsters followed entirely different systems of leveling up. Unlike divine warriors, they didn’t need to undergo class advancements to advance from one rank to another. Instead, their progression was driven by species evolution, or just evolution for short, which increased their level cap and transformed their abilities as well as their appearances. For Ember and Solana, I was sure that their future forms would be fantastic.
Also, judging from their behavior, it seemed Ember was male and Solana female. I wasn’t completely certain since neither of their status screens listed a gender, but their mannerisms made it easy to guess.
In any case, as much as I wanted to experiment with their skills or test Soullink Resonance, the others were still waiting back in the previous chamber. If I stayed down here too long, they would definitely start suspecting me. A clone could imitate my movements and speech, but not my thought process. Boris, Michelle, Lucian, and even Tuilë had known me long enough to notice something was off.
“Alright, you two,” I said, lifting Ember in one hand and Solana in the other. “Time to rest for now.”
Both immediately protested, with Ember letting out a sharp, offended “mrrrow!” and Solana answering with a soft but stubborn “coo!” while fluffing her feathers indignantly.
“No. Behave,” I warned. “You can come out again later.”
I activated Beast Pocket Seal, and a faint runic circle appeared beneath my feet. Two channels of mana extended from me to each creature like ribbons of light. Ember’s tiny body dissolved first, breaking into crimson-black motes of infernal emberlight. Solana followed in a swirl of gold-white feathers and luminescence.
Two small sigils appeared on my skin: a flame-shaped dark mark on my left forearm for Ember, and a pale white dove-feather mark on my right for Solana, each pulsing faintly like miniature heartbeats.
“Good. Stay there for now,” I murmured, tugging my sleeves down to hide the marks.
With that done, I turned and hurried back toward the others, making sure they wouldn’t wonder why their “Maxim” had been standing there like a frozen statue. Of course, I didn’t forget to stock up on condensed mana so I could make more Elixirs of Mana Concentrate.
On the way there, I used the chance to check my current status.
Maximillian Anderson Lv. 60/60 (EXP 13,443)
HP: 100%
MP: 1,065/1,212
Rank: Gimmel [3]
Patron God: Istellia (Goddess of Imagination)
Class: Paradox Incarnate
Title: One Who Conquered the Impossible (12)
Status: Normal
Strength: 497 + 49 + 50 | Dexterity: 531 + 49 + 50 | Stamina: 456 + 45 + 46
Mind: 355 + 5 + 36 | Magic Power: 433 + 20 + 43 | Luck: 425 + 43
Plausibility: 447
Free Attributes: 0
Signature Skill(s): [Absorb Plausibility], [Fabled Vessel], [God!$# Creation], [Grant Plausibility], [Gravity Magic Lv.5], [Scenario Manipulation]
Skill(s): [Assassination Arts Lv.3], [Basic Alchemy Lv.10], [Basic Cryo Magic Lv.8], [Basic Dagger/Knife Mastery Lv.4], [Basic Hand-to-Hand Combat Lv.7], [Basic Neutral Magic Lv.10], [Basic Shield Mastery Lv.9], [Beast Pocket Seal], [Brutal Smash Lv.1], [Back Stab Lv.4], [Berserk Lv.4], [Blood-Fueled Frenzy Lv.1], [Calm Mind], [Chantless Casting Lv.3], [Desperate Willpower Lv.9], [Divine Sermon Lv.3], [Echo Construct Lv.2], [Extraordinary Fortune], [Extraordinary Harmonized Constitution], [Fast Equip], [Fast Reading Lv.5], [Flaming Fist Lv.1], [Heavy Stab Lv.8], [Inspect Eye Lv.5], [Intermediate Spearmanship Lv.6], [Intermediate Swordsmanship Lv.8], [Inventory], [Mana Manipulation Lv.8], [Mana Overclock Lv.1], [Mana Sense Lv.8], [Mental Tolerance Lv.5], [Miracle of Conviction Lv.1], [Negotiation Lv.7], [Night Vision], [Pain Tolerance Lv.6], [Phantom Blade Lv.5], [Phantom Slash Lv.6], [Poison-Paralysis Resistance Lv.4], [Projectile Defense Lv.3], [Predator’s Step Lv.5], [Reflection Counter Lv.1], [Shield Bash Lv.1], [Soullink Resonance Lv.1], [Stealth Movements Lv.6], [Sword Intent Lv.1], [Weapon Manifestation Lv.5], [Wind Rush Lv.6]
Spell(s): {Frozen Icicle}, {Graviton Pull}, {Gravity Field}, {Gravity Launch}, {Mana Arrow}, {Mana Bullet}, {Mana Shield}, {Mass Alteration}, {Spinning Mana Arrow}
It felt like I had accumulated a considerable number of titles and skills by this point, and I would need to gather more plausibility soon so I could start combining some of them. Having too many scattered abilities made it difficult to fully utilize everything; several skills were niche, overlapping, or situational at best.
On the other hand, my progress toward meeting the class advancement prerequisites was going smoothly.
Class Advancement Prerequisites:
Defeat 5 Level 150+ Monsters Gather a Total of 20,000 Accumulated EXPSuccessfully Complete at Least 3 C+ or 1 B Rank Quest or ScenarioDefeat 1 Monster That is at Least 50 Levels Above YouUndergo the Trial of Paradox Convergence II had only defeated a couple of level 150+ monsters so far, meaning I still needed to focus on that—along with gathering the remaining six thousand plus experience points. Fortunately, I already had a target in mind.
Shortly, as I made my way back through the archway and reached the previous chamber, I was startled by what the others were doing.