The Last Legendary System

The bleeding one chirped. A very pleased chirp.

Benign dragged his hands down his face. "Is everything trying to kill me? What kind of chosen person am I?"

[I’ll explain.]

[You resurrected phoenixes en masse.]

[That means you need their help. They only did as they were biologically meant to do. You command them now.]

The explanation missed something vital. Benign asked. "The ’soaring in the sky’ bit? Is that also a biological requirement?"

[They were testing the wits of their new commander.]

[Tension is good for the soul.]

"Fuck off." Benign sighed, folding his arms.

His eyes went down to the listed rewards. While they weren’t what he needed, completing the mission would restore his streak, and Special Treatment would be well on its way.

Having a Firewing transportation service also made moving around the desert easier. The extra mana points were five bullets, which would be useful later.

’Finally things are turning around.’ What was left was sealing the deal.

Benign marched towards the Firewing he had decided would be the leader. He knew not the first thing about taming, but typically, in tribes that had leaders, whatever connection was made with the leader affected the others.

That was all the knowledge his ’animal-companion-trope-hating’ self could devise.

He stretched out his hand and began blurting. "I, Benign Cross, ask you, Leader of the Firewings, to be part of my unit." He paused, then continued improvising. "For me to command and for you to obey. For you to serve and for me to be served."

He paused again. "That sounds so awkward. Can we just work together? I don’t have a speech written or anything. Is that...? Are you okay with that?"

The leader twisted its head straight, looked backward at the rest, then chirped. The rest chirped back in response. The leader looked back at Benign. It chirped again, as if the collective response.

A glowing cross mark appeared on its head. Benign squinted his eyes at the symbol. "Isn’t that..."

The same mark glowed across the other Firewings’ heads. Benign checked for any change in his own body, but there was none. Instead, a strange weight settled in his chest, as if twenty lives were tied to his own.

The mark looked like the random, stylized doodles of his surname he drew with his classmates at grade school. He sighed deeply. "I take that as a ’yes.’ Thank you, Phoenix unit."

The leader lowered its head, and Benign instinctively patted it like he would a dog.

"Alright now. Deploy your men to scout the surrounding area for caves like this one. You’ll stay with me for mobility. The rest will report back in thirty minutes. Understood?"

The leader raised its wings and let out a sharp screech.

Benign stepped back, wondering if it got angry at being given orders.

"Please?"

The other Firewings reacted similarly before all but one flew away in different directions. The last one was the injured firewing.

"Oh, I see." Benign rubbed his chest. "Dramatic entrance, dramatic exit. But be quieter next time." He pointed to the direction the elves should be. "We will get those two elves back before exploring the cave."

He carried his bag that had fallen off him.

He wrapped Stun’s prepaid bandage on the creature’s injured foot. "You stay here and protect the cave. It’s important, okay? Sorry about your foot."

It chirped again, in the same tone as before. Benign frowned slightly. "Well then, no hard feelings."

He turned to the leader standing in front and hadn’t moved an inch. "So... yeah, I’d name you... um... Kendrick. And you," he looked back at the cheeky creature that gave him a heart attack. "Let’s go with—"

There was another sharp screech behind him. Benign snapped his head behind him. The leader fervently flapped its wings that slowly became bigger on each flap. It rose a foot off the ground, and its body expanded and reddened.

Benign studied the growth but didn’t have a conclusion for it. "You like the name so much it made you grow a little?"

[Unique Skill Unlocked.]

[Unique Skill Unlocked.]

The soldier gasped.

[Provident Tamer]

[Do you need a description?]

It sounded self-explanatory, but Benign nodded because the adjective could be carrying another meaning.

[Description: Any creature that harbors gratitude toward the user becomes eligible for taming. Greater gratitude increases taming success.]

Gratitude. Benign turned to the bandaged firewing with the cheeky face. "You should be extra nice to me then."

[Unique Skill Unlocked.]

[Step Father.]

[Description: Allows the user to name tamed creatures. By consuming HP, the user may heal and nurture named creatures.]

The name was literal and endorsed another dependent on him. Benign nodded, accepting the role quickly. "Is the ’step’ bit necessary? Obviously I wouldn’t be their biological father. Did you make these names up?"

[...]

"Very shitty naming sense."

[Says the one that named a female firewing Kendrick.]

Benign slowly turned to the large firewing staring at him. "Ah." He looked away. "Kendrick is unisex."

He reached for its neck, and it lowered its head. Benign carefully climbed atop it. The height was a bit of a problem for him, but he wanted to trust his new ally. He pointed at the cave. "You, stay there."

The cheeky firewing chirped and made a short flight beside the cave.

Benign stared down at the scaly neck and small feather on Kendrick’s neck. He didn’t know where to hold. Its long, ostrich-like neck would be a disrespectful handle. So he placed his hands on the shoulders.

Using its beak, the creature pulled his hands up to its neck. "Oh, so that was actually the—"

The firewing took off to the skies, not minding Benign clutching its neck tightly.

’Give me a warning. Damnit!’

[Congratulations.]

[Rewards for completion of mission have been bestowed.]

[Mind-link connection granted] [Hell Rain upgraded] [100+ MP]

"Yes, yes, when will Special Treatment return?"

[When it returns.]

Benign rolled his eyes. He focused down below him.

Two small figures trudged down a sand hill. Their forms were miserable, and they looked like they’ll collapse any minute. "I have the bag with me. They must have been so thirsty."

He tapped Kendrick. "Let’s go down there."

A static went past his brain waves. He smiled. "Yeah, yeah. The elves."

Somehow he understood what the creature said without making out any ’words.’ Kendrick swerved in that direction, steadily lowering itself to the ground.

Benign touched his head with a free hand. "This is actually surreal."