It has been two days now since the world changed. I had been travelling with the caravan towards the east.

During our journey, we encountered a few monsters but they were weak monsters that were running away.

Instead of killing them, I decided to persuade the caravan to let me reason with them.

It took a bit of convincing but I knew that they were sentient and knew that the higher level monsters were dangerous for the both of us.

Eventually, I managed to convince them to travel with us, acting as mounts and could carry some of the larger things that we found which could be helpful.

The monsters that followed us consisted of three Rock Drakes averaging around level 350. Their build was rather large as pieces of rock covered their muscles and acted as armour.

Two Dread Howlers and a single Phantogeist.

Dread Howlers were these long serpentine monsters that had an upper body which resembled a manta ray except that their mouths could split open, revealing rows of teeth and walls of flesh that glowed in the dark with a beautiful blue. There were small protrusions on the surface of their body which glowed on the tips. Their wings were elongated with spikes on the edges.

Dread Howlers would be fine in the sea, land and air since they are able to adapt in all three areas.

They primarily hunted in the dark using their glowing protrusions as bait before strangling and eating their prey alive.

Having these monsters on our side was helpful since nocturnal battles were our weakness considering the lack of light.

Plus, they were helpful as mounts for our scouts considering that they could easily fit three humans on its back.

As for the Phantogeist, it was similar to a Gorgon except that it's a lot more monstrous. It's body was translucent and revealed rows of bones beneath its skin and tentacle like appendages that could retract so that its body became streamline. The tentacles could split open at the tip to reveal claws that could latch onto any surface without letting go. There were small plates of spiked armour, that was also translucent, running down the tentacle and down its spine. It was able to flare the spikes up in order to harm its enemy whenever it receives an attack.

The Phantogeist's main form of attack was two scythe like claws at the front which would cut you in half before you know it. It did have a head but there were no eyes. The head could split into four parts to reveal the sharp teeth that it hid in its mouth.

When we came across the Phantogeist, it was actually mourning the death of what seemed to be its mother as her body had been cut to pieces. We knew that it wasn't done by humans since the body would have disappeared should we collect the materials.

It was on guard against us but the monster that travelled with us helped persuade the young Phantogeist.

In terms of size, it was slightly bigger than the Rock Drakes which could hold 3 people if you force it but was smaller than the Dread Howlers.

We had the tailors make a few saddles with what we had on hand so that we could ride the monsters without any problems and they worked quickly. But due to the lack of materials, we were only able to make three saddles.

In the end, we decided to give the saddles to the Phantogeist and the two Dread Howlers.

When it came to scouting, these three were better compared to the Rock Drakes so we could saddle them up at a later date.

While hunting did become easier thanks to the monsters, the requirement for food grew since they needed to eat too. Just eating mana stones didn't seem to be enough for them so they extracted some nourishment from raw flesh. It seemed like the level of mana decreased after cooking so we split the food in two, one half being cooked and for us while the other half was for the monsters.

The rock drakes managed to lessen our burden in terms of food since they were fine with extracting mana from precious materials and ores. We had a few blacksmiths with us who carried some ores which managed to satiate the rock drakes for now but we'll need to go mining when we can to keep up the food supply for them.

A few of the people are complaining but the fact that the monsters protected us forced them to accept their presence since it was better that a monster died fighting to protect them than a human.

Regardless, I knew that these people were probably going to leave us the moment we find a city without any regard since they are still complaining despite the situation we were in.

Though it would be better if they left since this caravan was growing in size. We had helped a few groups of escapees during our journey so there were more mouths to feed. Unlike the complainers, these new recruits knew how harsh it was so rather than complaining, they were helping around to prove that they could be useful.

I glanced at the Phantogeist curled up next to me and smiled. Patting its skin, I could feel it glance towards me curiously despite having no eyes.

"They say that the new recruits heard a few rumours of some camps being set up further ahead. If we can find a settlement of people, we might be able to reduce the size of the caravan a little so that we can move around and help more people. Hopefully, we might even be able to refill our rations a little since we're running low on food." I muttered as the Phantogeist growled softly before opening its mouth.

Throwing up some half digested food, it nudged it next to my feet.

"Hahaha, it's the others that are hungry. I'm relatively well off. Though you should keep your food since we need you to be healthy so that you can protect us." I laughed while patting its head.

I didn't think that monsters could actually be kind like this since Phantogeists were actually a symbol of fear from one of the regions that they could be found in.

Tilting its head slightly, the Phantogeist opened its mouth once more as its tongue shot forward and snapped the food back into its mouth and swallowed.

"A little unhygienic don't you think? Though food is food. I wonder how the settlement will react to you guys if it does exist. Hopefully, they don't try to kill us for being with you guys since this isn't the time to fight amongst ourselves." I muttered.

I found it rather funny that I was conversing to this monster like it was an old friend of mine while my actual friend had become a little distant ever since I brought in the monsters as protection. But I knew that the guy was still kind in heart. He just needed to digest everything that had happened.

Letting out a growl that sounded almost comforting? It nudged its head against my body.

"Thanks. Perhaps I should give you a name? We'll be journeying together for a while after all."

Hearing this, the Phantogeist slithered around for a moment like it was contemplating something before returning to my side and nodded its head.

"Mn then are you a boy or girl? I'm not sure if Phantogeists have genders but considering how brutal you are in a few of the fights, are you perhaps a boy?" I asked.

Recoiling back slightly, one of its tentacles hit my back as it or rather, she, seemed offended. Immediately I knew that it was probably a girl considering the fact that it hit me after calling it a boy.

"So you're a girl then? Hmm… How about I call you Nitha? There was a small folklore from where my grandparents lived and there was a being called Nitha. It was unsure what her race was but she protected the village despite the humans condemning her in the past. If you offer her sacrifices of food, she'll keep the village free of monsters. In a way, you're doing the same by taking care of the monsters so why don't I call you Nitha?" I suggested.

Pausing for a moment, Nitha let out a satisfied growl as I couldn't help but laugh.

Our trip was getting stranger with each passing moment. Monsters joined the caravan and I had just named a Phantogeist since it was my mount/companion when I went out scouting. I didn't know what this journey would lead us but I hoped that the outcome was good.

"Asher! I'll be taking the next watch. You can sleep now." Someone called out to me as I glanced over and saw the person responsible for the next watch.

"Seems like that's my cue to leave. I'll see you tomorrow Nitha." I smiled as Nitha nodded her head before curling up and going to bed herself.

Chuckling for a moment, I made my way back to my tent so that I can prepare myself for the journey tomorrow.

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