Chapter 6: Pip

Nothing prepared me for what I saw when I woke up one morning. The cage was broken. I thought that something caused that and ate Pip but that wasn't the case. A large lizard was crawling on the bed and I let out a manly scream.

"What's wrong, young master?!" The butler barged into the room after hearing my scream. Then his eyes focused on the lizard and drew out a weapon from his jacket.

"W-wait! Wait, c-calm down!" I exclaimed hurriedly. He stopped in his track. "T-the l-lizard is Pip."

"Hah?"

The big lizard was actually Pip. He evolved into something stronger. That took me by surprise. I was used to see him being so tiny and cute. Not this cool looking and scary. I recognised him by the white spot on his back.

"What happened to it?"

"Pip g-grows up. He's p-probably n-not an o-ordinary lizard af-after all." I exhaled. Pip looked at me with sparkling eyes. He looked proud. I held out my hand toward him. He immediately approached me and rubbed his head on my hand like he always did. I smiled. "Pip is a s-salamander n-now.

"A salamander? How?" The butler was baffled. I couldn't blame him. I was too. I didn't even do anything to change his stats. I was planning to evolve him but I didn't expect that he would do it by himself.

"I.. I d-don't know. Pip is a-amazing!" I hugged the big reptile. He was a size of a puppy now. He purred in delight in my arms.

"I need to inform Lord Feene about this." The butler murmured.

"O-okay.." There was nothing I could do. Lord Feene needed to know after all. Only then, I would know what to do with Pip.

The rest of the day was like usual. Well, except for the fact that Pip that was bigger than usual. He still able to rest leisurely on my shoulder but I was afraid that he would continue to grow bigger. Would it possible for him to turn into a fire salamander? He was a magical creature after all. I knew it from the beginning because Pip's mana wasn't zero. It kept on increasing everyday as he was growing. However, he never use magic though. He always lazing around, sleeping and only woke up when it was time to eat.

'Hm? Isn't that like how baby acts?' I thought. Was Pip only a baby when I summoned him? What?

"Pip, h-how old a-are you a-actually?" I asked suddenly. It was useless though. He couldn't talk. He squeaked at me. Yeah, like I can understand that.

"Young master, I think it's better to leave it in your room." The butler suggested.

"I-it's f-fine. I w-want to b-bring h-him to m-my magic c-class." I decided.

I arrived at the study hall where my magic lesson took place. I wasn't the only one taking it. Feneck, Lord Feene's real son was also taking the class with me. He didn't like me, that for sure. He ignored my existence altogether and honestly that was the kindest thing he could ever done for me. Our magic teacher was eyeing Pip that sprawled lazily along my shoulder.

"Is.. Is that your lizard?" She asked, astonished.

"Ye-yes. H-he grew s-so big t-this morning. D-do you k-know why?" I replied.

"Well, it's obvious that your lizard is not a regular one. Only magical creatures that can evolve like this. So, your lizard might actually be one." She kindly informed me. My face lightened up. I was right. Pip was special.

"H-he w-will gr-grow bigger t-than this?"

"Yes, most likely. Though, I'm not sure what's his next evolution. Well, if you take care of it well, I'm sure, you'll be able to see his final evolution in the future."

"I-I see.. Th-thank you f-for a-answering my q-question." I nodded at her politely.

The class went on as usual. I wanted to focus on the lesson but Fenneck was occasionally sending me a glare. I didn't know why he looked irritated toward me. I could guess. He was jealous of Pip. Hey, get your own! My Pip was mine. After 2 hours, the class was over and I immediately left the room after saying my thanks.

I never talk to Fenneck and I wanted to keep it that way. He looked like he wanted to say something to me. I felt bad for him honestly. He must've felt like I would take over his position as the only heir. He didn't have to worry about that though. Lord Feene was never going to hand over the family head title to me. I was not his biological son. So, Fenneck would always be the true heir. I understood his insecurities though. Lord Feene had been paying attention alot to me eversince I came to this household. I didn't like that attention. I couldn't even train alone as I was under an intensive watch.

"M-master, I think I h-hurt my sh-shoulder." I made an excuse. I even went as far faking my lifeless face and putting a hand on my totally fine shoulder.

"Hm, fine. Go find a Healer and you'd be resting today. Go back." He told me while squinting his eyes suspiciously at me.

"Th-thank you, master.." I slowly turned away and left the courtyard. As much as I wanted to join the sword class, I couldn't delay my plan. There was something I really wanted to test.

As soon as I was out of sight, my slow walking turned into a sprint. My destination was my room. I would get a total privacy in my room for at least an hour before my designated butler would check up on me. I wasn't recommended to lock my room and they would always demand me to unlock it if I ever did. Still, before they did, I just needed to use whatever time I have to the fullest.

"D-damn it, I sh-should've.. Change my stamina.." I was heaving like a dying horse when I arrived in my room. I locked the door behind me and went over toward where Pip was sleeping. He perked up when he saw me.

"Okay, Pip. You're up for an experiment?" I clapped my hands enthusiastically. Pip frowned and shook his head. I ignored his protest and picked him up and put him on the floor. I pushed away the table and chair so that there was enough space for him. It squeaked at me, disagreeing with my action.

"Shut it, Pip. Just trust me. I don't have a lot of time here." I scolded him not seriously. He even had the audacity to roll his eyes at me. What a sassy lizard! "It won't hurt, I promise.. Erm.. I guess."

I put a hand on top of his head and closed my eyes to concentrate. This was probably the first time I actually trying to increase other living being's stats. I hoped that I didn't hurt Pip in the process. I hoped I do this correctly.

Pip was glowing and his size changed. He became bigger. He was a size of a dog. I grinned happily. It worked. Well, I wasn't done. I needed to go further. At every evolution, his scale became darker and more refined but the white spot on his back remained. He grew bigger, muscly, teeth sharper and longer and at this rate, he wouldn't fit in my room. I stopped when he was bigger than my king size bed. I stepped back and looked up at him. He was towering over me.

"Pip, wait!" I exclaimed but it was too late. He dropped his heavy head on me, crashing me onto the floor. "Aghh.. You're heavy.. And stop moving your tail like that!"

His long tail hit the furnitures, throwing them aside, hitting the wall. The maids and butler would definitely hear that. They would soon come knocking on the door to check up on me. Pip was unconcerned. He continued to squish me on the floor. He had a tounge out, drooling on my shirt.

"Ughh... Pip, this is gross!" I whined.

Class: Fire Dragon

Mana: 100

Strength: 100

Stamina: 100

Dexterity: 100

Agility: 100

Endurance: 200

Intelligence: 10

Luck: 10

"Payback, master." A voice echoed in my mind. I widened my eyes at him.

"Wait.. You can talk! Wait, is it telepathy?" I was panicking. He looked down at me, smirking in amusement.

"Young master! Are you okay, in there?" the butler knocked on the door.

"Crap..." I mumbled out. I tried to push Pip off me. "Move, I can't devolve you in this position."

Pip sulkily moved away from me. Well, he also knocking off a mural on the wall. The glass crashed loudly on the floor. I winced. Pip wasn't even sorry. He almost looked smug about it.

"You.." I hissed. I put a hand on his head and his size reduced to his salamander form.

"Young master! Are you okay?!" They were frantic outside.

'How do I explain all this?' The mess in the room was horrendous. Pip was beaming at me, as if fascinated by the situation.

"I-I'm fine!" I shouted at them. I had no choice but manipulate my stats again.

***

My abilities was simple to understand. I could evolve and devolve other living things once I managed to meet all the requirements to change their class. The requirement was their stats. They needed to reach certain level of their stats and they would be qualified to evolve or devolve their class.

I could change my stats freely as well as others. It felt like I have ultimate powers in my hand. I could make someone stronger and weaker with simple modifications to their stats. A cheating power right?

Pip's final form was a fire dragon. He could grow even bigger but he was still so young. Hence, he was still small compared to a full adult dragon. His wings weren't even developed yet. Who would've thought that the little lizard I summoned could turn into a dragon? I was lucky then.

"What do you mean, you hate your name? You had it for a year!" I said.

"Master is suck at giving names." This good for nothing lizard was being ungrateful.

"You little.." I trailed off, knowing fully well that lizard wasn't small anymore. I looked up at him and sighed heavily. He was looking so smug. "You fat reptile."

"Master! That's so mean!" He whined, stomping his feet which made a little earthquake on the ground.

"What?" I mused, smiling innocently. He shoved me with his nose, sending me to the ground. "Hey!"

"Master, I'm a dragon! How can a dragon has a name Pip!?"

"How? You're the living proof of it." I laughed wickedly. Pip narrowed his eyes on me, pouting childishly.

"I'm leaving, master." He sulked, turning his body away from me.

"Okay, wait. Calm down. Don't leave. Who will feed you if you leave?" I pushed myself up from the ground, dusting off my pants. His ears twitched but still stubbornly facing away from me.

"Man, they'll be serving meat tonight. I guess, you won't be able to eat it." I said loudly.

"Alright, fine. I guess, I want to stay." He slowly turned back toward me. I chuckled, patting his head. Food always worked on him.

"So anyway, before my break is over, can you show me your skills?" I demanded.

"Gladly, master!" He was delighted.

I took a dozen steps away from him. I wasn't sure how strong he would be. I modified his stats to have almost 100 each. However, I knew I might overdoing them at some point. The glint in Pip's eyes changed. He looked over the trees in front of him. He exhaled, his throat glowed in a bright orange and I could feel the temperature raised in our surroundings.

'This is not looking good.' I thought.

He opened his large mouth as wide as possible and a beam of fire shot out. In mere seconds I was swept away by the impact, my ears were ringing by the loudest explosion and the forest, well, it was not a forest anymore, everything engulfed in fire..

"Er, master... I think.. I destroyed the mountain." Pip told me.

"What the hell?!" I shouted once I regained my composure. The Sap Mountain. The mountain disappeared!

"What will we do now?" Pip cowered, knowing that we were in a big problem.

The forest was almost gone, turning to ashes by the fire. The Sap mountain, the highest mountain near the capital was destroyed so easily. This couldn't be good. I was actually raising a destructive magical creature. Pip might as well be the one destroying the world if he wanted to.

"Pip, from now on, I'm keeping your stats to 10 points each." I told him. He nodded in understanding.

Well, first I needed to put out the fire. I put my palm out toward the sky and a magic circle formed above me. Dark clouds gathered and heavy rains started pouring. We stood there, soaked in water and watched over the disastrous surroundings. The forest couldn't be save.

"Master, could you be a God?" Pip questioned. He was amazed by his own power. Well, I was the one that boosted him up to be that powerful.

"I'm pretty sure a god is not a stuttering kid like me, Pip." I remarked with a slight smile.

"Let's leave this place." I sighed heavily.

"What about the mountain?"

"What mountain? There's no mountain and we're never here." I brushed it off.

Irresponsible approach but it wasn't like I have any other choice. If it was known that Pip could destroy a mountain with just a tiny bit of his power, it would be chaotic. Especially when, it was due to my enhancement that he could be that destructive. Not only Magic Union, even the demon side would want to get their hands on Pip. Well, that including me too. We would be wanted and that definitely the least thing I wanted to happen. Besides, if I could restore the mountain, I would. But, my magic knowledge wasn't that high yet, so I didn't know if such spells actually exist in this world. Maybe, in the future, I would go back and restored the mountain. I probably found the spells for it when I went to Astelan Academy.