With the dimming light came the avatar he had summoned.
Standing before him was a beautiful maiden, no taller than 5'4", but still easily the prettiest woman in the entire Nox headquarters.
She had short silver hair and two horns sticking out of her forehead, resembling those of an ogre.
Exactly like the description said.
The avatar also wore a white yukata-type dress, designed with a black waist belt and small armor covering the upper parts of her arms. There were chains connected to each part, but they didn't look to be an inconvenience; they made her look even prettier.
Black boots adorned her legs, with black tights sticking to her skin like they were one. The same could be said about the black gloves on her hands.
Staring at her for a while, Damien made sure to take in every detail.
'Hmmm~'
He stared even longer.
Until Ava decided to speak—
"What shall I call you?"
Damien was expecting the question; he wondered why she took so long to ask.
It was the same scenario for the first character he pulled in the game.
"Commander," he replied, "that is what you are to refer to me as."
Ava nodded her head.
"As you wish, Commander. My name is Ava Mongrail; it's an honor to be of service."
A smile tugged on Damien's lips.
There had been instances where he pulled for a character, and they ended up not liking him.
Many characters had their distinct personalities and likes; it couldn't be helped.
No different from raising a child.
Before he said anything to her, he decided to summon the rune to check her stats.
[Ava's character profile has been activated.]
{Ava Mongrail:
Level: 0
Element: Pyro
Rank: SS+ rank
Signature skill: Flaming Sword Lvl 3
➢ Subskill slot: None
➢ Subskill slot: None
[15 silverstones to unlock subskill slot]
Primary weapons: None}
His gaze moved to the next part.
{Affection Level: Rank 1
Bond Diary: 0/20
Skill back: Pyro control}
'There it is.'
Damien had his eyes on the skill-back category.
As the name suggests, it was a skill granted to him from the obtained Ava Mongrail.
Every character he pulled gave him a skill back; some were just often less useful than others.
Her level could be increased through either experience points, bond diary, or shards.
In any case, the stronger his avatar was, the stronger he was going to get as well.
The fastest way for her to level up and gain more skills was by completing her Bond Diary, and that could only be done by raising her affection level.
Easier said than done.
"Commander, is everything alright? You've been staring at me for quite a while now." Ava locked gazes with him.
Not a single hint of shyness was written on her face.
"...Well, as you are now, you can barely beat an ant without getting exhausted. I'm trying to fix that."
Ava grunted slightly.
"Are you saying I'll be of no use to you, Commander?"
"You came up with that conclusion?"
"...Am I wrong?"
Damien sighed. Then again, he was used to dealing with women—at least the annoying part.
"Once I am done with everything needed, you'll get strong enough to be useful. Is this reply fine with you?"
"Then can I get started right away?"
Her response was met with great resolve on her face.
As an Avatar, her one true purpose was to become as useful as possible to her Resonator.
Being strong enough to be relied on was their pride and joy.
'She's determined, so I can't complain.'
Turning his gaze back to the screen, Damien decided to upgrade her.
[24 shards have been used to upgrade.]
Level 2 >>> Level 7
A small wave of light rushed through Ava's body.
[Ava has leveled up.]
'Figured as much; 24 shards aren't much, especially if it's for upgrading avatars. It's more efficient when used on skills.'
Damien suddenly fell on his back.
"You don't have to worry about that for now; you'll get all the chance tomorrow to grow stronger."
He said this, knowing his commander level was also going to play a huge role in it.
Watching as he lay on the bed, Ava took the time to scan her body, as if looking for something.
Soon after, a disappointed look appeared on her face.
""
Of course, Damien pretended as though he didn't hear it.
…
The following day, Damien was back at the command room, with both Aria and Radia present.
Ava was also there and standing behind him.
Everyone else, including Aria, had their eyes locked on Ava, shock clearly written on their faces.
It had been like that for the past ten minutes since Damien set foot inside the room.
Radia, who was trying to keep her cool and failing, was no different.
Though Damien was well aware of why they were surprised.
"You better not be joking with me right now. This is your avatar?" Aria finally asked, leaning her boobs on the desk.
Damien tilted his head to the side.
"Would it be better if I said I saw a random girl on the road and made her cosplay to prove to you I can summon an avatar instead?"
While Aria was quick to frown, Radia gave a nervous chuckle.
Both her hands dug into her white lab coat.
"S-sorry about that. The Lieute—all of us are just shocked to see you already having an avatar. It takes a Resonator at least 3 months before having enough energy to pull it off."
"I already mentioned not being like your regular Resonators, so this shouldn't be a shock at all."
Hearing his response made Radia chuckle even more.
From nowhere, Aria grunted, "It's been one or two days since you arrived, goodness…" She held her head. "So? What's her name?"
'Not "it"?'
Damien couldn't help but be surprised.
Not many people viewed Avatars as living beings that should be treated equally.
In fact, they were sometimes viewed as monsters that should be eliminated by some groups.
Misplaced priorities.
Aria might be spoiled, but she had her morals.
With one hand on his hip, Damien replied,
"Ava. A simple name, is it not?"
To which Aria gave a disgusted look.
"I don't care. Don't you dare forget about the deal we made, or I'll chop off your balls and feed them to the raptors."
Eh? Damien made a deal?
Let me know if you'd like a tone/style refinement next or want to continue the next segment!