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Chapter 409

With the Siren on the stage, she picked up her song, clearly amping up her game to compete with Celeste’s song. Using her puppeteer ability, the undead also began to dance. However, their choreography was simple. Clearly, the Siren had to focus on her own movements, and thus couldn’t control the undead. On top of that, not all of the undead were as flexible as her magician. The Knight, in particular, was even clunkier than the first guy she used.

She seemed to want to beat us. Perhaps she wanted better undead dancers. If we were defeated, then she could have her pick from my party. Well, if things got that bad, I’d try to escape using my Portal. Return didn’t work in combat. As for how I had escaped the Knights, it really was pure luck. The first man hadn’t finished his attack yet, so combat hadn’t been initiated. In short, I had only lived because of a technicality.

Portal was a bit more flexible, but I had a feeling that there might be limitations to it. For example, it might not be able to escape boss rooms. Even if I could leave dungeons now, I had a feeling that boss rooms had their own methods to force you to complete the challenge.

The Siren sang and danced across the hallway while her undead cohorts did a simple dance behind her. Her song was perhaps the most gripping yet, and her movements were very elegant and noble. As she danced, I was making sure to look at her with Monster Identify. At that moment, I started to notice something else about her that felt a bit different.

I had Slave Master equipped, and through it, I could feel some kind of slave magic on her. It wasn’t the same as the Slave Mark, but it felt similar. If I hadn’t had so many slaves and become so familiar with their marks, both by taking control of them and by resurrecting the five girls, I certainly wouldn’t have noticed it.

Was this the mark that allowed the dungeon to control monsters that it created? Out of curiosity, I checked her undead companions too. They also had some kind of mark on them, although it was different from hers. Not only was it less complex compared to her own, but it also had a different feel to it.

The Siren finished her dance, using the six undead to prop her up as she lay across their arms. At that point, she shot us a smug look. Her dance had truly been remarkable.

“Let me back in!” Shao cried out. “I can do it! I’ll beat her!”

“Are you sure your moves are dank enough to beat the Siren?!” I said, shooting her a severe look.

She turned away. “M-maybe…”

“Are you?”

She dropped her head shamefully. “No…”

“Then, our only choice is to use our ultimate weapon.” I stroked my non-existent mustache, “Celeste!”

“Ah! Y-yes!” She jumped again as I suddenly called her.

“Sing and dance… at once!”

“Two things?” she cried out as we all turned to her. “Ah… yes!”

She flew out to the front. It was a singer against a singer. Sylph against a Siren. The final round was on!

Chapter 410

Although it seemed like Lydia, the dancer, was the most suitable to defeat the siren’s performance, there was actually one girl who was an even better match-up. After all, Lydia was still bound by her legs. When it came to who was the fastest, the smoothest, or the most intricate, Celeste won hands down.

After all, she was a fairy of the wind. The fairy dance was an intricate part of their very being. Celeste began to fly, her body moving in intricate circles. Her glittery body caught the light, causing her movements to become even more exciting and eye-catching.

As for her song, it was something completely new. Fairies didn’t typically sing. However, a sylph could not just control the wind, but they could make vibrations that sounded just how they wanted. In short, she was able to merge both attributes at once! Right before our eyes, she seemed to create the first fairy song, an auditory manifestation of the fairy dance.

When combined together, it was a jaw-dropping sight that left everyone in a daze. We couldn’t even think to act as backup dancers to her movements. They weren’t needed, as she caught every eye. The song had no words but inflamed the soul. I felt energy and strength flowing in. I began to realize that not only was it a song, but it had magic infused in it as well. She had emulated the Siren’s ability and then improved upon it by several-fold.

I had the feeling that I was being hit with a buff that increased my strength and stamina. Similarly, the other side was being hit with a debuff. The bond between the undead was broken with a snap. I had been feeling out the mark on them when it suddenly was interrupted by her song, so I had a better feel for it now.

The six undead creatures fell to the ground in a heap. The siren, who was being held by them, was dropped onto the floor. She let out a cry as she hit the ground. Even though this happened, she was still looking at the Sylph floating through the air, unable to take her eyes away.

Celeste’s music didn’t just hold a magical power, but it also was beautiful enough to take one’s breath away. It sounded like gentle bells and the twinkling of stars. The song grew more and more powerful until the very air resonated. Suddenly, there was a feeling like mana was being sucked into her. The tremoring air grew until it felt dangerous for a moment. The Siren stood up, raising her hands as if she was about to attack.

It was at that moment, I noticed that the song was hitting her bond as well. I felt a sudden impulse to use the Slave Taker ability. I attacked her strange mark, attempting to take control of it. Unlike with slaves, this wasn’t easy at all. I could tell the Slave Taker ability wasn’t designed to handle this kind of mark. In fact, I felt like I was changing it on the fly to compensate. Furthermore, the Siren fought back, she let out a cry, but the sound was completely destroyed by Celeste’s rising music.

If Celeste’s music hadn’t first weakened the bond, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to do this, but suddenly my magic slipped into place and her bond became mine. At that exact moment, Celeste finished her dance. Glittery sparkles exploded out from her in the air, lighting up the entire room like a fireworks display.

{You have tamed a siren.}

{You have tamed a monster. You have unlocked the job, Monster Tamer.}

{You managed to tame a monster many levels higher than your current skill. You’ve gained additional experience.}

{Monster Tamer has increased to level 15!}

Chapter 411

I seemed to have gained 15 levels in Monster Tamer. Every job had two ways to level it. The first method was to do the job. For a blacksmith, it’d be blacksmithing. The second way was to battle with that job equipped. It was easy for someone like me who could use multiple jobs, but it was dangerous if not impossible for most people.

I was also a Support Class so unlike True Dungeon Diver or Magician, it leveled a bit easier than some of those other jobs. The only reason True Dungeon Diver had leveled so much is that I had completed so many dungeons. Had it been considered a support class, I’d probably have more levels than White Mage. Similarly, completing a difficult monster taming was apparently enough to give Monster Tamer a lot of levels.

I was excited because it was the ability I had wanted most after White Mage. My play style had always been to have a lot of pets and then send them into battle while I managed things from behind. Looking around at the five girls around me, I realized they might not be too happy about me replacing them with monsters.

Still, I managed to get the ability. I used my understanding of Slave Master to cheat a bit. A lower-level job like Slaver likely wouldn’t have been enough to do what I did. On top of that, Celeste’s song also had a major effect on my ability to do this.

“Ah, Celeste!” She had fallen to the ground at the end of her song.

I reached down and picked her up. She was only about a foot tall at the moment, as she needed to be this size to have the room to do her dance.

“M-master… I’m okay… just tired,” she responded breathily.

I used Refresh on her right away. As I did that, I checked her jobs. Her singing and dancing had also undergone some changes. Singer had risen up to level 25. This was an insane amount, but when you considered how well-matched she was with singing, it made sense that applying the lessons she got from the siren would cause experience buffs. However, she had also gained a new job, Magic Singer. This had only made it to level 2.

I assumed it was a lot like Magic Blacksmith. She had magician abilities already, and she mixed that with singer. She now had a new ability that allowed her to mix magic and singing. From now on, she’d be able to use songs as buffs if we needed it. This wasn’t quite as good as Miki’s buffs though, as she had to be actively singing for them to work. Furthermore, I imagine they wouldn’t affect monsters who couldn’t hear.

I checked Lydia too and found that her Dancer had increased to level 5. A quick look at Shao and she didn’t gain the Dancer ability. Well, her dancing was more like Tae Bo anyway, so it probably wasn’t enough to get it from one attempt.

As Celeste got back to her feet, or place as she sat on my shoulder, I noticed a small pile of glittery ash on the floor. I immediately recognized this substance, although it had been a long time since I had seen it.

“Fairy Dust,” I said excitedly. “Celeste, you made fairy dust!”

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