Dungeon of Niflheim

There was downsides of course, mainly for Frost. He would be weakened for a short time (longer if the monster was stronger) and the frost troll gaining a modicum of his power would be less constrained. The restrictions placed upon it by the Dungeon would loosen, the frost troll could very much develop its own self-interests, choosing to rebel against Frost if it saw him as an obstacle. Of course, the chances of that were low, Frost was stronger and still growing. There was also the wild card that was Maya, a legendary S-rank Fenrir. The frost troll would struggle to rebel against such power even if it evolved an entire rank plus the troll had strong feelings towards its creator. The loosening of restrictions wouldn’t affect its base personality, hopefully making that scenario mute. If Frost named the polar bear however it could have ended as such, given that it didn’t hold much respect for him.

Now all Frost had to do was come up with a name worthy of such a loyal subordinate. Thankfully it seemed as though his naming sense was pretty spot on, given the reactions of those around him. He didn’t find this task too daunting and to be honest he had always been thinking of names for his monsters.

However, those names were more inclined to suit goblins since originally the plan was to name the first monster to reach max level, which would likely have been a goblin. Frost already took a quick look in that department. One of the goblin’s had reached level nine just one level away, it was the really cool one that drew first blood for him.

“Seems I can’t talk you out of it young master haaaaaaa have you decided on a name? The sooner you act the better the troll’s chances will be.” Maya gave up on convincing Frost to not waste his naming opportunities. Each tamer/summoner tended to have a set number of entities they could name with the benefits of a power up. After such number it would just be a regular naming without any further bond being established.

“I have some idea, just give me a minute.” Frost waved her off as though she was distracting his thought process. The frost troll couldn’t clearly hear them while it laid on its recovery bed but felt happy. Having its creator so close brought it warmth and strength, its wounds even hurt less.

Frost pondered for a good few minutes, his hand cupping his chin and his brow tensed as he narrowed down his choices. He tried to narrow down the names to ones that were synonymise with ice given their location and the monster’s species.

“Got it,” eventually he made a decision, isolating the perfect name for the troll. He walked over to the troll’s bedside, taking its hand in his.

“Frost troll, for your exceptional service in defence of the dungeon while I was absent and your fine management skills I’ve decided to reward you with a name.” Frost spoke with a noble tone one that he copied from Leo and Douglas. It suited him quite well.

.....

The frost troll understood its master, its eyes grew red as its body filled with fervent pride. ‘A name, master will grant me name.’

Frost smiled, happy with the troll’s reaction. He turned to face Maya.

“Is there anything special that I need to do?” He was all gung-ho and ready to grant the troll a name, but such a special ceremony should have a proper process, right?

“Not really, but supposedly it helps if you place your palm on top of the monster’s head. The rest should work itself out.” Maya had never contracted or summoned anything herself, so she wasn’t too clear on how tamers and others went about doing this sort of thing. The dungeon however should help cover those short comings given that it created/summoned the monsters in the first place.

“Alright then here I go.” Frost moved his hand and placed it on the troll’s cold forehead and closed his eyes, the troll did the same, shutting its eyes, nervous with anticipation.

“I Frost grant you the name....Findlay.” Frost spoke once again in a regal tone adding great effect to the ceremony. The moment Frost said the name he felt a surge of power gather within his chest before it flew rapidly up his arm. The power smashed into the frost troll’s head knocking it and Frost backwards.

Frost skidded across the floor, unhurt but a little surprised and worried. That was a large amount of mana as well as divine energy that flowed through his body. Could the frost troll endure such volatile power in its current state? Anxious, Frost opened his eyes open to see what happened to his monster. Maya quickly moved behind him to protect from any danger, she could feel his strength seeping away, the ceremony took out a lot more than expected.

Before the two of them floating above the recovery bed, the frost troll or Findlay was twitching and convulsing as the power of divine energy and mana barrelled throughout its body, painfully augmenting it.

“Urrrrghhhhh!” Findlay groaned in pain, his entire body tensed and on fire. He could feel his injuries being forcible closed and healed, his very bones being shattered and remoulded into a new form. His skin stretching, tearing, and thickening rapidly becoming stronger, more flexible, and supple. His muscles and organs weren’t spared either nor was his brain. All this change was happening over the course of several seconds yet due to the intense pain it felt like hours. Findlay started to regret being granted such a reward, the pain was nigh unbearable.

“Ahhhhhhh!” Findlay roared out once more, his arms flaying open, and his eyes no longer shut. His body started to glow, the intensity rapidly rising until eventually his entire body was eclipsed by the light then suddenly.

Boom!

With what sounded and felt like a sonic boom, the light sphere exploded, rippling out a wave of energy that frightened the monsters in the glade, Nanna and Loki included. They were knocked off their feet by the blast but were luckily caught by a couple frost dwarves, saving them from injuries. All the monsters looked on in fear and curiosity towards the recovery room, that release of power was far stronger than D-rank.

Back in the recovery room, after being forced to cover their eyes in defence, Frost and Maya could now see what happened.

“Wow” Maya responded with a single word; shock evident in her expression. This went completely against her expectations.

Standing before the two of them, on top of a now broken recovery bed was Findlay in all his glory. He was fair bit taller than previously, at least by a metre or so. His skin was no longer as dark, appearing more like a pale blue. Far more resilient, as though steel would struggle to pierce it. His frame remained much the same just a tad bigger muscle wise but far more toned. His facial features were more humanoid with his tusks (newly formed) actually shrinking somewhat but becoming far denser. His eyes showed far more intelligence as they looked around the room. Hard to believe that the same monster was bedridden at death’s door just a minute ago. All his injuries were fully healed (including his missing arm) and his strength, miles beyond what it was previously. Frost had against all odds drawn the largest jackpot.

Frost was in awe with the transformation quickly laughing out loud, he succeeded, his right hand was back and better than ever.

Findlay was still coming too; the sound of his master’s voice allowed his thoughts to coalesce. He looked down at his new body in even more shock than his observers.

‘Is this really me?’ He held up his now much stronger arms, clenching and unclenching his fists. Next, he stretched other muscles to get a good feel for his new body but the thing that shocked him most was his mind. He now knew so much more; he could easily speak common tongue and the lessons Frost taught him before he left the Dungeon made sense now. He was far more intelligent.

Frost laughed some more before walking up to the much taller Findlay.

“Congratulations on your recovery Findlay.” He patted Findlay’s shoulder while nodding appreciatively. Findlay was momentarily speechless, not use to the name yet.

‘Findlay, Findlay, my name is Findlay hahahhaa.’ Findlay repeated his name in his mind as he was overcome with joy. A second later he stood backwards and kneeled down like a knight before his master.

“Findlay greets you master, thank you for such a divine gift.” He spoke with his arm across his chest, with a reverent tone. His eyes glistened with pure admiration as he gazed up as his master, his loyalty unquestionable.

And with that the naming ceremony was complete, Frost now had a far more powerful monster under his control.

1) For anyone interested, Findlay is a Scottish name meaning white warrior. It comes originally from the Gaelic name Fionlagh.