The bond between Dengu and I stretched as he followed Alex into the fields.
Laughter danced over the area as I stepped through the archway. Azura folks raced from one area to another, all barely over level 50. Children.
“You never see this many young ones,” whispered Kabi as he grinned at the sight. “Our village rarely had a child, and each was a celebrated occasion.”
“Well, this is a safe area for them to learn, right?” As much as I didn’t want to leave Dengu’s side, I knew I had to head this way. Something pulled me along, something I needed to find.
Kabi’s grin flickered, and his fists spasmed.
“It is,” said Professor Verti, stepping closer to the two of us. “I see you are a diplomat. While we don’t have someone in that profession here, you might find some of the skills that the teachers can offer will help your path.”
I nodded, though I didn’t feel like I needed to come for skills. Pain radiated off Kabi.
“You, young man, are something else,” he said while glancing at Kabi. “Your bloodlines say you should dance, yet you don’t.”
“My parents are both Blade Dancers, and I am a Sword Warrior.” Kabi bowed his head. “I walk my own path. My parents are the exceptions to a normal path, not I.”
Professor Verti smiled. “For your class, you might want to look into Runes more than you have.”
Kabi chuckled. Everything about him relaxed. “Runes are my brother's craft, but I’d love to learn more about maintaining my swords.”
“You mean, like with a whetstone?” I asked, feeling that pull from Kabi and the Professor. It had something to do with this conversation. “Doesn’t a blacksmith do that?”
The Professor stared at Kabi for a moment. “Becoming a Blade Master is something that would help your current class, but I’d encourage you to head to the music lessons first.”
Here. This was why I was here.
Kabi hesitated.
His path flickered in my mind along a sharp edge that he needed to go over.
I pushed. “That sounds interesting. How about we both go?”
I smiled at the much taller man, who normally hunched over to make Alex and I more comfortable.
“We can see that first,” he mumbled, not meeting the glance of the Professor. “But I want to learn how to keep my swords sharp.”
###
The hair raised at the back of my neck and I danced back, but curved off to one side.
My instincts saved me as the creature moved faster than I could see. One second, it had launched the attack, the next it stood close to where I’d been with its claws stretched out.
Its tail sparkled again and I dodged, but this time the knuckles on my left hand burned as claws broke free. Glowing white lines filled the air, landing right where the Prancer ended its lunge.
The lines tore through one of its claws. The strike distracted the creature enough that it didn’t dodge as Dengu slammed into its back. His teeth latched onto the armored tail as the creature flailed.
I dove back in, slicing at its face as a distraction with my claws. Yet, the hit landed hard as more white lines were carved into several of its eyes.
The approaching line of creatures slowed down as the Lightning bug screamed in pain. More light gathered along the tip of its tail, then it crept down the segments.
Dengu leaped back, but not fast enough as something sizzled.
The light continued closer as I stabbed again at the creature’s face with my claws, then rolled away scratching at its side with my knife.
Something small squealed and its remaining eyes looked away from us. The light suddenly paused and crackled across its body. Its tail exploded, and gore went flying.
Strange giggled inside my head as he dashed back into my shadow.
Dengu didn’t wait, leaping on the back of the still-standing Prancer and digging in.
I kept my eyes on the line of creatures no longer approaching. Finally, it clicked.
Strange had distracted the Prancer mid-strike and it’d backfired. The approaching line was probably meant to harvest us, and now didn’t know what to do.
With a smile, I launched across the sand at the creatures.
Suddenly, one threw something in our direction and scurried off. Several others did as well, as they panicked.
I paused as things thudded into the sand.
More notifications dinged, but I kept them out of sight until Dengu padded my way while I stared at the objects.
[Metal Ingot.]
There were way more than five scattered across the sands, slowly heating up in the sunlight. I tossed the first into my inventory, then quickly gathered them all. The stack of fifteen made me smile.
The remains of the dead Prancers sizzled in the heat as I backtracked to see if I could harvest anything from them. A foul smell came from the carcasses, and my nose said no.
Even Strange turned his nose up at them.
Yet, I was hungry, just not for that. It just smelled wrong.
The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
I pulled some of the fish out of my inventory, and we each ate some.
Then I turned around to head back to the ruins. Yet, as I twisted, a broken wall appeared in front of us.
We stepped inside for a break from the blasting overhead sun, as unlikely as the shelter was. This was definitely strange, even for a dungeon, though I had to admit my experience was relatively limited.
A cool breeze came from within the walls, and a small basin of water rested against one wall. Drips of water came from a stone spout. An empty fire circle took up the center of the space, with just enough space around it to rest.
A notification broke through the pause.
[You have entered a safe zone in the labyrinth. No fighting may occur within the bounds.]
Strange leaped from his sling and raced across the stone toward the basin of water.
Dengu slowly entered and his arms relaxed.
“So itchy,” he grumbled.
“Where?” I studied the contraption holding the metal claw.
He lifted the metal claw. “Under it.”
“Want some help?”
He nodded.
I quickly figured out the straps and buckles, removing the artificial limb. The scar tissue felt a little warm. My eyes narrowed, and I pulled out my healing crystal, touching it to the area. Energy flowed from it to Dengu’s scar, and the warmth went away.
“Oh, better…” Dengue nodded at me, then headed to the basin as well.
Strange had hit level 50 during that fight, but hadn’t done his rank up yet. This safe area showing up just at the right time made me smile. The dungeon did make it easier. Though, that was the entire point of this area – to get to level 50.
My stack of notifications mocked me, and I sat down near the empty campfire. I opened them to see what was up.
[You have gained experience from combat from a Shocking Prancer.]
[You have gained experience from combat from a Shocking Prancer.]
[You have gained experience from combat from a Shocking Prancer.]
[You have gained experience from combat from a Shocking Prancer.]
While I didn’t get a level, it was still progress.
I had plenty of free stat points to allocate, but I held off as Strange dashed toward me, excitement practically overflowing our bond.
“Are you ready to rank up?” I asked with a smile.
[Strange, Bonded Baby Compy, Level 50, Bonded]
He nodded and glanced up at Dengu, chirping a question at the large dinosaur.
“You will find your path,” replied Dengu.
Strange nodded, then curled up in my lap, before going frighteningly still. Power rocketed along the bond.
My vision flickered as I focused on him, his aura coming into view. It glowed like a dark sun. Black and purple light flared off of his core, reaching out and creating shadows. The connection between the two of us sparkled like obsidian.
Notifications popped up as the bond flared.
[Scavenger Shade: You are on a path of opportunism and covert survival. You use stealth to access overlooked resources and consume them efficiently. Opponents often overlook you, giving you the advantage. The darkness welcomes you home.]
[Nipping Swarm: Burst of multiple bites with an increase to venomous abilities.]
[Shadow Flicker: Over the short range, you can use a quick burst of movement that makes it harder to target you. This is increased within shadows.]
[You have merged Shadow Flicker and Shadow Embrace to create: Shadow Shift - II: You are a blur of evasive movement, and while merged in shadows, extremely difficult to pinpoint. You can hide, travel, and remain connected to your bonded while in any shadow. Within your bonded’s shadow, you border on intangibility.]
Then his stat sheet appeared.
Name: Strange
Level: 51
Race: Compy
Traits: Nimbleness, Observant, Frail
Bonded: Alex, the First, +2
Bonded Trait: Adaptation
Class: Scavenger Shade
Stats:
STR: 50
QUICK: 82
FLEX: 72
TOUGH: 60
INT: 37
FORT: 37
WILL: 34
CHA: 69
Titles:
Citizen-in-Training
Skill: 5/10
Predictive Awareness
Shadow Shift - II
Venomous Bite
Nipping Swarm
Distraction - II
His stats still felt so low, and I wondered if it had something to do with the fact that he didn’t have a profession, and the downside of the frail trait. I focused on trying to pull up more information, but nothing happened.
Black eyes stared up at me.
“I grow!” His voice came out all broken, but clearly out loud, not just in my head.
His title of Citizen-In-Training confused me. I thought all creatures, folks or beasts, needed to become a citizen by level 50 or they lost the chance. Yet, here he was.
Maybe each world was different? This was a higher-ranked world.
“You did, little guy. We can finish the quest, then head to the academies where you might be able to learn a profession…”
“He is bonded,” said Dengu, interrupting my statement. “Level bond get better rewards.”
“What do you mean?”
“Bond grows and rewards grow.” Bright yellow eyes glared at me. “Profession less reward.”
“Yes, but how do I grow the bond?”
“Fighting together, and being pack…” He blinked this time and tilted his head upward.
This time, I smiled. “We can do that, can’t we, little guy?”
Strange nodded his head three times then glanced toward the exit of the safe area. “Leave?”
“Not yet, rest for a moment. You just ranked up.” I ate another piece of meat from my inventory and Strange’s head snapped to it in my hand. I tossed him a piece and he caught it in the air.
Dengu’s stomach rumbled as well and I tossed him a chunk the size of Strange. We all rested around the dead campfire for several moments as we all gnawed on meat. My stomach felt better with every bite, though the bond between Strange and I tugged at my mind.
It felt different.
He felt older. Less like someone I had to keep alive at all costs, and more like a packmate. After we turned in this quest, we needed to go fight something and see what happened. As soon as we all finished the meat, I stood up and stretched.
Time to get this show on the road.
I led the way out of the room.
[You are leaving a safe zone.]
The archway opened up to the forge where the Hunter still worked. He glanced up as we all entered, his helmet first going to Strange.
“Good, he isn’t a baby anymore.”
I stepped closer, but Strange raced by me and stared at the metal in the hunter's fire.
“I have the ingots for you.” I said as I pulled the five of them out of my inventory and tossed them one by one in his direction. He caught them with ease, each vanishing as soon as they touched his gloves.
[Your team has completed the Ruinous Hunter’s quest. As a reward, you have gained experience and 10 free stat points.]
[You have leveled.]
I’d take that.
[Strange has leveled.]
[Strange has leveled.]
[Your bond has grown.]
The line stretching between us thickened and, for a split second, I could feel the heat coming from the forge in front of Strange.
The warmth felt comforting and safe, though I didn’t like the bright light. The bright light should go away. Darkness was better.
Much better.
Strange's head turned toward me, and the connection lessened as he chirped. “More quest?”
