Well, that’s not ominous at all. I really hope that doesn’t trigger “kill on sight” if I run into other people at some point. It’s probably too much to hope for that other people can’t see titles.

  Lanek focused on his new title.

  I like the gains, but what exactly do I need to do to capture the interest of the Void? And do I really want to? As usual, I need more information and no one to provide it.

  The snow leopard yowled at him loudly, interrupting his examination of his status. “Right, I’m not out of here yet. Let’s go before something else decides it wants to wear me like a skin suit.”

  The leopard followed him to the nearby gate. As Lanek passed through the gate and toward the forest ahead of him, he heard a quiet chuff behind him. Turning back, he saw the snow leopard watching him from the gate.

  His heart sinking, he could feel the sadness radiating from the cat. Longing came off the cat in waves when it turned its attention to the forest.

  “Do you want to come with me?” Lanek asked.

  The cat chuffed and made to walk forward but some invisible force prevented it from passing through. Remembering the visions from earlier and the cat’s loneliness, the last thing he wanted to do was leave it in this hellish place for eternity.

  Lanek approached and sat on the ground in front of the cat, scratching its head lightly. The cat leaned into Lanek’s hand, savoring the feeling. After a brief moment, the cat growled quietly and pushed Lanek toward the forest with its head.

  “Not yet, buddy.” Lanek whispered, staring at the cat, trying to come up with some way to help.

  He couldn’t see anything, but he could sense something attached to the cat. Following the sense, he could feel a link extending into the distance, deep into the city.

  “Is the dungeon keeping you here?”

  The snow leopard nodded in response. Lanek focused on the cat, willing the link to become visible, all the while hoping that [Etheric Presence] was up to the task. Unfortunately, the link did not manifest.

  Fine. It scales with Spirit, right? I should have some points to spend after taking down the crypt stalker.

  He continued to scratch the cat’s head while he called up his status. There we go.

  Uh, what are my options?

  Okay, I’m going to hope that’s a good thing.

  What the hell? Another thing taking an interest in me? Not sure I like that, but if this primordial’s offer can help me, who am I to argue? Lanek placed his focus on Soulbinder.

  Startled by the description, Lanek quickly accepted the class. A mythical class bestowed by a higher being that values freedom? There weren’t really any obvious downsides.

  Lanek felt dizzy as something swept through him, almost as if he was being remade. It must be the increased stats. He guessed as he pulled up his status.

  Wait, there’s something off here. I get 5 free points from my class and 2 from my title per level, which means I should only have 35 free points. Where did the other 15 come from? Species maybe?

  Lanek chuckled to himself. It sounded like the System was both calling him weak and providing recompense for dragging him here.

  Time to see what my new skill does so we can get the hell away from here.

  LET’S GO! Lanek activated his new skill immediately with his eyes locked on the snow leopard before him. The snow leopard’s head shot up in surprise, tentative feelings of hope leaking out of him. It regarded the space in front of him for a moment before the System chimed.

  Lanek could feel the dungeon’s grip on Kazuma intensify, the binding trying to prevent the contract. Kazuma struggled to step forward, form becoming blurry. Suddenly, Lanek felt a massive presence descend on the area, severing the dungeon’s link to the cat and causing a pulse of outrage to radiate from the dungeon.

  Before Lanek could give much thought as to whether it was the System or Primordial that enforced the contract, he felt a weight slam into his chest. Falling onto his back, Lanek looked up into the face of the mist cat, Kazuma. Smiling broadly, he scratched the mist cat, feeling happy at the thought that he would not be here alone and that Kazuma was free of his lonely purgatory.

  “Alright, let me up Kazuma, we need to find some shelter before night falls.”

  Reluctantly, Kazuma complied and allowed Lanek to stand. When Lanek gazed down at his companion, he couldn’t believe what he saw.

  “Uh, Kazuma? How did you get a physical body?” he asked. Kazuma looked at himself, radiating confusion, followed rapidly by excitement. He burst through the gate and began rolling and writhing in a patch of sunlit grass. The sheer joy coming from the mist cat threatened to bring Lanek to tears.

  The new physical form was not the only thing that had changed for the mist cat. Kazuma was substantially smaller now. Where before the cat had reached Lanek’s waist, now Kazuma only reached just below Lanek’s knee. Lanek wrote that off to the cost of the contract and Kazuma’s lost levels.

  Lanek stepped toward the writhing cat when a notification appeared before him.

  The forest ahead was thick, but seemed infinitely more welcoming than the city. Lanek knew he had to remain cautious, this world was bound to have monsters and predators that were not tied to a dungeon.

  Looking at his attributes, Lanek decided to take a moment to distribute his free points. After all, how embarrassing would it be to die with unspent stat points? He ran into a problem immediately.

  Guess I’ll have to find another way to increase that, especially if I want more companions. Let’s see, I get +3 constitution, +1 perception, +4 resolve, and +1 spirit per level, but nothing in strength or dexterity. That’s going to be problem if I get into another fight. More stamina would be nice too, especially since I don’t know how long I’ll be wandering the forest before finding shelter.

  He allocated 17 points to strength, 14 to dexterity, and 8 to perception. This cost him 39 points and brought those stats to 20, a nice round number that pleased him. Lanek briefly considered bringing resolve to 30, but decided against it as his next level up would take care of that on its own.

  Sighing, he added the remainder of his points to constitution. Sure, this brought constitution to an uneven number and it was one of the attributes that went up without the need for free points every level, but he it felt like the right call. If this was anything like the games back home, constitution should control his health, stamina, and possibly his healing rate.

  As soon as he finalized his stat allocations, he knew he had made the right choice. His HP jumped to 155, confirming his suspicions that each point of constitution gave him 5 health points. He also felt healthier, like he could run for miles with little issue.

  I’m going to have to be careful with that rush, it could get addicting.

  Lanek felt a soft touch on his hand as Kazuma nuzzled him. Side-by-side, Lanek and Kazuma left the city behind and entered the forest.