Michael did not freak out, on the outside at least. On the inside his mind was alternatively screaming and giggling but on the outside he calmly walked back into the last chamber and sat down against one wall, keeping his eyes on the egg the entire time. By the time he had sat down the egg had developed another crack, and Michael had gotten a bit more excited. The rest of the team gathered around, curious to see the new arrival.

Over the next couple of minutes the egg continued to crack, though it didn't seem like it was any closer to actually hatching. Michael's excitement had waned somewhat, the initial excitement and nervousness fading as, despite the many cracks, nothing had come out. Michael was starting to wonder when something was actually going to happen when the egg exploded, shocking everyone. The egg pieces dissolved into pure Mana in midair, adding an impact to the shock.

What was left, sitting there in Michaels lap, was a bear cub. The bear cub had brown fur all over and it had the most adorable little face. As it stared up at him, Michael felt a connection deep down in his soul. It felt as if his soul had always been missing something and he only realised it had been missing now that he found it, here in the eyes of this beautiful creature. Taking the bear into his arms Michael held it close, still gazing into its eyes. The bear cub reached a paw up and touched his cheek, Michaels heart melting. And then it dug its claws into his face.

Michael held the little bear in his arms, far away from his face, and activated his Taming skill. He had gotten the skill all the way back in the Tutorial but he'd had little use for it thanks to a lack of viable targets. The skill only worked on Magical animals, not monsters, so he had failed to level it up or even use it before. Michael had still tried, of course, but nothing had happened.

As Michael activated the skill he felt a connection form between his soul and the bear's in a far more literal and substantial sense. As the connection was forming he felt a shift in the Mana residing within him and the connection was boosted, increasing in strength and depth. If the previous connection was like a wooden walkway the boosted connection was like a concrete bridge. Michael guessed it was the Enhanced Bond skill that boosted the connection. As the connection completed several notifications popped into his mind.

Taming Successful!

You have successfully tamed a Nyo Bear Cub

Taming Skill Level Up!

Level 1 -> Level 4

Achievement Earned!

By gaining a soul companion you have earned the Twinned Soul achievement.

Twinned Soul: Soul Companions gain increased/decreased experience when their levels are lower/higher than the other. When soul companions are the same level they gain 5% increased experience.

Michael was surprised, he hadn't expected a single use to level Taming three times. Either the skill was ridiculously easy to level, unlikely, or taming a Nyo Bear Cub just gave that much skill experience. The twinned soul achievement wasn't expected either, though Michael thought it was perfect. If the cub gained increased experience then it would be that much quicker before it could protect itself in a fight.

Michael pulled up the Cub's information, the option to do so having appeared on his Status sheet.

Soul Companion Status Name - Age 3 Minutes Level 1 Experience 0 / 100 Race Nyo Bear Cub Tier 1 Health 40 Mana 40 Health Regen 2 per min Mana Regen 2 per min Attributes Strength 5 Agility 4 Vitality 6 Dexterity 3 Perception 4 Magic 5 Skills General Earth Armor lvl 1 Stone Spikes lvl 1 Regrowth lvl 1 Thorny Retribution lvl 1 Affinities Earth 25% Nature 25%

"Guess I have to name you." Michael said.

The cub had been looking around curiously at everyone but turned back to Michael when it heard his voice. Michael looked into the face of this fuzzy ball of adorableness as he tried to think of a name. He had never been that great with naming, he once had a hamster named cheeks. He looked up at the team. "Any ideas?"

The team had plenty, though not all of them were good. Princess fluffykins was a particularly terrible one. With each name Michael checked with the cub but the little bear didn't seem to like any of them. Eventually Michael struck gold with Hazel, the name of a tree and also the color of the bears eyes.

From that point on Michael was no longer scouting out the traps. Hazel could walk but she refused to leave Michael's side and loved to be held by him. Since he wasn't going to take his companion into trap filled tunnels, Anne threatened to remove certain parts of his anatomy if he even tried, that meant that Damien was now the soloing the traps. Michael was still going to be taking down the Rootkin, hopefully with an assist from Hazel.

Since they had already cleared the traps Michael and Hazel, along with an entirely too nervous Anne anda slightly grumpy Sam, went through the tunnel to face the next group of Rootkin. Anne had demanded to be there in case Hazel got hurt and dragged Sam along to protect the cub. As soon as they entered the next chamber Michael spotted the difference from the previous chambers. Not only had the number of Rootkin had increased to three but they were now armed. They only had wooden clubs so it wasn't much of a step up but it was still a difference.

Michaels arrow took out the first Rootkin before they had time to react but the other two started charging towards Michael as he nocked another arrow. Michael was about to Dupli-Cast some Vine Traps to keep them at bay when Hazel suddenly gave a little high-pitched roar and scrambled to stand in front of Michael. Before he could react several stone spikes shot up from under one of the Rootkins feet tripping the monster. Michael was so surprised he almost forgot to cast the spell, he hadn't expected Hazel to join in the fighting so quickly.

He didn't forget though, vines bursting out of the ground and wrapping around the Rootkin. The one on the ground being even more wrapped than normal, like a leafy cocoon. Michael put a Magic Arrow infused arrow into the cocooned Rootkins head, killing it.

Tier 2 Level 20 Rootkin Killed!

Participation: 93%

Ranger Experience gained: 186

Modifier for Perks: 100%

Modifiers for Achievements: -50%

Total Ranger Experience Gained: 279

Michael checked Hazels Status.

Soul Companion Status Name Hazel Age 3 Minutes Level 2 Experience 110 / 200 Race Nyo Bear Cub Tier 1 Health 40 Mana 70 Health Regen 2 per min Mana Regen 3.5 per min Attributes Strength 5 Agility 4 Vitality 6 Dexterity 4 Perception 6 Magic 7 Skills General Earth Armor lvl 1 Stone Spikes lvl 2 Regrowth lvl 1 Thorny Retribution lvl 1 Affinities Earth 25% Nature 25%

Michael was confused, Hazels attributes definitely went up, but he wasn't quite sure how much. He quickly scrolled up the chapter to Hazels previous Status and compared the two. Some quick math showed him that Hazel gained 5 Attribute Points from the one level. Michael looked down at the cub, noticing that Hazel had grown by about half a foot, now reaching roughly two feet. Focusing back on the fight Michael saw that the Rootkin was about to break out of the Vine Trap, some of the vines already snapping, so he cast another Vine Trap, this time from the side of the tunnel.

Turning to the cub, Michael asked "Hey Hazel, do you want to go bite that guy a bit?"

The cub looked at Michael, tongue hanging out the side of her mouth. She looked incredibly cute but entirely uncomprehending. Shrugging, Michael tried to project the idea of Hazel biting the Rootkin through the companion bond. It seemed to work as Hazel turned to the Rootkin and started growling. After a quick glance back at him, Hazel charged at the Rootkin, Anne watching nervously from the side. There was no need to be nervous though, only about 12% of the Rootkins body was even visible thanks to all the vines wrapped around it.

Hazel body slammed into the Rootkin with all the force of a two foot long bear cub, doing absolutely nothing. The Rootkin was far too 'rooted', heh, to budge. Hazel picked herself up and shook her head. Growling at the Rootkin, as if it was somehow to blame for not moving, and bit the part of its leg that was exposed.

After a few seconds of gnawing Michael called Hazel back. His spell was powerful but the Rootkin seemed to be especially resistant to it, breaking through the vines quicker than they really should have. Since they were that much higher a level than Hazel Michael would rather be safe than sorry, especially with Anne giving him a death glare every few seconds. As soon as Hazel was clear he started Dupli-Casting Magic Arrows, hoping to level up either skill. A few seconds later and it was all over.

Tier 2 Level 20 Rootkin Killed!

Participation: 89%

Ranger Experience gained: 178

Modifier for Perks: 100%

Modifiers for Achievements: -50%

Total Ranger Experience Gained: 267

Bonus: Rooted Potion x1

Sadly, none of his skills levelled but Hazel did. Checking her Status Michael saw that her Agility and Strength went up by two and her Vitality by one. Michael was happy that his guess had been correct. The last time Hazel had levelled she had used her Stone Spikes spell and had increased her Magic, Perception and Dexterity. Michael had guessed that the attributes she used most when levelling were the ones to be increased. To test this Michael had Hazel only use physical attacks to level in the hopes that it would increase her physical attributes.

Happy that his idea worked Michael looked at the Rooted Potion that he had gotten. The potion was interesting, doubling Mana and Health Regen but literally rooted the drinker in place. Useful yet potentially deadly. With the Rootkin dead, the group moved on and slowly got used to the new addition to the group. For the most part Hazel was quiet and sweet, right until something threatened Michael. Then the cub switched from sweet and adorable to aggressively protective and adorable.

Her skills reflected her protective nature, Stone Spike being the only actual attacking spell Hazel had. Earth Armor did as advertised and coated the target in a layer of Earth Elemental Mana that reduced physical damage. Thorny Retribution did something similar except it reflected damage rather than reducing it. The two skills used together was a wonderful combination and made Sam all giddy as he waded into fights covered in thorny armor as Rootkin threw themselves at him.

As they continued to move through the dungeon Hazel continued to level, growing rapidly both in strength and size. By the time they reached the final room containing the boss Hazel was level nine and no longer the small adorable bear cub but was now bigger than Anne, a fact that brought tears to Anne's eyes every time. No longer could she pick Hazel up and give her a cuddle. Anne resorted to cuddling Julio Fluffykins, the wolf cub she had gotten in the previous dungeon, and swearing that she would never let him level. It wouldn't work, levelling sped up growth massively but not levelling wouldn't stop the Julio growing, just slow it down. Anne wasn't aware of that and the Author didn't want her to cry, so she continued to remain blissfully unaware.

The boss room contained a grand total of eleven Rootkin: five soldiers, three mages, two healers and the boss, the Rootkin General. Rootkin types like the Soldier and Mage had started showing up after the fifth room. Whilst the continued to stay at the same level the difficulty ramped up massively. The soldiers carried actual weapons and armor, made from wood as strong as metal, and the Mages cast spells similar to Michaels, poisoning and binding the the team. By the time they reached the eighth chamber the entire team had gotten involved, the fights becoming a genuine challenge.

After a quick discussion they entered the chamber, Olivia initiating the fight like last time. As soon as they were through the barrier Michael unleashed a Dupli-Cast of Boulder Throw as well as an arrow imbued with another Boulder Throw all at the Healers. This might have seemed like overkill but the Healers were the most dangerous, capable of healing Rootkin from the brink of death to full health in a second and buffing the soldiers, making them that much harder to kill. The boulder barrage wasn't the only attack heading the Healers way, Olivia smashed them with a Dupli-Cast of Fireballs.

The entire barrage was necessary as Rootkin Soldiers threw themselves in the path of the boulders, saving the healers at the cost of most of their health. Or at least, they would have, if not for the Fireballs. The explosion was a thing of beauty and completely wiped out the healers as well as the three soldiers. The battle was far from over but the biggest challenge was gone with the healers dead.

The Rootkin General was the next biggest challenge, the creature capable of massively boosting his troops power and coordination. Worst of all, the General could call on three more Rootkin every minute, making it a battle of attrition. In order to win, the team needed to constantly put out a large amount of firepower. The best tactic would be to take out the General first, decreasing the difficulty of the fight immensely, but that was nearly impossible. One of the Generals skills, Heart of the Troops, increased his Vitality by five points for every Rootkin under his command. Since Bosses already started out with ten times the Health of ordinary monsters it made one-shotting the guy nearly impossible.

He could still be trapped though, stopping him from engaging in the battle personally, which is what Michael did. Whilst Sam and an Earth elemental, courtesy of Olivia, held the line against the soldiers and Olivia and Damien harassed the Mages, Michael used Vine Traps to completely cocoon the General. Just for fun he also used a Poison Spores infused arrow to get a head start on killing the monster, only to receive a notification that the General was immune to poison.

During all the fighting Hazel had been making liberal use of her skills. Thorny armor on Sam and the elemental as well as Regrowth, a somewhat decent healing skill, and Stone Spikes popping up here and there. The bear desperately needed to raise her skills, fighting higher Tiered enemies was wonderful for her level but her skill levels were lagging behind. Michael would likely have to find some low level enemies for her to fight later on in order for the skills to develop properly.

The battle didn't last long, the death of the Healers and the incapacitation of the General making a big impact to the difficulty of the boss fight. The General still called more Rootkin, even while doing an impression of a vine burrito, but it still fell eventually. It was a close call though, Michael had to constantly recast the Vine Trap skill as the boss kept breaking free, leaving him with precious little Mana by the end of it. Even with his ridiculous Regen he still needed to take the Rooted potion just to handle it. The Poison Spores failure turned out to be quite costly. Which is why, as the boss fell and Michael was bombarded with notifications, he remained standing where he was, literally rooted in place with another minute left on the potion timer.

He didn't care though as, buried in all the notifications, there was one notification that made him overjoyed. Hazel had hit level 10, she was evolving.