For a moment, Luc stood there in shock. His eyes flickered down to his abdomen. The long blade stuck through his body, silver and thin, cold against his flesh. Abruptly, the blade withdrew, tearing from his body and dropping him to his knees. Luc didn’t feel any pain, only the incessant duress of dread.

I need to get out of here!

The blade shot forth once more, missing his face by a sliver. Mind still numb from the shock, Luc could only rely on the little instincts he had. Leaping to the side, he tumbled behind a large stalactite. When he regained his bearings, he propped himself up, back pressed against the pillar of stone. Chest heaving, he peeked out from around the stalactite. Squinting, he could make out a pair of glowing orange eyes with horizontal pupils. As soon as their eyes met, the eyes of the monster vanished.

It’s coming!

“Cloud, go distract that thing!” shouted Luc.

Cloud leaped into action, bounding towards the darkness. As the dragon whelp approached, the monster unleashed its blade once more, hurtling towards Cloud. Cloud pounced to the side, letting the blade puncture the ground next to him. The impact shattered the floor of the cave, sending rock splinters flying.

Turning away from the fight, Luc looked down at his injury. He had gotten hit and thrown around in his tomb escapades, but never stabbed. Hands trembling, Luc pressed down on the wound, trying his best to stop the bleeding. The momentary shock had mostly passed, and Luc was now aware of a burning pain searing his body. Gritting his teeth, he took a couple of the mushrooms and hurled them over his shoulder, illuminating the area nearby.

In the dim light, Luc could see Cloud fighting with what looked to be a giant toad, about two feet in length. Its skin was gray and warty, with a black swirled pattern laced across its back. The toad was surprisingly agile for its size, using a combination of hops and scrabbles to navigate the chamber. Luc’s eyes widened as he realized that the shooting blade had been its tongue, which seemed to be able to sharpen and harden into a blade like structure when extended. Needless to say, Cloud, with no Bloodline and only a single non-combat skill, was largely on the retreat, doing his best to avoid the toad’s attacks.

He can’t last forever!

Luc swung his pack off his shoulder, wincing at the twist of his body. Vision blurring a little, Luc rummaged inside, pulling out the gong. But before he began hitting it, he paused.

What if this brings other monsters over here? There has to be another way!

Luc fumbled inside the pack once more, this time coming up with the two potions that Rith had given him.

The health potion!

Luc uncorked the vial with the red liquid and poured it down his throat. Almost immediately, his body was flooded with warmth, as if he had been wrapped by a sudden embrace. The warmth spread to his midsection, where he had sustained the stab wound. A light green glow emanated from the wound, and before Luc’s eyes, the bloody hole began to seal itself.

As the wound healed, the pain and the shock dissipated, leaving Luc’s mind clear and thoughts lucid. However, the weariness of his body remained, making his movements slow and sluggish. Luc swung his head around, checking in on the fight.

The toad monster had forced Cloud into a corner. Cloud’s white fur was gray and brown from rock and dirt, and Luc could make out several red cuts where he had gotten hit by the toad’s tongue or splintering rocks. Luc spared a look at the exit to the tunnel, only a short distance away. While Cloud was distracting the toad, he would have enough time to –

No!

“It is a Lord’s responsibility to make sure that his followers survive,” Luc said to himself, hands clenching into fists. I might not have the skills to fight, but I have something that does!

“Bones!”

The pendant on his chest glowed with white light, circle of white mist swirling outwards. Bones, the dog-masked Spiritualist, hopped out of the circle, landing in front of Luc. As soon as Bones appeared, Luc’s vision spasmed and his body went numb. Collapsing to the ground, an intense fatigue washed over his already tired body, paralyzing him with its strength. Grunting with exertion, Luc managed to lift his head to look at Bones.

/

Name: Bones

Species: Spiritualist

Evolution: 7%

Loyalty: 21%

Bones was not kneeling. Instead, Bones took a single step towards him, a movement all too similar to the way the masked monsters had moved in the tomb. Luc tried to open his mouth to command Bones, but the incessant pounding in his head drowned out whatever words he wanted to form. His head slumped back down, and his eyes began drifting closed.

I’m so tired. I’m so very tired.

Right before his eyes closed for good, they alighted on the two vials he held in his hand. The health potion was empty, already used. But the one with the blue liquid, the Brio potion, was still full. Sparing a sluggish upwards glance, Luc saw that Bones approached, step by step coming closer to its prey. In that moment, Luc knew that if he didn’t move now, he wouldn’t have the strength to later.

I’ve always been good at gambling!

Not having the stamina to uncork the vial, Luc knocked the vial against a nearby rock, shattering one end of it. Arm trembling, he lifted the Brio potion to his lips, ingesting the mysterious blue liquid.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then within Luc’s body, a searing heat, unlike the gentle warmth of the health potion, ignited. The heat did not focus on a single point, but rather it expanded outwards until it engulfed the entirety of his body. With the expansion of the heat, Luc’s fatigue faded, leaving him reinvigorated and vivacious. After the brief respite, the pressure of controlling the monsters returned, fatigue once more washing over Luc. But the potion had given him enough energy to sustain. In front of him, Bones dropped to a knee.

I don’t have much time.

“Bones,” said Luc. “I command you to kill that toad monster.”

A white aura flared to life around Bones, taking on the silhouette of a dog. From its kneeling position, Bones kicked off the ground. There was a quiet boom from Bones’ kick, leaving a shallow crater in the rock where Bones had been kneeling. In an instant, Bones rocketed past Luc, creating a gust of air that nearly knocked him onto his back.

Head whipping around to follow Bones, Luc saw Cloud plodding along the wall of the cavern, head lowered and one of his back legs dragging. The toad monster, ready to deal the finishing blow, heard the shattering of rock nearby and turned its head.

Bones’ fist, enhanced with the strength of the dog spirit it controlled, smashed into the toad monster. White energy detonated from Bones’ fist, erupting through the toad’s body. The toad monster hurtled backwards, smashing clean through several stalactites, vanishing into the darkness of the cave. Without a moment of hesitation, Bones crouched once more, getting ready to pursue.

“Stop!” shouted Luc, halting Bones’ movement. The last thing he wanted was to run out of stamina again. Besides, there’s no way that toad monster survived that blow.

Luc staggered over to Cloud. As he approached, Cloud raised his head, looking at him with wide blue eyes. Luc opened his mouth, ready to command Cloud to return, but he paused. He saved my life. Again.

“Thanks.”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then Cloud looked up at Luc, pulling his lips back in what Luc could only assume was the imitation of a smile.

Can he understand me?

Above Cloud’s head, the white text had changed.

/

Name: Cloud

Species: Dragon Whelp

Evolution: 2 --> 3%

Loyalty: 73% --> 78%

Before Luc could order the dragon whelp to go back into the pendant, Cloud collapsed onto the floor of the cavern, eyes closed.

“Back into the pendant!” Luc commanded. Of course, Cloud could not hear his words and remained slumped on the ground, slumbering. It was worth a shot.

Reaching down, Luc picked up Cloud and put him into his pack, leaving a small hole on top so the dragon whelp could breathe. He should be able to recover with [Restful Slumber]. With that done, Luc turned to Bones. As he approached, Bones dropped to a knee, bowing its head.

“You almost killed me!” said Luc, jabbing an accusing finger at Bones.

Bones did not reply.

Luc’s eyes drifted up to the white words floating above Bones’ head.

/

Name: Bones

Species: Spiritualist

Evolution: 7 --> 10%

Loyalty: 21%

I’m guessing Loyalty explains why it takes so much more effort to control Bones than Cloud, thought Luc. He had always believed that true loyalty was not earned. It was purchased with money or demanded through force. But he hadn’t used money or force to increase the Loyalty of Cloud. All he had done was show some gratitude. Maybe I just have to make these monsters happy, as crazy as that sounds.

“Thank you!” said Luc. “Is that what you want to hear?”

There was no change in Bones’ Status.

Scowling, Luc paced around and picked his brain. The fatigue was growing once more – soon, he would have to send Bones back into the pendant. I don’t plan on getting into a lot of fights, but I can’t have this happening every time I do!

“Listen here,” said Luc, squatting down in front of Bones. “Take off that mask so we can have a face to face talk.”

Luc winced. Maybe that wasn’t the best idea. But before Luc could revise his statement, Bones reached up pulled off the dog mask. With the mask off, Luc realized for the first time that Bones had the face and body of a girl who looked no more than twelve, which explained her short frame and stature. The only off-putting thing was her ghostly pale skin and empty eye sockets, which glowed with pure white flames. Unfortunately, the off-putting things were really off-putting, to say the least. Still, that did not deter Luc.

I may have lost my [Seduce] skill, but I still know what most girls like to hear!

“Oh lady,” said Luc, striking his most noble pose. “With hair of black silk and eyes of moonlight, you command beauty that would enrapture even the Emperor himself.”

Nothing happened. I was a fool!

Then, Bones lowered her face, twiddling her thumbs.

/

Name: Bones

Species: Spiritualist

Evolution: 10%

Loyalty: 21% --> 42%

It increased that much from a sycophantic compliment?

There was a noticeable decrease in the pressure that Luc felt from controlling Bones, allowing him to finally relax. Before, the pressure had been a constant weight on his thoughts, dampening his every move. But now, it was more like a background buzz, always there but able to be ignored. Excited, Luc tried slinging her several other compliments, but none of them had an effect.

Guess I just got lucky with the first.

“Back inside the pendant, Bones,” said Luc, gesturing at his chest.

Obediently, Bones replaced her mask and stepped into the swirling white circle created by the pendant. After she went, the fatigue and pressure vanished, as if a heavy weight had lifted from Luc’s mind. Still, the effects of controlling the monsters were still apparent. While he felt better than before, his breaths were ragged and short, his eyelids heavy.

I need to get back before I run into any other trouble.

As Luc turned to go, a scraping noise stopped him. Slowly, he turned around, holding up the remnants of the glowing mushrooms. In the darkness, two eyes stared at him, orange with horizontal pupils.

The toad monster was still alive.