“Becoming a Retainer for any kind of Royalty is an immense honor. One must be ready to hold plenty of responsibilities, especially those who choose to become emissaries. Royals tend to dispose of the unworthy; you must be absolutely sure about your decisions and have extensive training before passing their selections.

Only the best among the best can maybe hope to serve them. After all, who has ever heard about non-legends becoming Retainers?”

-From “A detailed guide on Retainers: Is it worth it?”

Nashariel pov

Nashariel returned into her dragokin form, the floor swaying under her feet. “No time to dally, let’s stop the Tamer before they make more of these… things.”

A series of nods followed her proposal. Despite everyone being more relaxed, no one wanted to fight another abomination able to drown everyone in acid.

“Boss, is everything alright?” Whispered Dorel.

Nashariel glanced at her sheet.

*Stamina 1903/16.000

Omnia 491/2.200

You are currently suffering from severe exhaustion.

You’re currently affected by soul-fatigue: Stamina is currently unable to regenerate. Please, find a safe place to rest. *

She hid a grimace. “Just tired. I’ll rest when this will be over.” Why’s Omnia so low?

/Well, someone burned it with a bit too much enthusiasm just a moment ago. So, unless you want me to drain a Core immediately, this is what we have to play with/

Duck. I'd like some stamina if you can produce it.

/We can’t regenerate it tho. I’ll focus on Omnia. Can you use that instead of stamina?/

Who knows. Nashariel’s finesse with draining Cores had a… large room for improvement. However, a very slow leeching was manageable. Not ideal, but better than nothing.

Dan shook her, making her notice that she had been staring at the void for some time already. “You sure that we shouldn’t take a break?”

Nashariel’s heart warmed some. “Thanks, but I can keep going. We’re not too far either.”

Her Trickster somberly nodded. “Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?”

“I can sing something for you, Nash. Need something in particular?”

“Stamina and fourth resource, if you can. Mostly stamina.” Vel, you’re sent by Astill Herself.

/The soul-fatigue isn’t going away/

She’s a great healer. Perhaps her songs will heal it.

/It’s worth a shot, I guess/

The groups ventured into the deeper tunnels, accompanied by an Allegro tune that made the journey seem somewhat less… ominous.

And yet…

*You cannot regenerate stamina. Please find a safe place to rest. *

Duck.

/Duck indeed/

The abomination had left a trail of sludge in its wake, sparing Nashariel the effort of following Ryahkera’s memories. She used this excuse to let the others take the lead, resting her weary body, mind, and soul. The secondary mind had replayed their fight a few times already, noticing tens of small and big mistakes that could have been avoided if only she had been more present.

She had completely disregarded the possibility of overpowering the Tamer’s mind controlling, for example. Or straight up ignore the Mire's damage to keep up her Lightning. She was reasonably sure that her body would have outlasted the abomination's, and, even if she was wrong about it, she could've simply fled and reengaged with Spirit. So many mistakes, so much learning.

The ratkins had become somewhat friendly after the Templars had saved their lives and left their leader behind to cover for their retreat. Nashariel supposed that actions spoke stronger than words. On the more, none had yet commented about her ability to shift between elements. She was more than happy to avoid every discussion in that regard.

“Do you know any Tamer?” Asked Nashariel. Someone able to create a monster like that cannot be an unknown person.

“Yes,” Shal said. A few of her kind nodded too. “but they’re researchers. If the Hub could create-spawn these monsters, we would have no job-occupation to do. We had one or two proper-good Tamers, back when we lived on the surface-light, but they lost themselves in the tunnels-caves.”

“I’m sorry to hear it. Do you know of others who have a beef with Paladins and that live in these tunnels?”

Shall shook her head. “None with these capabilities.” She replied, slightly on the defensive. “Please, don’t ask-question more about them.”

Nashariel nodded. "Unless they have something to do with this."

Shal's reply was interrupted by a growl coming from ahead.

Dan and Dorel had engaged a purple spider that had weaved a sticky-looking web near the ceiling. Veliel was stuck to it, wearing a mask of pure irritation.

The Touched humans’ impeccable teamwork swiftly brought the monster down, at the cost of Dorel’s shield integrity. Again. Dan’s copies all jumped above without caring about the acid eating at them. A few swings later, Veliel had been freed.

“Are you well?” Nashariel asked. Gods, being forced back is irritating!

"I didn't see the web, that's all," Vel replied, massaging her smallest right wing. "I got too relaxed."

Dalka grunted. “That’s what takes-kills most of us. Never lower-drop your guard in here.”

Nashariel clenched her fist. I could’ve seen it! "Let's be more careful, then." She relaxed by taking a deep breath. No, they’re not defenseless anymore, Nashariel. And they didn’t benefit from Fel’s dedicated training. They must get some experience for themselves.

“Do you know any shortcut?” Dorel asked.

She shook her head. “Not unless we can burrow through pure bedrock. Don’t worry, we’re getting close.” Unless something has crumbled. Does bedrock crumble? I should…Nashariel bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood. Damnation, I won’t last much longer. They’ll get their experience while I sleep. “Scratch that. Vel, full speed ahead. I’ll lead the way.” She leaped ahead, returning in her True Form. “Everyone, on me.” The dragoness growled.

Her friends obeyed instantly. The ratkins hesitantly looked at each other, before tentatively climbing up. The omnidragon was large, but her passengers had to stay a bit cramped together.

As soon as they did, Veliel Chanted a song of winds and lightning. It was her current best song for speed.

“Are you sure that this is a good idea?” Whispered Vel, hidden in the lyrics.

“I’m not regenerating stamina. We must end this quickly.” Nashariel whispered back. She shocked herself and her passengers with Gray lightning. "Hold tight!" She shouted, before darting ahead with a rumble of loud thunder.

As always, Dan’s soothing screeches filled the tunnels.

A dragoness wrapped in colorful bolts and winds followed the trail like a dog. She abused the acceleration and her mass to crash against every monster stupid enough to stand in her way, often showering her passengers in the red mist.

She sometimes rammed against the walls, but that was a small price to pay for all that quickness. Exhilaration aside, Nashariel didn’t want to limp all the way to another possibly big fight. If she had to faint, she wanted it to be after completing the mission.

*Stamina 1.398/16.000

You cannot… *

She had still enough for that, hopefully.

Finally, the trail ended in front of a large cavern.

The cavern was small, too little for her body to pass through, and it was even truer for the entrance. The wolfy was a good squeezer, uh? Aside from that, Nashariel noticed a small, crudely scratched array of runes that blocked the entrance. Behind that, the bedrock was even blacker than usual or, perhaps, more corroded. It was hard to make it out when a glowing green barrier was on the way.

Nashariel lowered herself. “You can come down.”

Most of her passengers rolled like drunkards, vomiting against a nearby wall. “Never again…” More than one whispered.

Dan sympathetically patted their backs.

The dragoness grimaced. It hadn’t been the best of her drives. Still, she approached the array. A simple protection formation. Pretty weak for being Tier 2. Can I disable it? She sent a sliver of her mana against the barrier.

*Error: Spellcasting required.

You must wait six more years to try. *

Eh, I tried. Knowing how to dissolve it but being barred from doing so is… irritating. “Anyone good with runes?”

Everyone shook their heads.

Figures. Oh well, the barbarian way it is, as Ryahkera would say. Nashariel planted three of her legs on the ground, then punched the barrier with all her might.

Her fist rebounded back, leaving a visible crack. She shook her smoking hand.

Fricking Torment and fricking rule against spellcasting!

??? pov

The nameless creature despaired.

The food-not-food had stolen the Gift! And… and it was the last to remain after its brothers had feasted on the food to evolve. It wasn’t the first time that it had to spend some time by itself, but the Gift wasn’t there anymore to spawn more mates.

Suddenly, the shiny things flared to life. Behind them, the nameless creature made out a terrifying visage, one that struck great fear in its inexistent heart. It wiggled in fear, for the defense was damaged.

This had never happened before.

Did the food-not-food know about this? Did it take the Gift to save it from this monster? Perhaps the nameless creature had…

No, no sense to wiggle on the spilled gum. As the last of its kind- BOOM – the nameless creature had the glorious duty to fend off the invader!

The nameless creature wiggled, ready to pounce- BOOM – on the attacker.

It patiently ignored the vibration of the ground and the rocks falling around it. “For the swarm!” The barrier shattered in a thousand shards. The very walls bursted inward with untold speed, shattering the rocks around the nameless creature. The horrifying monster’s visage stomped through the entrance. Its long teeth were clenched, in a display of pure ferocity. The brave slime pounced on the horrid monster made of disgusting flesh and ugly scales. “For…! Mother?”

The nameless creature splattered against the monster’s nose.

As soon as it reformed, the nameless creature stared right in Mother’s absolutely-not-disgusting eye. It wiggled in pure joy. “Mother has arrived! Hurray for the swarm! Hurray for the endless feast!” It shouted.

Mother’s eyes widened in absolute pleasure. “Mother what?!”

Oh, right, I must shout louder. It scolded itself for not shouting its loudest as the first reaction. “HURRAY FOR THE FEAST!!! HURRAY FOR MOT-!!!” The nameless creature found itself suddenly suspended in mid-air. The waiting arms of… Smaller-Mother caught it without fail, as expected. But why did Mother change so suddenly? Was she too big for its voice to reach her?

The nameless creature stared at Mother and her stunningly beautiful scales. She also stared at the nameless creature. It wiggled harder. Mother had to be proud.

“Boss, is everything alright?” Someone shouted.

“Uh… yeah… kinda.” Mother replied, quivering with joy.

A multitude of fleshy food-not food beings came into view. They all looked at the nameless creature with admiration. It wiggled harder to impress them.

“What’s that thing?” Asked another. This looked similar to the food-not-food that had protected them. Or… had it caged them from Mother? The nameless creature didn’t know anymore. So it stopped thinking about it.

“The kind of slime that we were searching for.” Mother replied. The nameless creature wiggled with joy. “The artifact must be close.”

“The room seems empty.” A stocky one commented. It lacked Mother’s scales, but something about his presence… had Mother split? She was very old, after all.

“Crap, there’s no artifact!” Mother shouted.

Artifact? “Mother means her Gift?”

Everyone stared at it.

"Yes… Oh… yeah. We are searching for the thing that spawned you. Can you tell me what happened to it?"

The nameless creature wiggled in affirmation. “The Food-not-Food took it!” It answered proudly. Mother paled in happiness. Probably.

Mother cursed. “The Tamer! Where?”

“I do not know, Mother. The Food-not-food stole it and it said…” The nameless creature wiggled in a frown. “‘I’ll give the Dogs what they deserve.’ I felt its steps going there.” It extended a part of his gummy body to imitate a limb, indicating the direction that the Food-not-food went.

It had been hard to train [Slime senses] to its cap, but the skill could now prove its worth to Mother, finally.

Mother frowned, staring at nothing for a while. And then, she bleached. “The Cleansing Angel is in that direction!” Mother turned, shaking her head. “Damn it, we have no time to waste!”

The nameless creature felt Mother’s chest heating up. The glowing part of her gray skin parted, spitting out a lot of dust on its gummy body.

The nameless creature instinctually ate it. That… that was the best food ever it had ever tasted. "Mother, can I-”

She returned into her big form, holding it between her large claws. "Let's go, everyone!"

The beings similar to the food-not-food hesitated for a moment. A not-so-gentle push from one of them prompted the others to climb Mother.

“-follow you?”

“Yes!” She answered, all but throwing it on her back.

The nameless creature landed against another… Mother-split?

“Speed again?” Mother nodded. “Hold on, little one. Welcome aboard.” The winged being started to sing.

The nameless creature wiggled in excitement. Feeling this energetic was a rare happenstance for the likes of the swarm! Perhaps Mother likes songs?

Hold on, the Mother-fragment had greeted it. How to greet her in return… “Greeting you, Mother-spawn! I hope our feast be great!”

The singer choked for a moment.

The System rang in its internal gum, so the nameless creature checked it.

*Requisites fulfilled.

Omnia assimilated.

Retainer request accepted.

You are now eligible for an evolution.

Additional paths unlocked.

Choose one of the following options: *

Ooohhh! An evolution without having to be enslaved to the Food-not-food!

The nameless creature carefully evaluated its options.

Nashariel pov

Crap, crap, crap! Nashariel almost pounced on the walls, such was her speed. She had expected to find the Tamer defending the Cleanser, not a single Lvl 29 cat-sized slime that referred to her as ‘Mother’!

She shook her head. That was a later worry. She wondered just how much time the little one's prompt had saved her memories from being triggered.

Nashariel didn't want to find out at the expense of some innocent people’s life.

She had to go faster.

The dragoness almost crashed against a wall, but she refused to slow down. Ryahkera’s memories guided her throughout the underground web, informing Nashariel that the tunnels would get smaller once more shortly.

Her passengers were getting sick, but few protested aloud.

The songs interrupted for a moment. “Boss… the little one is evolving.” Dan said, screaming to be heard above the cracking winds and bolts.

“What the heck? How!?”

“No idea!”

/Perhaps you should check your notifications/

Nashariel’s heart skipped a beat.

*Omnidragon Lvl up!

A total of 32 stat points and 19 skill points have been assigned.

Acid/Hunger-Intelligent slime Lvl 29 has requested to become a Retainer.

Request accepted.

Additional evolutions have been granted.

Please wait for the creature’s choice to obtain additional information. *

…

…

Duck.

/Indeed/

As Nashariel had half-expected, they came across a crumbled passage. Seeing that all the dust had yet to settle, she thought it was the Tamer's doing. Nashariel had bought [Improved burrow], a long time ago, but would the skill be enough to stabilize a safe passage for Astill-knows how long?

She had been forced to drop her True Form a while ago. The tunnels were more humanoid-sized and they had lost their bedrock aspect. Excavating through this would prove easier, at least.

“Alternatives?” Asked Dan while Veliel paused to rest her throat.

Nashariel bit her inner cheeks. "None. As far as I remember, the city has allowed only single access from underground. This one." Guess I’ll find out my skill’s worth… kinda. “Give me a moment.” Nashariel closed her eyes, searching for memories of the skill's evolution.

[Draconic excavation] was at least three times as effective as its basic version in all its aspects, also providing an option to burn mana to increase the structural integrity.

That’s useful. Be ready to buy it, or any skill you deem necessary, should thighs go south.

/Understood/

“Okay, let’s go at it; the city won’t save itself!” Nashariel shifted into the Earth dragon. A few minutes later, she changed to Stone. A brief moment more, and she was back to the Basic element. Surprisingly, Stone was worse at digging. Perhaps a difference in intent? I never explored the Basic element’s, now that I think about it. Another thing that I need to work upon.

The groups, thanks to their stats and Nashariel's guide, made swift progress.

“How come you help us? I thought that you hated Paladins.” Dorel asked, mining his way faster than the rest of them. Nashariel was pretty sure that he lacked her same skill too. Wonders of a crafter, uh?

Shal nodded. “My father made me promise-swear to never seek vengeance. I honor-remember his will.”

“No one deserves to die-drown in acid…” Another muttered.

“Horrible death-end…”

Nashariel smiled. Thank Astill they’re not blinded by hate.

/As long as someone isn’t in their Hub/

Fear and caution are understandable reactions, considering what they have gone through. Veliel was right.

/You live, you learn/ The secondary mind snickered. /You more than anyone else!/

Nashariel held back a snort. You can say that twice! She felt the rocks loosen considerably. “Slow down, we’re almost done.”

Very carefully, the Earth dragokin prodded the last obstacles, then shattered everything at once. She avoided most of the main stones too, which was a plus in Nashariel’s book. Everyone’s, really.

Faster than an arrow, a projectile hit her square in the armored chest.

Nashariel grunted, seeing a few monstrosities ahead of her. They growled, almost identical to the wolf-like thing that she had fought before.

She stepped ahead. “Let me… Guys, let’s do this!”

“Yes, boss!”

“On it.”

Veliel sang a song of pure Destruction.

The four Templars made quick work of the slimy wolves. Despite having been built like the giant abomination, Nashariel's Sight didn’t identify any of them as Tamed. “They were a distraction.” She concluded, splattering the last one against the wall, heavily tried by Veliel's deep song.

“But how does the Tamer plan to assault a Stronghold? I doubt that they have more monsters like that.” Veliel said, nodding towards where they had come from.

“The quicker we go, the sooner we find out.” Commented Dorel, repairing his shield once more. That poor thing had been abused way too much during this journey.

Nashariel nodded. “Are you sure that you want to follow us until the Stronghold?”

Shal shook her head. “We’ll help you to get there, then we’ll come back home.”

/Wise/

Good thing too. My memories are getting fuzzy.

/No, they aren’t; it’s your exhaustion. I’m burning a lot of mana to feed Omnia and prevent some stamina usage. We’re reaching our limits/

*Stamina: 882/16.000

Mana: 8.492/16.000

Omnia: 1039/2200

You are now suffering from extreme exhaustion.

All senses are impaired.

Stat efficiency is reduced.

Soul fatigue: Stamina cannot regenerate. Please, find a safe place to rest. *

Damnation! I already consumed the Cores too… “Godspeed, then.” Burn vitality if you need to.

/… I’d rather not, but… very well/

The ratkins took the lead, swiftly walking between the shadows and yet never fading out of sight.

More than once, Nashariel had almost tripped on nothing. Her friends’ gazes were growing ever more worried, but she pretended not to see them.

The colorless tunnels were clear of every other monster except for slimy ones. At least the ratkins had dispatched of them even swifter than the Templars could. Finally, the cave’s rocks gave way to an artificial pavement.

Their furry guides stopped soon after. “This is as far as we go-follow.” Shal said.

Nashariel nodded. “Thank you for your guidance, everyone. We might come back to the Hub, one day.”

“We’ll wait for you. May the darkness cover-hide your tracks.” Replied Shal with a nod.

“And you owe me a spar-bout!” Added Dalka.

Nashariel chuckled. “May Astill’s wings bless you and your dear ones.”

The rest of the team echoed her blessing.

“We’ll destroy-crumble this tunnel. You know the other entrance.” Concluded Shal, vanishing in the shadows with the rest of her group.

Without needing another prompt, Nashariel and her team dashed ahead.

Innocents needed help.

It was only a few minutes later that they heard the screams.

And, at the same time, a wave of acid invested them.

Mire went up to the group’s knees, trying to eat through their skin and armors alike.

Nashariel’s manipulation managed to divide the wave in half, creating a thin spot for the four of them to stand in. The acid soon vanished down into the tunnel, leaving them sizzling. Thank you, Secondary mind.

/Anytime/

[Dual mind] has been one of my best buys yet. Nashariel thought. So she said it aloud. “Guys, buy [Dual mind] when this is over. It just spared us a bath.”

The trio nodded.

“Might help with my copies too.” Dan mused.

They quickly saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.

The exit was shattered into pieces, two shambled skeletons still sizzling from corrosion. Behind them, a long and wide set of stairs led to a dark room.

The Templars steeled their hearts and moved on.

The room was built from solid stone, showing little to no sign of corrosion. Unadorned and empty as it was, some slimes wandered aimlessly, bouncing up and down. A quick glance showed that none of them was above Lvl 4, so the group ignored them.

The door had been corroded down to the hinges, leaving a gaping hole in its place. Commotion paired with shouts echoed in the walls, blessing the group with precise and real-time directions.

“I’ll be on support duty.” Announced Nashariel, heaving for breath. Her sight was getting way too blurry to fight an equal-level opponent. “Dan, take the lead.”

The Trickster glanced at her in worry but did as ordered without questions. He split into four copies of himself, each holding a different weapon for different opponent types.

The screams quieted.

The entrance in front of the group had been blocked by a thick wall of crystalized Mire.

“Dorel, your turn!” Nashariel called.

With a grunt, the Protector readied his tower shield. He increased his speed two-fold, barreling right into the stony wall nearby.

The stone shattered in a thundering explosion, all without harming Dorel. Smaller rocks bounced on his back in a series of metallic clings.

The dust permeating the air shone a bright green. The shape of a ratkin stared at them, her expression tinted with pure hatred, revealing her chipped and rotting fangs. Ryahkera's creation shone brightly in her hands, though malformed and tried by the passing of time. Nashariel noticed that some of the runes had been changed or warped into others. A slime popped out of it, carelessly bouncing around.

The four of them formed a semi-circle around the ratkin, putting Dan’s copies the closest to danger. The rightmost one delicately threw the slime behind it.

Nashariel activated her Presence. “Surrender and put down the Cleanser, now! There’s no need to further this massacre!” She shouted.

The ratkin let out a crooked laugh. “Oh, Templars, this is just the beginning-start!”

Faster than anyone could react, she plunged the Cleanser deep into her stomach.