Sooty was being pushed back, stunning Luke. The Essence Bond wore off, and Sooty had to entirely focus on dodging, only striking when Reaver Beak was usable. Luke gave her an Infusion as soon as possible, significantly reducing the pressure.

Luke knew it wasn't enough; Sooty was showing signs of exhaustion, and even if she could avoid most attacks, she couldn't prevent them all. This Silent Night wraith would take his precious crow friend from him at this rate. His hands tightened, and his breathing accelerated from the feeling of helplessness.

But Luke would never let that happen. He'd rather die first. His brain raced, thinking of using Wayfinder as a weapon again, but that wouldn't solve the issue. He'd only need one or two strikes from the Silent Night wraith and be a dead Luke, leaving a sad Sooty behind.

Seeing the situation turn worse, an idea suddenly struck him. Using the Reaver's Link to communicate thought through emotion and intuition with Sooty, she understood his plan. If Sooty used her entire ability to flee, adding the speed boost from the Quicksilver Feather and Infusion, even this mini-boss couldn't keep up.

An ability bar of sorts was at the bottom of Luke's vision. Only a few seconds were left until Essence Bond was back and usable. Sooty flew up, surprisingly going straight above the flat stone platform the duo fought on yesterday. The Silent Night wraith chased after, almost fruitlessly. Sooty disappeared from Luke's sight, and worry overtook him. He trusted his partner; he didn't want her to go to a place where he could not help her. The few seconds dragged on, and Luke could only mutter. "Come on, Sooty, please be okay."

"Believe in your birdie lad; the two of you have been through much already. In a contest of speed, nothing this door of trials can throw at her will win." Wayfinder consoled.

His Essence Bond was only two seconds away from being off-cooldown. Where was Sooty?

The silence was deafening; Luke heard a mighty caw come from Sooty. She was diving right back towards him in time.

The Silent Night wraith chased after Sooty but could never land a hit. Truthfully, if Sooty weren't already exhausted and injured, the phantom wouldn't have been able to keep up in the slightest. Wasting no time, Luke placed Essence Bond on the wraith. With the debuff back on, the fight shifted tides once again.

As Luke instructed, Sooty activated Wings of Reaver, making her next strikes become true magic damage. This much was obvious: the Silent Night wraith, sensing something amiss, used its silence on Sooty.

Unfortunately, the next move wasn't something you could silence—the on-use of an item. Luke refreshed Infusion on Sooty, giving her the speed to get close without taking a hit from the wraith. She dove low to the ground, and as soon as the wraith touched the floor, Sooty turned. A jet wave of water rushed out of the Spatial Feather. The interface, recognizing it as an attack as Luke hoped, turned it into a true magic damage attack. The water doused and pierced through the wraith, and an unholy smoke emanated off the apparition. A high-pitched scream of pain and anguish came from the phantom, but it was too late. Sooty continued to fly off, waiting for the silence to end.

The phantom, in desperate straits, started after Luke. Amid the fight, he had been ready for this and began running in the opposite direction. Sooty maneuvered, stacking Reaver Beak on herself and a Talon Strike before she struck the wraith. The two deadly moves hit the apparition through its back. Her Reaver Beak further strengthened the Essence Bond. Her last charge of true magic damage was used on Talon Strike. A crushing blow was dealt to the wraith, obliterating it. Its soul dust scattered on the floor, leaving only two unidentified objects as its remains.

The tension of the moment was released, but Luke remained wound up. He first came over to Sooty, checking on his crow. She was hurt quite badly, but then a flash of gold enveloped her. The level up heal had saved them from their recklessness yet again.

Or it saved Luke from his own mistakes and weakness. He couldn't keep risking his friend like this. Sooty could feel Luke's emotion through the Reaver Link. She hopped onto his leg as he sat down in contemplation, rubbing him with her body. Luke absentmindedly caressed Sooty. He decided first to see what they gained through this high-risk fight, then check out the remaining cave.

"The vampires were too much for us back then. Even now, if we had some massive group like we did with the wraiths, we could only wait to die or flee with all our might. Neither is an option." Luke let out without thinking.

"You're spot on, lad. The scrapes you and your feathered friend have been diving into are riskier than a cat on a hot tin roof. Get your affairs in order. Go back to the cave you came from, or scout out the other way. But let me tell you, if you wander back to that vampire-infested pit, I can feel it in me needle—you won't be makin' it out." Wayfinder's voice had a grimness. Then, altering the mood, he said, "And none of your frolicking with frosty baths, tossing me around like I'm some sort of toy. I'm a compass to be revered, not to test me mettle against banshees and spooks."

Luke glanced down at Sooty and asked her, "What do you think, pal?"

Sooty, of course, couldn't speak, but her body language showed agreement with Wayfinder's words. She even took her wing and patted the compass once.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"That decides it then. I'll check out the log of our loot, and then we will take a look at the last entrance, backtracking to clear the wraith cave after that one is done."

"Ain't a shocker of a plan, but better than the path you was going on before, lad."

Luke got up and approached the remains of the rare elite, the Silent Night wraith. The two items she dropped became flashes of golden light as they entered Luke's inventory. Luke then leisurely walked over to where the masses of dead wraiths near the entrance to the cave. Their ghostly shackles scattered haphazardly. A few flashes of bronze neatly entered Luke's inventory; taking a moment, he came to his old fire spot and re-lit the flame, deciding to enjoy the warmth as he organized his and Sooty's gains.

First, Luke took out the two drops of the Silent Night wraith. One was an ordinary-looking scroll; the other was a black sword with ethereal tendrils. With an excited look, Luke inspected the blade, absorbed by its beauty.

[Whispering Edge]

Requires: Level 10

Quality: Rare

Stats: +20 Physical Damage, +10 Magical Damage

Active - Wraith Wail: Whispering Edge emits a ghostly wail, applying a fear debuff to enemies within a 10-yard radius. Fear reduces enemy speed by 50% for 5 seconds and causes your primary target to stand in horror for 1 second. 2 Minute Cooldown

Passive - Silent Strike: Each successful attack has a 15% chance to silence the target for 1 second.

Passive - Eerie Presence: Reduces noise generated by the wielder by 50%, making detection more difficult.

A one-handed sword of ethereal make, its blade similar to a darkened moonbeam. A quiet surrounds it, muffling sounds and silencing the foolish. It feels cold to the touch.

Luke couldn't help but let out an excited fist pump, startling Sooty unintentionally. Seeing her reaction, he spoke to her. "Ah, didn't mean to scare you, Sooty; this sword will let me help you much more from now on, pal."

He then looked over the scroll in his lap. Its information came up in the interface.

[Scroll of Silence]

Consumable: 1/1

On Use: Instantly Silence target enemy for five seconds, irresistible up to tier 2.

A precious scroll that found its way into the hands of another Reaver.

Luke frowned at the description but let it go. This scroll was a strong trump card he'd remember to keep close by.

He quickly summed up the rest of the loot from the other wraiths.

[You have received 10 silver, 8 Wraith Cloth, 6 Wraith Shards]

[You have leveled up, reaching level 11. Acquired 2 skill points]

[Your companion, Sooty, has leveled up twice, reaching level 13. Acquired 2 skill points]

A characteristic smile came up again. Notices about his crow growing into her own made him happy. He couldn't help it.

[You have stolen 20 HP, 3 Agility, and 6 Intellect]

[You have received Ghastly Gloves]

Luke calmly took in the absurd stat gain before checking on the other equipment item he managed to loot. He noticed Sooty once again only gained one skill point per level, yet he gained two. The difference perplexed him. He made a note to ask someone if he got out of this damn tomb. As for Sooty gaining two levels despite being higher than him in the first place, he figured it was the last-hit bonus on killing the rare elite. After all she went through, Sooty deserved it.

The gloves he looted had its information pop up before Luke.

[Ghastly Gloves]

Quality: Uncommon

Armor: 5

Stats: +3 Agility, +2 Intellect

Would you look at that? The armor is more than 1!

Nothing life-changing, but Luke couldn't complain. The Interface kept having fun with the flavor text, as always. He replaced his old gloves with these, keeping the other ones beside the fire in case he came back here.

Sooty had gone off to recover the water she used to defeat the Silent Night Wraith. That crow often did things before he even thought to do it himself, a trait he admired.

Before he forgot, Luke took notice of the differences in upgrading Essence Lance earlier. The ability had gained an additional 25 damage, its stat-steal component went up to 2.5%, and its slow further increased to 45%. At the same time, its cooldown was further lowered by 2 seconds.

Worth the points, he thought.

"Done staring into empty space? A man and his compass can't be dawdlin' about. On your feet, we're on a timer, lad." Wayfinder reminded.

"You're right. It's time to keep going. Sooty, let's roll out." Luke said.

Sooty flapped over, having regained most of the water she used. Luke directed his movement towards the entrance in the middle, the only one of the three they had yet to explore.

The air changed when they stepped in. Luke began to sweat slightly from the arid heat that rose from the ground. Wayfinder was unaffected, which wasn't too surprising. Sooty let out a disgruntled noise. The entrance became more like the hallways of a monastery. The exact same hooded figure was depicted in art that bled into the walls, slightly smeared from the heat of the place.

The indescribable runes on the wall were back again. Luke's eyes scanned them over. They were still as nonsensical to him as the first set of runes in the vampire-filled entrance. Luke's lips quickly became chapped. He kept to a consistent pace to help adjust to the heat. Over the process of walking further in, places of worship were seen, empty and dusty.

Luke took the time to apply Infusion to everyone in the trio. He used Infusion twice, prioritizing Sooty and him first, then Wayfinder by himself on the second round when Infusion came back off cooldown. Even if it were peaceful for now, it wouldn't be for long if the wraith cave was any indication.

"Ack, all this holiness aura, thick with the stench of the undead, is making me barf. Or it would if I had the innards for it." Wayfinder didn't like the area and was immediately displeased.

The increasing heat was the only real bother to Luke and Sooty here. They took a left turn, and the walkway widened. A set of pillars adorned both sides—a cloth draped down the middle of the room. The first two groups of monsters were on both sides, patrolling in opposite directions.

Staying cautious, Luke had the interface give him what information it could. The monsters were undead in red-themed attire, with three different types to his eyes.

[Undead Crimson Priest]

Level: 9

HP 125/125

All.

[Undead Flame Monk]

Level: 8

HP 110/110

Will.

[Undead Scarlet Wielder]

Level: 8

HP: 145/145

Burn.

Luke felt a wave of heat hit his face, intensifying as he glanced towards the Flame Monk, its body wreathed in fire. Its blaze was palpable even from this distance. The priest was the center of each group, with one in each group of seven. The wielders were undoubtedly the tanks, having the highest HP despite being a level lower than the priest. The short message between the three put him off balance, but Luke had little time to think about it.

He let the irony of undead patrolling what used to be a holy place pass by. Luke focused on more important matters. He took the information he gleaned so far to plan an attack.