Luke felt his gym shoes about go out of commission from crunching bones.
Earth's concrete jungle had already worn them down before he came here. The trio kept moving forward; with the poison coursing through his veins, he couldn’t waste time. His eyes felt stressed, and he couldn't help but place a hand near the wound.
"You'll wear through your boots before you lay a hand on any beastie at this pace," Wayfinder chuckled, his tone full of joy.
The grimace on Luke’s face proved the comment was in bad taste. His shoulder was getting worse. He looked at Sooty. “Pal, once we walk past this boneyard, look ahead for anything. If the group isn’t more than ten, pull it.”
Sooty let out a soft rattle while letting her wings loose. She had decided to go ahead even earlier.
Luke shook his head at Sooty, immediately flying off. “Probably for the best. The sooner, the better in my current situation.”
Dragging himself forward, a few more crunches and they were out of the boneyard.
"Peace at last. No more of that bone-crunching racket to assault me ears. And mark me words, that feathered lass will be back before you know it. I can sense it in me gears."
And true to Wayfinder's prediction, it wasn't but a moment later that Sooty came darting back with a snarling retinue of wraiths and dark hounds nipping at her feathers. Luke hadn’t taken more than two steps out of the boneyard by this point. The dark hounds looked reddish compared to the previous ones. He’d not even call them a dark hound anymore. Of course, Luke didn't know their actual name as the Interface withheld information.
Sooty saw him getting ready and made a U-turn in the air, diving straight back into an unsuspecting dark hound. The wraiths and hounds were spread out in a cone, and with a few arrows coming after Sooty, some archers should also be in the back. They were hidden by the lack of light in the cave. Most of the monsters coming were spread out in a cone, perfect for Essence Screech.
Luke wanted to test something on a whim. He cast Essence Bond on a hound, had Sooty Reaver Beak the hound first, then spread it with her Essence Screech. Once the Bond spread to all the visible targets, Sooty lashed out at the hound with her talons, killing it.
He didn’t know how many archers or wraiths were hidden in the darkness, so Luke kept Essence Fissure back for now. Placing an Infusion on Sooty and Whispering Edge, he kept back. A few hounds came his way; Luke was unwilling to risk much in this state and threw his Essence Lance at them. Only one ambled his way after that. A slice later, it whimpered in death. At least the healing from his blood ring reduced the pain.
Sooty used Iron Feather on herself, taking a roundabout approach to her targets, avoiding the unseen arrows of the archers. The archers hadn’t revealed themselves, but roughly seven wraiths did. Charging at them, Sooty used her Reaver Beak off cooldown, and with another mighty peck, the wraith died. Six more were coming, though. An arrow had lucked into striking her. The Iron Feather prevented it from being more than a nick, however.
Seeing the wraiths bunch up, Luke decided now was the time to use Essence Fissure. If the archers weren’t going to close in, then the least he could do was make the wraiths easy pickings for Sooty.
With the remaining six wraiths slamming into the cave roof, Sooty activated the Spatial Feather. Her next strikes were turned into true magic damage, and the phantoms paid dearly. Each strike killed a defenseless wraith, turning them into spectral dust.
Luke’s shoulder pulsed in agony. He kept some pressure on the shoulder, but it wasn’t so effective. In the middle of combat, he couldn’t drop his sword. That would be asking to die. He was even thankful for the icy cold. It dulled the pain.
Sooty was a nightmare for these creatures. Their effectiveness was pitiful against her. The archers could hardly land an arrow, the hounds could be avoided by flying, and the wraiths were highly vulnerable to her strikes. Only two wraiths were left by the time the Essence Fissure crowd control effect wore off. Luke refreshed Infusion as he usually did. Sooty tore through one wraith with a Talon Strike. Then, two regular attacks ruined the other. Some arrows pelted at Sooty, but none came his way due to Luke not moving from his spot since the battle began. They either didn’t notice him or didn’t think he was a threat.
“These archers are a serious pain in the ass,” Luke grumbled. He couldn’t rush up to them, not in this state, so his reliance on Sooty grew to uncomfortable levels for him.
Leaving the range of his vision, Luke heard sounds of scrapes and bones shattering. A few stray arrows pelted the cave wall in his field of sight, leaving new marks. About thirty seconds later, all was silent except for the flap of Sooty’s wings as she returned to him. She had two minor nicks on her wings that were rapidly closing up.
She had leveled again. Then, so did Luke once combat was declared finished and the interface was done calculating. Saved by the bell, the poison circulating in him started to be pushed out. The way the Interface did it could’ve been more comfortable, though. He hurled right on the cave wall next to him.
"Keep your stomach's paint away from me! I'm dripping with your dinner now. Someone fetch me a wraith for a good chillin' cleanse." Wayfinder said, disgusted at the mess.
A few moments later, Luke’s body relaxed. His muscles stopped heaving, and his shaking ceased. He got up and looted everything until he reached the group of wraiths Sooty slaughtered. A red notice came up.
[Inventory full]
Luke had his slots filled with cooked meat, crafting materials, the quiver, and one piece of gear he had picked up. He immediately dumped everything on the floor except the equipment, wraith cloth, and cooked meat.
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Sooty used her Spatial Feather, and a vortex appeared, taking everything into its storage area. Luke needed to figure out the limits of that thing one day, but now wasn’t the time. Luke continued with looting. With some more paces forward, he saw the remains of five skeletal archers. Taking what they dropped, the cave came to a dead end about a minute later.
As he was about to leave, seeing nothing else of value or danger in the cave, Sooty swooped down and picked something up with her beak.
Wayfinder, focusing on the bird, spoke up. "The wee crow's snagged a key, laddie. You can bet your last coin it'll be useful down the line. Now, would you mind tending to this blasted mess? I'm not a fan of wearing your upchuck. Clean me up, I'm beggin' you."
Luke quickly obliged, shaking the compass free of his “present,” Luke let out a short “Sorry.” He let Sooty keep the key at the moment. It didn’t matter which of the two had it. They were partners either way. Looking at her, he said, “Don’t drop or lose the thing, okay? Put it in your storage when you get bored of it.”
Sooty let out a muffled caw as her beak was busy holding the key. Using the time coming back out of the cave effectively, Luke reviewed his battle log for stat gains and loot. First came the all-important levels. The duo had each gained one this time.
[Your companion, Sooty, has reached level 15. Acquired 1 skill point]
[Your companion, Sooty, has learned a new skill, Shadow Wing]
[Your companion, Sooty, has found a Lost Key]
That notice stopped him in his tracks. Sooty learned a new skill? As soon as they were out of the cave, he’d have to take a closer look at his crow companion. Continuing, he looked over his own gains. All the crafting material loot was with Sooty currently, except for the wraith cloth. As for the key, Luke didn’t think much about it for now. He had already seen Sooty pick it up earlier.
[You have looted 5 Silver]
[You have looted 4 Wraith Cloth]
[You have looted Demon Hide Boots]
Luke quickly replaced his worn-out gym shoes with the Demon Hide Boots without checking their stats. The relief was immediate; it felt like he was stepping on air compared to the deteriorating padding of the gym shoes he was used to. Finally, curiosity got the better of him, and he pulled up the boots' information on his Interface. His eyes caught the '5% movement speed,' and he couldn't help but show a satisfied grin. Swift Step, huh? I'll take any edge I can get, he thought.
He was running for most of his fights. The extra speed was helpful no matter how he looked at it. The specifics came up in a neat panel display under the equipment section of the interface.
[Demon Hide Boots}
Quality: Uncommon
Armor: 3
Stats: 5+ Agility
Passive - Swift Step: Increases movement speed by 5%.
Level Requirement: 10
The last notices of his gains in the shadow cave came up. Waiting within Luke was a slight thrill at learning how many stats he stole.
[You reached level 14. Acquired 2 skill points]
[You have stolen 25 HP, 7 Intellect, 7 Agility]
“There’s the numbers I was hoping for,” Luke celebrated in a higher pitch. Having Sooty around definitely made stat gain much more effective.
Luke naturally moved at a swift pace. Even if one didn’t account for the movement speed bonus from applying Infusion to himself, his agility had reached a high level, and his boots even gave him a speed bonus. Leaving the cave and its pitch darkness behind, Luke returned to his typical fire spot. This time, he knew he wouldn't leave here until he got some sleep. Luke wasn’t some machine that could battle endlessly. He needed to eat, sleep, and…. better not finish the thought. He’d need to find a corner and leave Wayfinder behind for a second after he ate something.
He refused to use the restroom while he wore the sentient artifact. Luke took two trusty rocks he had left at the fire pit site and quickly started a fire again. He put the meat on there to warm it up. Getting cozy, he let Sooty hop around. She had decided to go and play with the key while keeping close by.
“Lad, I can’t bear it anymore. Get the feathery devil to release some water. You need to wash me of this filth and clean yourself.” Wayfinder said.
Luke would get to it. He wanted nothing more than to eat first. Once the meat was suitably warm, he devoured most of it, leaving a portion for Sooty to have. With the scent of food, Sooty returned and pecked at her meal.
“Sooty, could you let out some water in the usual spot in a moment? Also, let me take a look at your ability, pal.”
She hopped over, and the entire panel of Sooty popped up. Her feathers were puffed up in pride.
[Sooty]
Level: 15
HP: 355
Stats: 71 Agility, 56 intellect, 14 Strength
Special Stats: 10 Fire Resistance
Abilities (5/5): Reaver Beak IV, Iron Feather II, Talon Strike III, Essence Screech II, Shadow Wing
Passives (1/3): Reaver’s Link II
Class: Reaver’s Companion
Resource: 102 Essence 10/s Regen
Equipment 2/3: Quicksilver Feather, Spatial Feather
Skill Points: 3
A smart and protective crow. No matter how innocent she looks, she’ll take your food when you’re not looking. Especially fruit. Recently found a shiny new key.
Luke’s jaw hung open for a moment. Sooty had become a tank when he wasn’t looking. The only way it made any sense was if health amounts started ramping up for every level above 10 or 11. He immediately remembered his health amount, 87, and grew depressed. He realized it wasn’t half that high yesterday, so Luke changed his perspective, becoming content. He shook his head. Luke focused on two things that caught his eye. First was the new skill Sooty learned, Shadow Wing. The information came up in the Interface panel.
[Shadow Wing]
Companion flaps their wings, creating a shadow of themselves for 5 seconds. Shadow has the same abilities and stat-steal chance as their original while dealing 25% of their damage. Can be targeted but impervious to non-true damage. If the shadow lands a critical strike on its target, the target will gain a permanent mark, increasing its vulnerability to stat steal by 25%. Cost: 75 Essence
Cooldown: 1 Minute
Luke’s breath rushed with excitement. This was a powerful new tool they had. He had already started to imagine the latest tricks and combinations they could pull off in the future. That didn't include any potential hidden or creative uses figured out with Shadow Wing.
“Sooty, can you put one of your skill points into Shadow Wing? We need to see how it upgrades. Of course, only if you want to pal.” Luke subtly persuaded Sooty to spend one of her three skill points.
She didn’t react much and did as her Reaver asked. Soon, Luke saw the changes immediately. The duration increased by 1 second, while the damage and mark rose to 30%. Lastly, its Essence Cost went down to 70. The Cooldown didn’t reduce, however. The trade of one skill point for making a trump card like this grow was worth it in Luke’s book.
“Alright, Sooty, spend the rest of your skill points however you want. I’m glad you’ve got a trump card now.” He patted Sooty as he said so.
He began to get ready to rest by the fire. First, he washed himself and Wayfinder up in the small water pond he had Sooty create. Then he left the compass behind to use the john. Returning, he used a piece of wraith cloth and water to wash himself off and scrub what he could. He regretfully threw the material away. Valuable or not, he ruined it. Finally, he picked back up Wayfinder, came close to the fire, and set up his sleep arrangement. At least he had some cloth for a blanket and pillow, even if it was in pieces.
Slowly closing his eyes, he said, “Good night Sooty.”
The bird let out a very soft caw to say good night back.
Then, a few moments later, he hesitated before saying, “And you too, Wayfinder, good night.”
“Rest well. Tomorrow is waitin'.” There was an indescribable emotion in Wayfinder’s voice.