No matter how much Steak kicked and slashed at the undead horde, their numbers didn’t seem to dwindle. He couldn’t get a killing blow on most of them as they were far too close to each other. Spending too much time on one ghoul could get him swarmed. Luckily, they turned into ghouls as they were all taking a bath as none of them had any weapons or armor on.

Lilith and her imp casted another which sent the ghouls nearest to them back a few paces. And like Steak, the spell couldn’t finish them off in one blow. It was a burst of force that singed the outermost layer of their skin. Unlike that engulfed the target in flames. In between helping the imp cast the spell, she would swipe and stab at the ghouls with her knife.

They casted another . Each time they did so, their hope for survival also dwindled.

Lilith glanced at Steak. His bare body was covered in bite marks and scratches. Though the damage didn’t seem to hinder him.

“Hey, I have one last boon left to bring me back to full and . But before I use it, I need to know if you’d also like to gamble on something,” Lilith said.

Her imp looked at Steak and had an evil smile on its face.

A ghoul bit Steak’s bandaged forearm, but its teeth weren't able to penetrate it and reach his skin. With it stuck in place, Steak drove his claws through the temple of its head.

“I assume you have a crazy plan to get us out of here?” He panted.

Lilith glanced at her imp who was busy casting another . She still had more than 12 hours before their contract ended.

“It might make things a bit harder later in the dungeon,” she said. It almost seemed like she was debating with herself. “But I’d rather take that risk than just dying here.”

“I’d like to not die too, please. I just started living,” Steak said as he stomped on one of the ghouls.

“After the next I won’t be able to move or defend myself. Try to keep me alive as I prepare,” she said.

“And how long will that preparation take?” Steak asked.

The imp finished casting .

“I do not know. That’s why it’s a gamble,” she said.

“If not knowing the outcome makes it a gamble, then we’ve already gambled our lives the moment we try to live,” Steak said.

Lilith had a slight smile on her face. And without warning, she grabbed her imp by the shoulder and stabbed it in the chest with her other hand. The imp had a horrified expression on its face, not because of the betrayal of its master, but because it expected Lilith to take Steak’s life instead.

Its chest glowed red, and it continued to glow brighter as Lilith sunk the knife deeper. It opened its mouth to either scream in pain or yell for its master to stop, but because of the second contract that they did, there was just silence.

It was Lilith who screamed in pain instead. She had mentioned earlier that she and her imp shared the same pool of Mana, but she didn’t explain further than that. That was the moment that Steak understood that they shared the same senses.

With the knife still in her hand, Lilith crashed down on her knees. She was currently on top of the imp, trying to endure the pain of whatever she was attempting. Her back was completely exposed to the enemy who was now unhindered.

Steak stepped in with . The force of him and the ghouls was enough to trigger its passive ability. The five ghouls in front of him were sent flying back, even toppling the few that were directly behind them.

He couldn’t rest just yet as another set of ghouls came from behind. This time they were more spread apart, so he used instead. Not wanting to risk getting in range and getting dragged down to the ground, he opted to slice their hands and arms instead. Then, he gave them a good kick in the chest to keep them down for a few moments.

But those few moments weren’t enough. They were coming from two directions now and Lilith was still on the ground, glowing. He stood on top of her and started swinging his claws wildly. His tactics were thrown out the window as dread and hopelessness crept in his heart.

A pair of cold hands grabbed him on the back, dragging him down. He craned his head up to see the inside of a ghoul’s mouth. Out of panic, he activated once more on his back.

He wasted his Mana when he could’ve attacked it with his claws instead. Now, the ghouls have reached Lilith who was still preparing. As he saw one of them grab her ankle, the thought of running away crossed his mind. Thoughts like, I don’t even know her, and I should prioritize myself.

Steak tackled the ghoul away from her and laid on top of Lilith, shielding her from the undead horde. This is the first time someone trusted me. I can’t let that person down. I won’t let the start of my life be tainted with something like that, he thought.

His nice words didn’t stop the pain though. his health steadily went down as he endured. Notifications about popped up in succession. They were nibbled and tore through his back. But he held on and watched his health keenly. it was only when it got so low that he pulled out his status screen and placed a point in .

Status

Name

Steak

Strength

2

Level

4

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Vitality

1

Race

Human

Agility

1

Class

Druid - Metamorph

Dexterity

1

Health

100

Magic

1

Health Regen /s

0.04

Spirit

3

Mana

100

Points

0

Mana Regen /s

0.75

Next Level

60.62%

Not only did it restore him back to top condition, it removed the debuff for now.

Effects

Tapeworm

Hatchling

Wrath of Nature

Rank - 1

However, he still wasn’t free from the Tapeworm that’s inside of him. Ignoring the parasite for now, Steak used once more. The shell sprouted from his back and covered both of them completely.

Even in complete darkness, he still saw his Mana go down. The ghouls were unarmed and didn’t do much damage, so in turn it didn’t consume much Mana to block their slams. But that didn’t matter in this situation as there were simply too many of them attacking.

His Mana started to deplete quicker and quicker as more ghouls gathered around them. It was only then that Steak noticed it was completely dark inside of his shell. Lilith and her imp stopped glowing.

“Ugh, no offense, but you’re quite heavy. So when you’re ready you can go and dismiss your shield,” Lilith whimpered as she tried to breathe under his weight.

“None taken,” Steak grinned.

As soon as Steak got off and deactivated his shell, Lilith casted in an instant. Apart from the instant cast time, Steak noticed that it was a significantly more powerful version of the spell.

He looked up at Lilith, who now had two horns made out of orange energy at the top of her forehead. It looked similar to the ones that her imp had. Only scorch marks were left at the place she stabbed it.

Lilith held her hands out in front of her.

“What was it called again?” She asked out loud. “Ah, right, Brimstone,” she said as if she heard a response.

She started to cast one of her imp’s spells, . Hot red energy and flames gathered in her palms, then she pressed them together to form a ball.

Despite the incoming attack, the ghouls didn’t have a mind anymore and continued going toward them. The only one that seemed worried in the room was Steak.

“Uh, should I get closer or farther away from you?” He asked.

“Just keep still and shut up,” sweat formed on her brow.

As she gathered energy, the ball of fire in her hands swelled up and increased in size. Lilith fought back and squeezed harder making the ball shrink in size. She kept doing so until it was the size of a marble. A very bright and orange marble.

She squeezed it even harder until there wasn’t even the faintest trace of it even existing. Then the room was suddenly engulfed in light and fire. Steak raised his hands and shielded his eyes from the blinding light.

“It’s safe now,” Lilith said.

When Steak opened his eyes, it was like he was once again transported to another place. However, it definitely was the same location. Surrounded by ash, rubble, and scorch marks, there were no more ghouls left. The damage was only limited to the entire bathhouse because when Steak looked up the room above them didn’t look burnt.

“Oh, hey, I think I accidentally created a way out of this room,” her voice sounded tired as she pointed a hole in the stone wall.

“The skills that you have just ain’t fair,” Steak said, dusting off the ash off his body.

“Is that what you think?” She asked.

The orange horns that she had on her forehead started to wane, the energy dissipating making it transparent by the second. Lilith had a look of worry on her face, though it also seemed like she expected it.

“What’s wrong? We’re alive!” He exclaimed.

“Nothing really. It’s just that those spells I was casting with the imp are gone now. And with that temporary merge that I did, I can’t summon the imp for quite some time. The only spell I managed to learn from it was ," the horns were completely gone after she explained.

With her being the main damage dealer in their already undersized group the last few fights, it was only then that Steak understood the situation. Any fights in the future would become even more of a problem for them, especially with Jill currently rogue.

“Oh, that’s not good,” he said.

“Well, just as you said earlier, we’re alive, so that’s good. Better to live and struggle, than to have ended our journey here,” she said.

“Thank you for keeping me alive then,” Steak grinned at her.

“It was a group effort, man,” she chuckled and coughed, waving a hand in her face. “We should get out of here and find a spot to rest. I’ve used up all of my Mana.”

Steak nodded and they headed toward the hole in the wall that seemed to lead outside.

***

Status

Name

Steak

Strength

2

Level

5

Vitality

1

Race

Human

Agility

1

Class

Druid - Metamorph

Dexterity

1

Health

100

Magic

1

Health Regen /s

0.05

Spirit

3

Mana

100

Points

1

Mana Regen /s

0.75

Next Level

32.56%

Effects

Tapeworm

Hatchling

Wrath of Nature

Rank - 1

Skills

Rank

Cost

Metamorph

1 - 30%

n/a

M.morph-Bearcat claws

1 - 52%

2.5/sec

M.morph-Turtleboar Shell

1 - 20%

2.5/sec + Dmg