As I turn toward the cave entrance, I’m interrupted with a notification:

[Domination progress milestone reached! Cathid 20% dominated]

And then another...

[Congratulations! Skill levels gained: Tamer +1]

[Tamer info: Monsters are changed by the bonds you form with them, and you will be as well. The Will stat and the power of the monster determines how much of this effect you can resist. More Energy can be devoted to this bond to increase Domination speed. Adding too much can strain the bond!]

More...

[You were the first creature to discover the hidden dungeon, The Barrows. Your Perception exceeds that of many, and the dungeon’s secrets are yours to plunder. +1 Perception]

I frown. Kaythe was the first to discover this place, not me. Why did I get the bonus? It put me at 25 Perception though, and there’s a pretty noticeable difference in how well I can see in this dimly lit cave entrance.

Anyway, duly noted: exploration is rewarded.

I had honestly put the whole ‘Domination’ thing mostly out of my mind. I’m still not sure how I feel about it, but I had thought the process was directly related to how much Energy I devoted. Put in 1 Energy, gain 10%, all the way to an assumed 100% at which point *something* probably happens. Nope. Wrong. It’s a passive process with Energy as the vector. The more I devote, the faster it happens, but it inexorably *will* happen. Kaythe doesn’t seem bothered by this, however. If anything, it looks more lively than ever. Maybe that has something to do with the changes stipulated by the tool tip? Regardless, it’s interesting how that description has evolved as I level the skill. I really hope that happens with more things. Like my Energy skills. Which are a much higher level and have gotten almost NO EXPLANATION. They’re useful skills with just my current knowledge, but… you don’t know what you don’t know. They could be much more powerful due to some small facet that I’ve overlooked and I’d have no idea. I guess it works as incentive to actually practice with my skills instead of panicking and using them mostly out of desperation.

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Whenever I have the time to practice… if I ever do.

Ugh. Not a moment’s rest. I *could* do it now, but then I wouldn’t get first dibs on the dungeon. Opportunity cost.

Now, do I add more Energy to forming the bond with Kaythe, or do I not mess with it and let it run its course with what I’ve already donated?

On the one hand, I have no indication that I get the Energy back, so it might very well be a permanent reduction in my total Energy. That’s a big commitment. On the other hand, my bond with Kaythe is the only reason I found this place. Even the game itself thought this was a feat only possible through skill, so it mis-rewarded me. Honestly, it should have given me ‘luck’ or something considering how I just happened to befriend a cave dwelling monster that was capable of sensing this place, and that liked me enough to guide me here. The fact that the game thought *I* found it, when I literally entered it by falling through the illusion I thought was ground, is the closest thing to comedy so far in this entire experience.

I assume you’re meant to find this place after a certain amount of time has passed and that Mana battery in the wall dies, unveiling a perfectly unassuming cave in a place where you previously could have sworn there wasn’t a cave. A concept that would be fun and light hearted if we had easily cleared out the monsters that spawned and created our town, the way we were *supposed to* (I think), but instead we have monsters way stronger than us with almost certain prior knowledge about this world.

Fucking hacks.

I feel like I need to talk this through with someone, but all the other humans are probably as ignorant as I, and Kaythe can only communicate in nuanced clacking noises. Not exactly the best spread, but I can probably solve one of the issues. Kaythe couldn’t talk to me at first, that came with the Tamer skill, so enhancing the bond and leveling the skill will probably both add to my ability to communicate with it. Whiiiich… means putting excess Energy into the bond. I call Kaythe over from where it was investigating some fungal growths along the edge of the cave mouth and push some more golden Energy into it. After two notifications that I’ve increased the Domination rate, I start to feel a small pressure pushing me back from Kaythe, spurring me to immediately snatch my hand away. The tool tip warned me about straining the bond, and three Energy rate should be more than enough for now. There’s no immediate difference, at least not that I can see, but Kaythe clacks an (Interesting) before taking up residence on my shoulders.

It’s time to loot and pillage.