It took a bit of work to get the group to carry Aldrin to where the dying Peryton was that Regalas led them to. They were still cautious, but more so because of what roamed the mountain than from the Black Unicorn.

Jared whistled when they reached the Peryton that now crested the ridge of the pit. It was wheezing with shallow breaths that bellowed hot air from its nostrils. Regalas warily approached the wounded and dying beast, carefully walking around it until he stood almost nose to nose with it.

Its dark eyes narrowed and mirrored Regalas’ red ones. They stared at each other before the Black Unicorn stepped back to allow Jared and Pierre carry the crispy body of Aldrin forward. They set him down near the beast and Evie cupped her hands in the blood that dripped steadily from the open wound on its side. Gathering enough blood in her hands to overfill them, she then moved her hands to hover over Aldrin’s mouth. Pierre was by her side not a moment longer as he knelt down. Gently and with slow movements, he opened Aldrin’s mouth, his fangs on full display as the need for blood forced his vampiric nature to show.

Evie uncoupled her hands, letting the blood of the Peryton slowly leak down Aldrin’s opened mouth. His green eyes shot open, then closed in blissful peace as patches of skin rapidly healed. His brown curly hair grew back to its usual shoulder length and the pieces of his leather armor that melted onto him flaked off, leaving him stark naked. Jared quickly threw a blanket on Aldrin to cover him up as he slurped down the blood.

The two men and the Black Unicorn backed away when Aldrin twitched, signifying his awakening once more. Evie got another handful of blood and repeated the process, bringing little bits of life back to him. Soon the blood Evie was supplying wasn’t enough when Aldrin regained a small amount of consciousness as inched closer to her hands looking for more. Pierre noticed and was the first to help Aldrin sit up and move closer to the Peryton. His need for sustenance consumed his mind as he sank his fangs into the mangled beast. It attempted to thrash, but it was too weak to do anything as it simply accepted its fate.

Regalas took the distraction to pierce his spiraled horn through the rib cage of the beast, skewering the heart once the blood had turned cold and Aldrin released his grip. Evie approached and helped him scoot away from Regalas when he jerked his head back in an attempt to dislodge and free the heart.

It took a few forceful tugs, but the heart pulled free and sat atop the horn. Regalas looked to the three minus Aldrin, who was still healing. “If you can, tell them to approach and pull the heart free from my horn,” He mentally told Aldrin.

“Pull heart off,” Aldrin coughed, testing his newly healed vocal cords.

Jared warily stepped to Regalas, his hands outreached but making no sudden moves as Regalas lowered his head to give better access. The heart easily slid off the horn with a wet squelch, then Jared placed it in front of Regalas before stepping back near his friends.

Regalas gazed in disbelief for a moment, then greedily chomped it down. His heart thumped loudly, threatening to burst as the power rushed through his body and then into his stomach. The energy mingled with the antler’s energy he had eaten first, greeting it like old friends, then they combined, swirling into a vortex that pulled Regalas’ own energy. The darkness from him and the light from the Peryton coalesced briefly before shattering, sending waves of the mixed energy throughout the rest of his body. Regalas felt it pulsate outside body, the battling energies of light and dark wrapping around him.

The four had to cover their eyes from the glowing Black Unicorn as warmth and coldness washed over them. They heard the flap of giant wings and Regalas neighed triumphantly. When they uncovered their eyes, no longer was there a unicorn but a horned Pegasus. Curious, they all used Inspect to see the new creature before them.

Name: Regalas

Race: Horned Twilight Pegasus

Level: 55

Tier: 4

Lore: Birthed from a forceful union of Peryton and Black Unicorn energies, the Horned Twilight Pegasus are a rarity. First seen during the Second Age called the Age of Dreams, these creatures were an accidental mutation by an ancient order of Chimeric Knights meant to balance destruction and restoration.

Questions he wanted to ask formed in Aldrin’s mind that he filed away for later so he could refocus his attention on Regalas. Marvelling at the new form, he couldn’t help but appreciate the moment he found himself in. Large black feathered bird wings with golden edges on the end glittered like metallic dust. The spiral horn was no longer black, but a pale yellow that now was smooth like a lance. His hooves had also turned from the silver color to the golden color that matched the glittering golden edges of its feathers. For easier flight, Regalas' once-chiseled body had compacted and lengthened itself. He was still at least a head taller than Aldrin’s six-foot frame, but Regalas now fully exuded a noble feeling that complimented his new status. When he finally looked into the Pegasus' shimmering yellow eyes, he felt like his soul was being scrutinized by the vast wisdom and intelligence that poured outwards from Regalas,

“Aldrin,” Regalas gently spoke into his mind, making Aldrin flinch at the deep baritone voice.

Still recovering and wounded, Jared and Pierre helped him stand when they saw him attempting to pick himself up, tightly clutching the blanket that draped his body. Evie stood by, eyeing the Pegasus while feeling for the runestones in her pouch. “It’s fine Evie, he’s still a friend,” Aldrin said, noticing and feeling her unease through their shared bond.

The tension she held slowly released once Aldrin moved closer. He ignored the blinking notification in the corner of his vision as he placed a hand on the newly formed Pegasus. Regalas dipped his head lower to allow Aldrin to pet him.

“Thank you, friend,” Regalas gently said, closing his eyes.

Aldrin smiled, “No problem, friend,” he said, letting his hand drop back to his side.

Regalas unfurled and flared his wings, reared on his back hooves, then gathered light energy at the tip of his horn. The group had to cover their eyes again as the brightness intensified. There was a sudden pop, then they felt warm energy wash over them, healing any aches, bruises, and injuries.

Aldrin uncovered his eyes, seeing a bright yellow bubble envelope them with star-shaped glimmers raining down on them. They were absorbed into their skin and Aldrin could see his skin return to its normal healthy looking self without needing to feed to finish healing. It itched in places where his skin grew back, but he felt rejuvenated, more so than he ever would with fresh blood in his system. He even felt the need for blood slowly fade away to nothing with the healing.

Everyone else slowly uncovered their eyes, marveling at the sight. Pierre rotated his left arm in a circle, feeling along his shoulder. His eyes widened in shock as he realized that an old ache was no longer there. He looked at Jared, who also looked shocked, then gave him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up.

Evie was still skeptical, but she could feel the effects of the healing, taking deep roots into old injuries that had never quite healed properly. “So this is the famous healing of a Unicorn everyone always says,” she said to herself. Aldrin turned back to her, smiled and shrugged at her. Finally having a moment, he checked on his notifications that blinked in the corner of his vision.

Congratulations!

You have defeated: Luminous Peryton

For defeating one of the secret dungeon mini bosses extra rewards are granted!

You have gained 1 level to Class and Race

You have gained x10 Luminous Feathers(Crafting Regent)

You have gained x6 Luminous Hoof Chips(Crafting Regent)

You have gained x8 Tufts of Luminous Fur(Crafting Regent)

You have gained blueprint: Feathered Luminous Boots (1 of 4 Luminous Set)

Congratulations!

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Level 23 Race - Vampire Progenitor - 5 Skill Points gained!

Level 23 Class - Night Reaver - 3 Skill Points gained!

Total Skill Points: 17

Aldrin was ecstatic at the loot gained but also mentally slapped himself on the forehead for forgetting he had points to spend still. His brother would have undoubtedly given him an earful for forgetting such a thing. Remembering his brother, he felt remorse, but the feeling quickly gave way to feelings of accomplishment and reward for his dungeon effort. If anything, it felt like it had been ages since he had gained something worthwhile. So he read his next notification, clinging to the feeling of accomplishment.

Congratulations!

Quest Completed: Change of Hooves

You have helped Regalas ascend to new heights and in doing so have helped solidify his bid for power amongst his mob!

Rewards:

x2 Twilight Pegasus Feather(Crafting Regent)

x1 Drop of Twilight Pegasus Blood(Alchemy Regent)

Horn of Twilight Sanctuary

All the items appeared in his inventory. Once again, excitement overtook him as he quickly opened up his inventory to inspect the items. As he thought, the rewards from the Peryton were specifically for crafting, but the Twilight Pegasus feathers were a catalyst for any sort of crafting to give the item an extra boost or effect. The blood granted him 36 hours with no need to feed, which was a tremendous boon considering he estimated he needed to feed every four hours at his current rank. Then he came upon the last two items, the blueprint and the [Horn of Twilight Sanctuary].

Feathered Luminous Boots(Blueprint)

Grants the wearer with the ability to hover using the small wings on the ankles.

+2 Dexterity

+1 Constitution

Horn of Twilight Sanctuary

The Horned Twilight Pegasus has imbued a portion of his healing ability in this horn. Blow it and a healing bubble will surround you and four other allies within the vicinity.

Cooldown: 10 minutes

Regalas pulled him from his thoughts as he approached them. “Our agreement has been concluded, Night Lord, I thank thee once more,” he bowed his head. “Now I must return, but before I go, I can take you all down the mountain.”

“Thank you, Regalas,” Aldrin said out loud, then relayed what he was told to his friends.

Jared had stars in his eyes as he stared in wonder at Regalas. With tentative steps, he approached him. Regalas lowered himself to allow Jared to climb up. Unsure where to grip, he held onto a handful of Regalas’ mane of black hair. Then Regalas stood back up on powerful legs, turned in a circle, looking for the best strip of land to take off from with the added weight. Finding it, he reared up, then started galloping, gaining speed and unfurling his wings to take off. Jared hooted and whooped the entire way and then shortly turned into minor screams of fear once they left the ground, struggling to keep his grip.

Aldrin couldn’t help but smile at the sight as Regalas proudly swooped around, getting used to having wings. It seemed like he had always had wings from the way he quickly adapted to the new limbs. Pierre strained his eyes to get a better look while Evie shook her head with a wry grin at Jared’s hollering. Soon enough, they dove over the mountain and this time Jared’s small screams turned into large screams.

“Well, that will be something he will always remember,” Pierre said with a grin.

Evie chuckled, “Oh yeah, he’s never gonna let this go until he probably gets one of his own or something.”

“Can’t say that I blame him. Who is going next, though?” Aldrin asked.

Pierre looked at Evie, who shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll go,” he said, stepping forward.

“Then I’ll fly down with you Evie. I want to see how fast he actually is,” Aldrin laughed.

Evie looked at him skeptically. “What do you mean how fast he is?” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Oh, nothing at all.” He looked away, rocking back and forth on his heels, trying his best to hide the smirk on his face. He could still feel Evie glare daggers at him, forcing Pierre to stifle a laugh.

A moment later, Regalas dove back down towards them. Aldrin pointed him out for a distraction, then gestured for Pierre to step forward when Regalas swooped down, batting his wings furiously as he landed in a trot before coming to a stop in front of them.

“How does it feel?” Aldrin asked Regalas as Pierre waited for him to lower himself so he could climb on.

“Freeing. My mother would be proud of me,” Regalas solemnly said.

Aldrin sighed and looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“Do not be. It was a long, long time ago.” Regalas said, slightly adjusting himself to make it easier for Pierre, who was busy climbing on.

Once he was on and felt as secure as he could, Regalas took off. Aldrin could see Pierre's white knuckling Regalas’ mane once they were in the air. Unlike Jared, he didn’t scream however, he didn’t dare peek over and look down, which Aldrin found peculiar.

“I think Pierre is scared of heights,” Aldrin told Evie.

She looked at the fleeing figure of Regalas and Pierre and saw what Pierre was doing. “I think it’s true,” she said, nodding along.

“So what’s the next step after this?” she asked once Pierre was out of sight.

Aldrin frowned a bit, “Probably tackle the fields to take out the Golem Maker mini boss if the Peryton was anything to go by. Hopefully we can get Pierre to craft potions for him and Jared.”

“I’ve collected some, but not enough. We will see how long the potion lasts when he makes it,” she said.

Aldrin nodded, letting the silence fall over them as they both watched the sky for Regalas’ return. During that time he looked over his Skills to see what else he could gain and if he found nothing then he would invest them in his stat points.

Mentally berating himself for forgetting to distribute his points from his last level up, he had chosen three new Skills to contemplate on, but in the end he invested 2 points to unlock the first level of Shadowmancy enabling him to blend into the shadows opening up another avenue of hunting and attacks. He would need to try it out whenever the sun was setting and cast its burgeoning shadows among the foliage. With Shadowmancy unlocked, he had 15 points to spend.

He figured the ratio for now would be to at least get an ability or upgrade a current one per level; perhaps two if he had the points for it like he had now, then use the rest to distribute among his stats. For his other Skill he wanted to unlock, he chose to do the first level of Hemomancy, which allowed him to form weapons from his own blood at the cost of 25 HP. It wasn’t a steep price, but he figured it might be limited to what he could create. It was also something he would need to experiment with when he had the downtime.

He let out a groan at the piling list of things to do and practice with, but also delighted in the challenge it presented. Evie looked at him with a quirked eyebrow, then started to speak, but Regalas’ wingbeats interrupted her.

Landing again in a running trot, he stopped and lowered himself to allow Evie to climb on. She was nervous at first, but then shot a glare at Aldrin, who smiled mischievously. “Hey Regalas,” he said slowly, which made Regalas perk his ears.

“Want to race?” He said, switching his gaze between Evie’s horrified look and Regalas’ contemplative one.

Regalas turned his neck and head to look one eye at the fuming Evie that sat on his back. “It’s fine, I’ll just walk,” she said through gritted teeth, moving to get off.

“No, please Evie, we will go slow,” Aldrin placated her, putting on his best disarming smile.

“Yeah, I don’t trust you,” she shot back with a mischievous grin of her own, but before she could even step one foot onto the ground, Regalas blared his wings and took off in a dead sprint.

Between the wingbeats and the wind, Aldrin’s laughter was whisked away from her. She tightly shut her eyes and gripped his mane for dear life once she felt the weightlessness of them leaving the ground. Scrambling for any purchase, Regalas slightly tilted to help her adjust to a better position.

She dared to open her eyes but only managed a quick glimpse, seeing the clouds race by then, her belly dropped as Regalas folded his wings, turning their once straight as an arrow flight into a steep nosedive. She screamed all the way, mustering all of her strength to hold on tight.

Smaller, fast-paced wingbeats came from her left. Opening her eyes was a mistake, as she only saw a black blob of flying mass from her watery eyes and dizzying flaying hair that came loose from her bun.

Fortunately for her, it was over as quick as it started. “That was not fair, Regalas. There was no countdown,” she heard Aldrin chastise.

Regalas snorted in response, then lowered himself down. “Evie, you can let go now,” Aldrin said, trying to stifle a laugh.

She squinted one eye, then opened the other to see that she was close to the ground again. Rage replaced her hesitation as she jumped down and stormed up to Aldrin, looking him eye to eye with a finger pointed under his chin.

“You are lucky it was quick,” she threatened through gritted teeth, then turned on her heel to face Regalas. “And you!” She stomped over to Regalas. “You are lucky you’re considered an endangered species, otherwise you would be excellent experience to have. You might even give me a level.”

Jared and Pierre came up soon after, looking between the fuming Evie that had her arms crossed while tapping her foot, Aldrin, who was trying his best not to laugh, and Regalas, who seemed content to dig in the dirt with his hoof.

“What happened?” Jared asked but was immediately silenced by the baleful glare Evie shot his way. That was all it took for Aldrin to let loose the laugh he had been desperately trying to hold in.