Luc, mind weary beyond measure, stumbled towards the dragon whelp. It was a pitiful sight, just a clump of dirty white fur lying on the ground. Kneeling down, Luc placed a hand on the dragon whelp’s side. Despite its haggard appearance, its torso still rose and fell with shallow breaths.

It’s still alive!

Thinking back to what had happened earlier with Bones, Luc remembered how Bones’ injuries had healed once he had named it. If he could do the same for the dragon whelp…

/

Will you name your new subject?

\

For the first time, Luc was thankful for the curse. Even though it had robbed him of all his achievements and skills, it gave him the chance to save the one being that followed his orders. As he had done with Bones, Luc didn’t think too much about the name. He just chose something that the dragon whelp reminded him of.

“Your name is Cloud.”

No aura surrounded the dragon whelp. Instead, the dragon whelp pulsated once with a soft and warm light. With the light, the wounds on its body and wings sealed, stitching themselves together with an unknown magic. When the dragon whelp’s injuries had all been healed, it lifted its head to look at Luc, bright blue eyes inquisitive and curious.

/

Name: Cloud

Species: Dragon Whelp

Titles:

* {The Emperor’s Subject}: All skills powered up when in proximity of the Emperor.

Bloodline Skills:

Skills:

* [Restful Slumber]: Drastically increase healing rate when sleeping.

\

“Looks like you didn’t get any stronger, eh?” said Luc, staring down at Cloud.

A sudden wave of fatigue rushed over Luc. Head spinning, he slumped to the ground. The tiredness was like nothing Luc had ever felt before. It wasn’t like the drowsiness he felt before sleep; instead, his body felt like all the energy inside of him had been drained. Struggling to keep his eyes open, he saw that Cloud had risen to its feet and was standing with its head bowed in front of him. Bones knelt next to Cloud, one knee on the ground.

Does it take stamina to control these monsters?

Luc grimaced and grasped at the pendant hanging around his chest. Earlier, Cloud had emerged from the pendant, meaning that it had been housed inside for a while. If the pendant could hold one monster, maybe it could hold two as well? Turning the pendant over in his hands, Luc didn’t see any special mechanism to trigger its powers. Perhaps it’s simpler than I thought?

“Go inside,” said Luc, jabbing a finger at the pendant.

Without even batting an eye, both Cloud and Bones took a step towards him. In front of Luc, a translucent circle appeared, made of wispy white particles that resembled mist. However, when he ran his hand through the circle, he couldn’t feel a thing. Glancing down, Luc could see that the circle was emanating from the pendant. Cloud and Bones stepped into the circle. As they did so, the circle engulfed them, swallowing them into its core. Then they vanished, along with the pendant’s mysterious mist.

As soon as Cloud and Bones were gone, energy surged back into Luc’s body. Flexing his hands, he tried to stand, immediately crumpling back down to the ground in pain. Even though the fatigue was gone, his injuries remained.

Too bad I can’t name myself, thought Luc. Sitting there, he came up with three conclusions stemming from his recent observations. First, the curse allowed him to take control of monsters. Right now, he could only control weak monsters, but he assumed that as he leveled [Kneel], he would be able to control stronger monsters. Second, that mysterious skill [The Inseverable Bond] seemed to give him the ability to name the monsters he controlled. In Bones’ case, the monster appeared to be able to evolve, but like Cloud, it didn’t seem to be guaranteed. Third, controlling the monsters took a heavy toll on his body. Luc didn’t know too much about that one.

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Luc had heard of those with the [Monster Tamer] Bloodline, which seemed to be quite similar to his cursed Bloodline. However, as far as he heard, Monster Tamers could only make a contract with one monster at a time.

Hopefully this curse isn’t sapping my life, thought Luc, taking his time to stand. While the curse had saved him this time, it was still in his best interest to get rid of it as soon as possible. And then he would go back home to ask his father about the crazy things that Matthias had been saying. Finally, after his father told him that Matthias was a just crazed loon, he could go back to his life of indulging in the pleasures of life.

Luc smiled for a moment, daydreaming about his adventures in Tosa. Almost immediately, his thoughts soured, and he faced reality once more. That plan sounds good and all, but I won’t be able to do any of it if I can’t get out of this pit!

Luc limped over to the stone door that had opened before. Running his fingers over the jagged rock, he could barely make out the edges of the door.

If it’s just stone, it shouldn’t be too hard to break, right?

Luc looked down at the pendant. “[Reinforcements]!”

The glass at the center of the pendant emitted rays of white light, once again forming the misty circle. Cloud hopped out of the circle and onto the stone floor. As expected, Luc’s head began to pound with exertion, and his breaths grew quicker and shallower. Controlling one of the monsters definitely took a toll on his body. The dragon whelp turned to look at Luc, cocking its head to the side.

“Not you,” said Luc. He gestured at the circle. “Get back in.”

Obediently, Cloud hopped back into the pendant. The pressure lifted from Luc’s head, and he could breathe freely once more.

“[Reinforcements]!”

Once again, Cloud hopped out from the pendant.

“Why is it always you?” said Luc, scowling. “[Reinforcements]!”

/

[Reinforcements] was unsuccessful.

\

“Bloody curse,” muttered Luc. Then a thought came to mind. There had to be a reason for why the monsters were named.

“Bones!”

The pendant’s white gate opened once more, and Bones stepped out. The intense fatigue once again hit Luc like a hammer, nearly dropping him to a knee. Wheezing, he gestured at Cloud.

“Cloud, go back in.”

As soon as Cloud returned to the pendant, Luc could straighten up and relax. It’s real nice to have someone listen to me without questioning my words. Even if they are monsters.

“Bones, can you break this wall down?”

Bones stared up at him without moving. As they stared at each other, Luc noticed that it was becoming harder and harder to make out what was in front of him. Luc rubbed his eyes and blinked several times. It’s not my eyes. Glancing over his shoulder, Luc got his answer. The light of Maho’s gems were fading. Slowly but surely, the pit was going to fall into darkness once more.

“Bones!” said Luc. “Can you break this wall down?”

Still, Bones did not respond.

“I command you to break this wall down!” snapped Luc, at the end of his patience.

Immediately, Bones turned and threw a punch at the wall. Luc covered his head, waiting for a boom and the shaking of dust. But none of that happened. Bones’ punch glanced off the wall, as if it had been deflected by some kind of a barrier.

What?

Bones tried again, hurling fist after fist at the stone door. Nothing happened. The only thing that changed was the continued dimming of the chamber as well as a noticeable tiredness seeping into Luc’s body. During the scuffles he had been in, his adrenaline had overwhelmed the lethargy. But now, when it was just him. Luc could definitely feel the drain that controlling Bones had. The exhaustion combined with the lack of light made Luc very, very annoyed.

“Bones! Are you as useless as that dragon whelp?” said Luc. “Just hurry up and open that door!”

Bones stopped in its movement. Then it turned and darted back into the cavern. Before Luc could chastise it even more, Bones stopped at the corpse of the warg. Bones nudged the warg aside and knelt, fiddling with something on the ground. A moment later, the rumbles shook the stone cavern once more.

The door mechanism was activated when the warg fell on it! Luc stood back and watched as the stone door slid open once more. Sunlight streamed in, blanketing Luc in bright warmth. Glancing down, he saw that Bones had returned to his side.

“Next time, just do that first, okay?” said Luc.

As usual, Bones just stared at him.

Sighing, Luc motioned at the pendant. Without a hint of disobedience, Bones hopped into the swirling white circle. With everything settled inside the pit, Luc finally gazed out at the wondrous outdoors.

From what he could see, it seemed that he was at the base of a large cliff. In front of him was a sparse grove of trees, separating the brown and black cliffside with rolling plains of tall grass. Even though it had felt like an eternity in the pit, judging by the light of sun, it was still only late afternoon. Closing his eyes, Luc breathed in, savoring every scent wafting in the air, every little chirp and whistle he heard.

Before he left the pit, he turned to look back inside. By now, the light from Maho’s gemstones had faded. Above him, the rumbling started back up as the stone door began closing. Casting one last glance around the dark chamber, Luc saw the slain warg, Maho’s scattered gems, and the ox mask, whose head was still stuck in the wall. He had already sung his praises and thanked his saviors. There was only one thing left to say.

“I’m never going in a tomb ever again.”

As Luc stepped out of the tomb, something hit him on the back of the head and his vision went dark.