Trixie paced silently behind Rin, following him back to the sand-filled tunnel at the Cursed Temple’s entrance. They’d come to an understanding. Rin would put forth a good-faith effort to upgrade her gear and find her some kind of ghostly sustenance to eat. The ‘contract,’ if you could call it that, was little more than a vague promise, one that Rin had no idea how to actually fulfill. Still, his eager pleading wore her down until she agreed, which triggered the Game of the Gods to acknowledge the deal as complete.

Companion bond formed.

Duration: Indefinite.

This bond is voluntary and subject to conditions agreed upon by both parties. The bond may be dissolved at any time by either party.

To view your companion’s status, express your will to the Game of the Gods with the words ‘companion status.’

Rin stared at the notification and forced his shoulders to relax.

What have I got myself into?

This didn’t feel like an ordinary friendship at all. More like a business transaction. Then again, his companion, or whatever he should call her, wasn’t exactly ordinary either.

He glanced at Trixie and her evident curiosity at his world. She was currently inspecting Craven’s torch nestled in the metal brazier. Her experience with the phantasmal torch differed from Rin’s, as she experienced actual heat from its flames. She was amazed that Rin could unflinchingly plunge his arm into its flames without screaming in pain.

Huh. I expected a ghost to be unaffected by the physical world. And here we are, already finding something that hurts her more than me. And she wants food too! She’s nothing like what I would expect from a ghost.

“There’s the exit. I’m honestly not sure what will happen now. The only way to get out is with a secret ability I can’t use when observed. If this doesn’t work, we’ll need to get creative.”

“Oh, the Transmutation? I know all about it. I saw it in your status.”

“You can see my status? I didn’t think that was possible. I guess it’ll work then.”

Rin was floored. An adventurer’s status sheet was typically their deepest secret. You only shared it with your most trusted companions because it revealed any weaknesses you might have in combat.

This bond must be the real deal.

With a mere thought, he reciprocated, bringing up Trixie’s status.

Lellatrix Kassalark

Level 25 Dark Elf [Specter]

Attributes:

Strength: 30

Dexterity: 19

Perception: 88

Stamina: 65

Toughness: 31

Current HP: 310

Recovery: 45 HP/min

Magic: 62

Current MP: 620/620

Absorption: 59 MP/min

Charisma: 0

Special Abilities:

Night Vision: Grade D

Trap Detect: Grade D

Sorronia’s Gift: Grade B

“Gods above, you have a Grade B ability! What’s Sorronia’s Gift?”

Trixie’s brow creased. “It’s from the goddess of rogues. Last I checked, that ability was only grade F. Let me test it for a moment.”

The elf’s body disappeared without a trace, rematerializing a few seconds later at Rin’s side, startling him. “You turned invisible!”

Trixie wasn’t impressed. “That’s what the ability is supposed to do. But now that it’s grade B, I can’t tell anything’s changed.”

“Probably because you’re a ghost now. I bet you can hide from all kinds of things.”

The tension left her brow, and the hint of a smile curled at her lips. “Hmm. Not bad.” She punched him playfully in the shoulder. Because of their bond, her fist connected, knocking him back. “This bond thing is already working out in my favor.” Her eyes abruptly narrowed into slits. “Just remember—no funny business.”

Rin rolled his eyes and jerked his head at the sandy tunnel marking the temple’s exit. “Well, here goes. I guess I’ll see you topside.”

He dove at the exit, transforming mid-air so that when he hit the sand, he plunged straight through in wriggler form. When he emerged in the dim hollow topside, he wasted no time imagining a set of clothes as he reverted to his human body. Trixie might be a ghost, but she was still a girl, and Rin did not want her to see him naked. The view might traumatize or, even worse, disgust the dark elf.

For several seconds, Trixie was nowhere to be found. When Rin focused on their shared bond, he could tell she was drawing closer, her existence exerting a subtle tug on his soul from the direction of his feet. Her body rose through the floor a moment later, her eyes large.

“What a strange feeling! I could feel your bond tugging at my soul, drawing me to the surface. But I had to travel through several layers of solid rock …” Trixie’s voice tapered into silence as she noticed where she was. Bright beams of sunlight lit up the hollow, heralding the dawning of a new day amidst a swelling chorus of birdsong.

“It’s dawn?” asked Rin. “I must have slept all night after we bonded.”

Trixie was silent for several seconds, awestruck by the view. “I-Is this the surface? I’ve never been this high before. It was always too dangerous.”

A broad grin tore across Rin’s lips. “Come on, you’ll love it. Let me show you the view.” His hand clasped hers, their touch a pleasant intermingling of spirit and body, and he dragged her outside. She hid behind his back, ogling at the panorama from over his shoulder. “Those are the Steppe mountains. That brown line over there is the road from Bastion I traveled yesterday. And this other direction is where the two tailors went, heading for Strathburn. It’s a city near the swamps, I think.

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“I-I don’t think I like this. It’s too big.”

“Oh, you’ll get used to it. Think of it this way: You can see for miles, so you have plenty of time to prepare for any threats coming along. So it’s safe, see? Plus, it’s quite beautiful, don’t you think?”

“It’s … different. You must understand I’ve spent my entire life underground in caves and dark tunnels.” She waved an ethereal limb at the scenery. “This is the opposite.”

Rin nodded, trying his best to feel empathetic, but failing miserably. To him, the sun on his face felt heavenly, a welcome respite from being stuck underground in dungeons and temples the last few days. “Tell you what, how about I snag us some breakfast? We can test if your spirit can eat food here in the topside world.”

She didn’t respond, entranced by the view, so Rin shrugged and snuck away.

He decided to try something new, using partial transmutation to change his eyes and ears into bat form to increase his Perception. Once he pinpointed a rabbit nearby, he dismissed the bat features and focused on utilizing the Shadow Weaver’s abilities instead, casting a metallic snare that caught his prey effortlessly. Walking back to Trixie with the live game kicking in his grasp, he coughed to get her attention. “I’m not sure how this is going to work. Maybe you can try eating the rabbit’s spirit or something? Any ideas?”

Trixie reached out to grasp the animal. To Rin’s astonishment, the rabbit’s spirit, outlined in ghostly blue-gray, came away in her hands.

“Wow, okay. And now we just figure out how to cook the ghost version over some kind of fire—” He froze as the ghost rabbit melted into a cloud of essence and sank into Trixie’s chest, disappearing into nothingness. “Oh.”

The dark elf gave an easy shrug, staring at her outstretched arms. “I feel much better, thank you.” Her phantasmal form flared brighter, its edges more defined.

Rin’s gaze fell to the rabbit’s physical body in his hands. It was dead, its eyes locked open in abject horror as its spirit had been ripped away.

What a way to go. I almost feel sorry for the little guy.

The boy gathered some brush and used his Fire Sleeves to start a small fire to stave off the morning chill. With the flames delivering a tall tendril of smoke into the bright morning sky, he decided to roast the rabbit on real flames for once. It just tasted better.

To Rin’s relief, the rabbit’s spirit being eaten alive left its physical flavor unaffected. They spent several minutes lazing in the meal’s after-effects, seated on a rock and basking in the moment.

“So, what’s the plan?” Trixie asked distractedly, the majestic view capturing her gaze. “Have you explored much of these gigantic things? The mountains?”

“I grew up on them. Honestly, there’s not much up there because of the hostile environment. Great views, but most of the life is down here in the valleys. But we hunt something else.” At her curious glance, Rin elaborated. “Dungeons. There’s an air-type dungeon somewhere in the foothills of that biggest mountain there, and I plan to find it. I had this awesome map with everything laid out, but it was stolen—”

Her attention darted to the side, halting Rin’s words. “Who’s there?”

A second later, she turned invisible, the only trace of her existence a light tug on Rin’s soul from their bond.

Shocked by her sudden behavior, Rin leaped to his feet and attempted to turn into the undead raven.

Secret ability unusable. You may not transmute while being observed.

Oh no.

“There ‘e is!” said a voice in the distance. One of the assassins pursuing him—the short one—spotted him from a hundred feet away, having just crested the barrow’s edge.

Jaxon James

Level 29 Assassin

Rin was about to dart away when a firm grip clamped down on his shoulder, holding him firmly in place. He spun around to find the taller assassin peering down at him with a cold gaze. Before the boy could react, the man slapped an iron handcuff over Rin’s wrist, connected via a long chain to a clasp on the assassin’s belt.

Markus “The Cutter” Shaw

Level 28 Assassin

Neither of the two assassins’ levels had changed. Technically, neither had Rin’s.

“Hold it right there, runt. You’re not going anywhere.” Markus chuckled. “What a spot of luck. We’d just given up on you and were headed to Strathburn. Now you can join us for the journey, eh?”

By now, the other assassin, Jaxon, had joined them and was searching Rin’s monster pack lying on the ground. “E’s got ten gold in ‘ere! Tha’s a ‘undred times ‘is reward!”

Markus’s eyebrows leaped high and he whistled between his teeth. “Even more luck! I knew this job would pay off. You’ve proved quite capable, hiding from us while camping out here in the wild. And by the looks of that gold, you’ve been thriving. A little highway robbery, hmm? Don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. It’s ours now.”

The man grabbed Rin by the scruff of the shirt and pulled him near. His liquor-laden breath was putrid, causing the boy to grimace. “What I do want to know is how. How did you hide from us for so long? I have several tracking abilities, yet they were all thrown off. You were a vapor, a whisper on the wind.” The man’s glee had turned to a sneer holding an undeniable threat of violence. “Tell me now before I break your neck and drag your lifeless body back for the reward.”

Rin carefully licked his lips, daring to lock eyes with the man.

“I want my map back.”

Markus was momentarily stunned. Then he tossed his head back and laughed. “A bold one, for sure! He wants his map back!” The laughter cut off abruptly and the man’s sneer returned. “You’re lucky the reward is greater if you’re alive. Otherwise, I’d enjoy cutting you into pieces.”

Rin’s gaze didn’t waver. The days of fighting monsters above his level had made him braver, fiercer, and by his estimation, far more dangerous. He was no longer afraid of these men.

Let’s see how you handle a little wardrobe malfunction.

“That’s a nice shirt you’ve got there,” said the boy, jutting out his chin.

The lanky assassin did a double-take. “What?”

“Your shirt. I like it. Pity about the lapels though.”

Markus’s gaze snapped down to check the oversized triangles. Their outrageous size was a cry for attention and an obvious source of pride.

“My lapels? What’s wrong with them?”

The boy pointed with a finger, then carefully reached out and touched the edge of the collar. “They’re a bit pointy, don’t you think?”

Rin imagined the man’s lapels transforming into crescent-shaped blades that rapidly grew to shuck the assassin’s head right off.

Nothing happened.

Rin gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes tight, imagining every detail of the shirt’s fibers. But even after straining to picture the scene, when his eyes popped open, the shirt was unchanged. The only difference was the assassin’s grin was even wider.

“That tingles. Looky here, Jaxon, the lad’s got a magic ability.” The man pulled a necklace out from under his shirt, briefly kissing a charm that dangled from its center. “Cost me a pretty penny, this. Protection from magical interference, up to grade D.”

“Don’ tell ‘im tha!” said Jaxon, lumbering closer. “Never r’veal ya secrets, idjit!”

“He’s level six. What’s he gonna do? Give me a cold?”

In a last-ditch attempt, Rin lashed out at the taller assassin with his Fire Sleeves. To the boy’s dismay, Markus used his maxed-out dexterity to casually sidestep the sleeves, leaving one to land on Jaxon’s shoulder. The squatter man shrugged off the flames with a frown, plucking the burning sleeve from his shoulder to peer at it curiously. When he ripped the fabric in half, its power guttered out. He met Rin’s gaze with a look of genuine amusement.

The color fled from the boy’s face.

This is nothing like fighting monsters.

Markus moved his head into Rin’s line of sight. “Nice trick. But did you seriously think you could take us? A level six against two upper-twenties?” He spat on the ground, then twisted a dial on the clasp on his belt. “I should have done this sooner.” He nodded at the shackle on Rin’s wrist. “Take another look at that handcuff.”

The boy looked down to find glowing runes etched along the cuff’s surface.

“That’s right,” said Markus. “Magical impedance runes. So no more tricks or we’ll have to do something drastic.” The man got down in Rin’s face. “This isn’t our first gig, y’know. We’re professionals. You’ll make capture number fourteen.”

Rin remembered Craven’s words, and his eyes darted about, looking for some way he could create a diversion; for anything he might use so he could activate his main ability. He wasn’t even sure if it would work with the magical handcuff in play, but he was desperate.

There was nothing.

The assassin’s piercing gaze watched his every move, emptying his confidence and replacing it with foreboding.

Jaxon plodded around behind him and rested a meaty hand on Rin’s shoulder. The simple gesture felt like a meteorite landing, and the boy’s shoulders tilted askew under the weight.

“Still,” said Markus, “You’ve got balls, kid, I’ll give you that. And that’s a problem. We wouldn’t want you to get any ideas on the way back.” Markus bobbed his chin in Jaxon’s direction, receiving a grunt in response.

Something struck the back of Rin’s skull.

The world went dark.