The fish woman fell to the ground, her red hair tangled in a mess as blood bubbled out of her stomach. She shrieked something awful and wailed like a banshee reminding me of cold nights on the road from my village to Loon. I pointed Nirvana down at her, and her wailing only grew louder.

“Go away!” she shrieked, and I felt a little bad. Sure, she was going to use her charms to eat me, but so was everything else in this dungeon. I had the power to do what was right.

I aimed at her head to put an end to her suffering.

“Please, no, I’ll do anything.” She said

Crimson River Eldritch Mermaid lvl305

Maybe I should test her. “I heard that mermaids had to keep to deals once struck.” That’s what my father said a sailor told him once about certain spirits of the sea.

“Yes, that’s true; if we make a deal, I’ll have to stick to it. So hurry up. I’m losing a lot of blood.”

“No, that’s spirits of the sea,” I said.

“I’m bleeding out.” She said.

“Yes, you are.”

“If you can save me, I’ll become you’re familiar. That’s the only thing I can give you.”

“All we have to do to make one is trade blood.”

“No deal,” I said, and her eyes widened. “You’re weak, and your life is pouring out over the dock. I think I would rather tame you than make you familiar.”

Her mouth opened, then closed as I dipped a finger in her blood and brought it to my mouth. I felt a slight burst of energy travel through me. My qi jumped at the feeling, and I stared down at her. She could die at any moment, so I gathered the full might of my aura.

Greenlight manifested around me as I brought a hand to her wound and another to her head. Then I invaded her body with my aura. My sister had a knack for this skill and used it on ants, spiders, and small rodents. Anything weak enough for her qi to take over became an extension of her will. She taught me the skill, but I never really practiced it. Binding another being to my power seemed like what a dark lord would do. But she was dying, and I didn’t know the familiar bond skill or how to get it.

The wound around my hand slowly closed as I pushed more power into the mermaid. I could feel a connection between us as more of my qi rushed into her. Her body shook as more of my power flooded her, and I knew I was on the right track. I felt my aura flowing into her, breaking into qi her body could use and more. My power was setting up shop, proclaiming it was here to stay, and her weakened power couldn’t do a thing to stop me.

I continued to pour in my power until I felt a trickle of qi return to me. That was the sweet spot anymore aura, and her body would explode.

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New Skill

Oversoul lvl50 – Subdue monsters with the power of your qi. They will become loyal to the user like dungeon born are to their dungeon. A percentage of their qi will always flow into the user. Different Subdued monsters grant different bonuses.

New Skill Tree

Oversoul 57 of 1000

Oversoul lvl50

Land Oversoul lvl1

Sea Oversoul lvl5

Air Oversoul lvl1

Subdued Monsters:

Crimson River Eldritch Mermaid lvl320 +100/sec Qi Regeneration

The wound at my hand had completely healed thanks to all the qi I pumped into her. Her level also went up because of my aura. She’s so much stronger than she was before; it's insane. Levels become harder to at higher levels so getting 15 is a major jump.

Her body glowed with a familiar green aura as she slowly got up and rubbed her head. “Well, master, you lucked out and made me your servant; what now?” I walked over to the edge of the peer where fish were eating each other, trying to get at the fresh blood. It was hard to see through the red clay-filled river, but her blood made the water slightly darker.

“We’re fishing,” I said, and she brought her hand to her head in a salute.

“Alright, time to snatch some tasty, crunchy fish. Can I have some? You aren’t going to let me starve, are you?” She said, really pushing on the guilt card.

“We have to get ten any extras that don’t have gems embedded in them you can eat,” I said and felt odd. Being in charge was different. She nodded her head and stood over me, staring into the water.

“Don’t worry; no one will get the drop on you while I’m here.”

“Thanks, we didn’t get a chance to introduce ourselves before. My name is Red; what’s yours.”

“Ariel, please catch some fish quickly; you still smell delicious, master,” Ariel said and licked her lips. She smiled down at me, showing off her mouth full of shark teeth.

I thought about shooting her again but brushed it off. She was a resource at this point. Maybe I could get a few more while I was in the dungeon. There was also the threat of them dying. If Ariel died, my new bonus would vanish. The power she gave me wasn’t mine. So, I needed hundreds of monsters just in case a few died.

I tossed my line in after pushing thoughts of collecting an army of monsters to the side. The second the hook fell into the water, I got a bite. I yanked to make sure the hook was good and deep before reeling. I pulled, feeling the fight from the fish on the other end. It was a monster, but I couldn’t tell how much it weighed. I took a step back, anchoring myself to the entire peer by spreading my qi. Ariel grabbed my pole and pulled to no effect. She wasn’t skilled physically. I took a step back, and the fish shot out of the water.

Its face was a catfish covered in glittering red scales. Its body was halfway transformed into a dragon ending with a spined tail. The opportunity struck me like a falling bucket of shit on full moon street. My aura rose, and I raised Nirvana and fired two shots. The first went wide from my shaking hands, but the second got the half-dragon in the body. Its shiny scales didn’t stop the bullet. Bloodshot out of its wound as it descended, and I reeled the thrashing monster in.

Its head was as wide as the dock, and it opened its mouth, revealing a mass of bladed tentacles. My body tensed as I moved while pulling the big fish out of the water. I raised Nirvana and fired into the monster’s mouth. Scales exploded off the monster into the water as I fired and pulled it out of the river. The monster thrashed, tossing its 9-meter-long tail about to cause as much damage as possible. I only stopped firing when the monster closed its mouth.

“That’s one down, just nine more to go,” I said before opening my black bag and tossing the fish inside. “Are fish like that one common?” I asked.

“That was the treasure cave leader’s favored son. So many of his men will come after you now.”

“How strong are they compared to you?”

“We are incomparable. They could gobble me up without thinking twice. Even my father is no match for his men. So I suggest we leave and never return. Treasure Cave Leader’s son should sell for a high price. I’ve heard that it's easier to live in the countryside than in the city around the dungeon.”

“Where did you hear that.”

“My victims liked to talk while I ate them. I made sure they couldn’t feel pain and ate my favorite parts first. Most of them thought they were taking me with them out of the dungeon. Some of their stories sounded nice.” She caught herself. “Don’t worry, master; this isn’t an illusion.” That is precisely what someone trapping me in an illusion would say.

I thought about executing her with Nirvana but thought better of it. My bonus more than doubled my QR, which made using qi techniques far more viable. I could train with my qi much longer now as well. Basically, subduing her had been better than making her my familiar. It would be much more popular if not for the dangers of subduing. But those who subdue open themselves up to be subdued in return. If Ariel wasn’t bleeding out and moments from death, I wouldn’t have tried it. I tossed my line back in, pulled out a glittering gem covered pink catfish, and stuffed it in my black bag.

“I think that was the little sister of the catfish you just captured,” Ariel said.

“Neat,” I said and tossed my line back in.