‘’Soul bond? What does that mean?’’ Ethan asked but without even waiting for an answer, he cut the inside of his palm with his new dagger and smeared the blood on it.

‘’It means the artifact has a dormant spirit and by connecting to your soul, it would grow alongside you. No one could use this artifact but you. Oh, they might after killing you, though. Once the owner is dead, they will be able to bond with the dagger,’’ Saruman explained, watching the bonding process with interest.

When the first drop of blood was absorbed by the dagger, Ethan felt a connection forming through his mana, like something was leaching him but he didn’t sense any danger coming, instead felt like he just gained another extension, one with limitless potential.

The dagger didn’t stop after the first drop and continued to absorb more, but this time, Ethan felt like he was losing something. When he regained a small portion of what he lost from the hilt of the dagger, his eyes opened wide. ‘’Life steal!? No. It’s mana and stamina as well. Saruman! That’s really an amazing artifact!’’

‘’Hehe, of course,’’ Saruman confirmed, looking complacent. ‘’It devours life essence and converts it into your biological body’s needs. I don’t know how exactly it works but the devouring should be percentage-wise. That means if you fight with high tier existences, it will restore your reserves even faster.’’

‘’I love it.’’ He started playing with it again with a grin. ‘’Although the color is not to my tastes, with this kind of ability, I wouldn’t mind if it was pink with a shape of a penis… Well, okay, I would mind that.’’ Noticing that Saruman didn’t comment, This is Wish Well after all, who knows what kind of wishes had been made in the past thousands of years, he thought and tried to erase the images from his mind.

‘’So, I wished for this artifact?’’ Ethan narrowed his eyes before raising an eyebrow. ‘’Right, it was after I left that pocket world. As my regeneration was too low, I did hope there were things like that. Both the skill and the artifact are on the spot, but how could you guess my wishes from so long ago?’’

‘’It’s a skill, similar to your [Mana Connection],’’ Saruman answered, returning to the couch to chill as Ethan already picked his rewards. ‘’The mana leaking from your body, carries your deepest desires. No matter how much time passes, as long as you don’t change your mind, there will always be shadows of your wishes. Actually, after countless improvements, that skill was what made Wish Palace one of the richest organizations among the higher realms.’’

‘’Sounds like a serious violation of privacy. I guess the stronger people became, the more they threw civilized thinking from the window,’’ he commented, shaking his head. Ethan also walked to the couch and sat under the tree of Beet and Paprika, placing his new dagger on his knees. ‘’What else can you tell me about this Wish Place? Is this place a way for you guys to recruit?’’

‘’Rather than recruit, it’s for advertising and creating good karma with talented people. Now that you’ve learned that Wish Palace doesn’t lack any items and skills, you’ll definitely want to visit us after your ascension. And since you’ve already earned excellent awards, you’ll be grateful and have a good impression of us. It’s all that’s about.’’

‘’Freebies for the ones with potential. Good policy, I like it,’’ Ethan agreed and couldn’t help but push for more. ‘’But just one dagger? They came as pairs, you know? Material wise, this is like a half of a sword.’’

‘’Material? Do you think this is the work of your village’s blacksmith? That’s a growth item which you can keep using even after your ascension,’’ Saruman retorted, amused.

‘’Alright. But what about the skill? There is a popular mana skill that does the same thing, so it’s not that rare. Can’t you give me a defensive skill as well?’’ he asked with big and innocent eyes before adding, ‘’I can go for another test if that’s what you’re into.’’

Saruman shook his head, smiling. ‘’You’re still underestimating the [Void Mute], it has a potential to be more than just a silencer skill. And no, I can’t give you any more test, it’s against the rules.’’

‘’Cheapskate and stubborn. That’s the impression I got from Wish Palace,’’ Ethan grumbled. A stylish pouf appeared in front of him which he used to rest his feet. As he was trying to make himself comfortable, a light flashed in his eyes and he gestured up with his thumb. ‘’What about them? What did they get?’’

‘’Just average skills,’’ Saruman replied, looking at Beet and Paprika. ‘’[Shade Creation] and [Fallen Leaves].’’

‘’Beet got a skill too!?’’ Ethan lost his composure as he turned to Beet and gave a thumbs up, smiling wide. ‘’Congrats buddy! I’ll get you more skills in the future so you won’t get stuck like that, well, unless your talent is trash like mine.’’ Turning back to Saruman, he asked, ‘’Is it? What’s his element anyway?’’

‘’You don’t even know the talent of your beast companion? He has a top-grade talent with death affinity. I thought that’s why you picked him,’’ Saruman shared, a little baffled. ‘’Among your group, the redhead has high-grade talent in more than one element. Her companion is a wood elemental while yours is a top grade with death affinity. It’s actually hilarious that none of them managed to finish the test, but only you did with your terrible talents.’’

Ethan was stunned by the revelations. He already knew about Evelyn’s talent but had no idea about the little ones. Looks like Beet will have no problem catching up to me. And Paprika is a damn elemental? Evelyn wasn’t joking when she said Paprika’s skill might even be rank-3.

‘’Actually, you might be the person with the worst talent who ever finished my tests with a score like that. No, no forget about the score–’’

Ethan threw a handful of popcorn to his face. ‘’Shut up, Saruman. Don’t make me wish to stab you,’’ he warned, half joking.

Saruman raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

He didn’t let the imagination of artifact spirit go rampant. ‘’So, what were those skills you mentioned? What do they do?’’

‘’Oh, [Shade Creation] is one of the most common skills among necromancers. It allows the user to create a weaker version of their killed enemies in the form of a shade and control it. At rank-1, Beet could create two shades and even store them in his shadow,’’ Saruman explained, eying the myriad of snacks Ethan created. ‘’As for the [Fallen Leaves], it produces leaf shaped wooden objects. They’re very thin and sharp while their movements are in the control of the user. Used together with Paprika’s vine skill, it would be quite a combo.’’

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

‘’Yeah, they sound amazing. And you called them average skills. Just what the hell are you hiding in your basement?’’ Ethan teased the artifact spirit but failed to get its attention from the strawberry frosted doughnuts. ‘’The death affinity is a problem, though. No idea where I could find more skills for Beet. There might be some kind of black market for it, but it’s gonna take time to figure that out.’’

‘’It would be very lucky for you to find anything good like that. I’d suggest checking out inheritance sites with the same affinity. I don’t have any access to knowledge outside of the Wish Well, but I’m guessing there should be at least a few of them.’’

Ethan nodded absentmindedly. I’m sure there are, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the nobles made castles on top of them. I’ll ask around to see what could be done in the Niamaris. There are still many things I’ll buy, anyway. ‘’Right, do you know what this is? It almost killed me on the ninth floor,’’ he asked, fetching the piece of wood he got from Dryad boss.

‘’That’s Elder Wood,’’ Saruman replied, looking at Paprika with amusement who jumped to the couch, eying the wood curiously. ‘’Good material for crafting. Elemental users like this little one could use it by shaping it through their will. The dryad you took it from was using it somewhat crudely, but she had also received it recently, probably didn’t get many chances to experiment.’’

Ethan passed it to Paprika with a smirk. ‘’Here, take it for a spin. I’ll give it to you if you like it.’’

Paprika extended her paw, and the piece of wood became alive, rolling around her small body like a magnet. She figured it out almost immediately and started shaping it randomly. After a while, she made a small jacket for herself. It didn’t even look like wood anymore, with every move of Paprika it was waving like a piece of fabric.

Watching the little cutie in astonishment, Ethan had already decided. ‘’It’s yours,’’ he stated before adding, ‘’In exchange for petting you whenever I want.’’

Paprika rolled her eyes.

‘’Ten minutes a day?’’

Silence.

‘’A minute, and I promise it won’t be every day.’’ Getting a small nod, he happily petted her, pleased with himself. ‘’Little bastards are not only starting to understand us more and more, they even do bargains now.’’

‘’Just wait for a few more tiers, they will be able to understand even more complex speeches,’’ Saruman expressed, leaning for the banana-chocolate chips.

Ethan swatted his wrist. ‘’Jesus, man. You’ll be the first person who got a sweet tooth from pure mana.’’ He turned his palm upward and a glass of whisky appeared in it. ‘’Here. Try this.’’

Saruman took and smelled it before drinking a mouthful. His expression turned sour but he didn’t seem to have any intention to leave it. ‘’Uhm, Ethan. Did you really not see any hints about the rules? There should’ve been some riddles and basic puzzles.’’

Ethan’s burrows frowned, trying to remember. ‘’No. The place we entered was a small well, covered with spider webs and bushes. Then we got transported to the first floor but there was no information inside the floors either. Why?’’

Saruman considered his words for a few seconds before shaking his head. ‘’Nothing. I’m probably overthinking. Normally every century Wish Palace would send people to check if everything is okay and ask about people who finish the test with perfect scores. The maintenance of the entrance was their job too because I can’t have any influence outside of the Wish Well. Anyway, the last time they visited was about one and a half centuries ago. I was a little worried if something happened in the higher realms, but it’s probably me who worries for nothing.’’

‘’Did they tell you anything last time they visited? Or maybe you noticed something was off from their behaviors?’’

‘’No, no. It’s nothing like that. They never talked to me about higher realms. After all, I can’t even leave here,’’ Saruman said, taking a small sip from his whiskey. ‘’It’s just that after more than 10 thousand years, this was the first time they were late.’’

‘’You can’t leave here at all? What if something did happen to Wish Palace, will you wait here for another 10 thousand years, just like that?’’ Ethan speculated, not liking his new eccentric friend’s circumstances.

‘’Oh, it’s okay. I can meditate and won’t even notice the passing of time,’’ Saruman assured, waving his hand. ‘’The only way for me to leave is with someone else carrying the whole artifact. I can change its shape and weight however I like, but the problem is there must be an order talisman, authorized from the Wish Palace itself.’’

‘’Actually, I will be speaking with someone who came from the higher realms. I’ll try to get some information for you as well,’’ Ethan reassured. ‘’It might take a few years, but in the meantime, I’ll send some people to take your tests and they could even do the maintenance for you. Most of them should be able to pass the fifth floor, after that it’ll be up to them. In any case, you can ask them to materialize you, and hang out with them to relieve your boredom. Meanwhile, I’ll do my best to get some answers.’’

‘’You… you really don’t have to-’’

‘’I know. I’ll do it anyway. Come now, let me show you some games. Watching Eve but not being able to help at all is getting on my nerves.’’

Four days passed in a blink. The wish room changed its interior quite a bit, looking like a university dorm. Paprika was playing with her new jacket, turning it into a small swing and trying to hang onto the tree, but Beet was cutting its wooden ropes every time, apparently not wanting any damn swing on his tree.

The giant screen kept showing Evelyn all this time. She was doing the practice she learned from Ethan. Her body coordination became much better but her footwork still needed some polish. Every time Ethan watched his friend, he felt like the Eye of the Tiger was playing in the background. The determination she showed was enough to awaken awe in everyone.

Meanwhile, Ethan and Saruman were standing to face each other in stillness with focused gazes, like in a Mexican standoff. Until Saruman threw the lightweight ball into the air and hit it with his racket at an angle that made the ball spin like crazy as it went.

The ball bounced from the corner of the table but Ethan had already predicted its direction and cut its way halfway through, striking with his own racket.

Saruman had already positioned himself, as the ball was coming, he spread his arm back, ready to smash it with all his might. But just before touching the ball, he abruptly stopped himself and gently touched it with his racket. The ball slowly hit the table, then it bounced before hitting it again.

Ethan, who was waiting five feet away from the table, watched with vexation. ‘’Aren’t you a fast learner?’’ he muttered.

Pleased with himself, Saruman was about to jab before turning his head to the screen. ‘’She is going for the boss, again. You said the third time's the charm, I also think she’ll pass it this time.’’

Ethan also turned to look at Evelyn and nodded as he watched. ‘’Definitely.’’

The creatures of Evelyn’s seventh floor were pig-like creatures with horns, in contrast to the boss who looked like a majestic boar. In her first two tries, Evelyn learned that it was a must to avoid those crown-shaped horns, and exhausting this beast wasn’t feasible at all. So, this time, she focused on [Windy Dance] and her precise control over the crimson pole.

After half an hour of close calls and risky attempts, she finally stabbed her pole deep inside of the beast’s eye. Without even waiting, she drank two different potions and went for the eighth floor.

A bewildering expression formed on her face, not because of the beautiful cave system with pools of water everywhere, or the green grasses that covered and illuminated the whole place with a lackluster light. But because of the giant neon sign with glowing words: ‘In order to leave the trial, all you have to do is wish for it sincerely. You’ll still have your rewards accordingly.’

Inside the Wish Room, ‘’I told you. You should have put the dancing figures of Beet and Paprika as well,’’ Ethan remarked.

‘’I already changed it to a neon sign,’’ Saruman replied, annoyed. ‘’Do you want her to ignore it completely, thinking that it’s a joke?’’