I waited for five minutes before cautiously leaving my hiding place. The leviathan still wasn't moving. I couldn't tell if it was breathing or not. The title bar over the unknown's head was gray, indicating that it was dead. But the one of the leviathan was still red. It was alive, but just barely.

The question was, how alive was it? Did I risk going over to it? A level fifty-three dragon would give me a lot of EXP. If I could deal the finishing blow, what level would I become? I might even become strong enough to survive the night, which at this point was looking pretty grim. Without the protection of the city barrier, I would be at the mercy of all the apex nocturnal monsters. Not something a little E Hunter could handle.

As stealthy as possible, I hurried to the leviathan. Once I was next to it, I realized just how big this monster was. I mean, it looked huge from a distance, this close up I had to accept that this white girl couldn't even jump onto its back – it was that big. Each single scale was the size of a dinner plate. I paused, looking at the opalescent gleam on the blue-green scale. Just one was enough to make a small fortune. Or a really great set of armor. At least a hundred scales littered the bloody mess underfoot. How many more would I get when the System harvested the dragon's body? Then again, what kind of drop items would be left? Every part of the dragon was valuable. One or two drop orbs wouldn't cut it.

Concerned about all the possible zeros I could miss out on, I took my maoi dao out ... and paused. Compared to the dragon, it felt like I was holding a toothpick. No, scratch that. I could see the leviathan's teeth peaking out of its lip. My sword wasn't even big enough for a toothpick. How was I going to kill this thing and get my EXP?

The sun was getting low on the horizon and I still needed to find a safe place for the night. If there was one. I just hoped that the dragons' fight had scared away all the other monsters long enough for me to get a couple hours of sleep. Every minute it took me to kill the dragon was one less minute I had. Given that the dragon didn't wake up before I killed it. As much as it hurt my pride to admit, all it needed to do was roll over and I'd be dead.

I gripped my sword and looked for an opening I could stab. No matter how much I loved my weapon, even I knew it wasn't made to cut through dragon hide. My sword was a training sword, which is why it worked on E and D monsters, but the metal wasn't strong enough to deal with stronger monster armors. So I needed to find a place where the dragon hide was already split open and work from there.

"Ah, there," I whispered, spotting a gaping wound just below the base of the leviathan's head.

It felt like I was walking through a bog. The red stained ground was supersaturated, so every time I stepped, my foot sank a couple inches in the muck. Just knowing that I was treading through a biohazard landmine was enough to make my hair stand up – never mind the fact that the dragon right next to me was still breathing. Barely.

My attention caught on one of the leviathan's feathery appendages. It laid limp, drooping down and lightly brushing against the ground. It looked both soft and sharp at the same time. Unable to resist, I stored my glove in my Items Bag and gently brushed it. It was like touching marble, cold and smooth – as long as I rubbed it the right way. I could see how razor-thin the edges of the layered scales were. If I ran my finger in the opposite direction, they'd slice my skin off in an instant.

A teal System message popped up so suddenly, it nearly gave me a heart attack. I was already on edge, worried the dragon was going to wake up. I didn't think the System was going to react, too.

Ding! [No EXP will be given for the Leviathan, because the Host didn't participate in the fight enough.]

My mouth dropped open. "Are you kidding me?" I couldn't help but argue back. As soon as my voice echoed in the silent field, my heart dropped. I gasped and slapped my hand over my mouth, staring at the dragon. When it didn't budge, I lowered my hand and dared to complain to the System in my mind. I need that EXP. How am I going to survive tonight without it?

Another message popped up over the previous one. Ding! [This monster is compatible with the Host. Do you wish to create a familiar bond with it? Y/N? Please note, the Host can only bond with one familiar in her lifetime.]

My eyes widened. A familiar? I knew the term from books and video games, but I'd never heard of it happening in real life. Then again, I'd also never heard of a Hunter being able to level up like a video game either. Was it because I had a System that I could have a familiar?

Why did I even get the System? For the millionth time, I pondered the riddle. But in the end, I focused on the immediate situation.

How is a familiar different from a mount? I asked. What was the catch?

Ding! [A familiar's life is connected to the Host's. In most cases, mild telepathic communication is possible. They can correlate attacks together more in depth than mounts, by integrating magic and strength together. In desperate situations, a familiar and Host can even share HP and MP.]

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Wow, that really sounded impressive. But I had to admit, the idea of my life being tied to a dying dragon didn't sound that great right now.

What do you mean, our lives would be connected? I asked.

Ding! [If the Host dies, the familiar's soul will be damaged.]

Now I just pitied the monster. Especially since the odds of me surviving the next twelve hours was so low. And what happens if the dragon dies first? How will that affect me? After all, the dragon was already dead enough that I considered it safe enough to finish the job.

Ding! [It will significantly affect the Host's magic negatively.]

My eyes narrowed. Affect my magic, huh? It didn't sound great since I was becoming a mage, but it could be worse. After all, I lived my first eighteen years without magic and I did just fine.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, a bud of doubt grew in my heart. Was I really fine during that time? Honestly, no. I wasn't. From the time I opened my eyes in the morning, to when I closed them at night, I always felt like something was missing. I thought it was related to the trauma revolving around Mom, but now that I thought about it, I was wrong. There's still a void in my heart where she belonged, but the thing I was missing – the empty hole inside – was being filled with the comfort using my magic brought. The idea about never wielding magic again brought about a sense of grief I didn't expect. Did I want to risk that?

Ding! [Leviathan will die in two minutes. Do you wish to create a familiar bond with it? Y/N?] Another small box appeared below. [Please note that familiars and Hosts share certain abilities, such as Regen (Limited).]

My eyes widened. So, that means that I wouldn't have a dying dragon as a familiar, just an injured one on the mend. In an hour, it would be just fine and then I'd have a huge, badass A ranked dragon bodyguard. My chest tightened with excitement and I almost laughed out loud as the image of me wielding magic like a boss with a leviathan looming behind. Even without my Uncle, no one would ever bother my family again. Not to mention, once the dragon was healed, it could fly me back to Mist Haven. After a pit stop at Boulder to eat Star and her team.

"I guess the only question left is, where do I keep a monster this big?" I muttered and stored my sword away. It definitely wouldn't fit in the lot behind my house. And what did it eat? Was I going to have to pick up that tab, too? Then again, since dragons shed, I should afford it. Should. If not, it could find its own food.

Ah, what the hell? I could have a dragon as my familiar! Micah was so going to die with jealousy.

Grinning widely, I smashed the 'yes' button.

Ding! [Contract initiated.] The teal panel flashed then disappeared.

At first, nothing happened.

Then a pressure built in my chest, like a too-tight hug. But it wasn't exactly physical, it didn't affect my breathing or anything. No, I realized, the pressure wasn't from my body; it was from something deeper. My ... soul?

The pressure spread out, down to my toes and over to my fingers, making every inch of my body tingle. The force moved up to my head and a dizzying sense of vertigo overcame me. With a groan, I stumbled back, determined to not sit down on the disgusting mud.

I wasn't the only one affected. Slowly, starting with the outside of each scale and moving in, the dragon started to glow. The white shimmer grew, until every inch of the monster was like a huge light-up carnival float. The magic light pulsed and rippled over the leviathan, shifting from blue to white then back to blue. The leviathan didn't move a muscle throughout the entire process.

Another wave of vertigo struck, and I pressed my numb hand to my head. Then jerked my hand away, staring at it like it didn't belong to me. My hand was glowing. No, not just my hand. My whole body was faintly shimmering, like the leviathan, but less intense. A ball of light grew out of my chest then it suddenly opened up, like a flower.

Simultaneously, a comparably large blue-green magic flower grew on the top of the leviathan's torso, spreading out almost like a pair of wings on its back.

As soon as both flowers were open, a beam shot out of each flower, arching towards each other. The two magic beams touched and twisted, merging until one beam connected my heart with the leviathan's.

I gasped, shocked and overwhelmed. I understood that I'd be connected to the dragon, I just didn't think I'd see it in such a literal sense. Suddenly, the heaviness of the situation settled on my shoulders. This was a lot bigger than adopting another pet.

The white and blue swirl from my side bled into the dragon's blue-green line. Suddenly, the dragon's essence pushed at mine, the blue-green color rushing along the combined line. The closer the dragon's essence got to me, the greater the pressure was in my chest. Instinctively, I resisted it, pushing back with my soul. The dragon's invading essence finally stopped. Ever so slowly, the dragon's essence retreated. As it did, my own white-blue color dominated the line until it touched the dragon's body.

A blinding light flashed from the leviathan. It didn't hurt my eyes because it wasn't a physical light, but one created from the metaphysical. The soul flower closed tight around my essence, anchoring it to the dragon.

A feeling that was both light and heavy settled in my chest. For a second, I could almost feel a second heartbeat pounding, like an echo of my own. Surprised, I covered it with my hand, fingers easily passing through my soul flower as if it wasn't there at all. My soul flower retreated into my body, taking the odd sensation of two heart beats with it. The glimmer surrounding my body disappeared.

At the same, the soul flower on the leviathan's back merged back into its body and the bond between us faded away.

Ding! [Contract successful.]

The leviathan flashed again. Then started to break apart into magical glitter – just like a monster after I kill it.

*****