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As I fell to the ground after the encounter with the thing, I stood there for a second to calm myself down.
The illuminating light around the tree had long lost its energy, and now it was no longer different from any other tree around me.
‘I really want to throw up.’
The feeling of nausea and the gastric acid from my stomach continuously came to my throat, but I swallowed the feeling.
Even for me, who witnessed a massacre before my eyes, it was still mentally taxing to see all those memories of people.
Though I didn’t have any lingering attachment to them, I was still a human at the end.
“Huuuuuuuu…”
Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself down.
And as I calmed myself, I felt the presence of something inside me. Not physically, but like something that was bound to me.
‘It should be there.’
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?Name: Astron Natusalune
?Occupation: Weapon Master (level 1)
?Talent Limit: 6
?Passives:
-?Vengeful Bane
?Attributes:
Variable Attributes:
-?Strength: 2.36
-?Dexterity: 2.85
-?Agility: 2.89
-?Constitution:?2.12
-?Intuition: 2.93
-?Magical Power: 3.04
-?Mana Capacity: 2.5
?Traits:
-?Perceptive Insight (Unique)(Unchanging)
-?Lunar Enigma (????) (Growth Type) (Stage 0)
-?Shadowborne (Legendary) (Growth Type)(Stage 1)
?Arts:
-?Lethal Arsenal Ascendancy (????)(%13)
?Skills:
-?Dash
-?Eyes of Hourglass
?Body Imprints:
?Bonds:
-?Aurora Raven (Rare)(Growth Type)
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Looking at the status window before me, I could now see a different section here. All of the parameters had grown a little, probably because of the trial I had just gone through.
‘Bond section also appeared.’
As the word easily suggests, Bond meant beings that were connected to your very being. Basically, you are their master.
This was how it was described in the game, and that was also why I came to this dungeon in the first place.
Clicking on the Aurora Raven, I started reading what was written there.
——————————-
Bond: Aurora Raven
Rarity: Rare (Growth-Type)
Description: Aurora Raven, initially a rare-grade bond bestowed by ?????.
It takes on the unique characteristic of a growth-type familiar. It materializes a mystical raven creature crafted entirely from mana, as the user wished to call the bonded familiar.
As the user channels more mana and deepens their bond, the Aurora Raven’s potential expands, evolving in both form and abilities.
The user can command the bonded familiar according to their wishes.
Vision Share: Host can now share their own vision with their bond, seeing the world from its eyes.
Output: Evolves in form and abilities based on the bond strength and mana infusion.
——————————————–
‘This is good.’
Looking at the panel before me, I thought.
Thanks to the bond now, I could easily fulfill my lack of scouting, and that was something I had been keeping in my mind for a while.
Aurora Raven
As I called the name in my head, I used my mana instinctively, and a raven materialized before me.
It had the complete color of black, devoid of anything, and purple eyes resembling mine. Just like the panel explained, the raven didn’t have a physical body but rather made from pure mana itself.
FLAP! FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!
As I wished the raven to move, it started moving with its wings flapping just like any other bird. If one thing was different, then that would be the fact that my mana was slowly getting sucked with each movement it was making.
However, the consumption wasn’t that high, probably because of my magic power stat being high.
In the game, the more magic power you had, the more output you would exert with the same amount of mana used. That also meant products or bonds like this raven would also be affected by it.
‘Though, still, I won’t be able to use it for long.’
I thought as I felt the connection between me and the raven slowly getting weaker as the distance increased.
‘The more distance we have, the more mana it consumes.’
Of course, that made sense since, on the way, mana would lose its normal energy, and this would make the signal getting weak. Even though mana was an ethereal form, it was still an energy, and there was friction in this world.
‘Let’s test the vision share.’
As I thought about that, suddenly, I felt like the world around me was changing. The scenery changed from the trunks of the trees to their peaks.
‘It is very good.’
Seeing things from a bird’s-eye view was quite an experience. It was a little weird since the eye lenses were probably different.
Since it was a raven, the eyesight was good. I didn’t know how it would compare to an eagle’s, but it was pretty enough to see everything in detail.
‘The Perceptive Insight is also working.’
And when I saw my characteristic information coming from my trait, I understood that I could use my skills even when I was sharing my vision with the bird.
That was a pretty good detail since ravens’ eyesight is not that strong at dark, but with my own traits, I can easily see.
‘This should be enough.’
Even though I wanted to explore more, I was quite tired mentally from all that constant walking.
Now, some of you may be wondering what was that dungeon and who that thing was.
And to be frank, even I don’t know the name of that being.
In the game, the dungeon of Eldertine Spires was different from other types of dungeons. This one is actually not a dungeon but is more like a fragmented legacy.
Fragmented Legacies are a type of sub-spaces created by very strong and high-ranking beings who wanted to leave their mark on the world. Or they were created by beings that were hunted and hated.
Both were cases where the dungeons were more like a live test rather than a linear dungeon experience. Things wouldn’t be determined from the start as the space would actually be changed constantly by the being conducting the test, though the starting parts would be the same mostly.
In the game, this dungeon was the first accessible Fragmented Legacy.
The moment the player steps in, the first type of enemies will be ghouls, and that won’t change.
That was the reason why I already prepared a Holy Water before coming here.
However, the hard part of the test wasn’t how good you were at dealing with the monsters. It was the test of your vitality, endurance, and [willpower] stat.
Since willpower stat was a hidden stat and was hard to improve in the game, most players wouldn’t prefer clearing this dungeon. After all, to improve willpower, you need to train your character.
And training meant doing the same thing over and over again, even while controlling the character, and as a player, that was something boring for others.
Of course, not everyone was lazy like that.
In any case, if the first part would test the [willpower], the second part would test the [focus].
That was not a named stat, but it was a test where, while listening to those countless creepy voices, the player would need to walk forward.
Though no monster would appear there.
The last stage would be where countless different scenes would be presented to players, and they would be asked a question.
“Why do we need to suffer?”
It was a simple question, and depending on the answer you gave, the test would result in different outcomes.
But, just as I expected, the reality was different from the game. The answer I gave wasn’t one of the ones in the game. At that time, I just said what I wanted to, and I got what I wanted.
Bonded Familiar.
Even though I didn’t gain anything that would make money, the fact that I got something that could improve my prowess was enough to show that my efforts paid off and that was enough.
With that thought, I stood up and started walking back all the way.
‘I guess it is still too early for me to look for runes.’
This mountain range contained quite a lot of runes, but the part was every one of them was actually already consumed by a monster, and the only way to take them off by simply killing it.
‘Which is impossible for me.’
The lowest ranked of them would be on the border of rank-6 to rank-7. Right now, even just to reach them, the amount of distance I need to cover and the monsters I would encounter on the way would be enough to kill me.
In the end, the only thing I could do was to return to the academy…..
*******
As Astron stumbled out of the cave, leaving behind the nightmarish visions and the grotesque abomination, the figure made of darkness chuckled to itself.
“Hahahaa…..It really has been a while….”
The eerie laugh echoed within the confines of the cave, a symphony of malevolent amusement.
‘An intriguing soul, indeed,’ it mused, its voice a chilling whisper that reverberated in the air.
The shadowy presence shifted and swirled within the depths of the cave, its form amorphous and enigmatic.
It seemed to be both a part of the cave and separate from it, a manifestation of darkness and torment.
Following that, the cave slowly started crumbling.
‘I guess this is the end of mine.’
Looking at its own form of crumbling, the figure mumbled.
‘I really would like to watch what kind of things he would bring in the future, but I guess I will leave for my other selves.’
In the end, it was nothing but a fragment that was left by its real body before leaving this world.
‘Though he was one of those guys, huh? Considering those heretics revering the sun, I guess their counterparts also came to this world.’
The figure felt a pang of regret. It had followed a being, a supposed ally in the realm of light. 𝑶𝑽xt.𝚌𝑂𝗆
The being was once formidable, but it had discarded the figure, leaving it to wither and fragment.
‘To think I followed that bastard only to be cast aside like that,’ the figure mumbled to itself, bitterness coloring its tone. ‘Once a being of immense power, they cast me aside like a useless relic.’
In its last moments, the figure contorted and shifted, taking the form of a three-legged crow.
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You can check my discord if you want. You can see the illustrations of characters there.
The link to the discord server is in the description of the book.