Coroco Dungeon was pretty dark, as we were enveloped in darkness. Neso pulled out from his bag, four orbs.
Circular in fashion, and pretty, they were polished clean with great report.
"Go my dancing lights," he whispered to them and pushed them up into the air. They circled us and lit the space bright. They shone different colors.
>New incantation archived.
"Huh?!" I said out loud, "What's the difference between an incantation and a spell?" oops I said that out loud.
"Oh!?" Neso seemed surprised.
>An incantation is a spell when …
Before Sybil could finish, Neso interrupted her, he didn't hear her of course, only I could,
Neso and I didn't share a mental bond like me and Dragan. And even with Dragan, it was pretty restricted.
"Why do you ask that?" he exclaimed. I got suddenly very scared, I felt Sybil getting pissed.
She minimized herself with a passive-aggressive tone.
"Uhhh….."I didn't know what to do, however Neso continued.
"That's year 5 level magic, why do you ask that? More importantly, how did you know to ask that?"
I got nervous for a moment, I didn't know what to say or how to explain it.
"I don't know how to explain it," I said.
"It's like this lady talks to me inside my head."
He didn't seem surprised.
We started walking into the dungeon, now with the lights casting light our way. I tried to listen inside, but couldn't hear anything, were the monsters further down?
It was dead silent. Not even bugs or anything.
Neso seemed to walk without much of a care in the world. His stride was confident.
"Well - if I remember correctly, incantations can use many different tongues, while spells use only one, meanwhile spells make an emitter with mana, while incantations are cast on placed on objects, such as the dancing lights," he explained with great accuracy.
Suddenly a ladder popped on the floor. We took it to the next floor down.
>*Sigh*
Did Sybil just sigh?
"Where are the monsters?" I asked, a little confused, brushing Sybil aside for a moment.
"They don't come here anymore, since we started doing the initiation ritual."
"Gah!" I was petrified in shock.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll find one or two, on the bottom floors," he said.
"Where do they even come from?" I asked.
"It depends, they usually choose dungeons like this to be able to live normal lives, they form societies and even develop a form of currency, that is if enough time passes, but if adventurers and lads like that break into them to search for loot, well their progress is stopped, monsters also live through terror on this planet," he said with some sort of melancholy. It made me feel for the monsters. I don't think I had it in me to fight them anymore.
"Can we be friends with them instead?" I said to Neso wholeheartedly. He chuckled loudly with a deep holler.
"You're something all right," he continued. "Grimalkin's only hunt them because we need food, it's the humans that do it for sport," he explained. "Ah sorry - you were human once,"
"No need to worry," I said making a proud stance in my slim body. "I'm pretty accustomed to being a monster now, it's kind of fun,"
"Monster huh - that's one word to say it," Neso didn't say it at that moment, but I felt it, the tinge in his voice, the way his eyes saddened, the color of his words.
There was pain behind that word.
I asked if it was similar to someone calling me the f-word.
"I'm sorry," I instantly apologized. "I didn't mean to say it like that,"
"It's okay, you didn't know little one, you do know, that's the important part,"
It was hard to explain, but the more I bonded with someone in this world, it means the more I could get insight into who they were.
Sybil suddenly came back.
>Unique skill activated; passive skill; Mind Reader; Level 1
>Unique skill activated; active skill; Bond Telepath; Level 0
Passive Skill? Mind Reader? Telepath?
What's all this?
I had to put all of that aside because we reached the final floor, denoted by Neso.
"We're here," Neso said. "I was expecting more monsters, but seems like they've all been gone, Ah - man, we'll have to get another dungeon for the initiation, I'll talk to the elders when we get back." He said thinking out loud.
Everything went quiet for a second, the water trickling through the rocks seemed to stop, the fauna around us didn't make a single move, and the air was getting dense.
A light suddenly shone in front of us, a portal opened up with great vigor, and air flushed the dungeon.
Neso put his hands up. I jumped and changed into my human form. Shielding my eyes from the wind as well.
From the other side, Zomearon came forth. He was wearing leather boots, and an outfit that made me think he looked like a vampire, from those old cartoon movies, it was so cliche, is that what passed for fashion on this planet? He looked so cheap. Yet acted all high and mighty.
"Hello boys, having fun in your little adventure?" he asked mockingly.
"Much thanks!" I shouted back, god this guy was so sassy it almost pissed me off. He laughed mockingly.
"Well, what's a little adventure with no monsters to fight with, Ah! But there's none here, what a bust no?" he explained.
Neso back down on one knee. I looked back at him with shock.
"He's making me - I have too - it's part of his zeal with me," Neso explained in a rash voice.
He - was enslaved! This pack he had with Zomearon, was nothing like what I had with
Dragan, this was forced. I couldn't believe it.
"Sybil can you do something about that?!" I said in my head.
>Scanning
>Affirmative
Suddenly - a chain formed around Neso's neck, and it extended towards Zomearon's hand.
He was laughing maniacally almost. Was it symbolic, or was it there? Was it part of the spell, and Sybil had just revealed it to me, had that chain been there all of this time, and I just couldn't see it?
I was pissed. At myself for not noticing sooner, and at Zomearon for doing something so mean. Neso was beastfolk after all, and Zomearon was treating him like some kind of pet.
How had I not noticed before?
"You're mine Neso, remember that you're my monster, my little pussy cat,"
Zomearon ranked at the chains twice, Neso went into a trance state, he started becoming aggressive, his hands pulled out claws, and he screamed at me with a deep growl. His eyes went red.
Was this some sort of trick from Zomearon?
It was almost like Neso was trying to fight it back, he convulsed and started slashing at the air in my direction.
"I don't want this!" I shouted with tears in my eyes. Falling on my tush with a rock, and crawling backward.
"I don't want this!" I shouted again, Zomearon wanted me to fight him!? Zomearon wanted me to kill him, to kill Neso!
I couldn't accept this
Neso was close now, I pushed against the wall on my back.
"Neso, please, I know you're in there, you're not this! Please!" I said he grabbed me by the neck, I started suffocating. I tried to change into a slime form, but I couldn't.
>Battle Mode Activated; User's vital signs in danger.
Explained Sybil.
No - No, there has to be another way.
NO!
"Sybil do something about the chains!" I finally shouted.
"Sybil?!" exclaimed Zomearon.
>Running program, acuring mana influx.
Lights ran through me.
>Activating
Suddenly I heard the center of the chain break, and it was demoralizing.
>Success
>New Spell Registered; active skill; Bond Break; lv 1
Neso stopped still my neck in his hand, the chain broke in succession until it reached his neck. The collar also broke into fine sand and washed away into the floor.
Zomearon was in shock.
"You - You broke my contracted spell!" he said with emphasize.
Neso returned to who he was. He instantly put me down and went into deep apology mode instantly. I grabbed his shoulder.
"It's okay - you're not in his control anymore," I said. "Raise your head, please," Neso looked at me with soft gaze and loving eyes.
"NO!" Zomearon said stomping the ground. "You broke my spell!"
"What you did is not okay!" I shouted.
"And who are you to teach me about morals?" he said. "What good have you contributed to the world that is so grand you get to carry yourself with such high praise, huh?! You're my substitute, you walk under my will, remember that!" he said angrily.
"I am not your object, you don't get to treat people like that,"
"People?" Both of you are not even human, you're low class," he said with spite.
"I was once - and I think that's enough," he spit at the floor.
"Unforgivable, you've cast my wrath, don't you forget that," he said pointing fingers. "For now, - I'll leave you with my plan B,"
"Plan B?" he opened a portal behind him, and reached in, only to pull out a human-sized coffin, from inside a creature emerged, it slowly creaked the door open, and the smell stunk the room, even Neso covered his nose and mouth.
Zomearon was unaffected.
"I'll leave you two to play with my chimera, you two are on my naughty list," he said and cast a small light circle to his feet, it made him float up in the air. A portal opened up in mid-air and Zomearon flew into it. It closed right after.
The creature emerging from the coffin was old and dead, its skin all turned charcoal a few strands of white hair, two gaping holes where its eyes should be, and crooked teeth. Its hand bony almost like it was about to fall off.
"That's a Horokin," exclaimed Neso standing up and taking a fighting stance.
I had no time to process all of this, all I knew was what happened next.
>Battle Mode engaged; hostile entity detected.