“Thank You.”

Silence falls upon the clearing as everyone looks at the [Cyclone Wyvern] who clearly just spoke. But the words, though clear, lack any emotion.

Quasi smiles as his eyes glow purple.

“You can speak!” Alba quickly canters up to the edge of the cliff.

The [Cyclone Wyvern] does not seem to immediately react to the words, but mana pulses outwards from inside her mouth.

“I can indeed communicate.” The words flow out with a very monotone sound.

Quasi steps forward with eyes that emit a purple sheen. It’s a characteristic sign he is sensing mana.

“You’re manipulating the air and making it vibrate. Someone taught you how to speak.”

The [Cyclone Wyvern] blinks before reexamining the [Hero’s] cohort. She seems to come to a realization before shuffling back towards her young so as to react quickly to any threat.

“None of you are Garuda.”

Quasi chuckles.

“So, the intelligent species that live on this floor are called Garuda. They are also the species that taught you how to speak, correct?”

The [Cyclone Wyvern] takes a moment to process the question before speaking. It looks fixedly at Quasi with a slowly growing sense of caution. The small beings before it do not appear to be wary of her at all.

“Yes,” she answers.

“I see. Then, where might I find these Garuda?”

The [Cyclone Wyvern] gazes at him and the others around her. She no longer speaks. Instead, she crouches down and prepares to defend her nest.

“She’s afraid, Quasi. It may be better to return when she is stronger and her young are recovered.”

Quasi shakes his head, “That's the problem. The bleeding [Gale Wyvern] will not survive without Jessica to [Heal] its wounds.”

At his words, the [Cyclone Wyvern] focuses on Quasi. She releases mana.

“You are able to save my daughter? What is it you request in return?”

The [Necromancer] leans down. He licks his lips before saying, “Your eternal loyalty.”

“QUASIIII!” Jessica yells as she subconsciously uses her aura. “You can't promise healing for that. That's not right! You’re not a [Slaver]!”

“I accept, powerful [Mage]. I, Nyxina, pledge my loyalty to you until my death so long as my children survive.”

Contract created.

Nyxina is now your beast companion.

Companion system interface unlocked.

“Holy shit! What the hell is this?” Quasi exclaims. A moment later, he yells out in surprise. A well placed kick to his back by Jessica shocks the [Hero] from his pondering and knocks him over the edge of the canyon.

_______________________________________________________________

I watch as Jessica kneels down before the injured wyvern. She places her hand upon it and casts the [Heal] spell. Flesh begins to mend before my eyes. During this time, Nyxina licks her newborns with her tongue. The vernix covering their body is pulled off, which was probably inhibiting the growth of scales. The babies begin to mewl and move around. One of them even stands up and opens its eyes. It looks around at its environment for the first time. Its eyes then stop on Alba who looks like she wants to hug the pony sized wyverns.

“It's done,” Jessica announces as she removes her hand with a satisfied smile. The now healed [Gale Wyvern] moves its head toward Jessica and nuzzles the [Priestess].

“Awww, you’re so sweet,” she says, petting it in return.

I chuckle. Jessica is a bit of an oddity For the most part, people see the kind and caring [Priestess]. She’s shy and subservient to others; at least, that’s what it would seem like when you first meet her. Beneath that friendly exterior is an impressive amount of willpower. Willpower enough to kick me off a cliff…

I sigh, opening up the new interface I’ve gained.

Beast Companion: Nyxina

Level 271 [Cyclone Wyvern]

Attributes

Strength

89

Dexterity

164

Stamina

151

Perception

136

Endurance

106

Vitality

1763

Mana

3760

M/regen

36.5

Skills

[Greater Air Manipulation]

Companion Skills:

[Necromancer]

[Greater Corrosive Resistance]

[Corrosive Breath]

Trait

[Hero Companion]

It’s kind of annoying how much I keep learning about the [Hero] class. Like, this beast companion interface makes a certain amount of sense. If you are a [Beastmaster] or some other tamer class, then something like this would be very useful; but until you gained a companion, you wouldn't even have known that it existed. It would have been far better to have this interface unlocked from the start but empty, just so I could be aware of it.

“I’m done,” Jessica says as she walks to me. The [Gale Wyvern] follows behind her like a lost puppy, if lost puppy was the size of a horse.

I nod towards her and then look at Nyxina. I can’t stop a smile from forming on my face. Alba is petting and hugging the mewling babies under the watchful eyes of their mother. Nyxina looks at the wyvern corpses and then at me.

“Master, may my children feed upon the dead?”

I raise an eyebrow, only now remembering that there are corpses I can work with. I turn to look at them and find that the Gejan have already set up a bonfire and have begun roasting some wyvern meat.

I point towards one of the wyverns.

“[Raise Undead].”

Mana leaves my hand and enters the corpse of the monster. Its eyes leak a purple glow as it gets to its feet.

“Powerful Magic.” Nyxina states neutrally, not at all bothered by the fact that the dead had just arisen.

With a thought, the undead shuffles towards the babies. Nyxina watches, but does not worry. She feels only curiosity as the undead lays down next to her babies who immediately react by moving away from Alba and biting into the reanimated corpse. A moment later, the [Gale Wyvern] joins in as well. Her stronger teeth are able to rip away the scales so that the newborns would have an easier time to get to the flesh.

“Now then, Nyxina, I want to apologise for forcing you to become my companion,” I begin, getting a glare from Jessica as she folds her arms.

Nyxina merely tilts her head.

“Why do you apologise? You did not force me. I have merely accepted your request as I have done with the Garuda before.”

“The Garuda are two legged creatures with wings and are able to fly, correct?”

“No. They couldn’t fly, only glide. Only [Wind Mages] or [Aeromancers] were capable of flight. All others could only glide.”

“Are they still alive?” Jessica asks before I do.

“I do not believe so. I have not seen them for a very long time, not since the fighting began.”

“Fighting? What fighting?” I ask.

“The Garuda had fought among themselves.”

“Right. Do you know why?”

“I believe the term is ‘Politics’.”

Civil war? Mutual destruction? Yeah, that would do it.

“I see. That's unfortunate, though I wonder if some are still alive. Anyways, you said you formed bonds with the Garuda. Was that common?”

“Not just common, but necessary for the air wyverns to survive. Out of the four species, we are considered the weakest.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Weakest? How so? You seem to be rather strong yourself. I think you would have been able to defeat all of those other wyverns on your own if you were not weakened.”

“That is true. But only because the wind heeds my call. [Wind Wyverns] and [Gale Wyverns] are weak compared to the other species. [Blaze Wyverns] can spew molten flame. [Tundra Wyverns] can breath freezing frost. [Stone Wyverns] can hurl rock with explosive force. But, [Gale Wyverns] can only create a strong breeze.”

“Wow. So how did the Garuda help you?”

“These pacts and their skills greatly increased our power. [Wyvern Riders] rode upon our backs, [Beastmasters] increased our capability, [Aeromancers] made our wind deadly, and the [Druids] healed our wounds. These pacts empowered us, like so.”

Nyxina moves her head towards a rock. Mana begins to form in her mouth, a hazy mana that's color resembles the glow of my eyes. She widens her mouth, and her maw releases a stream of condensed violet fog against the terrain. The acidic mana makes fast work of the sedimentary, rapidly dissolving the stone.

“With just a pact, I could hold my own against a [Inferno Wyvern] and easily penetrate the scales of a [Crystal Wyvern].”

I stare at the smoking hole left behind by the attack and smile as an idea forms in my mind.

“Nyxina, I want you to do that again, but concentrate the fog as much as possible.”

Nyxina blinks before releasing mana again. Her mouth begins to glow once more. At first, it looks like fog, then liquid, then a bit solid. She opens her mouth and releases a beam. It strikes another rock, farther away. It seems she instinctively knew that this was going to be much more destructive.

The canyon detonates as an explosion goes off. The ground begins to shake as dirt and pebbles start to fall from the sky. The surrounding area is now covered in dust. Nyxina extends her wings and flaps. The dust around the clearing is blown away. A crater is now all that is left of the rock.

Congratulations.

Companion Nyxina has upgraded the skill [Corrosive Breath] to [Annihilating Breath].

“Quasi! Stop destroying stuff.” Jessica glares at me as she tries to get the dust out of her hair.

Nyxina looks at me. She lowers her head.

“You have given me such impressive power. I thank you for that.”

I think I just created a monster.

Nyxina quickly perks up. Her head swivels towards a direction. She squints and growls.

“What's wrong,” I ask, finding her behavior abnormal.

“The Matriarch calls for help. She is being attacked. I wish to assist her.”

Assist her? Attack? I send out my senses, but cannot find anything.

The [Gale Wyvern] begins to screech, looking towards her mother, practically begging for permission.

I frown as I look around and then look at Nyxina. She can probably hold two, maybe three people on her back. I then look at the corpses available. One has been butchered by the Gejan, the one that Orlan obliterated, and another was far too damaged by the hungry babies’.

With a wave of my hand, I raise the last two dead wyverns. Thankfully, both of them have undamaged wings.

“Alright. I’ll go with you,” I say. I then look at my companions.

“Jessica, you're coming with me. Alba, Orlan, Darrow, Thorous, Aldonis. I want you five to stay here and protect the newborns.”

The Gejan nod, though they do want to go.

“I’m going too.” Alba quickly says.

I shake my head, but stop as I remember her class.

“Actually... You’re a [Beastmaster]. That would be perfect. Can you-”

“Done,” she says with a smile. The [Gale Wyvern] screeches in recognition of a bond that just formed.

“Alright,” I say, turning towards Nyxina who quickly lays down.

I chuckle as I climb onto her back.

“Jessica,” I hold out my hand.

She nods, takes my hand, and mounts behind me. Her hands wrap around my waist. I look to Alba and find her getting on the [Gale Wyvern]. Considering she is a Centaur, it looks quite weird.

I look around, checking to see where Peter is, but can only sigh. The spider seems to disappear when you stop looking at him.

“Alright,” I say, tapping Nyxina, “let’s fly.”

Nyxina obeys. She stands up, opens her mouth, and flaps her wings. Air currents rush in, pushing up from below, Nyxina takes off vertically. The [Gale Wyvern] bearing Alba takes to the air behind us. With a thought, my two undead wyverns also begin to fly alongside Alba’s mount.

Mule hovers behind Nyxina with gravitational magic. His disks are spinning around us in a protective formation.