"Aagh!!" A cry of pain rang out through the entire building.

For what it was worth, he at least had saved her.

"Aaaaaghh!!" Another cry reverberated, this time sounding more heartrending and pained.

Or so was what he hoped. If he caved in there she'd follow him right away, there was no reason for them to let her live. So, what was preventing him from unclenching his fist and let his body collapse and be freed from all that sorrow?

Was it the mere prospect to somehow get out of this situation? Was it his unwillingness to depart from his family? Perhaps an undying flame from deep within him refused completely any thoughts of giving up?

He didn't know.

Furthermore, his half-lidded blurred eyes and foggy thought process didn't do anything to help him at all. The only scenery that he could perceive with his slowly fading consciousness was a spinning and bleared image of colors that sickened him.

"Aaaaaghhh!!!!"

It only got worse, the flame was hot enough to hurt but not to kill him, and the fact that he wasn't dead yet further proved that.

That old bastard, he was clearly enjoying it. He could hear his croaked snicker even amidst that sea of agony.

Damn!

He gritted his teeth, enduring the burning that was carbonizing his back. If he could take a look at his condition he'd note that instead of skin, what covered his back was an unsightly mess of blood and burnt flesh.

It was so agonizing.

They should make sure that he really dies, because if his slowly bubbling rage was anything to go by, then he doubted he'd be able to hold back the untold tortures he'd inflict upon them.

A crazed smile crept on his face as he thought of the ways he'd let them scream...

He turned his head around, looking directly into the old man's eyes while taking on the hits, his smile never faded, nor the dangerous glint that flashed in his eyes.

It unnerved the magician, greatly so, but he kept on his amused facade nonetheless. Showing any kind of negative emotions would only further motivate him to continue with such endeavor.

"How does it feel?" The old man's grin grew in size.

"Is this the extent of your powers? Kinda weak." Jered mocked.

The magician frowned while the others two stayed silent, Samuel especially; he was a bit disturbed. He had seen a man viciously die in front of him, but to see someone being tortured was not a good experience.

And the thought that he'd probably be the next one made tears well up at the corner of his eyes from the sheer terror.

"Ugghh!!" Jered grunted as he squeezed his eyes and flexed his muscles.

He felt strength leave his body.

No...

This was not how it was supposed to end.

Not this way!

He wanted to shout out loud but the words were nothing but a pleasure he couldn't have.

A sigh escaped him as he looked at the small crow under him. She was just looking at his eyes, from the start to now she never averted her gaze as her small eyes glittered with unshed tears.

A bitter smile etched on his face when he felt any shred of power was already out of his reach, telling him that his time had come.

His eyes slowly lost focus, his arms bending down, signaling that the owner's body was about to fall into a perpetual slumber.

Is this the end of my path?

Right when he was about to fall the crow suddenly flapped her wings forcefully while cawing. She flew around his feeble body while releasing heartbroken sounds.

Her movements became more and more erratic that it draw the old man's attention, thus making him stop from keeping burning the already half-dead Jered.

"Mhh? What is it doing?" The magician wondered.

And he wasn't the only one, everyone pretty much was puzzled by the crow's action, but did nothing to stop it.

Even Jered, whose head laid upon the cold and dirty floor was rather confused, however, its sinking mind couldn't help him deduce the reason behind her sudden change of behavior.

Was it because of him? It must be.

Soon, however, something that made a small spark of hope bud inside his heart appeared.

And it was...

[ Alert: Thanks to your actions a resonance has been initiated with the unidentified crow. ]

[ Alert: The crow is requesting you to accept her as your 'Spiritual Animal'. ]

[ Warning: You can only have one 'Spiritual Animal'. So choose carefully. ]

[ Accept | Decline ]

Did he really even need to think?

He pressed 'Accept' without hesitation.

Suddenly a small white light hovered in front of him before creating two light threads that connected both of him and the crow. The light kept growing brighter, so much so that the magicians had to cover their eyes and slightly retreat to avoid getting stunned.

However, it didn't stop there. In fact, the light started to change colors, from a blinding white it slowly became a dazzling emerald green. Its beautiful lights shading the interior of the building in an exquisite display of green hues.

The crow flapped her wings and took flight as she underwent a transformation. Her size grew more than her species allowed her to, while her black eyes took the same color as Jered's.

Finally, the entire prismatic spectacle ended, and the lights vanished, leaving behind only surprised expressions.

What was that?

The old man suddenly felt an ominous sensation, like he should go away from that place. But his pride as a magician prevented him from doing so, he knew that he wasn't in danger so he didn't see any reasons to escape.

The crow hovered in the air calmly, her gaze settled furiously on the group of magicians, if it wasn't because of Jered who was on the brink of death, she would have pounced on them.

She turned aside, whereupon she flew towards Jered.

His heart thumped as she gently landed on his chest and nuzzled at his chin. Her green eyes bore into his, and it was at that moment that he felt something rippling inside his soul.

It was like she was trying to communicate with him.

But what was she trying to say? He couldn't tell.

And his dizziness from the continuous suffering was only making his thoughts cloudy and unclear.

Still, he sensed that she was somehow transmitting her worries to him, her intentions, her uneasiness, her fears, her confusion on what to do.

It was weird, but her emotions became clearer to him. Obviously, they couldn't speak with each other, it wasn't at that level, yet their newly formed bond acquiesced them the ability to convey what they wanted.

Or so was what he understood.

And without many options, he opted to try it out. He had nothing to lose after all.

He focused on what he desperately needed and forced that desire on their soul link, hoping that it would work.

Because if it wouldn't then he was pretty sure he was screwed.

Her small eyes slightly widened when she felt his 'intentions' flowing in through their bond. With her limited intelligence, she couldn't understand, for the love of all the crows, why he'd request that.

Still feeling a little puzzled, she complied nonetheless.

Waving her wings, she jumped and took flight before darting with her enhanced speed towards the open window they came in from.

Without knowing why the old man suddenly felt the impulse to shoot it down, his instincts alarming him of the danger that was about to come. It didn't matter how much he contemplated on it, he couldn't come up with anything that might pose a threat to him, and the kid was almost dead.

Was it about to call for help?

In the immediate surroundings, there was no one with enough power to stop him, moreover, would a random crow really manage to gather some sort of help?

Yes, with its new form it can pretty much draw attention, but it wouldn't be sufficient to lure someone there.

That's why he didn't do anything to stop it and just watched it get out of the window. Completely clueless. And the two men behind him were the same.

A small grin suddenly crept its way on Jered's face as he stared at his long-awaited notification.

Finally...

[ Quest: A Dark Feather For a Dark Friend. Completed! ]

[ From a hundred wilted feathers and a hundred forsaken hearts, a companion has arisen to heal wounded souls and envelope them in his blazing affection. ]

[ Reward: 15 Attribute points | 350 System points. ]

[ Alert: 4 quests have been completed. ]

[ Alert: Congratulations, your class section has been unlocked. Choose carefully. ]

[ Alert: Your affinity for 'crows' have reached its limit. ]

He quickly opened his menu and tapped on his 'Class'.

[ You can only select one class. Do beware that once done so you can't change it. ]

The screen disappeared rather fast, before leaving space for another one, which contained all of his possible classes.

[ Magician ]

[ Sorcerer ]

[ Wizard ]

[ Swordsman ]

[ Fighter ]

[ Archer ]

...

The list went on and the more he scrolled down the more bizarre it became. From normal classes to unknown ones. It was incredible.

However, he already knew what class to pick. He had been preparing for it since he found out the existence of such a mysterious energy called mana.

[ You chose the 'Magician' class. Confirm? ]

[ Yes | No ]

He tapped on 'Yes' and it vanished.

After a moment, something inside him exploded with prepotency making his chest rise up abruptly. The energy that it leaked was so strong that it affected his surroundings a bit. The air stirred and spun around him with a gentle force.

A manipulable power filled his veins and pulsed in his heart. Even his cells had been stimulated by it, accelerating his regeneration by a vast margin. His wounds started closing with a speed detectable by the eye and washed away his pain, bringing sweet relief to him.

Jered had never felt so alive before.

[ Alert: Your mana have been stabilized so as to be accommodated to your body. ]

[ Alert: You have become a Novice Magician. ]

[ Alert: The sections 'Magic Arts' and 'Spells' on the shop have been unlocked. ]

[ Alert: The title 'Shadows' Contractor' has taken effect. ]

[ Alert: Your mana have been boosted by '20'. ]

[ Alert: All of your attributes have gone up by '1'. ]

[ Alert: All of your skills level have gone up by '1'. ]

Pain crawled at his skin before seeping into his flesh, nerves, and muscles. He had to stifle a scream. Alone these changes wouldn't hurt him that much, but when together it was distressing. Luckily he was rather used to it, his recent experiences had built up some sort of immunity towards it, so now he could endure it better than before.

When it finished he stood up and clenched his fist, trying to gauge the differences.

Obviously, he couldn't make out much, but he definitely felt stronger and nimbler. And the addition of his mana just reinforced it.

Still, there was something that made him frown, and it was his mana. It was moving wantonly inside him, like it was about burst. It wasn't painful, just suffocating.

He furrowed his brows.

What was happening?

Suddenly his mana expanded, giving him a fleeting sensation of having more power.

And then he understood.

He opened his shop and clicked on the 'Potions' section. Scrolling down he quickly found what he had been looking for.

[ Low-level ] [ Mana Enhancement ]

[ Permanently increase your mana by 10 ]

[ Price: 150 SP ]

[ Buy | Cancel ]

He pressed 'Buy', and a bottle containing blue liquid appeared in his hands. Without wasting time he gulped it down.

His body trembled and his breath quickened, as green energy flowed out of his body. Actually, it wasn't energy, it was his mana taking shape and swirling around him.

"Aaghh!!" Jered screamed and shut his eyes as the energy inside him broke out, sending waves of green-outlined air everywhere. The force behind it swept away a circle of dust around him and even managed to move some containers.

"W-what in hell..." The subordinate was left shocked by the events, and he couldn't understand from where he gained that power. He was a novice magician, so he could tell that the kid was the same just a few moments ago. But now...

Was he about to...

"Breakthrough..." The old man muttered, his expression clearly strained.

It was not something he expected, simply because he had no clue where that large amount of mana came from. Moreover, he couldn't get as to how did he manage to rank up so fast.

It was ridiculous.

[ Alert: You have become an Apprentice Magician. ]

[ Alert: You have unlocked mid-level 'Magic Arts'. ]

[ Alert: You have unlocked mid-level 'Spells'. ]

[ Alert: The title 'Shadows' Contractor' has taken effect. ]

[ Alert: Your mana have been boosted by '30'. ]

[ Alert: All of your attributes have gone up by '1'. ]

[ Alert: All of your skills level have gone up by '2'. ]

[ Alert: You have been granted Opak's special skill 'Green Flames of Greed'. ]

The strong waves slowly quieted down, making space for a gloomy silence that promised nothing good.

Jered stayed still, breathing calmly. He felt euphoric from that much power that was coursing through every fiber of his body. It was intoxicating.

And it'd be much more so if he accompanied it with some bloody work of art.

He opened his eyes, their green color more evident than before. He looked at the cloaked magicians, thanks to the mana he could see at what levels they were. And it seemed that the minion had a mana pool of around 30, thus making him a Novice Magician, while the old one had a mana pool of 60, signifying he was an Apprentice Magician.

But it didn't matter, he was obviously stronger.

And he'd make sure to show them.

Jered grinned maliciously as green flames suddenly appeared in a magnificent green vortex around him. The pressure it emanated made the old man sweat and lightly quiver.

Those flames were no joke, and it didn't take someone smart to tell.

He gulped, trying to hide the stink of the terror that threatened to come out of his bladder.

"Well, shall we start?" Jered chuckled lovingly at them.

.

.

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