Michael woke up long before Hazel. Even with Magical healing the sudden injury coupled with the sudden healing made her brain a mess of different hormones and chemicals so her body decided to keep her unconscious until it was all sorted out. Michael issues were something that couldn't be solved with a nap however. The use of skills strained the soul, the seat of Mana existing both within the body and on another plane of existence simultaneously. Normally this wasn't an issue, since the System generally kept people from using skills of a higher Tier. However, every now and then individuals came along that managed to forcibly use skills that their soul had difficulty handling, such as Michael and his Soul Bond skill. Even so, it isn't usually a problem as long as they don't actively use a higher Tier skill for an extended period of time or use more than one skill at time. Passive skills were okay as long as they weren't paired with another higher Tier skill.

In Michaels case, he ____ up royally. Not only did he have Soul Bond running in the background but, in a moment of extreme emotional disturbance, he actually managed to use a Tier 3 Forbidden skill. Outside of the usual skill Rarity rankings there lie the Forbidden skills. These are skills that offer power above their Tier but at a terrible cost, often resulting in permanent debuffs or even death. The Vitr Jötunn's skill, Mindless Rage, could be considered a Pseudo-Forbidden skill.

In Michael case, in that moment when he thought he had lost his soul companion, all the rage and hate was channeled into his arrow, and they carried with them a tiny piece of Michaels soul. The skill, named Murderous Hate, was one that required the user to sacrifice a portion of their soul in order to empower their next strike and kill their enemy. It is a skill that requires the absolute determination to kill just to unlock. It was not a skill to be taken lightly, and its consequences were always severe.

When Michael woke he did so feeling worse than when he collapsed. He was currently leaning against the still sleeping Hazel, and feeling as if the Frost Giant had hit him instead. Frowning, Michael pulled up all the notifications that he had previously ignored.

Skill Increase!

Boulder Throw lvl 2 -> 3

Warning!

Your Soul Companion, Hazel, has less than 10% Health remaining!

New Skill Learned!

Murderous Hate

Tier 3, Level 1, Forbidden Skill

100% Mana and 95% Health Cost.

Channel all your hate, along with a part of your soul, into your next strike and kill your enemy. Every level allows for more strikes, and more death.

Kill. Them. All.

Warning!

Soul Wound Debuff Gained.

Achievement Earned!

Through something ridiculously fun, worryingly stupid, or more likely both, you have managed to do what few have ever done and actually managed to wound your own soul. Unfortunately, this is not actually a good thing but it has earned you the Idiotic Soul achievement, so at least there's that.

Idiotic Soul - You are no longer trusted to know normal stupid from too stupid. You will now receive a warning whenever you are about to do something self-destructive, or just monumentally stupid.

Intermediate Milestone Achieved!

You have learned your first Forbidden skill. Where others take caution, you charge in without a second thought. This is not always the best thing though, so here's a way to get back on the path when you've lost your way.

Bonus:

Vital Soul - Your soul is now harder to wound and can regenerate through the absorption of the souls of the dead. The amount required depends on the size of the wound.

Opportunity Discovered!

Through your newfound ability to absorb souls you have earned the right to change your race to: Soul Vampire.

Soul Vampires gain strength from the absorbed souls of their prey, gaining power at roughly 6.35 times the normal rate and capable of gaining the skills and abilities from the absorbed.

Unlike normal Vampires, Soul Vampires are believed to destroy the souls of their victims, removing them completely from the cycle of existence. This is not true, but they are nevertheless despised throughout the universe, their deaths celebrated rather than mourned.

Do you wish to change your Race?

Tier 3, Level 5 Vitr Jötunn Killed!

Participation: 67%

Ranger experience gained: 1675

Michael felt numb after reading the notifications, though that may have been from his Soul injury, at this point he didn't even know anymore. The first notification was nice, the second he could have guessed, the third chilled him to the bone. Michael didn't even need to read the skill description to know that it was an evil skill, just the memory of using it was enough. In that moment, seeing Hazel get hit, he felt it all. The death of his parents that he had never really dealt with, the possible loss of his sister, and the ever-present loss that he saw on the faces of the people he met. All the pain and death and sadness, he hated it all with a fury that scared him. In that moment he hadn't been thinking as thinking had been impossible under that overwhelming desire to kill everything. Even now he could feel that desire simmering in the back of his mind, just waiting to be let out again.

The Achievement was definitely earned, he wasn't going to deny that, though he did think it was being a bit harsh. The Milestone was a blessing, it meant he had a way of healing his soul and repairing the damage the skill did. That being said, even if it let him use the skill relatively risk free, he didn't want to. He'd rather go around with a wounded soul then ever use that skill again.

The opportunity was a no. He was definitely tempted, the idea of getting skills and abilities just from killing was very, very tempting, but the whole despised throughout the universe thing was a big no-no. He wanted to explore the universe, not be hunted by it. Still, he was tempted, and it wasn't like there was a lot of people on earth who would be able to hunt him down, especially if he spent a few weeks killing Monsters and gaining their abilities. Besides, if he could change his Race to a Soul Vampire then surely there was a way to change it back, or at least hide his Race?

Michael shook his head, answering the prompt with a firm No. He could come up with a thousand reasons why being a Soul Vampire wasn't that bad a thing, but that sort of mentality was what corrupted people, the idea that something was okay as long as it was not too bad. That mentality could justify anything; Theft was okay if it was for the right reasons, murder wasn't a too bad if it was for a good cause, blowing up buildings was better than the alternative. As good as the Soul Vampire race was, the negatives were simply too much.

The final notification was just typical, all that effort and the Monster didn't even give him an item. At least the kill had earned him a level. He had missed the ridiculous bonus he got from cross Tier kills. They were difficult, incredibly so, but ten times the xp made it more than worth the while.

Michael was busy looking over his Status sheet when Hazel woke up.

[Owwwwww, that hurt.]

Michael smiled, if she was complaining then she was okay. [Morning sleeping beauty. How are you doing?]

Hazel lifted her head from the snow to glance at him, and then plopped her head back down and closed her eyes. [5 more minutes.]

At that unexpected answer Michael burst out laughing, happiness and relief bubbling out through his voice. The Gelidreynard looked over at him in annoyance from where it was keeping lookout before turning around and pointedly ignoring the crazy human.

After he finished laughing he said [Sorry Hazel, but we've got work to do.]

[Fine, but what happened? Last thing I remember we had just killed the Vitr Jötunn and then I think something hit me.]

Michaels face fell. [Its my fault. The Giant wasn't dead, I just thought it was. It managed to hit you but I took it out. I'm so sorry.]

Hazel lifted her head and looked at him for a second, before jumping up and onto Michael, covering him completely and crushing him under her furry hug.

[Dummy, you don't have to say sorry, it's not your fault.]

They stayed like that for a while, until Michaels air started to run out. The two of them got up and started moving towards the Dungeon. Michael still felt guilty, Hazel still felt sore and Jelly was still annoyed at the two idiots.

The trio stood in front of the Dungeon Portal, the glowing pane of swirling Mana promising both danger and rewards. Michael placed his hand on the portal and the three of them disappeared in a flash.

The inside of the Dungeon looked like a palace made of ice, one made for Giants. Michaels shoulders slumped, he'd been hoping for anything other than Frost Giants but this place practically screamed 13 foot tall blue skinned ______ ____ _____ _____. Michael grimaced, he was fine with Gaia enacting a Profanity Filter, but did she really have to filter thoughts as well? Actually thinking blank thoughts was a really weird experience.

Another thing Michael found weird was the room that the group were standing in. It was quite obviously some sort of Entrance Hall, the furnishings were what you would expect to find in Buckingham Palace: ornate paintings hung on the walls, tiny little tables with vases full of flowers stood along the sides, there was even a chandelier. The fact that everything, even the flowers, was carved out of ice made the whole thing an incredible work of art that would blow the Queen of England's socks off.

The weird thing was the big ol' Frost Giant standing in the middle of it all wearing a dirty loincloth and a whole lot of nothing else. The disparity of such an uncouth creature standing in the midst of all this finery was jarring. The fact that the Giant was currently scratching its butt while staring at the chandelier did not help.

Michael was so jarred by the mismatch it took him a moment to react to the Giant in the room. Once the moment passed and the fury erupted, threatening to overwhelm him. It was Hazel that bought him back from the brink, her comforting presence soothing his mind and quelling the anger, allowing him to drive it back to the dark corner of his mind that it came from. Once he had relaxed Michael unclenched his fists, his poor bow creaking as he did so. He was going to have to deal with the anger, and the fear and loss that created it, but for now he would keep forging on. Once he got somewhere safe, once he got to Sarah, then he could deal.

In the meantime, there were all these big, wonderful targets to let off a little steam on. Michael had already formed a plan, just in case he ever faced another one of the big _______ ever again. So, after checking that Hazel and Jelly were ready, he began.

The Vitr Jötunn had no idea what hit it, literally. One second it was staring at the big glittering thing hanging from the ceiling and the next second it felt as if the eternal enemy of its people, Þórr, had just struck it in its head. The blow wasn't enough to kill it, but it did send it crashing backwards on to the floor. The Vitr Jötunn was dazed and stunned, and paralyzed as if the first two debuffs weren't enough, but it still felt the cords wrap around its neck, strangling it and keeping its head glued to the floor. It could almost move, ready to reach up and tear away the bonds strangling it, when it felt a pain on the ba-

The trio stared at the corpse on the floor, ready for it to suddenly get up and attack them. It didn't matter that Michael had gotten the kill notification, he still couldn't let go of the fear that it would somehow stand up. After a few minutes he was forced to admit that it was likely not going to get back up. He still kept an eye on it, but he no longer kept an infused arrow nocked. He checked the kill notification but, other than him getting only 57% participation, everything was the same as last time including the stinginess. The rest of the participation had gone to Hazel, her use of Stone Spikes on the Vitr Jötunns head had landed her the killing blow along with a large chunk of the participation.

The previous Vitr Jötunn had landed Hazel a level and this one landed her another level, bring her up to level 7. At this rate she would catch up with Michael in no time, though with his Dungeon buffs that would take longer than if they were doing this outside the Dungeon. With the current room clear Michael pulled up the Dungeon Information.

Vitr Heimr Dungeon Info

Tier 3 Ice Aspect Dungeon.

Enemies:

- Vitr Jötunn

- Vitr Ulf

- Vitr Dreki

- Vitr Fraujō

Others:

- Hel's Angel

Dungeon clear conditions :

- Defeat all Dungeon Monsters

- Defeat Vitr Einvaldskonungr

- Solve all Puzzle rooms

- Complete Hel's Quest

2 Hidden Room

1 Safe Rooms

Clear percentage : 0.1%

Michael gulped, and then gulped again when the first wasn't enough. This, this was a lot. Michael was expecting something like the Wolf or Rootkin Dungeons ramped up but this was something else. The sheer number and range of enemies was ridiculous, the one they had killed apparently only amounting to 0.1% clear rate. Then there was the 'Others' section, he'd never even seen anything like that before. At first he wondered what on earth a biker was doing here but then he looked closer and saw that it was Hel with one L. He had a bit of Nordic knowledge and from what he knew he would have preferred the bikers. At least they would only kill you.

The puzzle rooms looked intriguing but the safe room and hidden rooms made him giddy with excitement, though that was mostly for the hidden rooms.

That being said, he was worried about the number of monsters. Even taking into account the hidden rooms, the puzzle rooms, the quest and the boss, there was still a LOT of Monsters. Even if the other types were worth a larger clear percentage it was still looking like dozens if not hundreds of Tier 3 Monsters, of which the weakest would be the same kind that almost killed Hazel. This was going to take weeks.

The first room only had one door, beautiful and ornate and with a door handle at Michaels eye line. For a second Michael wondered what would happen if a team of dwarves tried to tackle the dungeon, but then they opened the door, to find the longest hallway Michael had ever seen stretching endlessly into the distance. They went through the door one by one, Michael first with Hazel and Jelly following. Before the door closed Michael stopped it, holding it ajar as he took a knife from the sheath on his belt and started carving a big X on the door.

Michael glanced back to find some confused looking faces he said "I've seen that particular movie before and I am not doing that thing where we get lost and have to spend weeks trying to find the right door while being chased by a killer clown or a killer ghost lady or worse, a chihuahua." Michael shuddered. "Yeah, we need to be able to find our way out easily in case things move around in here."

The two animals companions couldn't help but agree though Jelly thought he was paranoid and Hazel wasn't all that bothered.

As soon as Michael finished carving the X he looked around, observing the corridor. The corridor, much like the rest of the place was built like a palace for the Giants, meaning the roof was 17 feet high and the furnishings were as ornate as the Queen's bathroom. Doors lined the hallway, spaced every 15 feet.

Michael couldn't really see a single difference between the doors, so they decided to simply go for the one closest to them, when a voice spoke up from behind them.