I spun around and looked into the golden eyes of a very small Luin. My right chest burned for a moment, and I lifted my shirt to see the number on Luin’s Stigmata had changed back to a zero.

I looked back up at the incredibly pissed-off Kobold. Luin looked like she was trying to speak but couldn’t get the sounds out. She looked at her stubby-clawed paws and body, then looked back up at me, tears in her eyes.

“Don’t worry, Luin. We’ll get you evolved back up in no time,” I said as I began to feel tears fall down my face.

I quickly moved to the side of the table, picked up the small Kobold, burying my face between her neck and shoulder, and just held her. I felt her relax and just stood there stroking her furry and scaled back when I heard a single click, followed by another click a moment later.

“We’ll be ok, Luin. The kids are safe. I was able to portal them back to Mythtide to be resurrected,” I said as I put her back down on the table.

The biggest smile formed on Luin’s face, and she began to jump up and down, doing an odd dance that made me laugh.

I knew she would be ok. We’d be ok. I looked around the room once and debated if I wanted to go above onto the island, but I decided against it. I let Luin hop onto my shoulder like she used to, went over to the back wall, and placed my hand upon it.

The door appeared, startling Luin, who almost fell backward off my shoulder. I looked over at her, and she just gave me this look. I opened the door and walked into the room with the pillar at the center and the inert gate behind it.

Looking at the pillar, I noticed a single rune carved into its middle. I bent down and gawked at the familiar symbol for one of the water deities from my home planet. The rune was in the shape of a dolphin inside a circle. I thought back to what Frirwick had said. I would find the second rune shortly after.

I stood and looked around the room once more. Not seeing anything hidden or out of place, I walked up to the gate and imagined the rune for Luin’s head, and the gate opened. Luin yipped but stayed steady on my shoulder as I walked through.

As we passed through the portal and into the room of inert gates, I had to blink a few times due to the change in lighting. I looked around and counted twenty-four gates, including the one we just walked through. “Where the fuck did the hallway go?” I asked the silent room.

I walked over to what I assumed was the new gate and looked around it. The hall had vanished, and in its place stood a new gate without a single rune on it. Why had they closed the hallway off? Had my benefactor done it or the Octagnomes?

I counted the gates and reached the seventeenth one. I thought of the dolphin glyph, and the portal sprang to life. I looked at Luin, then back at the portal. I had no idea where this would take me.

I held my breath and walked through and into darkness. The air was stale, and I could just make out a few slits of light coming from above. Then I could hear people laughing and shouting above. I created a dim Light Orb and tossed it up.

The orb attached itself to wooden planks and illuminated what I assumed was a storage area of some kind. I turned around as the sound of the portal closing drew my attention. On the stone wall, I could barely make out the gate. It almost looked to be part of the wall. It only stuck out maybe a few millimeters. Whoever made this gate had wanted it to blend into the wall so no one would notice it.

Luin tapped my shoulder, and I looked over at her. She tried to say something but got frustrated and pointed over her shoulder. I followed her finger and spotted the stairs going up and to what looked like large slanted doors.

We walked over, then up the stairs. I pushed on the door, and it swung open surprisingly easily. Then the yelp from what sounded like a kid startled me. I walked up the rest of the stairs and into a small fenced backyard.

“Ma! The man with the blue dog is back! He was in the cellar!” shouted the familiar Sugar Glider Beastkin of the Flame and Tallow’s innkeeper’s son.

I spun around, looking where we had come from. We indeed had come out of a cellar. Obbah poked her head out of the door and waved us in without a word. We followed her into the kitchen of the inn.

“I’m glad to see you two safe… What in the world happened to Luin?!”

I looked over at Luin, who had her hands covering her face. What was that about? I looked back at Obbah and debated on what to say. “All I can say is she can evolve and devolve depending on circumstances.”

“I see. I’m to tell you the kids are fine. Vylria and Rotha were able to Resurrect all three of the children. They don’t remember much, but they told us their city was overrun. My brother also told me that if I had seen you, he got a slap on the wrist for not tying you to The Guild and that you are to leave the city if you return.

“The Hunters know of you and were last seen heading west. Hiroaki believes someone sold them information about you heading towards Meckingmoor. Other Hunters may show up sooner than later.”

“Where would we go? Has Lastaf made it back?”

“Oh, I almost forgot!”

Obbah went over to one of the large stone coffin-type Void storages where I assumed she kept her food. She returned a bit later with a large basket and a smaller side bag. “These are from Lastaf. He said to give them to you when you came out of the cellar.

“He came into town two nights ago and had another with him who didn’t speak. The fellow was about as tall as you, or maybe a bit taller. The man wore a robe and cloak so that I couldn’t get a good look at him. Lastaf said they were heading south to his homeland to do a few things before coming back and trying to meet you after some trial?

“Does any of that info help you?”

“I think it does. I think it answers a few questions I’ve been dying to know. Could we stay the night before heading out?”

“Of course, deary. You can use the same room as before. I’ve kept it open as you did pay for two weeks.”

“Thank you, Obbah,” I said as I placed the large wicker basket into my backpack and held onto the new, what I assumed was a Void bag.

Obbah gave me two paper bags, telling us they were sandwiches. We shouldn’t be seen in the common room, and she had her kids show us up the backstairs to our room.

Inside, Luin tried to jump onto the bed but failed, crashing into the floor. I tried to hold in my giggle, but it came out. Luin glared at me until I went over and picked her up, placing her on the bed. I sat next to her and removed the wicker basket. Inside was an assortment of foods, individually wrapped. I counted ten each of five different items.

I placed the wicker basket of food into my backpack and looked at the new purple felt bag in my hands. I opened it up to reveal the same inky blackness I had become used to. I stuck my hand into the bag and was startled when I felt a pull from the bag. Then a window popped up in front of me.

[ Rank 8 Soulbond Void Bag ]

Grid: 3/1024

Coin: 0p 250g 0s 0c

Letter Azure Core ‘C’ [3] Transmorphic Potion

I mentally clicked on the ‘Letter’ and pulled my hand from the bag. I unfolded it and looked down at the paper.

Zeal,

I’m sorry I missed you. One of my old party members found me as I arrived in Mythtide to tell me the sad news. My homeland Zorealis, had a large chunk of the island break off and fall into the ocean below. We are headed there to see what can be done. If you think you could recreate your Mushroom spell for any reason, please follow. If not, I encourage you to head towards Kirjour to join the trial that will open up.

Not much is known about The Trial of Adrihel, as those who survive seemed to be compelled not to reveal its secrets. It’s rumored that the Akhusite Kingdom has obtained Dungeon Cores and other vast treasures from the trial. I suggest joining, and once you’re done, success or failure, come find Zorealis.

My friend has included a Transmorphic Potion inside. With it, you can change your ears to that of a Human, hiding your race from others. I’ve included some gold for you and a couple of extra cores I had on hand.

Stay safe, Zeal. We’ll meet again someday, Lastaf.

I didn’t know if I was sad, pissed, angry, or happy. I was glad Lastaf had made it back, only to head off on his own again. I had a huge suspicion. The man who was waiting for him was the one who saved and helped me. The Rank 8 Void bag had to have been created by him, right? I wasn’t sure, but my mind screamed at me that I was right. I didn’t know how else to explain it.

I took out the three blue-colored cores and placed them in front of Luin. She raised her head off the bed and looked down at them before looking back at me.

“Take them. Should be a hundred and twenty energy there. I believe you only need a hundred to evolve to Rank 1. That way, you can talk again.”

The three cores disappeared so fast that I thought she had performed a magic trick. Her body flashed quickly before steadily growing. I was prepared to wait, but her body flashed once more. Her body had transformed in the blink of an eye. She was now a couple of inches longer and looked more canine again.

That was incredibly fast. Was it because she had evolved once before? It seemed she, too, was surprised by it. Luin was looking at her still clawed front paws before she spoke. “Papa, why no pain?”

“I don’t know, Luin. Maybe because the system knows you’ve already evolved to this level once before?” I said before I grunted in pain as my right breast burned.

“At least you can talk again. We’ll see what we can do about catching you back up to where you were before. Can you tell me what numbers you see over here?” I asked as I pointed to the top right of my vision.

“One, zero, angry eyes.”

“So ten percent. I think you need two hundred Energy to rank up to two. Then three hundred and so on. We’ll go hunting as we travel north and get you back to adult size before the trial.”

“Yep, yep. Luin help papa with trial.”

I smiled as I scratched behind her ear and laughed as her right leg began to thump onto the bed.

I pulled out the Transmorphic Potion from the bag and looked at it. It was bright green, with what looked like red and yellow specks of something swirling around inside of it. I pulled the cork off and drank down the mixture. I was surprised when the flavor of peaches hit my tongue.

A moment later, another box came into view, with a copy of my naked body under the words. I looked over at Luin, but she had curled up, and her eyes were closed.

[ System Notification ]

Transmorphic Potion effects are permanent.

Select the area to modify.

I clicked on my ears, and boxes to the side sprang into view. If I had to guess, I could change my ears to those of any race. I cycled through the options for a few moments before coming to the ears that looked Human. I clicked on them and began to chuckle.

The ears were incredibly small, maybe a third the size of normal Human ears. They had to be from a Gnome or maybe a Dwarf. I clicked on a few other Human looking ears until I found ones that looked about the right size.

I thought about looking at other options but didn’t want to tempt myself. My ears would be enough. I found the save option and clicked on it before grunting in pain. My ears began to burn before I felt them begin to move. I could hear crunching and ripping sounds as they changed, my stomach almost heaving at the noises.

A minute later, the pain was gone, and I raised my hand to feel my now rounded right ear. I sat there in silence for a few moments before getting up and changing.

Now in my sleepwear, I moved Luin over to the corner of the bed and lay down. Tomorrow we would begin our trip north and into the territory of the damn humans who destroyed Meckingmoor. Hopefully, with the Hunters heading west, they wouldn’t know to follow us north. I closed my eyes and drifted to sleep.

End of Vol.2