Author's Note:

Here we are at the end of another chapter. It was a really fun experience writing it so I feel like sharing my accomplishments. I was so immersed in writing this weekend that instead of a single chapter I wrote two and of normal length, not any shorter than usual ones! When I noticed it, I couldn't believe I had so many ideas! Usually half the writing time is wasted looking at my phone screen, thinking how to better show the situation but this time there was none and it was really great. So now it's either going to be absolutely amazing chapters or absolutely terrible ones. I truly hope for the first former one

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"You have to ca-" the skeleton tried saying again but his words were interrupted by a dagger thrust forward which passed right through the empty space between his ribs.

"I can't freaking see! How am I supposed to calm down?" Ace asked in outrage, moving his hands in a circle around himself. He heard feet scurrying away.

"Dark magic hidden from view come out and stop your enemies, Shadow Bind!" the necromancer chanted out and Ace felt his hands being pressed against his body. Rope like material bound him into a human sandwich. "You could have just told me you needed help staying still."

Ace hissed in anger and annoyance but didn't deem it worthy to reply. Darkness was all around him and now he couldn't even move. It wasn't an envy inducing predicament.

"I hope at least now you'll stay quiet for a moment and let me explain what spell I previously cast?" Ace didn't reply. "Are you even listening to me?" No answer.

The skeleton wasn't sure how to react. He'd only wanted to help but it had gone out of his control quite spectacularly. Time would solve everything on its own but he wasn't sure the kid would appreciate waiting it out in the unknown.

'Just why did he flip out so? Could he possibly be afraid of the dark?' He glanced at the boy's disposition but it explained nothing. He stood with eyes wide open, chin forward and legs firmly on the ground. It wasn't a position of a person ready to jump away at the merest sound.

"You're such a child..." the skeleton said finally with a sigh. That took Ace's attention and he glared back at the darkness. "What did you just say?" "That I gave you an ability for having which people were killed and yet you're lashing out, thinking of ways to get back at me." "Why would I ever need an ability for which I'll become a favourite prey for hunters?" "Aren’t you interested to find out why does it create such hatred towards its owner?"

The kid had a perplexed expression on his face, clearly debating whether it was worth it to drop the furiousness act or not. In the end he seemed to give up; his shoulders slumped down and he plopped to the ground. "Release me" he said in an indifferent tone.

"Ha ha. No. I cannot trust you not to jump for my head the moment I do."

"But we agreed to become companions!"

"Yeah and you almost slashed one of my skeletons' head off."

"Really? That's a shame! Oh wait... I'm very sorry! I didn't mean it, you just surprised me! Now I'm calm so you have nothing to worry about!" the kid said in a cheerful voice but the skeleton didn't believe him at all. That first part of the sentence kind of gave it away. "So you want to hear what I cast on you or not?" Ace pouted slightly but guessing that nothing could be gained, what with undead having no hearts, literary; he simply nodded and leaned on the wall to make himself more comfortable.

"Listen well then. I'm not going to repeat myself. This is a unique skill that a wizard can only cas-"

"once in his life time and nobody knows why so. I already know it. Go to the important part" Ace said interrupting the skeleton while not forgetting to roll his eyes too.

"Little spoiled brat" muttered the necromancer under his breath before continuing his explanation. "That is true. Although, some guess that it is due to it using up so much of a magician's capabilities. It is a fact that a mage after using it becomes three or four times weaker than he was before."

"Why would you use it on me then? It makes no sense if you're telling the truth" Ace said wanting to cross his arms over the chest but incapable of even twitching them.

"You say? I'm a dead man walking and I always wondered what it would be like sacrificing yourself for others, losing yourself piece by piece until you're no longer a living being."

"Sentimental fool what about your revenge? How are you going to repay everyone who ever wronged you if you become as stupid as an ostrich? By hiding your head in the sand?" Ace asked with a raised eyebrow. He finally got used to the darkness enough to be able to put one of his masks on and act accordingly. Brains were turned on too so he could guess the price that necromancer mentioned was losing almost all of your stats in intelligence or wisdom. A grave loss.

"It's not instantaneous. The more your eye opens the more I lose out. At the moment I feel as well as previously. Nothing has changed."

"Still you're an idiot for giving up so much for a random stranger. And for the moment I'm still complaining about what you did. I can say it was annoying not being able to see in the dark but I never wanted to become blind!"

"Random stranger? I've been here for twenty years and not a single soul even came near to having a conversation with me. For everyone I was just another monster to be killed. I felt like I had to reward you for seeing past that."

Ace waved his hand in the air. "I was too lazy to kill you. That's all there's to it. And you might have pulled some trick up like that guy with the shadow spear which would have taken even more of my time that could be used up exploring."

"Are you trying to make me regret what I did? You're almost succeeding."

"I doubt you can take it back."

"Yes, but I can always kill you and that would break the transfer of my powers to you" the skeleton suggested cheerfully and Ace unconsciously started tugging at his binds that weren't even close to expiring. 'Just how strong is he to keep them up for so long?' "So don't tempt me kid."

Ace growled something unintelligible before replying. "Fine. So what did you do anyway? In your incantation there were words make him see but controversially I became blind. Was that part of your plan you forgot to mention?"

"I said I never used it before so I have no idea how it actually works."

"Am I your testing subject?" Ace asked in an air freezing tone.

"No! How negative can you get? Wait. Don't answer that" he said shaking his head lacking any kind of hair. "I don't know much about this ability but it is said to open the person's true potential. How much of that is true I don't know but one thing which is for sure is that you'll be able to see not only in the darkness but in light too. And before you ask I mean the blinding whiteness kind of light, explosions and so on."

"Really?" Ace asked in wonder. How much better the life of an assassin would be if he could see in the dark? It's like a dream come true. That is if it worked. For now he was in an even worse situation then normally. "Are there any records of it not working and people going blind?"

"I don't think so..." the skeleton said in an uncertain voice. "Although the ritual is held in great secret along with all information concerning this spell."

"Ritual?" Ace asked raising his hands towards the heavens, in his imagination. "There's a whole ritual and you expect everything to work out perfectly even if you just say the shortest of incantations?”

"Rituals are mostly just for the sake of show..." necromancer explained but there was no conviction in his voice. It sounded more like he was trying first to make himself believe that.

"Release me so I can hit your head. Hard. It's not like there are any brain cells there anyway."

"That's an insult!" the skeleton hissed moving around, his bones pushing against each other. Ace couldn't understand what he was doing and that made him even more aware of his dangerous position: blind, bound and surrounded. "Because it was meant to be one. Did you expect me to praise you for probably taking my sight away? You sure are an optimist."

That removed the skeleton's will to fight and he stopped moving letting the place return to its eerie silence. "I'm sorry. I really hoped it would work out" he said in a low voice. Sadness could be easily detected in it.

Ace breathed a sigh. "That helps me none you know?"

There was some rustling among the skeletons before Ace felt his restraints falling off. He carefully stood up stretching his arms out in wide arcs. "It was about time" he muttered opening up a status menu.

It was there in all its translucent glory. 'So I'm not completely blind? Or is it just so I could take out the right potion from the bag and receive system information?'

Still thinking he took out a blindness removal potion and drank it.

Just as he expected nothing happened but it was worth a try. The problem was that the status effect wasn't blindness but mystic eyes. He doubted a potion for it existed.

"So what now when you so quickly destroyed all my plans?" he asked without even moving his head. Ace really wanted to but how was he supposed to know where his companion was. He didn't trust his ears that much.

The skeleton took his time before answering. "I remember hearing that you travellers become stronger even if you don't fight monsters as long as one in your group does that. Is it truth?"

"Yes" Ace said with a nod. "It is a kind of magic where if we group and make a special pact we share the experience gained from fighting a monster. But that sadly cannot be done with those native to this land."

"But sometimes you go hunting with us none the less. Why is it so?"

"All we need is to finish of the enemy. Simply put, it could be called stealing a bit of your opponent’s knowledge every time you defeat one."

"That is a fearful ability. Are all of you, not only mages capable of it?"

"Yes, we're all monsters" Ace said thinking of what he should really do next. Chatting was nice and all but he needed a way to get out and ask some clerics to help him. Hopefully, they'll be capable of doing that.

"Would you like to train with me?" the skeletal mage asked, bringing Ace out of his thoughts.

"Didn't I say I... Wait, you mean you would let me to just last hit and will be fine with that?" he asked surprised.

"It's my fault that you're like this now. I'd like to repay you for that at least a bit."

Ace debated necromancer's offer with a wary mind. His voice was sincere but expressions, almost invisible movements by face muscles were the main indicators of a person's true intentions. For all Ace knew he could be led into a den of monsters and left there. Although what was the point for the skeleton to try so hard? He could have killed him when he was asleep and now he was just a sitting duck too. 'Could he really be genuine about giving me all that experience for free?'

"So is that okay? Or is there anything I missed out in why it can't be done?"

"No..." Ace murmured. "It can be done."

"Are you hesitating about trusting me? Is that it?"

"Maybe..?"

"I've promised to let you aid me in my quest and I'm not going back on my word. If you prefer sitting here doing nothing, we can do that too."

"Nah, it's fine. I'll go" Ace finally said and touching the wall started to move forward. His steps were slow and careful, testing the ground before touching it. 'This way it'll take me an hour to walk a few meters...'

"Howls echoing deep in a night, guardian that protects the undead raise from the ashes and burn anew, Hell Hound! Water turned ice create a layer of protection on a weak and fragile body, Fire Resistance!"

Ace felt heat surround him when some creature entered this plane but after the second spell it was gone. He could see a status effect it put on him.

* Fire Resistance!

A high level mage put a protective shield on you which prevent you from taking any damage from fire. You could freely walk in lava without feeling even a little uncomfortable.*

'That's useful. Maybe I should guilt trip him into joining my group?' While Ace was thinking that, the mage spoke up.

"Hell Hound will carry you to make it quicker."

Ace raised his head in surprise but it gave no clearance since everything was still perfectly black. "How am I supposed to get on him if I can't see?" he asked sheathing his daggers. There was no point to keep on holding onto them when he was as powerless as a newborn kitten either way.

Ace felt something brush past his legs so he stretched his hand to touch it and was barely able to get it back when some jaws closed right where it had been seconds ago with an audible smack.

"Helios! Stop it! You have to carry him! Not bite his hand off!"

"Grrrr" a disapproving sound came from Ace's right and he rethought his idea about putting daggers away.

"Sorry about this kid. He isn't used to this and I haven't summoned him for the last twenty years." Then the skeleton turned his attention back to the misbehaving puppy. "Helios, drop that face. You'll do as I say and nicely or I'll put you on a carrot diet. There seems to be a lot more fat on you since the last time I saw you."

A choking sound came from the dog and Ace burst out laughing. 'What's with this threat and the animal's reaction?'

Hound watched the kid laughing, his curly hair jumping up and down lightly and a strange feeling entering his heart. He wanted to protect this fragile being who could smile so innocently and happily even though he was blind like a little cub.

*Childish Innocence activated*

'What?' Ace wanted to shout as the ability’s name appeared before his eyes. 'I had already forgotten about it! Why is it still here?' he asked in outrage. A wet tongue licked his hand and he looked around from the habit. "What’s happening?" he asked the skeleton.

"The hound seems to have finally found a liking to you and is worried about why you suddenly looked so heartbroken" he said with a laugh.

"Is that so?" Ace said in wonder, unable to curse the ability but not coming even a step closer to accepting it either. "Does that mean he won't try to eat me now?"

"Of course. You can pet him now and get on him."

Carefully Ace stretched his hand out again, ready to snatch it back if he heard a wrong sound. But there was none. His fingers touched soft fur like material which clearly wasn't that. It flowed through the fingers leaving a dream like sensation. You felt it so real yet with all your existence you knew it being false.

The tongue licked his face now.

"Hey!" Ace exclaimed jumping back a few steps and hitting the wall. It didn't have as many protrusions as the previous one but even the small ones were sharp enough to break the material of his clothes and scratch his back. Ace ignored that and brushed the saliva of his face.

Soft whining sounds came from nearby and a hesitant nose brushed against his chest. "The hound is sorry. He didn't want to scare you."

"Who is scared?" Ace asked in surprise. "I'm just dis... Uhm.. Nothing" he muttered, not finishing his sentence. He couldn't say to his ride that he was disgusted. It just wasn't done. Even the stupid ability would most likely not be able to save him then.

"If that is so, get on him. It's quite tiresome to stand here and do nothing. I've been busy with that for the last twenty years."

Ace smiled slightly at the last remark and petted the dog who barked happily. He let his hand slide from the animal's head to the back. To his surprise the hound was almost as high as him. 'That's just wrong. Now even the dogs are taller than me?' It wasn't truth but not too far away from it.

Not wasting any more time he held onto a fur that wasn't fur and got on the gigantic dog. The silky material wasn't the best thing to hold on to but Ace hoped to somehow stay upright. "I think I'm done" he announced.

"I can see it. Good work on finally doing it."

"Thanks" Ace said in a voice dripping with sarcasm. "Will you manage to start moving then?"

The skeleton didn't answer but sounds of bones moving, swords being dragged could be heard and Ace understood what was happening. His ride as if aware of the situation knew to go last and moved at the speed of a snail.

'I expected it to be at least a little challenging but if this continues I'm going to die of boredom.'

Sounds of limbs being dragged over the uneven surface reached Ace's ears and he knew that the hunting ground was here. But it was as dark as ever. Not only couldn't he see his ride, where they were going but even enemies were only the sounds they made.

'What shall I do? I can't just sit here and enjoy something I can't see especially when they're not even talking!' He pushed his legs into the dog's sides and whispered "I'm sure you're angry that you can't go and fight but have to take care of the useless me." A soft growl for an answer. "You disagree? You wouldn't want to be the one getting rid of enemies and earning your master's favour? You're one very great subordinate." Ace waited for a reply but the hound stayed quiet. "What would you say if I suggested we have some fun? You leave this place and run to the thick of the battle. I'll hold tight and won't cause you any troubles. Promise!" Silence. "You won't do it even if I ask very nicely? I just don’t want to be a burden…" Ace said in a tear filled voice, his eyes filling up.

The dog whined unsure of how to act: follow the master's orders or his own instincts and the kid's pleading voice. Slowly he started to move, every step turning his head to make sure the kid was sitting safely on his back. Ace buried his face in the hound's neck and smiled gleefully. Once again he got what he wanted.

He felt muscles tighten up under him and the hound jumped into the fray with a whoosh of an arrow. Its claws tore into flesh and a sickening sound reached Ace along with droplets of thick liquid when the hound managed to tear some piece away with his teeth.

He growled in satisfaction and jumped on another enemy falling him while something flew past, making Ace's hair stand up on end.

"Hound! What are you doing? I almost hit both of you! It's too dangerous!"

"I'm fine" Ace said raising his head for a moment before returning to concentrating on his steel like grip on the ride. It was fun to be in action but since he couldn't guess where the animal was going to move next, it was a challenge to keep himself seated.

"You can't be, you're barely holding on!" the skeleton refuted while mumbling a spell under his breath to blast a zombie away.

"I'd die of boredom if I have to stay behind and we don't want that" Ace explained quickly. He felt muscles move under him and knew to prepare for another jump.

"Suicidal" muttered the mage but didn't press on. If he somehow managed to trick the hound into following him, it would be too troublesome to change anything.

Ace enjoyed the sensation of being atop a strong beast in action but it didn't last for long. Monsters were dead all too soon.

"You can finish them off now. They're hanging in this plane only by a thread, no more."

"They're still alive?" Ace asked in wonder. His instincts were telling him that there were no longer any enemies around. He looked inside his bag and took out a branch that had a very pointy end on one side and was a meter and some long. With it he stabbed the ground around himself.

At first he hit nothing but the third hit encountered some resistance. That was a plead for a stronger push so Ace did just that.

*You have levelled up!*

"Can you carry me to others too?" he asked his ride in a sugar sweet voice. He'd never been overly caring about levels but this was a gold mine! There was no way he could pass up on it.

The hound growled softy in approval and took Ace to all the almost dead zombies who had to be at least of level one hundred twenty if not higher to give him this much experience points. This fight single handedly gave him three levels. 'Could it be that they're stronger 'cause it’s darkness and because of that give even more experience points than normally?'

"Thanks" he said making sure that the skeleton knew that he appreciated what was being done for him. It was always important to reward people when you wanted them to continue doing what they were doing.

"You're welcome. Should we continue on?"

"Yeah" he said smiling brightly and his beast started to move again.

It was getting increasingly annoying for Ace to not be able to see anything as they continued on their journey. The cave seemed to have changed from the way sounds started to echo but he couldn't understand it at all! Everything was but the darkness.

He levelled up ten times and now it took over seven zombies to give him one. Although, some kind of different enemies had started to appear from time to time which gave even more experience. When Ace had asked how they look, the only answer he received was ugly zombies and nothing more.

It took all his will power not to jump from his ride and start fighting them even if he was blind. He was sure [Instincts of a Predator] and [Evasion] would keep him alive no matter what.

The reason he tried to stay a good boy so hard was because he didn't want to anger his so called companions. The undead didn't need rest which meant they could go on fighting forever. While Ace slept they would continue on and the beast would later on carry him through all the almost dead enemies which he would finish off and level up a few times instantaneously.

Ace wasn't sure how long it was going to be so but he planned to use it to the fullest. 'If I really think about it, becoming blind was actually a great tactical move. Now not only I have his absolute trust but he is doing everything for my sake as an apology. Even if I'll have to die to remove this blindness, I'll still have profited immensely and this hasn't even ended yet!'

The beast jumped into a group of enemies and Ace held onto him tighter. Strong muscles moved under him and he already learnt to guess what was coming next from their movements; jump to the right and jaw cracking hit from the back paw. Ace felt air shimmer around him and swayed to the right, hiding most of his body behind the hound’s side. Something flew right over him and exploded after hitting the wall. Ace's ears rang from the terrible sound it made but he couldn't release them from holding the hound. 'Why in the world is his fur so slippery? Not anything like a dog’s.'

"Nice reflexes kid!" the skeleton shouted along with a spell for shadow spear. "Hound get him away from there! This is no laughing matter!"

The beast did as told and swiftly jumped away. Ace heard bones cracking and guessed a few of the necromancer's skeletons had died. What was happening there?

"What is going on?" he asked loudly, looking back at the fight but seeing nothing, only hearing more bones breaking and swords, rust collectors, bouncing off metal armour.

"Shadow Bind! Souls lost in your greed carry the pain, Sphere of Darkness! Nothing to concern yourself with. Just wait quietly! Shadow Spear!" the skeleton roared casting one spell after another. It clearly wasn't nothing.

Ace really wanted to go and have a taste of that enemy himself but he knew that his overprotective ride would never disobey this command. He sulked for a moment before jumping off the beast who growled at him angrily. "I'm not running anywhere!" Ace explained in a soft voice, looking away. "I'm going to stay here safely but I want you to go and help everyone. Even if I can't see, I can understand it's not going in our favour." It was an exaggeration, he was sure it wasn't that dire of a situation but he was blind, he could say whatever he wanted and everyone would believe he actually thought that.

The dog whined quietly, not wanting to leave him alone. "I'll be right here" Ace promised. "Nothing will happen to me as long as no enemies break through your ring and that's impossible. Just go and be right back, okay?" He gently petted the dog’s head and took a step away from him. The animal hesitated for a moment before he barked once as if saying something, promising maybe, and then was gone.

Ace smiled. 'So gullible.'

*Childish Innocence has levelled up!*

"Get the hell away from my sight" he hissed at the ability, turning its notice board off and closing his eyes out of habit to hear better. There was another enemy in this place besides the metal tin can skeletons were fighting. His instincts said it with certainty but no matter how hard he tried Ace couldn't determine where. His only hope was that if he was left all alone it would come out of hiding. Who wouldn't want to create chaos among their enemies by killing their precious person who they were so desperately trying to protect? It was one of the oldest tricks in existence on how to defeat your enemies without even trying.

As he expected the thing made his move the moment hound was away. Ace smiled widely dodging some missiles thrown his way and was about to return one of his own when he remembered he couldn't see.

He had planned to let his abilities keep him alive and unwounded but he forgot that counter-attacking was out of the question if he had no idea where his enemy was or how he was moving.

It fell next to him and Ace barely managed to block the enemies attack with his daggers. He resorted to normal ones since Sai were still a mystery to him and this was clearly going to be another dance with death. He activated [Fear of the Hungry], hoping it would aid him some and felt his body surge with energy. Even darkness receded a bit, allowing a red hue to penetrate it some. It gave no vision to Ace but seeing something instead of only black for a few days was a welcome change.

He fell to the ground dodging some attack and pushed his daggers forward where he expected his enemy’s legs to be. Only one hit the target and even that made only a shallow wound. Ace rolled away to not get hit by the sword falling right where he had been and threw a few daggers where his opponent had been. None hit the mark.

'Where has he gone?' Ace wondered remembering the technique he wanted to test out before becoming blind. "Flare" he called out and pushed it inside one dagger while he filled another with [Gust]. 'Now all I need is to hit him.'

That was easier said than done. His opponent no longer felt like coming over for a chat and only shot missiles which Ace decided had to be arrows. 'How am I supposed to reach him?' he wondered evading for the time being. It was a dangerous pass time and he was coming to a realization that he couldn't keep it for long.

Being able to see nothing but the information bars he was painfully aware at how quickly his stamina was running out. The enemy was clearly higher level than him so dodging required higher concentration and all the skills were taking a toll too for some reason. 'Could it be since I've been doing nothing for the last few days my stamina has lowered some? Wouldn't that mean that it resonated not only with vitality points but also actions done every day?'

The archer took notice of his distraction and two arrows embedded into his body. One in a leg and another in his left hand. That slowed his movements and Ace wasn't happy about it at all.

He could no longer evade but had to try his best to block them.

That's how he said it was but in truth he was doing nothing more than previously, game mechanics were the ones controlling his actions most of the time, relying on him only to make the right judgement on what to do in that second before another arrow came in.

Bang!

A sound of an explosion reached necromancer’s ears and he turned back to glance at where the kid was when he noticed the boy flying right at the death knight with a mortified expression on his face.

Ace cursed his genius idea to try out the new tricks in a middle of a battle. When he blocked one of arrows it exploded blowing him miles away, right into a metal can which hurt a lot. It wasn't a mothers loving hold. Not even close.

Having no idea what his new opponent was, he just used his daggers to hit it swiftly a few times, kicked after activating [Flame Step] and jumped away using [Shadow Dash]. He had no idea where he landed but another arrow came and it exploded just like the previous one, throwing him into a wall. It was sharp and he felt blood running down his back but his health dropped only by fifteen percent so he ignored it and tried to sense where the archer was.

He couldn't detect him at all. 'Did he die? Or has he hidden even better than previously?'

Loud crunching sounds reached his ears and he walked in that direction. "What were you thinking facing him all on your own?" the skeleton asked angrily.

Ace didn't answer anything but moved forward where the sounds were coming from and stopped right before the beast who growled at him angrily. Its voice had a tinge of sadness in it. 'Does he think I betrayed him?'

"Hound?" he asked tentatively, testing the waters. He stretched his hand forward but the beast move away so it wouldn't reach him and growled again. 'He really does... What a troublesome creature.'

"Hound, I'm sorry. It attacked me right after you left and I didn't know what to do! He shot arrows rapidly; I thought I was going to die! But I knew I had promised you to stay safe so I tried my best to survive because I knew you would come and save me! And you did!" Ace said happily, rushing towards the large animal and hugging him tightly. "I knew you would come for me! And you did! You really really did it! I was so scared but you're here now! It's all going to be okay now, right? The demon archer isn't coming back for me, right?" he asked in a tearful voice, holding the hound even tighter.

The beast was surprised by such an onslaught of emotions leaving the little boy who hugged him closely as if afraid to let go. His anger evaporated into thin air, seeing the boy so open and defenceless, almost crying on his shoulder. Maybe he really didn't notice the enemy and just wanted to help by sending him away? In truth, how could the kid have seen him while being blind when he himself left sure the child would be safe there? It was stupid to blame the boy for wanting to help in the first place.

The hound lowered his head and nuzzled the kid, showing that he was sorry for acting like this and was no longer angry at all. The kid flinched as he did that and a whiff of blood reached hound's nostrils. He barked loudly, softly poking the kid's back.

"What is it, hound?" the skeleton asked coming closer.

"He probably smelled the blood on me..." Ace said quietly, releasing his death hold on the hound.

"Are you hurt?" the necromancer asked angrily, coming to stand right over him and bending to touch his back. The clothes had blood on them but it had already dried and wounds had somewhat closed up. "How bad is it?"

"I got blown into the wall from the explosion" Ace said standing up, his leg protesting it a bit. "Oh and I was hit twice by arrows. Could you get them out, please?"

He could do it himself but even in games it hurt so he preferred for someone else to quickly take care of it.

The skeleton nodded before remembering the kid was blind. "Don't think about it. It'll be over soon." Ace nodded and clenched his teeth.

Sharp pain flashed through his conscience but was soon gone. ‘It really was quick’ Ace thought after another made him grimace. Then he drank two potions which removed all the lingering pains and returned his health to full. "Thanks" he said to the skeleton smiling and brushed the beast's side who licked him friendlily. Ace laughed at that and cleaned himself.

"I think it's about time you finished him off?"

"Finish who off?" Ace asked raising his head.

"The archer on whom the hound is sitting" the skeleton supplied helpfully.

"He's still alive?" Ace asked surprised. He stopped sensing him ages ago. Those who posed no possible threat didn't receive any attention from his instincts, even a rabbit was more dangerous than this beaten up guy.

Not wasting time, Ace took out a dagger and stabbed under the hound. It missed so he repeated it a few times before receiving a notice of a kill.

*You've killed Archran, the undead archer!*

"Is the other guy alive too?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, I bound him to prevent him of even thinking about healing up."

"That's great!" Ace said happily. Undead had a good trait of never bleeding to death since their blood systems didn't work anyway. That meant they could be held for forever until he came to finish them off. "Hound?" he asked his pet sweetly.

The beast nudged him in the right direction and led him to the almost dead tin can. "What is a child doing here?" he asked in a gruff voice, glaring at Ace who was absolutely unaware of it.

"So you can talk" Ace said in a matter of fact tone before stabbing the guy in the face hoping it would be unprotected by armour.

"What..?" the dead warrior asked when Ace missed but the kid diligently tried a few more times until he succeeded.

*You have killed Archron, the undead knight!*

*You have killed the undead triplet*

*You receive a title "Grave Keeper"

+20% damage to undead

+5% damage in the dark

+2% resistance to dark magic

+5% to illusion magic and dark type magic*

Ace looked through all the pop up messages and laughed. An assassin becoming an undead hunter, that is something interesting. And to add it all up, now with that plus twenty percent damage he could start fighting undead of his level one versus one without being immensely overpowered. Although he would have to test it after he could see again.

"Anything interesting?" the necromancer asked coming closer with his remaining four skeletons.

"It seems these two were quite well-known undead" Ace said absent-mindedly while still thinking about how lucky he was.

"And how do you know that?"

The question brought Ace to reality. His companion couldn't see the title since he's living in the cave and no one will tell him about it so for him it was just two strong undead who the kid couldn't even see. "I read some stories before coming here. There are many creatures that people fear to this day and the undead brothers were one of them. One was an archer hiding in the shadows while the other a knight wearing a helmet who left his face open. They were said to be capable of human speech too."

"Will you become famous for getting rid of them?"

"Most likely" Ace said with a laugh. "A child killing two fear inducing monstrous undead, everyone will really believe it."

"Why don't you get proof then?"

"Hm?" Ace asked interested.

The skeleton threw some items at him instead of replying. The kid put them in his inventory since he couldn't identify them but he knew it was a bow, two knifes, lance, cape and metal boots since they were heavy. "Thanks. That might help the situation."

"You're welcome. Shall we continue?"

"What's up ahead?"

"Skeletons. They're a bit weaker than zombies but should still be useful to you."

Ace's first thought was to disagree and tell to better return where the zombies should have re-spawned but then he better listened in to the sounds around him. Or the lack of them. And that meant that there were a lower amount of skeletons close by. 'Could it be he wants to fill up the free spaces that were made by the undead twins? Wait, wasn't it written triplets?' Ace wondered what it could mean and looked over the older messages. Right before a message that he had regenerated to full health and stamina after sleeping there was a message.

*You've killed Archren, the undead mage!*

'That explains things although he was a bit too weak compared to the others. The little brother of the two? Or an outcast from the trio?'

"So you okay with that?" the skeleton asked tired of waiting for a reply that wasn't coming.

"Oh yeah, right" Ace said with a sheepish smile getting on the hound.

Ace could have sworn he heard a sigh of relief. "Will you let me last hit them too?" he inquired.

"Of course" the skeleton agreed.

"That's great! Although maybe there's a way I could help you fight? I don't want to feel like a weight that's dragging you down."

"You're not" the mage said sincerely, coming to pet his head gently and the hound barked approvingly.

Ace lowered his head some. "You might say so but you're doing all the work while I'm just stealing everything away. That is not fair! I should help some too!" he said in a strong voice, directing his gaze to the skeleton.

"But you're blind boy! If you tried to attack something, there's a high chance that you'll hit us without even meaning to!" the skeleton refuted.

Ace nodded as if agreeing but then his face lit up. "I could weaken them some before you even come! If you let me go in, use a few spells and then retreat, I could actually be of use!"

"You know magic kid? Aren't you a dagger master?"

Ace didn't think before using one of his few spells. "Ice field!" The ground changed into the slippery surface forcing even the hound to right himself or fall with a splat. Skeletons weren't so agile and crashed, their bones falling apart and breaking in twos or threes.

"I think I shouldn't have done that..." Ace murmured, from the sounds knowing that something went terribly wrong.

"Really?" the skeleton asked in a barely controlled voice from somewhere below.

"I have a feeling..." the kid said in an even lower voice. The hound barked a laugh.

"Shut up you old mutt" the mage growled with a tired sigh. "I believe I'll have to take you up on that offer since you were the one who destroyed my remaining forces."

"Sorry about that, but I'm happy I'll be able to help!" Ace said in a cheerful voice and smiling brightly ordered his ride. "Forth! Run forth my hound! Where adventure waits for us! Where danger seeks us! Where wishes are fulfilled and destroyed! Into the unknown, go my ride!"

The hound and skeleton laughed and together they all moved forward together.