Auron opened his eyes at a snail's pace. He brushed off his mouth. Some clay had decided to cling to his face from his impromptu sleeping arrangement on the beach. As he did so, a bright sun slowly peeking its way over a distant mountaintop shone into his eyes. The light it shed still not enough to see much of the surrounding area.

Auron gently touched the skin of his legs. With a quick intake of air, he hissed from the pain. What was now puffy pink flesh was sore to the touch and scarred from the extended contact with the swamp's wretched waters.

Auron felt a slight movement against his hand. As it rested on the sand beside him, the rubbery tissue's feeling tore his attention away from the pain.

The salamander who helped him through the swamp was pulsing green. Its eyes closed tightly, and head nuzzled against his hand. It seemed as though the creature had healed Auron throughout the few hours he slept. This theory confirmed by a glance at his health bar, showing it filled.

Auron wondered just how long the poison was in his system as his attention returned to his scarred appendages. Each leg now held a red tint to them below the knee as if sunburned.

Auron shivered. Fear running deep into the core of his being. His weak body likely brought on the spontaneous bout of narcolepsy that whisked him to dreamland. He hated the feeling of control ripped away from him. He also hated the thought that without this friendly creature, he would likely have perished.

As he shook from exhaustion, the brave little creature collapsed, in the process, he pushed aside a tiny puff of wet sand.

"Why would you do so much for me!?" Auron demanded, quickly wiping a tear away caused by overwhelming and confusing guilt, mixed with a slight tinge of suspicion. His suspicion only served to fuel his guilt further.

"What is it that you want to take from me or convince me to do?!" He said, his voice was raised, slightly bordering the line of hysterical.

[Home]

The only thing the creature sent through their link was the single word it kept repeating its eyes piercing forward into Auron's.

"I'm not sure what you mean, but please just rest now," Auron said softly, unable to fully meet its gaze. "Thank you for healing me," he continued, more to himself than the now sleeping lizard still unable to meet its eyes with his own.

Creating a little bed made out of soft clay from the beach, he set it down and watched as it curled up into a tiny ball using its tail to cover its eyes.

"I have to figure out your name or something because lizard, salamander, and tetrapod feel a bit distant for a creature who saved my life. Also, I am pretty sure that lizards and Salamanders are fundamentally different." He whispered to himself. Entirely swayed by its cuteness and earnest behavior, he decided to trust the being.

Auron looked around once again now aided by more morning light coming down toward the island. With the sun now illuminating the area, he realized several things in quick succession. First, he reaffirmed his new comrade was incredibly cute and tiny. Second, the clothes or remnants of clothes he was wearing were in complete tatters. His pants now shorts and his favorite shirt had spots burned into it randomly. Third, and most pressing, those were not logs he was pushing through earlier. Unless, in this world, logs have massive fangs set into elongated jaws that are so terrifying you almost pee your recently destroyed pants.

As the nearest "log" opened its eyes with loud twin clicking noises, he was frozen purely from fear.

The alligator-like beast began splashing toward him in a frenzy. Once it was about one meter from the shore, it stopped coming any closer. Floating menacingly, it decided to screech its dominance through the air.

*SCREEEEEEEE*

Auron squinted his eyes shut due to the unwelcome slap to his eardrums; he felt an odd sensation rush to his eyes as he opened them again and looked at the beast.

lvl5 danger level: high. Color concentrations: Violet/Black These creatures use their bark-like scales as camouflage to evade predators of higher levels. Mainly staying in groups, they attack lower level prey, ripping them apart with their sharp fangs and protrusions that stick out of their scaled skin.

Quickly reading the new information, he attempted and failed to gloss over the fact that these apex looking predators had their own predators, Auron decided it would be best to stay the hell away from the prehistoric monstrosity.

Swiftly, he moved backward. As he went, he barely remembered to grab his green sidekick from its makeshift bed.

Auron stumbled around the beach away from the water, and any other terrors it may hold. His bony legs became tired from moving through the sand as he approached the bend of the clay island, but adrenaline pushed him beyond his usual limits.

As he hustled, he sent a silent prayer to whatever gods may exist that these monsters are purely aquatic.

Auron glanced back regularly as he went over his options. He did not have any sort of weapon or deterrent to keep the creature at bay. The beach was also devoid of sticks he could use to that end.

His fears only increased, as the gator circled the water, it kept in line with him as he tried to make the distance. Just as he felt he was making a bit of space, the creature tentatively took its first squelching steps onto the shore. As it did so, the motion unveiled claws just as terrifying if not more so than its teeth. Auron's heart thundered in his chest as his mind imagined what those claws could do to his flesh.

As the creature moved inland, it periodically stopped and shifted its gaze toward the sky. If Auron was not running for his life, he might have asked himself, "What makes a creature as terrifying as this act cautiously?".

As he continued up and around the sloping beach, he reached a point where the clay started to bend and form a visual barrier between the monster and them. Just as Auron began to think he would get them away from the approaching monster, he soccer kicked his bare foot into an errant stone and fell to his knees.

As he howled at the pain of a most likely broken toe, he looked up and spotted an inlet further up the island. Now that he had brought them to the other side, he was able to see, the other half the island was different from the side from which he just came. A large platform of rock starts where the sand ends.

As if a titan had spun a drill into the earth, a cave led deep into the underground center of the island. Auron was amazed at the sight. The rock was so smooth it gave the impression that someone hand-carved the entrance into a massive boulder. Though he should have been scared by the dark depths of the tunnel, he only saw signs of other intelligent life as salvation. If someone was here to carve this entrance, maybe they lived there and could help.

Lost in his decision to enter the cave or not, Auron did not see how close the gator had managed to get to him. As he cursed his lack of athleticism, he stumbled forward, deciding to take his chances with the cave. At that moment, there was a tugging sensation on his left calf.

Following the tugging sensation, a wet ripping sound paired with the most enormous pain Auron had ever felt in his life. More significant than the carving he went through earlier, and somehow, it even far surpassed the feeling of the poisonous water. Auron screamed as the gator ripped his flesh from his body. His screams drowned out by the noises made by the beast as it chewed on what it took from his leg.

Auron could only watch, paralyzed by fear, as 30% of his health bar slipped away. Next to the bar were little droplets he recognized from various games as a bleeding debuff. His assumption confirmed by his health ticking down slowly shortly after. The rate of health decline seemed to match the pace of the blood flowing out of him.

A roar then drowned out both Auron as he screamed, and the creature's obnoxious pleasure groans as it chewed. The sound was so loud and powerful Auron felt not only his body but the whole island shake.

Tears flowed freely down his face as he dragged his ruined leg toward the cave. Auron then felt the air thrum with noise. The thudding grew louder and more violent.

*Thump* *Thump*

Air pressure knocked him closer to the entrance of the cave and filled his eyes with the clay-like sand of the beach.

As he finally cleared his vision after a few moments of wiping, Auron made out a gargantuan creature as it swooped down. A maroon blur of wings and scales swallowed the monster chasing him, along with a generous portion of the clay beach.

With renewed urgency, Auron dragged and limped himself to the lip of the cave. Trying to ignore the giant bite, its depth an estimated more than two times his height of six feet taken out of the landscape. Not that he could currently be sure as he was unable to stand, and did not have the time to measure it.

As he discarded the useless line of thought related to measuring that monster's bite, Auron knew he needed to get to safety. With one last push forward, he managed to finally pass the threshold of clay, giving way to a floor of stone.

Looking away from the bloodied mess of his leg, he used the hard floor to pull the rest of his body inside. It had to look worse than it was. Auron pleaded with reality and hoped his leg wound was not deadly. He was not ready to die.

A pulsing pressure began in his forehead As if a beaten drum lay inches away from his face, what was as a slight tingle transformed into a bright and sharp pain that rocked into each one of his nerve endings.

As Auron dealt with this unwanted drum concert played directly into his head, a cacophony of screams resounds from the water. He recognized it as matching the call of the first gator. Whether in the mourning of their eaten friend or anger at him, he did not know, but he would take the pounding headache over any more chunks of flesh ripped out.

As he ignored the ominous feeling in his gut, Auron continued his crawl into the cave.

You have entered the Cheshire Barrow Dungeon. Red Dungeon rank: One Recommended party size: Two. Dungeons are known for their promise of two things, Treasure and death.

The inside of the cave was much like the entrance; A solid dark stone seemingly hand-carved using tools into the earth. Its walls formed a semi-circle that met the floor as wide as three men of Auron's height laying down. Its depths unseen, the floor sank at a steep angle down. The hole in the earth seemed consistent in its width as far as he could see. Auron paid little attention to the layout in his current state.

As he settled down against the wall at the entrance to the Dungeon he gritted his teeth. The pain in his head slowly subsided as the pain from his leg returned to center stage, the tendrils of agony racing up his leg jolting his brain.

Auron feebly tried to wake up his healer companion as his vision blurred from blood loss.

[Home] The creature sent over their telepathic link as its eyes fluttered open and then widened at the sight of the blood.

The message sent by the being this time held more force than used previously. It jumped down to Auron's leg while sending a feeling reminiscent of concern. The salamander's wind returned as he began to glow green.

Auron felt a brief moment of relief, but then the wind and green glow sputtered out.

His head slumped forward. He could not gather his attention in his current state. Noting his health bar was dropping significantly faster now, Auron managed a loopy smile at the flashing bar.

The salamander then sent a wave of frustration and forcefully bit into Auron's thumb. Its tiny rounded teeth pinched but were just shy of drawing blood.

Auron looked over toward the creature; the slight pain grabbed his attention. His eyes blinked twice slowly. He was on the verge of passing out. At that moment, the beast sent another feeling that he could only partially understand.

"So, you want us to.. bond or something? Ha! How, how do we do that?" Auron's voice dripped out slowly as if having to think hard and force every word out. He attempted to stand, but slipped on the pooled blood at his feet and landed hard.

Now a feeling of acceptance and determination was passed from the animal to the man. Perhaps it was his delirious state, but he decided to try and return the sentiment. While he attempted to mirror the feeling, he heard a noise. *Bing*

A familiar has requested to bond with you. Bonding with a familiar is a symbiotic relationship that benefits both parties. A gift of magic with the siphon of mana from the receiver. Without this bond, a familiar can not easily access their magic. Be aware that your mana will now decrease to support the life-force and spells of your familiar should you accept. Offer your blood to solidify this contract.

{Accept contract with this spirit? Y/N}

"With all you have done for me, I do not see any reason not to accept. I have not lived a life where many people have been kind without wanting something in return, so I am sorry if I have been wary of you" Auron found momentary clarity while he spoke. The process seemed to slow down everything else that was happening.

Auron looked into the creature's eyes. He remembered all it had done so far. The brief time they had been together only reinforced his decision that it was pure, and he should not let his past hurt this opportunity for a new ally.

"I accept."

With those words, a sharp wind cut through the thumb where the creature recently bit. It pressed its head to the cut. As the blood coated its brow, the familiar began to glow an ethereal green brighter than the small amount of sunlight currently peaking into the cave front.

Auron had to shield his eyes from the light. It took every ounce of will power he had not to pass out. A burning sensation ripped into his right shoulder as the luminescence began to slowly ebb.

"Does everything in this fever dream hurt? What is even going on?" He said, confused at the turn of events his voice slurred slightly from his state of bloodloss.

Ripping off the sleeve of what left on his deteriorating t-shirt, he was now able to see a green outline in the shape of the familiar tattooed in between his shoulder and chest on the right side.

You have entered into a contract with a familiar. Chose the name for this familiar to finalize your bond and receive the Boon from this connection.

"I guess I will go with Zander because that sounds like salamander," Auron said in a loopy voice, the blood taking what little brainpower he had left.

Congratulations. Familiar {Zander} now permanently bound to Adventurer Auron. Because this connection is voluntary for both parties, the depth of this connection can never be broken. Your familiar will grow alongside you. Do not take this connection for granted. Boon listed below. Additional abilities granted due to the nature of this connection.

Current familiar count 1/0. Error

-For Binding with a Step 1 emerald class spirit Health increased by a permanent 10 points. -Stat increase Regen +100% (minor) -Exposure to damage sources now has a greater potential to add a resistance skill. -Healing spells cast by Zander increased by 50% effectiveness. -Mana requirement =50 per day. -Access to wind magic granted (Minor)

Auron felt immediate relief as his health bar shot up to near halfway. With the bleeding debuff still taking its toll, his consciousness began to fade again shortly after. His screen went unread as Zander jumped onto his chest and looked him in the eyes.

[Better now, I can heal you.] Zander sent in an orotund tone.