Auron watched in amazement at the magic performed before him. As the cave wall held up his broken body, Zander began to glow green as brightly as a torch. Auron squinted at the bright light and felt his ears pop from the pressure summoned by his familiar.

Zander activated Gale stitch. Gale stitch connects torn flesh, and returns lost resources healing 40% of the target's health. This spell comes at the cost of 50% of the user's mana.

Even the wind now took on an eerie teal glow as Auron felt the ruined muscles in his calve begin to stitch together. Zander shaped the wind and blew it directly at Auron's leg. In his delirious state, Auron watched the light from the spell move shadows along the walls.

"Woah, you're somewhat articulate now, maybe you got some of my brainpower when we bonded." Auron joked after some time had passed, and he regained his senses somewhat. He was feeling leagues better now that his skin was patched up, and the spell was completed.

[You don't have enough brain to share, unfortunately, so I will be using my mind only. You need to be more careful. If that monster had taken your leg, I would be healing the stub closed right now. My magic path is based on attack, not healing. We would have needed a true druid if this was any worse.] Zander's mental messages had a lightly scolding tone, but it reminded Auron of when his mom was concerned for his safety. The tiny healer must have been worried.

Pleased by the new development of sarcasm in his familiar, he was able to skirt over the limitations of healing magic, and avoid paying attention to the growing anxiety in his chest.

"Ouch! Well, now we have established that you can be feisty," he joked, slowly standing and bouncing on his toes to make sure his leg was fully healed. "Well, it may be redundant after our bonding, but it's nice to meet you, Zander. Thank you for healing me again." Auron said, his voice came out softly as he avoided eye contact. As he took one last bounce, his right foot took a slippery journey away from his left. The blood he had lost earlier caused him to lose his balance.

Zander rolled his eyes as he watched Auron nearly do a full split. Another round of healing and he was on his feet again. This time he decided not to bounce around on the wet stone floor.

[Let's get to work. You have so much to do, and that is not even considering you also need new clothes and food.] Zander sent through their telepathic link glazing over the heartfelt thank you from Auron.

As he looked down at the patchwork of fabric that used to be a shirt and pants, Auron silently agreed. Feeling his stomach rumble, he knew that food was another thing to add to his quickly growing list.

"Is it easier if we communicate mentally, I am not sure how, but I can try?" Auron said right before he attempted to send a hello mentally.

Zander cocked his head sideways like a dog that heard a sound for the first time.

[Either is fine, but you are terrible with your mental imagery. Now please focus. You need to check your status and allocate your points.]

"I am just going to assume that has something to do with the screens that keep popping up in my face like I am in some sort of VR game. Wait...how do you even know all of this, what are you, where am I, and what the hell is going on?" Auron spat the questions out rapidly as he realized he was just going with the flow of the wild events.

Clearly becoming frustrated by the slew of questions, Zander jumped to the wall and climbed level with Auron's eyes.

[I was sent by..] Zanders's face contorted slightly, and his eyes seemed to look into the distance. A few seconds later, he continued speaking as if nothing happened. [This is not a game. We do not have time for questions. We are not safe here. I am exhausted from healing your monkey body all night, and with that colossal spell I just cast to heal your leg I will be empty of mana soon. We are in a dungeon! Now please check.] Even with the serious tone and content of the message, Zander did not seem all that upset.

"Well, that isn't cryptic at all," Auron said quickly, his frustration threatening to boil over at the half-answers. Attempting to wink mentally at his familiar earned him another head tilt. Auron silently worried that all of his thoughts were being read. "Fine, I will do what you want," he said, after noting Zander did not seem to react to that internal worry.

"Status!" Auron shouted to the heavens, or more accurately, the stone ceiling of their temporary alcove. As he waited for his screen, he was momentarily distracted by Zander as he started to vibrate in place.

Zander fell from his spot on the wall and started to roll around. A strange, squeaking sound was coming from his chest.

"Are you okay what's wrong?" Auron asked, alarmed.

With an odd smirk-like feature added on his face, Zander responded.

[You only have to think the word with purpose.]

"Is that your version of laughing? You jerk. Two seconds ago, you were mad. We need to get you on some mood stabilizers." Auron chuckled happily to see the creature's walls break down slightly. Okay, here we go again. Status.

The now-familiar screen popped up in Auron's eyes once more. This time with more information.

Auron (last name) Level 1

Class:none

Secondary Class: none

Title: none

Secondary Title: none

Socket points open: 8

Socket points used: 0

Head socket point: none

Soul socket point: none

Familiar 1/0 + 1 due to unknown circumstances

Available stat points: +30

"That's a whole lot of none," Auron said as he flipped to the next screen.

Spiritual stats:

Health stock:10

Regen:5(x2) (Boosted by familiar)

Mana stock:10

Wisdom:5

Physical Stats: (-50% due to starvation of body and mind)

Speed: 10(-5)

Precision: 10(-5)

Strength: 10(-5)

Durability: 10(-5)

Main:

HP:100/100

MP:0/100

Regen: 5 health point per min (x2) (Boosted by familiar)

Wisdom: 5 mana point per min

Magic: Wind blast (Limited) 2/2, Healing wind (Limited) 2/2

Skills: Inspection

Special attributes: Will to survive, Indomitable spirit, Lateral thinking.

Blessings: Blessing of the Goddess Lombardia. R**** Aura

"Looks like one stock point equals ten hp, and it's the same for mp," Auron mumbled as he looked over the information.

"Well, that is a lot to process, what kind of name is Lombardia?" He asked as he shot a look expectantly toward Zander, who simply responded with a whole-body lizard shrug.

"Hey, little Zan, aren't you supposed to be draining mana from me all the time?" He looked down at the resting creature.

[I only need 50 mana once a day to stabilize our connection for the time being. I will take it in the evening when we know we are safe. As it is currently, you can not sustain me. We need to level you up quickly.] Zander lifted his head to answer and then laid it back down on his front feet.

"Back to these stats." Auron was distracted once again as his stomach erupted with a growl that echoed down the cave walls. The spontaneous noise continued until it was eventually swallowed by the darkness that loomed further in. "Shit I need to eat something," Auron placed a hand over his stomach, the slight twinge of pain made him wince. He was used to hunger. Hell, it was practically his roommate, but this was severe. Looking to the hunger-reduction on his stat screen, Auron's jaw dropped. "50 percent?! That is just not fair. Well, here is to the hope that my life here is better than my life back home." He said as his mask of cheery optimism dropped for a moment.

Zander perked his head up at this.

[You will not have to suffer anymore, Auron. You and I will strive to have the best life we can. I promise you. Stop shouting though. We are not the only beings in this cave. You are now...] Once again, Zander stopped speaking, and his eyes became glossy.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are great at being ominous? Care to explain what I am now, or what you know of my suffering?" Auron allowed some real frustration to slip into his voice.

[Loss is universal. Existence is usually somewhere in between great pain and great joy, occasionally hitting the ends in its intricacies. You may feel pain and joy in this life, but I will be here to make sure you are never truly alone. I will heal you when you are hurt, I will tear apart our enemies with my wind, and I will never be too far from your side. I was... brought to you for the purpose of being your ally, and I have... given my word to do so. I am tired of communication now. Focus on your points and think about your path.] Zander spoke after recovering from his silence, slightly pausing in between certain parts of his speech.

Auron thought about those words for a few minutes while Zander jumped onto his shoulder, and assumed a napping position in a curled up ball. Auron leaned forward and did a quick shimmy to check how stable he would be there. Zander did not budge. His skin seemed to be excellent at gripping whatever it touched. Noting this, Auron was glad he would not have to worry about the little guy falling off.

Auron reflected on the beautiful words. He had never really met someone willing to offer friendship with nothing in expected return. Well, he possibly considered Red a friend, but that was something else entirely. The rough woman had her good side, but Auron saw very little of it. He knew her missing leg was part of the reason for her unwavering lousy attitude, but still. Thinking of his mentor made him homesick.

As he pondered his old life, a spike of pain erupted from behind his eyes. A headache collided with his mind at a great speed as he tried to remember his job, apartment, or anything related to his life before coming here.

Auron was left with no choice. He gave up on his attempt to remember. Such an odd feeling that he could not picture his old living arrangements, but games, movies, and all the books he ever read were burned into his memory.

Those and his mother's tutoring were all he had left of his old life. The thought of his mother gave him comfort as a small smile pulled at his chapped lips. Thinking back on his odd upbringing, his homeschooling, caused a warmth that permeated his stomach. That warmth very quickly turned icy cold as he remembered she was gone.

Looking for a distraction, he turned his attention back to the task at hand—specifically, the second page of his stats. Trying to twist how the information was presented, he attempted to simplify the lists. With a thought, he changed the presentation and was satisfied with the results.

Spiritual stats:(Regen and wisdom reduced by five due to starvation status)

Health stock: 10 Regen: 5(x2)

Mana stock: 10 Wisdom: 5

Physical Stats: (-50% due to starvation of body)

Speed: 10(-5) Precision: 10(-5)

Strength: 10(-5) Durability: 10(-5)

He then flipped down and paused at the last page.

Magic: Wind blast (Limited) 2/2, Healing wind (Limited)2/2,

Abilities: Inspection

Skills: None

Special attributes: Will to survive, Indomitable spirit, Lateral thinking.

Blessings: Blessing of the Goddess Lombardia. R**** Aura

Auron decided to save his remaining points for the time being. Hunger was nothing new to him, but the implication that it had such a drastic effect on his stat points worried him greatly. One aspect of his life he had not forgotten was the hunger. He always had felt days from death, no matter how much he stuffed his face. His mother was the same way, so he had always assumed it was genetic. As he thought, he subconsciously ran his thumbs down his rib cage. Auron regretted the train of thought, pushing away the mental image of his mother, slowly wasting away on her sickbed. He forced himself to look back to his screens. Adding five points to his health and mana seemed like a smart bet, so he did so.

Warmth ran through his body as the change kicked in. His blood seemed to pump with more force from his heart, and his mind felt clearer than it had in ages. As he enjoyed the changes, he decided it was time to hunt for food. Well, almost time. He had to finish looking at the rest of the information floating in front of him.

Auron touched his hairless face, pretending to stroke an imaginary beard in deep thought. Most of this screen had been controlled by willing something to appear. "So, let's see if my magic being lined up in an organized and explained way... "YES!" Zander shifted in place, obviously annoyed at the exclamation.

"I am allowed to be excited, Zan." Auron tried out the nickname sass dripping from every word.

"Now let's take a look starting with the magical ones," Auron's satisfied voice rang out stuffed with excitement.

Wind blast (Limited):

Conjure a blast composed of wind, and imbue it with all the ripping force of a storm. This power can be concentrated and held before activation.

*Limited in use due to being reliant on the mana of your familiar 2/2 uses per day*

"MAGICC!" Auron jumped up and punched the air. "Okay, so this sounds amazing. I can't wait to try it. Too bad it's limited by your mana I want to save what you have for healing. Speaking of healing." He said to Zander as giddy energy ran through him, similar to a child with their first pokemon cards.

Healing wind (Limited):

Wind is not as simple as one might believe. Through this natural force, a seed may be spread, or a creature of flight may be eased to its next destination. Just as the force of a hurricane can destroy, wind also has a deep connection to life. Summon a vortex of wind to heal a target or yourself for +3 hp per second.

*Limited in use due to being reliant on the mana of your familiar 2/2 uses per day*

"This seems like a more realistic spell. I wonder if we can both channel it for faster healing or something. A full minute to completely heal may not be quick enough in certain situations. That gator took away 30% of my health at 100 points with one bite, and that was with it only taking a small part of my calf. Auron looked down at the scars he had from both the swamp and the ripped out a portion of flesh. Gulping, he wondered how such a small chunk missing could have let loose such a terrible amount of blood. The metallic scent still hung in the air, a silent reminder of the wound. Auron, wanting to forget about the painful experience, switched his mental thought to skills and pulled up the next page.

Inspection:

Knowledge is of great value in any situation. As creatures learn and grow in an environment, their capacity to change and survive that environment grows as well. This skill has been gifted to you through the contact of a great source of mana. The organic and inorganic material can be selected through mental intent to give the name and a brief description depending on the nature of the item. This skill can be set to activate automatically. Given to those who have a high enough internal concentration of red mana, and are near a core source of power.

"Now, this is a skill I recognize from games and anime I was into. I am sure I will use the hell out of this right here. Automatic activation, yes please." Auron said to Zander, his voice echoed down to the depths of the cavern.

His eyes read over the last part several times, but he saved it for later. Zander was not forthcoming with information, so he did not wish to waste time asking.

Auron sat in the cave for a while, thinking of the potential benefits and applications of his skills. He played with the screen for a while, moving it with his thoughts, accessing features like expanding his health bar and opening a window that would show his status debuff.

"Alrighty then," Auron said the words half to Zander, half to himself. He had become bored with messing around on the screen. Now his mind was obsessively forcing himself not to try out his magic for fun. As much as he was tempted to, the limit was worrisome, and his mp seemed to be stuck at zero.

"On to do the same with my special attributes... Man, this whole situation is crazy." There is a good chance I am just still sitting in that alleyway, imagining all of this and drooling on the pavement due to a head wound or something. "Zan, can you pinch me?" Zander did not react to the question. He was choosing instead to continue to rest lying with his head on his front feet. Well, at least I won't miss dogs seeing your behavior and habits. Auron could have sworn he saw his familiars tail wag slightly at that comment, but he would never be sure.

Special attributes

Will to survive:

Through the hardships brought on in your life, you have earned this attribute. In this world, mana reacts in response to stimuli. Your refusal to give up and great perseverance may prove to be your most powerful tool. There is a small chance you will survive an otherwise deadly attack, and the damage will be reduced.

Auron felt slightly relieved that this may save his life in the future. Perhaps it already had he thought as he rubbed his calf.

Indomitable spirit:

You have refused to be broken. When many others before you have given in, you will undoubtedly be still fighting to take your next step forward. Those around you have also refused to give you a way to the icy grips of death. This attribute will allow you to come back from the brink of ruin as many times as necessary. Whether it be madness, despair, or any debilitating challenge, as long as you are breathing, there is the potential for you to return to being whole. *Warning* This will not halt your journey to the depths of sorrow. Instead, it will make the trip back to sanity that much easier. Your effort is required. Just as easily, this could increase the speed of your decent. Tread wisely.

"It seems like these attributes are not as easy to understand as skills. I am not sure what these two do. Hopefully, it will all become clear with time honestly, though other people have had it worse than me. I am not sure what I did to be qualified for these. I mean, yeah, I have had a tough life so far, but what else is there to do, but continue to try my best and live. This could have something to do with overcoming my nightmares as a child. Who knows." As Auron spoke, he repressed a shiver brought on by the thought of his nightmares.

Lateral thinking:

Thought equals power. Through the mind, the world can be changed and shaped by mana. You have a connection to a world where hundreds of years of trial and error were contained in textbooks and devices carried by each person casually. Entire planets were thought up as fantasy and enjoyed by the masses. Through this connection, you naturally have a different perspective than others who have walked before you. Your mind is a powerful tool. This attribute will allow you to use it to its full potential. You may combine skills together to create new ones. You are also able to use your mind in battles to weaponize whatever you need to win. With the development of your mind to this extent, you will also be much more likely to discover new magic connections in the form of abilities.

"I guess my homeschooling, and being from earth counts for something here? Weird." Auron tried to remember his lessons. The information was there, but he could no longer remember his childhood home or how his mom taught him. He had so many blanks he became frustrated and turned his attention back to his screen.

"Now, we are talking. Combining skills sounds impressive. That makes me feel more confident about surviving here. Luckily the holes in my memory did not get in the way." Auron said while rubbing his temples. The massage failed to fight off the headache that came when he thought about his past.

"I am guessing that the weaponize thing has to do with some aspect of fighting here that I just do not get, maybe you can only equip certain types of things or something. I will have to wait and see." He continued his one-way conversation toward Zander while he battled an oncoming yawn.

First things first let try out some magic, I do not care if the uses are limited I just can't wait for an-

*Click, Click, Tick*

Auron was interrupted by the sound of repeated clicking seeming to come closer from the darker depths of the cave. Nervously he looked down to his curled up familiar and noticed its green eyes were also peering toward the darkness.