/

[Kneel] was successful.

Luc’s eyes widened as he watched the snarl fade from the white monster’s face. Then, perched on the edge of the coffin, the monster lowered its head in what looked like a bow. As it did so, a burning pain roared to life in Luc’s head, dropping him to a knee. Squeezing his eyes shut, he saw a Status in his mind that was definitely not his own.

/

Name:

Species: Dragon Whelp

Titles:

Bloodline Skills:

Skills:

[Restful Slumber]: Drastically increase healing rate when sleeping.

Eyes snapping open, Luc realized he was seeing the Status of the white monster. Pain slowly fading, Luc rose to his feet, keeping a wary eye on both the dragon whelp and the spider. Poor excuse for a dragon, thought Luc. Can’t do anything but sleep. Not that I’d do any different if I was stuck in a coffin for who knows how long. His eyes darted towards the spider, which was still stuck deciding between its prey. It doesn’t matter, though. As long as it follows my orders, I should be able to get out of this alive!

“You!” shouted Luc at the dragon whelp. He jabbed a finger in the direction of one of the exits, which was located behind the giant spider. “Run for that exit!”

Without hesitation, the dragon whelp pounced off the edge of the coffin and began dashing towards the spider. When it saw one of its targets approaching it, the spider’s dilemma was solved. It locked its eight beady eyes on the dragon whelp and lunged at it, smashing its sharp legs into the ground. However, the dragon whelp was extremely agile in its movements, easily evading the spider’s attacks. As Luc watched, he smiled.

Exactly like I planned!

With the two monsters distracting each other, Luc turned to the exit in the opposite direction and ran for his life. As he ran, he prayed that the spider wouldn’t have a sudden change of heart and pursue him instead. Judging by the continued ruckus behind him, his plan seemed to have worked.

Finally, Luc reached the exit. He peered into the darkness, squinting. He couldn’t see much inside besides the continuation of the stone tiles of the ground. Glancing to the side, Luc saw that the torches illuminating the circular chamber could be removed from their holders. Standing on the tips of his toes, he yanked the torch off the wall, holding the eerie green flames a safe distance away.

A rumbling noise sounded, much louder than any of the previous booms that Luc had heard earlier. The spider and dragon whelp paused in the middle of their chase, glancing up at the ceiling. Luc followed their gaze.

Dust seemed to be falling from the roof, trickling like the early drops of a rainstorm. As he watched, Luc noticed the acute shaking that was growing every second. As the rumbling increased in volume, the intensity of the tremors exponentiated in magnitude, nearly knocking Luc off his feet. That’s when the first chunk of rubble smashed into the ground, inches away from Luc’s feet.

This whole place is coming down!

Luc turned back to the dark opening of the exit. Do I really leave my fate up to chance? He narrowed his eyes. Even though his [Gambler’s Fortune] skill had been erased by the curse, the countless hours he had spent gambling had not left him with nothing. If I’m going to gamble with my life, it might as well be high risk high reward!

“Dragon whelp!” Luc shouted over the crumbling of the tomb. “Get me out of this godforsaken tomb!”

The dragon whelp stared at him for a moment, blue eyes glowing in the dim lighting of the room. Then it began bounding towards the last of the three exits – the opening that neither one of them had been heading to. As the dragon whelp began to move, the giant spider followed.

There was no time for hesitation. Luc tightened his grip around the torch and sprinted towards the exit. He ran next to the curved wall, as rubble was falling primarily in the middle of the chamber. His curved path, combined with his slower speed, meant that the dragon whelp was going to arrive at the exit before Luc would. That meant that the spider would also be there.

“Holy mother of gods, please help me!” Luc roared at the ceiling.

As if to answer his prayer, a giant slab of stone smashed into the ground, flattening the giant spider in an instant. Pale blue blood splattered everywhere, coating the area near the spider with a layer of thick ooze. Holding his nose from the stench, Luc silently thanked the gods. As if to respond to his gratitude, a second piece of rubble crashed into the ground next to Luc, knocking him off his feet momentarily. Clambering back to his feet, Luc decided it was better not to mess with the gods at all.

Finally, Luc reached the entrance to the exit. The dragon whelp sat on its haunches, watching him struggle his way through the growing piles of rubble.

“Slow down,” said Luc, gasping for breath. “You’re - ”

The white monster turned and bounded into the dark tunnel before Luc could finish his sentence. Gritting his teeth, Luc held out his torch to light the way and followed the dragon whelp into the darkness.

Over the next ten minutes or so, Luc wasn’t too sure what happened. All he remembered was doing his best to keep up with the dragon whelp, nearly falling into pit traps, and running past deformed monsters lurking in corners. All the while, the entire tomb shook as its hallways collapsed. Exhausted and fed up from dealing with this nonstop madness, Luc put all his faith in the dragon whelp, following its every move. For some reason, it never seemed to hesitate with its decisions, never backtracking and always moving at a breakneck speed. It was both a blessing and a curse. While Luc ran himself ragged, the dragon whelp’s pace was so fast that Luc barely realized when he charged through a thick pile of dead leaves and out into the cold night.

Into the cold night?

Luc stood there, panting and wheezing. Sure enough, above his head was a crescent moon, gleaming bright in the night. Behind him, the underground tremors were nothing but a quiet rumble. Chest heaving, he glanced around. He was again standing on the edge of the forest, but in front of him was a tall corn field instead of a horse pasture. This was not where he had entered the tomb with Ryko and Mina. But that didn’t matter. Not one bit.

I’m alive, thought Luc, slumping to his knees and vision clouded with tears. I’m alive.

Then he collapsed to the ground onto his back, too exhausted to stay conscious. As his vision slipped to black, he saw a single message within his Status.

/

[Kneel] Level 2 learned!

A few feet away from him, the white dragon whelp watched Luc and cleaned its paw. It took several cautious steps towards him. Jabbing Luc with a paw, the dragon whelp darted back and hid behind a tree trunk, ears flattened. When Luc did not move, the dragon whelp trotted up to his body and poked it again. Then it padded onto his chest and curled up in a ball, immediately falling into a [Restful Slumber], head nestled against the pendant that hung around Luc’s neck.

It was good to have a master again.