/

Name: Lucrio Law

Titles:

{Bearer of the Emperor’s Curse}: You can only learn and level Bloodline Skills. You cannot learn and level normal Skills.

Bloodline Skills:

[Kneel] – Lv2: Command the unfaithful to serve you. [Reinforcements] – Lv1: Call one of your subjects to your immediate defense. [The Inseverable Bond] – Lv1: Your subjects trust you to dictate their evolution.

Skills:

Lying on the cold, stone ground and wishing he was dead, Luc’s eyes glazed over his updated Status. He didn’t really understand what any of it meant, as he was more concerned about trying to ignore the pain inflaming his entire body.

A short distance away, the monkey mask and the horse mask were approaching him as before, slow step followed by slow step. They had seemingly forgotten about the dragon whelp, instead choosing to come after Luc. The ox mask still had its head stuck in the wall. Grimacing, Luc tried to get to his feet. As soon as he tried, a sharp pain shot through his midsection, dropping him back to his knees.

“[Reinforcements]!” said Luc, seeing if there was anything left in the mysterious pendant.

/

[Reinforcements] was unsuccessful.

Cursing, Luc turned to see if there was anything he could use as a weapon. He jumped as he realized he had not collided with a rock, but rather the fallen body of a monster wearing the mask of a dog.. However, this monster was not on its feet – it was slumped on the ground, motionless.

Must’ve gotten blasted away by Maho’s attack, thought Luc, casting a quick glance at the incoming monsters. Given their slow pace, he maybe had a minute to come up with a plan.

There’s no way I can come up with a plan in that time!

Next to him, the dog mask shifted. Luc yelped and stumbled backwards, sending aches through his ribs. Holding his abdomen, Luc watched the dog mask through wary eyes. The dog mask was much smaller than the other monsters, only the size of a child. Its straw clothes were stained with blue blood from a gaping wound on its chest.

I know that [Kneel] won’t work on most things, thought Luc. Since it’s such a low level, it probably only works on weak monsters.

He looked up at the dog mask. Normally, Luc wouldn’t have banked on [Kneel] working on it. But because Maho weakened it so much, is there a chance?

There was no more time to think. Sending a quick prayer up to the gods, Luc looked down at the dog mask and spoke the command.

“[Kneel].”

Luc held his breath, heart thudding in his chest.

/

[Kneel] was successful.

The dog mask rose to its feet and faced Luc, nearly toppling over. For a moment, it stood there, trembling. Luc didn’t know if it was because of the injuries or because it was trying to resist. But it didn’t matter. The dog mask dropped to one knee, lowering its head in Luc’s direction. Similarly to what had happened with the dragon whelp, a burst of pain seared Luc’s head and the Status of the monster appeared in his mind.

/

Name:

Species: Spirit Vessel

Titles:

Bloodline Skills:

[Spirit Possession – Scruffy the Stray]: Harness the abilities of a stray dog.

Skills:

[Beg]: Friendly strangers are more likely to offer help.

Luc tore at his hair with his hands, wondering where all his luck had gone. Why can I only command the weakest of monsters? An actual dog would be more useful than this thing! His thoughts were interrupted as he saw yet another Status message.

/

Will you name your new subject?

Frowning, Luc looked over at the monkey mask and horse mask, who were getting closer and closer by the second. It seemed that their range of attack was smaller than that of the snake mask or the rabbit mask. He still had a bit of time. But a name of all things? Luc didn’t understand what good giving a name to a half dead monster would do, but once again, all he could do in this situation was gamble. Never having been the most creative of thinkers, Luc chose the name of the old hunting dog his childhood friend had owned.

“Your name is Bones!”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the dog mask, Bones, began to glow with bright white light. The horse mask and monkey mask paused their movement, staring as their former companion was surrounded with an aura. The aura swirled, generating a small gust that blew Luc’s hair back from his face. Luc watched with wide eyes as the glowing light enveloped Bones in a sphere of white. The sphere pulsated once, then vanished.

Bones remained where the sphere of light had been, still kneeling with its head bowed to Luc. However, it no longer trembled or wavered from the injuries it had sustained, and the wound on its chest had healed. It still had the body of a child, but the aura of white light swirling around its limbs took on the likeness of a towering, muscular dog. Closing his eyes, Luc viewed its Status.

/

Name: Bones

Species: Spiritualist

Titles:

{The Emperor’s Subject}: All skills powered up when in proximity of the Emperor.

Bloodline Skills:

[Spirit Possession – Hammer the Mighty]: Harness the abilities of a mighty dog.

Skills:

[Beg]: Friendly strangers are more likely to offer help.

Luc looked up at the horse mask and the monkey mask. Their demeanor had changed. Instead of the coldness and ruthlessness they had showed Maho and Luc, they now cowered in fear at the sight of Bones, heads lowered and shuffling backwards. Watching them, Luc felt no pity. He remembered the pain Maho had suffered at their hands. He remembered the way they had beaten the little dragon whelp. His hands curled into fists, and he turned to Bones.

“Kill them.”

Bones sprang off the ground, shooting like an arrow towards the monsters. Before the monkey mask could react, Bones hurled a fist. The fist exploded straight through the monkey mask’s chest, spraying blue blood everywhere. The monkey mask froze, and its limbs fell limp. Without giving the monkey mask a second glance, Bones yanked its arm out of the monkey mask’s torso and dashed after the horse mask, which was using its superior speed to try to escape.

Bones caught up to it in a matter of seconds. Leaping up to the height of the horse mask’s head, Bones grabbed the monster by the back of the skull and swung downwards, smashing the horse mask’s face into the ground. Stone splintered and the horse mask’s head splattered open against the floor, mask shattering into pieces.

Bones landed on the ground. Gradually, the white aura surrounding the monster faded, and it turned to face Luc. After a brief pause, it started walking towards Luc. As it approached, Luc’s breath caught in his throat. He didn’t know how much control his Bloodline gave him over the monster. He did know that if he couldn’t keep Bones under control, his life would be over before he could blink.

Luc forced himself to his feet, trying his best to ignore the pain. He raised his fists in his best imitation of a fighting stance. With his injuries, there was no way he could run. He wanted to pull out his signature technique of playing dead, but he didn’t trust a monster to have compassion for even a corpse. That meant the only option for him was to fight.

Bones came to a stop about a dozen feet away from Luc. The two stared at each other for a long moment, neither one of them moving. Right before Luc let out his battle cry, Bones dropped to one knee, bowing once more. As it did so, Luc finally found the time to raise his head and take a good look at things. Around him, the ground was littered by corpses of monsters. The only ones still alive were Bones and the ox mask, who still had its head stuck in the wall. All of the monsters were dead. And he was still alive.

I survived.

A triumphant smile started spreading across his face, but it halted when his eyes wandered to the dragon whelp, slumped on the ground in the midst of Maho’s gemstones, still glowing with light. No, he hadn’t survived.

He had been saved.