The descent into the Chasm was slow and shaky. Luc kept his eyes glued on the rocky wall of the Chasm, which was about a foot away from the side of the basket. He was glad he wasn’t facing the dark void of the pit, as his legs were already a little shaky as is.

The party was silent throughout the journey. Faro kept glancing over the edge of the basket, fiddling with what looked like a small gong in his hands. Tissa leaned back against one of the sides of the basket, but his knuckles were white around his lance. Rith stayed huddled in the corner, shaking and whispering to himself. As usual, Luc couldn’t tell what Gray was thinking or doing.

As they continued downwards, Luc began to see several gaping entrances in the walls of the cavern. Their sizes ranged from being small enough to only fit a single person to openings as large as a small house. Luc thought he could see a pair of glowing eyes here, something scuttling around there. Shivering, he redirected his gaze to the floor of the basket instead.

Some minutes later, Faro interrupted the silence with a clang of the gong he held in his hand. The sound reverberated through the Chasm, echoing back up to the surface. Abruptly, the basket halted. There was medium sized cave on the Chasm wall next to them. From inside the cave, Luc could see a faint light glowing.

“We exit here,” said Faro, unlatching the door on the basket. “Watch your step when exiting.”

One by one, the members of the Gauntlet team hopped from the basket to the cave, all too glad to have solid ground underneath their feet once more. Even Rith didn’t hesitate, squeezing his eyes shut and making the leap. As soon as they were all inside, Faro closed the door of the basket and hit the gong a second time. The rope pulled tight and began moving in the opposite direction, rising back up to the sky.

Inside the cave, Luc glanced around. It was lit by a dim green light, coming from clumps of mushrooms with tops as wide as human hands. The interior of the cave extended into the wall of the Chasm, sloping downwards into darkness. The floor was rocky and slippery, wet from some kind of liquid dripping from the ceiling. Grimacing, Luc pinched his nose to try to expunge the faint odor coming from the cave.

Beside him, Faro put a hand on his shoulder, making him jump.

“Take this,” said Faro, handing Luc the small gong. “If you run into trouble, signal us, and we will come to your aid.”

Luc glanced down at the gong in his hands. “…won’t I just be a tiny bit ahead of you guys?”

“Unfortunately, that is not the case,” said Faro. “The Chasm is not dictated by a single path. You can envision it as a set of tunnels. Many of these tunnels are interconnected in multiple locations, making it very easy to get lost. But I have personally explored this path several times, and I have made sure that there exists one true path among many dead ends. It is your job to find the dead ends and ensure we do not waste time going through them.”

That made Luc feel a little better. “If you’ve been here before, why don’t you just lead us?”

Faro smiled. “I am not all-remembering. Down here, every tunnel, every rock, every cave begins to look the same after a while.”

Luc found it hard to get mad at Faro. From his gentle demeanor to his subtle aura of command, Faro reminded Luc of nobles he had seen in important discussions with his father. Or at least that’s what Luc remembered before he dozed off in the middle of those meetings.

If I want to get home, the only way to go is down.

“Okay,” said Luc, stuffing the gong into his pack. “Anything else?”

“If you are entering dark areas, pick some mushrooms to take with you,” said Faro. “They will last several hours after being picked – that should be enough time to get in and out of most places.”

Luc nodded.

“As the Scout, remember that your sole task is to collect information and bring it back to the team,” said Faro. “Avoid conflicts at all cost, as you are essential for the team’s progression. Lastly, try to travel in hour long segments – thirty minutes out and thirty minutes back.”

Luc wasn’t sure how he exactly was supposed to keep track of time, but he nodded anyways. Shouldn’t be an issue for someone like me. With nothing left to say, he turned to head into the darkness of the cave.

“Wait!”

Rith dashed up to Luc, cupping something in his hands. Upon reaching Luc, Rith lowered his head and offered what he was holding. Squinting in the dim light, Luc saw that Rith held two vials – one filled with red liquid and another with blue liquid.

“A-a health potion and a Brio potion,” said Rith, face red.

Brio again? It seemed that Brio was something that commoners were supposed to know about, so as before, Luc didn’t bother asking. A health potion seems useful though. Luc took the potions from Rith’s hands and tossed them into his pack. Right as Luc turned to go, he saw Rith still staring at the ground, shoulders slumped, and face etched with a frown.

Luc scratched his head. He’s not my follower, but he gave he me something that could save my life. What is it that commoners say to each other? Luc thought for a moment before remembering.

“Thanks, kid.”

For a moment, Rith’s eyes darted up and his face lit up with a smile. And for some reason, that made Luc feel a little bit better inside. It was enough to give Luc to motivation to turn and head into the depths of the cave.

-

An unknown amount of time later, Luc had lost that motivation entirely. His exploration so far had been mostly linear in a downward sloping path, still connected to the cave where the others stayed. There hadn’t been much to see besides rocks, green mushrooms, and the occasional small critter scuttling about. He had mentally prepared for ambushes from vicious monsters and unexpected traps. He hadn’t prepared for the sheer boredom that came when none of those things happened.

If only I had someone to talk to…

Luc reached up and fiddled with the pendant hanging around his neck.

“Cloud!”

The white mist swirled, and the dragon whelp hopped out. Upon landing on the ground, it turned and bowed to Luc. Luc scratched his head, thinking for a moment.

“Walk with me.”

Cloud began trotting at his side, occasionally sniffing at mushrooms or chasing around rat-like creatures, pouncing after them with little success. For a creature as mythically renowned as the king of monsters, the little dragon did a very poor job of living up to its title.

“I have a few questions for you,” said Luc, wanting something, anything, to distract him from the monotony of his job. “Why were you in that coffin? Who was that Emperor? And why does everyone want this pendant?”

Of course, Cloud did not respond. It simply looked up at him with bright blue eyes.

Luc sighed. “Well, first thing’s first. Come over here.”

Cloud padded over to his feet. Kneeling down, Luc reached down and picked it up, sliding his hands underneath its forelegs. It was warm, soft, and unexpectedly fluffy. Lifting it up, Luc peered at its underbelly.

“So you’re a male,” said Luc. “I guess that’s something.”

Cloud began squirming in his hands. Reaching his paws out, Cloud latched onto the sleeve of Luc’s tunic, digging his claws into the cloth. Wincing at the sharp tips sticking into his skin, Luc was forced to release Cloud. As he did so, Cloud scrabbled to the top of Luc’s shoulder.

“Hey!” said Luc. “What are you doing?”

Cloud slumped down on his belly, letting his forelegs hang in front of Luc’s shoulder and his hindlegs behind. Luc turned his head and opened his mouth, ready to command Cloud to go back down. But staring into the dragon whelp’s blue eyes, Luc got that same feeling he had felt after thanking Rith. A bit of happiness and a sliver of satisfaction.

“Guess you can stay for now,” said Luc, rising to his feet.

/

[The Inseverable Bond] Level 2 learned!

Huh? Luc glanced over at Cloud. On top of Cloud’s head was a clump of glowing white text, similar to what Luc saw in his Status. But the white text did not specify Cloud’s Bloodline and Skills. Instead, it was much shorter and more concise.

/

Name: Cloud

Species: Dragon Whelp

Evolution: 2%

Loyalty: 73%

Luc frowned. He knew that his Bloodline, [The Inseverable Bond], allowed him to “dictate the evolution” of the monsters he controlled. He wasn’t quite sure exactly what that meant, but he was almost certain it had something to do with the evolution percentage he saw. Loyalty was a bit more of a mystery. Likelihood to follow my orders? Is that what it means

Caught up in his thoughts, Luc almost walked into a rock wall. Taking several steps back, he glanced around at his surroundings. Ahead of him, the path broke into two different tunnels, almost identical in look. Both entrances were much smaller than the one the team had entered, each only being a few feet wide and around seven feet tall. Both of their interiors were pitch black, none of the glowing mushrooms in sight.

“Well?” said Luc, glancing down at Cloud. “What do you think?”

Cloud looked from the left entrance to the right and then back again. After a moment, he leaped off Luc’s shoulder, raising his snout into the air and sniffing. Then he trotted towards the left entrance.

Might as well follow, thought Luc. Not like I have a better method than guessing randomly.

Luc reached down and pulled up a clump of the glowing mushrooms, grimacing at their damp squishiness. As Faro had said, they retained their luminescence after being uprooted. Walking up to the left entrance, Luc leaned in and held the glowing mushrooms up like a torch.

The inside of the tunnel opened back up into a wider cavern. Stalactites hung from the ceiling, some of them almost long enough to touch the ground. Besides the large stone structures, the cavern seemed to be void of any danger.

Looks like I can use Cloud as my own personal scout.

He looked down at Cloud. The little dragon whelp had arched his back, ears flattened against the top of his head. His tail swished back and forth, and his mouth was open in a snarl. A low growl rumbled from Cloud’s chest, blue eyes fixated on something in front of them.

That’s when something whipped out of the darkness the cavern, faster than Luc’s eyes could follow. Before he could react, what looked like the blade of a sword, extending over ten feet in length, shot forth and punctured Luc straight through the midsection.