Dante looked up from his blue boxes as he saw Nathan standing before something about the size of a large dog. "A lion cub? I didn't see any before." He muttered to himself as he took a step forward towards the rather large cub.

His senses flared for a moment as a strange feeling entered his awareness. Mana was shifting on a large scale.

Congratulations! Mana Sense has leveled up! Lvl. 15...

Taking the notice as a hint he blinked whilst activating his ring of truesight to get a better look at the Lion cub.

Immediately the world was awash with color. But he resisted his desire to look around and focused his attention upon the lion cub.

What he saw was bands of mana feeding into the cub from the now deceased lions.

The bands of mana feed into the golden soul of the lion cub.

But something wasn't right with this cub. Its soul, it was, "Too bright. What the fuck is going on?" Dante spoke and then paused as he continued to watch the process unfold before him.

He hadn't yet had much time to become properly accostumoned to having truesight. He didn't know what was normal, if there was such a thing anymore.

Daring a glance upon the rest of the legion, most were standing in stunned silence save for Jaocb who seemed almost gleeful at this turn of events.

Everyone's soul had its own color, from blue, to green, to orange and then red. Then there was Jacob.

His soul was many colors. Or it should be said the beings standing behind him were many colors.

Behind Jacob stood what appeared to be a large totem but instead of being made of wood. It was the great brown bear standing upon its hind legs. Resting upon her sizable head was that large golden rabbit Dante had caught for them a few hours ago. Both watching intently what was transpiring before them.

Jacobs soul was awash with several colors; Brown, gold, green, and blue.

From among the legion Jacob's soul was seemingly the brightest though it was still but a flashlight compared to a bonfire in comparision to this lion cub's soul.

A second of thought brought a question to his mind, 'How bright is my soul?'

Looking down upon himself he blinked and returned his attention to the mysterious lion cub. 'I'll answer that question later.' Dante thought as he proclaimed "Virgil!" Dante summoned Virgil in hopes of gaining a bettter understanding of the situation.

"Please state the nature of your..." Virgil's sentence was cut off by a loud but squeaky roar from the great dane sized lion cub.

Suddenly he felt something wash over him like a agitated wind.

Spirit has used skill, Lions Roar!...

You have resisted the skill, Lions Roar!...

"Oh shit! What do I do? I don't want to kill it! It's a baby! Oh I know! Calm Emotions!" Dante proclaimed at the end of his rambling.

No sooner had he cast the spell at the cub did he remember that the spell was an area of effect rather than for a single target.

Calm Emotions, 2nd level

You attempt to suppress strong emotions in a group of people. Each humanoid in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point you choose within range must make a Charisma saving throw; a creature can choose to fail this saving throw if it wishes. If a creature fails its saving throw, choose one of the following two effects.

You can suppress any effect causing a target to be charmed or frightened. When this spell ends, any suppressed effect resumes, provided that its duration has not expired in the meantime.

Alternatively, you can target creatures of your choice that are hostile towards you to instead become indifferent towards you. This indifference ends if the target is attacked or harmed by a spell or if it witnesses any of its friends being harmed. When the spell ends, the creature may become hostile or remain amenable dependent upon what occured while it was under the spell or before.

Duration: Up to 10 minutes, Mana Cost: 150

----------------------

Jacob watched as the other's stood in fear unable to move as the lions roar washed over them.

Spirit has used skill, Lions Roar!...

You have resisted the skill, Lions Roar!...

Before he could cry out for Dante to do something he had already acted.

------------------

For all who had succumbed to the fear inflicted by the Lions Roar they felt something new was over them and a bit of text to read.

You're under the effects of the spell, Calm Emotions!...

Frightened condition has been surpressed!...

-----------------------

The lions cub that had but a moment ago looked ready to fight tooth and claw suddenly sat down on it haunches. It calmly reguarded the group of people before it, watching and waiting.

"Dante what do you think we should do with this thing?" James asked as returned his spear to a resting position though his muscles remained tense.

Looking to Jacob for a moment who looked at him in turn with eyes filled with expectation. Then he turned to Virgil before glancing back towards the Cub and used Observation Analysis upon it.

Lion Cub Spirit A spirit born from the deaths of a pride of monsterized lions. Their skills have congregated together to form something greater than the sum of its parts. However, due to only having recently monsterized their skill levels were still low and thus the spirit made manifest is weaker than even a single of the slains number.

Spirit has resisted your skill!...

Only partial information can be provided!...

Congratulations! You have earned the hidden achievement, Witness the birth of a Spirit...

+1 to spirit and Wisdom on level ups

"Did you guys get that notice about a hidden achievement?" he asked curious if he were the only one.

All answered in the affirmative.

"Jaocb you have less that 10 minutes before this spell wears off. Its a spirit so go Ash Ketchum!" He laughed a bit as the pokemon joke continued.

Jacob smiled as he walked toward the cub, sitting down before it as they began to converse.

------------------------------

James looked to Dante who simply motioned for everyone else to come stand by him.

"Ok Virgil what the fuck is with this spirit?" Dante asked crude and bluntly as he handed him the blue box of information he had on the spirit.

Virgil looked it over for a minute then turned to observe the spirit for a moment before tunring back toward the rest of the group.

"It appears that as it says, their skill came together to form this spirit. Seeing as their transformation was recent the spirit from them is weaker than it would otherwise be. You all most likely wondering why these skills have acted like this. It is due to one of the natures of skill and of the system itself."

"When a creature with skills of sufficient power dies those skill don't simply vanish. They will often manifest into or upon the world in accordance with what they are. The skills of these lions were not enough individually to manifest but i suspect that due to a skills interference. More than likely from the Barren, they began to come together thus allowing them to manifest." Virgil paused awaiting further question to clarify what was going on.

"That mean skills can drop like loot or something if their strong enough?" Dante asked his voice seconded by the rest of the legion standing besides him.

"Yes in a way. In much the same way animals or people are uplifted. Skills of sufficient strength, nature, so on, will appear next to the body of their user upon their deaths. This is often because skills of sufficient power will begin to take on a sort of life all their own. So, if say, a god were to be slain, then many artifacts of divine descent will be brought into the world."

"Additionally, as you may have already suspected, skills can be brought forth into the world to achieve greater effects. This is called using one's image. You impose the image of your skill or skills upon the world to achieve greater effects. Sometime an individual will use several skills together to create an image. Others will create an image for several of their individual skills." Virgil paused once more for questions.

"Image? Is that how I can summon my pool of sacrifice?" Dante questioned as he summoned his pool of sacrifice.

However before Virgil could answer the lion cub looked to them and sniffed the air before charging towards Dante creating a storm of meows and small roars as it approached.

The cub tried to climb him as he instinctively held the pool above his head, away from the spirit.

Feeling the claws of the spirit scratching across his skin and grabbing him as the spirit tried to reach the pool he felt it had drawn just a bit of blood as he activated Iron body negating the cubs ability to hurt him any more for the moment.

"No, no, no! Let the spirit drink from the pool!" Virgil exclaimed as he watched the spirit acting like a greedy cat demanding food from its owner.

Upon Virgil's advice Dante glanced at him with a look of reservation before lowering the pool to his waist where the spirit could easily drink from it.

Greedily the spirit lapped up the multicolor liquid from the pool of sacrifice as it gave off a loud purring sound seemingly happy with its drink.

"No, how you summon that bowl is different that if you were to use it in an image. It is a tool, and tools cannot do much on their own. They require someone to wield them. Other skill's like passive and semi-passive skills might act on their own given the chance." Virgil said addressing the question he had been asked before the cub had interupted.

Jacob now stood with the rest of them as Dante reluctantly set his pool of sacrifice upon the ground allowing the spirit to imbibe the liquid even more deeply.

Though the spirit drank deep the pool never seemed to empty.

'Its probably filling faster than the spirit can drink it.' Dante thought as he smiled and pulled up his status. Something however caught his eye, 'Oh...as its drinking im gaining a bit of experience due to my regens refilling the bowl. That's kinda cool. It ain't much but its good to know that's a thing.'

---------------------

Jacob knelt before the spirit and began to speak to it once more.

No one else could understand his words save the spirit he spoke to.

As he spoke the spirit stopped its drinking and looked up and out upon the corpses of the lions still laying upon the ground.

Jacob too looked upon the destruction they had caused. "They lost their way and were consumed by this new world. You are different however. You are born of this new world and if you will allow it we could very much use your strength."

The cub looked back down to the large bowl before it watching its own reflection in the colorful waters.

"I just want to drink. I feel that this will make me stronger. That if I drink enough of this I can..." The spirit spoke to Jacob though its mouth didn't move. Its words only heard by Jacob.

"What is it that you want?" Jacob asked his face downcast as he considered how this spirit might feel at the sight before it.

Turnng it him it spoke once more it said, "I want to grow strong so I can protect my family....Will you be my family?"

Jacob turned to the other's for a moment.

When his gaze fell upon Dante he nodded. Though he knew not what was being said, something seemed to tell him everything would be alright. "Yes. We will be your family."

The large cub leapt up and embraced Jacob wrapping his arms around his neck as Jacob did the same.

"Let's give you a name. What do you think of Leo?" Jacob asked as golden light began to pour forth from the spirit.

"Leo..." The spirit spoke in a voice present heard. Immediately Jacob felt his mana being siphoned away. Then it bottomed out, but still he felt that pull. The light of the spirit seemed to dim as whatever was happened seemed to be stalling out.

"Dante hit me with Enhance Ability again! Everything you can!..." Jacob grunted out as he was beginning to sweat. The pull he felt was beginning to hurt as he watched his health and stamina begin to drop.

Without hesitation Dante fired off Enhance abilty at 7th level with everything directed towards Jacob.

Bear's Constitution...

The great mother bear streched out her arms to embrace Jacob, sharing her might with him. His health stopped falling at about half as his health regen grew to match but had failed to exceed the force that was draining it.

Donkey’s Endurance...

Jacob drew in a shaky breath as he felt his stamina begin to return.

Eagle's Splendor...

He felt he had made the right choice in his decisions and so he would follow them to their end.

Fox's Cunning...

The fox cuddled his head as he felt his mana capacity and regen growing once more.

Owl's Wisdom...

The owl stood to his left with wings covering both his head and the back of the lion cub. Relief set in as the increased wisdom brought his mana regen even higher. Though even as high as it raised it still wasn't fast enough to match that which drained it away.

Nature’s Spirit...

Jacob blinked as he felt his pain subsiding. Her he stood at the edge of a large forest of redwood tree's.

"Oh I must have blacked out. Well my soul space looks nice still. Things seemed to be changing though. Let's see how it goes." Jacob remarked with a smile as he watched the walls of his soulspace expanding into the distance and where once had been forest now lay large areas of yellowish grasslands.

Slowly all of his totems appeared before him. The great mother bear, the fox, the owl, the golden rabbit, and last but certainly not least Leo, the spirit Lion.

You have leveled up!...

You have leveled up!...

You have leveled up!...

Soul...

Error...

Recalculating...

Stat Evolution has begun!...

Dante and the others made their way to the tree where the lions had been resting after Nathan absorbed the corpses stating his core had ranked up to D. Several jokes were had.

Dante carried Jacob to the tree bridal style, gently laying his sleeping form to rest in the shade of the 20 foot tall tree.

As they all sat and rested still tired from their fight they began to distribute their newly obtained Rp and then stat points.

As Dante pondered what he should invest into setting aside luck, he shivered as he considered what the boss of this place would be like.

"How the fuck have so many of these dungeons been cleared already?" Dante asked Virgil who was still hanging around.

"I cannot give you an exact number of dungeons that have been cleared already. However, I can say that most of those cleared would likely be the E and F rank dungeons. To put it another way, the lowest of dugeons. As I sense you have already discovered when a dungeon is cleared and certain conditions are met new dungeons will be spawned to replace them." Virgil said with a smile, happy to see his friend in good spirits.

"Hey at least I have this ace up my AH SHIT!" Dante exclaimed as he realized he had nearly died having forgotten he could summon Xenora to help him out.

James stood and jogged over asking, "What happened what's wrong? Is Jacob ok?"

"Jacob's still asleep Its just that I nearly died because I forgot I had an ace up my sleeve!"

"What is it, and you probably forgot because you were basically a lions chew toy."

Dante raised a hand before looking of to the side and realizing, "Yeah that was a prevailing reason to forget something. Anyway I can summon a dragon with physical stats equal to mine."

The rest of the party just looked at him in stunned silence.

"I kinda didn't want to use it because I thought the fight would be much easier than it turned out being. By the time I realized how bad things actually were, I was a lions chew toy with half my face missing. I was only focused on keeping it away from Herald and Nathan. We did this to earn Exp which seems to have worked in spades. Using my ace would have lessened our EXP gains. But fuck yes! We will definately use my ace against the fucking boss of this place."