Fladnag’s Home,

Nama Woods.

9:30 am, 29 th Peniel 1091.

Kashi awoke to the sound of Fladnag's humming. The daeben looked to the side and saw the crazy wizard reading several floating books and Kira, asleep on the floor. Kashi stood up and stretched his muscles that had gone sore from resting on the uncomfortable couch.

Fladnag’s eyes twinkled as he watched the daeben. "Ah, you're awake I see," Fladnag remarked as the books disappeared with a snap of his fingers. "Good dreams?"

"Terrible," Kashi replied as he walked over and softly tapped the sleeping direwolf. Unlike Kashi, Kira instantly sprung to her feet, eyes sharp and ready for the next fight.

"Ah, I see. You're heading out now?" Fladnag asked.

Kashi nodded. "Yes. I have waited long enough."

The wizard regarded him with a weird look in his eyes. "So, I hear you’ve subjugated the south-east. Starting the conquest rather early are we?"

Kashi’s brows furrowed. ‘What's with everyone knowing what they're not supposed to?’ Despite his misgivings, Kashi pointed out, "You never gave a timetable for the conquest.”

“You have a point,” Fladnag admitted as he stroked his scruffy beard. "Hmm. I initially planned to give you this if you returned safely, but I suppose you have earned it."

"What’s that?" Kashi asked. His body itched with a desire to hit the road, but he felt that would be a bad idea.

A staff appeared in the wizard's hand, and he began to mumble some incoherent nonsense. The staff reacted to his incantation and glowed as he stomped it against the floor.

Whoom!

Kashi shut his eyes as a blinding light burst across the room, accompanied by a thunderous, explosive sound. The daeben groaned as he rubbed his sore eyes. "What was that?”

He got his answer in the form of a system notification.

Tier 2 Companion Unlocked

Companionship is a strong bond formed within blood and tears, love and sacrifice. It is said the closest of companions can share their lives and deaths as one. Due to the close bond between yourself and your partner, you have unlocked Tier 2 Companionship.

Tier 1: Sense Partner’s Location (Range: Limitless)

Tier 2: Share Thoughts (10m/5000m)

Tier 3: Share Pain and Damage (N/A)

Tier 4: Share Senses (N/A)

Tier 5: Share Memories (N/A)

Kashi stared at the prompt in confusion. Companion? What in seven hells? "Will you hurry up?" An unfamiliar voice suddenly prompted in Kashi’s head. He looked around, then stared at Kira. "What are you looking at?"

Kashi’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at Kira in shock. This was certainly new. He attempted to ‘talk’ to Kira with his mind. "Can you hear me?"

Kira jumped in place, stunned by the voice in her head. Her eyes frantically flew around the room, searching for the culprit before resting on the daeben as realization dawned. "How did you get in my head?"

Kashi was at a loss for words. "You're asking the wrong person."

"It's working I see," Fladnag suddenly said. His lips curled up to a huge grin, proud of his work.

"How. How did you do that?" Kashi asked, still reeling in shock.

The wizard scoffed. "Hmph! This is child's play for someone of my caliber. To be fair though, you would have eventually gained this ability even if left alone. Kira here is no ordinary Direwolf after all."

Kashi frowned. "What do you mean?"

Fladnag looked at the daeben like he was the dumbest creature in the universe. "Surely you did not believe that slaying a simple direwolf would cause the earth itself to die out did you?"

Kashi shook his head. Well, to be honest, he had not given it much thought. But now that the old coot mentioned it, that was kind of strange.

Fladnag shook his head then explained, "She is of an ancient race, like the dragons, which existed on this continent long before we were created. To put it simply... some people would worship her as a god."

Kashi nearly choked. "W-what did you just say? A god? Her?"

Kira perked up, and her eyes shone with pride as she turned her nose up at the daeben. "Hmph. You should show some respect."

Suzuki glared at her. "Shush. I bet you didn't know until now either."

Fladnag chuckled. "Well, now that you know, I suppose you will be more careful. Her true strength is much more terrifying than you can imagine. Then again if you survive this, your potential will be equal to hers."

Kashi’s brows rose at this revelation. "Wait. So, you're saying that right now, her potential is higher than mine."

"Boy, you two are not even on the same playing field,” Fladnag retorted with a disdainful snort. “In a year at most, she'll be using your bones as toothpicks."

Kira glanced at Kashi and flashed a proud, toothy grin. Mumbling something under his breath, Kashi turned to leave.

"Ah, yes. One last thing," Fladnag said.

Kashi groaned. "What is it this time?"

The wizard tossed a paintbrush which Kashi caught with a weird look in his eyes.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" Kashi asked, eyeing the weird brush. There were six horizontal markings on its handle. However, all but the first white one was grayed out.

"Brush it against your bow," Fladnag instructed.

Kashi did as instructed. The bow took on a light glow as sparkles of light radiated from its ends.

Weapon Enchanted With Holy!

Deals 10 points of extra holy damage.

Damage doubled against undead and ghosts.

Kashi stared in disbelief. The window closed as he looked at the brush in his hand. "Identify."

Rosario's Brush [Unique Divine] (Lv.1)

Crafted from a branch of the famous tree of life. An artist need only his brush to change the world. Unlock this brush’ true abilities and gain power unimaginable.

Potency is dependent on Painting Mastery.

Lv.1: Elemental Enchantment (Unlock: Beginner Painting Level 5)

Lv.2: Paint Production (Unlock: Intermediate Painting Level 3)

Lv.3: Size Manipulation (Unlock: Intermediate Painting Level 9)

Lv.4: Increase Brush Strength (Unlock: Expert Painting Level 5)

Lv.5: (Hidden. Requirements not met)

Lv.6: (Hidden. Requirements not met)

Durability: Unbreakable

"Wow..." Kashi muttered, at a loss for words. The unique status meant it was the only one of its kind. Unique items like this were usually class-restricted. To find one was hard enough. Finding one that could effortlessly be used by all classes without any penalties was an even rare occurrence. "You sure I can have this?"

"Sure. I have no use for it, and it should serve your cause," Fladnag replied with a bored wave.

"Thanks." Kashi placed the brush in his inventory, then bowed politely, and for once actually meant it. "Thank you for the help. I shall be on my way then."

"Good luck, Kashi of the Dark Elves. May Aethir guide your path," Fladnag said, then smiled at Kira. "You too great wolf."

Kashi and Kira nodded, then exited the great wizard’s home.

Aktaver’s Lair,

12:30 am, 29 th Peniel 1091.

Three major types of dungeons could be found on the continent of Destia. They were as follows: Man-made dungeons, Monster dungeons, and finally Instance dungeons.

Man-made dungeons were the most basic of dungeons. These were dungeons created by a person in the world to achieve some purpose. These dungeons could only be cleared once, after which all its occupants would remain dead or captured. Some typical examples of these kinds of dungeons include forts, bandit lairs, cult hideouts, etc.

Monster dungeons on the other hand usually consisted of multiple floors of progressively more difficult monsters. These type of dungeons had a monster 'core' that was responsible for giving birth to monsters at a fixed rate. If these dungeons were not cleared regularly, the monsters within would spill out, resulting in a beast tide that would attack the closest human settlement before spreading out across the lands. These type of dungeons were a steady source of income for adventurers and explorers looking to make it big.

Monster and man-made dungeons had no limit on the number of people that could enter them at one time. People from different organizations, guilds, and parties could enter these dungeons at the same time to compete for resources. Monster dungeons, like man-made dungeons, could be permanently cleared. But this only occurred if the ‘core’ responsible for creating monsters was destroyed. The cores could sometimes be weak dimensional portals or actual cores left behind by a magical beast.

Most countries paid particular attention to monster-dungeon clearers as these were massive sources of income. People who wantonly destroyed dungeon cores were liable for severe punishment.

Last, but not least were Instance dungeons. These types of dungeons only existed when the Summoned were around. Instance Dungeons were created by gods or high-ranking devils and demons to test and reward the populace. These types of dungeons were in reality, small, pocket dimensions tailored to suit the needs of their creator. The entrances to these dungeons were placed on Destia for potential adventurers.

Summoned and Residents could enter these dungeons to fight for unique treasures. However, the uniqueness of the Instance dungeons lay in the fact that the creator could restrict the level and party size requirement. Also, different parties could challenge the dungeon at the same time, but they would be transferred to parallel planes of existence, preventing them from directly interfering with each other.

Guilds and adventurers often competed to see whose completion time was the best, and for those interested in that kind of stuff, the system recorded the best times on a leaderboard anyone could access.

Aktaver's lair belonged to the Monster Dungeon variety. It was a fifty-meter-tall, rotating tower located far north-east of Kerta. The tower’s top floor had a weak connection to the netherworld, through which monsters regularly invaded Destia. Adventurers, Summoned and Residents alike, often frequented this place to challenge the different levels for the assortment of loot and monsters.

Kashi and Kira stopped close to the building and found the entrance packed with several adventurers who were soliciting others to join their parties and seek riches. Kashi only spared the solicitors a passing glance before he sat on a boulder and took out his blacksmith tools.

"What are you waiting for?" Kira asked.

"Don't want a repeat of what happened at Norcha. This shouldn't take long," replied Kashi. He took out steel ingots obtained from Norcha and set to work crafting arrows. The arrows’ quality was not the best because he was not working at a forge, but his high skill rendered them above average. He crafted 1,200 arrows and shared them equally between six quivers. He estimated that this much should be enough for the current mission.

Kashi then took out the stalkers’ scales and used them to craft a pair of arm guards. The armguards turned out perfect. They added adding 75 points to DEF and reduced chances of knockback. He strapped them on, then took stock of his potions. He had twenty light potions that recovered 100 HP each, three elixirs that restored full HP, MP, and Ki, and five mana potions that restored 100 MP all of which had been obtained at Norcha (except for the elixirs). Unfortunately, he could not purchase any from Ranad as the village was still in the midst of restoration.

Kashi’s concentration was interrupted by a voice asking, "Aren't you Kashi?"

Kashi looked up to see three adventurers observing him. They looked like your typical party. A knight, mage, and rogue. They were most likely looking for a few more people to round out the party before challenging Aktaver’s lair.

"You are aren't you?” The knight confirmed. There weren’t many daeben Summoned out there. Kashi stood out like a sore thumb, especially with Kira at his side. “Say, where'd you go, man? No one makes quality weapons like you did. Check it. I'm still using the sword I bought when I was level 30. I'm 45 now and I still ain't seen nothing better!"

Kashi felt a surge of pride knowing his crafts were still highly valued. Maybe he should have charged more. "Sorry," Kashi said. "I'm not crafting at the moment. Should be returning soon though."

"Ah," muttered the lad, crestfallen. "Make sure to let us know when you return. I'll pay anything for your works."

Kashi nodded and watched as the group joined the crowd to search for members. He then turned to Kira and said, "Well, this is it. You ready?"

"Hmph. I'm always ready.” Kira retorted with a snort. “Try not to get me killed in there, weakling."

A vein popped on Kashi’s forehead. He suddenly grabbed Kira’s muzzle and stretched her chops. "Hoho, someone's getting a little cocky eh?" He teased but quickly retreated when she attempted to bite down on his fingers.

Kashi chuckled as he rose to his feet and walked to the tower's massive door. Kira accompanied him, smacking her chops as they entered the tower.

Aktaver’s Lair

‘Impressive.’ Kashi thought to himself as he traversed the stone dungeon. The floors were made of smooth stones with light rubbles. He had to squint because the corridors were dimly lit up by lamps infused with light magic. They left many dark areas where he suspected traps awaited.

Kashi passed by adventurers—both Residents and Summoned alike—in the process of starting their climb up the tower. He heard them mumble that so far, no one had made it past the tenth floor.

While the daeben would have loved to challenge the tower and see how far he could go, he had bigger fish to fry. Kashi walked past the stairs to a door that led to the prison located at the basement. As expected, there was a large sign warning intruders from entering. Smiling, Kashi pushed open the iron gates and walked in with Kira.

The first basement floor was a derelict prison dominated by ghouls and skeletons of the persecuted. Kashi sniped these monsters from a safe distance. The holy enchantment was like poison to these undead creatures, allowing him to make short work of them. He pressed onwards, searching for the hole where Rosario's branch was meant to fit in.

Kashi’s search eventually led him to a room with skeletons impaled on spikes hanging from the ceiling. There was writing on the wall, west of the doorway, below which was three round indentations. Kashi did not need a genius to tell him the branch could not fit in any of those. He was about to leave when he noticed a round sphere laying on the ground. Out of curiosity, he picked up the orb and studied the writing. He found it was a question, and each hole represented an option.

Who is Ferulic?

a) Protector of Worlds.

b) Creator of Worlds.

c) Destroyer of Worlds.

Kashi recalled Serti's story of how Ferulic created worlds and Aerith filled them with life and placed the sphere in the middle hole. The circle shone brightly, and the ground rumbled as a section of the wall slid open to reveal a flight of stairs leading downwards. Kashi and Kira walked down the stairs as the wall slid shut behind them.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, the sphere once again fell to the ground, and the writing on the wall changed to a different question.

Kashi and Kira frowned as they realized that the temperature sharply increased the further they descended. Some way down, light from the overhead lamps were replaced by the illumination provided by a phosphorescent fungus that grew along the walls. Like the lamps, the fungus grew were several feet apart from each other which caused most of the path to be drenched in thick shadows.

Eventually, the stairs ended at a landing and Kashi was intrigued to find the floor was made of stone. So, this place was definitely man-made. A door awaited them at the end of the stone path. Kashi attempted to push it open and was relieved to find it was unlocked.

Kashi entered the room and instantly noticed several pillars on the walls behind him and the east walls. He also spotted two doors located at the east and north walls. A ladder resting on the west wall caught his attention, and he walked towards it.

Roar!

A terrifying battle cry unlike any he had heard in this world froze Kashi in place. The daeben strung his bow as he watched a monster emerge from a swirling black mist at the room’s center.

The monster was a massive human-type with muscles much larger than Kashi's entire body. Black cloud pumped out of its body, its ruby-fire eyes burning as it smashed a pillar to pieces.

Nightfall Hulk Lv 67.

Well, fuck. This had been too easy so far anyway. Kashi inwardly caused as he shot several arrows at the beast. Hulk roared, releasing a shockwave that shattered the toothpicks. Kashi dove out of the way as the blast of air smashed the ladder to pieces.

"Well, ro-dah me to death why don't ya?" Kashi muttered in irritation as he realized one of the exits had been destroyed.

In response, Nightfall Hulk smashed the ground with its fists and glared at the puny elf. It lifted chunks of earth and launched them at him.

Kashi, once again, was forced to clumsily roll out of the way as the boulder crashed next to him. Not one to take such a thing lying down, the daeben swiftly retaliated with a quick salvo.

Nightfall Hulk roared as the arrows struck it before it could dodge, then suddenly dispersed into smoke which formed black cloud-like branches that traveled through the air and reformed next to Kashi.

‘Fast!’ Kashi barely had time to raise his arms before the Nightfall Hulk’s punch struck his armguards. Fortunately, Kashi’s strength prevented him from being launched off his feet, as he was only pushed back by a few feet.

Kira took the opportunity to dive onto the Nightfall Hulk's back and gnawed at the nape of its neck. In response, the beast yelled as it reached over its shoulder and grabbed the direwolf.

The Nightfall Hulk brought Kira to its face and roared at her. It made to bite the direwolf, but a torrent of arrows stabbed its open mouth. The Nightfall Hulk cried out in pain as it flung the direwolf across the room. It stumbled as more arrows shattered against its skin.

Kashi frowned. So far, his arrows had barely left a dent on the beast. The only significant damage came when he shot its mouth. Unfortunately, he highly doubted the monster would give him another opportunity to pull off the same trick. The daeben, out of options, ran up to the beast and launched a savage kick at its kneecap.

Crack!

The sickening sound of broken bones reverberated through the room, accompanied by the Nightfall Hulk’s anguished cry.

Kashi grinned as he listened to the sweet sound. "Looks like you're weak to blunt force."

In response to this, the Nightfall Hulk roared bloody murder and spat out a black miasma from its mouth. Kashi was too close to dodge the blast and was soon engulfed by the murky cloud.

You have been inflicted with Blind.

Bam!

Kashi's breath caught in his throat as a blunt force struck him and sent him crashing into a pillar.

The Nightfall Hulk raised its fists to finish off the daeben, but Kira jumped and bit into its arm. In a fantastic display of strength, she dropped to the ground, dragging its arm along with her, then spun around in place.

The Nightfall Hulk roared in equal parts anger and shock as it was sent flying across the room.

She turned to Kashi, concern in her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Don't worry," he said. "I'm blind, not dead. This fight is far from over." He fired a volley of arrows in the direction of the sound of crumbling rocks. The Nightfall Hulk’s enraged cry brought a smile to the daeben’s face. While he would have preferred to fight it up close, this was his best option for now. "Kira, cover me please,” Kashi said as he listened for sounds of the Nightfall Hulk.

"You don't have to tell me," Kira snorted as she charged at the Nightfall Hulk who had just recovered from her swing.

The Nightfall Hulk angrily jumped, then stomped on the floor. This sent a massive tremor across the ground that caused Kashi to lose his balance. Kira, on the other hand, was unaffected by the AoE attack. She nimbly traversed the quaking floor and attacked the beast. The beasts fell to the floor, and punched, clawing and bit away at each other.

Kashi listened for the Nightfall Hulk’s footsteps and supported Kira with well-timed shots at the monster’s legs.

Suddenly, Kira yelped in pain as the Nightfall Hulk punched her in the gut. The blow knocked the wind out of her, causing her to falter in her follow-up attack. The Nightfall Hulk took advantage of her momentary weakness to fling her off and rise to its feet. Its calf muscles bulged as it launched a powerful kick toward the direwolf. If this blow landed, the direwolf would undoubtedly be left critically injured if not dead.

Kira shut her eyes as she braced herself for impact.

Boom!

A sound like a thunderclap echoed across the room, but Kira realized the expected impact did not come. She tentatively opened her eyes in confusion and blanched when saw Kashi coughing blood onto the Nightfall Hulk’s feet. The daeben held two arrows which had been stabbed through the beast's feet to prevent himself from being flung from the impact.

The downside of that, however, was that Kashi was forced to bear the full brunt of the blow with nowhere for the force to dissipate. "Hehe," Kashi teased through bloodied teeth. "Caught ya."

The Nightfall Hulk tried but failed to retrieve its leg from the daeben’s death grip. Enraged, it attempted to punch the daeben, but Kira jumped and bit its hand. The Nightfall Hulk yelled in pain, and Kashi took that opportunity to quickly backpedal while maintaining his hold on the arrows. This forced the Nightfall Hulk off its feet, and it fell flat on its back. The daeben jumped onto the monster and punched the beast’s heart with a ki-infused fist.

CRITICAL HIT!

The Nightfall Hulk cried out in pain and attempted to slap the daeben off its chest, but Kira once again bit its arm and forced it to the ground. The daeben used this brief opportunity to unleash a barrage of punches against the Hulk's chest.

Kashi issued a brief smile as he felt the beast's skin soften beneath his fists. He quickly shot several arrows at the softened flesh which successfully pierced its skin and heart and pinned it to the floor.

The Nightfall Hulk thrashed about as it cried out in pain and reverted to shooting out smoke to blind the daeben.

"It's no use... I'm already blind," Kashi muttered as he imbued all of his ki into the last arrow in his quiver. He released the arrow then jumped off the beast as it exploded into tiny chunks of meat, several of which Kira snacked on before they evaporated to smoke.

You Leveled Up!

Kashi sighed heavily as he lay on the heated floor, clothes drenched in sweat. "Should have bought eye drops."

Kira looked down at the daeben, and said after a brief debate with herself, "You. What I'm about to do never happened. Got that?"

"Huh? Hey!" Kashi shouted, then struggled to push her away as he felt a wet tongue licking at his eyes.

"Stay still you baby!"

"Seriously, cut it out!" Kashi shouted as he glared at Kira. Wait... he could see her! "Whoa, that’s new,” the daeben remarked with a gobsmacked expression, completely forgetting his earlier rebuke. "What else can you do?"

"You'll find out when I feel like it." The truth was she had no idea herself. She only unlocked this ability after eating the Nightfall Hulk’s heart.

"Hmph. Diva,” Kashi rebuked, then cringed as he inspected his HP. That monster's kick had shaved off more than two-thirds of his health. A little more and he would have been K.O. Kashi thanked the gods for small miracles then inspected the loot. The NIghtall Hulk rewarded Kashi with thirty gold coins, a black potion, and a mage's robe.

Kashi placed the robe in his inventory and identified the potion.

Potion of Extended Invisibility

Become Invisible for 10 mins.

Warning: Attacks can still harm you.

Kashi placed the potion in his inventory and took a look around the room. The west ladder had been destroyed, so that left only the east and north doors. He walked over to the east door and opened it. A hallway curved to the right beyond. He closed the door and went to the north door. It was stuck.

Kashi cursed as he stepped back then ran forward and kicked down the door with a loud bang.

Kira looked at the daeben with disdain. "You just summoned every monster within a mile."

Kashi laughed as walked into the pathway. "We can take them out faster this way right?"

As if encouraged by the daeben’s words, three monster spiders scurried towards them. Kashi and Kira made short work of the monsters, leading Kashi to say as many more followed, "Out of the way..."