Slowly the expanse of sky and street below me eroded, leaving a simple gray-paneled room with visible support beams. Even the original dungeon floor was gone. The lithid hadn’t left anything behind. I tested my arm carefully and was surprised to find it in working order.

Out of curiosity, I checked my inventory and found that none of the arrows or bolts had been spent.

Everything that happened within the lithid’s thrall was undone. Physically, anyway.

Mentally? That was another story.

My hands shook violently until I clasped them together. And I could still feel the tremors. When the shaking subsided, I pulled up my UI and looked at the time.

Only five minutes had expended over the course of what felt like a lifetime.

It was hard to be disappointed with the lack of a core, considering what we’d just been through.

There was too much to unpack and process here. I needed to keep myself distracted for the moment, the sudden influx of notifications presented a perfect means to that end.

I tensed, waiting for a wave of pain from the stat increase.

Nothing happened.

What, was I expecting my companionship muscles to hurt?

Feeling foolish, I pulled up the details on the boon.

Too bad it didn’t drop a monster core. The boon’s only half a reward without it. What are the chances of running into another lithid any time soon?

With negativity annoying the hell out of me, I navigated to my title screen.

was grayed out. During the initial clash with the lithid, I’d received a notification that the title had been integrated. I now understood the basic premise of title integration and could appreciate the potential benefits. Most titles had a specific use case, but the cooldown kept me from swapping between them freely. If I continued to integrate them, I’d eventually reap the benefits of all my titles simultaneously, with a minor loss of effectiveness. But losing first was irritating, as it had become something of a crutch.

I reviewed the others briefly.

would be terrible to lean on for any extended period of time. Insightful as it was and useful for digging up secrets, it twisted my perspective far more drastically than the other titles, and I wasn’t sure I could stop it from leaking into my personality.

That left and—

I blinked. There was a fourth title. One I hadn’t possessed before completing the dungeon floor.

Interesting. Dangerous as hell if I used it wrong, but the title’s potential as an oh-shit button was undeniable.

And that wasn’t even factoring in the synergy with which would keep me conscious and on my feet even with severe injuries and major blood loss. I’d considered nixing that feat with the charm the old crafter from my region gifted me—there were situations where it was simply better to lose consciousness. Now, I wasn’t so sure.

I added it to the ever-growing list of abilities in need of further testing and returned to the deluge of notifications.

Quest: The Kinsley Accords

Primary Objective Complete — Gain loot and levels as you fulfill your contractual obligations.

Extended Primary Objective Complete — Explore the dungeon, venturing at least to the fifth floor.

EXP GAIN (M)

Reward: Increased relationship with Kinsley, Merchant.

Reward: Progression towards Vocation — Anima Seer

Accept Vocation: Y | N

Fantastic. I’d finally uncovered a vocation.

Just, what the hell was it?

I’d read Jung at some point—recently enough that I knew Anima represented the part of the psyche that focused inward on the subconscious. But the concept was heady and borderline overly complicated on its own. Tack seer on at the end, who the fuck even knew anymore.

And how was it a vocation, exactly?

Far too many questions for me to just blindly accept it, even though I’d been waiting for a vocation for some time. I focused passed the Y | N text on the vocation name, hoping in vain for a tool-tip.

To my surprise, another window appeared.

I immediately confirmed the prompt without bothering to read the description twice.

While it was possible I was screwing myself out of a potentially more lucrative vocation further down the line, the ability to guide my allies towards ideal progression was tantalizing enough. Throw in the advantage of being able to widen my perspective to whomever I touched?

Granted, there were obviously limits. There had to be.

Otherwise, I could just walk around the city for a few days, “accidentally,” bumping into everyone I met and gain a borderline omniscient perspective. But there was no way in hell I was turning this down.

I swiped the level notification away for the moment, too tired to even consider dealing with it.

A giant jump from where we were before. Curiously, I looked over to Talia. She was deep in her thoughts, head resting on her paws.

I said the obvious. “That was hell.”

“It was.”

“It had me, for a moment. Dead to rights. If you hadn’t pulled me out…”

Talia breathed out in irritation at the praise. “With a minor eternity spent locked in the clutches of that wretch, I had considerably more practice than you.”

“Thank you, Talia.”

“We have plenty of time for the sixth floor.”

I turned my head and stared. “Did you just make a joke?”

Talia looked away, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at how simultaneously awkward and regal she looked. The silver and gold form was striking. “So, your new form. Part of the change you mentioned?”

“I believe it is.”

“Any changes to your thought patterns, your instincts?”

Talia turned a baleful eye on me. “Apart from the overwhelming desire to slaughter anything that remotely resembles a lithid, no. Though I feel a profound distaste for Vernon and his necromancy I’m reasonably certain wasn’t there before. There’s also part of me that feels drawn to those poor creatures in region six.”

“To what purpose?” I asked.

“Absolution.”

“Huh.” I cocked my head. That sounded almost templar-ish. “So that flame wasn’t just fire. It’s probably most effective against both eldritch monsters and the undead.”

“There’s something else.” Talia’s brows furrowed as she focused. All at once, she began to shrink, her color darkening, eventually turning black with streaks of brown around her chest. Her chest jutted out, and her pointed ears grew rounded and floppy.

When the change was complete, Talia looked nothing like a wolf. Rather, she resembled the meanest Rottweiler I’d ever seen. “I believe the power read my intent. Or your nature.”

“You can change at will?”

“Mana permitting.”

Not having to hide her regardless of what role I was playing made things a hell of a lot easier. But, there was still a long road ahead of us. And one more question I couldn’t leave unanswered.

“What made up your mind?” I asked.

Talia looked away. “Is the answer important to you?”

“Yes.”

My summon took a seat in front of me. “From the beginning, there is much about you that has given me pause. One moment, you seem capable of great kindness and benevolence. The next, you are brutal and cruel. You take great effort to hide these extremes—your kindness, your cruelty. I have spent much of our time together attempting to ascertain which side is the act.”

Her expression was indecipherable. “But during our battle with the lithid, I saw much. Of your memories, your life. Your nature. And I believe I finally have my answer.”

“You don’t have to say it.” I cut in, dark shame clouding my mind. If she’d seen the same memories I had, there was no point in dancing around it. She knew what I was.

“Only after did I realize I was asking the wrong question. You are not one or the other, Matthias. You’re both. And that is not such a bad thing for an ally to be.” Talia finished.

Was that even possible?

I wasn’t certain.

Still, I knew one thing for certain. “I’m glad to have you with me, Talia. As an ally.” I held a palm straight out, and she pressed her head against it.

“And given the fact that it is bad form to start an alliance with a secret…” Talia reached towards her shoulder and withdrew something.

I stared in shock. Not at the fact that her new form apparently included an inventory—but at the small black sphere in her mouth.

“You killed the lithid. The core dropped for you.” I realized.

Talia placed the monster core on the ground before me. All relief I felt at not ever having to deal with or think about the lithid again faded away. She lowered her head and let the sphere drop the last inch. It clinked to the ground, rolling in my direction, before it stalled at my feet.

“You intended to use it as a summon. And while I’m certain this experience dampened your enthusiasm somewhat, our circumstances remain the same. So, the question is,” Talia gave me a serious look. “What do we do with it?”