Liliana couldn’t help the pure delighted laughter that erupted from her as a gout of water rushed at her. Six swords formed a star in front of her, glowing brightly as they blocked the hit from ever touching her, only small splashed of water spraying her lightly. Gods, she had been itching for a fight against something with enough bite behind its attacks to be a threat to her.

She tried to [Identify] the creature again, but it kept slipping out of sight, only the glow around it giving her any idea of its location deep within the water below. Liliana cursed as she flapped her wings and flew higher. She was getting nowhere right now. She could only avoid its attacks as it was, she couldn’t counter. The evolution of her [Threads Of Control] to where it could easily handle managing eight swords meant she had far more ways to defend herself than she had when she was younger, but she was a fighter, not a tank.

“Any ideas for how to get it out of its hidey hole?” Liliana called out to Corbin.

“You could go into the water,” Corbin offered ever so helpfully, sighing when one of Liliana’s swords poked threateningly into his chest.

“Then I’d be dead. I don’t have any skills that I can use in the water, and that’s this beast’s territory. It’ll drag me down and drown me.” Liliana grumbled.

“It’s not a kelpie, Lili.” Corbin rolled his eyes, but she noted that Lysander circled higher and Corbin was eyeing the water with trepidation. How typical for him to ask her to do the dangerous thing he wasn’t willing to do himself. She’d normally do it anyway, but that wasn’t the point.

She had known going after a water-based creature wouldn’t be easy, by any stretch of the imagination. But she had thought it would at least surface at some point, as all the other water beasts she’d fought had. If only so they could get to her to kill her when she got out of their range.

As it was, any of her ranged attacks did little more than damage the aquatic plants that decorated the oversized pond. The beast was too fast and hard to lock onto under the water, and her swords didn’t work half as well under water. None of her own bonds would help in this scenario, either. They weren’t water fighters. Even if Lelantos and Nemesis were able to easily swim, they couldn’t breathe underwater and would be easy targets. Or they’d kill the creature. Which was the exact opposite of Liliana’s goal here.

She needed to get it out of the water, where she could at least hit or [Identify] it to determine if any of this effort was worth it. Liliana tried to remember what she’d been told by the villagers, any information that might possibly give her an idea to get it out.

“Yer lookin fer the beastie hidin out in them there waters?” a grizzled man covered in more fur than Lelantos approached Corbin and Liliana, who had taken a rest in a tavern in some backwater village. Liliana was fairly certain it was called Stone Point. Or maybe Woolhope? The names blurred together after a certain amount of time. Corbin knew, so Liliana didn’t really have to concern herself with the small details like that.

“Hello sir, we’re indeed searching for the creature.” Corbin was the one to greet the man while Liliana kept half an eye on him, the other looking around the tavern. She hadn’t noticed any villagers here with a high enough level to be problematic, but it didn’t mean someone wouldn’t try something. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Robert Ferrier

Age: 93

Level: 163

Rank: 5

Class: Veteran Trapper

Health: 18,760

Energy: 19,570

Highest Affinity: Nature 64%

Highest Stat: Dexterity 2,060

Liliana didn’t let the window she’d seen change her expression. He had fairly high stats that she could see, so he’d probably been trained by someone at least. For most commoners, apprenticeships were their only chance at getting better classes. Often there weren’t many people in villages or small towns capable of training someone.

The System offered classes based on the experiences someone had gone through, crafting them for each person, almost individually. It was why nobles so often had better and more varied class options. They could afford to pay someone to train or teach them whatever they wanted. Even if they couldn’t get into the Academy, they’d still have far better options than a commoner who only had the slim chance of gaining an apprenticeship for hope of a better class.

“If yer wantin to ask someun about that ye two blue bloods should talk to the wee un that saw it. Lil Rose. She’s not a one fer tall tales and the ilk. Good kid, though her mama’s been worryin somethin fierce since she saw the monster of the waters,” Robert told Corbin rather easily, the bard’s high Charisma making itself obvious.

“Thank you for the tip, sir! That is very kind of you. Can I offer to buy you a meal to repay you?” Corbin offered as Liliana stood, dropping coins on the table to pay for their own meal as she moved next to and slightly behind Corbin. She’d rather not draw the man’s attention and be forced into the conversation. She had little patience, and would undoubtedly manage to insult the man and ruin Corbin’s progress with charming him.

“Well ifin yer wantin to treat an old man like me, I ain’t gonna tell you no. You can find lil Rose out front her house most days. It should be three doors down from ‘ere.” Robert took the gold Corbin offered with a speed that did his undoubtedly high Dexterity justice, making the gold coin vanish in a blink.

“Thank you again, good sir, and may the gods smile upon you.” Corbin bade the man farewell, and they left the tavern quickly.

Liliana was glad to see that no one followed them. She always felt a bit bad beating up villagers, even if they were trying to rob her. Even if they had the levels to match them, they rarely had the training to be any threat. It felt like hitting kids, in a way, and left Liliana feeling slimy afterwards.

“So, what do you think?” Corbin asked her, his tone slipping from the sweet cajoling lilt it had when he was talking to strangers he wanted something from.

“It’ll probably be another dead end, but anything is better than nothing,” Liliana said honestly as they walked down the dirt road that cut straight through the small village.

It had the bare basics, a tavern that doubled as an inn with only two rooms, a blacksmith that had likely never made a sword in his life, and a slightly larger than normal house for the headman. The rest were all houses bundled close together like cattle closing ranks to protect their young from predators. There were a few farms in the area as well that were connected to the village, but not many. It was one of the villages that you’d blink and miss if you were traveling through. It was a surprise it was even on maps at all it was so small.

“This it?” Liliana asked when they reached the house three down, noticing a little girl spinning wool. She was no older than seven, if Liliana was being very generous, with curly brown hair pulled back in a tight braid.

“Hope so.” Corbin murmured before he pulled out his sweet smile, the one specifically for kids as he approached.

“Hello little one, we’re looking for a Miss Rose. Would you be she by any chance?” Corbin greeted with a wave, keeping carefully back so the girl wouldn’t feel threatened.

As it was, the little girl regarded him with an assessing, suspicious gaze Liliana knew was common in village children. They were far too familiar with the dangers of strangers, with how often bandits liked to target outlying villages. It was depressing to know even a child so young would be aware of how twisted and dark their world was capable of being.

“If I is, who’s askin?” the little girl asked, all spit and fire. Liliana immediately liked her.

“Well, I’m Corbin Newfeather, from the Academy. Me and my compatriot here, the lovely Liliana, are looking to meet a very special beast.” Corbin waved at Liliana with an overly dramatic gesture that had Rose fighting back a smile. She lost the battle when Liliana played into Corbin’s antics and dropped into a low curtsy despite her pants.

“Well, if I is Rose, and I ain’t sayin I is, maybe I know somethin.” Rose sniffed, trying to regain her stoic composure. It was frankly adorable. Her abysmal grammar that would send most nobles into cardiac arrest only made her all the cuter to Liliana. She might dislike most people on principle, but she’d always had a soft spot for children.

“Miss Rose, do you like beasts?” Corbin leaned forward to stage whisper at Rose, the girl unconsciously leaning in.

Rose looked around, as if wanting to be sure no one else could overhear her secret before she nodded, young face serious. Corbin grinned as he tapped his summoning stone. The girl flinched back at the sudden appearance of a Pegasus in her front yard before her eyes widened with wonder.

“So pretty,” Rose squealed, standing up, her wool forgotten on the ground as she rushed towards the beast with the lack of fear only a child could ever have.

“Horse gets them every time,” Corbin whispered to Liliana with a smirk when she walked up next to him, both watching with amusement as the child started clumsily patting Lysander. The Pegasus stood there patiently, well used to being used by Corbin for the purpose of calming or distracting children.

“So as you can see, me and my friend here very much like beasts too. We’d like to make friends with the beast you met too. Could you tell us about them?” Corbin entreated the little girl when he determined she was thoroughly enchanted by Lysander and willing to spill any secret she had.

“Well, dun tell my mama, but I went off the path she told me to stick to whens I was lookin for the shrooms she likes to put in her stew. I sat down by a river ‘cause my feet were hurtin’ and whens I got up I slipped and cut my hand. I was a big girl and didn’t cry, but it hurt real bad. There was lots and lots of blood. A pretty light came out of the water and it touched my hand and it was all better!” Rose babbled happily from between Lysander’s legs and Corbin smiled smugly at Liliana, who rolled her eyes at him.

Well, it wasn’t much, but it was something. At least the beast didn’t seem to be malicious.

“I have an idea,” Liliana told Corbin, who narrowed his eyes at her.

“Emyr warned me about this. That’s not a good thing.” Corbin straightened from where he was on Lysander’s back.

“It’ll be fine. I won’t die. Probably. If it looks bad, pull me out,” Liliana called out as she dived back down, ignoring Corbin’s shouts of protest behind her.

The beast had helped an injured child, and she wasn’t the only story of it helping those who were hurt. There were no reports of it killing anyone either, injuring them, yes, but never fatally or even maiming. As if it was simply warning threats away.

It wasn’t malicious.

Liliana didn’t give herself too much time to think, or to worry that the plan was reckless as she called one of her swords to her even as she dropped through the air, picking up speed the further she fell towards the water. She could see the water bubbling up and beginning to rise to meet her in another attack. With a thought, Liliana sent all her weapons back into her storage, leaving only the one floating sword behind.

This was going to hurt.

With a mental command, her sword speared her through her gut. Liliana grit her teeth through the dull pain that throbbed from the hit, [Pain Resistance] keeping the agony at bay. If she didn’t have that skill, she would never have even considered this plan.

Liliana ripped the sword back out of her and dismissed the sword even as she continued to fall. Blood flowed behind her in the air, staining her wings crimson. She could hear Corbin’s shouts taking a panicked edge as he noticed the blood pouring out of her. Liliana took a deep gulp of air in as she prepared herself.

The water ahead her almost seemed to hesitate before a pillar rose up to meet her when she was scant yards from hitting the surface of the pond. It caught her, rather than blasting her back, and Liliana knew her gamble had paid off. She held her breath as the momentum of her fall sent her down into the pillar of water, the water tinting red quickly from her wound.

Liliana was drawn deeper into the water and she forced her eyes to stay open even as the blood dirtied water stung at her eyes. She could see a golden light approaching her slowly, as if waiting for an attack. As Liliana hung there without moving, lungs beginning to burn from lack of oxygen, it gained confidence. The creature approached her and Liliana was stunned enough she forgot to use [Identify].

She had expected a creature resembling a water dragon, or perhaps something serpentine. She had expected a beast matching or exceeding Nemesis in size.

She had not expected to be greeted with a creature barely longer than her forearm, and just a hair thicker. It had a body of such a pure white it glowed with delicate light pink accents. If Liliana had to compare it to something, she’d say it vaguely resembled an Axolotl from Earth, with long feathery appendages coming off its head, and a thin body with small legs. Its head was pointed, more closely resembling that of a venomous snake than the blunt, wide heads she remembered Axolotls from Earth having.

A snake. Or a dragon. Liliana thought idly as she looked at the creature. She finally remembered to [Identify] the not-Axolotl as it got close enough to touch, swimming around her body and focusing on her wound as the light around the creature flared brighter, some breaking off to coat her wound. Liliana could feel the itching of a healing wound as whatever healing spell it used activated.

Serenity

Healer Of The Deep

Axolong

Age: 25

Level: 302

Unlike the creatures she so closely resembles, Serenity is neither fierce of fang or temper. Preferring instead to heal those who visit her waters needing her aid, and intimidating those who would do her harm, she strives for a peaceful existence. She does not often allow any to see her form. As with most creatures in the Pseudo Dragon genus, her biggest defense is her ability to mimic the appearance of the terrifying beasts of legend.

Rank: 3

Health: 7,340

Mana: 46,490

Stamina: 2,550

Liliana felt relief hit her as she saw that the beast, Serenity, was exactly what she was searching for. She reached out with [Telepathy] even as she felt her lungs begging for air and her wound slowly closing. She didn’t want to have to repeat this process to get a second chance to talk to this beast.

“Hello Serenity. I’m Liliana.” Liliana sent to the creature, not making a full connection, more akin to talking loudly with her mind. The Axolong paused in the water, looking up at her with wary curiosity.

“Hello, human,” the soft feminine voice responded, and Liliana felt a smile poking out of her mouth. Talking was good, much better than attacking.

“Why have you come to my home and tried to harm me, only to harm yourself instead?” Serenity asked, swimming around Liliana until she could look her in the face.

“I wanted to meet you. I didn’t mean to scare you. Most creatures try to eat me, so my first instinct is to attack. But I met a little girl who said you helped her, and I thought you might be less intimidated by me if I was injured.” Liliana offered, wincing at the painful ache in her lungs that [Pain Resistance] did nothing for.

“I can’t breathe underwater. Could I go to the surface but continue speaking to you?” Liliana requested politely.

Liliana tried not to think on the fact that it was far easier for her to be polite to a beast than to a human. But to be fair, she was trying to charm Serenity, and most humans she didn’t care about enough to charm. Serenity regarded her for a long moment, enough time passing that Liliana could see the edges of her vision going dark. The urge to take a breath, even knowing it would cause her to drown, was becoming overwhelming.

“Yes.” Came the reply and Liliana kicked her legs to get to the surface, breaking through the water and taking in deep gulps of air. She felt a lily pad slide off the top of her head, but she was too distracted by beautiful, delicious air that she didn’t care that she was painting a pathetic picture.

“Why did you want to meet me, human?” the Axolong had followed her, but remained under the water. Liliana could feel her swimming around, her cool body occasionally brushing against Liliana’s skin.

“I’m a tamer, of sorts. I look for strong creatures to enter into a partnership with. I heard of you and wanted to ask you if you would join me,” Liliana told her honestly, waving a hand at Corbin, who was shouting at her from above and looked seconds from diving into the water himself.

He only seemed marginally appeased at seeing her break the surface, not drowned. Liliana paid him little heed, focusing her attention on Serenity, and trying to infuse every last scrap of her over three thousand Charisma into her words. She truly didn’t want to have to repeat her self inflicted stabbing to convince Serenity to bond with her. Liliana dived back below the water, Serenity stopping in front of her face once more. Conversations like this were best had face to face.

“Why should I? I am comfortable in my home. I have food here and little bothers me.” Serenity’s voice had taken on a dismissive tone and Liliana felt a small tingle of panic. She really didn’t want to go with her Plan B if her Charisma failed her, which was to continuously injure herself until Serenity gave up and agreed to the bond. She had all this Charisma to make taming easier. What use was it if it didn’t work?

“I can guarantee a home for you, food even in winters, safety, and a family.” Liliana cajoled the Axolong who tilted her head to the side, considering the offer. Liliana tried to fill her body with Charisma, hoping it was oozing out of her pores. If this didn’t work, she was going to burn every book that proclaimed Charisma essential for taming and convincing beasts to work with you.

“Me and my other bonds can also aid you in gaining levels.” Liliana enticed the Axolong gently.

“No. As I have said, I have a home, I have ample food, I can keep myself safe.” Serenity turned as if to swim away and Liliana reached out a hand, almost desperate. Healing creatures were rare. She had no idea when she’d find another, if she would. She could not let Serenity get away.

“We need you.” Liliana pushed at the Axolong, not sure it would work but something inside of her pushed her to say it.

A creature who would reveal herself to heal others even with small scrapes and pains? Serenity had a compulsive need to help others. The little not-dragon paused in the water again but did not turn. But she wasn’t swimming away, it was progress.

“Me and my bonds. We don’t have a healer. We get hurt, and it takes time to recover. One day I’m scared they’ll get so hurt that they’ll die, and I won’t be able to do anything to stop it. We need a healer. We need you. I need you to make sure they stay alive. Please Serenity. Join us, join me and help us. We need you.” Liliana ruthlessly ripped into the weakness she had found, digging in her claws. Serenity turned in the water, approaching Liliana slowly. It took every shred of composure Liliana had to not grin and shout in victory. So close now.

“You… need me? Not to fight, but to heal?” Serenity inquired, voice hesitant now. Liliana would’ve sighed in relief if she wasn’t underwater.

Hook.

“Yes. To heal, to fix what breaks. Please. Help me keep my bonds alive. There’s something coming that means to destroy us all, and I need a healer to ensure we can face it.” Liliana was nearly begging now, making herself as pathetic as possible in the hopes of appealing to Serenity’s obvious need to help, to heal, to care.

Line.

“I do not wish to harm or to kill. But if you wish for my aid to heal… if you need me to heal. Yes, I shall join you.” Serenity finally agreed and Liliana could’ve wept.

And sinker.

“I’ll never ask you to fight. If you do not wish to, you will not have to. We’ll do the fighting for you. We’ll keep you safe and you’ll keep us whole and healthy.” Liliana swore to her. With the relief of success fading, the burning in her chest made itself known with a vengeance. Liliana kicked herself up to the surface quickly. Her head barely broke the surface before she was gulping in more air, slightly dizzy from lack of oxygen.

Liliana buried her face in her hands for a moment as an exultant smile stretched across her face. She did it. She only had to get severely injured once, and it was by her own hand. By and far, one of her easiest tames on record. The books were right, thank the gods. Charisma was an amazing thing. If she could’ve kissed a stat, she would’ve.

“I can’t do the bonding in the water. I’ll drown. Can you breathe above the water?” Liliana asked once she’d gotten herself slightly under control, the words rushing out of her. The need to cement the bond as quickly as possible before Serenity could change her mind was strong. She could not let such a rare creature slip out of her grasp.

“Yes.” Serenity replied, swimming after Liliana and finally poking her head over the water.

Liliana ignored Corbin’s questions and coos when he saw the Axolong, a far cry from the near hysterics he’d been in minutes before. Liliana swam to the edge of the pond, heaving herself out of the water. Serenity followed her out of the water, scampering onto the ground by Liliana’s leg.

“Ready?” Liliana asked, and Serenity took several heartbeats to reply. It felt like years passed as fear chilled Liliana’s skin. Was Serenity going to back out now?

“I am ready, human.” Serenity finally agreed and Liliana reached out swiftly, fear still heavy on her skin.

Serenity pressing her muzzle to the skin of her palm. Liliana activated [Bonding Contract] the moment she felt the cool scaled nose press into her hand. A bright ring surrounded them and she prepared herself for soul burning pain.