Combat Healer Ch. 21 (Patreon)

October 2, 2022

NOTE: This chapter is a longer one (7,200 words), so hope you enjoy!

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It covers Chapters 1-14, and is 101,000 words.

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<< Chapter 20 | Ch 1 (Book 1) | Ch 15 (Book 2)

- CHAPTER 21: Obedience -

Many Years Ago

A young elf girl with black hair slowly opened her vibrant crimson eyes, her slitted pupils immediately widening as they adjusted to the darkness, feeling confused as to where she was or how she’d gotten there.

Her nose inhaled a gust of fresh air, starkly contrasted to the stale breath in her lungs, and she groggily sat up to stare at the bizarre sight in the near distance.

She was in an enormous cavern…or was it a stone room?

She wasn’t sure, but a pair of massive stone doors were actively closing, revealing a brilliant blue sky and grassy fields in the distance, beyond the rapidly shrinking crack. The sight was so bright that her pupils narrowed again slightly, tall black slits surrounded by bright red, the rest of the room now feeling semi-dark.

And then, just before the stone doors shut entirely, the last thing she noticed was…

Was another elf girl, with black hair and pale skin, slipping through the crack.

The sight confused her, even as the door shut and the darkness encroached.

Focusing down at her midnight hands, it was now pitch-black in the massive cavernous space, and yet she could see just fine. More than fine, she felt like she could almost see better, now that it was completely dark.

But still…

Who had that other elf girl been?

And where exactly had she found herself? What was this room?

She wasn’t sure, but did notice that she was sitting next to an odd object that was sort of oval shaped and broken. An object that was also pitch-black, just as most of her own body, except that it looked much more fragile.

Picking up a piece of shell from the ground, she broke it in half between her hands, and then raised it up to her sharp teeth, frowning when she realized it didn’t taste very good – ‘My-shell-no-taste-good.’ However, unexpectedly, she knew what it was, as if it reminded her of something.

An egg.

Her egg.

She’d only been born minutes ago, though she wasn’t sure how her current body could have fit in that egg. Certainly, the structure was very large, perhaps half her size, but even curled up, she wasn’t sure she would fit.

So then, maybe she was smaller just a few minutes ago?

Maybe she got bigger only recently?

After all, she was about the same size as the girl she’d just seen…

If not the exact same size.

But then, that’s when realization struck her.

“Master?!” she said urgently, only to cough, feeling like she’d never spoken before.

Sucking in a deep breath of the stale air, she called out again, searching the room now for the one whom she belonged to.

“Master?” she repeated, noticing the corpse of a bizarre creature, looking almost like a person, but having wings, claws, and fangs like some kind of female demon. Its skin was much more gray than hers…

Or was it?

She focused down at her belly, seeing that it was the same shade of gray.

So then, perhaps as gray as part of her…

She felt different than the corpse, but also knew she’d just been born from an egg, beginning to suspect that maybe this creature was responsible for the egg from which she came. However, she cared not for the beast that spawned her.

Instead, she cared only for one other.

The one who owned her.

“Master,” she said firmly, realizing she could sense something now.

Rushing over to where she’d seen the other elf girl run from, she unexpectedly stumbled across another body, this one of an emaciated boy.

This one, of her master.

He was about as big as she was, though as she thought about it, she wasn’t sure if ‘boy’ was most appropriate word. He looked a bit younger than a grown man, but was much bigger than a child. Perhaps he was somewhere between the two?

But he looked asleep.

Was he asleep?

Kicking him in the hip with her bare midnight foot, she noted that his body wasn’t too stiff, but that it was probably more stiff than ideal.

Was he dead?

He wasn’t breathing…

But living things must have breath, right?

Right?

Yes, she knew because…

‘Intuition of the Goddess.’

It was a reward for her, and she was a reward for her master, so really it was an extra reward for her master. But it made her know that which she needed to know.

Or at least, it was supposed to.

Frowning, she stood over him, placing her midnight feet on either side of his body, and then sat down on his belly, leaning forward and bending down to press her lips to his, breathing sharply into his lungs.

No good.

His chest rose a little, but most of the air just came out the other holes in his face.

Pinching his nose, she tried again.

His chest rose more this time, but still no good.

Trying to understand what was wrong with him, she unexpectedly had an idea.

His heart wasn’t working.

That was kind of a problem.

But then, she had a really good idea!

She couldn’t help but giggle.

Because she had a super amazing idea!

“Tee-hee!”

* * *

Alarmed by the fact that I had a very powerful monster in my arms, one who might even be powerful enough to kill us all in a prolonged battle, due to her being a Berserker, and with me being even more alarmed by the realization that she was an almost exact physical replica of my beloved, all I could do was just stare at the pair of slitted crimson eyes focused up at me, her midnight arms wrapped tightly around my torso now.

Fuck, I wasn’t sure if I should be terrified right now, or not.

Because I wasn’t unkillable.

None of us were.

Like fuck, just how ‘bound’ was she to me? Did that mean she would obey me, or did she have freewill?!

“Oh master,” she unexpectedly giggled cheerfully. “You’re so funny! I’m so glad you’re awake now. I enjoyed feeding and snuggling you, but hearing all these wonderful thoughts is so much nicer. And hearing your voice! Oh, I’ve dreamt of your voice for so long!” She giggled again. “Tee-hee! I love it!”

Everyone was tense.

Everyone was silent.

Until Eliza spoke up.

“Allister…” she hissed. “That…creature…looks like me…”

Of course, I hadn’t yet disclosed what I’d only just learned from my Eye of the Goddess skill, discovering that she was a doppelganger monster and fucking ridiculously powerful, even without being a Berserker.

She was over 20 points in three fucking attributes!

All the ones that mattered for raw combat prowess!

Fuck!

“Umm,” I began hesitantly, deciding to try to carefully mitigate any problems before they happened. “We should be nice to her…take all of this really slow…and not freak out or anything.”

Mel’s gold eyes were widening more and more, until finally she took a step away, her grip tense on her staff, with me being able to feel the tension in the air even though I wasn’t directly looking at anyone else.

“Allie?” Eliza whispered in concern.

I cleared my throat, as the elf girl in my arms just continued to grin at me, each of her teeth like little triangular razors that fit perfectly together in a toothy smile, her slitted crimson eyes searching my face while she rested in my arms.

It was like staring at the humanoid face of a snake combined with a shark, and very unnerving, even as beautiful as she was…since she looked like my beloved…or at least, looked like how Eliza appeared in the Dungeon.

“Umm,” I continued. “So she’s the same level as us, in terms of overall strength,” I admitted slowly, only to uncontrollably swallow, my heart racing. “And, umm, she’s also a Berserker.”

Already no one was moving, and yet everyone froze the fuck solid.

Mel went from tense to a literal statue, looking like she was about to piss herself.

The elf girl immediately giggled.

“Hehe, I’m strong, aren’t I, master?” She said with a widening grin…too wide. “I killed all the ‘Bite-painful-and-burns’ for you just a little bit ago. Isn’t that great? Are you proud of me, master?”

I tried to clear my throat. “Umm, yes. Very proud.”

“Yay!” she cheered, unexpectedly pulling away from me and rising to her feet so fast that it almost made my head spin, only for her to grab my arms and tug me up to my feet too, her strength being about the equivalent of fucking Turg yanking me to my feet, with her focusing up at me with a look of almost adoration as she grinned at me.

“Oh wow, and so much taller now, master!” she added, only to let go and spin around, literally beginning to dance in front of me like she didn’t even know how to be embarrassed, lifting her arms up in the air as she clapped and bounced around, starting to sing in a shockingly pristine voice.

Like the literal voice of an angel.

Her tone was youthful and innocent sounding, the ‘a’ drawn out as she sang just one word over and over again.

“Maa-ster, maa-ster! Maa-ster, maa-ster! Maa-ster, maa-ster!” She clapped once again, beginning to twirl and dance around me as her movements became more exaggerated. “Maa-ster, maa-ster! Maa-ster, maa-ster! Maa-ster, maa-ster!” She giggled, still dancing around me in circles. “Tee-hee! I’m so happy, master! You’re awake! You’re really awake! I’m so smart! I’m just so smart! Took a long time, but it worked! It really worked! Tee-hee!”

When I unexpectedly heard a crackle of electricity, I immediately looked back at Eliza in alarm, only to realize she was further away than I was expecting, holding up her Shock spell to a dismembered Arakna’cabra limb.

Needless to say, I was extremely confused, even as the yellow goo lit on fire, beginning to rapidly burn hotter and hotter like a log covered in oil. She then immediately set it on the ground and threw another dismembered black leg on, making me even more confused.

The elf girl finally stopped too, her slitted crimson eyes widening as she focused on the flames.

“Ooo! What is that?” she wondered curiously.

Oh fuck, had she never seen fire?

But then again, how would she have? I mean, it seemed like she didn’t even know what ice was, and didn’t realize it would be so cold, and that tunneling through it probably wasn’t the best idea. Although, now that I was thinking about it, she must have some kind of resistance to cold, to be able to even manage it, especially with her midnight…clothing…or maybe just skin…being so thin…

Eliza finally focused up at me. “Allister,” she said firmly, her body tense. “I fully understand this predicament, which is why we need to determine just how obedient she is right now. Tell her to put her hand in the fire.”

My eyes widened in shock…

Only to immediately frown.

Because I knew she was right.

We had to know.

It was far too dangerous to not know. And far too dangerous to be walking around with such a powerful creature who might kill someone, even me, at the flip of a coin.

Fuck.

I focused on the girl’s gray face, seeing that her slitted red eyes almost looked mesmerized as she watched the very hot fire burn.

“Hey, umm…”

Shit, I didn’t know what to call her! She didn’t have a name!

But it didn’t matter right now.

This had to be done.

“I want you to stick your hand in the fire until I tell you not to, okay?”

The girl looked at me in surprise, almost confused, before shrugging. “Okay, master. I trust you.” She then immediately skipped over to it, causing Eliza to back away, the Queen’s hands slightly raised as if in preparation to attack, watching as the girl tilted her head and kind of walked around the fire for a second, before she crouched right down and shoved her hand into the middle of the hot flames.

Instantly, her slitted crimson eyes widened in alarm, her pupils rapidly dilating even despite the brightness, and her face began to show extreme torment and distress…

Yet, she didn’t pull away.

And then she started to whimper, visible tears filling her red eyes, her midnight skin starting to bubble in welts as the heat and flames literally started cooking her flesh.

Yet she didn’t pull away.

I kept expecting her to pull away!

A normal person would pull away!

But then she cried out in agony, a shriek like from a wounded animal as her entire body began trembling violently, even as she didn’t pull away!

It all happened in a matter of seconds.

Mere seconds.

And I was so stunned, that she was literally beginning to shriek, before I finally registered that I had to tell her to stop.

“Pull away!” I yelled, prompting her to yank back so violently that she fell on her back into a puddle of yellow gore, holding up her welted and blistered hand in the air as she continued to shriek at the top of her lungs, her sincere agony obvious.

I was already running for her as fast as I could, not having far to go.

‘Greater Healing!’

She immediately froze solid, prompting me to stop next to the flames, the welted skin on her midnight hand abruptly beginning to fall off as if she was shedding skin, the midnight flesh underneath rapidly recovering fully as if she’d never had an injury in the first place…

But then her face scrunched up, her gray bottom lip starting to quiver, and she immediately began sobbing.

“Master!” she cried out. “That was so mean! W-Why would you be so mean to me! I…” She sobbed violently again, beginning to almost sound incoherent. “I worked so hard to keep you alive, and you…” She chest hitched again, only to abruptly roll over in the yellow fluid and bolt to her feet, immediately running away as fast as lightning a she cried, the sincere betrayal obvious.

Shit!

I’d really fucked up!

I should have told her to pull away sooner! Even just a second sooner!

Fuck!

“Wait!” I called out, shocked when she abruptly came to a halt, suddenly realizing there was only one way to undo what I’d just done.

Only one way.

Without thinking I dropped to my knees by the ongoing fire, and shoved my own hand in the flames, instantly regretting that decision.

“FUCK!” I roared, already feeling like I was going to pass out as my skin began to boil into welts, the agony unlike anything I’d ever experienced, even though I’d suffered so many cuts, broken bones, and injuries in my lifetime, and even though I had Pain Tolerance as a skill.

Being burned by fire was something else entirely.

Something fucking else entirely!

“Stop!” Eliza immediately ordered, rushing over to me.

“No, you stop!” I yelled right back, determined to do this, only to flinch when I realized that the demonic elf girl was crouched right next to me all of a sudden, wondering if Eliza was actually talking to her, the girl’s slitted crimson eyes wide as she watched the welts growing larger and larger, part of my flesh literally beginning to just slough right off to reveal my raw burning muscle underneath.

Fuck, it was so fucking painful!

Oh my God, it hurt so fucking bad!

Finally, I couldn’t handle it anymore, and yanked my hand out, my entire body feeling like I was starting to convulse as I fell on my side. And the elf girl was right over me, her slitted red eyes looking confused and startled now.

“M-Master,” she stammered, her gray cheeks still wet with her tears.

I tried to hold my trembling hand up to her, with her looking at it in concern, her red eyes widening when more of my skin sloughed off.

“M-Master,” she repeated picking up the piece of flesh and holding it up like she wanted to reattach it. “S-Stop breaking. Please.”

“I’m…sorry,” I managed.

Her slitted red eyes widened in alarm.

“I…didn’t intend…to be mean…to you.”

She looked almost panicked now. “H-How do I fix you?!” she exclaimed. “I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do!”

“Can…fuck, can I heal myself?” I finally got out.

Her red eyes widened all over again. “Yes! Please!” she begged, as if this was sincerely causing her torment now. A different form of torment.

‘Greater Healing.’

Oh fuck, the relief was so intense I just had to lay my head down and close my eyes.

I would have literally been willing to suffer having all my bones broken, than go through that again. Fuck, I’d rather just have my arm chopped off entirely, than go through that again.

Oh God, it hurt so bad.

The girl started sobbing then, carefully grasping my healed hand in her thin midnight fingers like it was made of glass, a whine escaping her throat as she held my hand up to her mouth, breathing heavily on it through her nose.

She was trembling.

I took a deep breath, trying to look up at her. “I’ll never be mean to you again, okay? I promise.”

“O-kay,” she sobbed, her tears dripping onto my fingers as she continued to hold my hand.

I sighed then, deciding to continue. “There is one thing I want from you though, okay?”

“Okay,” she whimpered. “Okay, okay.”

“Don’t hurt anyone I care about.”

“Okay, okay,” she whimpered again.

“Do what I tell you and be good.”

“Okay, okay,” she repeated with another sob. “I will. I will!”

I took an extremely deep breath, before slowly pushing myself up, surprised when she actually let go of my hand and grabbed my shoulders, as if to help me. I then just focused on her tormented expression, with her just looking so ridiculously miserable, as if she’d just suffered a great loss and was beyond heartbroken, causing me to actually feel really bad.

I then shifted my gaze to her black hair, now covered in yellow slime, and then focused on her shoulders and arms, also lathered with Arakna’cabra gore.

Taking another deep breath, I gave her a smile.

“Here,” I said, as I carefully stood up, with her rising with me slowly. “Let’s get you cleaned up a little, okay?”

She sniffled, tightening her grip on my hand. “O-Okay, master.”

Finally focusing on the others, in anticipation of walking back to the pools we’d created, I was a little surprised to see the varying levels of concern and emotion on everyone’s expression. Mel actually looked like she’d started crying a little, her gold eyes pained, standing there completely naked as she only held her black metal staff in one hand now.

Eliza just looked really disturbed and distressed by the whole situation, likely distressed by what just transpired, but also distressed that she was literally looking at an eighteen-year-old version of herself.

Sylvia just seemed stunned, her icy blue eyes just staring in disbelief.

Val was cupping her mouth with both hands, her purple eyes also teary-eyed, likely due to witnessing me hurt myself, and wanting to stop it, but knowing it wasn’t what I wanted.

And then both sister scouts also looked distressed, as if they couldn’t believe everything they’d just witnessed. Celestine, in particular, looked like she was about to pass out.

The elf girl continued to sniffle as I carefully led her by the hand between Eliza and Sylvia, and then between the sisters and Val, walking her over to the pools, figuring I’d have her get in the yellow tinted one first, to get the majority of the gunk off, and then I’d ensure she was clean in the main heated one.

Honestly, I figured this girl was going to be upset for a long time, and that I’d have to work hard to turn things around, but she completely shocked me after I had her lay down in the gross water, and then had her start getting into the warm one.

Instantly, she was super cheerful, just like that.

All her torment vanished in an instant.

“Ooo! This is so warm, master! I really like this one!”

I glanced up when the others slowly started walking back over, all of them still hesitant.

“Umm, yeah,” I agreed, carefully sitting on the edge behind her. “Do…Do you want me to wash your hair a little?” I wondered, feeling a little stunned by her almost instant change of mood.

“Wash my hair? Okay!” she exclaimed joyfully, shifting her posture in the shallow water, sitting on her rear and putting her weight on her elbows, immediately tilting her head back, looking up at me with that look of adoration again as her black hair floated in the water.

Reaching out, I began running my fingers through it to ensure there weren’t any matted spots, a little surprised that it seemed really clean and smooth from the first rinse in the gross water. But then again…she wasn’t truly an elf. And technically, her ‘hair’ might not even really be hair. At least, not like it would be on a person.

Needless to say, she really liked that, beginning to make an almost purring sound deep within her chest as she closed her slitted red eyes while enjoying me beginning to scrub and scratch at her scalp.

“Wow, I like this, master,” she said warmly. “It’s so nice that you’re awake now.” She pouted, her bottom gray lip sticking out in an adorable expression. “I wish I could have met you when you first woke up, but I had a lot of fun while you were gone.”

I frowned at that, even as everyone began to slowly sit down at the edge of the pool too, returning to how we mostly were before this whole situation started, just in slightly different positions.

Surprisingly, Eliza was the first one to respond, having sat down across from me, though she was hesitant. “Umm, so can you explain what happened exactly? How did you keep…your master…alive?”

With her eyes still closed, the girl just grinned. “Hehe,” she said in a mischievous tone.

Eliza’s purple eyes widened at that, and she focused on me.

I cleared my throat, figuring I should ask. “You said that you fed me?” I prompted.

She grinned wider. “Yep! I’m so smart!”

“How?” I wondered seriously.

“Want me to show you?” she wondered, abruptly slipping out of my grasp and flipping over to sit up, even as she reached up with both hands and grabbed my face, yanking my head down to hers with absurd strength.

Just like that, she pressed her lips to mine and instantly, before I could even react, her tongue shot down my fucking throat!

“Ugh!” I coughed as I yanked away, starting to gag when I saw how long her tongue was as I pulled it out of my throat.

Holy shit, her tongue was sticking out of her mouth by over a foot! Practically as long as her forearm!

Holding my own throat now, disturbed by the feeling I’d just endured, it took me a second to realize she was still ‘showing me.’ That, despite the length, it was actually like a normal tongue, with her curling and uncurling it repeatedly, going from flat…to forming a makeshift tube.

“Oh my God,” Mel finally exclaimed. “So what, you put something in your mouth and then got it down his throat with your tongue?”

Instantly, her tongue was back in her mouth fully. “Yay!” she cheered, focusing on Mel. “You’re smart too!”

“But not normal food, right?” Eliza said in disbelief. “There’s no way.”

“Nope!” the girl cheered. “But I’ll give you one guess! It’s a bit gooey, but it did the trick.”

I felt like I was going to be sick. “You fed me…Arakna’cabra guts.”

She immediately grinned, a mischievous glint in her slitted red eyes. “Hehe. If that’s what you call the ‘Bite-painful-and-burns,’ then yep!”

“Is that even edible though?” Astaer asked seriously.

“So gross,” Celestine complained.

“It must be edible,” Eliza admitted, slowly beginning to cross her legs at the knees, as if she was trying to force herself to get more comfortable. “If it really kept him alive.”

I was still struggling with this realization of what my diet had apparently consisted of for all that time, feeling like I was going to vomit at just the thought of swallowing that nasty yellow Arakna’cabra guts.

Eliza spoke up again. “But wait, how did you avoid putting it in his lungs?” she asked seriously.

The girl perked up at that. “Oh, that’s easy! He has a little spot that if you tickle, it makes him swallow. So I just made him swallow my tongue is all! So easy!”

Mel unexpectedly laughed at that. “Oh really?”

I immediately held up my hand, still filling ill. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t. Just don’t.”

“I don’t know, Allie,” Mel mused playfully. “I’ve got a pretty long tongue too. Not that long, but I wouldn’t mind trying to tickle your sensitive spot.”

“Ugh, stop,” I begged, wishing in this moment that Oni weren’t so fond of teasing.

Eliza continued. “But I don’t understand what happened. You said he was with you for fifteen years, right?”

“Yep!” she agreed, abruptly standing up and moving to plop her midnight ass down right next to me, crossing her legs at the knees, as she literally mimicked Eliza’s posture. “He was dead when you left him, but I’m so smart!”

That sobered me up a little, all of us tense again as I hesitantly met Eliza’s gaze…

Because it confirmed what we already knew.

That I’d truly died for her.

To save her life.

Eliza’s tone was strained. “So…what did you do?” she managed.

The girl just laughed at that, sounding mischievous again. “Hehe.”

I cleared my throat, repeating the question, realizing I really had to be the one to ask. “What did you do?” I managed.

She giggled as she grinned up at me. “Tee-hee! I put a monster thingy in you!”

My eyes widened in alarm. “You did what?” I said in shock.

“A monster thingy! Like, like…” She focused over on one of our open packs, only to point toward it…

An Essence Crystal.

“Like that! Except different!”

“A Monster Core?” I said in alarm.

She grinned up at me again. “Well, it came from a monster, and it was like that, but bigger!” she added almost suggestively.

“H-How?” I managed.

She grinned, reaching over to pat me on the stomach. “Cut you right open, and put it right in here,” she chirped, continuing to pat my belly. "It was so big that you had a big belly for a long time!"

“C-Cut me open?” I repeated.

“Yup!” she exclaimed, holding up her midnight hand.

Instantly, her fingers elongated into massive midnight claws in the blink of an eye, each of them longer than a typical dagger.

“Fuck!” I shouted, reflexively jerking away from her.

She giggled. “Tee-hee! Oh master, you’re so funny!” Her hand almost instantly shifted back to normal. “I like it so much that you’re awake now! You’re so much more fun when you’re awake!”

“Umm, I’m glad too,” I managed as I slowly straightened back up, to sit normally beside her again.

Shit, she was going to end up making me gray prematurely.

Astaer finally spoke up, sounding hesitant. “So, umm, does she have a name?”

I sighed. “She doesn’t,” I admitted.

“Should probably give her one,” she pointed out.

Eliza immediately chimed in. “I swear, do not name this…creature…after me.”

“I won’t,” I said seriously. “She’s not you,” I added. “Trust me, I know she’s not you.”

She took a deep breath and then nodded at that.

I then focused on the girl, realizing she was looking up at me curiously now, sitting in such an adorable position. Her legs were still crossed at the knees, but she had her hands clasped together on her shiny looking midnight thighs and was leaning forward while simultaneously looking up at me.

Absolutely adorable.

Way too adorable.

I cleared my throat. “Umm, do you have an idea of what you want to be called?”

She immediately tilted her head to the side. “I can choose?”

“You can give me an idea,” I offered. “But I think I’ll choose.”

Her slitted crimson eyes widened at that, only for her brow to furrow as she focused down at her clasped hands. Her slim shoulders were so thin and delicate looking. Her face then immediately lit up like a Light Crystal.

“Oh! I know! What’s the name of the Squishy-chirp?”

My brow furrowed. “Squishy-chirp? Do you mean a bird?”

She abruptly sat up straighter and held her hands out as if she was holding a small object in her grasp. “It has flappy-flaps, and its soft and squishy, and it has a pointy mouth.”

“You mean the wrens?” I clarified. “The little birds in the Dungeon? They have a white line above their eye,” I added when she seemed uncertain.

“Oh! Yes!” Her tone then dropped, as she abruptly squeezed her hands together tightly. “I love to squish them until they stop moving, and then I snuggle with them!”

“Shit,” Astaer hissed.

“The poor things,” Celestine agreed somberly.

I cleared my throat. “Umm, yeah. Those are wrens.”

“I love wrens!” she cheered. “Can that be my name too?”

“Wren?” I said in surprise, only to focus back on everyone else.

Mel nodded, followed by Eliza nodding as well, before speaking up.

“At least it’s not related to me.”

Astaer seemed a little distressed. “Are we really going to call her something she enjoys killing though?”

I sighed. “I don’t think she fully understands the concept of life and death. At least, not like a normal person.”

“What makes you think that?” Astaer asked seriously. “She obviously knew you were dead.” She then grimaced. “Sorry,” she added.

I shook my head. “No, it’s fine.” I then sighed heavily as I focused on the girl. “Okay, here’s the deal. I’ll name you that, but only if you can promise not to squish the little birds until they stop moving, okay?”

“Aww,” she pouted. “But I love squishing them!”

“Do you want the name or not?” I asked seriously.

She pouted, before sighing. “Okay, fine.”

Shit, why was she so adorable? Not just her physical appearance, but her personality. Did she have some kind of charming skill?

I smirked at her. “Then, from now on, your name is Wren. And since you belong to me, I’ll even give you my last name too. Wren Rosengard.”

Her slitted red eyes lit up at that, looking awed. “I’m…Wren. I’m Wren Rosengard!” she cheered, only to suddenly grow more excited. “Oh! Does that mean we are married?!” she said even more gleefully.

My eyes widened in alarm, wondering how in the world she even knew about such a concept as marriage. Especially since this was actually the first time she’d ever been around people. Granted, aside from appearing to have her own terms for certain things, like ‘Squishy-chirps,’ she otherwise appeared to be of normal intelligence.

Like, even the fact that she could speak at all was abnormal, considering she’d never been around other people, aside from an unconscious person.

“Umm, sure,” I offered, in response to asking if we were married, not seeing any harm in how she perceived it. “Something like that.”

“Yay!” she cheered, abruptly throwing herself at me in a tight embrace, only to bounce up just as fast and start dancing in the water, splashing everyone in the process.

Needless to say, despite ‘marriage’ not being my intention, I truly figured that it ultimately didn’t matter whether she had my surname or not, or whether she viewed it as marriage or not. Especially since she probably couldn’t be a part of normal society anyway, not with those slitted red eyes, and she likely wasn’t going to be putting her name legally anywhere…

However, what I wasn’t expecting was for naming her to actually have an effect.

Unexpectedly, I became aware that she’d just gained a new skill.

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NEW SKILL: Transformation 2 (Undefined)

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 1/1

Type: Innate Passive

Effect: Upon initial activation, define a Second Form.

State: Bound (Allister Rosengard)

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Holy fuck!

A skill for her…but bound to me?

Wren didn’t seem to react to that, continuing to twirl and dance in the water, until finally Mel began splashing her back, with a mischievous glint in her gold eyes. Thus, I tried to keep my composure, wondering if Wren was even aware of this new skill, figuring that maybe I should make an effort to try to divine everything else I could about her, just to ensure I didn’t miss anything important.

Thankfully, Mel helped out by congratulating Wren on her new name, since it was obvious the elf girl was sincerely thrilled, and then splashing her some more, which all gave me the chance to try to focus.

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Wren Rosengard

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STATUS

Race: Doppelganger (Monster)

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Class: Fighter

Focus: Berserker

State: Bound (Allister Rosengard)

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ATTRIBUTES

Strength: 25 (Lv. 10)

Dexterity: 25 (Lv. 10)

Fortitude: 25 (Lv. 10)

Wisdom: 12 (Lv. 6)

Intelligence: 12 (Lv. 6)

Charisma: 11 (Lv. 6)

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Total: 110

Rank: SS Tier

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Level: 48/50

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Everything looked normal there, so I tried to focus on her abilities, only to find myself sincerely shocked at the sheer number of them, being more than I was used to discerning from another person.

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Wren Rosengard

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ABILITIES

Skills: Bound Sapience, Shift, Adapt, Transformation 1 (Elf), Transformation 2 (Undefined), Nocturnal Vision, Chronosense, Essence Extraction, Stealth, Stalker, Escape, Sharp Eye, Sharp Hearing, Scent Tracking Mastery, Stoic, Pain Tolerance, Cold Resistance, Heat Resistance, Shock Resistance, Essence Resistance, Venom Immunity, Poison Immunity, Silent Cast, Known by Darkness, Intuition of the Goddess, Berserk

Spells: Berserk, Dispel

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Bound Sapience?

Holy shit, what was that?

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SKILL: Bound Sapience

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 1/1

Type: Innate Passive

Effect: Wisdom and Intelligence are bound to Host at half values. Cannot be reduced even if Host values are reduced.

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Holy shit!

Holy fuck, that meant that she was intelligent because of me! Because her Intelligence and Wisdom were bound to me! Holy fuck, I didn’t even know such a skill existed!

But then, that likely meant that her ability to speak, and her understanding of concepts like marriage, must also come from me. In fact, it was likely possible she was able to discern such concepts specifically due to that skill alone – Bound Sapience.

And what about everything else listed in her Abilities?

Most of it was pretty self-explanatory, with me divining that ‘Shift’ was her ability to grow things like claws and ‘Adapt’ was the reason why she had resistances and immunities. But she also had ‘Intuition of the Goddess,’ something that likewise probably made her smart, as well as Berserk as both a skill and spell. And then she had something called Dispel!

I had to know what that was!

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SPELL: Dispel

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 2/5

Element: Dark

Cost: 23 Essence

Effect: Instantly Cancel any Spell within range.

Cast Time: Instant

Use Time: 1 second

Cooldown: None

Limitation: Increased Essence Cost if combined total of Wisdom and Intelligence is under 35 (Wisdom: 12, Intelligence: 12, Total: 24)

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Oh my God.

Holy shit, she was truly a monster.

Technically, my ‘Stun’ spell could indirectly have a similar effect, but this was something else entirely. She could literally cancel another person’s spell after it was already activated!

Like fuck!

Even with the limitations of increased essence cost, this was possibly one of the most powerful things I’d ever seen. And I hadn’t even looked at her Berserk spell yet! Which was apparently a separate thing from her Berserk skill, which was already super powerful!

But first, I needed to know what her skill was truly capable of.

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SKILL: Berserk

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 5/5

Type: Combat Active

Effect: Exceed limitations and obtain Boost to Strength, Dexterity, and Fortitude, depending on Skill level.

Cast Time: Instant

Stamina Use: 1 Stamina per 20 seconds

Focus Bonus: Reduced Stamina requirement.

Limitations: None (Strength: 25, Fortitude: 25, Total: 50)

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Only 1 Stamina per 20 seconds!

Mel’s Berserk skill was 5 Stamina per 1 second!

And yeah, Mel’s skill was at Level 1, whereas Wren’s skill was at Level 5, but still!

Shit, at that rate, someone like Turg would be able to stay in Berserk form at all times!

Forever!

He’d regenerate Stamina just as fast as he used it!

Of course, I didn’t know how high Wren’s Stamina Regeneration Rate was, with that not being something I could usually divine with my Eye of the Goddess skill, even if it could be measured in other ways, but still!

Oni had high Stamina Regeneration Rates partially because they had very high Strength and Fortitude, and Wren was maxed out at 25 each!

Oh fuck, and then she still had the Berserk spell!

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SPELL: Berserk

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DESCRIPTION

Level: 5/5

Element: Dark

Cost: 1 Essence

Effect: Infuse body with Essence to drastically enhance Berserk Boost Effect, depending on Spell level, and in the process also obtain the capacity to convert Essence directly into Stamina.

Attack: 10,000 (Slashing), 10,000 (Piercing), 8,000 (Blunt)

Cast Time: Instant

Use Time: Continuous

Cooldown: None

Limitation: None (Strength: 25, Fortitude: 25, Total: 50)

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Obtain…the capacity…

To convert Essence directly into Stamina.

I felt like I was going to pass out.

Val’s Essence Arrows were insanely powerful, and yet this spell literally gave Wren access to that level of power on a permanent basis. She could activate both her Berserk skill and Berserk spell, and dish out 10,000 attack practically forever, with every single strike being a one-shot, literally enough to destroy almost anything and anyone with just a single hit.

Because, if Wren happened to have a Stamina Regeneration Rate that was comparable to an Oni, a race also tending to have very high Strength and Fortitude, then she might already be capable of regenerating Stamina fast enough to replace what she used for her Berserk skill.

But then, if she could also turn Essence directly into Stamina, that meant she was basically capable of supplementing any extra Stamina usage whenever she needed. At any time.

Perhaps she might run out of Stamina and Essence eventually in a really hard fight, but with this combination, I felt like she could probably be in a Berserk frenzy for hours on end. The equivalent of Val being able to use all her spells for hours without running out of energy.

“Allie?” Mel unexpectedly asked in concern.

I was pretty sure she had asked me a question, but I didn’t comprehend it or respond.

“I’m fine,” I blurted out, just trying to wrap my mind around how insanely powerful this thin elf girl was, only now realizing she was sitting beside me again.

Wren giggled, sounding mischievous. “Hehe. I’m really strong, aren’t I master?”

I focused up at Eliza, trying to keep my tone lighthearted while disclosing the truth. “Yep,” I said in a strained tone. “I’m honestly not sure if there is a single person in the entire world that could defeat you. Perhaps not even an entire army strong enough.”

Eliza’s purple eyes widened in disbelief, exchanging a serious glance with Sylvia.

“Fuck,” Astaer hissed.

Val finally chimed in, after not having said anything for a long time now. “Umm, but that’s good, right?” she suggested. “She belongs to master, so that seems like a good thing to me,” she clarified.

“Ooo!” Wren said cheerfully. “Is he your master too?!”

Val visibly swallowed, as if she was uncertain if that was a good or bad thing, at least in the demonic elf girl’s perception. “Umm, yes. He is my master.”

“Yay!” Wren cheered, abruptly jumping back into the water, and rapidly wading over to her, reaching out to grab her hands, even as Val tried to stay composed. “That’s so exciting! We both have the same master! Are you his wife too?”

“Yep,” Val agreed, surprisingly managing a cheerful tone. “I’m his betrothed,” she continued, trying to sound more excited. “Oh, and I always do whatever master wants!” she added, as if she wanted to emphasize that Wren should do the same.

However, unexpectedly Wren frowned at that, suddenly looking concerned.

Which of course caused everyone to tense up a little, due to the drastic shift in her demeanor.

Wren then slowly turned her slitted red eyes toward me, looking a little afraid now. “Umm, master.”

“Yes?” I said uncertainly.

“You…” She hesitated, only to step away from Val and slowly begin walking through the water back toward me, her slitted crimson eyes downcast now. “You asked me not to hurt anyone you care about.”

Fuck.

“Umm, yes. That’s true,” I agreed.

“I…I may have already done so,” she admitted, only to drop to her knees in the water in front of me, bowing her head, her arms limp at her side. “I’m…I’m so sorry if I did. P-Please forgive me.”

“Who?” I asked seriously.

She grimaced, turning her red eyes up to me. “Well…there were other people who came here. And, I sort of knew you might never come back if I let them get to the final room. So…I hurt them and trapped them. I think they’re still alive…” Her expression pained. “I think…”

My eyes widened at that.

Of course, the very fact that she ‘knew’ that I might eventually enter this Dungeon again, so long as she kept someone from conquering it, was likely a result of her ‘Intuition of the Goddess’ skill – it had to be – so that wasn’t too surprising to me at this point.

However…

Eliza immediately spoke up. “What do they look like?”

“Umm…” She focused up at me again, her slitted crimson eyes hesitant, only continuing once I nodded. “Umm, there is one female and two males. The female has blue skin. One of the males has red skin. And then the other male has kind of greenish-brown skin.”

Fuck.

It was the top team…of my guild.

The last description confirmed it, as Muneg was an especially unique individual, his father a Minotaur, his mother a Green Oni.

It was rare for Oni to actually breed with other races, not even breeding with a different sub-race usually, but in this man’s case, it happened. Although I was fairly certain it was accidental, but the end result was one of the most powerful men in the kingdom.

Either way, Muneg truly did have olive colored skin, though he did look more ‘Oni,’ than Minotaur, his face still fairly humanoid.

But damn, if Wren trapped them, then that meant she’d defeated them. She’d broken through their Defense Specialist’s barrier – broken through the gorgeous Shevra’s powerful magic – and all but destroyed them.

Meeting Eliza’s gaze briefly, I knew what had to be done.

Break time was over.

“Wren, I forgive you, since you didn’t know. But these are my friends. Please take us to them, so I can heal them.”

She immediately nodded, her expression pained. “I will, master. I’m so sorry.”

I simply nodded, getting up now in order to get fully dressed, with everyone else immediately following suit, likewise realizing that it was time to get moving again.

Because we had comrades to rescue.

And this particular Dungeon was far too dangerous to separate into smaller groups.

Which meant, we had work to do now.

I just hoped we made it in time.

FEEDBACK: So, what do you think about Wren so far?

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