I sighed, contented, as I buried my head in Arturous's surprisingly soft fur. Next to me, Teddy was using the massive bear's shoulder as a backrest while we listened to Celanae's cooing.

"Do you want some more gems, little one? I got some delicious quartz, all nice and polished!" Celanae asked as she held Magnus in her lap.

From the soul-link, I could feel the confused yet excited feelings running through the cat's head. He may not have understood why Celanae was lavishing him with delicious food, but he was content so long as she kept petting him.

"Do you think raw gems or cut gems taste better? And does anyone think it's weird to see a cat eating crystals," Igas asked as he watched Celanae feed the spirit another gem.

"I vote half my share of next delve's loot that he likes cut gems better," Teddy dared.

"I'll take that bet, half my share, that he likes raw gems more," Isaac countered confidently.

Eodyne shook her head and summoned the betting board. "I agree with Teddy. I vote for cut. Also, why is it weird? We once fought a lava turtle who ate stone like it was grass. This is no more stranger than that."

"You two are wrong. Raw gems would have more material on them, more to eat, more to enjoy," Isaac argued.

"And that's why I agree with Teddy. Tell me, if I presented you with a lump of meat, would you enjoy the entire thing cooked, with fat trimming and gristle attached? Or would you want the juiciest and most tender cut, with the most flavour?"

Isaac scowled at Eodyne's words. "Damn, didn't think of that."

All four turned towards Celanae, and she rolled her eyes as she conjured another pouch of gemstones. The gem she pulled out was refined and polished. There was excited purring from the lazy beast in her lap, and I rolled my eyes.

"You're going to spoil him. He'll become so fat; I'll have to roll him at enemies. I don't think a tiger-cub bowling ball is what I had in mind when I made the contract," I called out as I laid my hand over my eyes to block out the afternoon sun.

"I don't know what a bowling ball is, but it wouldn't matter. He's a spiritbeast. He won't get fat from a few extra gems," Celanae said dismissively.

I could have pointed out that she was feeding him a lot more than a few extra gems, but I didn't. If she wanted to spoil the beastie, then she could go right ahead. She might even feed him something that'll help him grow. Who knows?

As I was content to rest my eyes and enjoy the gentle breeze, I tuned the others out and let my mind go clear. So much had happened within such a short timeframe, and I wanted to get in my moments of peace while I could. Tomorrow would be Magnus' first time in the dungeon, and there were only a couple more times I could reserve the first floors of the dungeon to myself.

The festival was coming up, and the others had remained vague about the whole thing. Their excuse was that they had only heard snippets from Brelten about his experience during the festival, but I could tell they were keeping some details close to heart. I didn't think the reason was anything malicious; they were probably trying to be overly considerate.

Even when the others joined me on the beach after returning from the contracting ritual, they all gave me concerned glances in their own way. It felt like they were walking on eggshells around me, and I could only sigh at their actions.

About twenty minutes later, I heard shuffling and felt a tap on my shoulder. I opened one eye and saw Teddy motion to my left. When I flipped over to see what the issue was, I saw three people approaching.

The one walking ahead of the triangle was the big saurian beastkin, who I suspected Travis traded his skillstone for. The blue-haired elven woman was to his left, and the skinny lizardman was just slightly behind her to the larger beastkin's right.

The rest of the group went silent as the trio approached, and I could feel the tension build. I didn't think a fight was about to happen, but how the trio's leader walked made Eodyne and Isaac alert.

The bigger lizardkin came to a stop about a meter away from Arturous' prone form. He was admittedly a beefy motherfucker. He was at least a foot taller than Igas, and his arms were nearly twice as muscular. With his stiff stance and sharp eyes, it gave him a naturally intimidating look.

When nobody said anything, Teddy stood up and put on a friendly smile. "What can I do for you, friend?"

The beastkin narrowed his eyes, and he raised his arm. I could feel Magnus' sudden alarm, and he hopped onto my lap as his fur bristled. But instead of an attack, the large saurian pointed a clawed finger my way.

"You."

I touched Magnus' neck and gently pushed him down in case he tried something stupid. With my other hand, I pointed it to myself and raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

He crossed his arms and completely ignored Teddy as he moved closer. In the corner of my vision, I could see the others tense up and ready to summon their weapons if something went wrong. And under my hand, Magnus' fur began to stiffen and lose its soft properties.

"Don't activate your skill yet, Magnus. Only if he attacks first," I sent over through our connection.

"I'll sink my fangs into his scales if he harms you, master!" Magnus' thought-speech sounded like a roaring kitten in my ears, and I struggled not to 'aww.'

Even if the tiger cub enjoyed being pampered, he was at least loyal and protective. With the assurance of my new familiar at the ready, I looked up and into the beastkin's eyes with a smile. "Generally speaking, it's polite to introduce yourself before you come barging in."

To my and everyone's surprise, the beastkin nodded and stepped back while lowering his arms. "I am Groxl, and my companions are Velisana and Yurlox."

I was confused and slightly stunned by the sudden polite introduction. I stopped showing my fangs and waved my free hand to his companions behind him. The elf looked serious as she watched the others. She kept stealing glances at Celanae especially. And Yurlox, the lizardkin looked twice as nervous as before, his eyes darting back and forth.

Big brutish leader, a serious elf, and a skittish lizard, ten gold on the last one being the party's support.

Instead of voicing my observation, I placed a hand on my chest while maintaining eye contact. "And I'm Cyrus. What do you want?"

"Are you the one who traded the guildmaster one of his skillstones for this?" Groxl asked as he held up the skillstone containing Tide Stalker.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"One favour."

"What?"

"You did not take the old man's prized stone. And you have provided me the means to ascend. I owe you one favour, within reason."

Before I could say anything, he stalked back the way he came, and the other two left, following in his wake. There was silence as I was still processing the whiplash of the interaction. In my lap, Magnus was looking at the disappearing figure of Groxl in confusion. The cub probably picked up on my confusion from our bond and was trying to figure out whether I was in danger.

Seemingly, he must have decided everything was fine, and I was not in harm's way because he spun once before plopping between my legs. His fur was soft again, and his fuzzy head buried itself underneath the fold of my pants.

"What was that about?" Igas asked as he stared at me.

I held up a hand and waved him off. "Don't look at me. All I did was trade in my skillstone for one I liked better. If the dude wants to owe me a favour as some weird repayment of a self-imposed debt, then that's on him."

Igas stared briefly before shrugging and continued playing with a chunk of ice in his hand. Every bit of movement of his fingers would shape the ice further. With Igas having satisfied his curiosity, only Celanae and Teddy gave me a final glance before they resumed whatever they were doing before Groxl approached.

With the potential drama over and abated, I closed my eyes and tried to nap as Magnus prevented me from getting up. There was no way in hell I would disturb the little guy.

 

---

 

"Pathetic. Disgraceful spirit." Zharia's chirps were harsh, and she held nothing back as she glared at Magnus being held in my arms.

"Now, now, be nice to him, Zharia. He does not have wings as you do, and you ride on my shoulder all the time," I replied tiredly.

While it was nice to have the girls and Magnus out simultaneously, it came with its own challenges. I now distinctly understood what Mrs. Delena must have felt like trying to wrangle and discipline Sam and me back in second grade.

That thought made me pause, and I probed my brain for more details, but as I tried to remember more of my time back in school, I couldn't recall anything else. The memory bled through my distinct knowledge of what I knew and didn't know so easily that I didn't even question the fact that I finally remembered something from when I was that young. The memory was a small victory in reclaiming my locked memories.

"Master?" Magnus mewed.

I continued trudging through the waterlogged hallway as I cleared my thoughts. "I'm fine, Magnus. I was just remembering something. And Zharia, I'm serious. It's unfair of you to be annoyed at Magnus when he can't even stand in the water. I'm sure you'd be just as miserable if you were in his body."

"I would find a way!"

I groaned and stopped when we reached a bend where I knew two ghostfish would be floating in the next section. So far, my dreams of having Magnus be an awesome spell-eating tank were currently on hold. One look at the still-dripping cub in my arms dispelled such grandeur.

While he could swim surprisingly well for a newborn who had never seen water, it slowed him and hindered his ability to block the ghostfish's strands from sailing past him.

Initially, the first encounter was supposed to be the grand showing of my new familiar, but in his excitement, he leapt from my arms too early and ended up plopping into the water, completely out of position to block the four crimson strands flying my way. Luckily, I was a veteran when it came to dealing with these particular dungeon monsters, and I eliminated the two with ease.

When I rescued Magnus from the water, he was embarrassed at his failure, and Zharia didn't help with the lecture she inflicted upon him. And now that we were about to face another pair of ghostfish, I had a better idea of what to do.

"Alright, girls. Resting time is over. It's time to try something new, and I don't know how it will go, so fly back a couple of feet just in case."

Zharia and Áine hopped off my shoulders and flew backwards. This would be the first time using this particular form, so I wasn't sure what would happen. And it never hurt to be safe when you could at least remind yourself to be.

I raised Magnus into the air and looked him in the eyes. "Are you ready?"

"Yes..." Magnus replied.

Short and sweet, huh? Oh well.

Since I wanted to see the transformation's appearance from the outside, I didn't dive into my soulspace. As I let mana rush down my channels, I felt the skill activate, and I watched as Magnus broke into particles of light, both silver and purple.

When his energy sunk into my body, I could see tufts of white fur sprout from my limbs. Like usual, it bypassed the physical material of my gauntlets and legs, and the long strands of fur jutted out. All around me, I saw what looked like shards of glass orbit my body and rise into the air like a twister. The fragments caught the dim light and reflected it like a disco ball, pelting the water with a shotgun light spray.

When the transformation finished, and Spirit Lord's Invocation settled inside my soul, I looked down at the water and observed the halo floating above my head. It was made of silver glass that gave off a faint purple light that highlighted the stripes of black fur lining my cloak.

As I flexed my fingers, I could feel a strange energy bend with it. The feeling was almost imperceptible, but I could tell it was there. It was as if a new sense I had always had was now being made aware, and I was too rusty to use it actively.

I spent a half minute trying to grasp the new feeling, but I had to give up when the girls flew closer and saw them staring at me. "What do you think? To showcase my new transformation, I did a playful spin.

"Cool!"

"Weird energy."

Well, at least I had one supporter who was always ready to hype me up. I gave the two of them a final pat on the head, and I picked up the spear I had laid against the wall. It was time to see what the new skill could do.

I approached casually, the Dread Guardian's perk in full effect as the pair of ghostfish ignored my presence. While this dungeon was surprisingly suited for me, thanks to the perk, I still hated having to deal with all the water.

As the nearest ghostfish got within a couple of inches, I shot my hand out and grabbed it along its spine. I only needed one of the monsters to do experiments with, so I quickly smashed it against the wall and used both hands to rip its head off.

Quickly tossing the skull aside, I gripped my spear and lunged into a full extend. The blade of my weapon sliced through one of the four strands, and I let it fall into the water as I rushed closer.

It was unneeded for this next part.

I got within grabbing reach, but I didn't grab it. Instead, I kicked with my right foot, forcing the monster to float upwards. I couldn't have the thing sink into the water and become incorporeal.

Three strands shot out, and I ducked under one while taking two on the arm. Instinctively, I channeled mana down my arms and felt a hard, crystalline material coat my arms. The two strands impacted the newly grown crystal casing, and I felt a strange energy transfer through the shell and into the fur along my arms. The energy continued its way down to the tips of my nails, and I knew what to do.

Taking a step to the side to face the ghostfish's body, I reached for the power welling at my fingertips and clawed at the air. Before I completed my action, I watched as five crimson lines sliced through the space between my hand and the monster.

When the angry energy came into contact with the ghostfish, it exploded, and the monster was knocked back as if I had hit it five times in quick succession.

Several ribs shattered upon impact, and a large crack splintered one of its spinal discs. The hits must have stunned it because its body began to sink into the water, and the flesh strands it controlled stopped moving.

Before it could potentially escape making a sneak attack, I grabbed it by the cracked part of its spine and brought it down on my knee with a quick jerk. The bone shattered into pieces, and the halves of the monster's body flopped lifelessly in my hands. For good measure, I popped off its skull and yeeted it down the hallway.

Now that the fight was over, the girls approached and landed on my shoulders. I glanced at them briefly before turning my attention to my arms and the new crystal shell that had grown over them. It was a reflective glass that looked like a partially see-through mirror. When I tapped my equally covered claws against the surface, it made a tinkling sound.

"Thoughts, everyone?" I asked.

"Cool!" Zharia chirped.

"Hard and Shiny," Áine whispered.

"Mmmm..."

The last one was more of an impression I got from Magnus. I shouldn't be surprised, but I had at least hoped the other two spirits would be excited.

With a quick walk to pick up my spear, I turned and stared at the gloomy hallway before me.

Time to stress test this shit.