Blood red tendrils from [Sanguimancy] drove straight into the off-white trunk of the [Corpse Willow] and, at first, there was no reaction from the creature as it continued to suck my friends dry with its own tentacular appendages. I almost cancelled the Skill in favor of diving in with knives to try and sever the offending offshoots, but half a second before I made that terrible decision, my previous choice bore fruit. The pale green tendrils draining my friends’ lifeforce suddenly went limp, dropping the [Oceanus] and [Storm Marshall] like they weighed tons instead of only a few hundred pounds between the two of them.

  Next came the screaming. It was a noise I’d have referred to as soul rendingly painful if I hadn’t just dealt with soul damage so much in the Tower. Regardless, the noise was unearthly and it took all I had to maintain concentration as [Sanguimancy] did my dirty work. I felt it when the tiny spark of life contained within the [Corpse Willow] was absorbed with those sanguine tentacles, but was surprised when all but three lashed out from the monster toward my friends. Belatedly, I realized the Skill was following my subconscious desire to help my friends as quickly as possible, so I didn’t cancel it like I was about to.

  The mental toll of controlling dozens of tendrils of blood red energy was intense, but it didn’t compare to using [Flash Focus] for even a few seconds as it returned Mindy and Volta’s stolen vital force with interest, something I couldn’t wait to discuss with them after we finished clearing the shrine area out.

  Behind me, I heard Raiju whimper under her breath. “Could use a bit of help over here…”

  In a surprising act of logic, I messaged Glyph instead of whipping around to assist her myself. ‘Figure out what Raiju needs and come up with a plan to deal with it.’ My concentration fractured slightly, but I was able to refocus with a bit of effort once I felt Glyph shift to observe Raiju’s situation.

  {Observing subject: Raiju. Physical status: 15% HP, 8% Stamina. Opponents status: 2x level 35 [Wights] (both boosted to level 40 until thirteen and a half seconds ago when the [Corpse Willow] died), 35% and 58% respectively from north to south. Tactical Recommendation: Direct Melinda and Volta to attack [Wights] with a hammer and anvil strike, with Raiju acting as the anvil. Success Probability: 96.574%, reduced due to Volta’s newly awakened fear of undead.}

  Notably, I heard it as he listed off her situation in his head. He’d either forgotten to sever the connection, or was doing it on purpose. I nearly slapped him, but stopped myself when I realized I liked having the information, even if I wasn’t going to be helping her directly.

  Looking over at Mindy and Volta, I found the pair of them hauling themselves to their feet. With a shared look, the pair burst into motion around the unmoving hulk that was the dead [Corpse Willow], stretching the limp sanguine bonds well past their breaking point and forcibly canceling the Skill for me.

  The pain from [Sanguimancy] being canceled against my will was something I never wanted to experience again. It was like having my heart squeezed by a giant who only decided not to kill me when he figured out I’d be tastier if eaten alive. I fell to my knees, holding my heart as it beat wildly in my chest for the better part of thirty seconds until I heard Mindy scream.

  Whipping my head around, I found one of the [Wights] standing behind Mindy with its blade driven straight through her chest and out her back. I didn’t think, I reacted.

  Holding out a hand, I unleashed [Sunlance] at full power, draining my Mana far lower than I was comfortable, sending a searing bolt of light toward the undead’s head and shoulders where they poked out over Mindy’s petite form. It was a tough shot from my angle on the ground, but I trusted my Path’s ability to protect my allies as the Spell tore through the undead while leaving Mindy none the worse for wear.

  Mindy fell to her knees, clutching her chest as she stumbled over her trigger words for a powerful healing Skill. I could feel it as well as see it in the Party interface, Mindy was mere moments from death. Triggering [Elemental Surge], I teleported in front of her and heard the name of the Skill, which was just enough for [Skill Dominance] and I forcibly slotted it and cast the healing Skill on her with a hand that blazed with golden light around a vibrant violet core.

  “[Leviathan’s Breath]!” I bellowed as the Skill took hold of the [Oceanus]. Her body flopped once, launching itself nearly five feet in the air and propelling her off of the blade that was killing her as the purple light entered her body. The golden energy remained outside, where it welded her matching wounds shut and removed the scarring in less than a second.

  Letting out a breath, I was surprised to see white mist. A moment later, I clutched at my own chest as it felt like my heart was about to burst, before everything went dark.

  ***

  When I came to, I didn’t even try to open my eyes as even the tiny amount of light making its way in through my eyelids was nearly unbearable. Despite that, I was able to see a series of notifications floating in the corner of my vision, so I addressed them just to get them to go away so I could rest in peace.

  [Leviathan’s Breath Acquired with Skill Dominance]

  [Leviathan’s Breath forcibly slotted despite lacking the requisite mastery of Skill Dominance, granting an additional one percent mastery to Skill Dominance and bringing it within the acceptable range to slot Unique Skills]

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  [Active Skills - Mastery

  Skill Dominance - 50%]

  [Skill Update - You may now slot one Unique Skill at a time, this does not count against your normal number of slots (1/5 available).]

  [System Note - As Arthur Bajbub Neilson was unaware of this change in the Skill, he shall not be censured for accessing this additional slot in his Skill, despite the agreement made previously. However, no further Unique Slots will ever be made available before Skill Evolution.]

  That’s both terrifying and awesome, I could have been censured just now and I don’t even know what that would entail. Maybe I should talk to Dominus about what other changes [Skill Dominance] might go through… you know, maybe not. That way I can’t be punished for things I didn’t know about.

  [Hidden Blasphemy (Dominus) - Completed - You and all of the members of your Party will be granted two bonus levels the next time you go to sleep.]

  You know, that’s probably for the best, that way we can focus as much as possible on leveling before going to sleep. I know I’m close, but hopefully that damn bone tree was enough to push me over the edge. I’ll have to check when I can actually open my eyes without being in pain.

  Before opening my eyes, I checked one more thing and my eyes widened when I saw what I’d just experienced.

  [Leviathan’s Breath - Unique Skill - The pinnacle of oceanic healing, draws upon the raw, restorative power of the deep. It mends even the most grievous wounds, knitting flesh and bone with astonishing speed. However, this potent magic comes at a terrible cost. The caster becomes a temporary vessel for the pain of every injury healed. The agony surges through them, a crushing wave of suffering mirroring the combined trauma of all recipients. This overwhelming influx of pain almost invariably renders the caster unconscious, leaving them vulnerable even as they mend others. The greater the healing, the greater the caster’s suffering, making Leviathan’s Breath a desperate, last-resort measure.]

  Holy shit, what did I just do to myself? It felt like my heart was exploding when I healed Mindy…how bad of a beating…the tendrils. The Skill probably healed the aftereffects of the [Corpse Willow]’s tendrils at the same time as the sword wound. The combination of both is probably what knocked me out.

  Note to self: Don’t use [Leviathan’s Breath] unless someone’s just about to die and I have allies nearby. There’s no use letting myself die when there’s a chance a powerful healing potion could do the same thing.

  Something warm pressed against my arm and I cracked open an eye, which was blessedly less photosensitive than it had been when I woke up, and spotted Raiju sitting next to me. She pulled my head into her lap as gentle as a dam with her cubs, and began to hum to me. Closing my eyes, I let her humming soothe my aches and pains for about a minute before faking waking up by stretching my arms, narrowly missing her bust as I did so with my eyes closed.

  “Ugh, what just hit me?” I let out a real groan as I tried to sit up, but Raiju held me in place. “Oh?”

  She glared down at me. “You knocked yourself out!” She growled at me. “What if I hadn’t been there to kill the last [Wight]? What would you have done then? Hmm? You’d have died!” Her formerly soothing hands became painful as she gripped the roots of my hair hard enough to concern me.

  “Hey, lay off the locks, they didn’t do anything to you!” I barked and she let go with another glare before unceremoniously dumping me on the ground in front of her.

  She stood up and brushed off her skirt. “Hmph!” She grunted as she stalked over to where Volta was chipping away at the trunk of the [Corpse Willow]’s corpse. Despite being a monster, it hadn’t disappeared while I was asleep, so I assumed someone had been keeping a hand on it so we could harvest all it had to offer before letting it fade.

  It turned out I was wrong, as Mindy explained when she came over and sat next to me against the wall of the enclosed shrine. “We left it alone for half an hour and nothing changed, so Volta decided to carve into it while Raiju and I took care of you.” She winced. “I’m so sorry fo–”

  “Nope,” I stopped her with a withering glare. “No apologies in Dungeons, or I’ll never stop. I’m in charge, so everything that happens in here is my fault.”

  “Oh,” she looked away, twisting the ends of her hair with her fingers, obviously uncomfortable with the concept but unwilling to argue about it. “OK.”

  “Now, I’m not saying you shouldn’t complain about things in Dungeons, I just ask that you refrain from doing so until we’re out of danger.” I laid a hand on her knee gently. “Now would qualify.”

  She hesitated a few times, even going silent for a minute or so, before turning her gaze back upon me. “You’re reckless and I don’t like it.” She sighed, like a huge weight had been removed from her shoulders. “I only learned [Leviathan’s Breath] today and I still haven’t used it. Why would you risk using it when you had no idea what it did?” Her eyes sharpened and I realized this was her analytical side taking the forefront, rather than her demure side from before.

  “To be honest?” I shrugged. “It was that or lose you and I kind of promised your sister I’d keep you alive, even if I can’t exactly keep you safe, per se.” I held up a finger when she opened her mouth to interject. “It was an implied promise when I took you out of the Tower entrance, but a promise nonetheless, and as the Chosen of Dominus I take that kind of thing very seriously.” My tone grew more intense until I saw her wince at the mention of my status as Dominus’ chosen. “What’s wrong?”

  She opened and closed her mouth a few times before sighing. “I need you to make me your vassal before I answer that question.” She slumped back against the wall like her strings had been cut.

  “Why? Is there a reason you can’t ta–” She nodded vigorously and I was taken aback. “Are you sure?” I pulled away a bit to get a better look at her reaction. “Most of my vassals have agreed to it for life…”

  “You’ve promised me more than anyone but my sister ever has and she rarely made good on her big promises.” She moved to the side so she could bow on her hands and knees, kowtowing. “I swear fealty to you, Arthur Neilson. For as long as you’ll have me I pledge to serve you loyally in all things.” Like each time before, as a familiar red window snapped into existence before me.

  [Melinda “Mindy” Emberstone has offered you her fealty as long as you wish, even beyond death. The offer stands until Melinda “Mindy” Emberstone retracts it.

  Do you accept her offer of fealty? Y/N]

  Reading it over, I sighed. “I accept your offer, now get off your knees. You’re making me uncomfortable.” I held out a hand and she took it with far more confidence than I’d ever seen in her before as red and gold light exploded around us.