Seraphina sat alone in her office, resting her face in her hands. Her body refused to move the way she wanted it to today. Which was a cruel irony, because today was finally one of those rare days when the agony didn't feel like it was tearing her apart from the inside.
After that night with Elara—where she had completely lost herself in the warmth—the pain had receded into something bearable. It wasn't gone, not by a long shot, but compared to the freezing hell she lived in, this dull ache was practically heaven.
It hadn’t been that long. It definitely hadn’t. But Elara had crashed into her life like a comet, sudden and brilliant. For the dying Seraphina, that person was simply too important to lose. For someone who had been freezing alone in the dark, Elara was a north star.
She took away the pain.
She was there when Seraphina was dying.
Yes, it hadn't been a long time.
Yet.
She couldn’t scrub the image of Elara from her mind.
Not just the moments they were together, tangled in heat. But the moments after. The way Elara smiled at her, the way she looked so... alive.
But then, a message had popped in front of Seraphina’s eyes, shattering the peace.
[You have reached Symbiotic Bond Level 2]
[Your Status Ailment is now shared between the partners]
Seraphina couldn’t speak after seeing that. The air left her lungs. Elara hadn't said anything either, likely hiding it, but the system didn't lie.
A truth was coming to light. A terrible, jagged truth she had to verify.
She… could be hurting Elara to save herself.
The idea alone made her chest squeeze tight and her stomach drop into an abyss.
She couldn’t let this fly. It was terrible. It was parasitic.
How could she ever let herself live like that?
“[Ice Spear]!”
A spear of condensed frost flashed through the cavern air, whistling as it flew, and impaled itself directly into the Hobgoblin’s chest. The attack was powerful enough to knock the creature back, blowing a hole clean through its torso.
I didn't stick around to admire my handiwork. I scrambled back up and bolted.
It was impossible to take on so many Hobgoblins all at once, especially in the state I was in. I had just entered the dungeon! I’m just a girl, remember? This was totally not cool!
The caves around me seemed to choke anyone who dared enter. They were cramped, with stalactites hanging like jagged teeth from every direction, yet somehow still wide enough to let Hobgoblins twice my size march around in patrols.
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The last thing I needed right now was a confrontation. I quickly reached into my pockets and fished out the tools I always used as a scrappy F-Rank hunter.
A smoke bomb.
I dropped it right in front of the Hobgoblins that were closing in on me and kept running.
My mind raced. It was action time. The map of the dungeon I had memorized in the car flashed in my head, overlaying with the terrain in front of me. I took sharp turns, relying on the knowledge previous hunters had gathered.
Finally, behind a small opening in the cave wall, slightly obscured by rocky growths, I slid to a stop and caught my breath.
“The hell…?”
Why were Hobgoblins already here? They shouldn’t be this close to the entrance. They were supposed to be at the center.
First things first. I needed to check my capabilities.
“Status.”
[STATUS: ELARA]
Rank: E
Level: 2
Title: [Seraphina's Partner][Vice-Leader of Ice Squad]
Status: (AILED!) Mana Frostbite [Shared]
[CORE STATS]
Strength: 8 -> 13
Agility: 10 -> 14
Stamina: 15 -> 23
Constitution: 12 -> 15
Mana: 50 -> 73
Willpower: 23
[CORE SKILLS]
Symbiotic Bond (LV 1) -> (LV 2)
Description: Forms a deep link with a bonded partner, allowing for the mutual exchange and enhancement of life force, mana, and skills. Bond deepens through physical and emotional resonance.
Current Bond: Seraphina Vahn (Bond LV 2)
Bond Slots: 1/1
Active Effects: [Mana Share (Rank F)], [Pain Suppression (Rank F)]
[NEW] Mana Share (Rank E)
Description: You can draw a small amount of mana from your partner's reserves. The amount is determined by your partner's consent and current Bond Level.
[NEW] Pain Sharing (Rank E)
Description: A passive effect. Your bond naturally alleviates a portion of your partner's physical pain and debuffs. Efficacy is based on Bond Level.
[NEW] Ice Magic (Rank E)
Description: You can start the basics of Ice Magic. Summon, manipulate and control the Ice element with Mana as the conduit.
[BOND STATUS: SERAPHINA VAHN (LV 2)]
Current Resonance: 23%
Progression to LV 3: [||---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---] 25/100
Note: Increased physical and emotional intimacy will raise Bond Resonance.
It didn’t seem half bad just yet. My status had increased a lot since yesterday.
And moreover, the strength of the spells I had received through Ice Magic had increased inherently through the Symbiotic Bond.
I wondered how that worked exactly, but then I noticed the status line. There was also a lot of pain introduced into the situation now. Mana Frostbite [Shared]. That… that wasn’t great. But it was alright. I could handle a little cold if it meant Seraphina wasn't dying.
“Okay… I think I can do things with this.”
I slowly peered out from behind the stalactites. Goblins and Hobgoblins were unique monsters. Understanding monster biology was the bread and butter of a strategist, and the most important thing for survival.
I reached into my spatial bag again and pulled out a vial of pig blood.
Goblins and Hobgoblins were both largely territorial. Which meant they did not exactly appreciate other species stealing their prey.
Like Kobolds, for example…
I moved through the cave with calculated, silent movements. Weaving through the rocks, hiding behind the natural structures, I made my way to the other end of the corridor and looked down into the basin below.
Another surprise was waiting for me there, unfortunately.
“What…?”
I peered down the cave walls to where a wide berth opened up. Down there, living in small rocky houses, were a species of ferocious monsters far worse than what I had expected.
“Greater Kobolds…?”
The dungeon was facing an anomaly. There was no denying that now.
Was I supposed to end this test and go out? I couldn’t exactly do that without finding the exit gate at the very end of the dungeon. And the hunters outside were probably too "high-status" or restricted to enter an E-Ranked Gate once the raid started.
This was the one disadvantage of being here through Ashen Gryphon and with a strong position. No one was going to come around to help me.
“I have to do it myself…”
One wrong move, and I’d die.
Not bad. I liked those stakes.
Hobgoblins prowled around the upper dungeon tunnels. They were scouts, looking for any kind of food or intruders that dared enter the small pocket space they called their whole world.
Two of them were running toward another sector when they stopped dead.
They noticed a strong, almost alluring smell wafting through the damp air. It was irresistible.
Blood. Fresh on the ground.
It seemed some prey was looking right at them.
