Zoom!

  Dodge!

  Swoosh!

  I flew faster than air down the massive path that the tall ones took. I dodged between the many feet.

  The flutter of wings drew my attention, and I leaped before I even understood what it was.

  It crunched in my mouth, tasting good. The wings were the best part of bugs.

  Alpha stayed where I left them, talking too much as I almost flew. My claws tingled with each step, and I didn’t want them to stop.

  I wanted to grow more. That meant more quests.

  A giant loomed near the shadows of another tree, but this one was different. They smelled different. Important.

  I zoomed closer, and they reached down to pick me up. Maybe they could give my claws more speed.

  “You like to run, tiny one,” he said, staring at me.

  My scales itched as he did.

  “Do you want to deliver a note for me?”

  “Quest!”

  The giant nodded. “Yes, a quest for a delivery.”

  [Do you want to accept the delivery quest from Unknown?]

  I accepted it immediately.

  Must grow stronger and faster. Like Alpha.

  A massive hand held out a pouch that smelled spicy. I blinked a few times from the burning scent, but I touched my head to it, pulling it inside my inventory.

  My inventory struggled with it, but it eventually worked.

  “Good. Take that to the Professor near the entrance.”

  Before he finished his sentence, I leaped from his hand and hit the ground running. My claws ached a little, but I didn’t care.

  I had another quest.

  A quest all on my own.

  Zoom!

  I flew as fast as possible down the hallway. Within moments, I found the Professor from before.

  “Quest!” I dropped the pouch on the floor near his feet once he glanced at me. Taking it out of my inventory was much easier than putting it in.

  “Ah, I was waiting for this.”

  [Quest from Unknown Complete.]

  [You have completed three fetch quests. You have unlocked a potential profession. Do you want to learn the profession Courier?]

  Courier? I didn’t understand the word. Then an impression came to me of delivery packages and completing quests.

  I liked that idea.

  [You have learned the profession, Courier.]

  [You have learned the skill Big Pockets. Big Pockets: You can access a larger inventory than normal.

  You have learned the skill Navigator. You can chart territory around you, automatically creating a mental map.]

  [You have gained a professional level.]

  “Congratulations little one, you learned a profession!”

  I pivoted quickly and raced back toward Alpha.

  Alpha needed to know.

  ###

  “So, the children and Strange can use the Runes because you are actually empowering them. You imbue them with energy. That's like the communication crystals, I guess. They work for everyone, because they are imbued with power when they’re created. Things like my knife don’t work for everyone, though, because the power comes from me?”

  Lorniee nodded and painted a rune on the back of my hand. “When you have runes tattooed on you, the same process happens. Though, not quite the same, because not everyone can use those. There are some who cannot use the tattoos, even if they can use the painted runes, and a very few who cannot use any runes at all. We still don’t understand why.”

  “But the paint mostly works?”

  “For a limited time only, though, as I said, it works for the most people.” A hand motioned toward my chest. “The tattoo you carry proves that you have experience with mana and using it, since that particular rune structure requires the wearer to power it.”

  “What will this one do?” I asked, watching the paint brush create a circle with a few dashes through it on the back of my hand.

  “This will provide clarity. It won’t run continuously, but until the paint wears off, you have the option for it to give you help when you are uncertain.”

  If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I tried to think about how I’d do that with the crystals, and couldn’t even think of where to start. Maybe that was the difference between being Rank two and Rank three.

  My bond with Strange lit up as he completed another quest, and then something else.

  “I think Strange just gained a profession…”

  The little guy flew back in our direction, yet as he crossed the halfway point, he massively slowed down, almost like he ran out of gas.

  After another couple of minutes, he entered the courtyard and raced right at me.

  “I take messages! Quests!”

  “Messages? Ah, you became a messenger! That means you can deliver packages for experience.”

  “That profession can evolve into more than that,” added Lorniee. “Plus, the titles for it can help, even if the stat gain is on the lower side.”

  “Make me zoom?” asked Strange, pouncing closer to Lorniee. He held up a foot.

  “You can already go very fast, little one.”

  “But fast like wind!”

  “Alex…” Lenna’s voice came from the hallway, and Dengu peered in over her shoulder. “We are ready to head out. Do you have a moment to plan?”

  I turned to Lorniee. “Thank you for your help.”

  Strange hung back as Lorniee picked him up again.

  I hurried to the hallway where Kabi sulked under one of the trees.

  “Are we ready to go get some more tokens?” I asked.

  Lenna hesitated and glanced at Dengu, before looking back at me. “I think we should split up.”

  “Split the party?”

  “Dengu and I can take one of the areas, while you and Strange can take the other.”

  “What about you, Kabi?” I asked, trying to figure out where he fit in.

  “I want to finish something first, but we can meet here once you both have tokens. From what the Professor explained, we need 4 to get access to the boss of the floor.”

  “Strange has one already, and if Lenna and I both get one, then we can tackle the last area together.” It made sense, given everyone's levels.

  “The last area is level 90 plus,” added Kabi. “By hanging back, I can finish my goal and all of you can level faster.”

  Despite what he said, that wasn’t the impression I received from the bond between the two of us.

  “You are welcome to join Strange and I,” I added.

  He shook his head. “I need to figure this out by myself.”

  Now that had been the truth. At least it wasn’t us that was the problem. It had something to do with his path, as Lenna had said.

  “Alright.”

  Strange joined us in the hallway.

  “You ready to do some fighting?” I asked him.

  “Quest?”

  “No, we need to get more tokens to open the boss floor up.”

  Strange tilted his head, then nodded. “Token, quest!”

  “We’ll take the eastern area, if you take the west,” said Lenna. “Meet back in the courtyard once we are done?”

  “Yeah, we can keep in touch with the communication crystals,” I replied.

  “Happy hunting.” Kabi nodded, his shoulders relaxing. “The Elders said those areas can take several days. I’ll send a message if I finish this.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” The first dungeon with Lenna, what seemed like forever ago, had taken a while, but the area for Strange to get to level 50 took no time at all. Then again, we did speed run it a bit. Hopefully, this wouldn’t take a week.

  Strange more than kept pace with me as I headed toward the exit of this area. The long hallway curved to the west, and after a little while, we found the large exit.

  [You are entering the Western Expanse within the Labyrinth. The recommended level for this area can range from level 60 to level 80.]

  “Let’s do this, Strange.” I said as I pulled my knife out of my inventory and smiled. Hopefully, it was time for a challenge.

  We stepped through the archway, and the stench of rotten eggs hit me. My eyes watered for a moment as I blinked through the rising sulfur. I swallowed twice as my body processed the environment in front of me.

  Dark clouds blocked out most of the purple light, and it took a few minutes to adjust.

  “Scary,” chirped Strange from near my feet. “Grow?”

  “Yep, we are going to grow from fighting together.”

  In the distance, a towering jagged spire of black rose from the distance like a tooth. With red light spilling from the top, it stood out in the dark landscape. Between it and us waited an orange and black landscape with smoke, glowing coals, and volcanic rock.

  Heat blasted us both, but I felt pleasure from Strange at the temperature, and some of his fear disappeared.

  “Well, here we go.”

  Most of the light came from glowing rivers of lava or random pools that gathered in places. Yet, the pockets of shadows that remained let both Strange and I vanish into nothingness.

  I didn’t resist the smile that came to my face. This was the perfect environment for both of us. Lenna probably knew that.

  My radar didn’t show anything moving. Then Strange dashed ahead through the shadows. The bond kept me informed as he traveled quicker than me this time. The towering shards of black stone created a maze, and as we progressed down the small hill, it blocked views of our surroundings. Only the path forward remained, and the tip of the large jagged tooth-shaped mountain in the distance.

  Strange spotted the first beasts and paused beneath an impression in one of the stones. The image suddenly flashed in front of my eyes, along with a notification.

  [Sulphur Hound, Level 65, Prey, Unknown.]

  The image vanished as I continued moving, but the notification remained.

  Strange made a very good scout, if I could identify what he saw.

  Still, I readied myself with my blade as I slowly crept closer around the sharp edge of the path. Fine black sand and stones created the path, which shifted easily under my feet until I focused more on being stealthy.

  Then everything steadied.

  Glowing green eyes and wispy grey fur stood out from the black stone. It lay next to another of the creatures, which snored. The sleeping one had streaks of red in its wispy fur.

  [Sulphur Hound, Level 64, Prey, Unknown.]

  Both were lower leveled than me, but not for Strange.

  I urged Strange to try this fight on his own, first sending that feeling down the bond. If he needed help, I’d jump in, but given the shadows, as long as he stayed hidden, he should be fine.

  Strange, still invisible, crept around both of the Hounds, and then launched a sneak attack at the sleeping one.

  The reddish one woke with a painful yowl, twisting about, but Strange had already dashed away.

  Neither one did much besides sniffing in the air. After a few moments, the grey one stood up.

  That’s when Strange struck again, nipping at the leg of the standing dog.

  This time, both went on high alert, but still didn’t notice Strange as he waited for another opportunity to strike.

  Again, he darted in and nipped at one of the hounds. This continued, over and over. He’d wait until they reacted, then hit an area they weren’t paying attention to. Given the depth of shadows in the area, he easily stayed unseen.

  Very slowly, he whittled down the health of the two hounds. Once the venom took hold, things went faster as they moved slower and turned slower. At that point, the higher level one started snapping at nothing. It was attacking random bits of air, trying to hit whatever was attacking them.

  Thankfully, Strange kept out of range, waiting until the lethargy from his venom took over.

  Finally, the first one died.

  The higher level one then tried to flee, inching closer and closer to the bright red lava pool on the far side of the area, whimpering loudly.

  It didn’t make it as Strange dug into his belly. The creature let out a loud howl before it went silent. I used insight on him, glad I’d muted his notifications.

  [Strange, Bonded Baby Compy, Level 56, Bonded]

  I sent approval to him through the bond, and excitement came from him. Those extra levels would help him improve.

  A second loud howl echoed through the stone, bouncing around in all directions. Several more joined the chorus, making some of the smaller stones rattle.