Zav shook his wet hair as his vision cleared. Wait… wet. Why was he wet? As he opened his eyes, he found that the world was cast in darkness. Rain… an unrelenting deluge poured on him, stinging his skin with its icy chill.

  He strained his eyes as he got his bearings. The ground was muddy, and each step threatened to send him toppling down. He was outside, that much was clear, and he couldn’t tell what time of day it was because of the heavy, dark clouds above. Lightning fractured the sky, and he jumped every time the booms shuddered the ground beneath his feet.

  “Ashryn,” he called out, but he heard nothing in response except the echoing sounds of his voice complimented by the pelting of droplets.

  Great… His first [Dungeon] and he had already lost his partner. Today was not his day.

  Luckily, they had grouped before they entered the [Dungeon], and he felt a very faint tug from the [Bond] he shared with her. He followed it, like a loose thread out of a spindle, threatening to break under the most miniscule resistance.

  Eventually, he was led to a small encampment. There were a multitude of small fire pits with burning wood next to haphazard shelters made of the same. Creatures shrouded in cloaks roamed the area, and from their shadows, he could tell they had long, animal-like faces. From the way they fed on stray animals in small pens, still alive as they sunk their teeth into them, ripping at their flesh and sending a splattering of blood cascading in the air, he assumed they were dangerous.

  There, in a haphazard cage set in the middle of the camp, was Ashryn. She seemed to be screaming random obscenities at the creatures.

  He stretched and opened his [Stats] menu.

  [System]

  Player: Zavres Bladefall

  Class: [Mindbreaker]

  Level: 1

  Species: Gnomish - Forestborne

  Stats:

  [Might]: 7

  [Vigor]: 8

  [Nimble]: 12

  [Acuity]: 12

  [Charm]: 12

  Not going to win a contest of strength… but that’s alright. He had read up on his [Class] before locking it in.

  [Mindbreaker] - A [Class] that specializes in mental warfare. Able to inflict mental anguish, these casters can also specialize in throwing weapons, backed with the power of telekinesis.

  He smiled; this was superb. He was one of the small [Species]. He could sneak in relatively undetected. Once he made his way in, he would slip the key off one of the creatures, unlock Ashryn’s cage, and they would make their escape. Perhaps she would even reward him with a kiss.

  His face turned red. Perfect… It was a perfect plan. Nothing could go wrong—

  “Oy, who are you?”

  [System]

  Stealth check…

  You get the feeling you have been spotted.

  “Really,” Zav thought, rolling his eyes. “What gave you that idea?”

  There was a knife to his throat now as the creature threw back their hood, revealing the brown furred face of a hyena, complete with a multitude of black spots.

  “Who… Are… You? … Friend? … Food?”

  “Not food,” Zav replied. “Certainly not.”

  He quickly accessed his [Skills]. Something had to be helpful. Eventually, he came upon one [Skill] in particular. He took a deep breath and said, “[Mind Pierce].”

  The hyena-like creature jolted from left to right. They strained, and their body convulsed as the knife they carried clattered to the flood, spinning away in the heavy rain. Its eyes twitch as well as its ears. It looked to be in pain as its jaw clenched and then their lips curled unnaturally.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  [System]

  [Acuity] check…

  You have the feeling that the creature is temporarily subservient to your suggestions.

  Subservient…

  “Kneel,” Zav commanded, and the creature did just so, kneeling before him. Somehow, it was still slightly taller than he was.

  Zav picked up a rock and threw it. “Fetch,” he said.

  The creature did so, coming back and handing it to him, not with its mouth, but with its hand.

  “Let’s try something a bit more complicated,” he said, as a new plan hatched in his head.

  ***

  These fucking gnolls. Dirty, disgusting fucking animals. She hated this place. This fucking game. These fucking [Players] and their constant need to fight and hurt and be hurt in return. She couldn’t understand it. She would never understand it.

  It was all just so… infuriating.

  Ashryn rattled the bars of her wooden cage. It was crudely made at best, and she knew if she leveraged hard enough, she could break off a piece of the bars and escape… but what would that do? She wasn’t much of a fighter. Quite useless at it, really. A healer [Class].

  As if the [System] read her mind, her [Stats] screen appeared:

  [System]

  Player: Ashryn Sauril

  Class: [Hemomancer]

  Level: 1

  Species: Elvish - Moonblessed

  Stats:

  [Might]: 6

  [Vigor]: 10

  [Nimble]: 12

  [Acuity]: 14

  [Charm]: 10

  It was just as she thought. With her stats and current magics and skills, there was little she could do alone. She needed help.

  She wanted to slam her head into the wood. Why, oh why, did she pick a healer? Well, she had picked it because… Well, there was no use dwelling on the past now. She was here, and this was her situation, so she had to make the best of it.

  But, just as she began to work the bars of her makeshift jail, she saw an odd sight. A familiar one. That man whom she had met and saved—Zav was his name—was being led into camp by one of the gnolls. The creature itself appeared odd as well, walking stiffly and… more human-like than the others.

  Eventually, they came to stand outside the wooden entrapment and Zav gave her a wink as it was opened and he was shoved inside. The gnoll who had led him stood to the side, as if it were guarding them from danger.

  “Long time, no see,” Zav said, smiling from ear to ear.

  The little gnome was infuriating. Utterly grating.

  “What are you so cheery about?” she asked. “You got caught too. So much for a daring escape.”

  Zav flicked the edge of his nose, and his long ears twitched almost unexpectedly as he seemed to almost jump out of skin when he noticed them move. “I’ve got to get used to that,” he said. “And being this short as well. I’m not short in real life, I’ll have you know—”

  “I don’t care,” she replied. “I only care about getting out of here. I only care about—”

  “The woman with the golden armor?”

  Ashryn was silent for a moment, but, eventually, she nodded.

  “I figured you had some sort of relationship with that woman.” He whistled. “Now she—she was strong. Took out that asshole Vorgarn in a second flat.”

  “About as long as it took that asshole to lay you out, wasn’t it?”

  Zav ground his teeth. “Let’s not dwell on that, shall we?”

  Ashryn sighed as she walked to the corner of the wooden box, sitting. “What else do we have to do? We’re stuck here until we are killed, let go, or somebody completes the [Dungeon]. And since I don’t think they’ll let us go, the other two options don’t really help me get any closer to finding the ‘woman with gold armor.’”

  “But I can help you,” he replied.

  She perked up. “How?”

  Zav rattled the cage, and the gnoll guarding them seemed to react in a peculiar way, as if it waited for a command. For his command.

  He stepped over and leaned into her ear, saying, “It’s under my control—”

  Just then, another gnoll, far larger than the rest, muscular and intimidating in a way the others weren’t, stepped up to the gnoll which had led Zav here. It pulled out a long, curved blade and, in a blur, rammed it into the creature’s stomach.

  The creature howled and screamed, which sounded both human and animalistic at the same time. The larger gnoll ripped the blade from the creature’s guts, spills its insides out, its blood swirling at the edge of the cell just outside.

  “Now then,” the larger gnoll said. “Which of you is responsible for that?” It pointed to its dead companion.

  Zav looked utterly shocked at what had happened, and, before he could speak, she stepped forward.

  “It was me,” she said. “I’m a [Hemomancer]. I can control blood. Even the blood in your veins.” To demonstrate, she used magic to gently lift the blood pooled at the cell’s edge into the air, taking the shape of an orb. “See.”

  The larger gnoll seemed to take a step back. “Then I should kill you now?” It repositioned its blade, pointing the tip between the wooden bars.

  Zav stepped in the way, as if to block her with his own body.

  “Wait,” she said. “Instead of fighting, perhaps we can help each other?”

  The larger gnoll laughed, and it sounded harsh and guttural. “I already have help. You two will make a fine meal instead—”

  She used that blood orb and began to knit the wounds of the gnoll that laid dead just outside the cell. When it was done, she said, “I can be useful in a way others cannot. You—You want something, right? I heard whispers of your Azure God. If we can help you get what your Azure God needs, perhaps you can help me get what I need.”

  [System]

  Deceit check…

  You get the feeling that the gnoll trusts your words emphatically.

  The large gnoll smiled, and it looked… wrong. Slowly, they sheathed their weapon. “I do grow tired of waiting. As does the Azure God. Perhaps there is something we can do… together.”