The New Bond

“The drums of war echoed through the valley as both front lines of the opposing armies moved to begin the first clash of the battle on the ground. Above them, the elites of both sides met with skills and spells that shook the air. Brother would be fighting brother and father attacking son. Today blood would give way to a victor and a new king that would change the fate of many nations.” - War text describing the last battle of the civil war of Garmio and the rise of King Dromdier.

Aster

I looked down at the small bunny-like creature, tapping it with my boot. Its fur was more stone-like than any normal fur, which explained why my first arrow hadn't gone as deep as it should have. Still, it was the last amount of experience I needed, and the blue box in my vision listing my recent notifications was all the proof I needed.

[You have killed a Rabbit - Stone Hill - Level 71]

[You have defeated a creature the same grade as you. Normal experience is awarded.]

[Race Class - Daughter Of Kulni - Level 75 is unable to gain any experience]

[Second Class - Bonded Ranger - Level 74 has increased to level 75]

[Notice: Grade has reached the level cap for both classes; until advancement Is confirmed, class levels will be unavailable.]

[Grade Advancement is available; begin advancement into Grade 2?]

[Yes/No]

I closed the window, knowing to wait on that option, and stored the rabbit's body. The level difference between my Race class and Second class had been closed out as well, something I'd felt the need to do even if it wasn't necessary. It had only taken a few extra hours, and no one in the camp could complain because it was just me and Kat and here, and she had wanted to do the same, but she had beaten me to the level cap.

“That was a great shot. Was that the last one? I don't get how the rabbits are so calm in the open like this.” Kat said as she walked up with a hand on her hip near the belt as if expecting a problem.

I smiled at the compliment; it had been about a hundred-yard shot, and the winds were lacking in any strength at the time. I raised my hand, gesturing to the small hills, or rather mounds of dirt around us only a few feet high.

“Anything big enough to cause an issue would be spotted, and I'd guess that they're not great eating by how hard their skin is, so they might be avoided, but I'm not too sure most of my hunting was done in a forest.” I tried to explain what was obvious to me, but Kat just sighed.

“You know how to hunt and what to watch out for, but you don't know how to hold a spoon properly.”

I felt my cheeks redden at her words, and I opened my mouth to object. A spoon was just a really small and weirdly shaped ladle. It made no sense to hold it the way they did. A spoon was awkward, especially when you could just drink most soup out of the bowl, but I closed my mouth after a second. If Kat wanted to use a spoon weirdly, she could.

“We're both done and on our way back,” I let Umbra know with a quick thought and started a light jog to keep pace with Kat, who was just keeping a fast walk. I got a mental nudge of excitement as a response from the dragon. It was a little funny that of the three of us, the one who would get the littlest changes to her classes seemed to be the most excited. There was also the worry we both shared about advancing at the same time, but in the middle of nowhere, and having spent a few months with the others, I figured we were as safe as we could be.

Umbra was still wary of Graves and the others, and I knew that they, of course, were hiding things, but so was I. I hadn't shared too much about my classes, their rarity, or anything I really thought was important about myself, like my bond, and they still were helping me learn, so until the event was over, I didn't see a problem with it. It was loads better for Umbra, at least because she got to fly and gain levels.

“Any idea on what class you're hoping for? I'm hoping for a good advancement and for my race class to get something in the rare rarity besides princess.” Kat turned her head to me as we crested one of the minds of dirt.

I thought about it for a moment. While I definitely wanted advancements in both of my classes and didn't plan on choosing anything outside of the class's recommended paths, I didn't know what to expect. Normal secondary classes would have a clear path. A good example was that a cook path would start as an apprentice, then turn into a baker assistant, then a cook, and if they reached the fourth grade, then something even better. My race class was altered because I grew up with Kulni, which made the options I got quite unusual, and my secondary class was linked to a Dragon, so there was no telling where that would lead either.

“I'm hoping I get to continue the paths, and they don't end early. I don't know where they'll lead, but they seemed to suit me.” While my answer sounded vague to even me, I tried to rephrase it. “I don't know what my classes will lead to, but I like them, and they make me feel like me. Each of my skills seems to just fit.”

Kat seemed to understand what I meant and nodded in agreement. “My skills feel like part of me. If they changed because my classpath ended, I don't know what would happen.”

That was one worry everyone seemed to have: an unwilling change in classes. While there was never an end to any path, some advancements had no clear choice, and even the recommended option changed a class so drastically that skills could be altered. Most of the time, according to books, this only happened to people who had a massive change in their lives as well as a change in how they thought.

I shivered at the thought of that happening to me, then shook it away. There was no way I would change that much. We both tried to think of skills we might get and what the skill points would be like until the camp came into view. A steady stream of smoke was rising from the pot in the middle, promising a good meal. At the same time, as I looked down the short slope, a black-scaled head looked up to meet mine.

I gave a wave, and after confirming with Kat, who agreed to let Graves know we were back, even if he probably already did know that. I turned and made use of Stalkers movement to get to Umbra.

“Are you ready to advance?” I asked her

She gave a snort. “Ready? I've been waiting hours for you two.” I rolled my eyes and switched to using the bond

“It's not like we have wings and can pick our levels from the ground like picking up pebbles.” I reached up and rubbed her neck, looking for any loose scales, earning an appreciative rumble from her. While the ring she got from the weird man she had told me about back in Arilon kept her scales shiny, she still had to get rid of the smaller ones that were falling out to let the bigger ones grow, and with the bond, I could understand the discomfort they gave her.

“I could have helped speed it up,” Umbra said

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. “That would ruin the fun. I'll only get to advance to grade two once.”

Umbra made a half rumble of agreement and was silent as I found one of her smaller scales seeming to be more stuck than actually part of her natural armor. I leveraged it out with no small amount of effort and a dagger from my storage.

“I've been thinking those gloves you use will fall apart eventually, and you'll need to make another pair in the future, but besides the small amount of scales I left in the Tower, I'm still growing quite a bit and will shed more scales,” Umbra spoke thoughtfully, and I sat back and listened, pausing my work as I drew out the gloves so we could both look at them.

“Where are you going with this?” I looked up at her as I turned the gloves one way, then another.

“I want to keep collecting the scales, but instead of playing to sell all of them, I want to have you make some form of armor with them,” Umbra stated, Nodding her snout and mentally gesturing to the scales on the palms of the gloves. “The protection dragon scales can offer is better than leather and more flexible than iron.”

Rubbing my right ear, I thought the idea had been discussed before but not in depth. Design ideas were already appearing in my mind and being discarded just as fast. “It'll take too many perfectly shaped scales to make something like scale armor, but if we make this a long-term project, the biggest issue is dragon scales can't be enchanted, so it wouldn't be a good idea to make it the main material but if it was used to cover any weak points…” I trailed off and shrugged my shoulders. I wasn't a smith, and I hardly considered myself more than a dabbler in sewing and leatherworking, much less a tailor.

“I know, but I thought we could ask the others and see if there's anything missing. I almost forgot about it after leaving Arilon.” Umbra mimicked my shrug with a wing.

“It's an idea.” I agreed, then looked at Umbra thoughtfully. “Maybe something for you as well, not armor, but something that could hold a lot of runes and maybe something for your talons.”

We continued to talk about the ideas until Umbra looked behind me, and I turned to see Graves and Kat walking by, both of them talking.

Kat, sporting me, grinned first with an excited smile on her face, but it turned into a scowl after a second. “Aster! You should eat something, you're the only one of us who hasn't, and the advancement into grade two will take just as long as the first.”

I tilted my head, surprised at her words. I didn't know if it was eagerness or something else, but she hadn't ever really been this bossy before. Not seeing a reason to disagree, I stood up and pulled a piece of bread out of my storage as I sidestepped toward where the pot of stew was. As I moved, Graves spoke, “Don't forget to do a last check on your class and skills before you advance. It'll be helpful to have a reference point.”

With those words, they continued on, and I looked at Umbra, puzzled. She answered my unasked question, “She's nervous about something, probably her advancement. She smells anxious, but Graves is right; I already looked at my Status. You should do the same before tonight.”

As I turned and made my way to the stew, I pulled it up, knowing they were both right.

[Name: Aster]

[Grade: 1]

[Level: 75]

[Titles: True Daughter of Kulni, Bonded]

[Mana: 910/910]

[Stamina: 1660/1660]

[Race Class: Daughter of Kulni- Level 75]

[Class Skills: Stalker’s Movement, Pack Bond, Pack Formation, Spirit of the Wild Hunt, Frost Control - Rank Five]

[Second Class: Bonded Ranger - Level 75]

[Class Skills: Bond Speech, Frosted Arrow, Ranger's Aim - Rank Seven, Night Eye - Rank Nine.]

[Passive Class Skills: Stealth - Rank Six, Careful Step - Rank Eight, Advanced Rune Etching - Rank Two, Archery - Rank Nine, Frost Affinity Meditation - Rank Eight, Leatherworking - Rank Three, Forest Stride Basic - Rank One, Tracking Basic - Rank Seven, Skinning - Rank Four.] Survival Talent - Rank Six, Hand Combat - Rank Seven, Riding - Rank Seven, Woodworking - Rank Two, Aerial Balance - Rank Three, Arrow Shaping - Rank Three, Cooking - Rank Two.]

[Attributes]

[Available Attribute Points - 0]

[Constitution - 180]

[Strength - 302]

[Endurance - 332]

[Dexterity - 596]

[Charisma - 254]

[Intelligence - 183]

[Wisdom - 303]

Tapping my foot, I paused, looking at the screen, and sighed. I was happy that I'd be advancing tonight, but looking at my skills had lowered my mood a bit. I'd advanced Basic Leatherworking easily enough, and its only option had been just Leatherworking. The same was true with Rune Etching turning into Advanced Rune Etching.

The real reason I was upset was Archery. It had been stuck at rank nine no matter what I'd done. It didn't matter the shots I made with my bow. The skill had just seemed to be waiting for me to do something. I half hoped that my class advancement would fix it, but that didn't feel right.

The other problem, if you could call it that, was how full the screen was starting to feel. If I kept gaining new skills soon enough, the screen would be too full for me to read properly, though, seeing as I'd never heard of that problem before, there was probably a solution somewhere.

Reaching towards the pot, I pulled a bowl out of my storage. It was hand-carved and had a few unusual lumps thanks to my poor work, but it did work, and there wasn't that much wood around. Filling my bowl, I took a sip and regretted it. My eyes watered at how hot the stew was, and I had to fight the urge to yelp or spit it out. The flavor, a mix of some kind of beast and various vegetables and spices, was too good to waste any of it. Taking in deep breaths of air to cool down the stew in my mouth, I made my way back to Umbra, giving her a look. The amusement I could feel seeping through the bond didn't match her face, which she kept expressionless. Before I could say something, she spoke

“Doesn't it seem weird with how normal it seems? I figured advancing in a grade would be a big thing for everyone.” Umbra asked.

Before responding, I took another sip of stew after giving it a generous few long breaths to cool it down. “I think I understand. The biggest thing is that it seems like advancing in grade is a celebration for family. I don't doubt that Graves and Kat will celebrate together, but we've only been here for a little over three months, maybe four? And all they've done is teach us, and that's because we're the only people who can go into the realm event with Kat.” I knew I was an optimistic person and usually not the best at spotting emotions or lies, except for Umbra's. Still, after spending time with a group and failing to get any of my questions about them answered except Kat, it was clear that we were the odd dragon and human here.

Umbra heaved a deep sigh and settled her neck down, laying her head next to me, and I rubbed it as I continued to speak.“They're teaching us, but that doesn't mean that we want to be friends.”

Letting out a snort, her big eye focused on me. “I understand that, but it seems that we keep getting stuck with people who want us around but don't at the same time. Why are you humans so complicated?” She continued to look at me as if expecting an answer, and I raised an eyebrow back, giving her a blank look.

There was a pause in the conservation before I spoke, “You know I've only been around them as long as you have? To me, humans are equally as weird. A lot of what they do doesn't make sense.”

Umbra let frost billow out as she half hummed, half rumbled, and we sat there in quiet for a few minutes.

I leaned back on the bedroll and grimaced, wishing I could be outside with Umbra and her cool scales, but she was wrapped around my tent and fervently rejecting any idea that was to start the advancement outside. For the rest of the evening, there had only been a short talk with Kat but nothing else. It seemed that the plan to start the advancement as the stars rose would be what happened, not that I could see the stars.

“I'm going to have a sore back when I wake up,” I grumbled

Umbra's response was a rumbled snort. After her advancement and with what had happened during it, she was doing everything she could think of to keep me safe while we both advanced, not that it would stop anything actually happening while we both were asleep. I wasn't going to tell Umbra that, though. The last thing I wanted was for both of us to have to deal with an empty bond for any more time than needed.

“The stars are starting to twinkle.” Umbra let me know her body shifting slightly outside, rustling the tent flap.

“Then there's no reason to wait, right? I guess I'll see you when we both wake up.” I was a little nervous, but there wasn't anything else to do, so mentally, I pulled up the screen.

[Grade Advancement is available; begin advancement into Grade 2?]

[Yes/No]

With another wish of good luck and a quick prayer to any gods that could be listening, I selected yes.