After that dungeon run, I was all tuckered out. What an adrenaline rush! I plopped down on my back and savored the victory, taking long smooth breaths while I enjoyed being back in my body again.

‘Maybe it’s a good thing you can’t fight these bosses more than once,’ I thought, Nolan chuckling at my comment.

‘You did good, short fry,’ he said, the first comment he passed through telepathically.

Did we just have a bonding moment?

I got up on my feet as he approached me and I asked him, ‘How’s the pain?’

“Better, now that he’s dead. He warped my mind into believing that I was the one who was shot. Frost burn is a bitch.”

‘Crap, there’s just so many things to look out for,’ I thought. ‘High perception, high charisma, high willpower….’

“This is why most lower leveled classes party to make leveling easier.”

‘Clearly, it wasn’t a requirement for you,’ I pointed out.

“Well, I’m an entirely different breed,” he boasted humbly. Didn’t even know he could pull that off. “You did pretty damn good for your first dungeon. A tier two at that. At this rate, you’ll climb up the tier ladder in no time.”

I smiled at him. ‘That’s the plan.’

“Now, you felt what that mind sever did to you? It’s a similar process when you induct that wolf into your thrall. You’ve leveled up since I’d put him to sleep.”

‘You want me to try converting him now?’

“Unless you want to wait until after we finish the waves. We have a few Stamina Boosters between us.”

‘Yeah. Let’s finish the waves, so I could bulk up a little more. But first, our reward. Because heck, we deserve it!’

He chuckled. “Hell yeah, we do.”

After we claimed our prizes, we finished the last wave. Now, I was at level 19! The loot between the waves gradually decreased the more of them we did. Which was fair, I guess. Sooner than I wanted to, I ran out of Stamina Boosters. At one point, I had to hand over the steering wheel to Nolan, who started running out of ammo for Scarlet. He had a few shells left and he wanted to save those for the road. So instead, he pulled out these sick looking push daggers. I wanted those pair of katars for myself....

The grip was made out of gold and the blades were thick, with several inches on them. Nolan ripped through those minions with his magic imbued blades like they were made of butter. I tried to keep the enchanted look off my face, because the last thing I wanted was to stroke his ego even more, but crap, I couldn’t help it!

I applied my free points to charisma (10), willpower (20), endurance (10), and perception (10). My inventory also looked a lot more impressive after raiding this dungeon:

Codex

-Magic Tonic: recovers 100 MP-

-Magic Elixir: recovers 1000 MP-

-Grand Tonic: recovers 200 MP-

-Shield Charm: reduces magical damage by 5%-

-Warrior’s Charm: increases critical hit chance-

-Guard Amulet: prevents stats from being lowered-

-Antidote: heals poison-

-Health Potion: recovers 50% HP-

-Cloak of Despair: when worn, provides invisibility of up to 100%. Durability: Normal-

-Willpower Charm: provides shield to willpower attribute-

From Figor’s treasure chest, I had the honor of distributing the contents. I insisted! This was my first dungeon run, and shockingly, Nolan was pretty chill about it. We’d split the gold 50/50, I grabbed the evolution stone, and I took the cloak of despair and the willpower charm. He kept the armor of invulnerability and the Tunshra gauntlets (2).

-Armor of Invulnerability: provides resistance to non magical damage. Durability: Normal-

-Tunshra Gauntlets: when worn, these gauntlets provide a boost in physical strength. Durability: Normal-

We’d also looted a few things from the minions of the lair that helped bulk up my inventory. The higher their level, the better the loot. So far, my favorite items were those Stamina Boosters. They were limited, but they helped us finish the waves. I’d run out, and so had Nolan. But now that I witnessed first-hand their value, I’d scoop them up whenever I could.

‘Hey, I noticed my rank went from D- to D. What’s up with that?’

“Rank score is basically a bragger's badge,” Nolan said. “It tells everyone else how many dungeons you’ve raided.”

‘Ah. Well that seems pretty fun! I wanna be an A Rank Mage!’

He snorted. “Have fun with that. It’s not easy. It starts off that way but doesn’t end that way.”

‘Well, what rank are you at?’

“Low. Not as low as yours, of course,” he jested. “The highest rank is SS, the lowest, D-.”

I [Inspect] Nolan to see how many levels he’d jumped, and shockingly enough, it was only 1. He was now at [Level 32].

I didn’t ask about it after I gave it some deep thought. Nolan had already mentioned that leveling up in Etheryn was a challenge. I just happened to be blessed, or eh, cursed, with an infernal bloodline. Being a child of the dark did have its perks. I bet a part of his slow leveling was due to the fact that he wasn’t fighting monsters who were higher leveled than him, so the EXP didn’t have a bonus.

Once we exited the dungeon, we met up with sleeping beauty. From outside of the cell, Nolan offered the beast some smelling salts to wake him up. They were on the strong side, so I took a step back. It didn’t take long for him to wake up, and Nolan had already warned me to keep a distance because he would become active right away.

Like, bash himself into the cage like a rabid animal type of active.

And sure enough, he sprang into action and did just that.

But I didn’t back away. I wanted to hold my stance and show my dominance. I was tiny, so the effort needed to be just as convincing. I sat there with an unmoving face as he tried to fight the lingering effects from the spell from the imbued shot, Nolan reassuring me that he couldn’t use his special, which was [Shadow Phase] while under a condition. Which meant that he wouldn’t be going anywhere for a short while.

“Don’t drag your feet because he’s drowsy,” Nolan insisted. “Just because he is coming out of the spell doesn’t mean that he won’t fight it, now that he’s awake. Your time is short, so make good use of it.”

‘Okay.’

Nolan said that [Conquer] was an innate skill for dragons. If I’d tapped into my element, then triggering this skill should be easy. He compared it to the first time I’d successfully used my mana. Just like every living thing had mana, or qi, or life force, every dragon that unlocked magical affinity could trigger [Conquer].

Now, the man wasn’t a bona fide dragon. Far from it. So he could only tell me what was passed down to others, who more or less, were also not of dragon blood. He was using his limited knowledge on the subject to guide me. Maybe it would have been easier given the right resources, but again, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Heck, I had been in Etheryn for a short while and already felt the weight of my new life pressing down on me.

But he was convinced it would work. He gave me a small nod before stepping back, leaving me face-to-face with the enraged beast.

“He’s all yours, kid,” Nolan said, edging me forward.

I inhaled, relying on all of my courage and confidence for the task. My gaze fell on the furious beast in front of me as he continued to thrash around, those piercing eyes on me promising me vengeance. I couldn’t let a lesser monster intimidate me. However, to successfully make him submit, I would need to believe in my dominance. To make him bend the knee, if you will, I had to be the alpha dragon. Being a human in this body, this wasn’t an easy task; my mind was constantly at war between my human consciousness and draconian instincts, one wanting diplomacy and peace while the other craved power and dominance.

I had to cross the bridge and make the transition. It had to come naturally to me….

Without warning, I felt something click within me, as though some internal lock had finally been released. Suddenly, my senses exploded with an overwhelming flood of information. The essence of the beast before me surged forward like a tidal wave, a tumultuous swirl of chaos and anger that threatened to consume me. But with a newfound sense of control, I held my ground, meeting his ferocity with my own resolve. I could feel the power of [Conquer] coursing through my veins like liquid fire, a wild, untamed force that opened up the dire wolf’s consciousness to me.

His [Willpower] was low…. Of course, he was a beta wolf, not an alpha. This made [Conquer] a lot easier….

There was fight, but little might in a beast so big, and at first, I was shocked. But it made sense. Everything boiled down to attributes. My [Charisma] weighed down on him, leaving an obvious impression.

‘Now I am your alpha. Your life belongs to me. Your devotion is owed to me. Learn your place and submit to your master.’

I transmitted my order telepathically to the wolf. In exchange, I was met with more resistance. He snarled, baring his large teeth, his eyes flashing with raw defiance, but his thrashing around had settled. He knew this was a losing battle.

The power of [Conquer] was unstoppable. It was like an unrelenting tide, slowly eroding the resistance until it was nothing but fine sand, slipping through the wolf’s mental grasp. I could feel the slow change taking place within him as he gradually started to succumb to my dominance. The fierceness in his eyes began to wane down. The invisible chains I’d thrown around him were setting. His eyes that once glowed with a feral rage began to soften. Slightly, his muscles relaxed. He was still tense, but it was no longer the frenzied energy that he was tossing at me like before.

I knew then I was winning.

‘Submit,’ I ordered again, through the unspoken language of [Conquer]. His snarl faded slowly, replaced by a low growl—a warning still, but not purely hostile. The wild energy surrounding him seemed to dissipate, leaving only a looming presence that acknowledged me as its superior.

Now, his temperament had changed completely. He sat there in the wagon composed and ready for my orders.

‘Good,’ I praised. ‘Very good.’

Quest 2 Complete

A Level 5 Dire Wolf has been inducted to your thrall.

Rewards: +5% Necromancy Proficiency

+10 Spatial Domain Durability

Holy cow, I really just dominated an actual dire wolf!

I couldn’t show Nolan how giddy I was….

Aww, screw it.

I’m going for it!

Insert Peter Parker’s evil dance.

I gyrated my hips and bumped to the jazz music in my head, Nolan taking immediate notice of my theatrics.

He shook his head and face-palmed while I relished in my thrall victory.