Runeguard 025

I spent a good five minutes staring at the System messages. While I understood the gist of what they meant, before I moved on there were a few things I needed Adi to explain.

“Adi,” I began, “do Classes have their own skills?”

“Not exactly, Dace,” she replied. “Each Class will unlock a specific set of skills that the parent Essence alone will not provide access to. These skills may be shared with other Classes or be completely unique.”

I nodded, understanding what she meant. “And what is a Class rank?”

“Classes have ranks like skill and Essences, but where Essences automatically increase rank every player level, Classes don’t. Players get one Class Point to distribute every fifty levels. With each Class rank, you will gain access to further Class abilities.” 

I chewed over Adi’s words for a second, then breathed out. “Alright. Time to summon my spirit guard.”

I drew mana from the pool in my mind and whispered the words of the spirit guard spell. My voice rose to a crescendo, and the air in front of me turned hazy as a portal to the spirit plane took shape. As I uttered the final words to the spell, the portal snapped open. 

I watched it expectantly.

A second went by. Then another, and still nothing emerged. I frowned. Where was my spirit guard?

A moment later, another System message arrived to explain matters. 

Dace Tolman, you have the choice between 4 spirits for your companion. Each spirit guard has their own primary Essence. Both their own abilities and the buffs they provide are centered around this Essence. But beware, spirit guards also cost mana to retain on the physical plane. This cost scales with the spirit’s level. 

Option 1: A Dire Bear

Parent Essence: strength. Cost: 2 mana per spirit level. Other Essences: constitution. Primary role: protector.

Option 2: A Willow-o-Wisp

Parent Essence: life. Cost: 2 mana per spirit level. Other Essences: channeling. Primary role: support-caster.

Option 3: A Fox

Parent Essence: channeling. Cost: 1 mana per spirit level. Other Essences: None. Primary role: mana source. 

Option 4: A Black Dragon (Unique)

Parent Essence: chaos. Cost: 10 mana per spirit level. Other Essences: strength, constitution, channeling. Primary role: unknown.

“Well, well,” I murmured. My choice was obvious, and I made it without hesitation. 

In response, ethereal mists streamed through the portal, and floating in the air before me, assumed a familiar shape.

The spirit of a black dragon has answered your call. Before you can complete the bonding, identify your companion.

I studied the smoky figure hovering in the air. The shape was vaguely reminiscent of Nightstalker, and I was fairly certain it was, in fact, her spirit.

“I name my companion Nightstalker.”

Name not acceptable. The spirit may not assume the same identity as during her previous incarnation.

My brows wrinkled in consternation. Why not? I wondered but didn’t waste further time questioning the System’s logic. “I name her Night,” I said instead.

 Identity accepted.

The ethereal mists condensed into a small, dense, white cloud before streaming inside me.

You have formed a spirit link between yourself and a black dragon. You have permanently bonded Night as your companion.

Your spirit link skill has increased to rank 1. 

Night has reached level 1!

A lilting voice echoed through my mind. “We meet again, Dace Tolman.”

“Nightstalker?” I asked, knowing it was her but needing the black dragon’s confirmation, nonetheless.

“Not anymore. It’s Night now,” she replied. “Thank you, by the way, for my new name. I quite like it.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied. I hesitated, then said, “You expected this? To be… born anew as my spirit companion?”

“Not entirely,” Night said. “This was not the original terms of the task I offered you, but when the administrators suggested the terms be modified and for myself to serve as your spirit guard, I was content to do so.” She paused. “I was curious,” she admitted. “And it gave me a second chance at life that I never expected. Although, the System has limited me more than I expected. I am so much less than what I was,” she finished ruefully.

“So how does this whole companion thing work?” I asked.

“I’m not sure,” Night admitted. “This is as new to me as to you.”

“Adi?” I asked.

“I don’t know either, Dace,” she replied, sounding both troubled and uncertain. 

I blinked. “What do you mean you don’t know? I thought you were conversant on all aspects of the Proving Grounds.”

“There has never been a dragon companion before this,” Adi said. “Spirit guards are not sentient either. Nor do they have access to skills other than those provided by the spirit guard Class. Neither of these things are true with Night.”

My eyes narrowed. “But… surely, whatever Night is comes as no surprise to you?” I asked. “You were there when I received the task!”

“I was,” Adi agreed. “But administrators don’t have the degree of control you seem to believe we have, Dace. The most the sector administrator was able to do was link the black dragon’s task to your guardian ability. The System itself determined what form Night took as a spirit companion, and which of her former skills and Essences she retained.” 

Adi paused. “I doubt the sector administrator expected Night to retain as much of her former self as she has. If he had known, I suspected, he would have refused the black dragon’s proposal.”

I lowered my head into my hands as I digested Adi’s information. She had given me far more to think of than I expected, not the least of which was to wonder exactly what my new companion was capable of. 

“Interesting,” murmured Night.

I lifted my head curiously. “You can hear Adi, Night?”

“I can, Dace,” she said.

“And what do you make of her words?” I asked.

“Your administrator is correct,” Night said. “I have retained the innate gifts of my former self, although I have lost the greater part of the skills and abilities that I possessed as Nightstalker.”

My ears perked up. “What Essences do you have, Night?” I asked. 

Before Night could answer, Adi spoke up. “I can display her profile if you wish, Dace. The spirit link between the two of you gives you full access to her data.”

“Please do,” Night said, her tone eager. “I have never seen one of these much-vaunted System windows before.”

“Go ahead, Adi,” I said. “Call it up, please.”

Spirit Profile: Night

Level: 1. Health: 10 / 10 HP. 

Stamina: 10 / 10 SP. Mana: 10 / 10 MP. 

Species: Black dragon (spirit). 

Class: Spirit guard. Maintenance cost: 10 MP.

Bonded companion: Dace Tolman.

Nodal Capability

Max Nodes: 7. Total Occupied: 7 / 7. 

Available Nodes: 0 / 7.

Occupied Nodes

Strength, tier 1 Essence: 1.

Constitution, tier 1 Essence: 1.

Channeling, tier 1 Essence: 1.

Chaos, tier 3 Essence: 6.

Spirit guard, tier 1 Class: 1.

Skills

Strength: scale armor: 1, tooth and claw: 1.

Constitution: recovery: 1.

Channeling: regeneration: 1.

Chaos: chaos resistance: 6, chaos magic: 6.

Active Abilities

Chaos: lesser petrifying gaze, lesser dragon’s breath.

Passive Abilities

Chaos: lesser fear aura.

My attention immediately fixated on one particular aspect of Night’s profile to the exclusion of all else. “A tier three Essence,” I breathed in awe. I could scarce believe it. “What is chaos?” I asked eventually.

It was Night who answered. “I do not know how much you know about dragons, Dace,” Night said, sounding preoccupied. I presumed she was still studying her player profile. “We are primal creatures and embody the universe’s most basic elements. Red, blue, green, and white dragons are instilled with the four most commonly found aspects: fire, water, earth, and air. Black dragons, though, we are chaos incarnate. To be a black dragon means to be of chaos. It is the core of who I am.”

I nodded. Night’s words implied the Essence of chaos was intricately woven into her nature, and it probably explained why the System hadn’t been able to separate it from her. Whatever the case, it meant my new ally was potentially the most powerful creature in the sector. 

“Thank you for the explanation, Night,” I said. 

“You are welcome.” Night hesitated. “There is another thing about dragons you should be aware of.” She fell silent.

“Go on,” I said encouragingly.

“Dragons are frequently sought after because we embody the elements,” she answered. “When a dragon is killed, there is a small—but marked—chance they will drop an Essence Gem.”

My brows drew down. It was certainly an interesting tidbit of information, but I was puzzled why Night had felt a need to share it. After all, she wasn’t a dragon anymore. What possible—

My eyes widened as I realized what she was alluding to. “Night, are you saying if you’re slain, you will drop an Essence Gem?”

In my mind, I felt Night shake her head in denial. “No, Dace. I am spirit now and can no longer be directly killed, at least I don’t think so. But you—my host—can be.”

I bit back a start of surprise and turned to Adi for answers. “Adi, if I am killed, will I drop a chaos Essence Gem?”

“Given that you are Night’s physical host, it is certainly possible, Dace,” Adi agreed. “As with dragons, there is always a random chance that players will drop an installed Node on final death.”

My lips thinned as I worked through the implications. “So, players are hunted for the Essences’ too?”

“Correct, Dace.”

It cast a whole different light on the thieves’ attempted robbery a few nights ago. Had they known players could drop Essence Gems? And had they been hunting me as much for my Nodes as for my physical possessions?

I realized I would have to keep my new spirit companion secret. “Adi, am I right in thinking that the sector administrator is unaware of Night’s abilities?”

“Correct, Dace. Your companion’s profile is only visible to yourself—and me, as your personal administrator.”

I was silent for a moment. I didn’t understand what Night’s chaos Essence was capable of yet, but I was sure that given its rarity Night and I would be hunted for it. “Can you keep Night’s profile a secret, Adi?” I asked quietly. “Will the Law allow it?”

“As a personal administrator, my first loyalty belongs to you, Dace,” she said. “I will not reveal Night’s nature unless you wish it.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Adi.”

“You have my thanks as well, administrator,” Night said gravely. “Until my host and I are much stronger, I fear we will be vulnerable.”

“Call me Adi, please,” she replied. “Dace does, and I have grown used to it.”

“Adi it is,” Night said.

“Alright,” I said, “since Night’s existence is too unique for us to figure out what she is capable of yet, let’s start with normal spirit guards. What can you tell us of them, Adi?”

“A guardian’s spirit resides within a player and is conjoined to him through the pair’s spirit link. As the player’s spirit link skill increases, it allows his spirit guard to draw more fully of itself from the spirit plane, increasing both its power and level. Likewise, as the player’s spirit expertise skill advances, his companion gains more abilities.”

“So, spirit guards don’t learn new abilities through tomes or spellbooks?”

Adi hesitated. “Not normally, no. Most spirit guards are not smart enough to do so. Night, however, may be able to.”

I nodded. “Alright, so can spirit guards take on a physical form of their own?” I asked.

“Yes. Spirits usually gain the ability to do so at level twenty.”

“And until then?”

“The spirit aids its companion while in non-corporeal form.”

“And how can Night do that?”

“If Night withdraws from your body, she should be able to materialize as an ethereal mist that should buff you with her passive abilities. Be warned though, that even though Night cannot be killed while in spirit form, she may be temporarily banished back to the spirit plane or trapped.”

That was a lot of ‘shoulds.’ “Shall we give it a try?”

“Let’s do it,” Night said.

“Go ahead then,” I said. “Whenever you are ready.”

I felt the denseness that was Night sitting at my center flow out and surround me in a hazy cloud.

Night has manifested as a spirit. 

You have been buffed by Night’s lesser fear aura.

6% chance that nearby hostiles will be terrified and flee your presence.

Your spirit expertise skill has increased to rank 1. 

I smiled, relieved that I had both found the means to increase my spirit skills and make use of Night’s abilities.

Satisfied with my evening’s work, I recalled Night to my body and bedded down to sleep.