“And yes, you may see Erynd, he will be participating in the hunt.”

  Winston yipped in excitement at the thought of seeing Erynd. It’d only been a few days, but Erynd was one of his only sources of comfort in the Tower.

  As Thalysar reached the door, he froze. Winston watched in amusement as the commander slowly looked down at the gaping hole Winston had left in the wall.

  “Goddamnit…”

  Winston jerked his head up proudly.

  ?? ′?? ? ??` ??

  Winston quivered in anticipation as he launched attack after attack at the door. Thalysar had visited him just a few minutes earlier, letting him know that there were only a few hours until he got to go see Erynd. Winston condensed energy into a spear and fired it at the door, earning another tiny shard of the metal.

  Collecting the specks of metal on the floor, Winston sold them, bringing him up to 157 credits. Attacking the door was surprisingly lucrative, and he was tempted to continue harvesting the metal. Still, he knew he had to stop. He needed to take time to regenerate his Food Energy or he wouldn’t be at full power when he went out hunting.

  Winston stood up and waddled back to the rocky overhang he slept under. He considered converting the mist he’d gathered to energy, but there wasn’t enough of it to make any significant difference.

  Instead, Winston decided to [Consume] the wall while he waited. It was tedious, using [Consume] over and over. Still, Winston pushed through, the thought of getting out of the cell driving him.

  An hour later, Thalysar opened the door and called for Winston. Yipping in excitement, Winston leaped up and dashed towards the door. The chamber outside was all but empty, with only a few guards. Thalysar checked Winston’s spatial ring before nodding and gesturing at him to follow.

  As Winston waddled along besides Thalysar, he bounced around in excitement. Would it just be Erynd or would Norra be there as well? He couldn't wait. It’d only been a few days, but it was hard to be alone in the Tower. Winston needed the comfort of having someone with him.

  Once they were out of the underground section and inside the main tent, Thalysar stopped. In the middle of the tent were half a dozen Caltherans, including the Acolyte-Tier woman Winston had seen during his escape attempt. Other than her, all the others were Initiate 9.

  The Caltherans turned and saluted Commander Thalysar before turning to look at Winston.

  While the other five fawned over Winston, the woman spoke to Thalysar.

  “It really managed to hurt you?” She asked, “That?”

  Thalysar nodded. “He’s stronger than he looks. Other than you and me, I'd say he's stronger than everyone in our party.”

  As Thalysar and the woman spoke, Winston looked at the Caltherans gathered around him. Letting out a breath, he lay down and let them pet him.

  [Passive Charm lvl 7 → Passive Charm lvl 8]

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Winston blinked. That was a pleasant surprise. The skill had just leveled up a few days before, but he wasn’t going to question it. As they rubbed him, he inspected each of them in turn. Of the five, four were Vorn, the same rank as Norra. The other two were both slightly higher as Drathens, the same as Erynd.

  Winston decided to inspect the Acolyte-tier Caltheran that the commander was conversing with.

  [Caltheran(Kareth) - Acolyte 1]

  Winston tilted his head. She was only the second Kareth he’d seen, the first during the fight with the Nightrender. He couldn’t remember how the rank stacked up against the others. With a thought, he checked the information packet he’d purchased from the shop. His eyes widened. She was only a single tier below Thalysar, who was a Serath.

  He supposed it made sense, given how she had the most crystals adorning her body out of any Caltheran he’d seen other than Thalysar.

  Winston took a moment to inspect the commander as well, finding that he was still at Acolyte 2.

  Before Winston could do much else, Thalysar called out, ordering them to move out. Winston walked alongside them as they left the tent, his excitement building by the second.

  When they arrived at the tunnel that allowed access to the camp, Winston froze in surprise. The tunnel had changed, to say the least. He’d only been gone a few days, but everything was different. Not only was the tunnel twice as large and far better lit, but there were two tunnels. The tunnel on the right had a frame of stone, with a line of Caltherans exiting the camp. The one to Winston’s left had a wood veneer around its mouth, with several warriors entering the camp through it.

  Winston was surprised even more when a steel portcullis lowered down from the top of the exit tunnel, blocking entry after the Caltherans had left. His excitement from leaving the camp only grew as he watched. He’d only ever seen things like this on the TV!

  The mouths of the tunnels were flanked by two guards each. Winston concentrated on them, but found that they were only around Initiate 7. Seeing their party, the guards’ eyes shot open, and they hastily saluted while raising the metal grate. Winston watched curiously as one of the guards raised it. Winston watched curiously as one of the guards opened the tunnel back up. The woman had her glowing hands pressed against the stone wall.

  As they approached, the woman, who was the highest-ranked at Initiate 8, spoke. Winston could see fear in her eyes as she talked. He’d never noticed it before, but it seemed that most Caltherans held him in equal parts of both reverence and fear.

  “I’m sorry, sir. We were not aware that you were coming,” She said. “Every booked party had already left, so we were closing up the tunnel.”

  Winston blinked. Did that mean only booked parties could leave? Was that a new thing, or had Erynd been doing it beforehand every time they’d left the camp? Winston didn’t know. So much had already changed, and he’d only been gone a few days.

  “It’s no matter,” Thalysar responded, looking mildly surprised, “The gate’s open now, isn’t it? It only cost us a few seconds.”

  The guard nodded and stepped aside as they entered the tunnel.

  “Why was she apologizing for that? It’s not like I would do anything to her over a few seconds of my time.” Thalysar chuckled, shaking his head. Winston stared at him in confusion. Did he really not realize that he scared people? As much as he hated to admit it, Winston was scared of him, too. Not only was he so powerful, but from what Winston had seen after their fight, he seemed a bit unstable.

  There were a few awkward laughs from the party as Thalysar spoke. Winston watched them in amusement. It was like one of those recordings he’d watched with his humans where one of them was completely oblivious. Except this time, the oblivious one could probably kill everyone else with ease.

  Winston looked at the brightly lit tunnel around them. It was amazing how quickly they’d carved through the mountain. Did they have someone with a special skill for it? Winston tilted his head. If they could do this, why did they all live in tents? Maybe they could only dig out stone. But then they could live in the mountains or underground—Winston stopped. Maybe some of the higher-ranked Caltherans did live underground. After all, they had the chamber where his cell was situated, and he had no idea what was behind all the other doors.

  Winston continued to think as they made their way through the tunnel. Thanks to their higher ranks and dexterity, it was far quicker than when he’d been going with Erynd’s party, but it still took them several minutes.

  As they reached the end of the tunnel, Winston squinted his eyes at the exit. There, standing with a smile, was Erynd.

  I have thought of a new way to rope you guys into paying me! If I get a single Paid Patron, I will release a bonus chapter! (I'll do this up to 3 times <3)

  11 chappies ahead(Buy Winston a treat!)

  P.S.