While Aric walked alongside Conejín, he spotted a small, slimy, round creature in the distance.

  — Little window —said Aric— What is that creature?

  System: Updating information...

  System: Obtaining permission from world authority...

  System: .....

  System: Permission granted.

  — What do you think? — said Aric — Alright, Conejín, it's time to test your powers!

  Aric commanded the small Conejín to attack the slime, but when it charged, nothing happened. After a while, Aric got tired of waiting and decided to stab the slime directly, but the dagger just slipped off the slime's body.

  — Ahh, this is frustrating —he complained— Alright, let's leave this little troublemaker alone.

  Aric and Conejín continued on their way, and the little slime, in its curious nature, followed them from a safe distance. As they walked, Aric heard a loud beastly cry nearby. They approached and saw two huge beasts fighting each other.

  — That's it, little window —said Aric happily— I had been waiting for this!

  — Excellent, if I manage to defeat these beasts, I’ll get a huge boost to my attack power —he said, while petting Conejín.

  Aric observed the beasts: a four-armed gorilla was fighting a solar bear.

  — In my lands, this kind of beast would be considered very rare —Aric said to Conejín— now I’ll show you how I finish off these two fools.

  When both beasts were weakened, Aric prepared to execute his ambush. Charging his dagger with basic thunder magic and enhancing his feet with boosting magic, he attacked quickly, killing both beasts in one strike.

  — Register —said Aric, pointing at the gorilla and then the solar bear— Register... So, when I level up, my affinity with my master increases.

  Similarly, the orbs came out of his hand and embedded themselves in the foreheads of the deceased beasts, leaving them as skeletons.

  — Soul summoning —said Aric, using his ability.

  The orbs glowed, absorbing even the skeletons of the beasts, and levitated, returning to Aric's hand, embedding themselves in his palm.

  — So this is how it works, huh? —said Aric, a bit frustrated but accepting the reality— Come on, Conejín, for now, you'll be my only companion.

  —Wow, Conejín! —exclaimed Aric happily while petting Conejín—You got a skill!

  — Eh? Another mission? —said Aric. — Hmm, this little Conejín... what skill could I teach him? —he wondered to himself— How about a flying kick? Or something like a super jump?

  Aric got excited about the idea and began teaching Conejín to jump higher. Intuitively, Conejín used the energy contained in the orb on his forehead to enhance his jump. After half an hour, the jumps Conejín made were quite high, but the little window didn’t recognize them as a skill, so Aric decided to teach him how to land with force, boosting one of his paws. There were only 2 or 3 minutes left when the mission was completed.

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  Aric was surprised that it was the rabbit who kept the learning orb, but he didn’t have time to ask the window about it, as the fierce strike of a fighter monkey tried to ambush him. Aric dodged it with just his instinctive reflexes.

  Conejín made the jump and strong hit, but it was dodged by the Fighter Monkey. This left him with an opening for a few seconds, which Aric quickly exploited to finish him off, stabbing his neck with the dagger. The monkey resisted for a moment and then stopped moving.

  — Register — said Aric, pointing at the Fighter Monkey. After the process, he tried to summon it.

  — Summon.

  The fighter monkey didn’t seem to be that high-level, so Aric managed to summon it.

  — Excellent! — said Aric, satisfied. — Conejín is improving quickly, he even has a new mental skill, and the Fighter Monkey also has good skills for the assassin route.

  Suddenly, Aric felt a strong pressure from within the forest. He instinctively hid as he felt the pressure increase, and what he saw left him pale. A huge lizard, so powerful that its mana was visible, leaking through its pores, poisoning everything around it. Aric entered a state of panic, unable to move or flee. Not even The First emitted such an intense pressure as this giant lizard. In addition to having six legs, its two heads looked individually around. Aric came to his senses and tried to check the information on the giant lizard.

  — Holy shit! — whispered Aric. — What is this creature from the Deep Forest doing so far from its habitat? Is it that powerful and the apprentice of another creature? It must have a high intelligence attribute.

  — Well, yes, kid — said someone next to Aric. — Its intelligence attribute is higher than its strength attribute and even its level.

  — Really? — Aric asked naturally. His state of shock temporarily prevented him from realizing someone was beside him. — It’s you again... how embarrassing for you to see me in such a pitiful state every time we meet.

  — This time, you’ve accepted the encounter naturally — the mysterious one commented. — I was just passing near the forest when I felt a disturbance in the space... So, do you have a sponsor now?

  — Yes... The great elder Thandor took me as his disciple. Do you know him? — Aric asked, feeling a bit more at ease.

  — Everyone knows Thandor — he said somewhat ominously. — He’s one of the last necromancers on this continent.

  — What is the Authority of the World? — Aric asked, seizing the opportunity. — Earlier, I got a reward for completing a mission, but the window...

  — Aric — he interrupted him. — You must never mention information about your window to others.

  — Don’t others have it? — Aric asked.

  — I’m taking a bit of a risk telling you this, but no, kid, the status window you have is a stigma — he couldn’t continue speaking as a sharp pain pierced his head.

  It was no different for Aric, who flinched from an immense pressure that made his nose and ears bleed.

  — The Authority of the World is penalizing us for sharing related information — the mysterious one complained. — We should leave that for another time.

  — By the way, thanks for the blood gem hint, if it weren’t for you we wouldn’t have been able to clear the fifth floor so quickly — Aric said, wiping the blood away.

  — It’s not something you can decipher with your level of intelligence — he said dismissively. — Good to see you recognize my talent for once... Anyway, being a necromancer isn’t so bad, right? You’ll never truly be alone.

  — By the way — Aric said, pausing the conversation. — Who the hell are you? I’ve tried using the window on you, but it doesn’t respond.

  — Well, how to put it — the mysterious one said, thinking. — You can call me "Prime".

  — Well, Prime, thanks for your help and the information you’ve given me so far — Aric thanked him sincerely. — However, there’s this whole mysterious aura about you... There are a few things I’d like to ask...

  — Well, well, well — Prime interrupted him. — I guess it’s time for me to go. I have more important matters to attend to in this forest than answering your questions. Besides, I can assume Thandor expects you to surpass his expectations... Everyone knows that old crazy man has very high expectations.

  Without saying anything more or responding, Prime left just as he arrived, out of nowhere, leaving Aric alone again. Now, having calmed his fear of the Lizard Lord, Aric decided to circle the forest to avoid drawing its attention. With the 4 summons he had captured, Aric felt content and at peace. It wasn’t until an unexpected window appeared that made him swallow and filled his body with terror.