Demon of the Unbound

Neto flew as fast as the wind. This potion was incredible! Rakshasa stayed a good deal ahead of him, which should've been impossible with such stubby legs.

He floated through branches and brush, passing impossible distances in no time at all. The transparency of the foliage here was completely alien. Even with the dim light granted by the cavern, Neto could see a good five inches into the hull of every tree.

Without warning, Rakshasa stopped. Neto tried to halt his onslaught, but only slowed down a bit before his aetherform potion ran out.

Stumbling onto compact earth, His pants ripped, and the skin on his knees peeled away.

"Ah...." he groaned, rubbing his hands. "You could've given me a fair warning, you know."

Rakshasa responded once again in his mind. Neto only had a faint grasp of the translation, but he made out enough to understand its general message.

{This should be far enough.}

'Far enough for what, exactly?'

{I don't take charity from children. You gave me your soul, so I will grant you an ability, but you'll have to level up first.}

Neto picked himself up, wiped off the dirt, and unsheathed his daggers.

Would leveling up and receiving an ability really help? If his mana increased, he might be detectable by Mr. rune-eye. A level one was still a level one, regardless of how op their abilities are.

{I'm not foolish enough to leave that out of consideration.}

Just then, a low growl shattered through the brush ahead.

'Ah, so this is what 'far enough' meant...'

Neto braced himself for the fight, holding both dagger's tip-down under the folds of his cloak.

A pair of lucent flames poked from inky leaves, revealing a set of jagged teeth.

"HiSS!"

It charged! Neto used his back foot to pivot out of the strike's range, slicing out with his hidden blades, connecting with an impressible surface.

Face-to-face with the beast, Neto noticed something odd about its body...

For one: the gash on its side was healing at an alarming rate, and the second:

"Its wax?!"

Azure flames flickered where its eyes and organs should've been, illuminating a translucent, hyena-like body of straw-colored wax.

One purple rune over its breast.

"That better be your weak spot."

Neto gambled on this strike.

"HiSS!"

Another lunge! This creature was more predicable than a goblin...

Neto slid on his knees, accepting the pain, wedging both daggers into the ichor-wicks chest!

"HIISSsss...."

[Ichor-wick {Hyena} [Lv. 1]--{Slain}

[EXP]: {+2}

[LV. 0]: {17/35}

The fire in its eyes went out, but...

"Shit."

Three more flames poked from the surrounding brush. Neto felt them before he saw them, almost as if his [Sense] became a passive...

"HiSSS!"

"Hurrr...."

"Rururururu..."

"Rakshasa!" he called, wondering why his demon wasn't helping. He noticed Rakshasa out of the corner of his eye, sitting on a branch, munching on an apple. A faint look of guilt soured its expression.

{I'll take your XP if I help.}

"Goddamnit." Neto cursed. If he couldn't deal with these small-fry by himself, why was he trying to save others?

"HiSSSS!!"

"Ha!" Neto yelled, taking out another hyena mid-lunge.

[EXP]: {+2}

Its claws left deep gashes on top of his arms.

SMACK!

Something jumped onto his back! Neto brought his daggers out to stab the invisible piggy-back rider, but it jumped away after taking a chunk out of his shoulder.

CHOMP!

Turning once again, Neto was face to face with the other ichor wicks

One baboon, unsheathing knife-long claws, hopping in front of a humanoid twirling a waxen sword.

"Rururu..." the baboon growled, jumping with immense dexterity.

Hop!

Neto kicked the spring-launched monkey, whose claws melted through the leather in his boots, slicing into his feet. It skipped across the ground, stunned.

'Hurrr....' the humanoid moaned, lunging at an off-balance Neto.

Slice!

Neto lurched away from its attack, towards the stammering baboon, stabbing the nape of its neck.

[Ichor-wick {Baboon(+1)} [Lv. 3]--{Slain}

[EXP]: {+6 (+1)}

[LV. 0]: {25/35}

"Hurr..."

'That sound is seriously creepy.'

Neto strengthened his grip on the daggers.

He had more adrenaline than blood in that moment, so there was no way of knowing how much damage he'd sustained.

Swing!

Stab!

Slice!

A flurry of blows! Neto couldn't block them all... He'd have to take one to create an opening.

"Take this!"

One of his daggers broke! The wax sword sliced through, tearing his flesh like butter, burying halfway into his arm, when-

"hurrr.r....r..."

[Ichor-wick {Human} [Lv. 4]--{Slain}

[EXP]: {+10}

[LV. 0]: {35/35}-->[LV. 1]: {0/50}

"SHIT!"

Neto screamed in pain. His arm was half-severed, but the humanoid lay dead, punctured in its belly where its rune had been.

His remaining blade fractured after blocking so many of that monster's blows, crumbling onto the ground with his other one.

"Inventory! Lesser fucking Health potion!!"

Neto gulped the swill, polishing it off with a sigh.

He held his arm in place as the wound closed. Lesser HP potions really were the best for a low-level like Neto. Still, he'd lost a lot of blood, and the potion wasn't helping with his dizziness.

{Congrats. you've officially met the conditions receive one of my skills.}

[{Unrefined} Unbound Soul (Passive)]-[Lv. 1]-{Unlocked!}

A purple light pierced Neto's chest, and he felt like something was burning onto his skin. Piercing agony shot up from his belly. He fell on his knees, expecting to throw up, but a strange, shadowy substance fell on the ground where he knelt.

He stood immediately, backing away from the disgusting mulch.

Hopping down from its tree, Rakshasa ran over and picked up the shadow, gulping it down without hesitation.

Ripples ran from Rakshasa's head to its toes, followed by a change in aura.

"Ah, It feels good to be back in my body." This time the demon spoke out-loud, in a language Neto could understand.

"What was that?" Net guffawed. He didn't sense any hostility from this demon, but there was an aura of predation which made him feel like a cornered mouse. What's more… Rakshasa was female? Her voice carried femininity, despite its ruthlessness.

"Would you understand the truth if I told you?"

"Im not sure, but I'd like to know, regardless."

Rakshasa hesitated for a moment, but replied all the same.

"Let's save that topic for a later date. You want to save your friend, no? If you want the best chance at succeeding, you'll need a unique spirit."

It took Neto a moment to realize Rakshasa was talking about herself.

In fact, he didn't have concrete proof Rakshasa was a demon. Maybe this tiny creature really was something like Toru's pet. He didn't know what that spirit's benefits were except for being cute, but every isntinct told him they were useful. Most of the people he'd met in this world had one, even Mr. Tadao.

'Isn't there some kind of barrier preventing spirits from coming in here?'

"No, no. You were right the first time. I AM a demon, but the question is this: would you accept a demon as your unique spirit? That artificial one you called a system is dead in my belly, after all."

Neto was dumbfounded. That nasty eye in his dream been his previous system?

"So, you'll be my new system…" Neto thought about this. "Well, your survival is just as beneficial for me as it is the other way. I suppose there's no better way to have a system."

Rakshasa smiled, showing off her needle-teeth.

"A smart decision. Then, it is done. I, Rakshasa of the unbound, will sponsor this boy as his unique spirit."

With the last of her words, a faint rumbling resounded. Neto felt as if every ounce of his life force sucked out of his body and was replaced by something new… something chaotic. It all happened so fast, Neto could only take a step back before the experience was over.

[Skill]: [{Unrefined} Sense {Passive}]-[Lv. 1]-{Replaced!}

[{Unrefined} Unbound Sense (Passive)]-[Lv. 1]-{Upgrade!}

He stretched his limbs, stealing a look at the stalactite-littered ceiling. His body felt stronger, his mind cleared. He could feel powerful presences all around him, as if he'd lived in this dungeon for many years. Having a spirit made quite a difference.

"You called yourself Rakshasa of the unbound, does that mean~"

"Correct, I am the Demon of unbound space, of dungeons, and of [Grand Void]! Buahahahaha!!!"

Rakshasa took a victory pose, as if expecting praise from Neto, who couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculously cute sight. Despite her dangerous aura, Rakshasa was quite the character.

"I get it, I get it. Lets just save that sister-fucker already."