Soul Link

In this fantasy world, Lucien knew that there were many classes. 

From Mage, Knight, to Summoner, Beast Tamer, and even Necromancer. There was everything. However, whatever the class was, it was always based on mana. 

Also, from what he knew, only those who awakened their class could have skills that also required mana to operate.

At least, in the lower realm, that was the case.

Lucien thought so, and Glen thought so too until he encountered an oddity like Lucien.

---

[Golden Flick (D Rank) — Active Skill

Quickly flick a shiny coin or small reflective object at your enemy's eyes, momentarily blinding them.

Effect: Inflicts Flash Blindness for 0.5 seconds on any target within two ranks above you.

Cooldown: 1 hour]

---

Only when the little guy flicked a gold coin to him did Lucien suddenly remember that his first D-rank Skill: Golden Flick didn't require mana to operate at all. 

In fact, didn't he use this skill to kill that wolf as soon as he appeared in this dungeon?

As soon as Lucien realized, he immediately used the skill while Glen was distracted by the little guy.

"Shing!"

"What... Ugh..."

Only half a second of blindness. Unless you were an assassin, no one should be able to kill their opponent so easily.

But Lucien did. He did it so perfectly that the evidence was unmistakable as the head flew through the air in a graceful parabola.

And the trail of blood following behind only made the moment more magnificent.

In the dim light of the tunnel, Lucien could clearly see the shock in Glen's eyes.

As if he couldn't believe he had been killed by a dandy who posed no threat, just a day before.

However, it was too late. 

The moment he violated the code of assassination out of curiosity, his time was numbered.

"Thud!"

Suddenly, both Glen's body and head fell to the tunnel floor at the same time, heralding that this gruesome fight was finally over.

"Hah... hah... hah..."

Lucien breathed heavily, his vision spinning as exhaustion took hold.

After all, he used every ounce of his strength in that strike.

Though he had managed to kill Glen, he felt his body breaking down both inside and out.

'Antidote!'

But he still couldn't rest as he felt his body beginning to paralyze rapidly.

Due to the intense situation, his blood flow increased dramatically, which in turn caused the poison to spread everywhere.

No amount of Endurance could save him now.

Lucien hurriedly dragged his body to the headless corpse below and grabbed the mana ring off the finger.

Fortunately, after Glen died, the effect of the container wore off, and Lucien could finally use mana.

Hence, he immediately used it to take everything out of the ring onto the ground, making a mess.

"Found it!"

Lucien couldn't help but thank his passive, Venom Insight, as thanks to it, it didn't take long for him to find the antidote in the mess.

So, without a moment's rest, he suddenly opened the cap of the tube and gulped down every ounce of antidote into his gut.

"Hah... hah... hah... finally..."

Only when Lucien felt the antidote working did he sigh in relief.

Although his body still ached like never before and he was injured with heavy blood loss, at least he was alive.

"Squeak!"

Just as Lucien breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly heard a faint sound echoing through the tunnel.

"Little guy?"

Lucien quickly turned toward the source of the sound, only to see the little Glimmergnaw sprawling on the ground.

Its body was soaked in its own blood. From where Lucien stood, he could even see its heart beating rapidly.

"Are you... alright?"

Lucien hurriedly stood and rushed over, feeling emotional.

He never thought he would be saved by the Glimmergnaw, a creature he had used selfishly without caring for its life.

"Wait... I will do something."

Lucien said, and without waiting a moment, he took out every healing potion he had and poured it down the throat of the Glimmergnaw.

He even tore pieces from his clothes to press tightly against the wound on the little guy's chest, trying to slow the bleeding.

But it was far from enough. After all, the little guy had just evolved into an E-rank monster and suffered such a deadly strike.

With so much blood loss, it was already losing consciousness.

"Shit... is there really nothing I can do?"

Lucien hurriedly searched through all his skills, potions, and items, but found nothing that could help in this situation.

The healing potions did work, but they weren't enough. Maybe a higher grade would, but Lucien didn't have any.

He even checked Glen's mana ring, only to find nothing at all.

"Damn... why am I feeling so bad? It's just a... monster."

Lucien mumbled incoherently while staring at the little guy's slowly closing eyes.

He really wanted to be selfish and ignore it. After all, wasn't it just a monster?

If he searched, he was sure he could find another.

But...

"Sigh..."

Lucien sighed, feeling utterly helpless. He was so powerless.

...

Ding!

[Detected that the E-rank Glimmergnaw's loyalty has reached maximum.]

[Conditions have been satisfied!]

...

Just when Lucien thought there was no other solution, suddenly, a sudden prompt from the system sounded in his mind, once again igniting his hope. 

...

[E-rank Glimmergnaw is eligible for the initiation of the Soul Link.]

[You can now take it as your Beast Companion.]

[Do you want to initiate the soul link?]

...

The system gave him a choice, surprising Lucien once again.

'Not only can it generate a skill, it can even help with Soul Link?'

Soul Link was the exclusive skill of a beast tamer. It was how they bonded with their beasts and fought together.

However, Lucien didn't have time to think much. Though he didn't know if bonding with the little guy could save its life, he immediately agreed.

"I do. Initiate the soul link."

The moment Lucien agreed, he suddenly felt a strange wave ripple deep within his soul.