Spearbound Ch. 37

Kade warily eyed the fine lines that spiderwebbed across the eggshell. It revealed a soft glow coming from within.

Suddenly, a tiny, glowing beak broke through the shell, emitting a spark that sizzled in the air. The egg fractured further, and a small head emerged — eyes like molten gold met his gaze. He could tell that it contained uncanny intelligence.

Kade had to resist the urge to leave the chick where he was and run away. Its weak squawk prevented him from thinking further in that direction.

The chick pushed and wriggled, breaking away pieces of the shell that fell like embers to the ground. Its downy feathers were a brilliant shade of reds, oranges, and yellows, each feather tip glowing as if it were about light on fire.

As soon as it was free, the chick shook itself, sending a shower of tiny sparks falling to the ground. It stared at him for a few seconds before squawking again. It turned to the remnants of its shell and began picking at it hungrily.

Each fragment it consumed caused its feathers to glow a little brighter. Kade could feel the warmth radiating from its tiny body intensify with every bite.

The chick stared at him again before squawking loudly.

Kade couldn’t take his eyes off it. He had seen pictures of baby birds before, which were beyond ugly. Somehow, this chick didn’t seem so bad, even though it looked miserable at the moment.

“System, you told me that everything in a Rift Zone is classified as a monster. Does this apply here?”

Yes.

He tried convincing himself that getting rid of the chick was his job. There was nothing he could do.

… I can’t do it.

“All right, buddy. I’m just going to leave you here for a bit.” Kade slowly lowered the chick to the ground. “I have to get rid of a few things, then I’ll figure out what to do with you.”

The chick tilted its head but didn’t make a sound. It only stared at him intently as he moved to the exit.

Kade ripped his eyes away from the bird before taking in a deep breath. The exit to the chamber was rumbling softly in the distance. It was being uncovered.

He used the ridges on the pillar to jump down to the floor before summoning his [Soulrend]. He could hear the guttural growls of the karnathis on the other side, but they didn’t enter the chamber.

Kade looked up to where the hidden door was near the ceiling. The chick seemed like it stayed put, and he felt conflicted about that.

“This is for the best,” he told himself. “My objectives imply this Rift Zone will be destroyed at the end. I might as well just leave it here.”

Kade really thought that saying it out loud might help.

It didn’t.

“This is so beyond fucked.” Kade almost threw up his arms. This wasn’t a reward at all, more like a punishment.

At the very least, the System wasn’t forcing him to kill the chick. He had spared that bug’s life on Earth, and the System didn’t object, even though it was considered a monster.

Kade did his best to put it out of his mind and headed to the exit. Killing the karnathis would probably make him feel better.

He could see one of the karnathis glaring up at him from the bottom of the stairs. Unfortunately, he also sensed its weakness compared to him.

Kade hoped the others would give him much more of a challenge. It would be a shame if these karnathis were at the same level of strength as the ones in the outpost.

They hadn’t been the challenge for him back then, and they certainly wouldn’t be now when he was much stronger.

“How many of you are there?” Kade yelled down, much to the karnathis' anger. They clearly thought he was taunting them, since they started roaring like mindless beasts.

He rolled his eyes. “System, there must be a way for me to communicate with these things.”

We do not provide such a service. If you feel this is necessary in the future, you may buy an artifact that will help you accomplish such a task.

Kade scratched his chin before nodding in appreciation. He was eager to see what would be available in the future. The System’s description suggested the creator’s skill would be the only limit on the choices.

His foot was about to touch the next step when he heard frantic squawking from behind. He turned in shock to see the chick flapping its immature wings frantically as it tried to slow its fall.

Somehow, it could still fly towards him while falling simultaneously.

Kade wasn’t sure how that worked, but he automatically reached out to catch the plummeting chick before it landed on the ground.

The chick stared at him again.

Well, there goes my plan of leaving it.

“I’m not sure what you want from me.” Kade felt a little silly talking to the beast. He heard the impatient growls from the karnathis behind him, but those were the last things on his mind.

He found himself in a staring contest with the ember falcon chick.

A newborn Ember Falcon Chick has shown signs of bonding with you.

Do you wish to accept this bond and make the Ember Falcon Chick your companion?

Warning: You may only have one companion at any given time. The only way to break the bond is the death of one party.

Additional information: A companion is considered a permanent party member, with all the benefits and disadvantages.

The chick squawked at him when it felt ignored. Kade tapped his head in light admonishment as he considered the information he had received.

He hadn’t even thought about what having a party member meant. It wasn’t that important to him, since it was always a temporary thing with Eliza.

“What are the positives and negatives of having a party member?”

Split rewards after completion of the objectives. You can also share the energy received from every kill with your party members. However, you can only share energy with party members after building a stronger bond with them.

“Bond? You mean with someone like Eliza or this chick?” Kade glared at the karnathis, making increasingly loud sounds at the bottom of the stairs. “Wait your turn! I’ll get to you soon enough.”

The karnathis weren’t happy, and they decided the best way to express her anger was to make even more noise.

Kade did not know why they refused to enter the chamber but found their impotent rage amusing.

Both.

He tilted his head in thought. That feature would be interesting if he ever wanted to boost somebody quickly, but he never saw himself using it. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where he would forgo the energy he could absorb from the monsters he killed.

The chick in his hands started squawking angrily. Kade was a little surprised at the sudden change in attitude, but saw what had caused it after a simple glance.

The chick was furious at the karnathis and tried to escape his hands to dive down the stairs.

Kade laughed at its angry squawks but made sure it couldn’t escape. He wasn’t about to allow it to jump into a fight it had no chance of winning.

The chick’s glare switched from the karnathis to him. He thought it was no longer attached to him, but the prompt reappeared on the interface.

A newborn Ember Falcon Chick is giving you the last chance to bond with it.

Do you wish to accept this bond and make the Ember Falcon Chick your companion?

Kade raised his eyebrow at the chick’s boldness. It was telling him he would be lucky to be its companion.

“Don’t think you can mooch off me. If you don’t pull your weight, I’ll happily leave you on Earth with a babysitter.”

The chick flapped its wings in irritation at his stalling.

“Fine, I accept your bond.”

You have formed a permanent bond with the Ember Falcon Chick.

Companion: Ember Falcon

Kade felt a gentle warmth in his chest, spreading outward like ripples. He felt a connection forming—that thread of energy linking his life force to the tiny creature in his hands.

He could sense what the chick was thinking, but it was so alien to his mind that all he got were vague emotions about what it wanted to do.

Currently, Kade sensed the chick was happy with him, while also wanting to rip apart the karnathis in the most brutal way possible.

It was such a strange combination that it shouldn’t have made sense, but they fit together perfectly in the chick’s mind.

Kade’s lips slowly formed a smile. “Did you want to see me kill these karnathis?”

The chick squawked in confirmation.

He needs to see if this desire for violence also applied to other monsters or just karnathis, but if it was the former, the chick might actually be a worthy companion and not just a pity selection.

“Well, you can consider this a welcome gift. Enjoy the show, baby chick.”

Kade settled the chick in the crook of his arm before leisurely climbing down the stairs. The more he climbed down, the more he sensed the disappointing strengths of the karnathis waiting for him.

Oh, well. I’ll weaken these enough so the chick can land the last strike and claim the karnathis’ energy.

He smirked when he realized how he immediately contradicted his rejection to sharing energy.

Kade rephrased himself. He wouldn’t give up the energy of stronger monsters and lifeforms.

Cannon fodder like the karnathi snarling at him wasn't important.