Aris stared at the "egg" in the depths of the pit. His 45 AP felt like nothing, but he knew that as a "Player," you never pass up a Unique Companion.
"System, I'll take the loan. Initiate the Blood Contract."
[Loan Accepted: 200 AP.]
[Debt Total: 255 AP (Interest accruing...)]
[Initiating Abyssal Blood Bond...]
Aris bit his thumb—his skin was so tough now he had to use a sharpened piece of "Spirit Coal" to draw blood—and pressed it against the glowing violet cracks of the stone.
The "egg" didn't hatch. It unfolded.
The stone-like shell peeled back like origami to reveal a creature that looked like a cross between a black kitten and a dragon, with six wings that looked like tattered shadows. Its eyes were identical to Aris's—violet voids.
[Bond Successful!]
[Companion Name: Unnamed (Default: Void-Eater)]
[Current State: Malnourished / Evolution Path Locked.]
The creature let out a silent meow that vibrated in Aris's soul. It didn't want milk. It lunged at the pile of high-grade coal Aris had been hiding. Within seconds, it began eating the rocks, grinding the Earth-Vein Essence into pure energy.
[Companion 'Void-Eater' is sharing 10% of consumed energy with the Host.]
[Body Tempering Progress: 95%... 99%... 100%!]
[Breakthrough! Host is now Rank 3 Body Tempering (Copper-Skin).]
Aris felt his skin tighten. It turned a faint metallic hue for a second before his Shadow-Veil masked it back to "pale and skinny."
"I'll call you Nox," Aris whispered.
The beast vanished into his shadow, literally becoming a part of his silhouette.
[Warning: High-Level Cultivator Approaching the Coal Pits!]
[Level: 55 (Nascent Soul Stage)]
[Identity: General Thorne — Your Father.]
Aris froze. His "father," the man who hadn't looked at him once since his birth, was coming to the pits. At Level 55, the General's passive "Aura" could crush a normal five-year-old to death.
"Nox, hide deep," Aris commanded. He quickly threw a handful of dirt over his glowing eyes and slumped his shoulders, putting on the "weak slave" mask.
A moment later, the air in the pit became heavy enough to crack the wooden support beams. A tall man in crimson armor stepped into the gloom. He didn't walk; he glided, the ground beneath his feet frosting over from his sheer power.
General Thorne looked down at the "trash" son he had forgotten.
[General Thorne is using 'Spirit Scan'.]
[Probability of Detection: 15%...]
"You," the General's voice boomed, echoing in the tunnels. "The Matron says you haven't died yet. Why?"