Chapter 8:
"So this… is the boss floor?" Ethan muttered, stepping into a vast, circular chamber. His voice echoed eerily through the empty space.
The chamber was lit by cold, blue torches fixed to black stone walls. Demonic skeletal statues stood in a ring around the room, each twisted in grotesque poses—some holding severed heads, others clawing at unseen enemies. At the far end of the chamber stood a throne of black bone, encrusted with rubies and draped in faded cloth.
But… no one was there.
"Where's the boss?" the fifth-born wolf asked, scanning the shadows.
"This is so unprofessional," the eighth-born muttered, shaking his head.
Then,tap. tap. tap.
Footsteps echoed through the chamber.
"Forgive me," came a deep, dry voice. "I had… business to handle."
From the shadows emerged the figure of a tall skeleton cloaked in tattered midnight robes, etched with glowing purple runes. His bony fingers clutched a twisted staff made of blackwood and bone. His empty eye sockets flickered with violet flames. Despite having no flesh, his very presence pressed down like gravity.
The wolves instinctively stepped back, sensing a heavy aura.
Ethan didn't flinch.
But then
"…You might wanna handle that," Ethan said, pointing lazily at the skeleton's leg.
The skeleton looked down. A small piece of toilet paper fluttered from his shin like a flag caught in the wind.
"Oh," the skeleton murmured. "Right."
He snapped his fingers, and the tissue burned into ash.
He cleared his nonexistent throat and placed a hand over where his mouth should be. "Ahem. Let's get to business, shall we?"
The room pulsed as his aura flared outward, dark energy rising like fog. The walls cracked. Dust trembled in the air. His violet eyes blazed.
The wolves didn't budge.
Neither did Ethan—who yawned.
"…You're supposed to be terrified," the skeleton said, voice cracking. "Even the Forest's apex beast cowers before me!"
"Yeah," Ethan said, waving a hand like shooing away a bad smell, "not impressive. Try something else."
The skeleton screamed, his power doubling, the floor fracturing beneath his feet. With a snap of his fingers, a blazing black firestorm engulfed Ethan and the wolves. The beasts howled in pain, thrashing to escape the flames.
"Now THAT'S more like it!" the skeleton cackled. "That's what you get for mocking a GRAND level!"
The smoke began to clear.
Ethan stood in the center, completely untouched, flames parting around him like wind around a stone. His hand was raised, glowing with golden light. His eyes gleamed coldly.
"A Grand level, huh?" he said. "What level might you be?"
The skeleton blinked. "W-Well… two thousand! Give or take!"
"Wrong."
Half of Ethan's face darkened, the air around him tightening.
"You don't even know what a Grand is."
His aura exploded, and his eyes turned a deep crimson. He raised one hand toward the air, his palm glowing with layered magic sigils.
"This is the difference between you and me…"
From the air itself, a sphere of condensed golden Qi began to form above his hand. Energy cracked like lightning around it. Its raw pressure bent the ground, crushed stone, and shattered skeletal statues in the distance.
Power infused: 40,000.
The skeleton staggered backward, shaking. "T-That can't be… You're just a child!"
Ethan took one step forward.
"I… I yield!" the skeleton screamed, dropping to his knees and bowing his head. "Please!"
The wolves paused.
"So uh… what do we do now?" the second-born asked mentally.
"Kill him?" the third-born offered.
"Yeah, otherwise we can't leave," said the fifth.
"There's… another way," the skeleton muttered, raising his head.
Ethan approached slowly. "And that is?"
"…Forming a contract."
Ethan raised an eyebrow. "Why would I do that with a skeleton?"
Thunder cracked behind the mage's skull. The insult stung.
"Because… if you do, you'll unlock the ability to form true contracts with your wolves. Right now, they follow you because of your strength. Not because you've bonded them."
Ethan tilted his head. "Wait… you're saying I haven't made a contract with them?"
"No. From what I see, they respect your power. But a real contract? That's something else."
"But what about the Soul Link?"
The skeleton's violet eyes widened. "Wait… you've done that?!"
"Yeah," Ethan said, scratching his head. "I thought that was the contract."
"Soul Link allows communication… shared strength across distances. But a contract? That lets you evolve them. Share your traits. Fuse powers. Take them further than any beast could reach alone."
Ethan blinked. "…Why didn't anyone say this earlier?"
The skeleton suddenly slammed his head into the ground. "PLEASE! Take me in as your follower!"
Ethan sighed, eyes rolling. "Ugh, fine."
The skeleton rose, lifting one hand. A silver magic circle formed between them, glowing with ancient runes.
"All that remains is… a drop of your blood."
Ethan bit his finger, then let one drop fall onto the circle.
FLASH.
The chamber erupted in golden light as the spell activated. The skeleton's body shimmered, engulfed in radiant energy.
Master-Servant Pact Formed.
The bones cracked… shifted… changed.
The light faded.
Kneeling before Ethan was no longer a skeleton.
Instead, a tall man now bowed his long crimson hair flowing, his white mage robes reborn into dark silver and royal purple. He slowly raised his head, revealing sharp, brilliant blue eyes that seemed to glow like twin stars.
The wolves stared in disbelief.
Ethan blinked.
"…Where'd the skeleton go?"
To be continued…