Something stirred against Jake’s mind as he felt the Dungeon try to understand what he was upset about. It was a strange sensation, and Jake realised it might have thought he was upset at it for some reason.

  Feeling decidedly stupid, Jake turned to the Throne. “It’s okay, I’m not angry with you or your work. The enemy will know where I am as soon as you reach the next tier, though. That will make life difficult.”

  Jake wasn’t bound to the Dungeon, but here, in the very heart of its power, and with his growing strength as a Dungeon Noble, they could bridge the gap.

  Reassurance. Time. Close.

  Jake let out a shaky breath of relief as he realised what it was trying to tell him. “Almost there, but not quite?”

  Approval. Curiosity.

  Jake interpreted that as the Dungeon being curious about him, or perhaps about the lack of other Dungeon Nobles.

  Approval. Satisfaction.

  Jake got a sense of it watching them complete the Dungeon and finding their attempt pleasing in some way.

  Curiosity.

  A final imparted sense of thoughtfulness touched at the edge of Jake’s awareness before the Dungeon drew back. It was still there, just out of touch, and Jake knew he could reach out to it if he tried.

  Shaking himself, Jake moved to the Throne and took his seat, hoping that the Dungeon had been correct.

  The swell of power that poured through him was intense, the largest that he’d encountered yet, and Jake sagged in the Throne for a brief moment, exhausted.

  Congratulations, Jake Khesh, you have bound the Dungeon Lognir Infernis. Choose from one of the four rewards the Dungeon has selected for you.

  Jake pushed himself up from the Throne with a groan, feeling as though he’d been wrung out from the effort of channelling such power.

  Moving over to the pedestals that held the rewards, Jake moved along them, noticing as he did that the third one was glowing more brightly.

  Jake frowned, trying to remember when he’d last seen that happen, but made sure to listen carefully to the whispers from the first two nonetheless.

  The first reward was some sort of scale Boon, which Jake wasn’t interested in, while the second was for a dagger of obsidian which would boost any infusions it received.

  Jake wavered as he heard that reward, his eyes going wide. That was a powerful Boon, and one that would synergise well with his recent improvements.

  The glow of the third reward called to him, though, so Jake reluctantly took a step forward to hear the new set of whispers.

  They spoke of an embodiment of power and vengeance, of a powerful ally to match the one he already held. An image of a coiled serpent came with the whispers, which bubbled excitedly as they described the future power and strength of the Boon.

  Jake finally remembered where he’d felt a Boon like this before. It had been when he’d got Moby from the duck Dungeon.

  If it wasn’t for the dagger, Jake would have taken whatever this serpent Boon was without hesitation. As it was, though, he was torn.

  The dagger would be powerful now, but it would only grow in strength, both directly as he increased its tier and indirectly as he learned better infusions.

  Jake could see it influencing all of his Abilities as he started to focus more on infusions, the end result would be incredible.

  Jake paused, frowning as he considered that future in more detail. Yes, the dagger would be powerful, but he would be obliged to spend more and more Manifestations on keeping it active.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Whenever he used one for something else, it would be taking away from his most powerful response.

  More than that, it was limited in scope. No matter the strength of the dagger, it wouldn’t be as versatile as Moby had become. The duck had saved lives, killed enemies, scouted for them and even been their bait once or twice.

  Against the normal choices he got, the dagger was the clear winner, but versatility was what Jake was growing to love. He felt like he had a weapon for almost every situation now, so why not a familiar for one as well.

  Acting before he could change his mind, Jake chose the serpent Boon, hoping that he hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

  A long, sibilant hiss echoed through Jake’s mind as he felt something shift and take form in his soul.

  Calling on his System, Jake read the description of his newest Boon.

  The Vengeful Serpent - (I) - Granted by the Lognir Infernis Dungeon, this Boon allows you to Manifest Surtiss, a vengeful serpent, to aid you. The Manifestion is consumed in maintaining Surtiss’s presence, not his actions.

  “Huh, okay then,” Jake said absently, running a hand through his hair before heading back out of the Throne room. It was time to head home and Ascend.

  -**-

  With the prospect of the third tier looming ahead of them, they quickly split the loot between them and all but rushed back through the city to the inn and from there to the safe house.

  “Good luck, everyone!” Jake called out, laughing as everyone disappeared into their rooms. Opening his own door, he stepped inside and expended a Manifestation to summon his new familiar.

  Moby quacked his displeasure from the headboard of Jake’s bed, but Jake paid him no heed as a flash of grey Wyrd and a long, menacing hiss filled the room.

  Jake had held out his arm, not quite sure what else to do, and Surtiss slithered out of thin air to wrap around his wrist.

  In moments, the snake had wrapped itself along Jake’s forearm and raised its head up to Jake’s face, its tongue flickering out as it scented him.

  Surtiss was several feet long and quite slender, lacking the size and width of even the Juvenile Fire Serpents. His scales were the same dark red, however, and the warmth radiating from his companion’s mouth told him that Surtiss had the same heated fangs.

  Surtiss also had the vaguest hint of the same dark frills that the Enhanced monsters had presented. They’d likely become more prominent as the snake advanced in tier.

  As Jake was inspecting the snake, Surtiss lowered his head down to press firmly against the inside of Jake’s wrist, the rest of his body shifting and spreading along Jake’s arm.

  The coils were loose, with plenty of spacing, and Jake felt no hindrance to the movement of his arm. Interesting, very interesting.

  Surtiss lacked the independence that Moby’s wings gave him, but it seemed that the snake would be playing into that directly.

  Drawing his sword, Jake tested how it felt with the slight extra weight of the snake, quickly realising that with how much stronger he was now, it made no difference at all.

  “You best get off, though, as I’m about to tier up,” Jake said, holding his hand out to a nearby piece of furniture.

  With a disapproving hiss, Surtiss slithered down his arm and onto the flat surface before coiling back up.

  Jake’s arm felt abruptly cold without Surtiss coiled around it, and he absently rubbed at his raised skin as he got into bed and closed his eyes.

  -**-

  Congratulations, you have fulfilled the requirements for ascending to the next tier.

  Would you like to Advance, Alter or Augment?

  “Advance, please,” Jake said, his heart pounding. Perhaps in the future he would choose something different, but for now, he needed that third tier.

  Confirmed. Advancing Dungeon Noble Class.

  Please choose between advancing a Class Ability and purchasing a Class Ability.

  Jake scanned through the options he had, keenly aware that he had two Traits and two Skills already, which meant he had one slot free for each type of Ability.

  As he was moving into the third tier, he could select an uncommon Class Ability, which meant that the range he had available was much larger.

  As before, he didn’t think that advancing an existing Ability by one rank would help, so he decided to pick something interesting.

  “Purchase Lesser Wyrd Manifestation.”

  Congratulations, you have ascended to Tier III, Rank I. Your soul has been purified and refined.

  Jake managed a grin as he considered how he would use his new Ability, and then the darkness consumed him.

  -**-

  The first thing that Jake did when he woke up was to trigger his Status and examine his new Ability.

  Active - Lesser Wyrd Manifestation (I) - Uncommon - You are now able to expend a minor amount of Wyrd to Manifest a shadow of a single Boon into an item you are holding.

  A grin spread across Jake’s face as he grabbed his sword and triggered the Ability, only for nothing to happen. Jake frowned and turned his attention inward focusing on the Ability and how it felt.

  “Oh, I get it,” he muttered, activating the Skill again, only this time focusing on the Hidden Fang Boon.

  A lot more Wyrd than Jake expected went flowing down into the sword, but he felt the weapon change slightly. There was a slight film on the sword’s edge now, which Jake took to be the outward sign of its inherent poison.

  The effect faded as soon as Jake let go of the sword, but he expected as much. Grinning to himself, Jake got up and gathered his gear, more than satisfied with his choice.

  The amount of Wyrd he had to call on had increased significantly as well, so while the new Skill was expensive, it was manageable.

  “Come on, chaps,” Jake called out, laughing at the surreal image as Moby flew over to his left shoulder and Surtiss swarmed up to coil around his right arm.