Leo crashed through golem after golem until he reached the level ten difficulty. After that, the golems started to require more than just force. They dodged, weaved, attacked at range. By level fifteen, they had started to resist his elements. And more than that, they started to learn.

Leo crashed out with a Titan Barrage, rapid firing punches into the golem. It dodged from side to side rapidly as every fist was dodged. Ellie dove for its legs, crushing the plating in its shin. The moment it stopped, Leo spun into a kick, which was quickly caught in its hand. A glowing chop slammed down on his knee, crippling his leg as Ellie sliced it with her claws.

It was ignoring Ellie’s less effective attacks and opting for annihilation of Leo. Leo roared in pain as his leg dangled loosely. He’d not had to use Lightning Drive yet, this was to train his technique and fighting skill without relying on boosts.

But it was time to kick it up a notch.

Electricity surged. Blue sparks dancing across his skin. Moving on one leg wasn’t easy, but if he was going to do it, best to be fast.

The golem grabbed Ellie by the tail, swinging her away toward a nearby wall. As she flew, Leo used Wyrmstep, reversing Ellie’s gravity and pulling her towards the enemy once again. This was something they’d done on a previous Golem, so she was used to it.

Wind coalesced in her mouth as a veritable armoury of windblades descended on the golem. It punched through some, took hits from the others. Leo jumped, Gale Talon combining with Ellie’s wind to add more things for the golem to dodge. It couldn’t dodge the final hit, slicing it in half.

Leo collapsed as his body was restored. All of a sudden it was like he hadn’t been injured, back at full physical strength. But his mental health was waning.

“This is great,” he breathed, lying on the floor. Ellie collapsed onto him, smiling dazedly.

“Can we take a little break?” Leo asked aloud, and the next golem didn’t appear.

It wasn’t a purely mental health break. It was a break to get some new tools.

He had both a new bond skill, and a new Elemental Adept skill to unlock, and Ellie had her own skill to get. The reason he hadn’t done so earlier—apart from the bond skill, which he’d stupidly forgotten with the whole Serrix thing—was that he’d just not been in the right mind to look at rewards after Bjorn’s death.

Now, after what must have been a day or two fighting golems, he felt it was time to expand their skill pool.

He started in ascending order, starting with the level 70 Bond skill. Ellie could pick hers by herself. He trusted her as much.

He was already considering the passed up skill of his last option. The one that allowed him to use Resonance to slice out with an ethereal dragon claw. So whatever the skill was, it needed to beat that somehow.

Three options appeared. Leo looked at them one at a time.

Dragon’s Call (Uncommon)

The bond between you both acts as a beacon.

When activated, Leo and Ellie may instantly locate one another regardless of distance within a large radius.

Scales with Intelligence and Will

Cooldown: 10 minutes

It was… okay.

Being able to locate Ellie in the city was easy, she was always with him really. But on Earth? Things could get different. They wouldn’t always be right next to each other. Could be separated for some reason or other. It also let Ellie activate the skill, which was something new entirely.

This skill was actually quite a bit more appealing when he thought more about it. It could also upgrade into something that let him always know where she was without cooldown. Or remain uncommon for the rest of his life.

Onto the next.

Heart of the Hoard (Rare, Passive)

The instincts of dragonkind draw you toward things worth possessing.

Rare treasures, powerful materials, ancient relics, and locations of significance may create a pull within the bond when either of you are in range.

The rarer and more powerful the treasure, the stronger the sensation becomes.

Scales with Wisdom and Bond

He smiled softly to himself. A bonafide treasure sense. This would have been an easy choice while he was in the city, as there was no doubt many things that he’d missed. Heck, he’d still not been able to find a key to the stupid bank!

Now that he was going back to Earth, there could be lots of treasures, or none. Probably some. Did he fancy himself some kind of treasure hunter? It definitely tickled a part of him that loved collecting treasures in games.

Definite maybe, Leo thought, moving to the last option. With the second option being Rare, and the rarity often increasing as the list went down, Leo was hopeful to see something Epic.

Looking at it, Epic in rarity it wasn’t, but it was certainly something.

Dragon’s Hoard (Rare)

The instincts of dragonkind run deeper than memory
One of those instincts is to gather and hoard.

Through your bond with Ellie, a pocket space tied to your souls is formed.

Items placed within the hoard are preserved and may be recalled at will.

The capacity of the hoard grows alongside you.

Living creatures cannot be stored.

This skill can evolve through a variety of means.

Well. Now he was stuck.

“Hey, Caldrin?” Leo asked aloud, pulling Ellie from her rest, she lay back down when she realised her attention wasn’t required.

“I’m not some kind of attendant, you realise?” Caldrin said, smiling. “I do have other things that require my attention other than your excuse for unarmed combat.”

“Rude,” Leo chuckled. “But fair enough. Are skills that give an inventory rare? I figured most people would just use these rings.” He raised his hand up, peering at the ring on his finger.

“They are not uncommon. A lot of races have them innately. A lot of professions also tend to be offered some form of storage skill. Those dimensional storage rings are an adequate replacement, but I’d recommend taking a skill. The utility of it can be increased in various ways, often with more capacity than a ring too.” He was in full lecture mode. “In fact, getting a skill could save you a lot of expense down the line. Higher rarity storage rings can get very expensive, especially those safe from thieves.”

“I assume you are asking because you’ve been offered one,” he said, continuing further before Leo could speak. “I have seen companion bonds before, but never has one been with a dragon.” His eyes flashed. “I am very curious about the skills and options you are both offered.” Elements were tingling in the air above him, like he was getting excited and the air was responding.

“Uhh, yeah, got offered a Rare rarity skill,” Leo said, a little worried about the look in the Primarch’s eyes. He decided to try and sneak in another question while the god was in a giving mood. “What are the rarities anyway? Is there a maximum?”

“They go from basic, often reserved for things with barely any Mana. Mundane or broken items or skills. Then Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Exalted, Legendary and… more. Then, alternate to those and not on that scale, are Divine and Unique.”

“Ah.” He seemed to realise Leo’s intentions and vanished. Leo just smiled.

“Sounds reasonable,” Leo said. “I’ve got a lot of work to do then.”

Starting with this skill selection. While his ring was useful right now, Leo figured he’d end up choosing this eventually. The treasure sense was very tantalising, as was the Resonance based attack he’d already passed up. But some things you just had to go for.

Gimme that backpack.

You have unlocked the Bond of Unity skill: Dragon’s Hoard (Rare)

Ellie was alert, standing as she also felt the power that was coursing through Leo. It was like something was being added to both their souls, an extension of sorts that they both had access to.

“Woah, that’s intense,” Leo said. Ellie nodded along, agreeing. She looked jumpy, like ingesting a dose of caffeine or sugar. Or both.

“Let’s try something, Ells.” Leo pulled an E-grade Essence Crystal from his ring, then tried to will it into his new inventory. It vanished, and Leo couldn't feel it. He tried looking for it within the ring. It wasn’t there.

Then tried to look into himself somehow, similar to how he travelled to his soul space. The skill responded, showing him his current inventory of one E-grade Essence Crystal.

Weird, but kind of intuitive.

“Try grabbing that crystal out, Ells,” Leo said.

She tilted her head at him questioningly.

“Uh, it’s like trying to find something that’s inside you, close your eyes and try and feel for it,” Leo said in a way he could admit was vague at best. It was more of a feeling.

She did as he asked, closing her eyes. Her face was twisting like she was concentrating. The dragon was so focused that she lay down, focusing all of her attention on her job.

Seconds passed as Leo waited patiently, wanting to see her pull the crystal out. If she could do it then she’d be able to access his potions and other items. Her breathing steadied as she focused.

More time passed and Leo got closer.

“How about it, Ells? You manag—”

The dragon was asleep.

“Oh you–” Leo laughed, shaking his head at the young dragon.

For all that he relied on her, she was still a baby.

“You take a little nap while I unlock my next skill, then you can dive into yours before we get back to fighting.”

Her legs kicked out like she was running.

~

Little did Leo know, Ellie was experiencing a series of dreams that would result in a choice. The first of which was a forest.

A thick jungle surrounded the young dragon. Trees as thick as Goliaths, vines so dense they blocked the light. Ellie was dashing through the jungle rapidly, bobbing and weaving while cutting through that which was in her way.

She wasn’t running from something. She was the predator.

Her nose rose, sniffing the air for the prey’s scent. Nothing.

Her ears perked, listening for the sounds of movement. Rustling of leaves, cracking of wood. Still nothing.

Then, her eyes flashed, and what was revealed was a trail. One that she could track. Following it, she found her prey, cowering in hiding.

Chomp.

The next vision was cold. Very cold. But it wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it felt good, like it was giving her strength. Her wounds, dealt to her in a previous battle, started healing faster. The cold was restoring her while making her stronger.

She danced around the snow, basking in its wonder. Ellie quite liked this one.

In the final choice she was back in the city again, standing atop one of the rooftops. Leo was there too!

Hi Leo! She waved.

Leo smirked. It was a devilish one that she knew the meaning of. One that made her excited and giddy.

She bounced from side to side, ready to run and jump after him. Then his body lit up with lightning and her heart sank. When he did that he was so much faster than her. Not once could she keep up, having to go into his soul house.

No! If Leo can do it, Ellie can do it too! Ellie won’t be left behind again!

Sparks danced along the young dragon's scales as she focused through the Lightning Essence. The same feeling she got when she used the ‘laserbeam’ as Leo called it. But this time she pushed it into her legs.

It made her all tingly.

And then she was off. The wind rushed past her as she warped across rooftops in rapid motion, chasing Leo as fast as she could. Her heart was racing as she finally felt like she was catching up.

The dream ended, and a choice was offered.

The sense, the power from the cold, or—

I know its name already! Ellie shouted in her dream. I want that one!

You have unlocked the skil—

“Zoomies!”

~

As Leo was about to dive into his skill selection for his class, a notification appeared. His eyes lit up with pride and excitement upon seeing it.

Ellie has unlocked the skill: Sparkstride (Uncommon)

Sparkstride (Uncommon)

Lightning dances beneath your scales as you draw upon its Essence.

While active, your movements become unnaturally quick and fluid. Your speed, acceleration, and mobility are enhanced as crackling currents carry your body forward.

Sparkstride may be maintained continuously, consuming stamina and mana while active.

Can consume larger chunks of each to gain a burst of increased speed and distance.

Scales with Agility

Cooldown: None

Ellie’s eyes opened, blinking away the sleep and pleasant dreams. Then she felt it. The dragon jumped to her feet, staring down Leo. Her face tugged up in what Leo could only guess was a smirk.

“Oh?” he asked, smirking a reply. Lightning started dancing across his skin.

Ellie’s scales lit up with blue light, forming into sparks that danced between the tiny gaps in them. They travelled down her legs, right down to the claws before they danced back up.

“Caldrin?” Leo asked aloud. “Don’t suppose you can open the area up a bit?”

“What did I say about being your attendant?” His voice echoed in the room.

“It’s for Ellie too. Your Herald. Remember?” Leo asked, voice laced with a taunt.

“I suppose if it’s for my Herald.”

The room shifted, no longer an arena with numerous obstacles. Instead, a mountainous region formed around them. Rocky outcroppings with overhangs that looked very fun to traverse. The sky above beamed down on them. Wind tickled his skin.

Leo met his young companion’s eyes. She was itchy to move.

He turned, keeping his eyes on her but his body facing the mountains before them. Excitement of this world and all the new wonders filled his heart. The freedom to do all this was unbelievable.

“Ready? G–”

Before he could finish, Ellie was off.

She darted across the ground, barely touching it as the Lightning carried her forward. Leo didn’t move straight away, awed as he watched her. He took off before she got too far, sprinting over the mountains in order to catch up to her.

An outcropping before him started falling as Ellie passed it. Leo grinned, running across the wall like something out of a video game, his feet finding enough purchase thanks to his incredible speed.

He couldn’t resist as he jumped, wind rushing past him as he chased her down.

It just felt so right.

“Wooo!!”

In his study, watching the pair jump around, Caldrin was chuckling. He had been watching the bond between them during the tutorial, the clear love they both shared, formed in a city of violence. For whatever destiny or reasoning behind Leo finding Iskarion and receiving young Ellie, he was glad it was him.

His Herald was in good hands.