(Princess, my damage output isn't doing much to this guy.) Ken growled as his health dropped below 33%. The enemy still had over 75% Health despite the two fighting for over half an hour.

[Blood-Frenzy has auto activated. Agility +5%]

The girl was busy twirling her staff as she danced. She split her focus on dancing both to cleanse the mist and to give Ken strength. "I'm running low on stamina, Ken."

With the agility boost the lynx was able to dodge blows a bit more effectively. (I'm sorry Princess, I don't think this will work out.)

Princess inhaled "Jericho, I wish you were here to help. You would know what to do." She was focused enough to not notice her MP slowly draining.

(Yeah, if Jericho was here, he might be able to help us turn the tables.) Ken agreed.

As if to answer their wishes Jericho, the water elemental, appeared in their surroundings. He a.s.sumed his human form. "It looks like we are just in time to save the day! Come out Lux." He directed with a playful glint in his eyes.

(Let's rescue this damsel in distress!) Lux proclaimed as he exited the pet s.p.a.ce.

Princess chuckled.

(Jericho told me to say that!) He admitted quickly to princess.

"You're such a dork at the weirdest times." She said to her brother with a grin before turning back to Lux. "Nice dramatic entrance though."

(Ah! We found Ken again! Don't worry Big Brother! I will help you defeat that monster and protect your beloved Princess.)

(You're embarra.s.sing me.) Ken growled through his teeth.

The demon started laughing arrogantly. "{(Bringer, not only did you advance, you spent all that effort to escape my grasp and yet you bring yourself directly to me. Join me, Life Transformation Bringer, and we can destroy your enemies.)}"

Glaw emerged from Jericho and joined the two felines in fighting. {Jericho, a.s.sist or Fight. I think the five of us can handle him either way.}

The demon swung his oversized club at Princess.

Lux dashed over and pushed her away, taking the blow himself.

Seeing this scene, the bard joined in the demon's maniacal laughter as he pulled out his violin. "Destroy my enemies? I like the sound of that." He put the bow to the strings and annoyingly squawked the instrument, repeatedly. "Let's start by removing you since you dared to attack my sister." A humid bright fog emitted from Jericho.

[Elemental Fury has activated.] [Grudge Mist (Healing) has activated. You have targeted the demon Sklavoi. Allies he has harmed will have their natural health regeneration doubled until deactivated.]

[You have learned the ability Cacophony of Annoyance. 0/10 Master: Play an annoying series of noises with an instrument to hurt the ears of the listeners. This ability does not cause actual damage and is usually accidentally learned by novice musicians instead of purposefully created by master musicians. Use of this ability will draw the aggression of all nearby hostile and neutral monsters towards you. Adept Bonus: Weak willed creatures will try and cover their ears to avoid the painful sounds. Expert Bonus: Creatures that hear this ability may become stunned or dazed by this monstrosity. Master Bonus: Target creatures are immune to the effects, but it still sounds grating on the ears.]

The bard split himself into two. "Ken, is there an ability I should focus on with music?"

The lynx gained a look of inspiration. {Focus on my ability, Bloodline Surge.}

The Demon was feeling the pain of the violin three fold because of his multiple heads. The Aggro Rules dominated his focus. He slashed his wing in the one Jericho's direction. "{(You think you can best me with such petty tricks? If you will not join me willingly I will force you to submit to me!)}"

The bard jumped back with another loud, painful shrill from the instrument.

The other Jericho pulled out some panpipes and played a heroic melody while focusing on Ken's Bloodline Surge.

[You are under the effects of the Composition of Bloodline Surge. You will do your maximum damage as if you had all your hours available. As you are the only audience member with Bloodline Surge the ability will deal an additional +90% base damage.]

Ken waited as he knew the ability would gain a second more powerful boost as soon as Jericho finished the piece.

The violin wielding Jericho continued to dodge and take hits for about a minute before peris.h.i.+ng.

[Half of you has been slain. You are now unable to merge back into a full elemental form. You are in a weakened state until you can restore your other half. You will not take the full death penalties unless all copies of you die.]

"So that's what happens." Jericho muttered as he felt a heavy sense of loss. He finished playing the short piece.

Ken received the notification he had been waiting for. [Any attack used with Bloodline Surge will land a successful critical hit upon use. You must use within 3 seconds.]

The feline reverted to his human form in the first second. Drew his bow and shouted. "OverDraw, Piercing Shot, Bloodline Surge!" He loosed his arrow on the last second.

[You have consumed all available time remaining on your transformation abilities. Reverting to Animal form.]

[Bow's durability has dropped because you used the OverDraw ability.]

A huge damage counter appeared above the fiend as piecing shot ignored some of the creature's defenses. [You have dealt a devastating blow.]

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[Your party has slain the manifestation of the demon Sklavoi. You have gained 900 EXP.] [The Demon Sklavoi will not be able to return to the forest of Pren for another 167 hours and 59 minutes. Creatures corrupted by the mist during this time will shorten this timer.]

Ken walked over to the pile of items that dropped when the demon returned to the land he came from.

[Sklavoi's giant club (Tier 3) Level requirement 30… A mace made from an alloy of Copper, Zinc, and Dark Aasterite… Among demonic weapons this one would be more fragile if not for its enormous size and the use of Dark Aasterite as a coating… Due to its enormous size it would be difficult for a human to wield.]

[Demon Crystal (Tier 4 crafting material): Use to add the unholy trait to an item. Special abilities may show up on equipment made with this item.]

[Demonic wings (Glamour item): Equip this item to add it to the list of equipable appearances. You do not need to have wings to use the appearance. Note that NPCs may treat you with hostility while the glamour is active. These wings do not give the ability to fly as they are intended for appearance rather than practicality.]

[7 gold 2 silver.]

Ken looked over to Jericho. {These… How should we split or use them?}

Jericho scanned the items. "If you don't mind I'll take the club none of us can use. I received an item from the satyr quest that allows me to use items like the club to make instruments. As for the rest, I don't care who gets them."

Ken nodded. (Princess?)

She came over. "Wow, um I don't think I will want to craft anything with the unholy trait but the wings look cool. I could use that for some of my dances that require outfits."

{Then I'll take the crafting material. I am sure I can sell it for a decent price.} He said as they split the money. {I've wanted to ask since you showed up. But how did you get here, Jericho?} Ken asked Jericho who had a crystal that was absorbing the weapon.

"Princess used her Summon Brother Skill," he half-joked. "Now, we should get out of here."

Ken nodded. {North is this way.} He started to walk. {We are actually near the center of the mist. Running here at full speed took me quite a while.}

"Ken, wait. If we are close to the center of the mist, let's head west." Jericho replied as he read the system notification.

[Trans.m.u.tation-orb (Instrument) has absorbed a large Tier 3 Item. No instrument has been selected for creation. The orb will not create an instrument until you have selected an instrument to make.]

{Why? The forest is dangerous in that direction and there isn't a good way out.}

"Earlier, that fiend sent a huge number of creatures in that direction to chase after me. North is extremely dangerous too." Jericho explained. "I have a quest to go west of here. So with both directions being dangerous…" He continued.

{I get it.} Ken replied. {Let's go then.}

Princess looked over her battle log. "Summon Brother Skill… Wait, Summon elemental (Jericho the Bard)? I can summon you with that skill?" She asked disbelieving the proof right in front of her.

Jericho smiled. "I am an elemental. So yes you can summon me with that skill. However I am too strong of an elemental at this point so I had to use my own power to strengthen your portal to come here. That is also why I am not draining your magic. You can't unsummon me either."

The bard split himself into the two of him he could and pulled out two instruments. "You are probably tired from dancing for so long. Let me take over on mist duty for a minute while you rest." He started playing and singing.

The mist around them cleared as they walked further west.

Princess took the time to review her new skills she had obtained from the pipe fox and also the information regarding her new soul bound companion.

[Skill line Tier 2 Illusion +5 Will]

[Multi-sensory Illusion Beginner 0/10: Choose two senses; one must be sight. Create an illusion within 3 meters of you. Viewers of the illusion will see and ____ the illusion. Illusions rely on the power of belief to be powerful. Knowing something is an illusion doesn't change the fact that they will still experience it.]

[Targeted Illusion Adept 0/10: Target creature falls under the effects of an illusion you create. Only the target sees what you want them to see. A creature with a strong enough perception or will power will be able to see through the illusion. Adept bonus: Choose an additional sense other than smell. Target will also, feel, taste, or hear the illusion depending on your choice.]

"This…" She muttered before trying it out. She focused on the first skill to create an illusory double of herself. She had the two of her taking different actions. "This will work great! If I can get this skill stronger, I will be able to use the illusions to create the appearance of a lot of dancers even when it is only me."

[Soul bound creature (Unnamed Baby Pipe Fox *Male*). It must grow more before becoming a Tier 1 creature. Currently it is in a state of unending sleep. It currently cannot wake. A soul bound creature cannot truly die unless its bonded companion dies. You currently have quests regarding this creature. Escape the mist. Wake the Baby. See the quest entries for details.]

"Okay Princess, time to swap me out again. I need to recharge my magic and stamina." Jericho called out breaking her from her thoughts.

She danced once more.

Jericho moved closer to Glaw. {So, can you explain this half death thing?}

Glaw nodded. {You need to restore yourself by returning to a water source in an area not filled with corruption. We may be able to find a lake or a river to do so at. Until then you are stuck in that weakened state of yours. The other way to become whole again is to die but that is usually more painful than not. This is actually one of the many reasons we stay near a body of water. This half death state can be quite dangerous.}

Jericho gave a light nod. {So, find a river, lake, or other body of water and do what exactly?}

{Submerge yourself in it for a long time by your mortal's standards. Of course most bodies of water will only be able to restore a lesser elemental amount of your power so you may need to find two water sources to regain your full power.}

{Sounds simple enough when we can find one,} Jericho replied.

{Simple, time consuming, and best to do it as quickly as possible,} Glaw explained. {If you could return to our lake it would be faster. When bodies of water have hearts we elementals heal faster in them.}

Jericho nodded again. {Thank you again for teaching me.}

{Of course. Thank you for making the boss angry so we could focus on damaging it. The support was quite useful. However please exercise more caution in the future. Death isn't something fun even for immortal creatures like us.}

Lux a.s.sumed his human form and walked over to the bard. "So, how long are you going to hold onto the pet contract?"

The minstrel smiled. "I can let it go whenever you want. But originally you wanted to wait until we were both out of the mist and with Ken."

"Release me now then, please." Lux replied.

Jericho focused on releasing the pet contract with Lux.

[You have freed your Pet Lux.]

"Thanks a bunch!" Lux called out before reverting to his normal self and going over to bug Ken.

Jericho pulled out his instruments once more as his resources were recharged. "Ready to rest some more?"

The two performers switched off as they ventured westward.