It wasn’t sharp.
It wasn’t burning.
It was everything—as if someone had torn his soul loose, wrung it like a wet cloth, and slammed it back into place.
He collapsed to his knees with a strangled cry, fingers clawing at the dirt.
Kaitlyn screamed his name.
Zane and Bell spun around instantly.
Three sets of feet pounded toward him.
But before any of them reached him—before Kaitlyn had taken more than two steps—the pain vanished.
Max sagged forward, breathing hard, blinking tears out of his eyes.
Kaitlyn skidded in beside him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him in full panic mode. “Max! Max! What happened? Max look at me—look at me! Are you dying?!”
“I— I’m fine!” he wheezed, trying to pry her fingers off him. “Kaitlyn stop—stop shaking me! I’m fine! It just… hit me all at once.”
Zane and Bell circled him like worried guard dogs, scanning for wounds, monsters, anything that could have hurt him. There was nothing. No blood. No burns. No injuries of any kind.
Kaitlyn slapped a glowing hand onto his back, trying to heal whatever she thought was wrong.
Nothing happened.
Because nothing was wrong.
Before she could start shaking him again, a loud POP echoed through the clearing.
Everyone froze.
Kaitlyn’s eyes went wide as she stared past her brother.
Behind Max stood… the most adorable, confused-looking three-foot-tall bush wallaby any of them had ever seen. Its soft brown ears twitched wildly—up, down, sideways—as if trying to interpret the universe.
Kaitlyn stopped shaking Max immediately.
She stepped around him, lifting a hand slowly like she was approaching a stray kitten.
“It’s okay, little guy,” she murmured, trying her best friendly, soothing tone.
The wallaby took one look at her… then panicked.
It hopped to the left—
… then to the right—
… then launched itself straight at Max’s back like a terrified toddler sprinting to their parent’s legs.
Max jolted, thinking he was under attack for half a heartbeat—
—but the bond in his chest flared warm and familiar, telling him this creature is yours.
He twisted around, and their faces ended up the same height—Max still kneeling, the wallaby trembling in front of him.
Max threw his arms around the shaking little creature, pulling it close.
“Hey… hey, it’s okay,” he whispered, stroking its soft fur. “It’s okay, Skip. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”
He didn’t question the nickname.
It came from somewhere deep and instinctual.
Kaitlyn tried to step closer, but Max waved her off protectively, keeping his body between her and his terrified new companion.
While Max and the wallaby hugged it out, Zane was very, very glad Bell was beside him.
Because the moment the wallaby had slammed into Max, Zane had drawn his machete and stepped forward, fully intent on removing the perceived threat.
Bell grabbed his arm mid-step.
“It’s OK,” she said firmly. “Everybody relax. Max is fine. Zane, put that away. Lily—bow down. Tarni—stop laughing at Zane.”
It was that last line—Tarni laughing his head off—that finally made Zane exhale and slide the machete back into its sheath.
Max buried his face in the wallaby’s fur, breathing slowly until both of them stopped shaking. When he finally glanced at his system messages, he froze.
A new notification shimmered in front of him.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
There is no bond stronger than a Soul Bond.
Your soul bond companion will spawn with 50% of your own stats (rounded up).
You and your soul bond companion will share XP equally (50% each).
All unspent points and title bonuses apply 1:1 to both of you.
Your soul bond companion will receive their own skill choices.
(You may choose for them until their Intelligence reaches 20, at which point they will choose for themselves.)
If either you or your companion dies, the survivor will immediately lose 50% of their total stats.
(This may cause extreme side effects.)
Skippy Smith
Class: Soul Bond Companion — Wallaby
Level: 1
Points/Level: +3
Stats:
? Strength: 5
? Dexterity: 5
? Constitution: 5
? Intelligence: 5
? Wisdom: 5
? Charisma: 6
Skill:
Basic Shadow Walk — Your companion can cloak their movements for 30 seconds as long as they are not in direct sunlight and do not move faster than a walk.
Gear: None
Max’s heart dropped into his stomach.
His eyes shot wide.
“We… we share XP?” he squeaked. “If one of us dies, the other loses half their stats? And ‘extreme side effects’—what does that even mean?!”
Skippy pressed himself tighter into Max’s chest with a frightened chirp, as if he was the one worried about Max dying.
Zane rubbed his face.
Bell winced.
Kaitlyn whispered, “Ooooh, that’s… that’s rough.”
Tarni just gave Max a double thumbs up and a too-wide smile.
And Max… just hugged his new companion tighter, wondering what kind of future he’d just signed up for.
______________________________________________________________________
After making sure Max and Skippy were okay, Zane, Bell, and Lily went off to organise the growing crowd and get to the bottom of the dungeon situation. That left Tarni, Kai, and Kaitlyn with Max and the still-shy wallaby companion.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
Tarni, Kai, Kaitlyn, Max, and a very shy-looking wallaby walked a short distance away from the large black cube, toward some shade beneath a cluster of tall eucalyptus trees. A few of Max and Kaitlyn’s friends spotted them on the way over and immediately tried to join, but Tarni cut them off with a grin.
“You can catch up with the twins later, yeah? Plenty of work left unpacking those vehicles. They need you more than we do right now.”
The moment a “hero” pointed out a job, the kids scattered like startled quail. Tarni chuckled at their retreating backs before turning to Max.
“Alright, mate. Let’s see those messages so we actually know what we’re working with.”
Max shared his notifications without hesitation, and the four of them read through the Soul Bond information together.
Kai was the first to speak.
“So Skippy’s stats are half yours?”
“Yeah… mostly. And he prefers Skip. Not Skippy.”
He reached down to pat the wallaby’s head—Skip immediately hopped sideways, giving Kai a deeply unimpressed side-eye.
Max snorted. “He’s not very trusting yet.”
Kai raised both hands in surrender. “All good, Skip. No pats unless you ask first.”
Kaitlyn stepped in next, frowning in thought.
“So… does this mean you two share all XP? Like, if you kill something, Skip gets half? And if Skip kills something, you get half?”
Max took a moment, then nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s exactly it. No idea how party XP works though.”
Tarni was grinning ear to ear as he read the next line aloud.
“‘All unspent points and title bonuses apply 1:1.’ That’s bloody amazing. Hopefully that means all your unspent points count.”
After a short debate, they decided to test it immediately. Max put a single point into Constitution—because the death-penalty clause scared him more than he wanted to admit.
He tapped the point and checked his stats:
You still have 11 Points to spend
Class: Basic Human
Level: 4 | +3 Points per level
Strength: 9
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 10 → 11
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 10
Charisma: 11
Then he flipped to Skippy’s page:
Skippy Smith
Soul Bond Companion — Wallaby
Level: 1 +3 Points per level
Strength: 5
Dexterity: 5
Constitution: 5 → 6
Intelligence: 5
Wisdom: 5
Charisma: 6
“It worked!” Max grinned.
Skip, however, clearly didn’t enjoy being the centre of attention and tried to hide behind Max’s back. The others looked away politely, pretending they weren’t staring.
Kai cleared his throat.
“So Skip gets unique skills too—and he’ll pick his own once he hits level ten. That’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah,” Kaitlyn added, “it’s kinda like you’re the big brother until he’s grown up.”
Max puffed out his chest. “That’s right. I’m Skip’s big brother, and we’ve got each other’s backs.”
Kaitlyn tried not to pout at that—she’d always been “the other half of Max,” and now there was someone new in that spot. Max, being Max, noticed instantly.
“Don’t worry, sis. I’m sure Skip’ll have your back too.”
He hugged her, and Skip hopped forward to press into the hug as well. Kaitlyn lit up like a sunrise and heroically resisted the urge to pat the wallaby.
Once the mood had settled, Max clapped his hands—startling Skip again—and they returned to point allocation.
Kai reminded everyone,
“Remember the title Lily found: Keeping It Even! You get +1 to all stats for every ten levels your stats stay equal.”
Keeping that in mind, Max distributed his points:
- +2 Strength
- +1 Dexterity
- +1 Constitution
- +1 Intelligence
- +1 Wisdom
That brought everything to:
Strength 11
Dexterity 11
Constitution 11
Intelligence 11
Wisdom 11
Charisma 11
Leaving him with 5 points unspent.
A soft DING sounded.
SYSTEM NOTICE
Title Unlocked: Keeping It Even!
All your stats are at equal value. You will receive +1 to all stats for every 10 levels.
Your current equal level: 11
Bonus applied: +1 to all stats.
Max jumped into the air in pure joy.
“YES! I got the title!”
Skip froze for a heartbeat, then turned to Max with a new level of… awareness. Max blinked.
“You okay, Skip?”
The wallaby nodded. Actually nodded.
“Alright… let’s see your stats now.”
Skippy Smith
Soul Bond Companion — Wallaby
Level: 1 | +3 Points per level
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 7
Constitution: 8
Intelligence: 7
Wisdom: 7
Charisma: 7
Tarni slapped Max on the back so hard he almost face-planted.
“Holy bat poo, Max! Skip got your spent points and the title bonus!”
Kai whistled.
“I wonder… if Skip unlocks the title one day, will you get his extra stats too?”
Max’s eyes went wide as the thought slammed into him.
Sharing XP suddenly didn’t seem like a drawback anymore.
_________________________________________________________________________
Lewis still thought of himself as a Staff Sergeant.
Even now—armor scuffed, weapon improvised, stats glowing faintly behind his eyes—some part of him clung to the rank like a lifeline. It was structure. Order. Something solid in a world that had gone completely insane in less than a day.
And right now, standing inside a System Dungeon, Lewis was starting to regret talking the rest of his team into coming.
They had all reached Level 5 yesterday, protecting the birthday crowd during the running battle through the bush. Lewis had felt proud of that. Felt useful again. Especially after watching Tarni—that Walker bloke—take on a monster that should have flattened any normal human.
Tarni’s speed. His timing. The way he moved.
That had lit something in Lewis’s chest. A hunger deeper than the one gnawing at his stomach.
Lewis had spent his points the moment he hit level five, even though Zane and Bell had gone around warning people not to unless they absolutely had to. But the hunger wasn’t a joke. The pain, the weakness—it had forced his hand. He and his team had pushed through until they reached the stilt house, then eaten like starving animals.
And afterward… they talked.
Quietly at first.
Then with growing intensity.
They wanted more levels.
More stats.
More power.
And Bell—whether she realised it or not—had told them exactly where to get it.
The Dungeon.
Now Barry, Hutch, Deev, and Maya stood with him inside it. All level five. All thinking the same thing.
Get stronger or die later.
When they entered, the System made everything very clear.
Unnamed Dungeon (A Guild Master can name this Dungeon)
Floor One
Biome: Forested Valley (Summer)
Dungeon Monsters: Level 3–8
Time Limit for Floor: None
Option to Leave Without Completion: ON
(You cannot leave during combat, and all party members must agree)
Completion Criteria: Eliminate all Dungeon Monsters
Reward: Random Loot Drop
Lewis liked that part.
Option to leave.
Control mattered.
The transition itself was… wrong.
One moment, there was weightless darkness, like falling without moving. Then the world blinked.
They stood ankle-deep in soft green grass.
Sunlight filtered down through a high canopy of trees—oak, maple, maybe birch. Ferns and moss carpeted the forest floor, and the air smelled clean, damp, and alive. Cool. Still.
Lewis frowned.
“This ain’t Australia.”
“No,” Maya agreed. “But it’s nice.”
It was. For about thirty seconds.
That was when they met the patrol.
Humanoid shapes moved between the trees—short, hunched figures with furred faces, elongated muzzles, and sharp yellow eyes. They carried crude spears and bone knives.
“Dog people,” Barry muttered.
“Kobolds,” Maya corrected immediately.
That sparked an argument—short, heated, stupid—right up until the kobolds charged.
The fight was fast and messy.
Lewis smashed one down with his shield. Hutch cracked another across the skull with the butt of his spear. Deev tackled one into the dirt, grunting as he drove his knife down again and again.
They weren’t strong.
They weren’t skilled.
But there were more than Lewis liked.
And worse—half of them ran.
Everyone stood there, breathing hard, weapons raised, eyes darting.
“That,” Deev said slowly, “that went better than I expected.”
Maya shook her head. “We have no ranged DPS or healer.”
Barry swallowed. “We should leave.”
Lewis didn’t argue.
“Agreed. Everyone out.”
They brought up the exit option.
The System answered instantly.
NOTICE:
Unable to Exit Dungeon
Status: In Combat
Lewis stared at the message.
“In combat?” Hutch snapped. “We killed them!”
“No,” Maya said quietly, eyes fixed on the tree line. “We didn’t.”
From somewhere deeper in the forest came a sound.
A sharp, echoing howl.
Then another.
And another.
Lewis tightened his grip on his weapon as movement flickered between the trunks—too many shapes, too fast.
The Dungeon wasn’t letting them go.
Not yet.
And for the first time since stepping inside, Lewis realised something with cold clarity:
They hadn’t come here to farm easy levels.
They’d walked straight into a Do or Die challenge.