Iona Online Ch. 09

ERROR

Your pets stats have been maxed out.

"Oh no you fucking don't!" Michael summoned Healing Fog again, but this time he focused on the energy in his hands. The fog seemed like a light mist as it wafted between his fingers. It was good for most things, but it wasn't enough this time. He concentrated on the fog, willing it to condense, swirling into a ball of mist that spun rapidly in his palm. The mist thickened, and contracted in on itself, feeling less like mist and more like a spongy ball. The dim green light, grew brighter, as his soul power bar plummeted. Michael dumped a full 100 sp into the spell before it felt like it had stabilized and he pushed it into Kari.

The spell struck her chest, and resisted briefly. The ball shape, flexed around her chest as if resisting entry, until with gritted teeth, Michael forced the spell in.

Kari's red fur began to glow green as the spell infused her flesh. Michael's hand remained welded to her body, as it drew the last of his SP from him like a vacuum. He watched his last 20 points trickle away, and then watched as his health began to drop. It never even occurred to him to remove his hand from her.

His health fell, and his limbs began to tremble as his very life was used to fuel the spell. He grew weaker and weaker, but forced his hand to stay on her. She was glowing brightly now, casting a green shadow on the surrounding foliage, and even her eyes were like mini spotlights, shining brightly as they fixed on Michael's face.

DING

You have sacrificed yourself to save the life of your companion, giving your life energy to heal her rather than to let her die. Your actions have unlocked the Soul Bond ability. Soul Bond allows the owner to increase their pet's strength by removing the stat cap restriction from them, but doubling the cost of investment.

Would you like to Soul Bond Kari?

Yes / No

Stared at the prompt floating above him, barely understanding a word. His health points were rapidly bottoming out, just 12/100 and falling. He only had a few seconds to decide. Quickly glancing at Kari, he saw that her Mortal Wound was still there even though her health was maxed out.

Gasping ragged breaths, Michael mentally shrugged and whispered, "Yes".

The light encompassing Kari went off light a supernova, and his health points dropped immediately from 11 to 1/100. He collapsed face first into the sand as the last vestiges of his strength faded away. His eyes stung and watered, blinding spots dancing across his vision. It took a few seconds but his vision slowly returned.

DING

You have bonded with: Kari

Bonds are powerful relationships, forged in times of strong emotion and joint

purpose. Many beings in Iona can be bonded and will aid you in your quest.

Your bonded can be augmented with your soul power and grow with you. Be

careful. A bond, once created, can only end in death.

We few, we happy few. We band of brothers. For he today who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.

DING

Your bonded has learned a new skill: Lycanthropy

Activated Ability: Lycanthropy - When activated, Kari can shift her form between human and wolf. With enough practice, she can changed her shape to grow larger or smaller for short periods, and can even hold a specific shape indefinitely. Shifting takes a lot of energy, so plan accordingly.

Your wolf's spirit has grown far beyond its normal shell. Kari can now alter her shape at will, and continue to grow with you. Congratulations!

DING

You have created a new spell: Healing Touch

You gather healing energies in your hand that can immediately heal a target for a small amount upon contact.

Effects 10SP to remove single effect (bleeding, poison, etc). 20SP to remove Mortal Wound.

Cost: 2SP to restore 1HP, or 1HP to restore 2HP.

Warning!

If your health drops to Zero during a heal, you will die.

Skill: 50/100

Michael blinked away the prompts and looked over at Kari. He he expected to see his beautiful, heroic wolf. Instead, he saw a short woman curled up on the sand next to him. Her hair was a long, hanging halfway down her back, and the same shaggy red as her fur. Her skin was a golden tan that really stood out from her hair in intriguing ways. There were pink marks on her sides from where the bear's claws had recently been healed.

Oh, and she was stark naked.

She was smaller than he had expected, especially considering she had been a seven foot long wolf just a minutes ago. Was was curled up on the ground so her exact height was hard to guess, but she couldn't have been more than five foot tall. Her toned stomach rippled with a six pack, muscle fibers cording and flexing with each breath, displaying power that belied her petite frame. Her breasts were magnificent. Her apple sized slopes sat high on her chest, reinforced by the muscle beneath and topped with lovely dark nipples that stood proudly upon her peaks. Her hips flared gracefully, making a small gap between her thighs where the carpet definitely matched the drapes, and her taught rounded ass was a perfect heart shape. Her legs looked longer than they should have been, wrapped tightly in powerful calves and bulging thigh muscles.

She may have been tiny, and obviously winded form the transformation, but she was built like a powerhouse with not an ounce of fat to be seen. Michael felt his own anatomy stir and take notice of her shape in approval, before he could quickly quash the rising thoughts. Her eyes popped open, long lids fluttering up and out of the way. Her jade eyes sought his and locked his gaze like a steel trap.

"Thank you, my alpha," she said quietly. Then she promptly passed out.

Unconsciousness seemed like a great idea to Michael, so he followed her into sweet oblivion.