Hacking the Game Didn't Go as Intended [Part One]

CHAPTER 61: High Risk Yields High Returns - The Acquired Bounty

"Zephyr!" he bellowed in desperation, an arm extending for the pup. But instead of unparalleled speed, his knees buckled and his body slumped to the floor.

The ghastly sounds of rending flesh and bones followed, and Daisuke stopped breathing, a deep and dark dread unfurling in his gut. Anger and fear twisted inside of him, fueling a monstrous urge for retribution.

Summoning the Lipanthyer's Fang, Daisuke struggled to his feet, his expression a dark and ugly mask. Then he suddenly paled when the monster flew by him in a flash, taking his arm and the weapon it possessed.

A sickening chorus of screams and wailing was drowned out by a requiem of tearing flesh and crushing bones. Daisuke clutched his arm and turned toward the gruesome sight, only to be met with the piercing gaze of the fiend.

Then it lunged at him.

Daisuke lurched forward from his moss bed, Zephyr's name ripping from his throat in a rasp howl.

"I-It's okay," Milo reassured him with raised hands. "He's fine... we're all fine."

Covered in sweat, Daisuke looked around frantically to find the pup sleeping soundly next to him. Then he glanced around the dimly lit chamber to find everyone staring at him in surprise.

"Did you have a bad dream?" asked Elena as she hurried to his side. "Just take a deep breath; everything's all right."

"Where are we?" Daisuke muttered, trying to quiet the throbbing ache in his forehead.

"Our camp on the 11th floor," informed Rexar with a grin. "We all decided to rest up here until you woke up."

"The nightmare's over," Gavric began, "but it looks like you slipped right back into another one."

Daisuke held his gaze. "Does that mean..."

"It does," Finnian clarified as he sharpened his sword using a small whetstone.

"We managed to salvage the tail you severed, but the rest of the body was pretty much blown to smithereens," said Lyanna as she gestured to the nearby appendage. "You pretty much defeated the boss on your own, so everyone agreed you should have dibs on the tail."

"I'm sorry—looks like I went a bit overboard," Daisuke apologized as he gently stroked Zephyr's body.

"Mhmm," Milo shook his head in denial. "It wouldn't be right for us to be disgruntled when we owe you our lives."

Elena nodded with a smile. "He's right; we would have died many times over if you weren't here fighting alongside us. Thank you for everything."

Everyone heaved a grateful smile.

Daisuke smiled back, which also seemed like a taunt. "Don't thank me just yet; we still have 9 more floors to go before we're officially free of this place."

Everyone blanched at the thought of that, and Daisuke grinned playfully. Then he took a moment to recall the final moments of the battle with the Volturax in retrospect.

During the whirlwind of activity, while he was defeating the monster's underlings, Daisuke vaguely remembered leveling up, which was the requirement for equipping the new leather boots he had received.

After that, he needed to activate the option linked to the boots, but it was a gamble. Aside from the low activation probability, according to the equipment's description, Haste would only activate if Daisuke or a party member used a speed-type skill.

Zephyr currently had a speed-type skill active, but he was a Companion. Would he be regarded as a party member by the System? The fact that everyone was still alive was the answer.