Dungeon Hunter: Act I

Gasp

She was pressed against the bottom of the blanket, an invisible source pushing her feline form down so far that it had to be crunching bone. In the back of my mind I hoped this didn't really count as animal cruelty. Chrissie would never forgive me.

"You used Load to catch her?" I asked in surprise.

"I might not be the brightest crayon in the bowl, but I can be quick. As soon as I woke up and saw her fleeing the scene, you with all your blood, I knew I had to do something. I don't even know how many times I used Load on her, to be completely honest. I just knew I needed to stop her. So, yeah."

"Impressive reflexes, honestly," I commented.

"I know, right?"

The cat's eyes were on me, glued to me. I could feel the animosity oozing out of her. If she had just asked nicely, I probably would've given her the jerky. I said as much to the animal before me. She hissed back. I heard static and her form crumpled forward more. I was surprised she was even alive.

Axel said, "We should kill her while we can. We got 50 XP from winning that battle. Imagine how much we'd get from killing an opponent."

I shifted my attention to him. "Actually, I don't think that's how it works."

Jye's head tilted. "We got 50 XP?"

Ignoring them, I continued, "If my idea is correct, I believe experience is rewarded based on performance. Consider how awfully we did against her originally. The bad teamwork. The way we were in each other's way. But this time, we all worked together. I distracted her, Axel attacked, Wren healed me, and Jye caught her. Like a functional party."

Axel scoffed. "I think you're making a mountain out of an ant hill."

"No, I think he's got a point. Just think about what you originally said about UX design. The system preferred response is to accept a party invite. It fits the same theory," Jye said in one of their rare moments of crystalline insight.

The cat hissed again and I noticed her lungs seemed to be struggling to inflate under the pressure of Jye's Load. I glanced over to them, and wordlessly Jye rolled their eyes and I heard static. Her lungs looked to breathe almost comfortably again, but it was clear she still couldn't move. We could just leave her like that...

"You nearly killed me for food," I said.

"Exactly why I think we should just let Jye crush her to a pulp," Axel said, grinding his teeth together.

"I'm not against the idea," Jye commented.

I scowled, and shook my head. "No. Don't you get it? She nearly killed me."

Understanding hit Axel and he threw his hands into the air. "Absolutely not. No way. We have no idea what she could do."

"Could either one of you fill me in on your inside conversation?" Jye said.

"This lunatic wants to invite her to join our party."

"I'm no genius, but that doesn't sound great," they replied.

"Hear me out. I nearly died. Our party balance is ridiculously bad. Our only frontline is Axel and if he goes down, our entire team is out. We need someone else who can do damage. And she does a lot of damage."

Axel rubbed at his temple. "You're insane. What's to say she doesn't kill us the minute we accept her into the party?"

It was a good question. Especially since she had already betrayed what trust I had built up with her after feeding her. It didn't make any sense, now that I thought about it. I had promised to feed her. I would've easily given her jerky every night. She had to have known I would have, since I had attacked my own party to help her, at least in her cat form. Why had she done that?