After his meal, Dreu stayed in the room he claimed for himself. His summoned companions, with the exception of the bats, were all in the courtyard of the building he was in. He kindly asked them to stay outside while he pondered on a strategy for spelunking deeper into the cave and dealing with the sorceress of the lake. Before he pondered on the plan, he checked on the four new additions should they provide anything useful. He could get lucky with them all possessing incredible abilities. Revisiting the prompt with Bartok, Dreu focused on the recommendations and ability specifically.

  <

  Recommendations:

  -Don’t expose this creature to light, natural or artificial.

  -Avoid combat by finding small spaces for the creature to hide in

  Skill:

  -Dark Sight (Lvl 1): Active. Grants an ally the ability to see in the dark like bats for 15 minutes. Unlimited uses but ability has a 30 minute cooldown between uses. >

  The information on the prompt window immediately told Dreu what he needed to know regarding the combat capabilities or the lack thereof for the lesser demon bats. They, like the demon worms, were unsuitable for combat with places with light being an additional bane of theirs. However, he could see value in Dark Sight if his staff was ever damaged or he ran out of mana. He would be dead if he couldn't rely on his sight at all.

  The fifteen minutes is a short period so I cannot rely on it too much. Time will tell if it’s sufficient for emergencies.

  He then checked the other three bats and their differences were in their skills. Each one had a unique skill that followed no rhyme or reason.

  < Lv 1 Lesser Demon Bat (Loryss):

  Skill:

  -Hibernation Link (Lvl 1): Active. Create a link with an ally 1 meter away. While the user is hibernating and the ally remains within 1 meter, both user and ally gain +1% health regeneration buff. User is defenseless while hibernating.>

  Another healer? I thought Ragellon said healing abilities are extremely rare among demons and demonic creatures….maybe I’ve been lucky.

  To make the bats comfortable, Dreu turned off the light orb, making the room perfectly dark. He could still view his prompt fine regardless of how much light there was so he could proceed with what he needed to do. Knowing how the hibernation ability worked, Dreu called out to Loryss.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Can you come into my pocket and use hibernation?

  Without hesitation, Loryss flew into the pocket. Dreu felt a warm tingling when the feeling ended abruptly. He looked down to the bat, noting its smaller build compared to Bartok. The darkness made it impossible for him to discern other features but he was certain Loryss’ fur was softer too. He checked with the bat on what happened.

  I cannot use my ability with an ally at full health.

  That makes sense.

  Despite the ability failing due to conditions not met, the young man was content with the fact that the bat could stay in his pocket while the skill was in effect. Otherwise, they would be at the mercy of enemies if they were forced to stay at one spot for too long. Regardless, the healing seemed far less potent than what Dar had. Next, Dreu moved onto Azurys who was of a medium build between Bartok and Loryss.

  < Lv 1 Lesser Demon Bat (Azurys):

  Skill:

  -Aqua Sight (Lvl 1): Passive. User can see 1 meter beneath the water surface regardless of water clarity. Ability doesn’t extend the sight range of the user. >

  Dreu had to scratch his head on aqua sight. It was a very niche skill that might not have too many uses. Niche skills reminded the young man of Berkton where he met plenty of former adventurers who had given up adventuring. Given the harsh reality of adventuring, niche skills generally resulted in very short careers in the profession. The skills might be useful for other professions but adventuring required a certain set of tools. For the sorceress and the underground lake, the skill might have some uses. However, he struggled to think of uses outside of the upcoming expedition.

  Azurys, I hope your evolution unlocks some useful skills. I’d hate for you to lack the chance to shine in the future when we aren't near any body of water.

  Upon saying the last sentence, Dreu recalled the old him that simply lacked the skills and abilities to become an adventurer. If it weren’t for the demon invasion, he might have become an average knight already. Snapping out of his daydream, the young man moved to the final bat, the smallest and lightest of the four.

  < Lv 1 Lesser Demon Bat (Bunted):

  Skill:

  -Spell Shield (Lvl 1): Active. User can cast a spell shield on itself or an ally to protect against low level spells. Limited to 2 uses per day. >

  Dreu rubbed his eyes before he read the prompt again. He thought he misread the spell shield but it was right there before him. He heard about high level spell shields being especially useful against spells that could otherwise instantly kill a target. It was one of the most desired spells for both spellcaster and non-spellcasters due to their versatility in defending the user against any spells at the same or lower level. For a blade user like him, a spell shield could help him close the gap with a powerful spellcaster, essentially deciding the battle itself. He only had to figure out the cast range and work on it with Bunted until the two of them were better synchronized.

  Two uses only? I guess it makes sense given its low level and how strong it actually is.

  Dreu scratched his head at the thought of all four of his lesser demon bats being support types. None of them could contribute directly to combat which he desperately needed for the spelunking. He couldn’t deny that their abilities are useful, especially once some of those got stronger. Yet, he had no answer on how they could get past the snakes that had made most of the caverns their domain. To push forward with what they had would be suicidal.

  Maybe Ragellon is right about my foolish hopes of being a hero.