Certainly not what he expected...

John turned back around and went back to the spot where the Rainbow Wolf had collapsed to look over the loot it had dropped. While he went back there he let the fight go through his head once again and thought about how he could have done better, since Kim said there were points where he could've finished the fight earlier. The thought about the fight made John's chest swell with pride no matter what, he had managed to beat that thing pretty well with acceptable losses in Health and Mana. But thinking back he could've probably won as well if he hadn't used the point of Edge at the end, even though it gave him an extra achievement. And thinking about how his damage system worked it would probably be better to not stab so much at the enemies in the beginning of the fight and try to slash some more, seeing as how he crippled the thing after a slash almost taking off its paw.

So should his method be to first go in for crippling shots with low damage and then go for big moves once he was sure they would deal more damage? That did sound like an idea that he had to experiment with since it could just as well work the other way around if the crippling was dependant on a certain percentage of damage before... Well, he would still need to make another barrier today, so maybe he could find out more about that in there? Maybe he could take Brun with him in that one, he had to ask her later...

He was standing in front of the tree where he had slain the wolf by now, and there was indeed some loot lying there, but it did not look like most of the things he had expected there... Sure, there were two furs lying there, each in a distinct color, another fang, and some money, but there also lay something that John certainly did not expect:

An Egg.

How did that thing carry an egg? Was this a case of video game logic or was it just something that he didn't know about these wolves? Using Observe on the egg only somewhat helped:

Egg of the Wolf
Hatching Status: 40%
Egg of the Draco Lupus Fulminis, laid in solidarity for the safety of the egg. Hatch it to reveal the creature inside.
Needs: Warmth, Electricity

Huh? What did any of the things in that pop-up mean? What the hell was a Draconis Lupus Fulminis, why did the egg need electricity, and what had anything of that to do with a wolf? Wolves were mammals, they don't lay eggs... This was just confusing John the more he thought about it. Feeling curious about the 'creature inside', though, John wrapped the Egg inside two of the furs from the wolves he had just killed, a fire one from the one in the hallway, and a lightning one from the Rainbow Wolf. Looking at the sheet of the egg again, he could see that the furs were indeed doing their job, warming and... electrifying the egg? This was weird... But hopefully, he could Bond with whatever was in that egg that could help him fight.

Next to the egg was another thing that he didn't expect, but it did make more sense than the egg. Lying there were some pants, similarly shifting color as the wolf did. They were wide pants, made from some kind of soft fabric (probably the fur of that wolf?) with no pockets and just some string to keep in place while wearing. Observing the pants made him kind of interested of them:

Pants of Elements
Uncommon
Pants
+1 DEF
Elemental Exposure: Once you are hit with an elemental attack, you will receive 25% less damage from that element. This bonus only lasts until you are hit with an attack with a different element. Color of the pants will indicate the current element.

Okay, so he had some color shifting pants now, neat. That exposure effect would certainly be handy when fighting one type of enemy for a longer time, but if they switch between different elements like the wolves did, then it at least provided a single point of defense. And he had no noteworthy pants for his 'adventure gear' yet, so for now they would do.

Now that he was done with the loot from the boss monster, John took the quick way to the upper floor through the usage of his Magic Rope. Tying it to the bottom of a column facing the courtyard and pulling himself up to it, John quickly found himself on the upper floor again, even though with a bit too much momentum, hitting his head on the ceiling and dealing 4 DMG to himself. Okay, so he had to keep watching out for his own momentum with the thing, so he wouldn't hurt himself...

Going back to the room they came from was not a problem by now and Kim already waited for him. "Found anything interesting there?" was her curt question, obviously a bit annoyed that she had to wait for him to finish with his findings.

Should he tell her? He was pretty sure that he would have to forfeit that egg to her if he told her about it... Furs, fangs, and money were one thing, but a living creature outside of a Barrier? Probably way worse. So he went with the option of creating alternative facts. "Actually yeah, I found something interesting. I found a ring in the wreckage that thing left behind. Oh, and some more furs and fangs. So I think I'm done here now and we can leave."

"Finally, this ruined my plans for the free period, even if it was an interesting experience to see such... weird powers like yours in action. That spell with the rope, that seems highly convenient for both mobility and utility. Do you think you could teach me that spell?"

John grinned at that question, "Actually, I think that should not be a problem. You see, I think I have neglected to mention this, but once we leave this place, you will learn one of my skills, and I will learn one of yours, so there's a good chance that I can either decide which one you get or that you get it by random. We could double that gain, but that would need something as a requirement..."

"And what is this requirement?" asked Kim with a raised eyebrow, clearly interested in the things he had to say there.

"Well... How knowledgeable are you about bonds? Like what do you know about them?"

"Which kind of bond? There are many bonds in the Abyss. Soul bonds, contracts, oaths, just to name a few. Are you suggesting that we need one of these bonds to increase how many skills we each receive from one another?" Her tone was a bit harsher than John had hoped. which made him a bit unsure.

"Ehm... yeah? We would need a Bond to get that. I could create one." What he left out there was that he himself could not end that bond yet, but it was just too good of an opportunity to get some really good skills out of this.

Kim looked at him with a doubtful face, "I don't think I know you long enough yet to really form that kind of bond... as enticing as multiple skills sound, I will rather not be bound to someone I cannot judge in character yet. We will talk about this again, though, once you have talked to my father, and make no mistake about it, that will happen."

John did not like the sound of that, "Uuuuh... sure... anytime... Okay then, let's leave this place," and with that, he cast Leave Barrier.