[A Lunar Spirit Fox has offered to bond as a Companion.]
[Would you like to accept and add it to your party?]
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Traise stared at the glowing window in complete confusion.
His mind was still trying to process the fact that the strange fox had bitten him only moments ago, before suddenly deciding to lick the blood from his hand instead of tearing it apart.
“Companion…?” he muttered quietly.
The words barely even made sense.
Until now, The Upgrade System had only shown him quests, levels, stats, and abilities.
Nothing had ever mentioned companions, parties, or bonds with monsters.
The sudden appearance of entirely new mechanics made his head spin almost as much as the fox itself did.
The Lunar Spirit Fox tilted its head slightly while staring at him with those glowing blue eyes.
Its tail slowly swished back and forth behind it while it sat calmly beside the fire, almost looking expectant.
Traise blinked at the creature.
“You’re waiting for me to answer, aren’t you?”
The fox gave a soft flick of its ears.
As he watched it sit there quietly, Traise slowly began piecing things together.
The bite had hurt, but now that he thought about it more carefully, it hadn’t truly felt aggressive.
Painful, yes, but controlled.
Deliberate.
His eyes drifted toward the small wound on his hand before returning to the fox again.
“That bite…” he muttered slowly.
“Was that your way of making the bond?”
The fox continued staring at him silently while its tail lazily moved behind it.
Traise let out a long breath and rubbed the side of his face tiredly.
Somehow, despite the absurdity of the situation, the answer already felt obvious.
The creature had followed him for days without attacking.
It had willingly approached him, eaten from his hand, and now the system itself was recognizing it.
Slowly, Traise looked back toward the glowing window.
“I accept.”
The moment the words left his mouth, the system messages began appearing.
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[New System Function Available]
The Beast Companion ability has been unlocked.
You have formed a close connection through your bond with a young Lunar Spirit Fox who has given you its trust.
A portion of its stats will carry over to yours, so long as it still trusts you.
Please be sure to take good care of your companion and nurture its future evolution paths.
[Beast Companion]
You and your companion have established an affinity for each other.
10% of their stats will be shared with yours.
You may also spend your free stat points to enhance your companion in return.
Please be aware that no stat points will be refunded should the companion die, so choose your adventures carefully.
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Before Traise could even fully process the first notification, another system window immediately opened beside it.
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[Achievement Unlocked: Beast Charmer]
You have bonded with a companion without the use of skills or force.
+10 Stat Points, +25xp
Bonus:
You may acquire one skill from your companion’s current skill list.
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“What?!”
A surge of energy suddenly rushed through his entire body.
Traise sucked in a sharp breath as warmth spread through his chest and limbs simultaneously.
It felt similar to leveling up, but deeper somehow.
His muscles tightened briefly as a strange tingling sensation moved beneath his skin, as if his entire body were subtly changing all at once.
Evolving.
Strengthening.
Even the cave around him suddenly felt sharper for several brief moments before the sensation slowly settled back down again.
Before he could fully recover from the overwhelming flood of information, another screen opened directly in front of him.
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To complete the bonding process, please give your companion a new name.
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Traise stared blankly at the screen.
“A name?” This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
The fox continued watching him quietly from beside the fire while its tail curled around its body.
Everything had happened so quickly that his brain struggled to keep up.
Companion system.
Shared stats.
Skill inheritance.
Achievement rewards.
Somehow, in the middle of surviving a nightmare forest full of monsters, he had apparently acquired a fox.
A very dangerous fox.
His eyes drifted back toward the creature again while he tried thinking of something appropriate.
“Shadow?”
The fox stared at him without reacting.
“…Okay, not Shadow.”
“Midnight?”
The fox’s ears flattened slightly.
Traise snorted quietly.
“Wow. Tough crowd.”
The Lunar Spirit Fox gave another unimpressed flick of its tail.
Traise leaned back against the cave wall while thinking harder.
His eyes drifted briefly toward the silver crescent markings around the fox’s eyes before another thought surfaced.
“Luna?”
The reaction was immediate.
The fox’s ears perked upward while its tail swished faster behind it.
Traise smiled slightly.
“I’m taking that as approval.”
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[Companion name accepted]
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The moment the system window vanished, Luna suddenly jumped directly onto his lap.
“Whoa—”
Traise nearly jerked backward in surprise before the fox immediately pressed herself against him and began rubbing her head repeatedly against his chest and arm, nuzzling him.
A strange warmth spread through his chest almost immediately afterward, though it wasn’t physical warmth.
It felt emotional somehow, faint and difficult to fully describe.
Through the bond, he could vaguely sense what Luna was feeling.
Happiness.
Relief.
Acceptance.
The sensation caught him completely off guard.
It almost felt like welcoming a new family member.
Traise slowly relaxed while awkwardly lowering a hand toward her head again.
Unlike before, Luna didn’t bite him this time.
Instead, she leaned into the touch while continuing to rub against him.
He let out a quiet laugh.
“This is an unexpected turn of events.”
Back on Earth, he had never owned pets before.
Between work, responsibilities, and constantly staying busy, he had simply never thought much about it.
Now he was sitting inside a cave in another world while petting a shadow fox that could probably outrun most predators in the forest.
Life had become very strange very quickly.
After another moment, Traise glanced down toward the bite wound on his hand.
The bleeding had already mostly stopped thanks to Minor Regeneration, though the area still stung sharply whenever he flexed his fingers.
To be safe, he reached into his inventory and removed one of the Ashmoss bundles.
He carefully rubbed the medicinal plant across the wound while gritting his teeth slightly from the sting.
“This should prevent any infections. I just have to hope you don’t have anything contagious,” he joked.
He briefly considered using one of his Glowleaf Ferns as well to heal it faster, before ultimately deciding against it.
No. Minor Regeneration needed practice.
If he relied on healing items every single time he got hurt, the skill would probably improve far more slowly over time.
Besides, the wound wasn’t serious.
Just painful.
After loosely wrapping the treated hand with a strip torn from his damaged sleeve, Traise reached into his inventory again and removed two pieces of stored beast meat.
The moment Luna smelled them, her glowing blue eyes immediately locked onto the food.
“You’re definitely still a predator.”
Luna happily devoured both pieces within moments before circling once near the fire.
Then, to his surprise, portions of her body slowly began blending back into the nearby darkness until her outline became difficult to fully distinguish again.
Even so, through the bond, Traise could still vaguely sense where she was resting.
It felt strangely reassuring.
“I need food for two now…”
His expression twitched slightly at the thought.
That could become a serious problem very quickly.
Still, Luna had clearly survived on her own long before meeting him, and considering the system had previously labeled her threat level as Dangerous, she was probably far stronger than he currently was, despite her smaller size.
Actually…
Traise slowly looked toward the shadowy outline resting near the cave wall.
How strong was she exactly?
Curious, he activated Observation while focusing on Luna.
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Name: Luna (Companion / Party Member)
Race: Lunar Spirit Fox (Female)
Grade: Awakened
Health: 68 / 68
Mana: 21 / 21
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[Attributes]
Strength: 23
Dexterity: 48
Intelligence: 12
Endurance: 18
Willpower: 24
Luck: 5
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[Skills]
Shadow Blend
Class: Initiate High
Type: Active / Stealth
Allows the user to merge with the shadows, granting the ability to jump from shadow to shadow within line of sight.
Enhanced Agility
Class: Awakened Low
Type: Passive / Movement
The body becomes as light as air while traveling, and innate reflexes are slightly enhanced.
Grants a bonus of 40% to speed and a 10% boost to Dexterity.
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[Abilities]
Shadow AffinityClass: SpecialType: Affinity / Growth
The ability to harness shadows has become a part of your being.
Allows for blending with shadows at will.
Heightened Senses
Class: Awakened
Your sense of danger is greatly enhanced, and you are able to react faster to danger.
Allows the passive sensing of hostile enemies and traps that are nearby.
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Traise stared at the screen in complete disbelief.
“Forty-eight Dexterity…?”
No wonder he had barely been able to track her movements earlier.
Even her lowest physical stats were absurdly high compared to his own, and every single skill or ability she possessed looked unbelievably useful.
Shadow movement.
Danger sensing.
Enhanced agility.
And somehow this terrifying little monster was currently curled up beside him like an oversized housecat.
Traise slowly leaned back against the cave wall while the fire crackled softly nearby.
His eyes drifted toward the final line of the achievement reward still lingering in his thoughts.
[You may acquire one skill from your companion’s current skill list.]
His gaze slowly shifted back toward Luna before returning toward the listed skills once more.
Shadow Blend would completely change how he moved through dangerous territory.
The ability to merge with shadows and jump between them sounded almost unreal, especially inside a forest where darkness existed nearly everywhere.
But Enhanced Agility was just as tempting.
A permanent boost to speed, reflexes, and Dexterity would make surviving direct encounters far easier, especially against faster predators.
Combined with Quickstep, the movement potential alone sounded ridiculous.
Traise stared quietly into the fire while Luna rested peacefully nearby within the shadows.
The cave somehow felt less empty now than it had only an hour earlier.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he wasn’t alone anymore.
And somehow, that realization felt more overwhelming than any monster he had faced so far.