Chương 5: Chapter 4: Julie

The familiar request remained suspended in front of James while poison continued burning through his leg. Three dead Forest Snakes lay scattered behind him, and the fourth waited several yards away with its head raised, watching him rather than fleeing. James stared between the snake and the blue System window, temporarily forgetting how badly his calf hurt. [Forest Snake lvl. 2 wishes to become your familiar.] [Do you accept?] [Y/N]"A familiar? You're seriously asking if I want a familiar?"

James said as his attention returned to the snake. He had read enough fantasy novels and played enough games to understand the basic idea even if the System operated differently from anything fictional. A familiar meant a partner that could fight, scout, sense danger, and potentially become stronger alongside him. James mentally selected yes. The blue prompt disappeared, and golden light immediately formed around both of them.

Thin lines stretched between James and the snake before sinking into his body, and something unfamiliar touched the edge of his awareness. The presence was small, frightened, injured, and cautious, but it did not feel hostile. The System window that appeared next was gold. [Special Achievement.] [Basic Familiar Bond established.] [You have bonded with Forest Snake lvl. 2.] [You may sense the general location and emotional state of your familiar within a limited range.] [Bond depth increases through trust, shared combat, growth, and time.] [Title granted: Familiar Master.] [You are the first person on Earth to establish a familiar bond.] [Growth while fighting together is increased.] [Please name your familiar.] James slowly exhaled while reading the announcement. He had already become the first human on Earth to independently learn a skill, and now he was apparently the first to establish a familiar bond as well.

Whether that meant he was doing something exceptionally right or simply making unusual decisions before everyone else remained unclear, but titles provided real benefits, so James had no intention of complaining. He looked down at the snake more carefully. She measured somewhere between three and four feet long, with dark green scales that blended extremely well with the leaves around her and deep red eyes that remained fixed on him.

Through the bond, James sensed uncertainty, pain, hunger, and a growing amount of curiosity. Naming her suddenly felt more important than he expected. James briefly considered something dramatic, then immediately rejected several names that sounded like they belonged to an angry teenager designing an online character.

"Julie," James decided while lowering himself carefully onto one knee. The name felt normal, and after the last two days, normal had become surprisingly appealing. The snake tilted her head.

"I'm calling you Julie," James said as he watched for some reaction. A small pulse of warmth entered the bond, followed by a sense of recognition that made him smile. A System window appeared. [You have named your familiar.] [Status] [Name: Julie] [Species: Forest Snake] [Level: 2] [Skills: Poisonous Bite, Heat Sensation] [Strength: 11] [Endurance: 9] [Vitality: 12] [Agility: 13] [Intelligence: 10] [Charisma: 7] [Willpower: 11] [Perception: 14] [Bonded Master: James Roller] James studied the numbers with genuine surprise. Julie was faster and considerably more perceptive than he was, while her Heat Sensation skill immediately suggested a use beyond combat.

If she could detect body heat through vegetation, then hiding creatures would become far harder to ambush them.

"That's useful as hell," James said as he looked toward the surrounding forest. Julie flicked her tongue and continued watching him, and James received another faint impression of curiosity through the bond. The connection did not contain words, but it already communicated more than he expected. Several blue notifications appeared before he could experiment further. [You have defeated Forest Snake lvl. 2 x3.] [Experience awarded.] [You have established your first familiar bond.] [Bond reward applied.] [You have leveled up!] [You are now Level 4.] [6 Attribute Points are available.] James blinked at the sudden jump. Apparently, killing three Level Two snakes while still Level Two, along with whatever reward the familiar bond provided, had carried him through another level entirely.

"Now we're fucking talking," James said as he opened the attribute panel and considered where the new points would matter most. The heat, the long periods of movement, and the extended fights had already exposed a weakness in his current setup. Strength let James kill things faster, while Vitality made injuries less debilitating, but neither prevented exhaustion from accumulating after hours of fighting. He placed two points into Endurance and one into Strength.

The other 3 he distributed between perception, willpower and charisma. [Strength increased to 14.] [Endurance increased to 13.] [Willpower increased to 13.] [Charisma increased to 9.] [Perception increased to 13.] The effect arrived immediately. His breathing became steadier, some of the exhaustion in his arms eased, and his grip around the utility knife strengthened. James still felt every cut and bruise he had earned, but his body seemed better prepared to continue working despite them.

His Strength was beginning to move beyond what he considered normal for an ordinary human. James could feel it whenever he tightened his grip or shifted his weight, and the improvement made him think again about the sledgehammer he had left behind at the construction site. His framing hammer worked, but all this additional Strength deserved something heavier.

"Julie, can you actually understand me?" James asked while looking down at her. The snake raised her head immediately, and a clear pulse of acknowledgement traveled through the bond before she gave a small nod. James stared at her.

"That is really fucking cool," he said as he extended his left arm. Julie moved without hesitation, climbing along his forearm before wrapping around his upper arm and torso until her head rested close to his shoulder. Her weight was noticeable without being uncomfortable. James adjusted his tool belt, checked that she was not interfering with the hammer, and took one step forward. His leg immediately gave out. James caught himself against a tree before his knee struck the ground.

Pain spread from the bite in his calf through his thigh and into his stomach, followed by dizziness strong enough to blur the trees in front of him. His heart accelerated, sweat formed across his forehead, and nausea followed several seconds later.

"Poison," James said through clenched teeth as he leaned harder against the trunk. In all the excitement surrounding the bond and level increase, he had nearly forgotten that one of Julie's former companions had buried its fangs in his leg. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The System had not magically cured him. Julie's head lifted beside his shoulder. Alarm entered the bond immediately, and James felt her attention lock onto the bite in his leg.

"Not your fault," James said as he lowered himself to the ground before he fell. The snake remained tense against him while he searched through his pockets. The Vitality Berries were crushed in several places but still edible. James shoved a handful into his mouth, chewed quickly, and swallowed before eating another. He continued until most of the berries he had gathered were gone and red juice covered his fingers. For several minutes, nothing changed. Then the burning began to weaken.

A blue System message appeared. [Forest Vitality Berries consumed.] [Minor recovery effect applied.] [Poison effects reduced.] The message disappeared, but another notification immediately replaced it. This one appeared in gold. [Rare effect triggered.] [Permanent Vitality increase acquired.] [+1 Vitality.] James leaned his head against the tree and released a long breath.

"Thank fucking God," he said as the worst cramping in his leg finally began to release. Between the berries, his increased Endurance, and the permanent Vitality gain, the poison no longer felt capable of putting him into the ground. Julie remained wrapped around him until he could stand comfortably again. James tested the leg, walked several circles around the tree, and waited for another wave of dizziness before deciding he was functional.

"All right, partner. Let's see what you can actually do," he said as he retrieved his spear. They headed deeper into the forest. Julie proved useful almost immediately. Every few minutes, she would stop moving against his shoulders and turn her head toward something James had not yet detected. A sensation would enter their bond afterward: movement, warmth, danger, or simple awareness that another living creature was nearby. The warning arrived before James saw the next Iron Fox.

He slowed behind a tree and found the creature moving through the undergrowth roughly thirty yards away. Three metallic tails shifted behind the fox while it sniffed near several exposed roots. Julie's body tightened slightly, and James felt caution rather than fear through the bond.

"I've fought one before," James whispered while keeping his voice low. Julie remained focused on the fox as he prepared another crude throwing spear from a spare Feral claw.

"We make it bleed first, stay away from those tails, and don't get stupid." James circled until a large oak stood close enough to use as cover. He threw the crude spear, striking the Iron Fox along its flank, and rushed forward before the creature fully recovered. His improved Strength drove the primary spear deeper when he struck the existing wound, but James immediately retreated behind the oak rather than remaining within range. The fox attacked exactly as the first had.

Its tails punched into bark and dirt while James forced it to circle the tree, wasting energy as blood continued running from the wound. Julie stayed wrapped around him at first, following every movement closely rather than attempting to join the fight.

"Watch how it moves," James said while shifting around the opposite side of the oak. Julie's attention sharpened through the bond, and James realized she was doing exactly that. The fox began slowing. James waited until its footing became unstable before stepping out from behind the tree. One final spear thrust entered beneath the jaw and ended the fight. [You have slain an Iron Fox lvl. 3.] [Experience awarded.] [Shared familiar growth applied.] James pulled the spear free and glanced toward Julie.

"You didn't even have to do anything for that one," he said as another notification appeared. The System apparently counted her participation through the bond even though she had spent the fight observing. [Julie has leveled up!] [Julie is now Level 3.] [3 Attribute Points are available.] James frowned at the final line.

"Why the hell am I choosing your attributes?" he asked as he opened Julie's panel. She raised her head and watched him as if waiting for the same answer. James decided to test whether the bond could help.

"Strength?" he asked while focusing on the concept. Julie gave him no useful reaction, so James moved through several other attributes before reaching Intelligence. Julie immediately became animated. Her head began moving up and down, and a strong sense of approval pushed through their connection. James laughed.

"Okay. Intelligence," he said as he assigned all three points there. Julie became very still when the change took effect, and several seconds later their bond sharpened noticeably. [Intelligence increased to 13.] The change did not suddenly give Julie human speech. Her emotions simply became clearer, allowing James to distinguish curiosity from hunger and caution from actual fear with far less uncertainty.

"Looks like you knew what you were doing," James said as Julie lightly pressed the side of her head against his jaw. James removed the useful tails from the dead Iron Fox and replaced the damaged section on his spear. The work went faster than before because he understood the material better now, and Julie watched closely while he carved a better seat for the metallic point. When he finished, another blue message appeared. [Action recorded.] [Class seed progressing.] James dismissed it and pulled the small work notebook from his tool belt. The notebook had survived the fall with several bent pages, and one of his pencils was still tucked beneath the spiral binding.

"Time to figure out how leveling actually works," James said as he found a clean page. The absence of visible experience numbers made exact calculations impossible, but James could still identify patterns. Weak Ferals had stopped advancing him quickly once his level increased, enemies near his own level produced far more noticeable progress, and Julie had leveled almost immediately after participating in a fight against something at her own level.

Sharing combat also appeared to divide some portion of the growth between them. James wrote those observations down rather than pretending he had enough information for an actual formula. The System clearly rewarded challenge, and beating creatures far below his level would eventually become an inefficient way to advance.

"So we hunt things around our level whenever we can do it without getting ourselves killed," James said while closing the notebook. Julie sent a small pulse of agreement through the bond. He stood and returned the notebook to his belt.

"Can you find more Iron Foxes?" James asked as he adjusted the spear against his shoulder. Julie moved around his upper body, lifted her head, and began tasting the air. Several seconds passed. Then she turned sharply toward the left.

"Lead the way," James said as he started walking in that direction. Julie remained wrapped around him while continuing to monitor the surrounding heat signatures. They spent the next several hours hunting. Julie located Iron Foxes before James could see them, which allowed him to prepare ambushes instead of stumbling into fights. The first few encounters remained dangerous, but James refined his approach with every kill and stopped trying to overpower the creatures directly. The method became straightforward.

Julie located the target, James created an initial wound from range, and they forced the injured fox to waste energy chasing him through terrain that interfered with its tails. Once the creature weakened, Julie moved in quickly enough to deliver her Poisonous Bite before retreating while James finished the fight. The first time Julie attacked, James nearly shouted at her to retreat too early.

She darted beneath a tail strike, bit the fox behind its front leg, and disappeared around a root before the creature could properly react. Through the bond, James felt a burst of satisfaction that made it very clear she did not consider herself helpless.

"Okay, okay. You know what you're doing," James said while moving to keep the injured fox focused on him. Julie remained several feet away, ready to strike again if another opening appeared. By late afternoon, nine additional Iron Foxes were dead. [You and Julie have defeated Iron Fox lvl. 3 x9.] [Experience awarded.] [Shared familiar growth applied.] James rested his spear against one shoulder while looking over the final corpse.

His arms were tired, sweat had soaked his shirt, and enough monster blood covered his clothing that he had stopped bothering to identify which stain came from which creature. Julie remained alert against his shoulders but had become noticeably calmer after several successful fights.

"Good work," James said while rubbing one finger gently along the scales behind her head. Julie responded by pressing against his hand for a moment before returning her attention to the surrounding woods. They harvested what they could carry. James took the cleanest Iron Fox tails, several teeth, and strips of hide that appeared useful enough to justify the additional weight.

He refused to load himself down with every possible material, because carrying fifty pounds of monster parts while fighting another creature seemed like an excellent way to discover why inventory systems existed in games. The approaching evening finally convinced him to stop. James found a clearing protected by three large trees, collected dry branches, and scraped a shallow fire pit into the ground.

Starting a flame without a lighter remained annoying, but he had already learned enough from the previous night to avoid wasting nearly as much time. Julie watched the growing fire carefully.

"Fire is good," James said while feeding another dry branch into the flames. She remained suspicious, but the bond carried more curiosity than fear. James cut several pieces of meat from one of the cleaner Iron Fox carcasses before leaving the hunting area. He placed them over the fire and crushed several remaining Vitality Berries across the meat while it cooked. The result smelled significantly better than his fish from the previous evening. A System message appeared while he worked. [Action recorded.] [Class seed expanding.] James stopped and read the wording again.

"That's new," he said as he turned one piece of meat. Julie looked toward him, but her attention quickly returned to dinner. The previous notifications had described the seed as forming, growing, stabilizing, and progressing. Expanding suggested that the System was adding something different rather than simply moving him closer to a predetermined class.

James considered everything he had done recently: fighting, crafting weapons, learning Appraisal, bonding Julie, understanding materials, and now adapting monster parts for survival.

"Whatever you're building in there, please don't make me a fucking cook," James said while dismissing the message. Julie showed absolutely no concern about his future profession. When the meat finished, James placed several pieces on a flat stone for her.

"That's yours," he said while moving his own portion farther from Julie before she decided his share also belonged to her. She immediately started eating. James leaned against one of the trees and took his first bite. The Iron Fox meat was tough and strongly flavored, but the cooked Vitality Berry juice made it considerably better than he expected. After two days of improvised meals, bruises, poison, blood, and monsters, hot food was enough to make him stop caring about proper seasoning.

"Not bad," James said while taking another bite. Julie continued eating beside him and sent a pulse of obvious satisfaction through their bond. The forest was still dangerous, James remained separated from nearly a thousand other survivors, and the highest-level person in the tutorial was almost certainly still ahead of him. None of those facts had changed, but something important had. James was no longer alone.