Chương 6: Chapter 5: Control the Ground

After eating and resting, James and Julie continued north instead of stopping for the night. Rest would have been the smarter choice, and James knew it, because his shoulders ached, his arms felt heavy, and several old cuts had started itching as they healed. The fire had been warm, the food had been decent, and having Julie settled around his shoulders had made the small camp feel safer than anywhere else he had been since the tutorial began. Comfort did not help him reach Level Ten.

James kicked dirt over the remaining coals, checked the tools hanging from his belt, and adjusted the Iron Fox spear in his hand before moving away from the campsite.

"We need to keep leveling," he said as Julie lifted her head beside his neck.

"Every fight gets split between us now, so slowing down means everyone else keeps pulling ahead." Julie did not understand every word, but the bond carried enough of his intent that he felt her agreement. The connection between them had improved considerably since he raised her Intelligence. Julie still could not speak, and James could not receive detailed thoughts from her, but broad emotions had become clearer and simple concepts passed between them without much effort.

Hunger felt different from pain, curiosity felt different from confusion, and danger carried a sharp urgency that James had already learned not to ignore.

"I wonder if familiars evolve," James said while stepping over an exposed root. The question had been sitting in the back of his mind since Julie began leveling alongside him.

"You're already stronger than a normal snake should ever be, so maybe Level Ten turns you into some giant poison dragon." Julie shifted against his shoulders as if considering the idea, and James smiled while continuing forward.

"I'm not carrying you when you weigh six tons, though. We establish that rule now." Julie suddenly tightened around him. James stopped immediately. Her head lifted above his shoulder, tongue flicking rapidly while she focused toward the trees ahead. A warning moved through the bond, followed by three distinct impressions of heat.

"Multiple bodies?" James asked quietly as he lowered the spear. Julie remained fixed on the same direction, which was answer enough.

"I really need you to learn numbers eventually.

'There are enemies' is helpful, but 'there are three enemies waiting to cut your ass open' would be better." He crouched and moved forward carefully. Darkness had not completely swallowed the forest yet, but the remaining daylight beneath the canopy was weak enough that careless movement could hide a root or branch until he stepped directly onto it. James placed each boot deliberately and stopped whenever Julie's attention sharpened. A thick bush marked the edge of a small clearing.

James eased two branches apart and looked through the gap, then remained still when he saw what waited on the other side. Three Iron Foxes prowled around the open ground, each Level Three when he checked them with Appraisal. [Iron Fox lvl. 3.] [Iron Fox lvl. 3.] [Iron Fox lvl. 3.] Their rust-red fur appeared darker in the failing light, and all nine metallic tails moved independently behind them.

One fox was manageable because James could use trees and patience to control the fight, while two would force him to divide his attention. Three could attack from different directions and overwhelm him before Julie had time to poison even one.

"Three at once," James whispered as he remained behind the bush. His first impulse was to back away and find another target, especially after hours of fighting had already taken its toll.

"I don't know if this is worth it." Julie rubbed her head against the side of his neck, and the emotion that followed through their bond contained no fear. James looked at her before returning his attention to the clearing. She was not demanding that they attack, but she was confident they could handle the fight if they prepared correctly.

"You think we can do it," James said as he studied the foxes again. Julie flicked her tongue and remained focused on them.

"All right. Then we don't fight three foxes. We make sure we only have to fight one problem at a time." That was something James understood. Most difficult construction work became manageable when the larger problem was broken into smaller ones. You did not lift an entire wall by grabbing it and hoping enthusiasm defeated physics; you used leverage, braces, staging, and enough planning that the dangerous portion happened under controlled conditions.

James had spent years thinking that way, and there was no reason combat had to be different.

"We control the ground first," he said while reaching into his tool belt. Julie watched closely while James began sorting through the increasingly limited collection of equipment he had carried from Earth. The chalk line immediately caught his attention. It was thin and never intended to restrain a monster, but Iron Foxes ran quickly and focused almost entirely on whatever they were trying to kill.

A low line hidden beneath leaves did not need to hold one permanently; it only needed to catch its legs long enough for James to introduce its skull to a hammer. He moved away from the bush and found two trees along the route he wanted to use. James stretched the chalk line between them slightly above ground level, pulled it tight, then covered as much of the visible cord as possible with loose dirt and leaves. He tested the placement twice before deciding a charging animal would probably miss it until too late.

The next problem was what to do when a fox reached him. James still had the framing hammer, but his spear would probably leave his hand during the initial attack, so he wanted something useful in the other hand. Several construction nails remained in his pouch, along with scraps of hide and cord gathered from previous kills. Ten minutes later, he had attached four nails through a short length of heavy branch.

The result was not elegant enough to deserve a proper name and probably would have made any weaponsmith laugh at him, but the nails extended far enough to catch or damage an incoming tail. James swung the crude club several times and checked that nothing came loose. [Action recorded.] [Class seed expanding.]"Of course you like this shit," James said as he inspected the notification. The System had reacted to nearly every occasion where he modified materials to solve an immediate problem.

"We can discuss whatever class you're trying to build after I'm no longer hiding twenty yards from nine metal spears attached to angry foxes." Julie watched him without comment. James returned to the edge of the clearing and pointed toward the closest Iron Fox.

"We hit that one first, and we hit it hard enough that it doesn't join the real fight," he said while pushing simple intent through the bond. Julie followed his gesture toward the chosen target.

"You finish anything pinned or badly wounded. Bite, move, and don't stay in front of those tails long enough to get yourself cut in half." A clear pulse of understanding came through the bond. The plan remained simple because James did not trust anything more complicated. He would pin the first fox with a thrown spear, draw the remaining two toward the hidden chalk line, and kill whichever one lost its footing. If everything worked, the third fox would be alone before it understood how badly the encounter had gone.

If everything failed, James intended to run.

"Ready?" James asked as he wrapped one hand around the throwing spear. Julie loosened herself from his shoulders and slipped silently to the ground, positioning herself where she could reach the first fox once it was pinned.

"Good. Let's do it." James stepped from cover and threw. His increased Strength made the crude spear travel faster than anything he could have managed before Integration. The Iron Fox turned at the sound, but the metal point had already crossed the clearing and struck through its side. The impact knocked the animal from its feet and drove the spear into the soil beneath it. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The fox screamed and twisted violently.

Its tails cut through leaves and dirt while it attempted to pull itself free, but the weapon had entered deeply enough to hold for the moment.

"Julie, now!" James shouted as he immediately moved away from the pinned creature. His familiar accelerated across the ground while the other two foxes turned toward him. All six metallic tails lifted. James had watched enough Iron Foxes fight to understand that the display was partly intimidation. Their tails could strike from several directions, but the animals rarely committed all three to an attack simultaneously because the unused tails stabilized their movement.

It remained dangerous as hell, but there was a difference between looking impossible to approach and actually being impossible to approach. The first fox lunged. James waited for one tail to commit before shifting backward. The metallic point passed in front of his shirt, and he stepped inside the opening to slash his short Iron Fox blade across the animal's front leg. The cut was not deep, but it changed the fox's footing and gave him exactly what he wanted.

The second fox attacked from his left before he could fully retreat. James twisted away, but one tail opened a shallow cut across his upper arm. Pain burned immediately, and warm blood ran toward his elbow.

"Yeah, fuck you too," James said as he broke into a run toward the prepared trap. He did not waste time trying to retaliate while two foxes remained close enough to attack together. Behind him, Julie reached the pinned animal. The wounded fox snapped at her while its tails struck blindly around the spear holding it down. Julie remained outside the first attack, waited until the nearest tail passed, then moved in fast enough that James barely saw her strike. Her fangs sank into the side of its neck.

She released immediately. The fox thrashed and attempted to follow her, but the spear prevented it from turning properly. Julie circled outside the tail range, waited for another opening, and bit the opposite side of its neck before retreating again. Venom began doing the rest. James felt her focus through the bond while he approached the chalk line. The two uninjured foxes remained behind him, with the one he had cut leading because its anger apparently outweighed the pain in its leg.

James jumped over the hidden cord and spun around. The wounded fox followed. Its front legs cleared the line. Its rear legs did not. The chalk line snapped tight enough to survive the initial contact, and the fox pitched forward. Its tails whipped outward as it tried to recover, but James was already moving. He brought the framing hammer down with both hands. The first strike landed behind the ear.

The fox collapsed hard enough that one shoulder hit the ground before the rest of its body followed, and James stepped away immediately rather than assuming a single hit had finished it. The third Iron Fox cleared the trap by slowing down. James cursed under his breath. The animal stood across from him without rushing forward. It had watched two members of its group disappear from the fight within seconds and apparently possessed enough intelligence to understand that charging blindly was no longer a good idea.

Its three tails moved slowly behind it. James held the hammer in his right hand and the nail-studded club in his left because the throwing spear remained embedded in the first fox. The short Iron Fox blade was still hanging from his belt, but reaching for another weapon while the creature watched him seemed unnecessary. The fox paced sideways. James matched it. Neither attacked for several seconds.

"Come on," James said while tracking the tails rather than the animal's eyes. His breathing had become heavier, and the cut on his upper arm continued bleeding, but neither problem prevented him from moving.

"You've got three of those damn things. Show me which one you actually plan to use." The fox charged. The center tail stabbed toward James's stomach. He stepped sideways and struck the incoming tail with the nail-studded club. The impact did not stop the weapon entirely, but it changed the angle enough for the point to pass beside his ribs instead of entering them. James drew the short Iron Fox blade with his free hand and cut. The damaged tail separated near the hardened section. Blood sprayed across the leaves.

The Iron Fox screamed and immediately attacked with another tail rather than retreating. James raised the crude club again, caught the metal point between two nails, and shoved outward before slashing with the blade. The second tail dropped. The fox staggered backward. At the far edge of the clearing, Julie released the first Iron Fox after its body stopped moving. She turned toward James immediately, and the bond gave him a clear sense that she was ready to intervene. James did not ask her to.

The last fox still possessed one tail and four functioning legs. It could have run, and James would have let it go rather than chase an injured animal into dark forest for no reason. Instead, the creature lowered itself into another attack stance. James watched it carefully. There was no reason to romanticize a monster trying to kill him, but he understood stubbornness when he saw it.

The fox had lost two companions, two tails, and enough blood to stain the ground behind it, yet something inside the creature still refused to surrender.

"Stupid bastard," James said as he lowered the nail club and returned the blade to a ready position. He almost smiled because the description applied to both of them more often than he cared to admit.

"Fine. One more." The fox attacked. Its final tail drove straight toward his chest. James turned at the last moment and allowed the metal point to pass close enough to tear the side of his already ruined shirt. He stepped inside the tail's effective range before the creature could withdraw it. The hammer came around from his right. James put his hips and shoulders behind the swing. The metal head struck the Iron Fox across the skull. Bone broke beneath the impact, and the fox collapsed before the tail could reset.

James remained still for several seconds with the hammer raised. He watched the body for movement and listened to his breathing until he was satisfied the fight had actually ended. Julie arrived beside him. James lowered the weapon.

"All three?" he asked as he looked toward the pinned fox and the one caught by the trap. Julie sent a satisfied confirmation through the bond.

"Good. Because I really don't feel like doing that again immediately." Blue System windows appeared. [You and Julie have slain Iron Fox lvl. 3 x3.] [Experience awarded.] [Shared familiar growth applied.] [Julie has leveled up!] [Julie is now Level 4.] [3 Attribute Points are available.] James leaned back against the nearest tree while Julie climbed his leg and wrapped herself around his forearm. She raised her head and stared directly at him, and he did not need a sophisticated bond to understand what she wanted.

"Yeah, yeah. Your points," James said as he opened her attribute panel. Julie's attention sharpened immediately.

"You still want Intelligence?" Her answer came through the bond before he finished the question. James laughed.

"All right. It's your build," he said as he assigned all three points to Intelligence. The choice was hers, and James had already decided he would not treat his familiar like a piece of equipment simply because the System allowed him to manage her attributes. [Intelligence increased to 16.] Julie became completely still. The familiar bond changed again. Nothing close to language entered James's mind, but her emotions gained greater definition.

Satisfaction carried pride now rather than simple pleasure, curiosity felt directed instead of vague, and her awareness of James himself seemed stronger. Julie looked toward the dead foxes and then toward the trap. James received a clear impression of approval.

"We might actually be getting good at this," James said while looking over the clearing. The ambush had worked almost exactly as intended, and for once their success had come more from preparation than from surviving mistakes. Julie flicked her tongue. James smiled and shook his head.

"Don't get cocky," he said as he pulled the utility knife from his belt. His body was exhausted, and the fresh cut on his arm needed attention, but leaving nine valuable Iron Fox tails on the ground would have bothered him far more than another twenty minutes of work. He started harvesting.