Chương 9: Chapter 8: Beast Bond Pioneer

The familiar prompt remained in front of James while the Silver Thread Spider waited on the flat stone near the ravine entrance. Julie stayed wrapped around his arm with her head raised, watching the spider closely without showing any desire to attack. James could feel her suspicion through their bond, but beneath it sat curiosity and a reluctant acceptance that the spider had fought beside them when it could have remained safely out of the battle. [Silver Thread Spider lvl. 4 wishes to become your familiar.] [Do you accept?] [Y/N] James looked directly at the spider.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked while lowering the maul slightly. The spider raised its front legs and lowered them again in the same controlled gesture it had used before, and James felt the faint possibility of another bond waiting for his decision. He glanced toward Julie before making the choice.

"You good with this?" James asked as he focused on the snake through their connection. Julie remained tense for several seconds, then relaxed enough that he took the response as permission rather than enthusiasm.

"All right," James said as he mentally selected yes. The System accepted his decision immediately, and golden light appeared between him and the spider. Thin strands formed across the short distance and disappeared into James as a second presence settled beside the familiar bond he already shared with Julie. The spider's mind felt very different from Julie's.

Julie communicated through direct emotions, physical needs, and increasingly clear intent, while the spider's awareness was quiet and constantly evaluating movement around him. James could sense attention shifting across vibrations, surfaces, and nearby objects with a patience that made it obvious the creature experienced the world in a different way. A golden System notification appeared. [Special Achievement.] [You have bonded with Silver Thread Spider lvl. 4.] [You are the first individual in the newly integrated Realm to maintain two familiar bonds.] [Title upgraded.] [Familiar Master has become Beast Bond Pioneer.] [Shared growth with bonded familiars has increased.] [Your soul has reached its current familiar-bond capacity.] [Additional familiars cannot be bonded until that capacity increases.] James read the message twice before a wide grin spread across his face.

"Now that is fucking useful," he said while looking between the two creatures. The System had not merely allowed the second bond; it had rewarded him for reaching something nobody else in the entire Realm had apparently accomplished yet. The achievement also answered a question James had not considered until now. Familiar bonds required some kind of capacity tied to the soul, which meant collecting magical animals indefinitely was not an option even if more of them wanted to join him.

"Two is probably enough for now," James said as he looked at Julie and the spider. Julie gave him immediate agreement, and the spider remained perfectly still. Another normal blue window appeared. [Please select a name for Silver Thread Spider lvl. 4.] James studied the spider. Dramatic names came to mind immediately, including several that would have fit a dangerous magical creature covered in silver markings, but every one of them sounded increasingly ridiculous the longer he considered it.

"Kevin," James finally said while nodding once. The spider remained still, and Julie's sudden surprise through the bond told him she had not expected that choice.

"Yeah, Kevin," James continued as the name settled in his mind. He crouched closer to the spider without reaching toward it yet, and a small pulse of satisfaction entered the new bond.

"You look like a Kevin." [You have named Silver Thread Spider.] [Name: Kevin.] James laughed quietly. He had no idea why the name amused him so much, but a magical spider named Kevin felt considerably better than calling him something like Deathweb or Silver Reaper. The System had already made the world strange enough without James helping. Kevin approached after the naming notification disappeared. James expected him to remain on the ground, but the spider suddenly jumped and landed directly on his shoulder.

Eight legs settled against James's shirt and neck before Kevin adjusted himself near the back of his shoulder. James froze. Julie slowly turned her head from the opposite side and stared at the spider.

"So I have two rent-free neighbors now," James said after forcing himself to relax. Kevin shifted once against his shoulder, and the fine hairs along his legs brushed James's neck.

"I'm going to get used to that eventually, but today is not that day." Julie sent a faint pulse of amusement. James gave her an irritated glance while Kevin remained completely unconcerned with the effect he was having on his new master.

"You're not helping," James told her as he adjusted the materials strapped across his back. Night was approaching quickly. The time inside the ravine had consumed most of the remaining daylight, and the forest beyond the entrance had already shifted into the darker blue-gray colors that came before full night. James had no intention of wandering around looking for another monster before he established somewhere defensible to sleep.

The materials he had taken from the Stonebind Minotaur made stopping even more important. James carried sections of horn, several thick pieces of stone-reinforced hide, tendons, usable plates, and a larger quantity of Silver Thread Silk now that Kevin had apparently decided to become his permanent supplier. He looked at the bundle and immediately thought about the weapon he had wanted since the tutorial started.

"We need camp," James said while beginning to walk away from the ravine. Julie lifted her head to monitor the forest, and Kevin remained positioned on his shoulder.

"Then I'm making myself a proper fucking hammer." James found a suitable location between three thick Ironwood trees less than fifteen minutes later. A fallen trunk protected one side, while heavy roots created enough natural obstacles that anything rushing toward the camp would have to change direction. He cleared the worst debris, established a fire pit, and used Kevin's silk to reinforce several simple warning lines around the easiest approaches. The fire took several attempts to start.

Once the flame became stable, James arranged the harvested materials beside it and began deciding what could realistically be built with a utility knife, framing hammer, crude blades, and stubbornness. Proper forging was impossible, but construction had never required ideal conditions to begin solving a problem. He started with an Ironwood branch for the shaft. James trimmed it until the length and grip felt comfortable, then reinforced the upper section with pieces cut from the minotaur's horn.

The dense material added weight without making the shaft impossible to control. The head required more experimentation. James selected the strongest pieces of minotaur plate, placed them around a heavy stone core, and began binding the assembly with tendons and Silver Thread Silk. Kevin climbed from his shoulder onto the unfinished weapon and immediately began laying thinner strands through small gaps James had missed. James stopped working and watched him.

"That's actually better than what I was doing," he admitted as Kevin reinforced several weak connection points. The spider continued without reacting to the compliment, while Julie watched from a nearby root with a very obvious sense of satisfaction coming through the bond.

"Don't look so smug," James told her as he returned to work. He tightened another section of silk and tested the head by pulling against it with both hands.

"You detect monsters, he fixes my shitty bindings, and apparently my job is carrying both of you around." Julie settled more comfortably against the root. James decided that meant she considered the arrangement fair. Nearly two hours passed before the weapon reached a point he trusted. The finished warhammer had an Ironwood shaft reinforced near the head with sections of horn, while layered minotaur plates enclosed the heavy stone core.

One side provided a broad striking face, and the opposite side ended in a shorter sharpened horn designed to concentrate force into a smaller point. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. James lifted it with both hands. The weapon was heavy enough that swinging it carelessly would exhaust him quickly. His increased Strength made the weight manageable, however, and the balance felt much better than the crude maul he had built earlier.

James stepped toward the fallen trunk and delivered a controlled strike. The hammerhead smashed through the outer layer of bark and drove deeply into the wood. James pulled it free and checked every binding before smiling. Nothing had shifted. A blue System notification appeared. [Action recorded.] [Monster-material weapon construction successful.] [Blunt weapon specialization pattern reinforced.] [Bonded familiar contribution recognized.] [Class seed stabilizing.] James activated Appraisal.

[Minotaur Warhammer] [Quality: Common.] [Crafted from Ironwood, Stonebind Minotaur materials, and Silver Thread Silk.] [High blunt-force potential.] [Minor Webbed Slow effect may occur on successful impacts.] James immediately looked at Kevin.

"You put a status effect on my hammer," he said while rotating the weapon to inspect the silk running through the head. Kevin remained on the fallen log, but satisfaction entered their bond clearly enough that James understood the spider knew exactly what he had contributed.

"That is fucking fantastic," James continued as he rested the warhammer against his shoulder. He reached over and carefully touched Kevin's back with one finger, then stopped when the spider's fine hairs moved against his skin.

"Still weird. We're working on that." The remaining minotaur plates suggested another project. James's shirt had already proven completely useless against claws, bites, tails, and virtually every other form of violence the tutorial offered. He did not have enough material for full armor, but his chest contained several organs he was personally interested in keeping. James arranged four of the flatter plates over his torso and experimented with different overlaps.

The armor needed enough movement for him to swing the warhammer without cutting into his neck or restricting his shoulders. He shaped the edges as well as his tools allowed, then used hide straps and Kevin's silk to connect the pieces into a crude breastplate. Kevin helped again. The spider ran thin reinforcement lines along stress points where the plates overlapped, strengthening areas James knew would receive the most force.

Julie occasionally moved close enough to inspect the work, though she contributed primarily by warning James whenever his growing pile of cooked meat looked insufficient.

"You two have very different priorities," James said while tightening a strap beneath his arm. Kevin continued reinforcing the breastplate, while Julie stared toward the food beside the fire.

"I respect both of them." The finished armor was heavy, uncomfortable, and ugly. James put it on anyway and adjusted the straps until the plates rested against his chest without cutting badly into his shoulders. He moved both arms through several full swings before testing the warhammer. [Action recorded.] [Protective equipment created.] [Monster-material adaptation recorded.] [Class seed stabilizing.] James looked down at himself.

"I officially look like somebody who lost a fight with a hardware store and then robbed a minotaur," he said while checking the lower strap. The armor did not need to look good, because its only purpose was preventing sharp objects from entering important places. They did not have to wait long to test it. Julie detected movement first. Her warning entered the bond while James was eating near the fire, and Kevin immediately shifted toward the same direction.

Two separate warm bodies approached from the darkness beyond the camp. James stood and lifted the Minotaur Warhammer. Two Iron Foxes entered the outer light several moments later. [Iron Fox lvl. 3.] [Iron Fox lvl. 3.] James studied them and felt much less concern than he would have the previous morning. Both monsters remained dangerous, but he now had a weapon designed around his Strength, armor covering most of his torso, Julie's poison, and Kevin's silk controlling the battlefield.

"Stay back unless I actually need you," James told his familiars as he stepped beyond the firelight. Julie disliked the instruction immediately, while Kevin gave no obvious response. James wanted to know whether the equipment worked. The first Iron Fox attacked directly. Its metallic tail struck toward James's chest, and he deliberately allowed the blow to land against the breastplate rather than throwing himself completely aside.

The impact drove him backward half a step and produced enough force to hurt beneath the armor, but the tail failed to penetrate. James grinned.

"Oh, that changes things," he said as the fox pulled its tail back. The plate carried a fresh scratch, but his chest remained intact. James swung. The broad warhammer face struck the fox across its shoulder and sent it sideways into the dirt. The impact was far more powerful than his framing hammer could ever have delivered, and James felt the creature's bones break beneath the strike. The second fox attacked while he recovered. James turned, but not quickly enough.

A tail passed around the edge of the breastplate and opened a cut across his upper arm. James stepped backward, adjusted his grip, and waited while both foxes tried to reposition around him. The wounded creature rose with one front leg hanging badly. Julie remained near the fire despite every part of her bond demanding involvement. Kevin stayed on a tree several feet above them, watching the fight.

"Good," James said while backing toward open ground. He wanted space for the warhammer rather than another complicated trap.

"Let's see if I can actually use this thing without falling on my ass." The injured fox rushed first. James allowed it to commit before stepping across the attack and bringing the hammer down from above. The weapon struck across the spine and drove the creature to the ground hard enough that it stopped moving immediately. [You have slain Iron Fox lvl. 3.] [Experience awarded.] The second fox hesitated. James reset his stance.

The animal circled him instead of attacking directly, which forced James to turn continuously to keep the hammer between them. Its three tails moved separately, and the fox waited until James shifted his footing before suddenly charging. One tail came high. James blocked it with the reinforced shaft. The second moved low. James jumped backward, but the movement created an opening he had failed to notice. The third tail drove toward his unprotected side. A Silver Thread snapped tight in front of the fox.

Its front legs hit the silk, and the creature stumbled. James swung the warhammer sideways with both hands. The hooked horn caught the Iron Fox near the shoulder and tore deeply through its body. James reversed his grip and brought the broad face down across its back before it could recover. The fox stopped moving. [You have slain Iron Fox lvl. 3.] [Experience awarded.] [Shared familiar growth applied.] James rested the warhammer against the ground and looked toward the tree where Kevin waited.

"I said only if necessary," he told the spider while catching his breath. Kevin remained calm through the bond, but one simple impression reached James clearly enough to require no translation. Necessary. Julie agreed immediately. James looked from one familiar to the other.

"Fine," he said as he checked the cut across his arm. He could not really argue with the result, because Kevin had prevented an Iron Fox tail from entering his side. The fight had proven what James needed to know. His warhammer worked, the breastplate could stop attacks that would previously have opened his chest, and Kevin's silk remained useful well beyond the ravine.

Julie and Kevin also complemented one another naturally: Julie excelled at finding targets and striking quickly, while Kevin controlled movement and created opportunities. James looked around the camp. Yesterday he had been carrying a framing hammer and a spear held together with chalk line and electrical tape.

Tonight he wore armor made from a minotaur, carried a warhammer reinforced with spider silk, traveled with two familiars, and had enough practical understanding of the System to deliberately prepare for fights instead of merely surviving them. The difference mattered.

"We hunt stronger things tomorrow," James said as he dragged the first Iron Fox toward camp. Julie gave an enthusiastic response through their bond, while Kevin climbed down from the tree and settled near the fire.

"Tonight we eat, repair this shit, and get some actual sleep." James harvested both foxes before reinforcing the camp perimeter. Kevin stretched thin silk lines between several roots, Julie monitored the surrounding heat signatures, and James placed sharpened tail pieces along the easiest paths into camp. The defensive work took time, but he preferred spending thirty minutes preparing over waking with another monster standing on his chest.

When everything was finished, James sat beside the fire with the warhammer within reach. Julie settled across his lap after eating, while Kevin perched on a nearby section of the fallen log and remained almost completely motionless. James opened his status and studied the numbers for several seconds before his attention reached the same sealed line that had bothered him since Level One. [REDACTED] James focused on it. Nothing happened.

"Still being an asshole, I see," James said as he gave up on forcing an answer. Julie raised her head at his irritation, while Kevin turned several eyes toward the floating screen.

"Apparently neither of you gets to know what it means either." The System remained silent. James dismissed the screen and leaned against the log. His chest hurt beneath the new armor, the cut on his arm needed another cleaning, and tomorrow would probably involve creatures strong enough to make tonight's Iron Foxes look harmless. None of that prevented a quiet laugh from escaping him.

"One paid holiday," James said while looking toward the fire. Julie rested her head against his leg, and Kevin remained beside the warhammer.

"That's all I fucking wanted."