System Change

Floating down from where the purple cocoon had vanished from was not the little bunny Derek had expected to see. Staring at the new beast, Derek was beginning to wonder if the horned rabbit actually had some kind of relation to an actual unicorn.

The creature finally landed on the ground, and Derek got a closer look. The bunny’s previous grey, puffy fur had flattened everywhere other than its mane. That’s right, Silvi had grown a small mane around her neck, not unlike that of a lion. The flat part of Silvi’s coat was a bright, shining silver, while her new mane was a dark purple flowing into silver locks. Also gone was the fluffy ball that made up her tail, replaced by a longer, smoother haired tail. Small flashes of void lightning were still crackling around the body of the creature.

The small horn that Silvi used to have was now much more pronounced, standing at around 10 centimeters tall. Now, that may not seem to be big, but on the bunny’s small body, it drew a lot of attention. Previously, the horn was dull and short, almost like a bump on her head, but now, it was sharp and long. The sheen of the silver horn wrapped in a purple spiral was a sight to behold.

Honestly, if Derek had not double checked and made sure that Silvi still had her paws instead of hooves, he would have thought she had become a legendary Kirin. Luckily, she still had a bunny face instead of a long horse like snout. Her eyes had taken after Derek’s own and become dark purple.

Derek took a quick look at Bronson, who was staring wide eyed at Silvi, his mouth hanging open. Derek could not blame the man, the change was just that great. Derek decided to look at Silvi’s new stats to see what all had changed.

Silvi’s Status

Name

Silvi

Age

6

Level

N/A (Bonded)

Experience

N/A (Bonded)

Class

Legendary Void Companion

Race

Void Rabbit

Health

5440

Mana

3750

Stamina

5360

Stats

Strength

525

Dexterity

375

Endurance

536

Vitality

544

Intelligence

375

Wisdom

375

Skills

Active Void Shift, Charge, Void Lightning Bolt

Derek had thought he had created a monster when he saw Brandi’s class, but this bunny was something entirely different. Stunned at the status of his new companion, he decided to see if Bronson could help him clarify some things.

“Hey, Bronson. What kind of stats do bonded companions usually have, you know, compared to the bond initiator?” Derek asked.

Breaking out of his stupor, Bronson replied without much thought. “Umm… It depends on class rarity. Common and uncommon get around 30% stats of the contract holder, rare and epic get half. If the bonded companion has a higher stat than what it would get, it will keep that particular stat, and that stat will grow naturally. That’s why most people choose a companion with a different set of stats than themselves. A mage would choose a tanky companion, a tank would choose a companion with attack oriented stats, and such. It’s why a… bunny… doesn’t make much sense.” Bronson hesitated when speaking the word bunny after seeing the evolution of Silvi.

“That’s what I thought.” Derek replied. It seemed like, because of his legendary class, the bunny had gotten an entire three quarters of his stats. He half expected that Silvi was already one of the strongest pets in this world.

‘Who’s a pet?’ A voice went off inside Derek’s mind. ‘Can we kill this human? The meat will be tough. Doesn’t matter. I like chewy meat.’

Derek looked back over to Silvi, only to see the beat staring at Bronson with squinted eyes. He was unsure of how to communicate with her, but as she had picked up on him thinking of her as a pet, he assumed it would not be hard. He focused his thoughts and tried to push them to his companion. ‘Silvi, is that you?’

‘Of course. What? Are you daft? Can we eat?’ Silvi answered him.

‘We are not eating Bronson. No, we are not eating any humans.’ He directed. He swore he heard a scoff in his head afterwards. Man, this is going to take a lot to get used to. He thought to himself, hoping to maintain his private thoughts as long as he did not direct them to Silvi. Either she ignored those thoughts, or it worked, because she did not respond.

Silvi’s communication left Derek more dumbfounded than her physical changes. In the end, he could only chalk it up to her extreme improvement in both Wisdom and Intelligence, plus her evolution into an entirely new race.

About that time, there was a rustling in a bush behind them. Derek turned to see that it was only a low level boar, though, before he said anything, a small orb formed above Silvi’s horn, then a bolt of purple lightning streaked out at the monster. The monster fell immediately. The bolt left no physical marks on the boar’s body, it looked as if it had only passed out. Then, Silvi hopped forward, through one of the ripples Derek could always see. She instantly appeared next to the corpse and began tearing into its flesh.

Looks like I don’t need to ask to see what those two extra skills do. I’m a little jealous at her ability to shift instantaneously, though, I think my Void Shift would be better during a real fight. He looked over at Bronson who had also witnessed her actions. The poor man was visibly shuddering. A hint of fear showing in his eyes. But the fear was not directed at Silvi. No, he must have already put together that the bunny had a portion of Derek’s stats and abilities. If a fraction of his stats could allow a monster to do what Silvi had just done, then what about the man himself?

At that time, Silvi began complaining. ‘Disgusting. Terrible taste. Needs more flavor. You cook it. Like you did all those other times.’ She commanded.

‘Cook it yourself. You’re smart enough now.’ He replied.

‘Can’t cook. No thumbs. Dumb human.’

Derek had turned his head back to his new companion while they were communicating. At her last thought, she raised a paw up, as if showing that she would not be able to cook the meat. He chuckled at that. ‘Well, I’m sure you could figure something out. Too bad we can’t get you the cooking skill. Maybe you could learn a way to cook with your paws.’ At that thought, a notification popped up.

Would you like to teach your beast companion (Silvi) the skill Cooking?

Note: 2 Skill points will be consumed upon teaching the skill.

Derek stared at the message for some time. I guess it takes double the amount of skill points to teach a general skill.Fuck it. I have 16 skill points. Yes. Derek thought, watching Silvi all the while.

Congratulations

Your beast companion (Silvi) has learned the Cooking skill.

Skill Points Remaining: 14

‘This? Me… Cooking?’ Silvi’s thoughts and questions raced through Derek’s mind. With every skill he had learned, Derek was able to have a basic feeling and understanding of what to do. He hoped that it would be the same with this skill.

‘Need fire. Human, make fire. I will cook.’ Derek laughed at the bunny’s commands and gathered a small amount of dried wood. As the forest had been rather dried up from the disease, it was easy to find easily burnable wood. He placed the wood close by and, using Chain Lightning caused a fire to erupt.

Derek watched as Silvi did her best at cooking a boar. The butchering process was both disgusting and hilarious. She even tried to use a spit in the beginning, but failed. She ended up cooking the boar directly on the fire. Finally, after she got the boar to start ‘cooking,’ she sent out a thought asking for seasoning. Derek had already written the experiment off as a failure, but he suspected that the bunny would continue down this road.

Finally, the show was over and his companion began digging in. ‘Delicious. Much better. Human, want some?’ Derek was actually touched that she was offering him some of her hard work. Disgusted, but touched. ‘Pay. You give storage ring. I give meat.’

‘It’s fine. I don’t need any meat. I’ll get you a storage ring later, though. Just not now.’ If this was going to be his constant travel companion, he might as well go all out.

Derek looked back at Bronson who had been watching the scene quietly in rapt attention. “Hey, Bronson.” Derek asked.

“Huh?” Bronson came to and shook his head. “Yes?”

“How much for one of the storage rings? I’m running low, I gave my extra one to that kid in the village.” Derek asked.

“I can’t sell them. You will have to ask the master once we return to Torith.”

“Figured as much.” Derek said. He watched Bronson, who looked like he was hesitating to say something. “Is there anything you need?”

After some hesitation, Bronson spoke. “This beast. Did it just try to cook?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I had cooked some food for her earlier and she really enjoyed it. She wanted me to cook the boar, but I refused. I got her the Cooking skill and told her to try it herself.” Derek motioned to the mess in front of them. “This is the result.”

“You spent two skill points to teach a beast the Cooking skill?” Bronson shook his head. “Nevermind, don’t answer that. Of course you did.” He paused. “Why do you need another storage ring?” He asked.

“She asked if she could have one, so I decided to get her one.” Derek said. Bronson stared, speechless. “What?” Derek asked.

“I’m beginning to wonder if I should have become your contracted beast instead.” Bronson answered without thinking. When he realized what he had said out loud, his face began to turn red in embarrassment. He quickly changed the subject. “Well, it’s late, don’t you think we should be getting back to the village?”

Derek looked up at the darkening sky. “You’re right. Let’s go.” He said, then he communicated to Silvi. ‘Come on. There are some people that I need to introduce you to.’ With that, Derek put out the fire, and the three made their way back to the village.