Morning dawns bright and early for Jason. The night passed without interruption much to his relief. After he packs up his gear he places Lily on his shoulder and activates the cage. Jason is quite happy with its performance so far. While he was out of it yesterday Lily seemed to have no trouble as he ran. Though he scratches his head on how to help her level up. Even if she isn’t a battle pet Lily should get some experience somehow. Whenever Jason gets to the higher levels, she will need the levels just to survive in some of the environments. While levels cannot prevent damage, they do allow a person’s body to adapt to new places better. You still need strength to survive increased gravity but levels will stop it from wearing you out as quickly. Thousands of points in strength would do a level one no good as they would collapse from the strain in seconds.

Jason goes over the problem in his head for a time. Though in the end he can only assume the answer will also come at level ten. That is the point most people can get pets so this might just be something else to add to the list of gated features. Nice that the System still let Lily join him. Though now that he thinks about he has yet check the pets and companions tab in his character sheet. In fact, he can barely remember much of what happened. He had just woken up when Lily ambushed him with her request to serve him. With a wave of his hand he brings up the tab to see what he missed.

Pets and Companions

Non-Combat Pets [0/1]

[Open] [Locked]

Combat Pets [Locked]

[Locked]

Companions

Lily - Female Rabbit Serf - Level 1

“Okay, not the most useful of tabs. I have to assume I either need skills or levels to get more. Though most shocking is Lily and her being a companion. Fair enough, not expected but would explain some things. She has less protection and it will be harder to revive her if she ever dies. The System does not give companions as many privileges as pets. They can still come back but more in line with what locals normally have to go through to do so. My harness is just that much more important. Wait, getting sidetracked there. With this I still need to wait till level ten. However now it is because that is when I can share my xp with her. Though once she is a high enough level she should be able to join some fights and earn her own. I do have to wonder how she will fight. She has already left behind the chance to be a horned or winged rabbit. Spiky rabbits were the Energy based rabbits or at least I thought so. Not much left for Lily as the four other types cover all the energies plus not using any. Meh, time will tell I guess.”

A flash of blue interrupts his thoughts. A snarltail is nearby. Jason crouches behind the tree next to him and holds his breath. Moments later the cat can be seen sauntering out of the trees on the opposite side of the clearing. With no prey nearby this is not the time to fight it. Jason prepares to sneak away when the cat lies down in the center of the clearing and yawns. Jason freezes again and waits. Minutes pass by and the snarltail falls asleep without a care in the world. It would make sense for them to sleep in the various clearings. They would have the most warning about the squirrelraptors. Of course it also provides the cat with a warning if he attacks as well.

Jason turns it over in his head a few times before he tries it. He should be able to sneak up close enough before his attack. The snarltail will still notice him but not before he gets in range. That is all he needs to make the attack work. His mind made up Jason creeps into the clearing. One foot after another he avoids twigs and dry leaves.

The cat flicks it ear and he freezes again. Seconds later he resumes his advance. When Jason reaches halfway though things go south. A partially buried stick snaps under his foot. He had tested the ground but could not detect the danger. Alerted by the noise the snarltail is up in moments and announces its annoyance with a hiss.

Jason is ready though and literally jumps into actions. As he lunges at the cat, he spreads his fingers out like claws. The snarltail turns to him which was just what he hoped for. Now instead of being aimed at the cats flank he connects with its face. He puts all his strength into his fingers and scratches downward. Overall, this doesn’t do much to the cat‘s skin. Its eyes on the other hand are a different story.

The snarltail retreats in pain, its eyes blinded for the moment. Jason with fist in palm he thrusts his elbow at the cat to follow up and bashes its shoulder. A quiet crack and a pained yowl. It tries to chomp at him but without sight the attack is way off.

Jason takes this moment to get into a proper stands and focus on his fist. Then in perfect form he fires off a textbook cross punch. As it connects, once again on the snarltails shoulder, his blast punch goes off. The penetrating force cripples the cat‘s front leg.

The other front paw swipes at Jason as the snarltail falls over. However losing its leg takes all the force out of it and while it scratches him that is about it.

-3

Unfazed by the damage Jason slides to the side and corrects his stance. This time he goes in with a quick jab. The snarltail turns to him but he has already returned to his stance. Now faced with the crippled cat he goes in to finish it. One step forward and he drops his back arm. Then he follows the flow and brings his fist crashing up into the cat‘s jaw with a perfect uppercut.

The snarltail doesn’t die from this but is knocked out for the count. Satisfied with this Jason stands over the cat‘s head then finishes it. Another straight punch directly at the top of the head is all it takes. The blast punch shatters it brain now that it isn’t protected by the monsters defenses.