Sore. Every body part, every finger, every arm, even to the very ends of his toes. Though his frame was slim he was still far from in shape as his bones creaked with each movement as he slowly stretched out of bed and sat on the toilet. He didn't exactly know what to do his body was tired and he didn't really feel up to grinding away at a bunch of rabbits again, so he racked his brain for something to do. 

 

He knew his mom would be out for the day either at a business meeting or on a date with warren but he had the whole house to himself, he could invite his friends but his mom yelled at him last time after the mess they made and he didn't want to deal with that again so for a while Daniel just sat on the toilet wondering what to do with his time. Moving from the toilet to the couch and finally, back to bed Daniel tossed and turned about his indecision gnawing on his mind like a stick of gum. Eventually, Daniel sighed putting on a dumpy brown hoodie he had and some sweatpants before heading outside and taking a walk around town. 

 

Daniel was aimless simply walking since he needed something to do no goal in mind aside from entertainment though on occasion Daniel would simply watch the people around him, find interest in their lives, their loving relationships, and their crushing losses but he couldn't shake this odd feeling. It nagged at the back of his head like a constant reminder weighing him down it was as if he was walking around in his own little bubble while the faceless masses simply passed by, feeling a twisting pain in his heart Daniels eyes begin to water until he heard the familiar “Bing bong” of a store door opening. Checking his surroundings Daniel realized he was at the mall walking through the wide sliding doors of Mary’s’.

 

 Daniel stared around in awe ‘how long have I been walking for’ the mall wasn't far for Daniel surely a good drive but to think that he walked all the way there just told himself ho out of it he really was, yet as he stood at the entrance he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. His heart began beating out of his chest, his palms grew sweaty and his thoughts felt frantic he couldn't just turn and walk out he’d already walked in but he didn't want to be there in the first place and he didn't want people to think he was some kind of weirdo so with mild determination Daniel began walking through the story with shaky legs hoping to find a place where he could sit and collect himself. 

 

Meandering about he saw a few funny looking tee shirts, a few middle-aged women looking around the cosmetic section and a few haughty rich girls browsing the designer purses until he found the shoe section. Taking a seat on one of the little chairs Daniel fought to calm himself down, taking deep breaths and focusing on calming himself before doing anything else. Staring at his hands he hadn't had something like that happen to him for over a month but the feeling still ripped through him like a chilling breeze, finally settling down Daniel stood from the chair and decided to go to the bookstore before heading to the food court for a pretzel and some comfort food. Refreshed and composed Daniel ventured out into the mall the paned skylight ceiling filled the building with a natural glow and allowed hints of warmth to tantalize the senses ever so delicately soft pop songs played over the speakers as the dull drone of people talking filled the rest of the space. 

 

Walking down the clamorous halls of the mall Daniel checked his phone scrolling through forums and message boards laughing at ep stories and tales of nuclear revenge until he reached the bookstore. Walking in he noticed the entire store was filled with pre-teen girls all wearing excessive merch for some K-pop band he never listened to, staring at the disgruntled parents and the more than annoyed older brothers in line Daniel could tell that he wouldn't get to browse any books today. Leaving the bookstore he passed a few clothing stores, the occasional goth store here and there until something caught his eye, it was a warm chestnut brown cardigan that swam before him followed by rays of a golden sweater shimmering beneath. Looking up Daniel saw Jessica with her friends heading into another clothing store until she stopped mid-stride and turned in his direction. Immediately panicking Daniel tried to hide in the crowd avoiding eye contact and hoping to make himself unseen yet his eyes couldn't help but wander back to her immaculate form as he saw a small smile and wink exist for only a second before disappearing with the turn of her head. 

 

Daniels's heart throbbed with passion for a moment he felt special as if that moment was a secret that the two of them alone held. Giddy with the very thought Daniel retreated to the food court indulging in pretzels and donuts while he watched lets players play R.O.W watching their strategies and playstyles to find some way to level up faster until he noticed something. In the description of one of the videos, it said something about a pet quiz, “Hey guys this is my 4th playthrough of Realm of Wizardry and I've found out that on the website you can take a quiz to earn a pet so if you’re interested just click the link here and stay frosty”. Watching the rest of the video Daniel clicked the link waiting for the page to load, as he waited his eyes wandered around the room watching babies cry at dinner tables and groups of friends laugh in their small booths.

 

They were so happy. Turning back to the webpage Daniel nodded to himself 'having a pet even a digital one would be kinda nice' logging in to his account Daniel began the quiz. The questions were short and easy but the overwhelming number of them would've been enough to make any lone person exhausted beyond belief, but Daniel performed the task easily. With each step he took a question was answered and with it, he was another step closer to getting his pet.

 

It was early afternoon when Daniel got home with the quiz nearly done and his mind racing at 100 miles an hour wondering what pet he would get, what he would name it and what would it look like. Laying on his bed Daniel watched as the final question was answered and in an uproar of horns a notification popped up on his phone, grabbing his glasses off of the charging stand he nearly slapped them on his face as a present floated before him. Tapping the present a small tab popped up and as Daniel carefully read the note he understood more about the test " <notification> thank you [zazaneil] for completing of custom class quiz this quiz will allow us to further understand your playstyle and you as a player so the right class can be delivered to you as a reward you may choose one of three spirit beasts to have as a companion". 

 

wearing a large grin on his face Daniel couldn't contain his excitement as the box opened presenting three strange creatures with info boxes beneath each of them. Inspecting the first creature Daniel saw it was fit in the palm of his hand its soft almost cotton ball-like body floated in the air aided by a pair of small gray downy wings as three long tails stretched from the bottom of the small puffball ending in three large golden feathers. As Daniel stared in its large black eyes the creature made a sort of chirp before flying around in a circle and happily floating before him once again, giggling at the small creature's antics Daniel looked down at its info card to learn more about the impish little ball of fluff.

 

Wuff

Element(s): white

Lv: 1

Hp: 16/16

Sp: 9/9

Spells

• Joyous hymn: heals 10% of total health [1 sp]

Skills

• Star dance: stuns target for 10 sec 
• Blinding light: 50/50 chance stun for 5 sec or inflict status effect (blindness) for 5 minutes
• Recovery: unless completely killed a creature can take a long rest and recover their max hp (5 minutes for 1 hp)
• N/A
• N/A
• N/A

Inventory slots: 0/9

 

Staring curiously at the Wuff Daniel couldn't help but stare at its soft lush form, shaking his head Daniel collected himself moving to the next creature. It appeared to be a kitten small enough to fit in his hand its lush fur was blue with stripes of green sticking out at estranged intervals, its eyes were a deep dark blue while its tail appeared to be more of a vine than anything else. Gills sat on either side of the kitten's neck with a pair of small white fins standing out against its sides. The feline stared at Daniel with wide eyes the kind a curious child would hold at the sight of a new toy, tentatively reaching its small paw out towards Daniel it batted his hand mildly as if testing the strength of a new platform. Fawning over the small feline Daniel inspected its info card to see what it could do.

 

Nept Nept

Element(s): blue, green

Lv: 1

Hp: 12/12

Sp: 16/16

Spells

• Aqudzu: 5 dmg -10% spd 2 dmg per sec (6 sec duration) [4 sp]

Skills

• Hydro step: produce a portal and teleport within a 3-meter radius
• Verglas path: -15% spd 3 dmg per sec (10 sec duration) 4-yard radius
• Recovery: unless completely killed a creature can take a long rest and recover their max hp (5 minutes for 1 hp)
• N/A
• N/A
• N/A

Inventory slots: 0/9

 

Inspecting the cat Daniel wondered if its area of effect abilities would be useful in combat but slowly his disposition was whittled away until he spent the next half hour simply playing with the small kitten that sat before him. Going to the final animal of the trio Daniel could tell it was starkly different from the other two, what should've been a puppy, or a baby dog simply appeared to be a shrunken down version of a normal dog. Possibly one third its normal size there before him sad a hairless dog, hairless for the fact that the dog dint has any skin the entire length of its body being covered in jagged mounds of rock, tar, and obsidian while between the cracks a stead almost veiny path of cooling lava seemed to pulsate with life. Its eyes were simply tunnels that seemed to almost bore into the creature's head while blood-red flames flooded their dark corridors, its body was lean and muscular with long dark serrated claws on each of it cracked paws. The dongs almost bat-like ears perked up at the sight of Daniel and immediately sat up straight and began panting wildly its dark red tongue hanging limply from its mouth revealing the two rows of shark-like teeth that lined the inside of the creature's mouth

 

Berus

Element(s): red, black

Lv: 1

Hp: 15/15

Sp: 12/12

Spells

• Shadow flame strike: 9 dmg +4 damage (if at night) [3 sp]

Skills

• Flame cowl: + 10 dmg to all spells
• Void gaze: causes any creature in its eyesight (10ft arc) to be stunned for 5 seconds (effect immediately nullifies if eye contact is broken)
• Recovery: unless completely killed a creature can take a long rest and recover their max hp (5 minutes for 1 hp)
• N/A
• N/A
• N/A

Inventory slots: 0/9

 

Staring at the dog Daniel couldn't help but pet the creature tentatively with its stone skin and intimidating looks Daniel looked across the three creatures again before finally selecting the Berus. As Daniel pressed the select button a small bar popped up to name the dog, staring into the hollow eyes of the canine Daniel knew that he would basically look like an edge lord to everyone in the world so he decided to simply follow in suit typing in Kerberos as the dog's name. Barking excitedly Kerberos immediately began pacing around Daniel happily running around his room like a puppy before leaping upon his bed and laying down amongst the covers. Grinning happily Daniel stared outside his window watching as the sun slowly set into the horizon, staring at Kerberos Daniel got an idea he originally planned to have Kerberos help him farm but he suddenly got an idea. opening his inventory Daniel examined the lucky foot, there was nothing stated about its effects aside from the 10% uncommon drop increase, but Daniel decided to take a chance.

 

Pulling up the pet command guide Daniel put the lucky foot into Kerberos's inventory and used the command “hunt” sending Kerberos out the back door and into the encroaching night to begin hunting. Hopeful as Daniel thought as long as a creature can carry and pick up items it would work leaving him to do nothing more than wait. At first Daniels anxious wariness drew closely on his mind ‘what happens if he dies?’, will it pick up junk items? ‘will it pick up items at all?’ these questions plagued his brain until he concluded that he’d take whatever happened and learn from it because that all he could do at this point. 

 

Two hours passed since Daniel sent out Kerberos and he was ready to go out and look for him when into his room slinked the creature its body was damaged with large chunks of rock missing and gouges taken out of its head. Filled with horror and concern Daniel immediately panicked as he saw that Kerberos was barely hanging on by 3 hp, panicking Daniel was horrified by the thought of losing the pet he’d gotten the very same day yet he had no bit points for the store and he had no healing abilities leaving him to simply lay over his wounded pet. Until Daniel saw through blurred teary eyes Kerberos go from 3 to 4 hp, confused for a second Daniel opened Kerberos's stat page sighing in relief the moment he saw the recover skill. Keeping an eye on Kerberos Daniel tapped Kerberos and opened his inventory finding his inventory to be filled with items.

 

Inventory slots: 9/9 

• Lucky foot 
• Sacred stones x4
• Core shard x2
• Core eye
• Sky hopper fur x5
• Sky hopper claws x5
• Sky hopper hide x3
• Quartz ring of hearts
• Crafters pot

 

Trading most of the items into his inventory Daniel quickly ran through the list of scrap items to the list of named items. Observing each one closely Daniel found one that he was very fond of the quartz ring of hearts an uncommon item that gave the user +5 hp, Daniel was ecstatic he desperately wished Kerberos was real so he could snuggle and hug his charred stone hellhound. Then for a moment, an idea flew through his mind as an image of Jessica's glance once again melted his heart, looking in his inventory Daniel grinned to himself with flushed cheeks as he realized he could give the item to Jessica as a present. giddy with excitement Daniel leaped into his bed while Kerberos recovered with nothing but pleasant dreams of Jessica embracing and thanking him filling his mind.