That made me chuckle to myself. Here I was, standing on an alien planet, enjoying a view that would have been impossible back on Earth, and my primary thoughts turned to monsters and loot. We no longer stood on Earth, and I was no longer the same person I’d been just a few days ago. I wanted to return home, but home would not be the same because I would not settle for the same life I’d had there.
I shrugged off a moment of melancholy. I would miss my old life, but I loved my new power. It gave me the ability to make a difference and fight to protect those I loved. For now, we had a dungeon to explore.
I led the team at a steady run across the plateau. We didn’t encounter any monsters, although I sensed some hiding in the gullies and hills. I didn’t bother trying to lure them out.
Halfway across the plateau, as we neared another gully with a copse of smaller trees packed close together at the top, a spine-rattling roar sounded from the trees. We skidded to a halt and prepared for another fight.
For a second I feared we’d run into Alpha or one of his lieutenants and a big pack of werewolves. A single shape leaped out of the trees and landed 10 yards in front of me. It wasn’t a wolf. It was a Mammoth Lion like the one that had carried me up onto stage 2 after I managed to stick myself to the back of its head.
“I’ve got this,” Steve said, but I held up my hand and said, “Hold on.”
“What is it?” Ruby asked.
The big, shaggy sabre-toothed lion was clearly young. It hadn’t attacked, but was pacing back and forth, growling, its golden eyes locked on mine. Its shaggy coat was a uniform tawny yellow except for a patch of white splashed across its right shoulder.
No way it could have grown so much in a matter of days, but that patch looked so familiar. I couldn’t resist the urge to walk slowly forward.
“What are you doing?” Tomas hissed.
“I’m going to try something. Do not react unless this goes very badly.”
“As in I might need to empty out my Med Kit to keep you alive?” Ruby asked.
“Pretty much.”
“Why not just kill it and take its skin?” Scott asked, his eyes glowing with power. We’d all been whispering, but he spoke loudly, and at the sound, the young lion crouched low, growling louder.
I took another step, drawing its gaze back to me. It growled again, but relaxed just a fraction and resumed pacing. It was barely 20 feet away and could cover that distance in a blink. I prepared to trigger Phantom Step.
“Remember that baby mountain lion cub I found in that den on this level?”
“It sounded so cute,” Ruby said.
“I think that’s him.”
I didn’t take my eyes off of the lion, but I could easily envision their incredulous looks. Tomas said, “Ah, Lucas, that’s not a cub.”
“It’s a long shot, but this planet is weird. It’s got the same coloring. I have to check it out.”
“Why?” Lana whispered.
The memory of petting the adorable little murder kitty returned. That had been a magical moment, so magical in fact that it had helped restore part of my connection to the severed spirit of my leg. I couldn’t kill this lion without at least finding out.
“It can’t be the same one. It’s going to eat you if you walk over there,” Tomas hissed.
“I don’t think so. It doesn’t feel dangerous.”
“It looks dangerous,” Steve muttered. “Don’t worry, boss. If it eats you, I’ll shoot it.”
“Thanks. You’re a real friend. Now hush everyone.”
If only I had more catnip. Moving slowly, I approached one cautious step at a time, one hand extended. The lion watched me carefully, showing off his long front fangs. They were really impressive too, a solid foot of killing potential each glinting like ivory in the morning light. I continued advancing. The lion crouched, as if preparing to spring, his tail lashing back and forth quickly.
“Watch out!” Tomas shouted.
I turned back to wave them to shut up, but Ruby screamed.
Idiot. I knew better. I spun back around, ready to trigger Phantom Step. The lion had crossed the distance and stood right behind me, so close, I could smell the clover on his breath. That close, his front fangs looked like longswords. His golden eyes locked on mine, but his growl faded to a little whimper. His musky scent filled my nostrils, a clean smell of grasslands and moonlit nights.
My heart was still deciding if it wanted to beat again, but I held the lion’s gaze. Its huge nose was quivering as it huffed shallow breaths in and out, just like my dog growing up used to do when he was sniffing my shoes. Barely daring to breathe, I slowly reached a hand up.
Behind me, Tomas hissed, “Drop out of the way and to your right, Lucas.”
All I could do was hope they didn’t do anything stupid. The lion tensed as my hand drew close, his wide, black nose quivering faster, but did not otherwise move.
I touched his muzzle.
A shock rippled up my arm at the contact, like a jolt of lightning imbued with sugar, as if a thunderstorm had swallowed an Oreo cookie manufacturing plant. It was awesome and super weird.
The lion shivered too, and something snapped into place between us. I suddenly felt the lion in a way I’d never felt anything else before. I sensed his strength, his pride, and his fading confusion. He had battled his own instincts to pounce and instead followed a faded memory.
Now I clearly sensed the lion’s explosion of happiness and I laughed as the same feeling rolled through me. I really was petting the same little lion, as impossible as that seemed.
Stepping forward, I plunged my hands into the lion’s thick, warm fur and hugged his powerful neck. The lion dropped his heavy muzzle over my shoulder and began to purr.
It was like hugging an industrial-strength generator. Power rumbled under my hands. He might be young, but this lion was strong. I laughed again and stepped back, careful to not impale myself on those long fangs. The lion dragged a very long, very pink, and very wet tongue up my face.
I didn’t even mind, but turned back to my team, one hand draped over the lion’s neck. They all stood staring with slack-jawed amazement.
“Taming a lion? That’s deadly,” Ruby said in a tone of wonder.
“Deadly?” Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Irish slang for awesome.”
“Yeah, Steve. You should have known that,” Jane teased.
I missed his reply because Cyrus bellowed, “Congratulations! You’ve just completed the secret quest Beast Master. You receive a platinum Lion Tamer loot box.”
When the big loot box popped into the air in front of me, the lion slapped it with one golden paw, sending the floating loot box tumbling away. The strike was lightning fast. I hadn’t thought anyone but me could touch my loot boxes. Good to know maybe monsters could.
“Easy, boy. It’s okay.” I stroked his neck and he settled down.
When I willed the loot box open, I found 2 scrolls.
“Scroll of Beast Talker. Upgrades your Linguasight utility spell to now understand Mammoth Lions.”
“Title scroll. New title: Beast Master.”
“You now sense animals within 20 yards, sense their level of hostility, and have a 30% chance to influence that hostility. Results vary from triggering a fight to the death, to neutral, to acknowledgment of your right to pass through the territory unmolested, to a willingness to obey your commands for a short period.”
“Wow! That’s perfect.”
“Another first, Lucas.” His voice shifted to a heavy Chinese accent and he added, “Before you can fill your cup with cats, you must first empty it of dogs.”
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I frowned. “You sound like Jackie Chan, but I don’t get that reference.”
He sighed with overly dramatic annoyance. “Right name, but how could you not get that one? With that Intelligence stat, you should be able to remember every movie you’ve ever seen. That quote was adapted from the movie Forbidden Kingdom.”
“Not your best performance.” I’d seen the movie once, but still only barely remembered the scene he was talking about. Definitely hadn’t included cats.
“I had to improvise. Fascinating concept, though, to empty one’s life of unnecessary things in order to fill it with what’s important, like giant Mammoth Lions.”
That was both deep and maybe troubling. Was he trying to warn me about something? My musings were interrupted when the huge lion standing next to me suddenly disappeared. In its stead stood the same tiny murder kitty I remembered from a few days ago. He easily leaped into my arms, licked my face, and started purring again. This time it was wicked cute.
“How did you do that?”
He growled and made a couple baby-cat yipping sounds. Incredibly, they became words in my mind. His voice sounded way too old, though. Instead of a little kid voice, he sounded mature, with a smooth British accent. Actually, I recognized that voice. He sounded just like Ferb from that cartoon.
“Actually, the pertinent question is rather do you have any more catnip?”
“Cyrus, did you choose his voice?”
No answer. I took that for a yes. “Really? That’s the voice you chose?”
“It’s probably good you never got into that movie you were trying out for if you criticize all casting choices so much,” Cyrus responded, sounding a bit annoyed.
“Fine. It’s a good voice, just not what I expected.”
His voice changed to sound like old Obi-Wan Kinobi. “If you let go your preconceived notions, you’ll find more enjoyment and less disappointment in life.”
Now the AI was waxing philosophical. I sighed and dropped it and turned back to the lion cub.
“I don’t have any catnip. How about a steak?” I pulled one of many steaks from my inventory. The baby lion’s head swelled to twice the size of the entire rest of his body in an instant and he gobbled up the steak in a single bite. I was so surprised, I nearly dropped him.
His head shrank back down and he snuggled deeper into my arms, sighing. “Perfect.” Then he added, “Shadow foxes can’t poop without eating at least 20 juice berries.”
“Huh?”
“That’s why you can always find one near a juice berry bush.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Where had that come from?
The others had slowly approached and Ruby stepped up beside me, extending a tentative hand toward the little guy. He sniffed at her hand, then licked it.
Grinning with delight, Ruby started scratching the baby lion around the ears. His eyes half closed and he seemed to melt against her hand, purring louder than ever.
He moaned, “You should keep this one. Her fingers are perfect.”
“He’s so soft,” she breathed, obviously wanting to take and hold him, but I kept him in my arms for now. I didn’t think he’d hurt anyone, but this whole situation had turned strange and wonderful in equal measures.
“Fire slugs can burrow 12 inches underground sometimes,” the little lion said as Lana and Jane crowded in next. They each got a sniff and a lick before getting to pet the little lion. I hoped the fire slug comment wasn’t related to either of the girls. I decided not to pass it on.
Eventually they parted and Tomas stepped closer, reaching out a hand. The little lion sniffed him and growled, baring his sharp teeth. Tomas retreated with a grimace.
“Hey, don’t growl at my brother,” I chided.
The little lion said, “I prefer the females. Their forms are more pleasing, they smell better, and their smaller hands are better for petting me.”
I chuckled. Barely a cub, and already a ladies’ man. Or lion. Ladies’ lion? Didn’t sound right. “I get it, but please let Tomas pet you too.”
He sighed and nuzzled my arm. “I throw up sometimes.”
“Ah, try to warn me, okay?”
His little body shivered. Was that a lion shrug?
“Can you understand him?” Tomas asked.
“Yeah. One of those scrolls I just got upgraded my Linguasight to understand Mammoth Lions.”
“Amazing,” Ruby breathed again, leaning against me to pet the lion again. “What is his name?”
Great question. “Do you have a name?”
The lion cocked his head in a way that made all the girls ooh with delight. “Mother referred to me as First Cub.”
“Well that will never do. Is there a name you like?”
He considered it for a moment. “I do not know your names, so cannot choose an appropriate match.”
“You know, you’re a lot smarter than any cat I’ve ever known.” If I was being honest, he spoke better than lots of adult humans I’d known too.
“How many cats have you spoken with?”
“Good point. I’m Lucas.” I introduced the others. All of the women grinned and petted him again when I shared their names. The guys all waved from a distance.
“What name do you recommend?” the baby lion asked.
I made the mistake of asking for suggestions. I got tons, from Tomas’s lame ‘Cuddles’ to Ruby’s ‘Simba’ to Steve’s ‘Lion-O’.
“Lion-O?” Lana asked.
“Of course. From Thunder Cats. That cartoon was a classic.”
“You’re dating yourself,” Ruby warned.
None of the names resonated with me, nor did the lion seem to like any of them. Then I got an idea.
“How about Nigel?”
He perked up, but Jane scoffed, “Nigel? Where did you get that one?”
“Simple. We’re on team Jumanji. Nigel was the local NPC who gave them the intro missions in the last couple movies.”
“It’s not great,” Tomas said. “He was in the movies a total of like 5 minutes.”
“Oh, come on. Actually, some of my friends argued pretty convincingly that he’s really the mastermind behind all the evil things happening in the game.”
“That’s a stretch,” Ruby said.
“Is it? He’s the one who sets them after his rivals, and he collects all the treasure when they’re done.”
Lana folder her arms and raised an eyebrow in the universal sign of skepticism. The petite Latina pulled off The Look really well. She must have brothers.
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter what I think. How about you, little guy?”
“I like Nigel. It sounds strong.”
“Nigel it is,” I said to a collection of groans. For his part, Nigel purred louder, then added, “I’ve never smelled a moon.”
“So, how does he change his size?” Steve asked.
When I asked him, Nigel said, “All Mammoth Lions develop a single power. My mother’s was instant pouncing across distance. Mine came to me when I was attacked by a feral fox the day after I met you. To survive, I had to be stronger, so my power allows me to grow part or all of my body for short periods.”
“That’s pretty cool. Where do you live now?”
He turned his golden eyes to me and sat up straighter in my arms. “Now I live with you.”
A second smaller jolt of power raced between us and Cyrus instantly responded. “Congratulations, Lucas! For being the first human to bond a local being as a familiar, you receive an emerald Steve Irwin loot box.”
“Emerald!” Lana gasped as the huge glowing jeweled box appeared in the air in front of me.
Nigel growled at it, but did not stir from his spot in my arms. Most of the others stared at it with obvious amazement. Another not-so-subtle reminder that most people didn’t get as many upgraded loot boxes as I did. When I willed it open, the emerald flashed with blinding light before disappearing, leaving 2 items behind.
“Familiar collar. Epic. Grants the ability for you and your familiar to sense each other’s presence. Ability to banish the familiar to your Base Camp, or summon it to your side.”
The rounded leather collar included a gold pin with Nigel’s name on it. The leather felt strong and supple.
“Cyrus, will this self-adjust when Nigel changes size?”
“Of course. Loot box items are not allowed to directly harm those who win them. Giving him a collar that would choke him to death would not be a prize.”
“Well, that’s good to know,” Steve said.
I wrapped the collar around Nigel’s neck. It snapped into place without a buckle. He sat taller and looked immensely proud, earning another pat from Lana.
“Scroll of Bonding. Your familiar is now bound to you. His base stats will be altered as a percentage of your stats.”
I whistled softly and read the scroll. As soon as it flashed and disappeared, Nigel shuddered in my arms, his eyes wide. He roared, the sound so loud most of the team retreated in surprise. That was the roar of a full-grown lion, not a cub.
Then Nigel rocketed out of my arms, leaping over 50 feet to a high branch in a nearby tree. Then he jumped again, soaring over us nearly 100 feet before landing lightly in the grass. He bounded back to me in a flash and leaped back into my arms.
“What just happened?” Ruby asked.
“I feel really good,” Nigel laughed, and when he purred, the sound was much louder. It was so strong, his entire body quivered.
As I focused on him, Identify finally kicked in.
“Nigel. Level 5 Mammoth Lion. Familiar to Lucas Altan.”
The scroll hadn’t told me specifically how big a percentage of my stats Nigel got, but he was only level 5, so his stats must have been pretty low. By his reaction, he’d gotten a lot. Good. We were heading into a dungeon and I didn’t want my new familiar to get eaten in the first hour after I bound him. Now he should be able to hold his own.
When I explained the upgrade to the others, Ruby laughed with glee and Tomas whistled softly. “That little guy’s now officially a death kitty.”
“Actually, I am a Mammoth Lion,” Nigel said with an offended sniff.
Steve added, “Now he’s like you, Lucas. You’re way stronger than your levels suggest too.”
Tucking Nigel close to my chest, I nodded toward the sheer cliff not far away. “All right, then. Let’s go explore a dungeon.”
Stats check. As usual, enjoy the growth, or skip this part without missing anything.
Name: Lucas Altan
Race: Tier-1 Human
Class: Backdoor Synergy Wizard
Level: 15
Efficiency
Life Points: 913 100%
(90,484 tier-0 equivalent)
Mana: 152 100%
(1,520 tier-0 equivalent)
(Note - all other stats convert to tier-0 stats at a 10-to-1 ratio)
BASE STATS:
Constitution: 43.8 40%
Intelligence: 40 40%
Strength: 49.8 40%
Dexterity: 35.7 40%
Wisdom: 65 40%
SECONDARY STATS:
Endurance: 107 40%
Agility: 152 40%
Perception: 108 40%
Magical Resistances 102.3 100%
Luck: 82.6 100%
CHA: 1194 100%
OTHER STATS:
Mental Resistance: 80.5 100%
Fear Resistance: 65 100%
Poison Resistance: 60 100%
Other Resistances: 50 100%
PERMANENT SPELLS
1 Harvest Level 3
2 Tether Slide Level 2
UTILITY SPELLS:
1 Mystic Looter Level 2
2 Linguasight. Level 6
New upgrade to understand Mammoth Lion
3 Navigation Level 3
4 Soul Feed Level 4
CLASS SPELLS:
1 Cascading Force.
Mana cost: Moderate
Apply a random effect to any melee strike.
2 Elemental Harmony
Mana cost: Minor
Combine the effects of up to 3 elemental-based potions with any spell.
3 Ace Arcana
Mana Cost: Variable
Pre-cast any single available spell, scroll, or potion.
TEMPORARY SPELLS:
1 Energy Ward
Uses remaining: 5
2 Knock Knock
Uses Remaining: 5
3 Immolation (Harvested Spell 1)
Uses Remaining: 5
4 Sappers Charge (Harvested Spell 2)
Deliver a concussive bare-handed strike to disrupt an enemy's spirit.
Uses Remaining: 5
5 Upper Cut
Double the physical damage of an uppercut punch and
Unleash 4 ethereal claws from the back of your hand.
Uses Remaining: 5
ABILITIES
- Hand-to-hand martial arts fighting Level 9
- Stick and bladed weapons martial arts fighting Level 6
- Spellseers Gaze Level 3
- Wolf Blood Level 8
- Wolf Sight Level 2
- Knife Throwing Level 2
- Mana Sense Level 20
- Meditation Level 13
- Mana Manipulation Level 18
- Mana Fusion Level 5
- Spell Weaver Level 3
Class Ability
- Mimic Level 4
Class Ability
- Phantom Step Level 3
Gear ability from Phantomstep Breeches
EXISTING TITLES:
Inquisitive Mind
Trailblazer
David Copperfield
Lucky Stiff
Musketeer
Spartacus
Doctor Strange
Hercules
Alan Alan
Tiberius
Merlin
NEW TITLES:
Beast Master
You now sense animals within 20 yards, sense their level of hostility, and have
a 30% chance to influence that hostility.