Chapter 132: Payoff (Patreon)

The system screen collapses as I enter the kitchen and take a deep breath. Assorted aromas enter my nose, making my stomach quiver in anticipation. With all the meat gone, bread is next on the chopping block. I open cabinets until I find one near where the grain cubes are.

Dozens ‌of different loaves sit inside stacked on one another. There’s a single empty spot at the top, likely where Brax took one. I grab as many as I can carry and bring them out to the dining room.

There were jams and butters in the smaller fridge, but spreading them over all this bread would take an eternity. I’m strapped for time, so I’ll have to treat the bread like fuel for Stamina Stomach instead of a delicacy.

But it doesn’t matter.

Progress is the sweetest spread.

I lay the bread on the table as I take my usual seat. I stare at the assortment before returning to the kitchen and grabbing a few cups of water. When I finally sit and start unwrapping the plastic, the system screen expands once again.

[   Title Upgraded: Withstand the Giant > Giant Slayer   ]

[   Title Upgraded: Prey’s Retaliation > Prey to Predator   ]

[   Giant Slayer   ]

[   Awarded to users who have slain an enemy 2 Tiers higher than them unassisted   ]

[   Grants a moderate increase to Class Upgrade Potential   ]

[   Prey to Predator   ]

[   Awarded to users who have slain an enemy 2 Tiers higher than them unassisted   ]

[   Grants a moderate increase to Evolution Potential   ]

“Hehehe,” I giggle through a mouthful of bread.

This one’s going to be amazing.

Anything left, system?

…

A wicked grin grows on my face. With one hand, I eat, and with the other, I scroll up the screen.

Let’s start off with the least exciting.

[   Empower Suggest Companion (lv. 18) > (lv. MAX)   ]

[   Skill upgrade available   ]

I tap down, and five options fill the screen.

[   Pact Leader’s Thought to Will   ]

[   Through the Tamer’s Bond, send commands to your companion using thought. Control can be easily resisted. Commands that coincide with the tame’s desire cause a percentage of the tamer’s stats to be copied onto the tame. Control diversity and depth scale with skill level and Unity.   ]

A good option already! Sweet!

It’s always super annoying to speak to myself whenever I need a command. That annoyance is also the skill’s biggest weakness. If things ever get too loud, I lose the ability to make new commands entirely. The ability to issue commands without speaking is a benefit I can't ignore. 

I frown and slump.

I can’t take the skill, no matter how much I want it.

The limitations are too vague. It’s impossible to tell which of my countless thoughts will be issued as a command. Commands are too powerful. They don’t just give me power over my biology and movements. They also give me power over my mind.

Absolute, undisputed power.

Becoming a Companionship Pact Leader let me refuse my own commands, but I can’t refuse changes to my mental state. A hundred percent Unity means there’s no room to dispute with myself.

If I get too angry at an enemy in the middle of a fight and think ‘Kevin, calm down’, I would die. When I first entered the tutorial, I commanded myself to calm down and ended up locking myself in my own mind. The feeling of clawing at walls that weren’t there…

My arm slows as it reaches toward the next loaf. My breathing quickens, and my heart starts to race.

“Kevin, don’t feel trauma.” I whisper with an unfocused gaze.

The panic dissipates before it takes hold, vanishing like a bad dream.

If I accidentally trap myself in the middle of a fight, I'm an easy kill. 

For a normal Tamer with a middling Bond Level, this upgrade is a game-changer. But for me, it’s more of a curse than a blessing.

[   Forceful Suggest Companion   ]

[   Control your companion using the user’s voice or gestures that the companion can see. Commands that coincide with the tame’s desire cause a percentage of the tamer’s stats to be copied onto the tame. Control diversity and depth scales with skill level and Unity.   ]

Huh?

This one just removes the tame’s ability to resist.

Forceful suggestion? How is that different from the base Control Tame skill?

It even counteracts the ‘trust’ part of Unity entirely, which is the basis of the whole class.

This one’s shit.

[   Projected Suggest Companion   ]

[   Control your companion and weak-minded beings with the user’s voice. Beings may resist control based on their intelligence. Commands that coincide with the tame’s desire cause a percentage of the tamer’s stats to be copied onto the tame. Control diversity and depth scale with skill level and Unity.   ]

This one looks dangerously close to mind control. I have no doubt that this skill will eventually upgrade into something that lets me forcefully control other people.

Not quite the path I’m interested in.

One other thing makes me curious, though. It says my tame AND the beings I control will get some of my stats. Does that mean once I become a god with millions of stats, I can give a percentage of them to a bunch of squirrels?

Hmm…

For some reason, I don’t think that’ll happen.

Level three demigod squirrels sound pretty funny, at least.

[   Impactful Suggest Companion   ]

[   Control your companion using the user’s voice or gestures that the companion can see. Control can be easily resisted. Commands that coincide with the tame’s desire cause a percentage of the tamer’s stats to be copied onto the tame. Command duration and diminishment reduction scale with Wisdom. Control diversity and depth scale with skill level and Unity.   ]

Finally, a solid pick. It’s not a groundbreaking change, but commands lasting longer and diminishing slower are both benefits I’ve been wishing for.

I’ve been giving ‘don’t feel pain’ and ‘don’t feel trauma’ commands like I’m popping my morning pills.

[   Parallel Empowered Suggestion   ]

[   Both Pact Leader and Companion may control the other using their voice or visible gestures. Control can be resisted easily. Commands that coincide with the commander’s desire cause a percentage of the commander’s stats to be copied onto the receiver. Control diversity and depth scale with skill level and Unity.   ]

This isn’t something I expected, but it’s not all that strange. Companionship Pact Leader is based on equality and converging desires, and having the tame command the tamer sure makes things equal.

Of course, this upgrade would let me command myself twice at once, which is useless. One command would just overwrite the other.

Would the stat bonus work the same way?

Leaning forward, I read the skill over and over. 

It’s vague.

Technically, this skill would make both the Pact Leader and the Companion commanders and receivers simultaneously.

Confusing, to say the least.

It’s risky.

If it doesn’t give me the stat bonus twice, I’d be wasting the skill upgrade.

I sit back, thinking, and pound my chest until the bread stuck in my throat comes loose.

I’ll play it safe this time.

[   Empower Suggest Companion > Impactful Suggest Companion   ]

With my next exhale, my arms grow slightly weaker. My mind slows down a little, and I feel more tired.

“Kevin, don’t feel pain and don’t feel trauma.” 

The stats return together, reversing all the changes I just experienced.

Last time I upgraded Control Tame, the commands reset, so the same thing must’ve happened this time.

It’s a horrible feeling to lose the stat bonuses from having an active command. Ever since I got Control Tame at the beginning of the tutorial, I don’t think I’ve spent a single second without a command active.

I interlace and stretch my fingers, but my knuckles don't pop. 

I frown.

Damn this beautiful body of mine.

System, stamina.

[Stamina: 4034(2192)]

Sighing, I lean back and eye the rest of my bread. If I want to get the most out of Stamina Stomach, I need some high-quality meat. There’s always the other two hobgoblins in the throne room, but I’d rather not fuel the insane side of myself.

Besides, bread is delicious. It might not have the sweet, tangy, heavenly taste of high-leveled meat, but the crunch of the crust is nice.

…

It’s too late for me, isn’t it?

Shaking my head, I return to the blue screen and scroll upward.

[   Companionship Pact Leader (lv. 43) > (lv. 45)   ]

[   Class upgrade selection available   ]

[   Excess experience banked   ]

I guess killing the troll made my experience overflow. I assume the rest of the experience will come after I upgrade my class.

I hope I don’t have to manually access the excess experience and forget about it.

Nah, the system wouldn’t work that way, right?

The screen doesn’t respond, so I roll my eye and press my finger down. My giant grin returns as more words populate the screen.

[Precise Pact Leader] (Rare)

[Status Allocation: 8 (Perception), 3 (Wisdom), 3 (Intelligence), 2 (Agility)]

[With exemplary use of the ‘Suggest Companion’ skill, the Precise Pact Leader grants their companion incredible insight into the battlefield. Instead of fighting alongside–

I’ve seen enough.

Skip.

Still, I can’t stop myself from giggling at the ‘rare’ tag. My first evolution started with a rare species, which means I’m getting a legendary class.

[Companion Defender] (Epic)

[Status Allocation: 14 (Fortitude), 4 (Vitality), 2 (Free)]

[The Companion Defender wishes to shield their Companion from harm at all costs. This class allows the tamer to jump to their tame’s defense at any time.]

[Class Skill: Shield Companion]

This one seems pretty interesting.

As usual, the system is being vague. I'm not sure whether it's a mana barrier, an elemental barrier, or a physical shield. Does it work like Companion’s Assistance, where I can summon my own fist to defend myself?

Companion’s Assistance seems like an entirely attack-based skill. I’ve never tested its defensive capabilities because it only lets me activate it when I’m punching.

If this were higher on this list, I’d consider it more.

I’ll keep it as a last resort in case everything else is worse.

[Loving Nurturer] (Epic)

[Status Allocation: 20 (Vitality)]

[When the Companion is hurt, the Loving Nurturer heals them. When the Companion is in danger, the Loving Nurturer defends them. The Loving Nurturer cares for their Companion’s life more than their own.]

[Class Skill: Share Vitality]

I nod appreciatively as I stuff my mouth with bread and wash it down.

That’s hardcore.

Alas, sharing vitality with myself isn’t guaranteed to work out. A lot of vitality is nice, but taking blows isn’t what wins fights. Maybe if I had dedicated damage dealers, I could focus more on defense. 

But it’s just me, myself, and I.

The description isn’t wrong, though. Every time I’ve been in danger, I was right there to defend myself.

“Heh.”

It’s funny when you think about it that way.

Anyway, it’s time to get to the actual good stuff. Last time, there were two of the lowest rarity classes, but now, there’s only one. That means there must be two legendary classes instead of one.

Which means I have to choose instead of just picking the obviously best option.

[Fusionist] (Legendary)

[Status Allocation: 3 (All Stats)]

[Through death, danger, tranquility, and peace, the Fusionist’s Unity with their Companion is eternal. The Fusionist and their Companion have fused their minds to great success. The next step is clear‌.]

[Class Skill: Beast Fusion]

Damn, system. 

I didn’t know you could be so dramatic. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say a person wrote this. This is hands-down the most bizarre thing I’ve seen from the system so far.

Shaping stone with mystical blue energy? Sure.

Absorbing essence from fallen enemies to grow stronger? Understandable.

But combining your mass with your favorite dog like you’re in a children’s cartoon? That’s a bit of a stretch.

Sadly, this class upgrade holds the same risks I’ve been dealing with ever since I started the tutorial.

How can I fuse with myself?

Ideally, someone with this class would fuse with a wolf and become a werewolf, or fuse with a bear and become… I don’t know, a bear-man?

If I could fuse with an identical copy of myself and become twice as big, it’d be different. 

But there’s only one of me.

No one to fuse with.

With a nervous, bread-filled gulp, I look at the last option.

[Infusionist] (Legendary)

[Status Allocation: 12 (Wisdom), 8 (Intelligence), 4 (Perception)]

[The Infusionist takes pride in empowering their tames in different ways at every opportunity. This class expands those opportunities, allowing the Infusionist to explore a diverse variety of enhancements.]

[Class Skill: Infusion Selection]

My brow furrows.

The name is eerily similar to the one before. Fusionist and Infusionist.

Yet, they have such a different basis. It’s true that I’ve taken a bunch of skills like Suggest Companion, One Mind/Two Bodies, and Heal Companion. All those skills are insanely powerful and let me fight effectively, multitask mid-fight, and recover for more fights. I’ve had all these skills for less than a month, and already, I can’t imagine going on without them.

If this class gives me more of that…

Well, it looks like there are only two real choices.