System Change: Chapter 40

Derek looked down at the struggling gray rabbit in his arms and smiled. Well, now I don’t have to run around looking for you, he thought. He quickly used Identify on the bunny and was surprised to find it at level 64. “You’ve been working hard since the last time we met, huh?” Derek spoke to the Horned Rabbit as it turned its head in confusion.

“You… know this creature?” Bronson interrupted the reunion. He had already put his greatsword away and was watching the two with curiosity.

“Of course, this is Silvi. We met a long time ago when I was first looking for the dungeon. She has a tendency to fly headfirst into… well… everything. The disease caused her to get the taste for flesh, so she became a pretty good hunting partner, and we traveled together for a while. When I came to the village, I made her stay in the forest because she’s an idiot and would’ve probably slaughtered the entire thing by now.” Derek spoke as if it was the most natural thing.

“I… see…” Bronson replied. “What are you going to do with… Silvi?” he asked.

“Well… Now that I’m getting ready to head into the city, I won’t be able to see her as much. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to use this…” Derek pulled out the Contract Scroll from the storage ring he was wearing. “But I like the creature, so it won’t be too big of a waste.”

Bronson’s eyes flashed. “Is that a Contract Scroll?” Derek nodded. “And you plan on using it on a… rabbit?”

“Is there a problem with that?” Derek asked.

“I guess not. It’s just that they are extremely rare. If I recall, there is a dungeon around this area that drops scrolls, and as far as I remember, it has only dropped two Contract Scrolls since discovery,” Bronson replied.

How lucky is that little girl? Derek had assumed that the ‘Contract Scroll: Beast’ was a normal drop from the dungeon as one out of five in his party had received it.

Bronson continued talking after seeing that Derek wasn’t responding. “You could contract a Wyvern or Direwolf or something. You could contract a Lightning Hawk and use it as an aerial mount. I know where a few hang out. Wouldn’t all that be better than a… a bunny?”

Derek furrowed his brows. “What good would that be? I move fast as it is, not to mention the teleporters in the cities. Plus, I like the bunny. Who’s to say I end up liking another beast?” Plus, it’s small, and I can take it with me if I ever go back to my other system. Derek got lost thinking about having a dragon for a second, but he tossed that idea, too. The problem was that, unlike tamers and summoners, beasts from contracts couldn’t be ‘put away.’

“If you say so,” Bronson said and then remained silent.

Derek sat the bunny down in front of him. “Okay, Silvi, this scroll is a contract scroll that will allow us to communicate and you to grow with me. I’ll initiate it, but you have to accept,” Derek explained, but the bunny just stared at him dumbly.

Whatever, here we go. Derek unbound the scroll, but before he could initiate the contract, Silvi jumped up and put her paw on it.

Derek stared at the window in stunned silence. He didn’t know what to think. This little fucker. He glared at the bunny, but the bunny looked back at him like a master waiting for a child to decide whether or not to become a disciple. When I don’t accept, will it use up the scroll? There was no ‘if’. Derek was definitely not accepting.

He sighed and mentally rejected the offer. To his relief, the scroll didn’t disappear, and he initiated the contract this time.

Derek looked at Silvi, who looked back at him with squinted eyes. What the fuck is wrong with this rabbit? That’s it. If it doesn’t accept, I am not trying again. Derek waited a while to let the bunny decide. Finally, the next window came, and the scroll split in two, one half going into the bunny, and the next flowing into Derek.

Does that mean that Silvi would have been able to name me if I would have accepted the contract? Derek shuddered at the thought. At the message, he focused on the name ‘Silvi,’ and a new notification surfaced.

Derek checked his status to see if anything had changed. It had. In between his ‘Stats’ and ‘Skills’ section, a new section called ‘Contracts’ had appeared. Derek viewed Silvi’s status.

Poor Silvi, having to get by with the 10 points from a basic class. Derek couldn’t help but mourn for the bunny’s bad stats. His sight went back to ‘Initiate Bond.’ What is this? I thought we were already bound. He focused on it.

Well, that was always the plan. Yes, he commanded.

What the fuck? I have to feed it my blood? Whatever. Derek took a dagger out of his storage bracelet and jabbed his finger before realizing that the dagger could no longer cut him. Fuck. He put the dagger away. He searched his storage for anything he could use. His eyes fell on the arm from the Acidic Ghoul, but he quickly scrapped that idea.

Goddamnit. I hate it when I bite my tongue. He worked up his courage and bit his tongue. A metallic taste flooded his mouth, and he wiped his bloody tongue on his index finger. I hope this is enough. He thought as his tongue had already healed. He stuck his finger out in front of Silvi. The rabbit hopped a little closer and sniffed his finger. Finally, the bunny licked it.

A thunderous crash rang out throughout the forest, and the sky began turning purple. The wind picked up as a bolt of purple lightning struck Silvi. Once the bolt made contact, however, it did not disappear. A sphere of purple began growing around Silvi, the bolt feeding the sphere as it grew bigger and bigger.

Finally, the lightning withdrew, and the surroundings calmed. All that was left was a solid purple sphere floating above the ground in front of Derek and Bronson.

“What is that? What’s happening?” Bronson asked, his greatsword already drawn. He was in a combat stance, ready to attack or defend at a moment’s notice.

“I initiated a bond,” Derek explained.

Bronson looked at Derek, dumbstruck. “You used your bond on the rabbit? Using a contract scroll is one thing, but using your only bond on a level 64 bunny… Are you insane?”

“Is there something wrong with that?”

“Of course, there’s something wrong with it. If… If the bunny dies, it will injure your soul. Why would you share a Soul Bond with something that can die so easily? Sure, with the bond, it will get much stronger because of your strength, but still, it’s a bunny.” Bronson couldn’t understand Derek’s actions.

Soul Bond? It didn’t say it was a soul bond. What happens if my soul is injured? Inwardly, Derek was panicking, but he didn’t let it show on the surface. Besides, I’m pretty strong, so surely this bond will increase the survivability of Silvi. “I’m sure everything will be fine. Just watch,” Derek replied confidently.

Bronson took a breath. “I’ve seen a few bonds before, but I’ve never seen anything like this occur. Maybe you’re right. Usually, nobody wants to risk it because of the possible soul damage, so there aren’t many high-level people with a bonded companion. They usually settle for the normal growth that comes with the contract,” the man explained.

That’s what I thought I was doing. Derek screamed inside while maintaining a stony expression on the outside.

They waited. Minutes passed, then an hour. The longer Silvi stayed in her purple cocoon, the more agitated Bronson became. “How is this possible? Most bonds take seconds, a few minutes at most. The longest I’ve ever heard of is half an hour.”

Two hours later, the void ball cracked. One crack turned to two before it eventually spider-webbed into numerous cracks. A bright glow shot out of the cracks as pieces fell. The fallen pieces of void turned into particles and vanished before they reached the ground. Yes! My Pokémon has finally evolved! In such a situation, all Derek could think about was one of the games that he grew up with.

When all the pieces disappeared, Derek was shocked at what remained.

Floating down from where the purple cocoon vanished from was not the little bunny Derek 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 gray, puffy fur had flattened everywhere other than its mane. Silvi had grown a small mane around her neck, not unlike that of a lion. The flat part of Silvi’s coat was 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 two inches 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 hadn’t 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.

Bronson’s mouth was hanging open as he looked at Silvi. Derek couldn’t blame the man. The change was just that great. Derek looked at Silvi’s new stats to see what all had changed.

Derek had thought he 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 or until the percentage of the contract holder’s stats outpace its natural growth.

“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 or support skills, 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. ‘We kill human? Meat will be tough. Doesn’t matter. Chewy meat is good.’

Derek looked back over at 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 wouldn’t be hard. He focused his thoughts and tried to push them to his companion. ‘Silvi, is that you?’

‘Yes? You dumb? 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 afterward. 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 didn’t direct them toward Silvi. Either she ignored those thoughts or it worked because she didn’t 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 of 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 before,’ 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 couldn’t 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.

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.

‘This? Me… Cooking?’ Silvi’s thoughts and questions raced through Derek’s mind. With every skill he had learned, Derek could have a basic feeling and understanding of what to do. He hoped 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, he 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 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. “Never mind, 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 wondering if I should have become your contracted beast instead,” Bronson answered without thinking. When he realized what he had said out loud, his face turned red in embarrassment. He quickly changed the subject. “Well, it’s late, don’t you think we should get 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.