Chapter 4

Tutorial World #336

Doc stared at the young Ursarachnid with mixed wonder and adoration. He had always loved the raw strength and underrated grace of bears. Bears were apex predators in both look and name. This beast was made all the more dangerous by adding several physical characteristics of another predator, the stealthy spider. Doc still wasn’t completely sure about what his future held, but he was excited to have such a strong partner by his side.

The smallish cub’s head looked around and eventually up at the human standing in front of it. Their eyes met and they stared into each other’s eyes.

‘Sup, bro. The beast used his hairy segmented legs to lift the upper half of his body up and he threw up two of its claws. The “voice” that he heard in his head was deep like a gruff growl. The bear seemed very relaxed, but Doc was caught off guard and stumbled back, tripping and falling on his butt.

“Was that you?” Doc asked the Ursarachnid. He looked around and didn’t see anyone else around him. He also didn’t know how to react to “hearing” a voice in his mind. It wasn’t like thinking to yourself. It was more like someone speaking to you over the phone if you had a Bluetooth headset, but it was high definition and you could sense it throughout your mind rather than hear it in your ears.

Of course it was me! I don’t see anyone else around who is going to talk to you. To be fair you did just hear a disembodied voice with no one else around, but considering the spectacle you just experienced, I think I am the most likely culprit.

“Hearing” the voice again and watching the face of the Ursarachnid cub seemed to make facial expressions as he was “talking” to Doc was very weird. But, as the cub said, it probably wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d experienced. Doc shrugged his shoulders and decided to just roll with it.

“Oooooooookay. I will just put it on the list of weird magic things that I don’t need to understand for now. How did you know about the voice from earlier? I hadn’t summoned you yet.”

I am a part of your soul. I have always been around, I just now have substance. This a damn good-looking substance too, if I do say so myself. The Ursarachnid’s front paws ran down its body, appreciating its new form.

Doc took a deep breath and blew out a raspberry. After scratching his head and rubbing his face trying to ground himself, he pushed himself up off the ground from where he had fallen and dusted off his legs.

“I cannot argue with how amazing you look,” Doc reached over to start inspecting his Soul Summon’s physique. The fur was soft and luxurious to the touch. Even the eight spider legs extending on its back were covered in the same soft, black hair with bands of gold around the joints. The summon leaned into Doc, drawn to his touch.

“Soooooooo, what do I call you?” Doc asked the spider bear, tired of calling the summon it in his mind.

That is up to you. Just nothing weak! I am too awesome for that. Also, you better not just call me Ursarachnid. I know you were thinking about it…

Doc thought about all the “-mon” games that he played throughout the years and realized he had never been one to name his characters. He started nodding his head, seeing where the summon was coming from. Doc just wasn’t very creative when it came to names.

“How about Bear?”

I hate you.

“Grizzle?”

That is more like it. The cub’s head was bobbing up and down in thought. How about just Grizz?

“It is settled,” Doc confirmed. He was excited to see what Grizz could do and become. A question popped into his head.“You’re magical. What is up with this place? How does it work?”

First off, I am like 15 minutes old. Second, I am a part of your soul. I don’t know anything that you don’t about this place or what is happening in general. I can say that ever since you summoned me, I no longer always know what you are thinking. It is more of just inklings of what I would expect you to do. Must be a lingering connection.

Despite not getting what he wanted from the answer to that question, it made sense and also helped him to understand Grizz a bit better. The summon was truly a part of him and knew him. When he thought about it, Doc felt like he knew Grizz already, too. They might not be the same individual anymore, but it was a strong bond of familiarity.

“Makes sense,” Doc admitted. “Alright, well we still have several notifications to go through before we can start…whatever this is. I also need to distribute these characteristic points and get some Skills. Definitely don’t want to move forward without being at full str-”

Just then, a vine reached from above Doc and wrapped around his neck, yanking him up to the branches of a tree. Even though Doc was freaking out and couldn’t breathe, his instincts clicked on. He slammed on both of Instinctive Adaptation’s perks and a rush of strength and vitality rushed through him. He felt stronger and healthier than he had ever felt before. He also remembered that he had a knife in his inventory, he mentally dragged the knife out of its spot on the grid and slashed at the vine that was choking and pulling him steadily upward.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

SNAP!

The pressure around his throat dissipated and blood started rushing back to his brain. The relief was short as he realized he was beginning to fall from about 100 feet above the ground. He didn’t see the result of the fall ending healthily.

A roar sounded out from below Doc and he twisted around in his fall to see Grizz rushing up the tree. The flurry of legs around Grizz’s bear shape was very intimidating and Doc was very glad to have him on his side. He was still falling and was starting to pick up significant speed. It seemed as though the gravitational pull of this new world was similar if not the same as the 9.8 m/s2 of Earth’s surface. Doc wasn’t sure there was anything that Grizz would be able to do.

Just as Doc was about to pass Grizz on his way down to certain death, Grizz jumped from the massive tree trunk out to the open space underneath the falling human and snatched him out of the air with his dextrous spider legs. Despite speeding toward the forest floor, Grizz was able to arrest Doc’s momentum and pulled him toward his body.

There was a small jerk in their horizontal motion and the two began swinging back towards the tree. Doc realized that Grizz had placed a bit of web down so that they could make it back to the tree safely. The pair reached the tree safely as Grizz’s legs touched down on the side of the tree, absorbing most of the impact.

Touching the tree, I can sense where the creature is hiding. I am going after it.

Grizz took off up the tree as Doc held on to the strand of sticky web. Doc was only about 10 feet off the ground, so he decided to drop back down to the ground. As he reached down to the ground, he heard another roar from above. Grizz had found his quarry.

In the branches far above Doc, Grizz swept aside some green leaves and found an ape-like creature about the size of a chimpanzee. It had greenish fur and a 2 or 3-foot prehensile tail waving behind. It was bleeding from the mouth but staring at Grizz in anticipation. It was obviously very comfortable in the tree branches high above the surface.

The monster began shuffling forward on the branch toward Grizz when Grizz activated his Arachniphobia ability. It stuttered to a stop and began to second guess what it was doing. It was no longer sure it wanted to mess with the young bear-looking creature in front of it, despite knowing it was bigger. Grizz didn’t give it any more time to think about it as he reached forward with 2 legs and shoved it off the branch. The ape, being used to a life in the trees, reached out and grabbed the branch pulling itself back up. It took a swipe at Grizz with sharp clawed hands, but the summon used its limbs to deflect the blow. The Ursarachnid then scrambled underneath the branch and moved below the monster. Grizz quickly grabbed a line of silk and swiftly attached it to the ape’s leg. The creature bellowed in frustration and grabbed at the webbing. This was a mistake.

The ape’s claws got stuck on the webbing and began getting tangled. This was the beginning of the end. Grizz yanked on the web and the monster was pulled down, slamming its head on the branch, stunning it. This gave Grizz plenty of time to start wrapping the beast in his web. Using his extra legs to turn the ape around and around, the ape started to look as though it was in a cocoon. Leaving its head open so that it could breathe, Grizz placed the ape on its back and started the journey back toward the forest floor.

Doc saw Grizz coming from above down the tree and a small sigh of relief escaped his mouth. Despite knowing that Grizz was strong, they didn’t know anything about the creatures in these woods. He had been worried about not being able to help his summon during a fight.

Doc saw the white casing on Grizz’s back and called out to his summon.“What do you have there, Grizz?”

I brought you a present. It might be time to test out that handy spell you got from the system.

That was a great idea, Doc thought. He went to find anything about the spell through his notifications. After a few seconds, he found what he was looking for.

You have learned the spell Minor Tame Monster. Look at your list of Magical Spells for more information.

Doc looked across his HUD for anything that looked like it could be a spell list. He saw a small “button” in the upper right hand of his vision that said “spells.” Mentally clicking on the button, a drop-down menu popped below. There was only one spell on the list, Minor Tame Moster. Selecting it, Doc learned a bit more about this new world and magic.

Minor Tame Monster

Uncommon

Cost: 25 MP

Cast Time: 5 seconds

Restrictions: Can only be cast once per battle.

After defeating a monster in battle, an individual can cast this spell on the monster to tame it. The monster must be of Uncommon rarity or less. This spell will not work on stronger rarity creatures. The summoner may cast this spell only once per battle. The weaker the creature is prior to the casting of the spell, the higher the likelihood of taming the creature. If successful, the creature will be added to the summoner’s deck. If unsuccessful, the monster’s health will be restored to 50% and it will be transported away from the summoner. The summoner will still get the experience of the fight with a successful taming or not.

That was some interesting new lore. Doc guessed it was time to determine if he could get a new summon! Doc started the casting of the spell, using the information imparted to him. His right hand started to move around in a ritualistic manner and words spilled out of his mouth. Doc’s hands began to glow with a blueish, white light. Inside the silk cocoon on Grizz’s back, a similar shining began to intensify around the restrained beast. Doc felt something drain out of himself as a blue strand of light connected him and the figure inside the cocoon. Doc could feel the spell try to convince the creature to join forces. After 5 seconds, the light dimmed and the creature disappeared.

You have failed to Tame Uncommon ranked Grinkled Ape. It has escaped.

“Well, I guess you didn’t beat it up enough, Grizz.”