The forest lay tranquil with the rays of the rising sun filtering through the canopy of redwoods. Joe Sherman sat quietly on a stump of a log in front of a small fire. His rough, calloused hands held a small cast iron pan. The pan was smoking and full of scrambled eggs and bacon. A nice change of pace from his usual camp fare breakfast of beef jerky and a baked potato. His lean frame was bent over the fire to absorb as much warmth as possible. The morning was cold, but not as cold as he’d encountered before. His jeans and flannel shirt provided enough insulation for now. Later, he knew his exertions would force him to remove the flannel.
Sitting patiently next to him, eyes never leaving the pan and looking every inch the deprived victim of his human, was a German shepherd. Deep brown eyes regarded the eggs and bacon with anticipation.
Joe glanced at Bixby and smiled. His own expression agreeing with the dog. They were both hungry. After a few minutes, Joe scraped more than half of the pan’s contents onto a metal plate. Bixby’s ears perked up. He knew what was coming as Joe blew on the food to cool it down so Bixby wouldn’t burn his mouth.
Placing the plate on the ground in front of his companion, Joe then focused on the pan in front of him. As he ate directly from the hot pan, he listened to the sounds of Bixby practically inhaling his breakfast. For his entire life, Bixby growled while he ate. It didn’t seem to be a food aggression thing and sometimes it even seemed a bit like he was humming to himself. Joe could never break him of the habit. “Dude, slow down. You’re gonna get the hiccups again.”
After eating, Joe spent a small amount of time cleaning his pan and Bixby’s plate while Bixby drank from his bowl and promptly started his morning grooming session. Soon, Joe fished through his backpack and pulled out a small Go-Pro camera and flipped the screen for viewing. His rugged face covered by a thick, dark beard and his long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail filled the screen.
His doppelganger on screen moved away from the camera as it was sitting still, and recorded Joe sitting on his stump, Bixby by his side.
“Hello and welcome to another episode of Joe Survives. I’m your host, Joe Sherman and this is my faithful companion Bixby. Today we’re going to show you how to make three different kinds of shelters. We’ll build a lean-to, an a-frame and a wedge. I’ll go over the basics of each shelter and…” In the frame, Bixby seemed to hear something as his ears perked up and he looked off to the distance and almost immediately left the frame.
Closing the camera screen, Joe looked over to Bixby, “We’re going to have to re-record that you know?” Narrowing his blue eyes at the completely uninterested dog, Joe sighed and stood up to stretch. While stretching his body and twisting the kinks out, Joe thought about how he was going to schedule his day. He filmed all the shelter building over the last two days. He had also toyed with the idea of doing a video all about Bixby this time around as it was one of the most requested topics from his YouTube followers. Joe had gotten Bixby eight years ago for his twenty-first birthday. They were constant companions, and he couldn’t imagine his life without the dog, but Bixby was getting older and slower. With an average life span of ten years, Joe knew it was only a matter of time before his best friend passed on. He wanted to make sure that whatever video he produced would do justice to his relationship with Bixby and possibly be a good memorial.
Shaking off the melancholy that was threatening to take over, Joe figured that all he really needed to do now was film his intro again, and an outro to complete the video. That and cleaning his campsite should take him only an hour or so and then he and Bixby could hike the hour back to his Jeep that he left on the closest service road.
Joe checked his watch. It was just after 6am. With practiced familiarity, he quickly packed his belongings into his rugged backpack. It was filled with the standard equipment for survival camping with a few added extras that he never showed his viewers, such as a heavy duty lighter and a roll of toilet paper. The rest of the contents consisted of a tarp that had seen better days but still held up well, a sleeping bag big enough to fit both he and Bixby in case the weather got too cold, a small pot and his iron pan. Also included was a length of paracord, a magnesium firestarter, which he showcased a few videos ago, and a small first aid kit that included a few water purification tablets. Strapped to the outside of the pack was his tactical tomahawk. Normally he used just the machete and bowie knife he carried on his hips, but recently he had added the tomahawk as it was gifted to him by one of his followers. And he had to admit, it was a great tool. It had a standard axe head and a piercing spike on the other side. It held an edge like he’d never seen before. It was even weighted properly to be used as a throwing weapon. While he’d used axes a lot, this one was light weight and nearly indestructible. It made a fantastic backup in case something happened to his machete.
At about 7am, Joe and Bixby were ready to leave. The camp had been cleaned up and cleared, the fire pit properly doused and raked. His videos were shot with the aid of a very sedate and calm Bixby. With a final look around, Joe nodded his satisfaction to himself and the two headed out into the forest.
The duo were fifteen minutes into the trek back to the car when suddenly Joe heard a loud chime, almost like a single toll of a huge bell and what appeared to be a cartoon-like scroll stretched open before him. The image appeared floating in midair looking much like a medieval scroll which unfurled and floated at eye level. It had a dark blue screen with block-print white letters.
Greetings gentle-being. Congratulations! Your world, designated Earth, has developed a large Mana Warp and has been chosen by the Pan-dimensional Control Council for integration with the Pan-dimensional Control System. To ensure that your world population can thrive within the Pan-dimensional Control System, all sapient beings will be transported to designated tutorial zones to be taught how to navigate your new reality.
As part of the integration process all sapient beings will have access to new classes and skills as well as the user interface scrolls such as you are interacting with now.
The training zones will be operational for exactly one month “Earth-time” after which, all surviving sapient beings will be transported back to your world. Additionally, Earth’s Mana Warp is stable enough to allow other worlds to be successfully merged during initiation. There is a greater than normal chance that the topography you occupy now will be shifted to accommodate a world merge.
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Please note that new dungeons and wandering monsters will spawn intermittently throughout the integration process. All new Dungeons and Zones will receive recommended minimum levels, however, during the transition period expect there to be significant variation in the levels and types of monsters in each Dungeon and Zone.
You will now be transported to your Tutorial Zone, thank you for your cooperation and good luck!
Tutorial transition in 58 seconds.
Joe stood shocked and confused by what he had just read. The scroll still hung in the air and stayed directly in his vision as he moved his head around. Joe watched as the timer at the bottom of the scroll counted down. When it reached zero, the text was replaced by what looked like nonsense.
Tutorial transition in 0 seconds… !@%^#(alskdfjpo....
Then Joe’s world went white. Something “other” seemed to force itself into his mind, shaping, changing. His body felt like it was being shredded in a blender that was on fire and filled with angry wasps and razor blades. In his life, Joe had suffered broken bones and third-degree burns, but nothing like this. This was life ending pain. It was pain that tore a throat shattering scream from his soul. Then he blacked out.
When he came to, he was laying awkwardly on his back. It took him a few seconds to realize he was still wearing his backpack. The straps across his chest were pulled tight and his head hung backwards at an uncomfortable angle. Sitting forward, he felt his head expecting there to be some sort of damage, but he, in fact, felt great. Then he heard the growl.
He turned his head slowly to the left and saw Bixby. Only Bixby was changed. His fur was darker and although his markings were the same, he was significantly larger than before, and he was growling at Joe with bared teeth and blood red eyes.
“Bix?” Joe asked, “What happened to you?” Bixby continued to growl and look at Joe with absolutely no recognition. He took a single step forward. Joe could see that his teeth were longer and looked sharper. Joe held out a hand, “Bixby, it’s me. It’s Joe.” His voice did not seem to have any effect.
The growling intensified and Bixby’s body shifted. Joe could tell he was preparing to leap. Tears filled Joe’s eyes as he slowly pulled his bowie knife from its sheath on his hip. “Please don’t.” He pleaded. “It’s Joe. Come on Bixby. It’s Joe.” He had the knife firmly in his left hand. Bixby’s hackles were up, and he slightly lowered his body as he took another step towards Joe. “Please don’t make me do this.” The tears in Joe’s eyes caused his vision to blur.
It was at that moment that Bixby moved. He was so fast that Joe did not have time to react as his maddened companion was on him. Bixby impacted Joe and tossed him back onto his backpack and then onto his side. One of Bixby’s forelegs was on the ground right in front of Joe’s face, the other was pressing on his rib cage. Bixby’s face was inches from Joe’s, his lips pulled back in a fierce snarl with his gums showing and spittle dripping onto Joe’s cheek. The spit mingled with the tears flowing freely from Joe’s eyes as he realized his left arm was unimpeded and he could simply bring his knife up and into Bixby’s chest. But he couldn’t make himself do it.
With eyes closed and a trembling voice, Joe said, “You’re gonna get hiccups.”
The growling stopped. Joe opened his eyes and spared a glance at Bixby. The now overly large animal was looking at Joe with the typically cocked head of an inquisitive dog. “Bix?” Joe asked.
Bixby tilted his head the other way, regarding Joe. Then, he licked Joe’s face and got a surprised look. Bixby stepped off and way from Joe looking confused. Joe sat up very slowly. “That’s right buddy. It’s me. It’s Joe.” Bixby backed up a few more steps allowing Joe to get to his knees. Joe held out his right hand, palm facing Bixby. He slowly inched closer to his best friend, talking softly and encouragingly. Joe brought his palm right up to Bixby’s nose.
Bixby sniffed Joe’s hand and let out a soft snort. Joe saw Bixby’s tail twitch. Then Joe watched in fascination as Bixby’s blood red eyes changed to a bright green then settled on an almost glowing blue. Immediately Bixby’s tail began to wag, and he rushed forward to lick Joe’s face with wild abandon.
Joe let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding and wrapped his arms around his best friend. Tears streamed out of Joe’s eyes as Bixby continued to wag and lick. Joe ran his hand through Bixby’s much thicker and courser mane. “That’s a good boy.” He hugged and kissed his dog and then placed his forehead on Bixby’s while holding Bixby’s head, “You had me worried there for a minute buddy.”
The two sat like that for a moment and another scroll dropped into Joe’s view.
Congratulations! You have gained the legendary Soulbound Companion ability. This legendary ability allows you to choose a wild beast to tame and settle as a companion. The beast will be bound to you as a companion until either you or the beast dies. If the beast dies, you may then use the ability on a new beast. You can only have one Soulbound Companion at a time. Any beast turned into a companion will level with you and gain abilities and skills based on your class, spells, abilities and skills. Your Soulbound Companion may also access your spells, abilities and skills. Conversely, you may access the Soulbound Companion’s spells, skills and abilities.
Congratulations! You have successfully used your Soulbound Companion ability to bind yourself to [Bixby]. As you level, so will [Bixby]. [Bixby] is now considered a sapient being and you may assign a companion class to him. Additionally, you have access to new skill and ability trees. Exp earned, 5,000 (Banked)
Achievement Unlocked! Soulbound! You have become Soulbound to [Bixby]. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain +2 Willpower, +2 Constitution, and +2 Perception. Exp earned, 5,000 (Banked). Gold earned 3,000.
Title Unlocked! First Soulbound! You are the first human to become Soulbound. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain +2 Willpower, +2 Constitution, and +2 Perception. Exp earned, 15,000 (Banked). Gold earned 5,000.
Achievement Unlocked! Pioneer! You are the first human to receive a Title. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain, +3 Charisma and +3 Luck. Exp earned, 5,000 (Banked). Gold earned 3,000.
Still holding onto Bixby, Joe studied the scrolls for a time, reading and rereading the notices. Joe had never been into video games except for a few at his local arcade when he was a kid. But he did spend a summer playing Dungeons and Dragons with some friends as a teenager. With that as his only real reference, he racked his brains for the over ten-year-old memories of character sheets and rules. Whatever was going on, seemed to follow in a similar formula, although he was still struggling to process that this was all truly happening. Sitting there next to Bixby, Joe began trying to understand.