Lunch was a perfectly normal affair, for which Hallvar was grateful. No one bothered them, no one interrupted their meal to make accusations. It was a moment of peace and quiet among a series of weird, tumultuous events.

Hallvar knew what the cultural preferences of Amnasín were in regards to food. Hearty dishes to stave off the cold from the north, a lot of fish from the coast and fowl from the farmlands. Fermented greens or vinegar-cooked vegetables to offset the thick stews and heavy meats. Dense, brown bread.

In their past life, Abby interacted with a lot of different cultures. She was lucky to have gone to school somewhere very diverse. Spending time on-site meant potlucks and cultural comfort foods.

Amnasín felt familiar. It was akin to northern countries in the old world, one of them known for a beer festival, one of them known for that fermented shark stuff. The inability to use country names was frustrating, but at least Hallvar remembered that they existed.

They were surprised to see beast-meat on the menu as well. When Hallvar questioned what they were, Stella explained with a description of the beast since the names didn’t mean much unless they were listed in one of the books the hero read.

There was a big yellow-green bird with two legs and a vicious spiked kick. It was gamey, found in the nearest [ territory ]. To Hallvar, it sounded like an emu and a cassowary, which was horrifying.

Apparently, its eggs were a delicacy, and the jerky bought by adventurers was frequently the emu-beast.

On the list was a massive snake, by Stella’s description. It was a great source of leather for specialty mage armor, as well as tasting like eel combined with wildfowl. The description sounded almost identical to gatortail, Hallvar thought, and they resigned to try it another day.

Harvesting the meat, leather, fangs, and rib bones of the great serpent was as much of a group task as hunting the thing. The guild was frequently contracted to send a party of 15 or more to handle the beast.

Of course, cows existed here in the same way horses existed – a little visually different, though the same animal – but their meat was rarer. They were valued more for milk by the peasantry; the meat went to the nobility, who often refused beast-fare.

Hallvar settled on the vulleig, silently praying an apology to Kiran’s beast Esta. Stella knew a surprising amount about animal husbandry, naming a farm a short distance from the capital that raised most of the city’s vulleig with new stock taken from the local [ territory ].

While the hero had no idea if mules or tapir could be eaten, vulleig certainly could. It came in a heavy stew, tasting of smoke and red wine. Hallvar finished their meal with enthusiasm, feeling far too stuffed and content for an average midafternoon.

They ambled out of the tavern-pub thing trying to scratch off a spot of stew from their clothing. It might stain due to the red wine, but it would probably get blood on it at the end of the day, so Hallvar wasn’t sure they cared much.

Stella stopped to let the hero catch up, giving them a remorseful smile. “I feel rude dragging you along on my errands, but we can sightsee on the way.”

The adventurer appreciated the sentiment, even if the errands were perceived as a lesser type of date; however, Hallvar greatly preferred doing random chores than a formal courtship thingy.

“This is better,” they admitted with a bashful shrug. “I can be nervous while you’re distracted.”

Hallvar did want a real date someday. It would have to wait until they had a better grasp on currency and an internal map of the capital.

Stella laughed at the silly hero, taking their hand to guide them along. “Nervous? Why?”

There were lines to read between, and they spoke of the earlier dalliance, hot and intimate and fun. Perhaps sex had less potency here, yet intimacy carried emotional weight.

“Everything, I guess?” Hallvar squeezed the woman’s hand. “I like you, of course, but life ‘til now has been chaotic. This is the kind of hopeful that I want to get right and keep.”

Stella couldn’t let this opportunity pass by. “Ser Nyman, what are you proposing? You wish to keep me? For what purpose?”

Fuck, between Stella and her boss, Hallvar couldn’t win a battle of wits.

Speaking of – Hallvar took a page from the guildmaster’s book and ignored the teasing, though it was clear they were affected. “So, what do you do at the guild? I don’t entirely understand beyond altering the cards.”

“Oh, I’m a system mage!” Stella remarked with cheerful exuberance that faded once she remembered Hallvar had zero context for that phrase. “That’s a long explanation.”

Even her landwise parents understood what a system mage was, and they needed the concept of a Sage explained multiple times over several visits. System mages were… ubiquitous. They were an irreplaceable part of the world, existing solely in capitals and large cities, but known to all.

Stella vaguely remembered being given an internal message about system mages when she questioned retaining a specific spell, but that was decades ago in her childhood.

“A system mage can make changes to your stats, class, subclass, and abilities. If the system is the only thing that can add to your attributes and abilities, a system mage is the only thing that can take away from them.”

Hallvar stayed quiet for a minute, gears in their head turning.

“Why would you want to reduce stats?”

That question was more complicated than the hero thought.

“At higher levels with consideration to subclasses, the system may limit certain attributes and request higher ones for specific skills or spells.” Stella was fully in work mode now, explaining with enthusiasm.

“I can’t provide an easy example, as every single person’s abilities are individualized, but imagine that the system offers an elementalist – a mage specializing in elemental magic – a very powerful spell, but in order to use it, they can’t have more than strength 20.”

Hallvar squinted at the air ahead of them as the pair walked the familiar path to the market. “Why would it do that? Wouldn’t it want a very strong mage?”

“Yes,” the elementalist-system mage replied. “But strength isn’t solely force or the ability to lift weight. The attribute itself affects how your body is built, whether you have dense muscle or not.”

“Magic is emitted through a focus, usually a staff, rarely a wand. It flows like a stream but has the potency of electricity. Not every mage channels magic through their body, but elementalists do.”

They paused near a building under an awning, finishing up their discussion.

“In this example, dense muscles prevent the movement of magic. I’m not certain why, but I suspect it is the same reason that muscular people need to eat more food: the magic is simple energy and gets absorbed. For elementalists, the energy is in a very compact, malleable state as it flows through the body to the staff; dense muscles siphon it off.”

Hallvar could admit that it made sense, but it also gave them a headache. It was anatomical science all over again, but instead of carbohydrates and sugars, it was magical particles. Like fucking midi-chlorians.

Stella tried not to laugh as she watched the hero’s brows knit together in thought. They looked so focused and intense, unlike the vaguely bumbling person they’d been for the last two months.

“This may make you feel worse – or better, as I’m hoping – but the average person chooses their path of development from an array of options based on their attributes and system suggestions.”

The elf waved a hand gently toward Hallvar, as to indicate their situation. “With your luck and your… other status—” Meaning, as a hero. “—I can sense that the system has one set path for you. You won’t need to weigh options of switching between subclasses or picking an ability from an offered pair; unless you entirely reject the system’s offers.”

That itself was a confusing concept. Other adventurers were given options to pick from? Was that why system mages were necessary, to give advice to the average adventurer who didn’t have such a high luck stat? Was the implication here that luck was the equivalent to destiny or fate or some shit?

The system shuddered out in Disapproval.

faq: is this destiny?

No, your choices are your own. While certain decisions may have long-lasting impact, there are few in-system choices that cannot be reversed. Choices made in duress may be revoked by a system mage.

Permanent choices are clearly labeled.

Honestly, that was a relief. They could choose to be something other than a beastmaster, if they wanted to. The question on Hallvar’s mind prior to this understanding was how to live with the decision of beastmaster, how to make it work for them.

But, if it was truly a choice?

Stella patted the hero’s arm, shaking them out of their intense consideration. She pointed down the row of stone-and-mortar buildings lining the large open market. “I need to pick up new guild requests, which may take some time. Meet me back here in an hour?”

The hero nodded, glancing over at the stalls and foodcarts. “Yeah! I haven’t seen the market since… learning words, so I’ll go do that.”

Hallvar was genuinely interested in looking around.

They didn’t need to buy anything specific, but they were very interested to learn what the market had for sale. There were plenty of objects, foods, and creatures inside that Hallvar simply didn’t understand. Today was the day to learn!

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Wandering aisle by aisle, Hallvar paused to investigate anything that caught their eye. Soon, their bag was stuffed with goodies – a parcel of sugar-coated spices and seeds like the leatherworker’s wife provided, another bottle of dark ink as Hallvar was running low, and a thin metal bookmark with a beaded tassel.

They considered buying something for Stella, but every option was a bit too personal or inappropriate, either too fancy or would display Hallvar’s ignorance about the world. Would it be cold soon? Was a scarf a good gift or like a sweater in a hot, humid summer?

The answers weren’t forthcoming, no matter how many times Hallvar prodded the system for a response. Perhaps they could find a book on the local seasons, a Farmer’s Almanac in this fantasy world.

Hallvar set off to find the bookstore on the other side of the market round, but they paused by a row of containers and small cages, squinting at them. This stall was not here the other day; Hallvar would have remembered a menagerie of small beasts.

Was this…? Was this ye olde pet store?

Without a conscious thought, Hallvar glanced at their luck attribute. Right. The beast merchant comes into town the exact day that they were able to peruse the market.

The merchant was a middle-aged man and his daughter. She flitted around, feeding various animals and cleaning while he tried to pull in customers from the outside.

Hallvar’s interest was immediately noticed.

“Are you looking for a pet? A gift for a lover?” The merchant called out to the adventurer.

He gestured with one hand, reaching under his loose, desert clothing and drawing out a languid snake.

Hallvar blinked but didn’t flinch as the man laid the snake over their shoulders. They spent too many hours spent in waders marching around the southern swamps and marshlands of their homeland to flinch at a snake.

Was… was it just wrapped around the merchant? Absorbing warmth and sleeping? How did he wrangle the thing so fluidly?

“What do you think?” The merchant asked proudly.

The snake was as polite as one could project on a reptile, moving ever so slowly to get a better grip on their new perch. Hallvar ran a hand over the green-patterned scales.

Honestly, as a pet this beast might be entertaining; however, Hallvar needed a companion that had some direct use. They didn’t think this world’s beastmasters – or beasttamers – were like pocket monster trainers, yet they still held onto hope that any companions could follow orders without years of training.

“She’s beautiful,” Hallvar admitted. “But I need something more functional.”

“Functional?” The merchant asked, returning the snake to his waist and shoulders under the shawl. “We sell pets and curiosities; livestock are down that road and to the left.” He pointed in the proper direction.

“No—” Hallvar corrected themselves quickly, thinking how weird it would be to have a cow companion beast. Funny, though. “I guess I mean that I want a pet with legs.”

“Perhaps a cat? Or we have akergryphs, if you have room for a flying pet?”

The merchant gestured to each in turn. A row of decently-sized cages held fancy cat breeds – Hallvar could tell from the fur patterns and hair types that these were special, not your standard housecat.

In their past life, they were horribly allergic, so the appeal of a cat was lost on them. Cute, but prior experience colored their perception.

The akergryphs turned out to be a new beast-type to Hallvar. They thought the creatures were tiny gryphons at a first glance.

According to one of the beast books, a gryphon was a composite of a large wild feline and a wild bird, almost exclusively with a bird-head; these akergryphs were small wild birds and… rodents? Certainly small wild mammals, though Hallvar spotted some body types similar to raccoons or opossums.

A birdcage held mice-sparrows, all twittering at each other. A large raven-like creature with a spotted tail was perched in the rafters of the tent, tethered by a leather cord. Several colorful parrots hopped around on bunny legs in corral near the back of the tent.

There was a startling noise – the daughter of the merchant suppressed a screech, trying to keep her cool as one of the pets escaped, flapping around wildly as long leather cords trailed from its forelegs.

“Sorry, I was feeding it and it—”

The merchant waved at her to shush, directing his attention to capturing the poor beast.

Hallvar ducked a bit as the thing flew nearby, catching sight of a leather hood on its head. A falconry hood? No wonder it was stressed; it couldn’t see.

They glanced at the specifications of their [ skill: tame beast ]. If luck factored in, it was guaranteed. A raptor-style bird would be trainable and useful in hunting small game, too. It would be a better option than a parrot or a bunny. The raven might be helpful, but they weren’t really Hallvar’s type. Save it for the next goth to come along.

“How much are these pets?” They asked, warily watching the beast as it perched high up in the rafters near the raven-lemur.

Hallvar couldn’t see its face, but with the brown speckled feathers and hind-end with a furred tail, they guessed it was some combination of kestrel and squirrel. Or this world’s approximation.

The daughter chimed in, repeating the pricing as if she committed it to memory. “Cats, 40 targets. Birds, between 30 and 50 targets depending on type. Reptiles, 50 targets. Akergryphs, 75 targets.”

The merchant was standing on a table, balanced precariously to try and snag one of the leather straps of the escapee akergryph’s leg. “This one is 60 if you take it off my hands.”

Hallvar tilted their head. “Do you mean that?”

They received a questioning glance from the merchant. “It does not like to be caged and every other day I must trap it again.”

Hallvar did some math in their head.

Kiran was surprisingly polite when teaching the adventurer about currency value; she didn’t want any sassy jokes about the coinage to be taken to heart.

They could afford the beast. It would be a little over half of their money, from a very rough guesstimation, but it was affordable. Besides, they wanted to go on new quests anyways, which would lead to more coin.

Hallvar directed a question at the system: Was it possible to reverse the taming of a beast?

The information was provided as an extension of the existing skill description.

active skill: tame beast

A percentage chance to tame a targeted beast into a companion beast.

While a beast cannot be un-tamed, it can be released into the wild or given as a pet. It will no longer show up as your companion.

Further contact shows that the former companion beast will remain friendly and helpful to the beastmaster, although it may deny requests to rejoin the party.

Affected by luck.

With a silent, cringeworthy and outdated cry of YOLO, Hallvar activated [ skill: tame beast ]. Nothing physically happened, there was no glow of magic or hum of activation.

The adventurer did feel an urge to hold out their hand like a falconer. They followed another impulse to snap a few times and wait.

The hooded akergryph tilted its head, as if trying to locate the sound.

After a few more patient snaps, the akergryph took flight and scrabbled onto Hallvar’s outstretched arm. Their immediate assessment was that gloves were necessary; a few stinging lines on their forearm said as much.

The hero ignored a series of system notifications, pushing it to the back of their mind to be dealt with later. “60 targets, yes?”

Regardless of their earlier sentiment of nervousness about dates and currency, they did know a basic exchange rate thanks to Kiran. It took a little while for them to sort out appropriate coinage – some loafs, one silver head – but soon Hallvar walked away with the akergryph perched on their arm.

The beast seemed content to wait now that it was officially tamed, so Hallvar kept it hooded until they were prepared to handle it properly. They made a beeline for the armor merchant, conveniently located near the blacksmith.

Trying on gloves and armor was near impossible with a beast on their hand, so they attempted to set it on an armorstand as a perch. The akergryph seemed agreeable, which bought Hallvar some time.

After negotiation of cost, the armorer agreed to modify a single “plate” leather pauldron, adding on the two curved tarrusmaw talons as makeshift perches. Hallvar had yet to remove the trophies from their bag, so they were very convenient material. Lucky, even.

The straps interfered with the neck knife gifted by Stella. The armorer graciously tied off the original sheath to the new chest strap so that Hallvar could continue using it.

The adventurer was right in their intuition – the akergryph needed the mounted talons to grip with its front bird feet, while the back squirrel-ier feet made do with some added rivets.

With free hands, Hallvar could solve the second problem. An archery bracer was the easy answer, though it meant Hallvar could only hold the beast with their non-dominant hand. That was an acceptable tradeoff for not receiving tiny papercuts all the time.

The brace laced up on the back of their arm, which would provide easy purchase for the beast, and it covered the meat of their thumb.

All in all, Hallvar was pleased. A new companion to test the waters with and the proper equipment to care for them. Food would not be a problem, if this thing was akin to a kestrel-squirrel.

They found their way back to the meeting point with Stella, significantly poorer but somehow happier. There was still time left, not much, but long enough for Hallvar to address the system notifications.

new beast tamed

akergryph, young adult, female

type: hunting

combat stats: N/A

Hunting types gain advantage when using stealth or awareness skills.

Combat stats are assigned to beasts whose attributes are substantial in comparison to an adult human.

Beasts without combat stats will fail all challenges presented through skills or spells from entities with combat stats.

beast skills

Swift Stoop

The beast’s normal hover-and-dive action benefits from extra speed and accuracy through increased agility.

Take Watch

The beast receives the stealth status and its awareness is increased significantly.

name:

The system waited for Hallvar to respond, though they were drawing an absolute blank. Taming a beast was a strange feeling; now that they were seated and wholly present, Hallvar could acknowledge that.

It felt like they earned the beast’s understanding and trust without having to do any work for it, but the same could be said for them. Hallvar trusted this little akergryph to obey reasonable and simple orders. It felt illogical but assured.

They drew the hood of the beast gently, carefully. It— No, she angled her head in the way birds of prey do, eyeing Hallvar from every possible dimension before preening her feathers, unkempt from the scuffle.

She had a kestrel-like head, a tiny falcon-type with orange and brown markings, but she had these equally tiny ears which swiveled on her head, surveying her surroundings. No wonder she didn’t like being kept in a cage; her ears were squished down, it was probably uncomfortable.

Hallvar cautiously offered a finger, which she nibbled before returning to cleaning and realigning her feathers.

That was enough approval for the adventurer. They didn’t want to admit it, but they were dying to pet the little beast. She was terribly cute and entirely cool.

With their finger, Hallvar pet the top of her head between her ears. The appendages shot forward as the hero moved but relaxed at the careful petting.

They avoided the beast’s feathered back – a lot of birds mistook that petting for sexual attention, which Hallvar did not want to encourage – and instead tried scratching her furry butt right above where the tail attached.

It worked for cats and dogs; it worked for akergryphs. She leaned into the scratching, entirely distracted until Hallvar stopped.

It gave the hero time to really look at the beast. She did have a short, squirrel-like tail, but it was attached underneath – or between? – the feathers of a fan tail, used in flight. They pondered the specifics of how the squirrel tail impeded the diving stoop of small birds of prey, with no clear answer in sight.

Perhaps, like many magical things here, it just worked.

“I need to name you,” Hallvar said.

The akergryph glanced over at the hero with a birdy stare that reminded Hallvar too much of the guildmaster.

They laughed. “You’re too cute to be named after him. Besides I’ve already embarrassed myself enough in his presence today.”

She chittered back, a sound Hallvar inherently understood was friendly.

“What about Pip? Pipsqueak. Pipkin?”

The beast’s ears flicked at the last one, some combination of sounds intriguing her.

“Pipkin it is then!”

The system updated without Hallvar’s input. Her name was added below the ever-present health bar at the top left, her own smaller bar listed as well.

So much happened today: Stella, the guild, Viktor, Anton, an ongoing date, and now their very first companion.

It was a simple thing, but Hallvar was happy at the meaningful progress in their life. It was hard to imagine a future with more beast companions, maybe even working with an adventuring party.

That was a distant goal. For now, Hallvar needed to figure out how to explain to Stella that they invited a permanent third wheel on their date.