Raj woke up, feeling refreshed. He rose to his feet to partake in his morning stretching ritual. An unexpected interruption to this ritual decided to present itself at that moment, however, striking mighty blows of retaliation.

Trixie squirmed as he reached over and grabbed her, making sure to not crush any part of her. “Asshole!” She loudly proclaimed, making Raj wince slightly. “Don’t get up when I’m asleep like that! I fell an entire foot! Do you know how much that hurts?”

Raj was not about to let his bonded companion slander his name like this. “That’s not my fault! You're the one who decided to sleep there in the first place. You should be prepared for the consequences of that decision!” He protested.

Trixie did not accept his admonishment, instead deciding to flip the script back onto him. “You knew I was there, and you still got up!” She said, venom entering her voice.

It was all Raj could do to throw up his hands in defeat. Her argument made absolutely no sense! I mean, sure, he could have technically taken slightly more time to make sure his bonded companion didn’t wake up via a great fall, but still! He was hardly to blame!

Seeing Trixie bask in her own glory caused him to scoff at her antics, and he turned to fix up some breakfast. If one could call it that, anyways. He had managed to collect a couple of deer carcasses, but they remained raw. Seeing as how he had no spices or herbs to season the meat properly meant that the only thing he could do was roast it on a spit over a fire. He could technically try to find some herbs in the tutorial, but he didn’t see the point. It would be a large waste of time, and there was no guarantee he would even find any. He sure as hell didn’t want to try unknown plants, either. Besides, the roasted meat was somewhat bearable, and it was all he needed to survive.

No way in hell was he going to tell that to Trixie, however. That information was on a need to know basis, and seeing as he valued his life, she was definitely not on that list.

After a quiet breakfast, they decided to set out in the direction of the weird house where he had encountered the drakes. And, just like Drake, they seemed to enjoy toying with little people.

Despite everything that had gone down yesterday, he was really glad to have a bond. It made for some light conversation, and the loneliness that had been following him the entire time in the tutorial until now had been dissipated by the arrival of Trixie in his life. Sure, they had their differences, but that was to be expected. If anything, he would be more concerned if everything went perfectly. Speaking of companions…

Another goal he had was to figure out what Arjun was doing. Even if he had no idea that he was Raj, he had still attacked a lone traveler on the brink of death. In a group, nonetheless, if his memory served him correctly. It certainly hadn’t felt like Arjun throwing him away from the cave, but who knew? His supposed friend had already changed so much, this was practically insignificant.

Stopping himself from spiraling again, he motioned for Trixie to join him as he stalked through the forest, twigs snapping underfoot.

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“By the way, there is a cure for my disease, right?” Raj asked, hope blossoming in his chest.

After a moment of hesitation, Trixie replied, “I'm fairly certain that the answer to your question is yes, as most pre-integration illnesses and the like are very easily treatable.” Sensing the lingering unsaid thought, Raj simply spun his hand in a circle to indicate for her to continue.

She took the cue in stride, saying, “The issue here is that, well, it’s not supposed to hurt you.” Seeing his look of utter confusion, she hurriedly elaborated, “Your body is stronger now due to the evolution and increased stats, and in the majority of cases, the disease should hardly be affecting you, if at all.” Raj chewed on her words for a moment. He had definitely been affected; if anything, he had experienced more pain than usual.

Keeping his tone even, as to not betray the trepidation in his voice, he asked, “So what does that mean? That my disease was influenced by something in the Greater Collective? Something strong enough to bypass the laws of the goddamned system themselves?”

To that, she had no response.

*****

Trixie stared at Raj as he decimated another pack of wolves. This would be their last “fight”, if you could even call it that, before they reached that house he had been talking about. Honestly, he seems far too nervous. I understand they are two levels higher, but he doesn’t seem to grasp the true strength of the Dao.

As Raj was wiping his blade on the last of the monsters, Trixie pulled up her status, seeing where she had ended up.

Status

Name: L’thsnixzsiarla Velair

Race: Fairy(H)

Class: Mage[(Common-H) lvl 8]

Profession: None

Titles: None

HP: 120/120

MP: 220/220

SP: 130/130

Stats

Strength: 11

Agility: 18

Vitality: 13

Endurance: 13

Intelligence: 25

Wisdom: 25

Free Points: 0

Class Skills: Mana Bolt(Common)

Profession Skills: None

General Skills: Identify(Common)

She had decided to go all into her magical stats, seeing as how she already had a companion for melee support. And if anyone got through him, well… best not to follow that train of thought, she decided.

She turned to him, only to find him looking into the abyss. Giving him a moment, his eyes refocused, and she grabbed his attention.

“You need to fight with confidence, Raj. Trust me, you are far stronger than those drakes. You are severely underestimating the power of the Dao if you think this two level gap is anything.” She continued to coach and comfort him, trying to steady his nerves throughout their walk.

Her words were cut short after a moment, however, by a simple utterance from her bond.

“We’re here,” he said, his eyes focused purely on the lizards in front of them. To Trixie’s surprise, his mouth twisted into something of a grim smile, his teeth baring. “Let’s kick some ass!” He yelled as he used his Dash(Uncommon) ability to jump into the fray. Trixie could do nothing but smack her face in response, a groan slipping from her lips. “Damn humans! Why is this absolute idiot my bond!” Later, Trixie would swear that, for a moment, the heavens themselves let out a tinkling laugh in response.