CON: 27
INT: 41
WIS: 20
MEN: 39
Louie is a mage? How the hell is this possible?
I tried to say something but… what was there to say? My dog had just started talking and now he had a class. A mage! His intelligence stat was almost double what mine was. I wasn’t sure if this meant I was dumb and didn’t know it, or he was just a rocket scientist of a dog.
“Wait,” I said, out loud this time. “Does this mean he’ll be able to cast spells?”
“The path he has chosen is one of empathy and willingness,” the fairy replied. “This is but the first class on his journey.”
I continued staring at her, not sure if she was finished, since she hadn’t answered my question yet.
“Yes, child,” she said eventually. “He will be able to cast spells.”
“I don’t know how to thank you,” I said and took her hands in mine.
Immediately I felt a warmth spreading from my palms to my elbows, all the way to my chest. The happiness I was feeling was amplified and as tears filled my eyes, the fairy pulled me up to my feet before breaking contact.
“Go, children,” she said and took a step back, slowly changing her form.
Before I was able to say another word, her body had completed its metamorphosis back into the majestic tiger I’d met initially. She turned her back to us and walked away between the thick trees and full bushes.
“What now?” I said, talking to myself.
“Let’s go back to Leo,” Louie replied and put his short legs to use, walking back toward the forest’s entrance.
“Wait, how come I can see all of your stats?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s because I set it up that way,” he responded as if this was elementary for him. “You can see all my stats.”
I momentarily focused on him again and found that I could see the rest of the information about him.
Battle Stats
Max HP: 98
Max MP: 59
Physical Attack: 1
Physical Defense: 48
Accuracy: 28
Critical: 40
Attack Speed: 242
Magic Attack: 7
Magic Defense: 54
Evasion: 28
Speed: 121
Casting Speed: 166
HP Regen. : 1.9/minute
MP Regen. : 1.3/minute
“Your Physical Defense is really low,” I said once I’d absorbed the information, a bit worried about what we might encounter on our way back. “Let’s be extra careful for the time being and we’d better get you some equipment as well. You don’t have the Fortitude spell yet?”
“I’ve got…” he started, his eyes losing focus momentarily as he looked at me. “I’ve got three passive skills and two active ones. The first is Self Care, which is a healing spell for myself, and the second Gale Blast. I guess that’s the one… the one Leo used before.”
So he could remember everything that happened before he ate that magical bacon, and from his pause, I suspected that he also remembered the first person who’d used this attack on me. It made me wonder…
“Louie, what else do you remember before today?”
“Everything. I can remember everything, but it’s all a bit foggy until I try to recall something specific. Then the fog clears and I understand a lot more about what’s happened. I guess that’s due to the gift of understanding.”
“Please stay close to me this time,” I said to him as we made our way back. “This world is quite weird and complicated with all these stats, skills, and levels.”
“It’s not too bad,” he replied, and I wondered if his intelligence was already giving him an advantage. “But I know this is just the beginning. I woke up only minutes ago, and I don’t know how uncomplicated life was before we knew about the Apocosmos. So I just need to learn all of those things too.” He smiled.
I had always imagined Louie’s outlook like this. I liked to believe that he always looked on the brighter side of life and it felt good to see that this was true.
“I can’t wait to talk to Leo,” Louie said enthusiastically, “and listen to that music you always nod your head while listening to. And watch that series that made you laugh and cry.”
“I never…” I started saying, but I quickly realized there was no point or reason to hide my feelings from Louie. “The show is called Critical Role and the type of music I nod my head to is called metal, but there are so many other genres.”
“Metal? Why would it be called that?” he said confused. “Is there a genre called bone? Or better yet, sausage? Bacon?”
I smiled and petted him above his tail. He wagged it twice, but then froze solid and began growling, his eyes focused forward. A pair of yellow eyes glimmered in the dark as a cobra reared up between two trees and stared at us. Without wasting a second, Louie stepped back and the now familiar wind sphere appeared in front of his snout. Leaning forward, his Gale Blast was launched and hit the snake’s body.
The cobra wasn’t disintegrated as it had been under Leo’s attacks, but its HP bar dropped by a third. Not bad for his first attack. Holding my swords ready, I stepped in front of Louie, to block any attacks that might come his way. Before the snake managed to reach us, Louie had already positioned himself between my legs and a second Gale Blast sent the snake’s head flying, as its body fell limp on the illuminated forest floor.
“Critical!” Louie said and barked in excitement. “And I got a new level. Groovy!”
“Critical? On a spell?” I asked, surprised. “Also, ‘groovy’? Where did you hear that word?”
“Oh, man. I didn’t get any new skills,” he said, sounding a bit disappointed. “I need to ask Leo what level I need to be before I learn more spells.”
“Now hold up, buddy,” I said, a bit more harshly than I’d intended. “We’re not leveling or getting any more involved in this world than we need to. We’ll just get better at making money out of it, so we can have an easier life.”
“But why?” he asked. “Isn’t this fun? I thought you liked things like this?”
“I did, and it used to be fun.”
“Then I don’t understand why you…”
“Louie!” I shouted, exactly how I always did when he was being stubborn or sticking his face in the garbage can.
He didn’t say anything more and simply walked forward, shoulders dropped at first, but his tail soon started wagging again when we saw the light of the open fields. As grateful as I was to be able to communicate with him, it didn’t change the fact that I… that we didn’t belong here.
Perhaps we didn’t have any choice anymore, but if we limited our interactions with the Apocosmos to those that targeted monetary gains only, we should be fine for the limited amount of time we’d need to do it. Just long enough to end our debt. Maybe a bit longer so that I’d have some more funds in case of an emergency.
“Louie, buddy!” Leo shouted as soon as he saw us. “Gods! You’re a mage now!”
“Thank you so much, Leo!” Louie shouted between barks, as he jumped around a few inches from the ground in front of him. “I already got a level, but didn’t get any spells. It’s okay though, because Alex said we’re not going to be raising our levels anymore anyway because…”
Louie stopped talking as soon as I reached them. There were no words that would accurately express the gratitude I felt toward Leo for his gift. I wasn’t a man of many words, or more precisely I wasn’t a man of many words anymore. Words were cheap and came easy. Actions spoke louder.
I opened my arms and hugged him, a whispered “Thank you” escaping my lips. It was my first hug in years. Excluding accidental shoulder-bumps, and my getting beaten up a few days ago, this was actually the first physical contact I’d had with another human in three years.
Normally, I would barely be able to stand another person talking to me—yapping about their own little egos and their insignificant, completely blown out
of proportion problems—much less let anyone touch me. But this was different. This was a gift that warranted intimacy.
“Oh!” Leo said at first, but then closed his arms around me as well. “We haven’t done this in a while. You’re welcome, man.”
Once our embrace ended, Leo took another brief look at Louie before looking back at me.
“You know he needs different equipment than you,” he said, “being a spellcaster and a dog.”
“I do?” Louie barked again in excitement. “Can I wear armor made of bones? No, I’ll probably eat each piece one by one and then I’ll just need new ones.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I said, in an attempt to ease his spirit. “We won’t be needing any equipment either way.”
“That’s right,” Louie continued. “Because we won’t be raising our levels anymore.”
“Even so,” Leo said with a smirk. “There is still one thing left to do. Most companions do this right after their awakening.”
“What? What?” the little ball of energy barked.
“Your name is Louie,” Leo explained, “but you also need a last name, don’t you? What would you like that to be?”
“Easy!” he replied and wagged his tail like crazy. “Bacon!”
Leo laughed out loud and a genuine smile spread across my face. Of course that was his first choice. That would be every dog’s first choice. Perhaps even my first choice as well.
“Now that is a fine name, Louie,” I said. “It’s also used by a famous human named Kevin.”
“Then no, I don’t want to use it,” he said and looked around as if searching for something. “I want it to be special.”
“Perhaps something that will show how cool and powerful you are?” suggested Leo.
“Yes,” he said and pondered over it for a few seconds this time. “That’s it! Thunder!”
“Louie Thunder,” Leo mused. “That carries a certain beauty.”
“But you hate thunder,” I said. “You’re afraid of it.”
“Of course I am,” Louie replied. “All dogs are. But someone with the last name Thunder is someone who isn’t afraid of it anymore. Or at least so it would seem, right?”
“Can’t argue with that,” Leo agreed.
“You do have a point,” I admitted. “Okay then. Let’s walk back, Louie Thunder.”
We moved away from the forest in the direction of a low rocky hill, searching for a surface large enough to use the key on.
“Hey, Leo. Have you met the fairy?” Louie asked.
“I haven’t,” he replied. “Entering the forest, at least for low-level people, is only possible as part of a quest. The only quests that allow access to her domain are those related to animal companions and since I don’t have one, I’ve never seen her. Is she as great as the stories say?”
“I don’t know what the stories say, but she’s certainly very powerful and she can turn into a tiger, and she commands all these other…”
“How about we have some breakfast when we get back?” I asked, trying to softly ease Louie’s enthusiasm. “Some normal bacon perhaps?”
“Bacon? Did someone mention the king of foods?” he said in a pompous voice. “Let’s move. If the king of foods has summoned me, I can’t possibly keep him waiting.”
So I guess this is the new Louie? A smart-ass glutton I’m going to have to debate every day to convince him that he can’t just eat bacon and sausages exclusively.
I smiled at the thought. It wasn’t that bad after all. I talked to him often either way. It would be nice having him talk back from now on.
Eventually, we found a tree that was wide enough to fit a door and I pressed the key into its trunk. As expected, though it was still amazing, a door opened up that led us back to Leo’s apartment. Soon after arriving, a lavish lunch was served to us and Louie got his fill of bacon before taking his usual belly-up noon nap. Leo and I stayed in his kitchen, surrounded by the natural light of his floor-to-ceiling windows. I glanced out of them at the people walking the streets of New York, unaware of this whole other world.
“Do many people do this kind of thing?” I asked as he handed me a bottle from his fridge. Staying for a beer was the least I could do. “Making their pets able to communicate with them?”
“First of all, they’re actually called partners, not pets,” he said in a mock condescending voice, “and yes, many do. In all seriousness though, Louie is your partner now. It may only be a short time before you start noticing differences…”
“Apart from him talking and demanding that his bacon is crispier, you mean?”
“Yes, apart from that,” he agreed. “At some point, he’ll start becoming more independent. He has an identity of his own now, and though it will be hard to shed his old dog habits, eventually he will be interested in things of his own. Perhaps things that are close to your liking, but not exactly the same.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked. He had admitted he had never gone through this procedure himself.
“I read up on the subject,” he said and took a sip from his beer. “This is a big thing, and I wanted to make sure the gift wouldn’t be too much.”
“I see,” I replied a bit awkwardly, as I felt the need to thank him again.
“Don’t worry about it,” he added, trying to ease the tension. “How do you feel about him being a mage?”
“Right!” I said, remembering the stats I’d absorbed when I scanned him. “A spellcaster? And his intelligence is higher than mine. What’s up with that?”
“Considering how you ended up being pulled into the Apocosmos, that comes as no surprise!” Leo said in jest. “Seriously though, you always have to keep in mind that what you see is a representation of the information carried by the Dark Energy. Louie might see different things for the same concepts, because he has different experiences. Spellcasting abilities are so connected in your mind with the word ‘intelligence’ that it makes perfect sense for them to be quantified under that label. That’s what makes sense for you.”
“I see,” I said and nodded. “It doesn’t mean that he’s actually more intelligent than me. Just that he’s better in this stat that affects magic and the likes.”
“It also doesn’t mean that he isn’t more intelligent than you. The jury is still out on that one,” he joked again and took another sip of his beer before turning his eyes out of his window, overlooking Little Italy and Chinatown.
“Is his magic different from yours?” I asked.
“It’s still a starting class, so not much,” Leo responded. “The paths he can take do differ afterward though. He can become quite powerful if you guys want to pursue it.”
I grimaced, not wanting to get Louie all worked up again.
“Right, right,” he said. “You don’t want to get too involved.” He extended his hand to me. “You brought your DEM tablet, right?”
I had completely forgotten about having stored it under my leather shirt. I brought it out, worried that it might have gotten damaged during the fights, but miraculously it had no scratches at all. Leo touched the screen and when the cold electric light illuminated his face, he placed his palm flat on it.
“This should do it,” he said. “You can now use the DEM’s free crafting program. Just keep in mind that you can only craft recipes of the first and second levels.”
“Yes, I read the terms,” I agreed. “And I also have to buy the materials and sell the products on the marketplace.”
“Correct. You might also want to consider joining a merchant alliance.”
“An alliance?”
“Yes, it’s kinda like a union for merchants,” he continued. “You’re protected against monopolies by being part of one, might get better prices for materials, and some other perks.”
“For a cut, I suppose?”
“Of course,” Leo confirmed. “Nothing is ever free in the Apocosmos. But it might be good as you’re starting.”
“I think I’ll be fine by myself.”
/>
“Well, then, suit yourself.”
We both stood up and I gulped down the remainder of my beer.
“Again,” I said as I placed my now-empty beer bottle on his kitchen counter. “Thank you for the gift.”
“Don’t mention it,” he waved his hand dismissively. “And good luck with the DEM crafting thing.”
“Louie? Let’s go, buddy!” I shouted in the general direction of the living room and turned back to face Leo again. “Thanks, man.”
“Are we going home?” Louie asked as he slowly approached us, first yawning, and then performing his two favorite yoga stretching poses.
“Yes, we are,” I replied. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
“Right now?” he asked and yawned again.
“Just me, I guess. You can continue napping.”
“If you ever want to practice or gain some XP,” Leo interjected as we were waiting for the elevator, “just call me. My whole family are fighter classes. They’d be glad to help you.”
“Thanks,” I said, but was relieved when the elevator came just in time to hide how much I didn’t want this to happen. “Goodbye, man.”
“Bye, Leo!” Louie said between barks.
“Bye, guys,” we heard him say as the old concierge closed the elevator doors behind us.
“Hierethon, sir?” Louie said, looking at the old man who was escorting us down to the lobby. “I can’t see anything other than your name. What’s your class?”
“I am very sorry for his behavior,” I said earnestly to the man before turning to Louie. “You can’t just ask these things, Louie!”
“Why can’t I?”
“The man is keeping that information private for a reason.”
“It’s quite alright, Mr. Alexander,” the old man now said, completely unfazed by the fact that a corgi was engaging him in conversation. “I am a prophet, Louie.”
“So you know about things before they happen?” Louie continued.
“That is a common misconception that arose as the word ‘prophet’ seeped into the Cosmos,” the old man said. “Prophets are people who try to anticipate what the future has in store for them by means of preparation, both for themselves and those around them. We are people who care deeply about our friends and try our best to keep them protected. Much like you, I think.”
Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) Page 10