The Rescue

After almost a day of traveling, they reached out of the forest. They could see the town a few kilometers further. Kary was happy to finally see civilization. After 2 days in the wild, she badly needed a bath and a good night's rest. She also badly needed to have her equipment fixed. It took so much abuse during the double boss fight, it was practically in tatters now. She would feel much safer once it was back to normal.

Once they got in town, they would go their separate ways for the rest of the day and reconvene at the gate the next morning. Kary had taken a liking to them. Their chipper attitude kept her from thinking of the chaos her real body was in. Kary went to the forge to hand her gear to the smiths for repairs. She had switched out for her older set of gear already. She then bee-lined for the nearest public bath to go relax and wash properly. Even though this was just a body composed of data, it would still stink after 2 days without a bath and intense fighting.

She paid for the bath 5 coppers off of the 50 she had. Everyone started with only 50 copper. They would need to gather loot to sell for more. She had the loot but she had not sold it yet. They had agreed to split the loot from the creatures between all of them. Anthony, Marc, and Carol would get the loot form 1 lioness each. As for the bosses, since Kary had practically soloed them, she got the whole loot off the 2 of them.

With those 2 bodies, she had looted a steel wolf pelt, 2 high-grade wolf canines, 2 high-grade lion canines, and 4 rare-grade lion claws. She had also obtained a little sphere from the lion but when she looked at its stats, it showed only question marks. Marc had told her that such items needed to be appraised by a professional appraiser. Only then would the stats show up.

That was her next stop. She had to ask around at other players and NPCs before someone actually answered her. She understood though. She was dressed in her starter equipment right now, so people thought she was still a noobie. When she finally got the answer she wanted, she headed over to have her item appraised.

Once in the shop, she saw plenty of shady items on the wall with blanked out information. She guessed it was the appraiser's doing, blanking the information so he could sell them at high prices. She got to the counter and knocked on it. She heard from behind the curtain on the wall " Just a minute! " The man that came out the back was dressed simply. brown clothing with a simple cloak over it. The cloak had clearly seen better days as it was covered in holes.

" I would like this item appraised sir " Kary firmly said, dropping the sphere on the counter. As soon as it hit the counter, a light flashed in the appraiser's eyes. It had not escaped Kary's eyes.

" Ohh that, it's just a useless essence. Here I'll buy it off you for 10 copper " the man said, pulling out a big copper coin with a 10 on it and throwing it on the counter. He then tried to grab the sphere. As soon as he reached out, Kary snatched back the item and said menacingly " I said I want it appraised, not bought " Her eyes were cold as ice. The man broke out in cold sweat.

" Yes, yes, of course. I just wanted to save your precious time milady. It really is useless " He said, rubbing his hands and smiling. He tried the best he could to hide his greed. Unfortunately, Kary was not at her first rodeo. She knew if he offered to buy it so fast, it was definitely something good. She then dropped the orb back into her inventory and turned around, saying " Fine I'll take my business elsewhere. Goodbye " and then she walked towards the door.

" WAIT! " the man yelled. " I'll appraise it, but pay me first. It's 1 silver " he added. Kary then turned really fast, pulled out her sword and dashed forward. She was over the counter her blade to his neck faster than he could say help.

" Are you trying to rip me off sir? " She asked, with a tone so calm, the man almost fainted.

" She's dangerous," he thought. " I would never ma'am. Did I say 1 silver, I'm sorry, I meant 1 copper hehe " he said, sweating profusely.

" Ohh, in that case, I'm sorry. Here you go " Kary went back over the counter and handed him a copper coin. With that, the man heaved a sigh of relief. He was sad he had to lower his price so much. He usually charged 20 copper, but his greed had cost him this time. He had never expected a woman as frail and nice-looking as her to be so menacing. He then took the item and pulled out a looking glass. After a few seconds, the sphere started to shine, and then finally Kary could see its stats.

~Spirit Pet Summoning Orb~

This item lets summon a spirit lion cub. The cub will be weak at first, but as you feed it and it grows, it will become a formidable ally in combat. The pet is also summonable in player's reality.

Seeing the last phrase, Kary thought the pet would be saved to her holo-com and that she could summon a hologram of it to show off in the real world. She liked that, so she used the orb right away. The orb transformed into a golden light, then it took the shape of a feline, solidified and landed in her arms. The appraiser instantly yelped out " Ohh my God! A spirit pet. Milady I'll but it off, 1 gold no wait, 10 gold!! "

What Kary didn't yet know was how rare were these spirit pets. In this non-magic world and accurately real environment, spirits and anything magical was worth a fortune. Even if he paid 10 gold for the pet, he could easily sell it back at ten times the price, getting instantly rich. But he was yet to be disappointed again.

" Not interested " Kary simply said, heading for the door. " Thank you for your help "

" Wait, 20 gold " he yelled, running to block her way.

" I said not interested " Kary was getting mad this time. She hated persistent people.

" 25 gold, I can't go higher milady. It's all I have " The appraiser pleaded. Kary was really pissed off. She let the cub down, pulled out her sword again and brought it to his neck.

" This is the second time I unsheath my sword without killing you. There won't be a third. Now get out of my way, if you want to keep your head "

Kary was looking at him with such killing intent that the man peed himself. He then crumpled to the ground panting while Kary picked the cub back up and left. the man's dignity had been crushed. Once Kary had been gone, he swore " You won't get away with this, woman! " he was well acquainted with the noble family in town and would do anything to regain his dignity. Only he wouldn't get his chance right away.

After that incident, Kary went to the shops and sold the rest of the loot that couldn't be used to craft. She kept only the Steel wolf pelt. She made 20 copper for each claw and 25 for each tooth for a total of 1 silver 80 copper. With her remaining 44 copper she now had 2 silver 24 copper in her bag. Next up was a meal. She didn't mind the rations while in the wild, but nothing would ever beat a good meal, cooked by a good chef. She went to the nearest Inn and took a room for the night, costing her 10 copper, then she paid another 10 for a good meal. She still had 2 silver 4 coppers, she calculated that even without going hunting, she could stay here for another week and be fine.

When she received her food, the lion cub which had been sleeping in her arms until now suddenly showed interest. It looked at the meat with greed. Kary then cut off a small piece to try and feed him, but by the time she lifted her arm to give the piece to him, the cub jumped on the table and stole the rest of the meat, jumping down to the floor to eat it, leaving her with only the scrawny piece she had cut off.

" HEY!! You little thief " Kary exclaimed. The cub didn't react, he just ate the meat voraciously. He then sat next to her leg and pushed his face against it, purring.

" Well, what do you know, lions purr " She instantly lost her anger. She was looking at it and thought maybe it was time to name it. She had been carrying it all day, and never even spoke to it. It had slept all day. Maybe it was waiting to be named before really interacting with her. Yet she didn't know if it was a male or a female. So she looked at his stats window.

~Choose Name~

Level: 1

Race: Feline

Sex: Female

Class: Pet

Strength: 1

Dexterity: 1

Intelligence: 1

Wisdom: 1

Toughness: 1

With her knowing the sex, she could name it. " I'll name you Nala. Do you like it? " She asked, looking at her pet lioness. It looked at her with its eyes closed and what looked like a smile and let out a small, high-pitched roar " Rawr! "

" System Notification. Pet has acknowledged you as his master. Linking pet to consciousness, please standby... Link confirmed. Congratulations player.

At the same time, Kary felt a second mind, meld with hers. She could feel the world from a second perspective. If she focused, she could even see through her eyes. By focusing a little, she managed to look at herself through Nala's eyes. It was so confusing she immediately stopped. Then a second notification popped.

'' World notification. Congratulations to Wandering Hero on being the first player to be acknowledged by a spirit pet. Awarding player with 'Special Reward' gift box.

When the players across the world saw this, they were shocked. This was the first world announcement, and it meant that players could gain fame across the whole planet just with achievements. This would start a wave of players trying to be the first in anything.

In the same town as Kary, her party members also saw the notification. They were happy for her, but also a little jealous. They all guessed that the pet came from the unidentified object she had looted. Nonetheless, they respected their choice. She had won fair and square, so she deserved it. But they also knew that this would cause an uproar in town, and anyone who would recognize her would try their hand at getting that pet. It was going to be a rough time to come. But that only added to their excitement.

With the pet mind-melding with Kary, it also boosted its stats. It was now sharing a part of her strength with her too. Kary had received a system message saying that, so she checked her stats again.

~Wandering Hero~

Class: Swordmaster

Level: 12

Strength: 19(+1)

Dexterity: 16(+1)

Intelligence: 8(+1)

Wisdom: 8(+1)

Toughness: 16(+1)

Charm: 3/10

Luck: 7/10

Armor: 21

Attack: 5-15

Bonus Attribute: 5% increase in training and cultivation speed

~Talents~

Chosen of Fire: Player has been chosen by a spirit Phoenix and has acquired a part of its power. This gives the player a chance to resist burns and the ability 'Rise from the ashes'. This talent can be cultivated to upgrade.

Pet mind-meld: Player has been acknowledged by a spirit pet. Stats of both parties are shared on a 50% base stats basis.

~Abilities~

Rise from the ashes (One time use): Player can die and come back to life without penalties.

Then she checked Nala's stats

~Nala~

Level: 1

Race: Feline

Sex: Female

Class: Pet

Strength: 1(+9)

Dexterity: 1(+8)

Intelligence: 1(+4)

Wisdom: 1(+4)

Toughness: 1(+8)

" Damn! " Kary thought. Just that, had made Nala strong enough to fight alongside her. Looking at her, Kary could already feel that Nala had more confidence. It made her laugh inside.

After they finished eating, Kary wanted to make a last stop for the day. She went to see the master tailor in town. She wanted to have the 'Steel Wolf Pelt' turned into a piece of equipment. The master tailor charged her 1 silver and said to come back in a week.

With that, she went back to the inn to sleep. Only, Kary wouldn't wake up in the inn, because her pod had been recovered that day, and as soon as the government officials saw her brain activity lower, they knew they could pull her out. And so Kary was going to wake up in reality, not ready to face the music.