Back on the road

Ethan tried. He really tried but before he could get two words in, the whirlwind of the morning had swept him up and shoved him into the carriage. Now, he was alone, save for the driver—a silent, grizzled man who hadn't spoken a word since the journey began.

Ethan slumped back in his seat, exhausted. His gaze lingered on the figures of his new family standing at the village gate. His "father," stern but proud, stood with arms crossed. His "mother" clasped her hands tightly in front of her, worry etched on her face. Marella, his supposed sister, had her arms folded, looking as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words.

Their expressions were clear—they were genuinely sad to see him go.

But why? Wasn't he going to come back after the awakening?

Soon, the village disappeared from view. Ethan stared out of the rattling carriage only to find the dense woods flanking the narrow dirt path. The steady creak of the wheels and the rhythmic clop of the horse's hooves filled the air.

As the carriage bumped along the uneven road, a growing sense of unease gnawed at him. The thing was... after everything that had happened, some explained by logic and some explained by magic, there was still one thing left that he couldn't really think of any explanation for.

If he was here, then what happened to the Ethan of this world? Did the previous one simply disappear? Or did their souls merge or some shit? Maybe the other guy would take over the body sometime in the future?

It just felt very fishy that something like this would happen on the eve of this world's Ethan's big day.

Ethan thought about it for a while and decided to let it go. It was pointless. He was thinking in circles and not getting anywhere.

The woods grew denser as the carriage pushed deeper along the path, and the silence from the driver only amplified Ethan's swirling thoughts. He leaned his head against the wooden frame of the carriage, staring blankly at the trees blurring past. He felt like an imposter sitting here, taking on the life of someone who had clearly existed before him.

With a sigh, Ethan closed his eyes for a moment, hoping that the bumpy ride would somehow settle his restless mind.

After a few minutes of procrastination, he finally opened his system screen to tinker with it.

[Ding! Status Screen]

Name: Ethan Rutgard

Age: 18

Class: Limitless Summoner (SSS-grade)

Level: 4

Rank: F

Titles: Hidden Class Awakener

Health: 100

Mana: 100

Strength: 10

Agility: 8

Constitution: 7

Intelligence: 6

Wisdom: 7

Free Attributes: 5

Core Skill 1: Limitless Summoner (Passive): All beings killed by you are yours to summon.

Core Skill 2: Summon (Active) Consumes the required mana to summon a bound being.

Bonded beings: Green worm, Small spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Small Spider, Forest wolf.

***

Ethan cringed at the list of his bonded beings. What SSS-grade class? He might as well be a bug catcher at this rate!

'System, can I... err... release some of these bugs?' He mentally asked and waited.

And then waited.

Waited some more.

No response.

Ethan tried asking a bunch of other questions, some even mumbling out loud, making the driver give him a bunch of weird looks. However, there was no response for anything.

"Figures," he muttered under his breath, glancing at the driver, who remained silent and focused on the road ahead. He didn't want to appear any crazier than he already seemed, talking to himself about bugs and spiders.

Ethan had a stinking feeling that the so-called awakening was probably related to his status screen and gaining levels that he already had. What if he wasn't supposed to have it just yet?

He once again put these thoughts aside. What was the point in rushing to find answers to these things?

The image of the wolf and the cruel smile on its face flashed in front of him again. The first thing he needed to do was to get stronger.

Sure, his new family was sad to see him leave, but he was a little relieved to get a break from them. Before he got embroiled with everything that was not him, he needed some alone time to sort out things on his own and break some ground.

In this world, strength was the only way to survive, and right now, despite his "SSS-grade" class, he felt painfully underprepared. His bonded beings—mostly spiders except for the one worm and the one wolf—hardly inspired confidence. He needed stronger beasts.

Just as he was thinking about how to test out his class and experiment more, he suddenly noticed something from the back of the carriage.

"STOP!" Ethan shouted.

The driver was startled at Ethan's sudden shout, pulling the reins sharply to halt the carriage. The horses neighed in protest, but eventually, the carriage came to a creaking stop on the dirt road.

"What is it, boy?" the grizzled driver asked, turning slightly in his seat but keeping his eyes on the path ahead, as if unwilling to fully engage.

Ethan quickly jumped out of the carriage before the guy could reprimand him. He rushed towards the last tree they had crossed and quickly looked behind it.

There it was.

A dead cat.

Well, an almost dead cat.

Ethan crouched down beside the almost-dead cat. The creature was barely breathing, its chest rising and falling in shallow gasps. Its fur was matted with blood and dirt, and it looked frail—like it had been through a battle for survival.

It was probably run over by another carriage like this? Otherwise, he doubted the beast would be left whole and alive in this kill or be killed world.

Either way, this was a chance.

Ethan swallowed the bitter pill and did the deed. He took a stone lying nearby, and with a quick motion, he brought it down.

The cat let out one final, pitiful sound, and then its body went still. Silence filled the air as Ethan stared down at the lifeless form in front of him.

[Ding! You have killed a wild cat]

[Ding! You have gained experience points]

[Ding! The entity wild cat has been added to your summoning list]

"Summon," Ethan whispered.

The next second, a brand new cat appeared in front of him without a single injury on its body. The beast literally popped out of thin air.

He stared in a daze at the newly summoned wild cat, its black, sleek fur shimmering slightly under the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees. The creature's eyes, sharp and intelligent, locked onto his.

The wild cat stretched, almost nonchalantly, as if it had always existed and wasn't the product of his newly acquired powers. Right next to it, the dead body was still fresh.

The whole thing was bizarre.

"Aye! Lad, what are you doing? I haven't gotten all day!"

Ethan snapped out of his daze, the driver's gruff voice cutting through the surreal moment. He glanced back at the dead cat, then at its living, summoned counterpart.

"Uh, coming!" he called out, standing up and dusting his hands off as if that would clear his mind too.

He quickly kicked the dead body under a nearby shrub to hide it. He then gave the summoned cat a quick mental command to follow him, and without hesitation, the creature padded after him with silent grace.

Ethan climbed back into the carriage, the summoned wild cat jumping in after him. The driver shot him a glance but said nothing. He flicked the reins, and the horses started moving again, pulling the carriage down the dirt road.

Ethan smiled silently. There. Now, he had yet another beast by his side.