His blood turned to ice. “Max... Maximus…” Tony whispered past the lump in his throat.

Taking the Dread Knight Advanced Specialization increased his Strength, Stamina, and Spirit by five points each. He’d have to check his sheet later; there was a thirty-minute time limit ticking down in the corner of his vision and an arrow pointing him South.

Tony sprinted past Auren and ran until his stamina bar flashed red. He had never run so fast for so long in his life. His breath came in ragged gasps as his Stamina bar flashed red, nearly empty. He could slow to a quick jog to replenish the bar, and while he grappled with the fact that his current state of being was just that and not a game, his body still responded to the “rules” set by the game.

When his stamina ran close to empty, he struggled for breath and could not run. As soon as it was full, he could run full out with no penalty. After fifteen minutes had ticked down, the arrow faded and blew out into a dome in his vision. He was in the quest area and would need to find his pet quickly. Tony took a frantic glance at his surroundings to gain some bearing on where he was.

The direction the quest indicator had taken him was in the same direction that Jorogu's brood had gone. The pathways in the borderlands between the plain they'd crashed in and forest the brood retreated to were well-traveled. He hoped this would make finding his dog easier. Patches of dense forestation smattered the landscape like a Rorschach test. There was no "easy" way for him to determine which thicket he would find his Familiar in. He'd have to search them all.

As the seconds raced by, a sweat broke out across Tony’s back and his breath came in frantic shallow gasps. Max had been the best thing that happened to Tony. His father had used the "I'll get you a puppy if you win" tactic to motivate him at the state-level martial arts tournament and held it over him until he placed first at nationals. Tony had refused to compete in the international competition until his father showed him the adoption papers for the mixed breed puppy he'd picked out online.

Tony's heart raced, threatening to escape his chest. If Maximus was really here and could be saved, he’d do anything to rescue him. He crashed through the underbrush, patch to patch searching for signs of life. Searching for anything that would point him in the right direction.

Ten more minutes passed.

Anxiety turned to frustration, then to fury as he ran madly through the brush when he heard it: a small bark, followed by the gibbering of coyotes. Reacting to his senses, Tony wheeled to the left, toward an unexplored thatch of forest, and sprinted. He burst through brush and branches into a scattered clearing where a pack of six coyotes stared hungrily at their prey.

Standing there, battered and dirty, as though plucked from memory, was Maximus. Stout and auburn-furred, the small dog bared his teeth at the pack of predators, backed into a corner, surrounded. Two of the small wolves turned and snarled at Tony, showing gnarled yellow fangs that matched their hungry eyes.

They were animals, beasts that couldn’t be reasoned with. One of them leaped at him as another nipped at the defiant pup. Blood boiling in his veins, Tony acted with a roar and without thought, seizing the beast by its open jaw. He twisted and opened up his hips, swinging it into an adjacent tree.

Dried bark and bloodied fur flew with the monster as he released it and rounded on the rest. In a flurry of punches and kicks, Tony got between the pack and his dog. Despite his recent advancements, Tony’s Health Bar was down by about forty percent and ticking down at about one percent per second, the bleeding debuff flaring at him in sync with his frenzied heartbeat.

A cold nose bumped Tony’s clenched fist and a notification flashed:

Small Dog Wishes to join your Party!

Do you accept?

Yes No

Tony accepted without a second thought and time dilated, slowing to a crawl as more windows populated his vision.

Congratulations! You have successfully rescued your Spirit-Tied Pet!

Would you like to name him now?

Tony accepted the prompt and a set of status bars appeared below his own.

Maximus: Level 5 Dog (Warrior) Companion

HP: 47 % MP: 100% Stamina: 25%

Learn more in the companion Sub-Menu!

He had gotten there just in the nick of time.

Three things happened at once: the remaining five coyotes surged at the newly bonded pair, Tony readied himself, and the little dog barked. Tony swore he heard the word “sword” when it did.

I have a sword, Tony remembered, I have TWO swords!

Fighting a coordinated pack of coyotes in and of itself would be a difficult task for a solo combatant. Doing so unarmed was asking for a bad time.

He activated “Summon Dreadblade” and one of the wounded coyotes combusted in a shower of viscera and bone as a seven-foot-long great sword made of pitted steel tore out of its body and into Tony’s grip. The Dread Knight carried the momentum through in a cleaving strike, slashing through two of the remaining beasts.

One of the coyotes latched onto Tony's forearm and the other nearly made it past him. Tony shoved his leg out to intercept the wild hound and its jaws closed around his ankle. They both thrashed wildly, tearing at his meager armor and HP with startling efficiency. Tony released his Dreadblade and slammed his fist into the beast on his arm.

Tony's HP dropped to ten percent, blurring his vision in a ruddy hue and a buff appeared under his status bars.

[Buff ID: InV4L1D] Query//Runtime 12s//Fetch//Error 504: Host Body Control Shift WE ARE L3&10N YOU ARE 0NE: Damage Reduction increased by 15% per 10% HP missing. All Damage increased by 75% (Rage State)

We will not serve a weak king. One who hesitates to use his power. We will show you, a taut, grating voice echoed through the whole of Tony's being.

His body moved on its own, gripping the stunned monster by its snout and tearing it and the spine from the beast. It died instantly in the gruesome display of raw strength and malice. Tony's chewed leg shot forward and skyward as if readying for an ax-kick. The coyote soared from the limb and Tony's right arm reached for his fallen blade. He felt his grip tighten like it had when he resummoned the Essence Blade and the weapon started to float.

Hey! What do you think you're doing? Give me back my body! he challenged the voice.

Watching his body move without controlling it scared him almost as much as the prospect of losing Max. If whatever force possessing him was rounded on the dog next, he didn't know what he would be able to do to stop it. His right arm shot forward, sending the blade careening through the air and the coyote.

When next we return, you had better be ready, the voice menaced.

A burning sensation crawled through his veins until it reached his toes and fingertips as control returned. A tremendous weight fell onto his frame. Tony's eyes rolled up to his status bar; the buff was gone with no debuff to replace it. He focused on his combat log and was greeted with a glitched screen, filled with fractured code and characters from the moment that he heard the voice. Tony shook his head, immediately regretting the action as his temples throbbed.

A quest notification popped into his vision.

You have completed the Familiar Quest: Man’s Best Friend!

Bonus! Your Spirit-Tied Pet took no additional damage from the encounter!

Item Received: Maximus’s Tags – Soulbound Item

In the event that your Spirit-Tied Pet falls in battle, use this item to summon him! Cooldown – 8 hours

Tears welled in Tony’s eyes and he sank to his knees, immediately beset by puppy kisses. The concern over the mystery debuff, the strain on his body from thirty minutes of sprinting, and lingering pain from his wounds were gone. Licked away by his best friend.

He had done it. He had saved Maximus. He would never be without him again.