Alice’s health potions returned Theo to a serviceable state, so he was up and moving about camp quickly. Their small camp had expanded in the days he’d been asleep. Blake had used his Contraption Cantrip to make a kettle for brewing pine needle tea, a pot for making rabbit stew, and even nails and clasps to hand things on the stone fingers. Alice had turned a nearby tree into an archery target, and had been slowly training with her bow and arrow. Theo and Alice had reached an uneasy truce since their last conversation. He still thought she was reckless and not very fun to be around, but at least he understood her a little bit better. She, like everyone else, was frightened for themselves and for their family. It made her easier to swallow.

With Theo awake and able to reasonably care for himself, Blake and Alice went hunting. They had to stick to small game before, but soon they were bringing back deer. Blake practiced making traps with his Contraption Cantrip, at Theo’s instruction. Soon they had all the squirrels and rabbits they could ever want. Theo rested and ate, feeling the slow movement of health energy from the food replenish his body. He removed his bandages and examined the thick scars on his chest, almost completely healed. They were nasty things, as gnarled and twisted as tree roots, crisscrossing his chest.

Theo, too, had lost weight since arriving in the Arena. He’d always been a little on the heavier side since he left highschool sports, but now he could see the faint tracery of muscles on his stomach and chest. The scars added to the effect, making him look grizzled. He spent a long time looking at the scar on his face in Blake’s conjured mirror. That scar was less pronounced than the ones on his chest, but still prominent. After the health potions, it was a merely a red line that slashed across his cheek. He could tell it was beginning to age, become more gray than red, as he replenished his health. But he didn’t know if the scar would be forever, or would disappear completely as he healed. He hoped it would go away; he’d never been as handsome as Blake, but he’d been passably attractive for all his life. It was his reclusiveness and borderline antisocial behavior that tended to steer women in the other direction.

But now, his body was changing. He was stringier, scarred, and filthy. The clothes he came into the Arena with were starting to get baggier, and he had to use some conjured rope from Blake to make a simple belt.

He was munching on some rabbit jerky and waiting for Blake and Alice to return when remembered to check his menu. He’d been out for four days; certainly there had been some updates. He summoned his full menu in front of him, and it floated in that pentagram shape surrounded by runes. He reached out and selected the rune for notifications.

Notification! Woodsman’s Cloak (Basic) has absorbed enough Universal Power to Evolve! Evolve cloak? Y/N

Even the items can evolve? Theo thought. That’s interesting. He selected the option to evolve the cloak, and felt a rush of power as wind lifted it around him. He looked at the dull green fabric, ratty and filthy from days of being used as a tarp, suddenly become vibrant, emerald green.

Woodsman’s Cloak (Basic) has Evolved into Druid’s Cloak (Basic)! Druid’s Cloak allows you to blend in better with any natural environment.

Theo played with the fabric. It felt thicker and smoother than the earlier variation of the cloak. Besides that, the slight scar from where Jessica had mended it was gone. The cloak also seemed to fit him better, resting more snugly around his now-narrower shoulders. He wished the rest of his clothes would evolve as well, as they desperately needed a wash. Satisfied with the small perk of a clean, upgraded cloak, he moved on.

Notification! Your Companion, Tiberius, has reached level 2! Evolution Available!

Evolution? Theo thought. He looked to where Tiberius slept peacefully next to him. Then he opened the notification.

Your Companion has absorbed enough Universal Power to Evolve! Evolve, Y/N?

Theo thought for a moment. On one hand, he didn’t like the idea of upgrading Tiberius. He wasn’t a cloak. He was a living thing, a friend. Would it be painful? Would it change his personality? He loved Tiberius just the way he was, and he didn’t need an upgraded version of him. On the other hand, he remembered Tiberius laying in a heap after the Velocirabbit almost killed him. He swore that he wouldn’t let that happen again. If he could evolve Tiberius, make him stronger…

He reached out and selected the rune for Yes.

Instantly, light flashed around Tiberius. Theo could feel the swell of magic, feel the heat and light of mana. Tiberius stood, his form obscured by the surging light. Then he unleashed a howl into the air, and Theo watched his body grow, only a silhouette in the light.

The light dimmed, leaving a faint glow around Tiberius.

Or, what had once been Tiberius. Now, Theo looked at a wolf. A pretty big fucking wolf.

Tiberius stood almost above Theo’s hips now, and his paws were massive and tipped with sharp white claws, like little crescent moons. His eyes were bright blue, still alight with the afterglow of mana. His fur was a purer silver, with black and white markings on his side and face. And his fur was thicker and denser, a wolf’s fur rather than a dog’s. His face was more severe, too, with a longer snout and sharper eyes rimmed with black.

“Buddy…?” Theo asked.

Tiberius looked at him, staring him down with those wolf eyes.

Then he started panting, rolled over and showed his belly, asking for rubs.

Theo sighed. “Same old mutt,” he said. And he patted the wolf’s stomach.

Tiberius (Dog) has Evolved into Tiberius (Direwolf)!

Direwolf. He vaguely knew that historical dire wolves were Pleistocene era megafauna that hunted wooly mammoths. But he also knew they didn’t look like anatomically modern wolves that much… alas, Tiberius seemed closer to a large modern wolf. Still, it was pretty freaking cool.

Tiberius has learned Resounding Howl! Tiberius has learned Warg!

Theo selected the two new skills and examined them.

Resounding Howl: Your Companion creates a cone of sonic force that can stun or topple nearby enemies.

A ranged effect. That was good. If Tiberius could fight from far away, there was less of a chance he’d get hurt.

Warg: Using your magical bond, you may now see through the eyes of your Companion, hear with their ears, and track with their senses. While Warging, your human body enters a trance state and is vulnerable to attack. The range at which you are able to maintain this connection is dependent on your Wisdom.

Theo frowned. He didn’t love the idea of possessing Tiberius’s body, but hey, it would be useful. If he could have done that a few days ago, he could have sent Tiberius to scout out the bandit camp. Then maybe his face would still be in-tact. Tiberius could move a lot more quickly and silently than Theo could. When Theo was in his bear form, he might have an even better nose than Tiberius, but Theo could only use that ability once a day. Besides, it took a hell of a lot out of him. He wondered if the only reason he’d slept had been his wounds, or if shapeshifting into the bear had something to do with it. He didn’t even want to think about the physics of it. He must have put on a thousand pounds of weight in an instant; energy nor matter could be created or destroyed, so where had that come from? He vaguely understood that mana was a form of energy that existed all around him, and that it could be converted into matter using certain types of magic. But his scientist’s brain couldn’t even begin to understand the mechanism of such a transaction. He figured it was better to stick to understanding the game mechanics, rather than try and apply his limited understanding of physics to a system that clearly ignored the laws the reality.

He sighed. While he was thinking about energy equations, Tiberius had started to scoot his butt along the forest floor, legs dangling in the air in front of him.

“Goofiest direwolf ever,” Theo said aloud. Tiberius kept scooting his butt on the ground, face twisted in concentration, tongue lolling to one side.

He returned to the menu. There were no more notifications, so he dicked around a little bit, exploring his options. He found a corner of the menu that detailed all the species he’d identified, as well as several that he’d come across but not taken the time to read about. He made a note to start identifying more plants specifically, as he bet there would be some with useful medicinal qualities.

Finally, he took a look at the skills he’d acquired over the last several days.

Skills:

Bushcraft (Basic)

Herblore (Basic)

Beastlore (Basic)

Wilderness Medicine (Basic)

Minor Magic (Basic)

Thorn Spray (Basic)

Minor Beastspeak (Basic)

Animal Companion (Basic)

Staff of Nature’s Power (Basic)

Call of the Wild (Rare)

He was still perplexed by the Call of the Wild skill. It was his best, most powerful ability, and yet also his least reliable. He’d used it to summon a swarm of insects and strangling roots, but it had failed him when he’d needed it to save Jessica. He’d surmised that it was connected to emotion, but what good would that do, unless someone he loved was in danger? He needed to learn to control it. Actually control it, not just wait for it to come when he needed it most. He pulled up the description of that ability again.

Call of the Wild (Rare)

Nature hears your song, oh Druid, and heeds your call. From the lowliest vine and the smallest insect, to the greatest monstrosity and the tallest mountain, one day all of nature will bow before thee. Allows for the manipulation of plants and animals based on your Wisdom. This Skill is a gift from DEITY UNKNOWN.

It was so vague. It allowed for the manipulation of plants and animals, but there were no other specifications. It seemed like it was infinitely scaleable, dependent on his Wisdom. Apparently his Wisdom, even though it was his highest stat, allowed him manipulate… bugs? Some plants? Maybe he could only manipulate things of insanely low intelligence?

He shook his head. There was no use speculating about it. He could only practice.

He summoned his staff to his hand, then used it as a crutch to stand up. He still hadn’t even explored the Staff of Nature’s Power ability. He knew that would be more useful and reliable than Call of the Wild in a fight, so he vowed to spend the rest of the day practicing — half the time with Staff of Nature’s Power, half the time with Call of the Wild.

He reached out with his Call of the Wild ability, which illuminated all the living things around him in a flash of green. With his eyes closed, he spotted the neon outline of a rabbit in the underbrush. He reached out a hand, and the rabbit twitched, heeding his call.

Come, he said.

The rabbit hopped towards him, lured by his magic. It rested around his feet, and he scooped it up with one hand. The rabbit was cute, with fluffy gray fur and a twitching nose.

“Sorry about this, dude,” he said.

Then he looked into its innocent eyes, then winced and snapped the rabbit’s neck.

It thrashed and kicked for a moment, then went limp.

You have defeated Rabbit (Remedial)! Some of this creature’s Universal Power has been transferred to you.

He extracted the health potions from the rabbit, chugged them, and then tossed the corpse to Tiberius, who caught it in his jaws.

He’d played video games before. He knew what you had to do to slowly gain power.

It was time to grind.