Hunting the diamondback took Edge and Sasha further from town than he’d planned. By the time the serpent’s corpse was cooling in his vault, the sun was hanging low along the horizon.

  The duo feasted on snake meat and made love by moonlight, sleeping in the field and hiking back to the settlement early the next morning. He had stolen three high-rank Uncommons from the beast and fed their experience to Elemental Blade, making the trip satisfying in more ways than one.

  After dropping their haul off at Izzio’s and collecting his payment for the last load, the hunters returned to the lodge to clean up before moving on to the rest of their day.

  Edge’s next objective was to learn the basics of beast-training from Trapper and Violet. It was too important to put off until the kaiju had been dealt with. He needed to teach Rue while the pup was still young, preparing his Companion to hunt with the crew and fight by his side.

  That last part wouldn’t happen until the fox evolved to stage one, but knowing how to hide, stalk, and kill was critical to Rue’s survival, and his instruction needed to begin well before the beast battled with his life on the line.

  While he waited for the women to finish running some errands, Edge pulled up his updates.

  You have accumulated sufficient experience to cycle up your core. Your new cycle is: 37.

  You have 5 attribute points awaiting allocation.

  After thinking it through, he decided to put three points into Reflex, which was vital for dodging lethal skills like Vacuum Blast and projectile-weapon attacks. It would also be useful if something went wrong while he was moving at full speed and had to react without thinking.

  Now that using his defensive skills had become second nature, more Reflex would also help Edge activate Harden and Shadow Play in time to block or avoid the myriad dangers that were an everyday occurrence on Ord. He was saving the other two points until he came up with a strategy for battling the kaiju, keeping his options open until he had a concrete plan.

  After voicing his decision to the System, the potentia flowed out from his core and sank into his nerves and fast-twitch muscle fibers, enhancing the response time and precision of his automatic reactions. It felt like he had licked a live wire—muscles spasming until the transformative magic ran its course, leaving his body better than before.

  Trapper and Violet entered the lodge partway through the experience. While they unloaded their packs and grabbed a snack from the kitchen, Edge activated Summon Companion. Rue had been fast asleep in his dimensional den and needed a few minutes to wake up before he would be willing to listen to what anyone had to say. This lecture was for both of their benefit, and the senior hunters would be demonstrating a range of techniques while they explained them to Edge.

  The golden fox grumbled until Edge filled his bowl with food, which perked the little guy right up. “Rue. Ruerue!” the pup barked between bites, displaying an enthusiastic gluttony that would have made Skill-Eater proud.

  By the time the pup was done eating, the women had entered the common area. He was eager to hear what they had to say, but before he did anything else, it was time to check out Trapper’s new look. She wasn’t wearing a hat today and was dressed in stylish clothes that were far more striking than the hunter’s garb she normally wore to blend into the background.

  “Damn.” Edge whistled. “If looks could kill, the rest of us would be out of a job.”

  “I love it,” Sasha added on her way out the door.

  He grinned in satisfaction when Trapper blushed, twirling around so he could see the back. It was hard to crack the crew leader’s stoic demeanor, but the well-timed compliment had gotten the job done. It wasn’t just empty praise; the woman was stunning.

  Trapper had decided to get her hair cut short—layered so her bangs wouldn’t fall into her eyes. Instead of her classic sandy blond locks, she had thickened her hair and colored it in two distinct hues. One was the palest gold, and the other was pristine white. They blended to form the color of old ivory, which made the hunter look like she had sprung from the sea of grass that gave the biome its name.

  Violet let out a hearty laugh at the exchange before everyone turned their attention to Rue, who cocked his head and let out a curious chirp. “He’s so cute,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what he looks like after he evolves.”

  “And his fur is so soft.” Trapper scratched the fox behind his ears, earning an enthusiastic lick. “Now, let’s head out to the yard, and we’ll do our best to make sure you live a long, happy life.”

  The four of them stepped through the lodge’s back door and entered the yard—a spacious stretch of white grass where the beasts could run free and the crew could practice with their weapons and skills.

  Blue heard them coming and trotted over to say hello. The azure dinosaur resembled a triceratops from Earth’s primeval past but was far more intelligent. She had been a loyal member of the team since long before Trapper invited Edge to join the crew.

  Blue had grown considerably over the last few months, and Violet thought she was close to evolving to stage two. The beast’s powerful muscles shifted with every move she made, and her cerulean skin shimmered in the sunlight like tiny jewels were embedded within. Her arm-thick horns jutted out almost three feet in front of her head—tapered down to wicked spikes that could punch a hole solid steel when bolstered by her skills.

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  Rue and Blue had been best friends since the moment they’d met, and the massive dino was incredibly careful whenever the young fox was nearby. The women let them play for a few minutes before getting started. Otherwise, Blue would sulk and make a nuisance of herself until she slept it off or someone bribed her with a basket of fruit.

  “I wonder what kind of core the little guy has.” Violet smiled at the heartwarming sight. “It must be powerful since the System rated him as an Epic Companion.”

  “We’ll have a better idea once he learns his first skill.” Trapper took a seat on a bench as she thought the matter through.

  “I’ve been watching him closely,” Edge said. “So far, he hasn’t exhibited any unusual behavior other than appearing inside my core and stealing snacks from my vault—no matter how well they’re secured.”

  “None of that is even remotely usual.” Violet laughed. “But since your core is Unique, there’s no way to tease apart your influence on the Companion bond and what is coming from him. He might have an affinity for spatial magic, but that could just as easily be a red herring.”

  While the beasts frolicked in the yard, the hunters ran their eyes across the playful pup.

  Rue had gained several pounds since Edge had bonded the Companion on their trek across the Sweltering Green. None of them knew what species he was, so they had no idea how big he was going to get or how quickly he would grow. He wasn’t really a fox; it was just the closest Earthly equivalent and a convenient term to use.

  What they did know was that Rue would evolve faster than a normal beast, especially since Edge was advancing at such a rapid rate. Wild beasts cultivated mana seeds to accelerate their advancement, but Companions drew on the magic of their bond instead.

  In addition to his vulpine features, the pup looked a bit like a coyote too—with eyes more angular than either animal. The tip of his tail and the pads of his paws were white, and he had a little red stripe that ran from the top of his head to the middle of his back.

  His teeth were like daggers, and he could retract his razor-sharp claws like a cat, letting him climb better than most canines. He was fast, clumsy, and strong for his size.

  But more than anything else, Rue was smart. A fact that Trapper revealed in a dramatic fashion when she called Blue over and had the beast lie down for a while—absently scratching behind the dino’s horns while deciding where to begin.

  “Before we get started, I want to show you something.” She turned to face the little fox. “Rue,” she spoke in a calm, clear voice.

  “Sit.”

  Nothing.

  “Sit down.”

  The fox cocked his head, showing no sign that he was being addressed.

  “I haven’t taught him any tricks yet, Trapper. He doesn’t understand what…” She cut him off with the hand sign for “Be quiet and keep your eyes on me.”

  Edge closed his mouth and tried to figure out what was going on—certain that Trapper was showing him something important. She reached into a small preservation unit she kept in her backpack and pulled out a sausage.

  The instant the savory stick of meat appeared in her hand, Rue came running while whining for a piece. When that didn’t work, he tried leaping into the air and snatching it out of her hand.

  Rue was ten years too early to catch Trapper by surprise, and she laughed while pulling her arm out of reach. “Rue. If you want a piece of this sausage, then you need to learn to mind your manners and follow orders. Now, sit.”

  Then, to Edge’s utter astonishment, Rue stopped whining and sat down, staring up at the crew’s leader with a hungry gleam in his eyes. She cut off a bite and tossed it to him—gone well before it had a chance to reach the ground. When she held up the next piece, the pup sat down without being told.

  “Most beasts are more intelligent than their earthly counterparts.” She tossed Rue the slice and put the rest away, ignoring his ridiculously cute begging through sheer effort of will.

  “Something about the process of absorbing magicytes and forming a core expands their consciousness. Even still, most beasts aren’t as smart as a person…” Trapper paused for dramatic effect, “but some are. This is just a theory, but I think part of the reason why Rue is an Epic Companion is because of his brains, although I have a hunch that his magic will be impressive too.”

  “That being said,” Violet chimed in. “He’s just a child. He’s still trying to make sense of the world, and being smart can get him into just as much trouble as it can get him out of. Now, let’s dive into the details.”

  The hunters began by filling Edge in on the first stage of the beast-training process, which would end when the fox was old enough to take care of himself.

  “Since Rue was so young when his mother died,” Trapper said, “you’re going to be more like a parent to him early on. Later, that relationship will shift into something more egalitarian, but right now, it’s up to you to teach him how to behave, how to hunt, and how to survive. He’s the smartest Companion I’ve ever seen, but life in the settlement is new to him, and he doesn’t have much experience interacting with other beasts.”

  “You should let him learn from Puppet Town’s guardian beasts when he gets a little older,” Violet added. “Zen and Zero can teach him how to fight, and beasts have ways of instructing each other that are invaluable in their own way. Spending some time in the field with Alice’s crew would be a good idea too. She has a special touch and is the most gifted trainer I know.”

  “Back to the matter at hand,” Trapper picked up where her friend left off. “The first and most important step is to establish trust, which is why I didn’t teach you any of this while we were traveling through the jungle. Now that you have deepened your bond, gentle, corrective disapproval from you should be all the motivation he needs to remedy any bad behaviors.

  “He’s not really a fox, but he is a predatory omnivore, which means he’ll have a natural inclination to steal food, chase chickens, and the like. He will try to be territorial about you and anyone else he considers family, so you need to teach him that while it’s usually okay for people to get close, strangers can be dangerous too.”

  Violet nodded, then said, “Since Rue is a Companion, he can activate your Summon Companion skill as long as you’re in range. You need to train him to enter his pocket dimension whenever he gets into trouble. It’s a safe place from a dangerous world, but it won’t do him any good if he gets hurt before he vanishes.

  “As the little furball cycles up, his senses will grow incredibly sharp—comparable to what core-wielders can achieve with sensory-enhancing skills. You can teach him all kinds of useful techniques—everything from foraging for mana seeds to locating elusive prey. He’ll probably pick up a sensory power of his own at some point, which will turbocharge his Perception and help him deal with stealthy enemies.

  “On that note, it’s your responsibility to impart tactics for surviving on his own, fighting by your side, and running with a crew. As a Companion, he won’t range as far from you as an ordinary beast, but it’s important for him to be able to deal with threats himself. Now, let me demonstrate some exercises you can take him through anywhere, and we’ll wrap things up for today.”