Pet overload.

John got to his feet despite his pets refusing to let go of him. With Toph on his shoulder and Jack coming up to his knees, John walked up to Arnold, the leopard circling around him with every step he took, for once actually resembling a cat in behavior and not a dog. “What can I do for you?” John asked as he scratched Jack between his ears, a loud purring sound clearly audible on the open space.

“I have no idea what this egg is; I have seen many things that carry similarities to it, but not all at once. And that is without Mimi’s additions,” Arnold spoke as he showed the egg to John. He had seen the egg before, but while he was ‘busy’, Mimi had, with a black marker, drawn a goofy smile on it, as well as adding two big round googly eyes.

“You have a scrying-like ability, right? Can you give it a look? Because all I can tell you is that this is an egg,” Arnold said with a slightly peeved look. John guessed it wasn’t every day that he would have to admit to not knowing something within his field of expertise; on the other hand, the hopeful look he gave John told him that whatever it was, Arnold was excited to learn about it.

John decided to just try it, casting Observe on the egg.

Brown Spotted egg
An egg acquired by Mimi Derpsnek during a nightly derp session. According to the Abyssal law stating: “If you lick, you own it,” Mimi is now the egg’s owner. (No, that is not a real law, grow a sense of humor, you prick.)

John tried the skill again, but it was not showing him anything else, the same joke by Gaia making up most of the message.

“I’m sorry Arnold. It only shows me that Mimi got it during a nightly derp session, whatever that may be, and that she has licked the egg. Don’t ask me why, Gaia decided to be snarky on this one.”

Arnold nodded, then shrugged. “Well, then I guess we will have to see what happens when it hatches. It’s not like a small creature can deal a lot of damage with an entire camp looking after Mimi.” He then turned to Mimi, ruffling her snakes and patting her head, to which the small gorgon yelled: “Yay, pats!” “Take good care of the egg, cuddle it, keep it warm, and don’t crack it, okay? If you do, a new friend might come out of it!”

Mimi nodded vigorously, glomping the egg straight away and rolling off with it. Literally, Mimi wrapped her body around the egg and, with a bit of help from her snakes, rolled into the direction of the tents.

“Is she, you know, like, right in the head?” John asked softly as Arnold waved at the leaving gorgon.

“Yeah, she is, especially here in the Abyss, she’s one of the normal ones,” Arnold responded with a chuckle.

John decided not to bother asking further; the only things Mimi seemed to get him were laughs and headaches, and he didn’t particularly want one of the latter category.

A soft peep on his shoulder and the clawing on his leg helped him remember what he was doing here though. “The stuff Miranda and Cynthia brought back along with me, where is it?” he asked Arnold who was in the process of turning away from him.

“The wooden chest there. Lucky for you, they managed to take the creature’s heart with them, otherwise it might have spelled trouble for your mission,” the older hunter said with a mirthful smile. “If you need me, I will be inside the wooden building over there, tending to our newest addition to the camp. You should join me later, seeing as, by law of the hunt, the nightmare foal is yours. "

John nodded, waving in way of greeting before moving to the chest. Just as he wanted to have a look at the contents, a pop up appeared in his face, a message of sorts.

Right, you had some fun. Here’s your achievement spam, don’t look at me, I do have other things to do now and then than to give you ‘chieves, ya know. Gaia.

Achievement unlocked: Three is a party, four is a crowd
Have a threesome with your girlfriend and another girl.
Reward: Lib +1

Achievement unlocked: Don’t call me daddy
Make sure you don’t impregnate a girl multiple times in a row.
Reward: +1 Wis

Threshold reached 25 Libido
Skill unlocked: Fertility
Fertility: Able to switch your fertility on and off with but a thought, useful, for a pervert like you.

Achievement unlocked: Every sperm is sacred
Waste more than two litres of sperm in less than an hour.
Cumshot volume increased by 20%

Achievement unlocked: Be a man
Fuck one partner into a tuckered out mess.
Reward: +1 End

Achievement unlocked: Loverboy
Fuck two partners into a blissful slumber.
Reward: +1 End

Achievement unlocked: Chocolate Vanilla Sundae
Cum all over an ebony beauty.
Yeah, Gaia didn’t give you this one, that was quite the show, boy. Cernunnos.

John looked at the flurry of popups, groaning loudly. “You are completely ruining the mood here, Gaia, Cernunnos, please..."

After settling his thoughts, he popped the chest open. Inside he saw quite a large pile of items. A large, black heart lay on top of it all. This was the item he was most interested in right now. He stared at it, picking it up and feeling a static shock from it.

Heart of the Nightmare
The heart of the corrupted creature known as a Nightmare, pumped the corrupted blood through the creature’s veins, a powerful item.
Quest item

He looked at Jack and then at the heart. “You ready for this, big guy?”

Jack mewed happily, crouching down on the ground, his muscles tensing. John threw the heart into the air, Jack pouncing after it and swallowing it in one big gulp. When Jack landed back on the ground, light starting to pour from his eyes, a similar light started pouring from John’s eyes soon after. On his back, an ice crystal joined the tattoo, located between his shoulder blades. The lights grew intenser. As they looked at one another, the lights intertwined, and then they died. Moments later Jack let out a powerful roar, causing the surroundings to quiet down for a second. John felt his bond with Jack change, deepen, as if by overcoming the trial together they had become more as one, understanding each other better.

A popup flared up, along with a new skill.

Quest completed:
The road to pawberty
Together with Jack, hunt the nightmare of the endless forest and let Jack eat its heart.

Reward: Wildform lvl 1

Skill unlocked: Wildform lvl 1
Temporarily morph part of your body into a form resembling one of your pets’ body parts. When used with your targeted pet unsummoned, the strength of the body part is increased 1.5 times. Can only be used with pets you have completed the hunt with.
Max duration: In combat: 30 seconds. Out of combat: 5 minutes (Upon entering combat with more than 30 seconds remaining, time will shorten relatively to the remaining time.)
Cost: 1 Charge of Primal Rage.
Primal Rage: pet skill specific resource. Max charges: 5. Recharge rate: 1 charge per 2 hours or to max during a full night sleep (additional charges are gained every 3 levels)

John was amazed, immediately using the skill, and seeing his hand transform into a white furred panther claw, he wiggled his fingers, watching the clawed paw move in sync. He slightly focused, and the claws came out; he swished them through the air with a look of awe on his face. Jack happily mewed at him as he placed his own paws on his lap. John scratched Jack between his ears after retracting the claws, grinning while ruffling the feline’s hair.

“You gave me a great skill, buddy; in the end, it might just be worth dying for,” he mumbled, to which Jack snarled at him.

“Joking! I was joking!” John quickly retracted his statement to the amusement of Toph and Jack.