Pet utility.

When John clicked yes on the pop up asking him if he really wanted to call the pet Jack Frost, a loud groan came from behind him.

“You did not just call your first pet Jack Frost,” the tired voice of Cynthia rang out from behind him.

John turned around, Jack stirring and waking up, lifting his head from his master’s embrace. “Mew!” he cried out softly.

Cynthia’s eyes went wide when she saw the little leopard, her tired expression vanishing as she swooped in in front of John, her face as close to Jack’s snout as possible without touching it.

“He’s so cute!” she cried like a little girl. “So fluffy! Can I pet him John? Please? Please can I pet him?” She wiggled in place, her hand already reaching out, waiting for John’s permission to pet the little furred creature.

“Ehm, sure?” John said with a wry smile; it was strange to see Cynthia lose her cool over something cute, normally she was teasing yeah, but this was... new.

As Cynthia happily petted Jack, Arnold nudged John’s side. “If it’s cute or if it’s furry, she will want to pet it. Ever since she was a little girl, it has been like this, guess some things never change.”

Jack purred softly, licking her wrist as John rubbed the little feline’s back, his tail curling up, wrapping around John’s wrist, keeping his hand there. “Smart little fella…” John mumbled, grinning down as a cute girl petted his equally cute pet.

Arnold snickered as Marco, slightly jealous, started nudging at his hand as well. While the man stroked the birds feathers, he continued to explain a few things. “Before you leave today, I will need to teach you a few more things: how to hide Jack, how to summon him and basic pet management things.”

“Right, now that you say that, will Jack here become a tattoo as well?” John asked with a hint of worry in his voice. “If my mom sees me with a tattoo… She will probably **** me. Are you sure that there are no other ways to keep him close to me?”

Arnold shook his head, chuckling softly. “Well, yes, there are, but only for females… Sorry, John, if you want to keep Jack here, you will need to get a tat. Just be sure to place it somewhere inconspicuous. Otherwise your big ol’ girlfriend will zap him out of existence the moment you step out of the barrier.”

Why would I kill something that cute!? Oh wait, right, supreme goddess keeping magic away from normal humans… Still! Aaaw! Give Jack an extra pat for me.

John cringed from the message popping up in front of him. ‘First she gets me a pet, then she fawns over it. Gaia is weird,’ he thought.

Arnold, oblivious to the pop up, continued. “There are hunters who carry their pets around in the form of jewelry. For instance one of the other leaders has an eastern dragon, when outside of the barrier it turns into a bracelet. You, on the other hand, will need to focus on a place on your body, try to pull him into you with your mind.”

John gave a small nod. Jack was currently letting out loud purrs as Cynthia scratched under his chin. “Sorry little guy, we are going to have to see if I can keep you safe from the snarky goddess,” John whispered to the curled up little floof.

John placed his hand on Jack’s back. Focusing on the spot between his shoulder blades, he tugged on Jack with his mind, the little leopard not offering any resistance as he slowly molded onto his owner’s back. When he opened his eyes, he was greeted by two things. An angry looking Cynthia and a pop up.

If someone were to have a look at John’s back, they would see the tattoo of a small, white leopard right on his spine between his shoulders, curled up into a ball, licking his tail. The tattoo seemed to show Jack how he was outside. Who knew, maybe it would grow as Jack grew too?

Skill learned: Dismiss Pet
Turn your pet into a beautiful tattoo. Keeps it safe from the evil me outside of barriers! Will automatically be cast when leaving barriers.
cost: 0 mana

“I was not done petting him you dick!” Cynthia said with a pout, punching his arm.

“How do I release him again?” John asked Arnold as he rubbed the sore spot on his arm. While it did not make him lose hp, it did hurt a little.

“Just focus on getting him to come out again. It shouldn’t be that hard,” Arnold offered his advice.

John promptly did as instructed, closing his eyes, focusing on the tatoo, envisioning how the ink turned back into Jack.

“Mew.” Before John could open his eyes to check a happy mew was heard from his shoulder. Small teeth tugging on his ear and claws playfully pawing at his cheek.

Skill learned: Summon Pet
Get your pet out of its dismissed state. Will automatically be cast when entering barriers.
cost: 0 mana

Over the next hours, Arnold told John a few more things about how to keep Jack healthy, what he ate, apparently both mana and meat, and how to make sure Jack got enough exercise.

As it was nearing the end of the day, John decided to check in with Old Fred. Having quite the bit of money by now, he hoped he would be able to buy some extra gear, a few more arrows and maybe some armor; his school uniform would not be able to stand any more hunting trips, he thought.

He made his way to the dwarf’s workshop, Jack happily darting after him, exploring the plants and trees while never straying too far away from John.

John found the resident blacksmith sitting outside his smithy smoking a pipe.

“Hey there, laddy! I was about to come looking for ya! I have a question for ye. Arny told me that you have the power of a gamer, that you can create skills by doing things? How about you help me out tomorrow in my workshop. I am intrigued, I want to see it for myself. In return I will let you keep whatever you manage to make, how does that sound, lad?” the old dwarf asked him, his eyes showing hope and interest, as well as slight intoxication.

“Yeah, sure! I was about to come looking for you, to get some gear, but if you want, we can do that tomorrow as well. I mean, I have some cash now, so…”

Old Fred waved his hand. “Tomorrow, we’ll do it tomorrow. I am about to head out meself, going to visit a few acquaintances of mine in town.”

John simply nodded, picking up Jack, the little feline about to pounce on Old Fred’s beard when he got picked up, mewing indignantly at John only to purr when John patted his head.

“I will see you tomorrow then, Fred. Have a good evening.”

John spend a few more minutes talking to the hunters before getting driven home by Arnold.