Jarvis was resting under a grand tree, comfortable in Whitelash's fur.
The tree shuffled slightly before continuing to remain still. It was the Tree Golem, it had finally recovered back to its original shape. Jarvis dozed off, the warm atmosphere wrapping around him like a blanket.
A voice entered his ear, "Oi! Are you really going to do nothing before your match?"
Jarvis faintly nodded and mumbled something incoherent. Until he felt a small pinch on his cheek.
A small face appeared in the corner of his vision, "Ack, why are you lazing about?! Why are you so careless?!"
Jarvis answered, "Why stress over it?"
"What if you lose?! You don't want to be a letdown to your team right?!"
"Mm, while that's true. Agonizing over it will cause more harm than good. This place is too unpredictable, plans and strategies are almost useless. So why not rest in order to be in tip-top shape?"
"Ugh!"
"You fret too much Loni, just relax."
Loni frowned before slowly floating down and sitting on Whitelash, "I still think this is irresponsible. . ."
Loni was the result of the egg Jarvis received after the fight with Rygeth. To his shock it was actually a fairy! Her size was about equal to Jarvis' palm, small translucent wings on her back.
Fairies were a powerful race, to think he had the opportunity to have one as a pet! Though he didn't treat her as one, instead he treated her like an individual of equal status. As he did all his tames.
Soon enough the warm atmosphere returned and they dozed off. The group slept comfortably until Jarvis slowly awoke to several notifications pinging him.
Rubbing his eyes he stared at them before jolting awake.
The sudden movement startled the group as they immediately searched for danger. Loni asked, "What's wrong?"
"I'm late!"
It took a moment for the realization to set in. Loni quickly reprimanded, "See! I told you it was irresponsible! Let's go back quickly!"
Loni flew towards Jarvis neck and seemingly melted into his skin. After she vanished a tattoo symbol appeared on the side of his neck. This was a feature with pets, they would be able to become a tattoo on the player's body to prevent issues with the much bigger ones.
He quickly returned Whitelash and the Tree Golem into the book and pulled out a scroll. As the teleport sequence continued he grit his teeth and mumbled, "Cmon. . ."
Thud~
Jarvis' eyes snapped to an arrow embedding itself into the ground near him. Suddenly the scroll fell to the ground, as if losing all life.
He grit his teeth as he saw the notification:
He looked at a group of players approaching him menacingly. The one who shot the arrow threatened, "Hand over your equipment!"
Jarvis clenched his fists, he didn't have time for this.
The Book flew out in front of him, pages flipping quickly. Once at the correct page the colorful paint flew out in the shape of a wonderful large crane.
Jarvis quickly leapt on their back, "Sorry Neorvil! But we have to make it to the kingdom!"
Neorvil understood the situation, "What about them?"
"Some lowlife bandits I guess, bind them and let's go."
"Alright."
The player bandits found thick roots suddenly binding them to the ground, making them unable to move an inch. Neorvil flapped her wings and began to ascend into the air. Jarvis called out, "I'm late for something! Take this time to reflect on your actions! The binding will be undone in four hours!"
Jarvis lowered his voice and spoke to Neorvil, "With haste please."
Neorvil flapped her wings and took off, soaring through the sky with ease.
Jarvis didn't go too far from the Kingdom, so in a few moments he could already see the grand wall surrounding the place. Jarvis pointed, "There."
Neorvil dived down, descending like a missile. Many players were spooked upon seeing something approaching at high speeds. However were quickly dumbfounded.
Neorvil slowed her momentum just before they were about to meet a cruel fate. Jarvis hopped off and returned her to the Book as he quickly raced inside.
He brushed past the players, giving out apologies as he rushed forward. Spotting his party he quickly greeted them with an apology, "Sorry! I'm here!"
Kan'na clicked her tongue, "Tsk Tsk Tsk, he gave three minutes before our match is forfeit. You barely made it."
"I'm sorry!"
"Well let's not waste the little time we have left."
They entered the matchup room to see the enemy team surprised that they arrived. One greeted, "Oh, you're finally here. I thought you'd chicken out."
Jarvis apologized, "Sorry, I overslept."
"You-"
The time finished ticking and they were sent into the arena. The arena this time was a set of ruins located in a forest. The Book of Life flipped through its pages as Jarvis selected his chosen tames.
The Quintuplet Man-Eaters, Bo and To, and Seeth. There was no need to bring out the Sages for this minor battle.
Bo and To took to the sky to scout. Seeth tunneled underground, ready to collapse the earth. The Quintuplet Man-Eaters bound off into the forest, ready to tear through the opponents.
Jarvis climbed a tree and nestled within its thick branches. He then focused whilst closing his eyes.
A blurry vision came through, he was above the forest. His vision tilted downwards as it skipped across the leaves.
As his bond grew with his tames Jarvis found he was able to share more senses with them. For Bo and To, it was vision. Although it wasn't perfect, it was still helpful.
The vision suddenly locked onto a target, a figure was visible through a gap between the leaves. Bo and To quickly swooped down, aiming to get a closer look.
Meanwhile Jarvis gave directions to the Man-Eaters and Seeth.
"Why'd it have to be a forest?!"
"We can't choose the map, no point in complaining now."
"Ha, I shall let the universe know of my complaints!"
Jarvis watched as the enemy team bickered among themselves. However one member paused and looked up towards Bo. Yet after only a momentary glance, they looked away and continued along with the team.
Jarvis pulled out a small branch and snapped a small twig off it. He placed the twig between his teeth and began to gently chew. It was a treat he stumbled upon, now growing at their house. It tasted faintly of cinnamon.
Jarvis savored the taste before sighing, "Is it a ramshackle team? Or is someone intentionally hiding their strength?"
He shook his head, "What is this? A novel?"
He made a mental note on the time, the Quintuplet Man-Eaters should arrive at the location soon. The moment they're occupied with dealing with them, he would send Bo and To to assist.
He suddenly pinched his chin, a bold idea forming.
"Huh? What are those..?"
Someone gasped, "They're adorable! High little guys! What's your names?"
The little furry creatures looked up, nose twitching. They tilted their heads, confused on what they were asked.
The person who greeted them almost had a heart attack from their adorable looks. They held out a hand, "I'm friendly! How about you little guys?"
Another member placed a hand on their sheathed weapon, "Careful, it could be a trap."
The furry creatures were crawling around the ecstatic player, "Cmon, these guys are adorable! Look at them go-!"
The enemy team witnessed the horrifying sight of their teammate being devoured. Faster than they could react the player soon turned to white light.
They gathered in a circle, incredibly cautious with the fuzzy creatures that were now covered in blood.
The creatures looked at the enemy team and tilted their heads, however the sight was not as adorable as it was just earlier.
The team cautiously retreated away, yet the fuzzy creatures followed them. A moment later, their focus was shattered by two birds. Both swooping down and attacking them.
The team fled for cover, spotting some ruins. They raced inside, only daring to take a breath when they were no longer being attacked by the birds.
Despite them wanting to take a breather, they instead kept intense watch on the entrances. Wary of five small fuzzy creatures.
Yet nothing came.
This only intensified their concern. Tripling their concentration they focused intently at anything that could possibly pose any danger.
Suddenly someone spoke, "Wait! Something feels off-!"
The ruins shook and suddenly collapsed inward, burying everyone in rubble and dirt.
Jarvis smiled, "Bullseye. I wonder, who survived? If they all died from that then we should already know."
Yet despite him looking at it through a bird's eye. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
Besides the fresh rubble of old stone, dirt, and plants of course.
Jarvis pinched his chin, "Hmm, is that what you want? Fine then, I'll bite."
Pages fluttered and a deer appeared, a singular curled horn on its head.
Jarvis hopped on Staff's back and urged him towards the ruins of the ruin.
He murmured to himself, "What trap do you have in store?"