He could not believe what he was seeing. Sitting amongst the loot was a dark green egg. John and Tommy looked at each other in amazement. There was no news about pets in any of the data released. But sitting there was an egg; surely it was some kind of pet. Picking up the large fist-sized egg, John checked its details.
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Mutated duck egg: (Uncommon)
Bind with the egg to create a bond. Once bonded, the egg will hatch, and the player can summon them as a pet from their soul space.
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This was amazing. it was highly likely it was the first pet in the game. Handing the egg to Tommy, John said, "Here Tommy, you should bind with this. I don't think pets are going to be easy to find, and I have my beastmaster class. If we grind to level 4 here, I can tame a duck and cover up my class by saying it was an egg." Tommy took the egg and quickly bonded with it. This was perfect. Right now, its high attack working alongside Tommy's defense build would give the two a boost in DPS. As the binding was complete, the egg started to move and crack till a small duck broke free, looked at Tommy, and started quacking like he was its mother.
{Regional Announcement: Silverback has found the region's first pet egg, rewarding 200 reputation points.}
{Title Gained: First Pet Owner - Grants double XP to pets when equipped.}
John read the regional announcement and said, "Tommy, that's the first time there has been a system announcement like that. Bro, you're going to be famous! This is great." Tommy looked conflicted. He just got something amazing, but he felt the title would have been better off with John. After all, he was a beast master and would have countless pets. Showing John the reward he got, Tommy said, "Sorry John, this should have been for you. It would have been much more useful in your hands." John, upon seeing the title, noticed something. The title said "pets," while John's beast master skill "Beast Frenzy" states "companions," not "pets." It was highly likely he was under a different system than the pet system, and even if it would have worked, no one would know. So there was no harm in assuring Tommy that it was useless to him. Another system prompt came up in front of Tommy.
** **
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Do you wish to name your pet?
Yes\/No
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** **
Clicking the "yes" button, Tommy typed in the name "Quackers." It was a cute little thing with black feathers and a silver ring around its neck. He guessed it would grow as it leveled up, and for now, would just leech off him. It would slow down his leveling pace, but it would soon pay its way. Bringing up its profile, Tommy shared it with John as they looked through it.
** **
———————————————————— Name: Quackers
Elite mutated duck (uncommon)
Level: 1
Hit points: 40
XP: 0\/50 (shares 20% of player's XP)
Stats:
- Strength: 12
- Agility: 12
- Intelligence: 9
- Constitution: 9
Health points: 70
Mana: 90\/90
Defense: 9
Skills:
- Beak stab: L1 0%
Damage: 8-10
5% chance to cause bleeding, losing 2 HP per second for 4 seconds
Cooldown: 0
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** **
Looking through the stats, another shock was waiting for them. This little fella was an elite. These types of creatures in games were always higher class than your standard mob, with higher growth rates. This was a jackpot. Its damage output, even at level 1, was impressive. It had little defense and was a pure glass cannon. How it would hold out and its usefulness would only be revealed with time. After the excitement died down, John checked out the other drops. There were 10 copper coins and 3 duck feathers. Taking the 3 feathers for himself and splitting the money with Tommy, who refused to take any of the money, he gained a pet after all. Tommy then proceeded to pull out a small knife and gut and skin the duck. Quackers was quaking and flapping around until it ran and hid behind John's leg. "Ha! I guess I should have put Quackers in my soul space before doing this." Tommy finished up and gathered another 2 feathers, 1 duck liver, and 1 duck meat. Giving John the feathers, he put the liver and meat away. Tommy had taken a bit of a pounding in their last fight, so after moving away from the dead carcass to calm Quackers down, they stopped to heal and restore mana, discussing strategies on how to combat these ducks. After discussing it, they decided on John taking the lead in the next fight, kiting it. He needed to practice to improve, and this was also a good plan of attack. The mutated duck was quick, but John was quicker. If he got into any trouble, Tommy could take the aggro to give John space and time, then rinse and repeat. It was a solid plan, and they set off in search of their next target. Not too long afterward, they spotted their prey, a lone mutated duck asleep. John stayed crouched in the bushes, not rushing out but first surveying the landscape, noting all the potential places that could block him off, course him to trip or otherwise hinder him. He may be a noob at this side of VR gaming, but he was not stupid. He had a logical mind and good spatial awareness, mixed with his own acceptance of his combat limitations. He took time to plan and increase his chances as best he could. This was a test. Tommy had carried him so far, taking all the risks, and had even died once, while John had taken literally one hit when he had accidentally aggroed a second rabbit behind him. Fully prepared, he stepped out into the clearing, creeping into range slowly so as to not wake it up. He took aim; it was a free shot. Letting his arrow fly, it flew straight and true, landing directly in the duck's left eye, releasing a shrieking quack! The mutated duck leapt to its feet, [Critical Damage 25]. Taking an extra moment to locate John, blinded in its left eye, John took advantage of this small gap and let another arrow loose, lodging it into the duck's large body [Damage 20]. The mutated duck charged towards him, giving him no time to back away. Its speed... Was this a charge skill? No time to consider it and no room to retreat. There was no time to think as the duck charged towards him. Tensing up, ready to take the hit, he felt a wind and the feel of feathers lightly brushing his arm. The mutated duck, with its sight lost in one eye and its perception severely damaged, had missed its attack and shot past John. Taking the opportunity, John jumped back, keeping to the duck's blind side. He fired two quick arrows [Damage 20] [Damage 20] the duck. Getting a view of John again, the duck ran towards him, this time at a much slower pace, meaning it was a skill. The first duck they fought was already close at the start, so charge was not effective. Maybe this was why it never used this skill, or maybe they had different skillsets? He could consider this later. For now, he had to fight, backing away. The duck could not approach him as well. Slowly, he was whittling down the duck's health. It may take some time and effort, but this battle was firmly within John's control. When suddenly, the back of his foot sank further than expected - a pothole he had not seen. Stumbling backwards, John lost all semblance of balance and fell to the floor. The duck closing in, he managed to regain his footing, but before he could react any further, the mutated duck launched into another charge attack [Damage 25]. And worse still, John was stunned for 2.5 seconds. There was nothing John could do as the mutated duck lunged forward to attack again. Just as its beak was about to land, Tommy appeared behind it, using Intimidating Roar. The duck instantly changed its focus, swinging away from John and looking for its new tormentor with its one good eye. It found Tommy just as his axe came crashing down on the center of its head, [damage 19]. In a rage, the mutated duck prepared to use Wing Slash, but Tommy, fully prepared for this, activated Inciting Strikes, bringing his sword down [critical damage 30]. The mutated duck, with its health almost completely drained, staggered back from the force of the blow. Without having a moment to recover, a small duck darted in, its beak slamming into the larger duck's side, [damage 6]. And just like that, the mutated duck collapsed [Mugs 20 XP] [Silverback 16 XP] . Quakers, seemingly not finished, attacked the dead mutated duck a few more times before proudly walking towards Tommy. John's stun debuff wore off, and he joined the pair by the corpse. Would there be another egg?