‘How did it come to this…?’ That was the initial thought that ran through Jonathan’s mind as he sat on the large rock inside his little cave camp. Laying curled up in his lap was the tiny form of a fox cub, sleeping soundly and comfortably. The man let out a soft sigh, running his fingers through his hair as he tried to wrack his brain to remember.

“You know very well how it came to this, fucking dumbass…” Pwinx huffed, appearing on his shoulder causing the man to groan quietly, running hands down either side of his face. In that very moment the memories came flowing back to him, and it all started because of this skill. With one hand gently petting the red fox, the other opened the tome interface. Passing the inventory he took note of the new item cozily stashed in with his “weapons''.

____________________

Item Compression

____________________

Item Compression is a skill born from the insistent and continuous creation of a singular item. “What is life but a gamble…?” or in this case, what is a real gamble if you aren’t betting not just the material items, but also your very life?

Item Compression is a risk reward skill that takes items in bulk and harnesses the power of one’s mana in order to fuse them together. In turn creating a randomized, more powerful, higher tier item. The more items stacked together, the higher the chance of receiving a better item on a successful compression. Unfortunately this better item comes with additional sacrifices, with deathly increasing mana drain inflicted on the user the more items are input into the compressing stack.

Successful compressions refund 15% of all mana poured into the item without decreasing the item’s value or rarity. These deadly trade offs mean that users attempting Item Compression should use this skill at their own risk. Failed Item Compression attempts consume all the bulk materials, and no mana will be refunded, vanishing into the Aether.

Skill Rarity: Rare
User’s Familiarity: 1 / 1000

Combat Familiarity: N/A

Mana Requirements: Medium - Very High

Track Materials: Inactive

Combat Damage: N/A
Combat Range: N/A
Combat Speed: N/A
Combat Grade: N/A

Scaling Potential: S++

Enchantments: N/A
Enchantment Scaling: N/A

____________________

14 Hours Ago

“J……..ona…….Jona…..JONATHAN WAKE UP!”

Jonathan awoke with a gasp of air, his body jerking upright into the sitting position against the mossy cave wall. The rays of sunlight peeked through the hole in the cave ceiling, the heat warming his tingling feet. The man wretched, gagging on air before promptly rolling onto his hands and knees to throw up. Glowing, bioluminescent sludge poured from his gaping mouth, pooling onto the stone floor in a sickly pile. With trembling hands and a light head Jonathan got himself to his feet.

“Ughh…my head…what happened?” The man croaked with dry lips, rubbing his eyes while the world rocked from side to side. It took all he had not to vomit again, trembling where he stood.

“YOU ALMOST DIED! You fucking dumbass! Do you have ANY idea how worried I was?! If your stupid ass dies I-I wouldn’t be able to do anything!” Pwinx screamed, causing Jonathan to fall onto his ass, thankfully opposite to the vomit pile stinking up the cave with its sickly sweat stench. He clutched his head as a tidal wave of insults, some that weren't even in English were thrown in his face. This of course didn’t help the aching pain that was burrowed into his skull, wreaking havoc on his brain. The raging pink imp was flying in his face, face bright blue in anger, fists clenched, and eyes glowing the deepest shade of red.

“Whaa…what happened…? Ugh…my head, everything hurts…I feel so…drained…?” Jonathan slurred, sliding his back down the cave wall. Pwinx’s angry expression softened to a much more concerned one, sighing loudly in frustration as the infuriating man tried to understand, or make sense of anything that happened.

“You are suffering from mana cellular deficiency, your body was slowly deteriorating due to the lack of mana. Nothing in this world can exist without mana, so without it your body will gradually break down any organic material to compensate. Blood, stomach acid, muscle cells, even bone matter…until gradually you waste away. During that process your brain will draw you to the closest source of mana in order to consume it…like those mushrooms over there.” Pwinx growled, motioning to the pile of glowing fungal growths.

“NNgg…I remember eating those…but what are they? And uh…wait…do you hear that?” Jonathan’s attention steered from the dull pain resonating from his revitalized form to the faint sounds of whimpering. Over towards the dark corners of the cave, the man could see two blobs concealed by shadow. The closer he came, the louder the whimpers became. The blobs grew in detail, taking the accurate form of two foxes…or at least ONE of them could be identified as one.

“This…is what happens to creatures who are completely devoid of mana for extended periods…like the fox you drained in your feral stupor…” Pwinx mumbled, looking away from the remains of the dead fox. The adult animal was thin, its skin tightly hugging its skeleton to the point of tearing in multiple places. Its lush fur had fallen out in gray clumps, both eyes glazed over into milky white orbs. The veins were blackened, presumably the body trying to metabolize blood into mana to stave off the sudden drain.

“I…I did this…?” Jonathan looked over the disturbing remnants of the fox mother, holding his stomach as the nausea returned. “How…how could I have possibly done something like this…?” He whispered, his eyes focusing on the remains of his kill. Normally he wouldn’t feel something like this, it was an animal, a wild animal, nothing more…but something was so off about it. The way its…its pup was mourning over the remains of its presumed mother, it felt too…lifelike.

“I had no choice…I had to draw out two of the darkest remnants from Dezmond’s origin magic. Mana Sense, and Mana Vampirism, both of which were automatically triggered during your feeding frenzy…this Fox unfortunately was the closest source of sustenance. You had eaten through the mushrooms faster than the forest could regenerate them, if you hadn’t done it you would have died before the item processing could be complete.” Pwinx explained, watching sadly as the fox pup continued its mourning, whining into its mother’s belly.

“That…and the fact that if you had failed the item processing, you would have passed out before you could regain healthy mana reserves. That 15% mana refund was what kept you barely from death’s doorstep.” Pwinx mumbled, floating onto Jonathan’s shoulder while he watched the smaller pup.

Jonathan, filled with guilt, slowly approached the small creature, crouching down beside it while its muzzle continued to nestle into its mother’s belly. He tried to reach out but in an instant the small beast lashed at him, its sharp teeth sinking in between his pointer and thumb finger. It bit down hard, gnawing on the flesh, but…it didn’t hurt, instead it just felt mildly painful, never even breaching the skin.

The young creature’s jaws were weak, either from emotional distress or perhaps a youthful birth defect. With his other hand he would tightly hug the struggling beast whose eyes were filled with tears rolling down its fuzzy cheeks. When Jonathan looked into its eyes, he could see the pain, the loss, the rage, and most of all...the fear of loneliness. His hand that had been cradling the pup, while the other began soothingly stroking the top of its head after removing his hand from its maw. The three sat there, with Jonathan letting the creature bite, scratch, and thrash itself at him to let out the pent up rage. After a couple minutes the young beast fell asleep in his arms, completely drained.

“I'm sorry little one…I…I promise to make this right...I promise…”

Present

“It's the least you could do, without a mother SHE will perish, from what the stats dictate she was born with weak jaw strength, the only surviving runt of a litter...her mother was her only means of survival. Just know that if you do this, there is no going back...till death do you part.” Pwinx said firmly while watching Jonathan feed the red fox chunks of fresh fruit. After a long time of gnawing, angry yapping, and whining by her mother’s grave, the fox pup came around when Jonathan offered it food he had pulverized into juicy slop.

The animal seemed to begrudgingly accept the human’s help and his head scratches…seemingly never leaving his side. “I understand…besides, I always wanted a pet…could never have one growing up. Not to mention my lease prevented any dogs in my studio apartment.” He laughed softly, staring down at the status box displayed by the tome. “So if I accept this fox as my personal tame, it gains the benefits of the tome in full…? If that's the case, then presumably it can grow stronger under your tutelage right?” Pressing the accept key resulted in a small box popping up in his view.

Please insert name for your pet

_______

“That's correct, the tome while also bestowing knowledge on individuals under its possession, also have the added benefits of accelerated development. Knowledge is power, and such power can easily be granted to entities capable of sentience. While she isn’t the smartest of animal creatures, she is capable of improving over time…until she is able to develop enough I’ll personally see to it that she receives the proper skills for her healthy growth.” Pwinx said smoothly while Jonathan pondered on a name. After a moment of silence and watching the fox eat her fill, his eyes widened, fingers snapping at a sudden epiphany.

Please insert name for your pet

Aelita

Jonathan hit confirm causing a glimmering blue light to envelop the fox while she ate away at the fruit resting on her leafy plate. The aura of arcane energy circled around her formulating into a tiny halo with her new name hovering just above it in white text ‘Aelita’. Along with the sudden appearance of her name, the basic information for his new companion popped up just from the corner of his vision.

Aelita

Aelita, a young Red Everfree Fox orphaned during a tragic accident, given new purpose and security in the company of Overlord Dezmond. Her youth and sentience gives her great potential to flourish under the tutelage of her Overlord.
Note: While unable to perform strong biting attacks, this pup has the unique ability to move extremely quickly, with ample room for agility based skills to be learned over time.
Skills Learned: Bite (F), Claw (E), Intimidating Growl (E)
Spells Known: (None)
Resistances: Cold Damage
Weaknesses: Poison Damage
Natural Habitat: Red Foxes are commonly found in the south west regions of Equestria, however their existence can be found in the Everfree’s anomalous zone which serves as the perfect habitable zone for them to live in peace. Everfree Fox creatures obtain a unique skill allowing them to store excess mana within their body, however there are no known instances of them converting their mana into magic spells.

“Intriguingly, Everfree Foxes can store excess mana…? Maybe later along the line we can teach her some special moves. Heh…I feel like a Pokémon master…” He smiled softly, looking over his new pet’s stats. In addition to seeing her name he could see her health status which was thankfully a green 'Healthy’. He scratched his chin, thinking with a low rumble escaping his throat. ‘When I fed on her mother her excess mana might have been the reason why I was able to survive the rest of my processing skill, speaking of…’ He thought while retrieving the new dagger from within his inventory.
The dagger itself was unlike conventional stone daggers he had been crafting, this one lacked a bladed edge to it, rather a singular spike with interlocking snake skulls wrapping around the hilt. Its weight and consistency was that of premium stone, high quality for its legendary rarity. The weight was balanced evenly like a true blade, allowing Jonathan to swiftly thrust, jab, and pose with the knife in one hand.

____________________

Fang of The Gorgon

____________________

—-------------------

This blade was intricately carved from the hands of a brilliant Minotaurian craftsman from the stone flesh of his petrified brother, cursed by the claws of a Gorgon Equine. Reinforced by the raw, unadulterated rage and grief, wrapped in burned leather near the hilt, this piercing weapon perfectly replicates the petrifying effects of “Gorgon’s Petrification.” (Increase Combat Familiarity For More Lore)
Note: Rather than a dexterous style most thrusting weapons require, the weight calibration of the weapon allows the user to use their strength for each stabbing jab.
Material Repair Requirements: Petrified Stone (x8), Burned Leather Strips (x5) Great Mana Stone (3x) Gorgon Fangs (x4)-
Durability: Very High
Crafter’s Familiarity: 0 / 100
Combat Familiarity: 2 / 100
Mana Requirements: Low
Track Materials: Inactive
Combat Damage: A++
Combat Range: C++
Combat Speed: B+
Enchanting Potential: B+
Weapon Grade: S+
Weapon Damage Type: Piercing
Enchantments: Enhanced Durability (B+), Iron Stone (A+), Elemental Blade: Earth (C+)
Enchantment Scaling: A
Innate Skills: “Gorgon’s Petrification”

____________________

Gorgon’s Petrification

…………………….

“Gorgon’s Petrification” uses the concentrated power of dark nature magic, harnessed by the infamous Gorgon Equine species of the Badlands. Unlike the Cockatrice, the effects of their "Stone to Flesh" magic are not limited to the first few layers of flesh being affected. The Gorgon’s version of petrification when active freezes through and through, rendering them susceptible to the “Shattering Effect”.
Afflicted limbs or points that are shattered are incapable of being grown back, regenerated, or healed, rendering them petrified permanently or until reversed by a high tier of a “Stone to Flesh” spell.
Petrification is a slow buildup depending on the size of the creature, when the bar is filled a stack of petrification is applied across the body. Large creatures gradually lose feeling in their limbs on the first stack, the second stack petrifies the limbs, and the third stack will fully petrify the large target solid.
Note: Petrified targets take increased damage from impact damage, Lethal blows to a creature will also guarantee an instant petrification on any opponent.

____________________

“God damn, this thing is fucking CRAZY! Petrification, AND permanent dismemberment…? I gotta make sure that this thing doesn't prick my fucking fingers…” Jonathan gawked at how strong the weapon was. Such power in the wrong hands could easily drop thousands in his world, and seeing as the weapon only seems to require one stack to affect small or average sized opponents, an assassin could likely slay with this piercing blade easily.
He twirled the weapon between his fingers, the momentum of which caused it to slip from his grasp, and fly into the thick wooden roots growing along the cave walls. The weapon easily slid a couple inches in, the plant’s wooden flesh slowly turning to stone in a rapid display of the blade’s legendary powers. With trembling hands he slowly pulled the knife from the stone, holding it in both hands. “I don’t think I can use this…I-I…hmn…emergencies, I’ll only use it in an emergency, this is just…too cruel to use on someone.”

“Don’t worry Dezmond…it's understandable, petrification is one thing…but shattering someone is something else, it's painful…the stone eats away at the flesh, saturating all life until nothing is left but cold, unfeeling stone.” Pwinx said softly, his patient and kind expression shining through his annoyance for the stupid human he had been saddled up with. “But just know you’ll need to use it eventually, no matter how inhumane it might seem, you have a duty to fulfill…”

“Yea…my duty…” Jonathan stared at the dagger, a mix of emotions flowing through him as he twisted the onyx black stone in his grip, squeezing it tight. In that brief moment he hadn't realized that he was squeezing it enough for his knuckles to turn white. With a shaky sigh he closed his eyes and placed the deadly weapon into his tome inventory. “Hmn…I think it's about time we explore further out from the waterfall, we mapped out a good 8 kilometers in a square, and we should find more supplies further out from here. Pwinx…can you do a ping for any points of interest around the area I’ve explored..?”
“Right…hold on for a second…” Pwinx paused, pulling up a small screen on the tome, his eyes glowing bright blue.

There was a loud thump as blue energy rippled from where they stood. The waves of the tome’s magic resonated, through the ancient forest, rolling across rocks, around trees, and across rivers a plenty, all within the areas he had explored during his time in the Everfree. The waves came crashing back, right into Jonathan’s face as if his head had been struck with a sledgehammer of knowledge.

Everything became clear, and from what the map in the top corner of his optical screen dictated, there was a point of interest a couple 18 kilometers past the fog of war in unexplored territory. Like when he had to track the materials for his pants and other crafting projects, various icons popped up overhead, most of them coming up as question marks. If this really was scanned from his brain to act as an open world RPG, then when he got closer the name of his location should be cataloged. Where he stood was a personal heaven that he had come to call “The Grove”, its location always present in his field of view, and easily relocatable thanks to his nifty arrow guide back.

“Ok good...should be a simple journey…then again if it ends up like that run-in I’ve had with that huge Manticore, I at least have something to defend myself with. Lets try and keep a low profile…that means keeping chatter to a MINIMUM…Pwinx.” He shot the pink imp a look causing him to pout and stick his tongue out. Jonathan rolled his eyes, going to his belongings in order to pick out the perfect gear to take with him on his trip.

The tome did wonders in the way of preserving items, leaving them completely intact, fresh, and clean as they were when entering, almost as if they were frozen in time whilst in his inventory. ‘I wouldn’t put it past The Author to enchant this thing with time bending spells, perhaps I can exploit this feature later along the line?’ Jonathan shoulder his recurve bow and tied his quiver to his hip for easy access to ammunition.

Back when he was in his world he was an excellent marksman with both a bow and a pistol, having ample time to refine his craft during many summer camps. ‘Let's hope I haven’t gotten rusty…I never shot at live game before, only targets and dummy animals’ He thought to himself while slipping his stone hatchet into his leafy thigh holster.

Looking out towards the veil of water concealing his camp, he lightly bit his bottom lip. Nerves were wreaking havoc on his body, preventing him from taking that first step from his safe heaven. It wasn't until he felt something soft and warm crawl up his leg, resting on his shoulder that the cold clutches of fear were broken.

It was Aelita, she had somehow crawled up his pant leg and found her new home under his ghillie-shaw, her head poking out to sniff the side of his face. The man let out a soft chuckle, watching his new pet’s wide eyes look ahead, a comical look of determination on her little face. Seeing this filled the man with a new wave of determination allowing him to step out into the new dawn that had settled over the Everfree

Author's Note

Rarity Table

Common: White
Uncommon: Green
Rare: Blue
Legendary: Purple
Divine: Gold

(Lol sorry about the roughness this chapter, I plan to run through and tweak a few things! ^^)