Osamaru Ta
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(WLTK) B2 - Chapter 18: "Level Up!"
🕑 Added 2025-07-04 05:28:57 +0000 UTC——————————————————
Sunday, October 3rd, 2253 - 6:12 am
The Mystical Menagerie.
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The city outside was little more than a hush of tires and the distant clang of a trolley as Jeremiah slipped the lock on the Menagerie’s front door. The shop was quiet — soft as breath, soft as the pale gold seeping in through the high windows. He took a moment just to breathe it in: the mingled scent of old wood, coffee grounds, and the faintest tang of fresh hay and kitten fur. Another new day, another chance.
He set the kettle to boil behind the counter, then crossed to the front counter, catalogue tucked under his arm. The Quantum Shopper’s Catalogue was more than just a clever bit of System magic — it had become his morning ritual. He pressed his thumb to the embossed cover to activate the administrative features and opened its cover. The Bookkeeper feature pulsed to life, luminous script rising across the page in neat, flickering lines.
Most of the sales data was what he expected: scattered, inconsistent, little blips here and there for treats, birdseed, and those novelty catnip mice Sally insisted on buying every time she stopped in. Jeremiah was certain the old grocer didn’t even own a cat. It looked a little like static on a screen — no clear trends, not yet. A week’s worth of data wasn’t much to work with, especially for a shop so new.
But to his surprise, something new greeted him in one section. The catalogue chirped, drawing his eye to a bolded suggestion in the margin:
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Recommendation: Consider restocking specialty teas and berry pastries. Cafe items account for 42% of total repeat sales. Customer dwell time increasing.
——————❇——————
Jeremiah blinked, then grinned. This was the first time the catalogue had given anything other than pure data. Even if it wasn’t too useful at the moment, a small, foolish pride lit in his chest. The cafe was working. People lingered, brought friends, sometimes bought nothing more than a cup and a croissant, but they returned. In a place like the Crossroads, that counted for something.
He closed the catalogue and set it aside, feeling a little lighter as he turned to the day’s real work. The puppies greeted him with an explosion of barking, tails spinning like fans as they tumbled over each other in the early sunlight. Their Twin Boundaries-marked collars gleamed faintly at the edges of his vision, the invisible fence holding them back from their usual campaign against the pastry case. Tosh had developed a habit of staging daring raids, only to bounce harmlessly off the unseen barrier and retreat, yipping in confusion, to plan anew.
“Morning, troublemakers,” Jeremiah said, laughing as he scattered a handful of chew toys in the cafe area. The puppies dove on them, all flailing paws and happy chaos.
Milo yawned from his cushion and watched the puppies rush around. He’d joined them on occasion over the week, and the elderly dog’s stoic presence seemed to be tempering the puppies more… impulsive ideas. Most of the time, however, the old basset hound was content to watch the shop from his cushion in its now permanent place, never to the front counter.
That this just so happened to be the optimal place for head pats and the occasional treat from customers needed no mentioning.
Jeremiah grabbed a bag of kibble and made his way to Sissy’s enclosure, pausing at the quiet hush within. The kittens were awake, blinking sleepily, one or two already tottering on unsteady legs. Their eyes, still more blue than gold, tracked him with wide, wondering stares.
Jeremiah was halfway through refilling the water dish when a flash of brown and gold caught his eye. Sissy landed on the floor with a single, elegant leap. Her first venture out since the scare earlier that week. She didn’t even look back, just slunk toward the cafe window — just out of reach of the puppies — and stretched out in a patch of sunlight, tail twitching in exhausted satisfaction.
Jeremiah set the dish aside, stifling a laugh. Ever since some of the kittens had begun to take their first wobbly steps out of the cathouse, Sissy had been in a never ending battle to keep them contained.
He looked at the exhausted mama and grinned. “You’ve earned it,” he murmured before reaching into the enclosure and moving a particularly adventurous kitten back to their siblings. The tiny kitten mewed angrily up at him as he did. It seemed the spice was genetic.
He shook his head, grinning, and went to pour his tea, watching the steam curl up from the chipped mug, letting the warmth bleed into his fingers. For a few precious seconds, Jeremiah let himself drift with the familiar routine. The scent of bergamot, the distant shuffle of puppies in the cafe, and Milo’s steady, comforting breathing behind the counter. It was the kind of slow morning peace he’d started to treasure. He reached for the honey, meaning to add a touch of sweetness, when a faint ripple skittered up his spine—a sensation neither physical nor entirely mental. It came from the bond, a subtle tug at the back of his mind, and it was unmistakably Billy.
Jeremiah glanced up, his brow furrowing. The little kraken floated absolutely still in his bowl, tentacles splayed and golden eyes fixed unwaveringly on him. There was something uncanny about that look—too intent, too focused for mere curiosity. He set the mug down and moved to the front desk, drawing a chair close so they were nearly eye to eye.
“Hey, Billy,” he said softly, resting his arms on the counter. “What’s wrong, little guy?”
Since the attunement, their connection had grown into something deeper — more a tangled mix of feelings and impressions than words, but more… expressive. It wasn’t quiet telepathy, not really, but Jeremiah had learned to recognize the shapes of Billy’s moods: the fizzing delight of playtime, the cool ripple of curiosity, the sharp, stinging surge of alarm. Now, what he felt through the bond was something new. Aching, unsteady, quietly insistent.
Billy didn’t move, save for a lazy puff of bubbles that spiraled to the surface. Jeremiah focused, reaching along their connection, prodding gently at the emotion bleeding through. It was tangled with something bittersweet. Longing, maybe, tinged with a kind of sadness he’d never quite felt from Billy before.
Images drifted into his mind, too fleeting and rough-edged to be true memories, but the idea and feeling behind them was clear enough: the wild chaos of puppies tumbling beneath Jeremiah’s hands, the velvet softness of a kitten’s fur beneath his palm, Milo leaning heavily against his leg while he worked the late to finish clean. Each flash was underscored with a gentle ache, a loneliness too big for words.
Jeremiah’s lips curled into a sad, knowing smile. He let out a breath, poking the tiny kraken’s bowl. “You’re jealous, aren’t you?” he murmured, keeping his voice low and gentle.
Recognition — soft, uncertain — warmed the bond, and Billy shifted, one tentacle stretching out as if to touch him. The emotion was wordless, but the shape of it was unmistakable: Billy had noticed the change, too. The days of constant companionship and quiet, private moments had faded beneath the endless shuffle of shop routines and customer chatter. He was still always there, at Jeremiah’s side or bobbing on the counter, but lately, it had been in the margins. Looking on through clear glass, but rarely a part.
A pang of guilt twisted in Jeremiah’s gut. He tried not to let it bleed into the bond, tried to keep the apology clean and gentle. “I’m sorry, Billy,” he said quietly, leaning closer. “Things have just gotten so busy lately. The shop, the animals, customers… I guess I forgot how much time we used to spend together. That was never about not wanting you around, you know. You’re not just another pet. You’re my partner in all this. My favorite.”
He tried to project those feelings back, shaping them with care — a memory of warm water and laughter, a sense of home, the unspoken promise that no amount of chaos would ever change what Billy meant to him. He watched Billy soak it in, gold eyes shining. The ache softened, curiosity and hope bubbling up in its place. Billy didn’t entirely understand, Jeremiah knew. But he felt enough.
“You know what?” Jeremiah said, voice brightening. “How about a treat?”
He reached behind the counter, rummaging through the hidden stash of supplies until his fingers closed around the foil-wrapped package. With a practiced flourish, he unwrapped a kracker — a kaleidoscopic square that shimmered with iridescent colors, each angle flashing with hints of blue and green and violet. Billy’s tentacles snapped to attention, all earlier melancholy forgotten in a surge of delighted anticipation.
Jeremiah grinned, breaking off a corner and dropping it into the bowl. Billy snatched it out of the water in a blur of tentacles, crunching it down with gusto. “Easy there,” Jeremiah laughed, “it’s not going anywhere.” He broke off another piece, feeding it to Billy in smaller chunks, relishing the bright pulse of joy that radiated through their bond. For a few minutes, it was just them again. No customers, no responsibilities, just the simple, wordless happiness of sharing something special.
When Billy finished the last crumb, swirling around his bowl in triumph, a shimmer rippled across Jeremiah’s vision — a System window blooming into being above the counter.
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Bond Points Achieved: 50/50
[Billy Bridge - Polaris Kraken] — Bond Level Up!
Bond Level: 2
• Beast Skill Slots +2
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Jeremiah blinked at the floating text, surprise warring with sudden, bubbling laughter. “Well, look at you,” he said, reaching out to tap the glass. “Guess you’re not the only one who needed a little reminder. Looks like we just leveled up, buddy.”
Billy chirred, spinning in a dizzy loop, and Jeremiah let the joy radiate outward, chasing away any last traces of neglect. For the first time in days, he felt whole again — reconnected, balanced on the edge of something new, with Billy right there beside him.
Jeremiah stared at the pulsing System window, its gold and violet edges shimmering with the same low-key excitement that fluttered in his chest. Two new Beast Skill slots. The realization hit with a fizz of adrenaline — he could feel the corners of his mouth twitching up, anticipation stirring in his belly. After how much [Kraken’s Grasp] had changed the game, the prospect of unlocking something new was too tempting to ignore.
He barely resisted the urge to stand and pace. Instead, he slid his mug of tea aside, wiped his palms against his vest, and summoned the familiar interface with a practiced flick of will.
The System wallet materialized, crisp and reassuring.
—✦—
Quantum Marks: 324
—✦—
Jeremiah exhaled slowly, a faint grin tugging at his lips. That was a far cry from the fifty marks he’d had when he’d bought his first Skill. For a heartbeat, he hesitated, eyes skimming the neat lines of his account. He’d made a habit lately of funneling every spare mark back into the Menagerie: better food, fresh inventory, new tools to ward off trouble. But as he let his gaze drift over the tidy, sunlit shop, Jeremiah realized there was nothing critical left to buy. Not right now. The Mystical Menagerie was the best it was going to be. At least until he started pulling in some serious marks.
And it wasn’t just his shop that needed strengthening. Every day brought new threats — some subtle, some not. Investing in himself, in Billy, in the bond they shared, wasn’t just indulgence. It was insurance.
“All right,” he whispered, rolling his shoulders to shake off the last of his uncertainty. “Let’s see what we got.”
With a silent command, he navigated through the bond menus, flicking to Billy’s entry. The shop window slid open. Clean, intuitive, pulsing with an eager promise. For a split second, Jeremiah’s heart thudded, old nerves surfacing. The last time he’d been here, Kraken’s Grasp had cost nearly everything he’d had. Now he felt the same giddy nerves, but this time with real freedom.
Except… something was different. The shop wasn’t the same as before.
The old options were still visible. [Bioluminescent Bling], [False Flow], even [Nerve Net] which still called to him, despite the cost. But now, new options, more than he remembered, blinked at him with a subtle invitation.
Jeremiah froze, his eyes wide, pulse quickening as he scanned the list. There were skills here he was certain hadn’t been there just a week ago. Mero’s warning to check the stores often as they would change and update as time passed, flickered through his mind and Jeremiah grinned.
The old excitement and a rush of cautious awe mingled in his chest, and for a long moment, he just sat there, the rest of the world dropping away.
Billy floated closer, golden eyes intent, as if he could sense the moment too.
Jeremiah let a slow grin curl across his lips. “Looks like you’ve been holding out on me, Billy,” he murmured, voice low with wonder.
He leaned closer to the screen, ready to see just what the future had put in reach.
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〖Beast Skill Shop〗
[Polaris Kraken] - [Infant] - G Rank
[Quantum Marks]: 324
—✦——✦—
Inkjet Veil
Rank: G – Physical/Supernatural
Type: Active
Description: “If you can’t solve it, cloud it.”
Release a dense, shimmering ink cloud in water (or a misty vapor in air), instantly obscuring vision in a three-meter radius for up to twenty seconds. In aquatic environments, the ink disperses naturally; in air, it falls as fine particulate. The cloud is laced with trace mana, providing limited protection against basic magical detection and sight-based skills, and faintly disrupting most mundane tracking for several minutes. Bonus: The ink is mildly adhesive and tastes terrible.
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Requirements: Water nearby or high humidity.
Cost: 40
—✦——✦—
Split Second
Rank: G – Physical
Type: Active
Description: “Sometimes, running away is the bravest move.”
Activate this skill to boost your speed and reaction time for a single moment of crisis. Your body enters a burst state, letting you dodge, sprint, or react at blinding speed for up to three seconds (subjectively feels longer). Adrenaline and mana flood your system, but fatigue sets in immediately afterward — extended use risks dizziness or fainting.
———
Requirements: Biological body.
Cost: 45
—✦——✦—
Hydrostatic Shift
Rank: G – Physical
Type: Passive
Description: “Sometimes, you need to be squishier than your problems.”
You gain conscious control over the water content in your tissues, allowing you to alter your firmness, shape, or size slightly. Squeeze through gaps, flatten your body, or puff up in a show of intimidation. Not true shapeshifting, but enough to escape ropes, slip through tight bars, or play dead with surprising authenticity.
———
Requirements: Body must contain >60% water by mass.
Cost: 50
—✦——✦—
Resonance Echo
Rank: G – Supernatural
Type: Active
Description: “If you can’t find the answer, ask the world.”
Emit a short-range mana pulse that “pings” nearby magical objects, enchantments, or sources of resonance. For ten seconds, you sense the location and intensity of any G-rank or lower magical effects in a ten-meter radius, even through walls. Useful for locating traps, magic items, or detecting if someone is lying about having “nothing magical.”
———
Requirements: Attuned to mana flows.
Cost: 80
—✦——✦—
Tentacular Reach
Rank: G – Physical
Type: Active
Description: “Why walk across the room when you can reach?”
Temporarily extend the reach of your arms or tentacles by up to two meters, maintaining full strength and dexterity. Lasts for one minute or until you choose to retract. Side effect: Limbs may tingle or feel rubbery afterward. Extensive use may result in temporary loss of feeling or weakness in the limbs.
———
Requirements: Limb or tentacle.
Cost: 90
—✦——✦—
Chromatic Soothe
Rank: G – Supernatural
Type: Active
Description: “Colors can calm or confuse. Use wisely.”
Manipulate your body’s chromatophores to emit calming, swirling color patterns in your skin, soothing agitated creatures or people within five meters. Can also be used to distract, hypnotize, or deescalate minor conflicts. Duration: up to five minutes per use. Less effective on highly intelligent or magically shielded targets.
———
Requirements: Control over skin pigment.
Cost: 100
—✦——✦—
Distributed Instinct
Rank: G – Mental
Type: Passive - Growth
Description: “Why panic alone when your whole body can panic together?”
Your instincts are distributed throughout your nervous system, allowing for rapid reflexes and split-second decision-making even when stunned, paralyzed, or disoriented. This grants you limited action (movement or defense) when surprised, attacked, or ambushed — even if part of your mind is stunned or unconscious. As your nervous system adapts to these changes, your reaction and reflexes will gradually improve and adapt to an optimal state.
Note: The System is not responsible for any instance of spontaneous limb sapience.
———
Requirements: Non-centralized nervous system or appropriate adaptation.
Cost: 120
—✦——✦—
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Comments
Moon Winchester
I love it. And I love the idea that his right pinky gained sentience. But that’s the only body part that happens to. Maybe his big toe on his left foot.
Osamaru Ta
I think the last part might need some polishing a bit. I might have rushed it.
