My voice cracked like a thirteen-year-old's as I forced the words out.
She let out a soft sigh, the first sound she'd made since appearing, and spoke in a flat, completely emotionless voice.
"Choose your companion beast. Cat or bear."
I blinked. My brain short-circuited.
"…What?"
The questions exploded out of me like a broken fire hydrant.
"Who the hell are you?! What is this place? Where am I? What the fuck happened to me?! Why am I butt-naked?! Is this some kind of sick hidden-camera prank? Am I dead? Did I die eating that goddamn fruit?! Why me?! How did I get here?! What do you want from me?! And what the hell was that glowing circle under my feet back in my apartment?! My parents—did you take me away from everything I—"
I kept going, voice cracking higher and higher, spit flying, hands waving wildly while I was still completely naked on the moss. The glowing circle, the YouTube conspiracy guy, Mom's last words, the fruit, the silence, the clown makeup—everything tumbled out in one messy, desperate avalanche.
She didn't move. Didn't blink. Same deadpan stare, same painted smile, same beautiful-but-terrifying face. Like I was background noise.
After what felt like an eternity of me screaming into the void, I finally ran out of oxygen. I slumped back against the tree, chest heaving, and muttered, "I've never even been a pet person… Taking care of myself is already a full-time fucking job. How am I supposed to look after some animal?"
I looked up at her again. "A bear and a cat… Do I even get other options? Like a dog, maybe? Something normal?"
Zero reaction. Not even a twitch.
I muttered under my breath, "Why am I not surprised…"
One last defeated sigh escaped me. Fine. Whatever. Universe wants to play games? I'll play.
"Bear," I said. "Give me the bear."
She gave a single, slow nod.
Then she snapped her fingers.
Everything went black.
I woke up the next morning to sunlight leaking through the leaves like a bad hangover.
And right beside me sat the single most dangerous creature I had ever seen in my life.
She was tiny—no bigger than a large puppy—but the cuteness was lethal. Caramel-colored fluff that looked illegally soft, round chubby cheeks with a natural pink blush, and two enormous sparkling black eyes that locked onto mine the second I stirred. Her little rounded ears twitched once, twice, then she popped up on her hind legs and started waving both front paws like she was conducting an orchestra only she could hear.
"Eeee-hee-hee!"
The sound was so high-pitched and happy it should have been illegal. She tilted her head, beaming a heart-melting smile that made my brain momentarily forget I was in another world, naked, and possibly dead.
Ah… she's a girl, I thought instantly, like the knowledge had been dropped straight into my skull.
Before I could even sit up properly she turned, grabbed a neatly folded pile of clothes that definitely hadn't been there a second ago, and shoved them toward me with both paws like a proud kid showing off her art project.
I stared at the offering, then at her, then back at the clothes.
"…Thanks," I mumbled, voice hoarse.
They were simple — soft black T-shirt, comfortable dark-grey night pants. I pulled them on fast, half-expecting them to disappear or turn into clown makeup. Instead they fit like they'd been measured by a tailor who knew my exact proportions. No tags. No weird smells. Just perfect.
I gave the little bear another small nod. "Seriously. Thank you."
She squealed again and did a happy little bounce.
So the fruit last night really had been some kind of beast-taming thing. I was officially a beast tamer now.
A very confused, very under-leveled beast tamer sitting in the middle of a murder forest with a puppy-sized murderbear who looked like she could melt steel with cuteness alone.
Great. Just great.
A new greedy little thought suddenly popped into my head.
Wait… if I eat another one of those fruits, will I get a second ability?
My eyes lit up. I started scanning the trees like a man possessed, hunting for another shiny red apple-thing.
Nothing. Not a single damn fruit in sight.
I let out a long, disappointed sigh and scratched the back of my head. "Figures…"
The moment the greedy thought crossed my mind, the little bear cub puffed out her chubby cheeks like an angry marshmallow and started waving her tiny paws back and forth in frantic little circles. No! No! Bad Master!
"Master, do you know who I am?" she declared in a surprisingly clear, adorably squeaky voice. "I am a cosmic bear!"
Then she let out the cutest little roar imaginable — more of a playful "Rawr!" than anything that could scare a squirrel.
I burst out laughing so hard I almost fell over. I bent down, scooped her up gently, and hugged her ridiculously soft body against my chest. She smelled like warm sunlight and vanilla. Still grinning like an idiot, I started walking deeper into the forest in search of actual food.
Meanwhile, far across an entirely different cosmic dimension…
A majestic cosmic bear slowly opened her glowing eyes, ancient power rippling through her fur like starlight.
"Hmm… not bad," she murmured, voice soft as distant thunder. "This human has some potential. He adapted quite quickly."
Her husband, an even larger cosmic bear, snorted beside her. "Hah! When he first landed he was crying like a baby. He'd better treat our daughter well."
She let out a soft, amused laugh that made the void itself tremble. "He will. He will."
With that, the two ancient beings shifted the topic of their conversation, as if the fate of worlds was merely light morning gossip.
I kept teasing the little cosmic bear cub the whole way, poking her chubby cheeks and making her squeal with laughter. She played along happily, clearly liking me already.
And honestly?
I really liked this little murderbear too.
We walked for what felt like forever through the endless sea of towering trees, but not a single damn fruit hung from any of them. I let out a tired sigh. Why am I not surprised?
Lumi stayed curled against my chest, her impossibly soft caramel fur warm as fresh blankets. She kept nuzzling closer, those huge sparkling black eyes half-closed in contentment. Every few steps she'd let out a happy little "Eeee~" that made my exhausted brain forget I was starving, lost, and possibly dead.
But after another ten minutes my stamina was bottoming out hard. Legs like lead. Stomach clawing itself. Even Lumi's bouncy energy had faded — her little head drooped against my shirt, tiny paws limp. Seeing her like that made something tighten in my chest.
Need food. Now.
I muttered it under my breath and forced myself to keep moving.
That was when I spotted it.
Through a gap in the thick bushes ahead stood a lone goblin.
Small. Green. Ugly as sin. Pointed ears, jagged teeth, crude wooden club resting on its shoulder. It was sniffing the air like it smelled something tasty.
My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would burst. I dropped into a crouch behind the foliage, barely breathing. Lumi instantly tensed in my arms, her fluffy body going rigid. She let out one soft, urgent warning squeal — then fell completely silent, big eyes wide with fear.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I had no idea if killing this thing would actually help me level up or whatever the hell the system expected, but every instinct screamed that ugly green bastard was bad news. I couldn't just sneak past forever.
Decision made.
I carefully set Lumi down in the thickest part of the bushes, hidden from sight. She looked up at me with those enormous worried eyes and let out one last tiny squeal, like she was begging me not to go.
Be careful… and good luck, Master!
I gave her a reassuring nod and the best smile I could manage. "Stay here, Lumi. I've got this."
Moving as quietly as my shaking legs would allow, I crept forward, plastic knife still clenched in my fist like a pathetic little dagger.
Along the way I focused on the new skill burning in the back of my mind and activated it for the first time.
Grasp of the Mountain (Active).
Power surged through my arms and legs like raw earth itself had just flooded my veins. My fingers felt heavier. Stronger. Like I could crush stone if I wanted to.
The goblin's head snapped toward me.
Too late to hide now.