Berserker: A LitRPG Urban Fantasy Adventure (Apocosmos Book 1) by Dimitrios Gkirgkiris (phonics readers .txt) 📕

“That’s right,” Louie continued. “Because we won’t be raising our levels anymore.”

“Even so,” Leo said with a smirk. “There is still one thing left to do. Most companions do this right after their awakening.”

“What? What?” the little ball of energy barked.

“Your name is Louie,” Leo explained, “but you also need a last name, don’t you? What would you like that to be?”

“Easy!” he replied and wagged his tail like crazy. “Bacon!”

Leo laughed out loud and a genuine smile spread across my face. Of course that was his first choice. That would be every dog’s first choice. Perhaps even my first choice as well.

“Now that is a fine name, Louie,” I said. “It’s also used by a famous human named Kevin.”

“Then no, I don’t want to use it,” he said and looked around as if searching for something. “I want it to be special.”

“Perhaps something that will show how cool and powerful you are?” suggested Leo.

“Yes,” he said and pondered over it for a few seconds this time. “That’s it! Thunder!”

“Louie Thunder,” Leo mused. “That carries a certain beauty.”

“But you hate thunder,” I said. “You’re afraid of it.”

“Of course I am,” Louie replied. “All dogs are. But someone with the last name Thunder is someone who isn’t afraid of it anymore. Or at least so it would seem, right?”

“Can’t argue with that,” Leo agreed.

“You do have a point,” I admitted. “Okay then. Let’s walk back, Louie Thunder.”

We moved away from the forest in the direction of a low rocky hill, searching for a surface large enough to use the key on.

“Hey, Leo. Have you met the fairy?” Louie asked.

“I haven’t,” he replied. “Entering the forest, at least for low-level people, is only possible as part of a quest. The only quests that allow access to her domain are those related to animal companions and since I don’t have one, I’ve never seen her. Is she as great as the stories say?”

“I don’t know what the stories say, but she’s certainly very powerful and she can turn into a tiger, and she commands all these other…”

“How about we have some breakfast when we get back?” I asked, trying to softly ease Louie’s enthusiasm. “Some normal bacon perhaps?”

“Bacon? Did someone mention the king of foods?” he said in a pompous voice. “Let’s move. If the king of foods has summoned me, I can’t possibly keep him waiting.”

So I guess this is the new Louie? A smart-ass glutton I’m going to have to debate every day to convince him that he can’t just eat bacon and sausages exclusively.

I smiled at the thought. It wasn’t that bad after all. I talked to him often either way. It would be nice having him talk back from now on.

Eventually, we found a tree that was wide enough to fit a door and I pressed the key into its trunk. As expected, though it was still amazing, a door opened up that led us back to Leo’s apartment. Soon after arriving, a lavish lunch was served to us and Louie got his fill of bacon before taking his usual belly-up noon nap. Leo and I stayed in his kitchen, surrounded by the natural light of his floor-to-ceiling windows. I glanced out of them at the people walking the streets of New York, unaware of this whole other world.

“Do many people do this kind of thing?” I asked as he handed me a bottle from his fridge. Staying for a beer was the least I could do. “Making their pets able to communicate with them?”

“First of all, they’re actually called partners, not pets,” he said in a mock condescending voice, “and yes, many do. In all seriousness though, Louie is your partner now. It may only be a short time before you start noticing differences…”

“Apart from him talking and demanding that his bacon is crispier, you mean?”

“Yes, apart from that,” he agreed. “At some point, he’ll start becoming more independent. He has an identity of his own now, and though it will be hard to shed his old dog habits, eventually he will be interested in things of his own. Perhaps things that are close to your liking, but not exactly the same.”

“How do you know all this?” I asked. He had admitted he had never gone through this procedure himself.

“I read up on the subject,” he said and took a sip from his beer. “This is a big thing, and I wanted to make sure the gift wouldn’t be too much.”

“I see,” I replied a bit awkwardly, as I felt the need to thank him again.

“Don’t worry about it,” he added, trying to ease the tension. “How do you feel about him being a mage?”

“Right!” I said, remembering the stats I’d absorbed when I scanned him. “A spellcaster? And his intelligence is higher than mine. What’s up with that?”

“Considering how you ended up being pulled into the Apocosmos, that comes as no surprise!” Leo said in jest. “Seriously though, you always have to keep in mind that what you see is a representation of the information carried by the Dark Energy. Louie might see different things for the same concepts, because he has different experiences. Spellcasting abilities are so connected in your mind with the word ‘intelligence’ that it makes perfect sense for them to be quantified under that label. That’s what makes sense for you.”

“I see,” I said and nodded. “It doesn’t mean that he’s actually more intelligent than me. Just that he’s better in this stat that affects magic and the likes.”

“It also doesn’t mean that he isn’t more intelligent than you. The jury is still out on that one,” he joked again and took another sip of his beer before turning his eyes out of his window, overlooking Little Italy and Chinatown.

“Is his magic different from yours?” I asked.

“It’s still a starting class, so not much,” Leo responded. “The paths he can take do differ afterward though. He can become quite powerful if you guys want to