Ronald sat cross-legged in the middle of the meadow, the Verdant Bracelet gleaming faintly on his wrist. He tapped it once, and with a soft green shimmer, it shifted into the shape of a hoe.
"Woah…" He turned it over in his hand, the handle smooth, the metal head sharp and clean. With another thought, it shimmered again, becoming a watering can. He tipped it—clear water poured out, sparkling like liquid sunlight.
"Unbelievable…"
Laughing like a child, Ronald flicked his wrist again and again, cycling through its forms: a shovel, a sickle, even a wheelbarrow that popped into existence before folding neatly back into the bracelet. Each time, he grinned wider, his emerald eyes alight with boyish joy.
"This is… this is amazing! I feel like I'm playing with a toy… but it's real!"
As he stood to test the shovel form, the ground beneath him rumbled softly. Ronald froze, gripping the tool like a weapon. "Uh… please don't be something dangerous."
From the tall grass, two massive shapes emerged. His jaw dropped.
The first was a cow, her body broad and sturdy, but her hide shimmered with hues of reddish orange—like autumn maple leaves. Instead of ordinary horns, her head bore gentle arcs of living wood, polished smooth as if carved by nature itself. Her eyes were calm, warm, and carried the patience of a mother watching over a child.
Beside her walked a bull, taller, his frame muscled and imposing, yet not threatening. His horns were thick branches of dark wood, gnarled yet majestic, with faint green buds sprouting along their length. His eyes glowed a steady gold, stern yet kind, like a father assessing a son.
Ronald's instincts screamed monster!—but instead of hostility, the two simply… looked at him.
The cow let out a low, melodic moo that shifted halfway into words.
"Child of the soil… how joyful you are. You shine brighter than sunlight through the leaves."
Ronald blinked, shovel halfway raised. "…You can talk?!"
The bull snorted, his deep voice rumbling like rolling thunder. "Of course we can. Do not raise your tool like a weapon, boy. We are not your enemies."
Slowly, Ronald lowered the shovel, heart pounding. "Who… who are you?"
The cow stepped forward, her voice soft and melodic. "I am Maphala, a beast of the Harvest Goddess. My partner is Brontus, son of the Soil God. We were sent here to guide you… and to grow alongside you."
"Grow… alongside me?" Ronald asked, confused but intrigued.
Brontus lowered his head, the wooden horns creaking slightly as leaves shifted upon them. "Your system ties to us as well. As you cultivate the land, so too shall we grow stronger. Your strength will be our strength, your harvests our sustenance. We are bound, whether you like it or not."
Ronald blinked, then laughed nervously. "So… I basically got a divine cow and bull as companions?!"
Maphala's reddish-orange hide shimmered warmly as she bent her head toward him, brushing her wooden horns gently against his arm. "You have more than companions, child. You have family. I will be your shelter, patient and kind, as a mother shelters her calf."
Brontus rumbled a deep chuckle. "And I will be the stern voice that keeps you from becoming a fool. Consider me an older brother… or perhaps a father figure, if you need one."
Ronald stared at them, his chest swelling with a warmth he hadn't felt in years. In his old world, he had worked himself to death, isolated and exhausted. Here… he had been given not only a second chance but companions who radiated acceptance from the very start.
He smiled, wide and genuine, like a boy given his first real home.
"Then… let's grow together."
Both divine beasts nodded. The cow's eyes glowed like amber leaves in autumn. The bull's horns creaked softly as new green buds sprouted. And somewhere deep inside Ronald's system, new lines appeared:
---
[Companions Registered]
Maphala, Maple-Leaf Cow 🌾
Kind, patient, motherly. Grants passive bonuses to crop quality and soil fertility.
Brontus, Wooden-Horn Bull 🌳
Stern, wise, protective. Grants passive bonuses to stamina, strength, and resilience.
Both companions share growth with Ronald's system.
---
The screen faded, and Ronald laughed aloud, the sound echoing across the meadow.
"I can't believe it… I'm really starting my new life with a magical cow and bull."
"Not magical," Brontus corrected firmly, though his tone held amusement. "Divine."
"Divine, then," Ronald said, grinning ear to ear. "I'll take it."Ronald scratched behind Maphala's leafy ears, surprised at how soft her reddish-orange fur felt—like brushing against autumn leaves at their peak. She leaned into his hand, rumbling happily.
Brontus huffed through his nose. "Spoiled already. If you dote on her too much, she'll start demanding belly rubs before every planting."
Maphala flicked her wooden horns toward him with a teasing snort. "Better a belly rub than someone constantly lecturing like an old stump."
Ronald chuckled. "You two sound like siblings."
"Family takes many shapes," Maphala said warmly, her amber eyes shining. "Sometimes it's blood. Sometimes it's soil. Today, it is us."
Ronald's chest tightened, and for a moment, he thought he might cry. But Brontus cut in before the mood grew too heavy.
"Don't water the soil with tears, boy. Save that for when you're cutting onions."
Ronald barked out a laugh, wiping at his eyes. "All right, all right. I get it."
The bracelet on his wrist pulsed faintly, as if responding to their presence. Maphala stepped closer and shrank, her massive form folding inward until she was the size of a calf. She trotted in a circle around him, maple-leaf fur glowing like a lantern in the dusk. Brontus followed suit, condensing into a bull no larger than a large dog, horns still majestic but proportionate.
"They can change size?!" Ronald gasped.
Maphala gave a motherly smile. "Would you like us trampling through villages like a storm? Of course we shrink. We fit ourselves to the needs of our farmer."
Brontus nodded. "Efficiency is a farmer's virtue. We waste nothing—not space, not time, not opportunity."
Ronald's grin widened. "You two are… incredible."
Then, the bracelet glowed again, brighter this time. The cow and bull exchanged glances, and Brontus spoke with quiet authority.
"Ronald. There will be times when even companions cannot protect you. In those moments, call us not with voice, but with will."
Maphala's form shimmered, her body breaking into radiant red-orange light. Brontus followed, his wooden horns dissolving into emerald sparks. The lights wrapped around Ronald's arms and chest, sinking into his skin.
He gasped as intricate tattoos bloomed across his body. On his right arm, Maphala's design unfurled: swirling vines and maple leaves glowing faintly red. On his left, Brontus's motif took form: thick wooden lines resembling horns, etched in dark green.
The moment they settled, Ronald felt it—his body stronger, his lungs fuller, his stamina deeper than a well. His fingernails hardened slightly, his hair shimmered with green highlights, and his eyes burned brighter like jewels in the sun.
A soft voice filled his mind—Maphala's. "Through you, we live. Through us, you grow."
Then Brontus's rumble followed. "And should trouble come, remember—we are not ornaments. We are your roots and your branches."
Ronald flexed his fingers, staring at the glowing tattoos with awe. "This… this is amazing. You two can actually fuse with me?!"
Maphala's voice chuckled in his mind. "Only when you need us, child. But don't get used to it—we still like to graze in the sun."
Brontus added dryly, "And if you start mooing while we're fused, I will never let you live it down."
Ronald laughed so hard he nearly fell over. "All right, all right—I'll try to keep the mooing to a minimum."
For the first time since awakening in this new world, he felt… safe. Not just because of his system, or his blessings, but because he wasn't alone. He had a family now—a motherly cow, a fatherly bull, and a destiny waiting to be cultivated.
And as the sun dipped low, casting the fields in golden light, Ronald whispered, "Let's make this world bloom."
The tattoos glowed faintly in agreement.