"This thing is your herald?" I ask the proud looking Gali with blank eyes. In the box is a chunky four legged blue creature with a shark head and fin. It's looking up at me goofily with its tongue hanging out of its mouth.
[That's right! Isn't he cute?] Gali floats down from my shoulder and lands on top of Jeff's head. Surprisingly, Jeff is able to see her as he immediately rolls over, trying to look up at her. In the process of this, he hits the side of the box he came in and pushes it over to its side, causing Jeff to tumble several times from the momentum before eventually hitting the wall.
"I'm not denying that but…" I stare at the land-shark, trying to rock back and forth to get back on its feet. "Doesn't your dad have, like, a super powerful cosmic surfer as his herald? What gives with you having this thing."
[Would you rather have powerful or cute?] Gali asks and I look away. I don't think she wants to hear my honest opinion. [Blegh, your opinion is incorrect. Honestly though, Dad needs him to help hunt down food, but I don't really need that, you know. I have always been able to control my hunger better and for taking up the role as your guide The One Above All made it, so I don't need to eat at all anymore if I don't want to.]
"That's neat. Your dad didn't want to take a deal like that?"
[Nah, he has a role to play, so he is fine with eating planets. Someone has to, so there would be a being with enough energy stored to kickstart the next universe once this one ends.] Gali thinks for a moment. [At least I think that's the reason, I didn't really listen when he was explaining.]
"That matches up with what I remember reading about Galactus before." I look on as Jeff manages to get back on his legs and is now playing with Gali, trying to jump up to bite her as she floats up and down just out of reach. He would never be able to do that of course cause she is just a hologram and Jeff would bite into nothing.
"Mrrr!" He seemed to be having fun though…
"So how do I take care of this thing?" I ask Gali. "What does he eat, do I need some special land-shark food?"
[You shouldn't have to worry too much. I just let him hunt for his own food back at home. He is smart enough to return home on his own.] Gali says without a worry in the world, causing me to raise my eyebrow.
"I'm not sure if you have realized this but we live in New York City where land-sharks aren't the most traditional pet to say the least. Not only do I not want to explain his existence to anyone, but I'm also seriously worried about the trouble he will cause if I let a literal shark with legs out into the city for 'hunting'."
[Oh yeah, that's true… I kept him on a different planet where that wasn't a problem.] Gali stops playing with Jeff as she thinks, causing Jeff to win and be able to swallow her hologram whole in a single bite. As he falls down, though, the figure of Gali is still floating in the same place.
"Mrrrr?"
[Well, if you're planning to keep him as a house pet for now, I don't think Jeff is too picky with his food? Raw meat is his favorite but I have fed him general dog or cat food without a problem. He only eats as much as a big dog, so it won't bankrupt you. Not that it would with all you are making from the dungeon.]
I pull out my phone and open up Amazon. With same-day delivery, I can order several kilos of meat and a few bags of dog food… I might need to get a bigger freezer just for Jeff food. Wait, does my apartment complex even allow animals? I should check, but I doubt they have specific policies on sharks with legs.
"Toys?" I ask, looking over what else I should buy.
[He is smart enough to watch TV if he is bored. Or just sleep.] Gali says, flying over to me to look at the phone screen. [But a few toys might be a good thing to get. Oh, that climbing tree for small predators might be fun too!]
"I think they are referring to cats when talking about small predators, not sharks." I keep scrolling, picking random toys and put them in the cart for delivery. I put a scratching post in there as well, I'm not sure if he needs it or not, but better to not get my furniture scratched. Maybe I need one made of titanium or something for his teeth, though?
Litter box? Guess I can just take him on walks in the dungeon…
"That should be everything needed. If I've forgot anything, I can get it later." I put away my phone. Time for bed, finally. Or so I thought, until Gali speaks.
[You aren't going to check his stats and skills?]
Oh yeah, he is a new party member, isn't he? Wonder what he can even do. Alright, uh…. Jeff's Status!
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Name: Jeff The Land Shark
Might: E-
Finesse: F-
Spirit: E+ (Focused)
Skills: [Visit the Skills Panel to view all skills.]
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His stats aren't too special. Might is the same as mine at E- so he has some crushing strength with his jaws. Finesse being pathetic doesn't surprise me, either, seeing how hard it was for him to get up when he fell on his back. Spirit, however, is somehow even better than mine. Is this shark a mage?
His skills confirmed that theory quickly, at least to an extent. He would be more classified as a healer than a mage.
He has three skills in total. The first is very basic and is called [Chomp]. It is as simple as it gets. Go close to an enemy and bite them, causing damage. With how sharp his teeth look though, I wouldn't be surprised if he would be able to bite the head off a normal human.
That is his only damaging skill, the other two are healing. One close range and one long range.
[Lick of Life] lets him lick wounds to heal them, stop bleeding, disinfect and even cure weaker curses or debuffs. It also has an anesthetic effect, as the receiver stops feeling pain briefly. A good skill but…
I look over at Jeff, who is chasing his own tail around with his slimy tongue hanging out of his mouth the whole time. Do I really want my wounds to be licked by that? Beats dying though, I suppose.
His final skill is [Bubble Bark] which lets him spit out a number of floating bubbles that seek out the most hurt ally and heal them. The number of bubbles increases with his spirit stat.
Oh, and of course the healing ability of both [Bubble Bark] and [Lick of Life] increase with his spirit stat, while might increase the strength of [Chomp].
The real question here is, which one should I copy from him, as I can apparently take one ability from each team member.
I fight close ranged, so in theory [Chomp] would be perfect. Thinking about how most enemies I have come up against so far are weird zombies, filthy creatures or animals, though I can't say I'm too excited about the prospect of biting into them and tearing out a chunk. That's a pass.
A healing skill would be useful to have, but [Lick of Life] is also off the table. I don't wanna lick Jeff, and if I ended up having to use the skill outside the dungeon to heal someone like Gwen, I might actually end up on a registry if I go in for a lick.
As such, I copy over the final skill [Bubble Bark]. I make the choice and when I open up my own skills it is now there.
With that out of the way, I quickly take a shower, dispose of my clothes for the umpteenth time and get in bed. Gali takes her place on the pillow next to mine, while Jeff curls up at my feet.
***
Author note: A shorter chapter today since I don't really have time to write.
Also fun observation, the day I changed the book cover from the previous one to Gwen, the reader count increased by like 300%. Very sus of you all. I understand though.