The forest had never looked so awkward.
Birds stopped chirping when they passed. Leaves rustled the wrong way. Even shadows seemed confused about where to fall.
Sid trudged beside Mira on a narrow woodland path, trying to act normal — which was difficult when you had a grumpy pug-sized gremlin waddling behind you and a vine-raccoon kleptomaniac swinging from tree to tree.
"This is ridiculous," Sid muttered.
"You're ridiculous," replied Bob in a dry, gravelly voice — the kind of voice that sounded like it had paid taxes for seventy years and was still bitter about it.
Sid turned. "Do you have to walk like that?"
Bob's stubby legs made a soft squish-plap sound with every step. His bald pink skin jiggled slightly, wings tucked in like a disappointed parent on vacation. His wrinkly face — undeniably that of an elderly man on his third stroke of the day — frowned harder than seemed physically possible.
"I'm majestic," Bob grumbled. "You're just too immature to appreciate it."
> [Familiar Named: Bob]
[Familiar Bond Established]
[Trait Activated: Soulbound Misfit]
[Bob has inherited a random passive: 'Reality Warp I']
[WARNING: Effect is unpredictable.]
"Right. Majestic," Sid muttered.
Bob tripped over a pinecone, flipped in the air, and reappeared five feet ahead, upside down and sipping a teacup that hadn't existed five seconds ago.
Mira didn't even flinch.
"I see Bob's doing Bob things," she said, pushing aside a hanging vine. Her quiver of arrows bounced lightly on her back. "He does that when he's bored." Sid replied sighing !!!
"He reality-warped a mosquito into a maraca ten minutes ago."
"Could've been worse."
"It sang," Sid snapped.
Bob snorted. "You're welcome."
---
A rustle above them made Sid tense — but it was just his second summon, swinging from a thick branch like some jungle bandit.
It was shaped like a giant raccoon, but its body was composed entirely of twisting, leafy vines and glowing green eyes. Several eyes. Too many, honestly. Its movements were unnervingly silent — unless it was stealing.
"Is it... eating the wind again?" Sid asked.
Mira glanced up. "That's normal."
"That's normal?"
> [New Summon: Verdant Thief]
[Trait: Steals random items on contact]
[Weak to fire]
[Allergic to cheese]
Sid still wasn't sure how cheese factored into any of this, but the day was young.
"I caught it trying to steal Bob's mood just fifteen minutes before."
"I felt that," Bob muttered. "I was this close to being happy then."
Verdant Thief landed beside Sid and immediately snatched something out of the air. A floating sparkle vanished with a pop. Sid didn't even know sparkles were stealable.
"...Did it just mug a light particle?" Sid whispered.
Mira smirked. "You'll get used to it."
"I'd really rather not."
---
They reached a fork in the trail marked by a gnarled tree bent into the shape of a question mark. Mira stopped and looked Sid over.
"You sure you want to go through with this?" she asked. "Eldenroot isn't just another village. And the trainer we're going to meet… well, they don't exactly specialize in 'normal'."
Sid looked at his party:
– One wrinkly reality-breaking beast the size of a loaf of bread, currently trying to flip gravity upside down.
– One vine raccoon with a hoarding addiction.
– Himself, a teenage summoner who barely understood how he summoned them in the first place.
"…Define normal."
Mira laughed. "Fair point."
She turned and started walking toward the east path — the one lined with flickering lanterns that floated a few inches above the ground.
"Come on. Eldenroot's only an hour away. If we're lucky, the trainer won't bite this time."
"This time?"
"Yeah," she said, smiling back. "Don't worry. They only bite weird things."
Sid looked down at Bob.
Bob grinned up at him with a toothy smirk.
"…I'm screwed, aren't I?" Sid muttered.
Bob burped, and a nearby tree turned plaid.
Sid had seen strange things since waking up in this new world: teleporting, bandits, talking system screens, and a glowing raccoon that once pickpocketed a cloud. But nothing prepared him for Eldenroot Village.
The village was alive.
Literally.
The trees lining the cobblestone paths shifted slightly when they walked by, their bark crinkling like someone clearing a throat. The buildings weren't built into trees. They were the trees. Wooden walls pulsated softly, breathing in sync with the leaves overhead. Lights blinked from flower bulbs, casting warm glows across the mossy steps.
Sid paused at the entrance, blinking. "So... this place is sentient?"
Mira nodded. "More or less. Eldenroot's old magic. Nature-based. You'll get used to the trees watching you. Just don't insult the shrubs."
Bob waddled past them, mumbling something bitter under his breath about "hippie trees." The ground under his feet squelched slightly as if the grass was trying to avoid touching him. Meanwhile, Verdant Thief vanished into the canopy, disturbing a flock of glowing butterflies, and emerged seconds later with a shiny acorn and someone's sock.
Sid watched the sock spiral through the air like a white flag of surrender.
"Remind me why we're here again?"
"To meet the Oddball Trainer," Mira replied, adjusting her bowstring. "They might help you figure out what's up with your summons."
Sid gestured behind them. "What is up with my summons? Bob warps reality like it owes him rent, and Verdant Thief is halfway to building a black-market storage dimension."
Bob sneezed. A frog appeared on Mira's shoulder, looked around, and croaked politely.
"See?"
Mira shrugged the frog off. "That one's actually kind of cute."
Sid Was speechless.
---
They passed under an archway of spiraling vines that moved aside on their own, revealing a spiraling walkway that led to a large, bulging tree with several crooked windows and a roof shaped like a wizard's hat.
Sid tilted his head. "Is that a hat-tree?"
Mira chuckled. "That's their house. They call it 'The Odd Top'."
"Of course they do."
As they approached, the door creaked open with a dramatic squeeeee. A voice echoed from inside, sharp and nasal.
"Enter, oh bringers of chaos! Wipe your feet and your expectations!"
Sid blinked. "Well. That's a tone."
Bob marched inside without hesitation. Verdant Thief slithered in after him, tail dragging a basket of half-stolen mushrooms.
Mira sighed. "Just... roll with it."
---
The interior of "The Odd Top" was like the inside of a wizard's brain on a sugar rush. Books hovered midair, flipping pages by themselves. Glass vials bubbled on their own shelves. A chair walked past them on tiny wooden legs.
And in the center, standing on a ladder made of folded origami birds, was the Oddball Trainer.
They were—well. Odd.
A tall figure draped in patchwork robes that changed color every few seconds, their hair floated as if underwater. Their eyes were glowing blue swirls. One hand held a ladle, the other a quill. Neither seemed to belong in the same universe as the other.
"Welcome, welcome!" they sang. "I sensed a new chaos energy! And Now it came in the form of a teenage boy with one and a half brain cells!"
Sid raised an eyebrow. "One and a half?"
"We gave you extra credit for surviving Bob."
"Fair."
Bob was currently balancing upside down on a levitating potato, sipping tea through a bendy straw. The potato looked like it had regrets.
Verdant Thief, meanwhile, had raided a bookshelf and was trying to unwrap a glowing tome like it was a candy bar.
"Ahem!" The Oddball Trainer snapped their fingers. The air shimmered. Both summons immediately froze mid-action.
"So! You're the new summoner causing headaches in the arcane web. The one with... this thing."
They pointed at Bob. Bob sneezed again. A window turned into a chicken and clucked away.
"Yeah," Sid said. "That's Bob."
"Soulbound Misfit," the Oddball Trainer muttered, circling him like a shark that read too much poetry. "Inherited Reality Warp I... oh, delicious. And the other one?"
"Verdant Thief. Steals random items. Weak to fire. Allergic to cheese."
The Trainer paused. "Why cheese?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
The Trainer stared into space for a long moment. Then:
"I LOVE IT."
With a dramatic flourish, they conjured a clipboard out of nothing and began scribbling notes while walking in spirals.
"Your summoning style is what we call Chaos Threaded. Very rare. Very unstable. Often hilarious. It means your summons draw from probabilities instead of templates."
"So... they're like... random loot boxes with personalities?"
"YES. That is an excellent, if disturbing, analogy."
Sid scratched his head. "So what can I do about it?"
"Train them. Explore your bond. But most importantly, don't try to control the weird. Befriend it. Harness it. Flirt with it if you have to."
Bob made a gagging sound. "I am not available."
The Trainer leaned in. "Sid. Weirdness is your power now. Don't run from it. Wield it. Let your summons grow with you. Each misfit, each madness, each awkward sneeze from Bob... that's part of your magic."
Sid looked around. Floating books. Raccoon theft. Potato flight. Bob.
He took a breath. "Alright. I'll try."
"Good! Now! Let's get started with your first proper test."
"...There's a test?"
The Trainer grinned. "Always."
---
The room shimmered.
Suddenly, they were no longer inside The Odd Top. They stood in an open arena, surrounded by whistling winds and flickering lights. The air smelled like ozone and lemon pies.
Mira stood at the edge, arms folded. "Don't worry. It's only mildly dangerous."
"That doesn't make me feel better!"
"I wasn't trying to."
The Oddball Trainer raised their hands. "Trial One: Weird Alignment. You must sync your energy with your summons. Let them act. Trust the chaos."
Sid turned to his companions.
Bob burped, and the arena floor blinked like it had emotions.
Verdant Thief hissed and rolled into a bush that didn't exist five seconds ago.
Sid clenched his fists. "Alright, boys. Let's show them what the weirdest summoner can do."
---
The first challenge appeared in the form of a fogbeast—a creature of smoke and teeth, slithering toward Sid like a nightmare in motion.
He reached out, not with commands, but with intent.
Bob blinked, and the fogbeast suddenly wore a tutu and pirouetted mid-charge.
Verdant Thief pounced and stole its shadow, leaving the beast to wobble in confusion.
Sid laughed. He felt it. The bond. The chaos. The rhythm.
He raised his hand, channeling the shared energy. "Bob, go nuts. Verdant, take everything that's not nailed down."
Bob exploded into sparkles, and the beast tripped over a banana peel made of glass. Verdant Thief slingshotted itself with a vine and landed inside the beast's body, rearranging its organs into the shape of a question mark.
It collapsed, groaning.
> [Trial Complete: Weird Alignment - SUCCESS] [New Skill Unlocked: Sync Surge I]
The arena faded. They were back inside The Odd Top.
The Trainer clapped slowly, eyes glowing with approval.
"Well done. The weird accepts you. Now go. There will be more trials ahead."
Sid turned to Mira, still buzzing with adrenaline. "So. That went well?"
She smiled. "You're starting to own it."
Bob belched. A nearby kettle exploded into glitter.
Sid sighed. "Sort of."