"You want some fish? Fresh fish?" I shake the meat a little. "[Game] says you like them."
The sparrow tilts its head slightly to the right. "Kee-wee?"
"Here." I whisper, tossing the strip of meat a few meters in front of me, roughly ¾ of the distance between us. "Take it. It's yours." "Wee…?" The sparrow takes two hops forward. Looks at the offering. Back to me. Back to the food. At me once again, and then snaps it up, scarfing it down in a single swallow.
I cheer silently at the first victory and start rummaging around the [Inventory] for more foodstuffs. "Alright. Filet número dos." I toss the second flap of protein out, this one a bit closer, and this time around the sparrow barely offers a glance my way before jumping on the prize. Four other birds have taken visible notice of my presence but they haven't made any sort of move towards me. 'Works fine by me. I've already got the attention of the one I care about.'
"[Game] says you like fruit. You want an apple?" I ask, holding the snack out. "Pretty apple for a pretty bird?"
The sparrow looks at the treat in my hand and trills for me to throw it. "Kee! Keewee! Kee!" "Nuh-uh." I mutter, inching forward just a foot or two. "This time you come get it."
The bird takes another hop further, pauses for moment, and then takes another one.
"That's it. Thaaaat's it. Just a wee bit more."
We both move ahead this time, finally putting one another in grabbing distance. The avian towers over me with the top of my head barely reaching the base of its neck. The colossal bird opens his mouth again, steals the gift from my fingers and begins smashing it down with the ridges on the inside of its bill.
Meanwhile, my hand rises up to start caressing the feathers over its breast and abdomen. "Who's a good bird huh? That's right! You're a good bird. Yes you are!"
This is the moment that I know I have truly hit the jackpot. The animal could have started freaking out the moment I touched it. Or nip and peck at me for my impertinence. Or maybe just start screeching for more food. But instead of any of that, the sparrows eyes slightly close and turn unfocused. It begins nuzzling the top of its head against my shoulder and when I shift into gentle scratching it relaxes even further.
Ding!
You have acquired an [Animal Companion]! Bond Lv. (1/20) "I'm gonna call you Kiwi."
Jack Parker, The Gamer, Lv. 43 Health: 2,300/2,300 Exp: 20/4,300 Money: 13,769,450 Beri STR: 135 VIT: 115 DEX: 200 INT: 100 WIS: 100 LUK: 43 Points to spend: 14 Click here to see list of [Skills]
-Current number of [Skills]: 41 Click here to see list of [Perks]
-Current number of [Perks]: 5
Baterilla, South Blue Do you recall the first time you ever whistled? Think back now. For years of your younger life it was something that others could do, but not yourself. You would purse your lips out, try your hardest, and end up disappointed as you spat out useless unmusical air. Then one day, perhaps rather unceremoniously, you simply did it. Maybe it was by accident. Maybe it was on purpose. But one day you simply figured out the trick. Suddenly you just knew how.
There was nothing wrong with you before. You were always physically capable of whistling. All the tools required to pull it off were under your direct control the entire time. But you just. Didn't. Know. How.
This is the crux of [Seimei Kikan].
I understand that I can regulate my own heartbeat now. I can take control of my sympathetic nervous system. I can remove the unconscious limiters for 'Hysterical Strength', the incredible power mothers have tapped into to lift cars off of children.
Hell, I probably can do all of those at once and jerry-rig together some sort of bootleg version of 'Gear Second'. 'Tearing the muscles straight off my bones is a concern but [HP Regen] should be able to mitigate that.'
But...like...how do I do that? It's not as simple as 'I think it, therefore it happens'. I can't even do the mental exercise where you 'put a thumb up, point at it with your other hand, and then switch really fast' without screwing it up.
"Kee-wee?" My companion chirps next to me.
I snatch a small fish from the pile at my side and toss it straight up, high above the tops of the trees and well beyond the limits of a normal mans pitch.
"Kee! Kee! Kee! Kee!" Kiwi trills excitedly as he throws himself after the prize, taking into the air with an incredible gust of wind.
The super sparrow snaps his bill over the treat right as it reaches it's zenith and then lands back down next to me to begin swallowing it down. Then there's another problem to consider. The scope of [Seimei Kikan] is incredibly ill-defined. It's quite difficult to say what is and isn't possible with it. 'The issue then becomes even more muddled when I consider just how...malleable... human bodies are in this world as compared to on earth. One of the more common applications that comes to mind is individuals finding ways to increase their muscle mass on command. Firstly, there's Zoro and his 'Ichi Gorilla/Ni Gorilla' technique, which honestly seems like a pretty solid trick to have in your back pocket.'
My hand encircles around the tail of another of the...what the [Game] says is a species of 'Sea Bass'...and wind my arm up. Kiwi's eyes track my movements with a glazed over look in his eye. It's the closest expression to drooling that he's capable of.
I chuck the fish into the sky, this time at an angle to put some real distance on it and Kiwi hurtles after it like a bloodhound. 'Way beyond Zoro's skill though there's Lao G of the Donquixote family to consider. Dude found a way to pull off a full-fledged 'Max Power mode' Master Roshi style. Even more impressive than that, Urouge the 'Mad Monk' somehow tripled his own mass when squaring off against a Pacifista...though now that I think about it I suspect that last one may be Fruit related. Something about converting damage taken into physical power maybe?'
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