Beast Taming In The Apocalypse

Chapter 3: Taming Chaser

If anyone expected the bite to make Kingdom pull away or jump into a fighting stance, they would be wrong. He didn't get angry. Instead, his voice became even softer as he kept talking to Chaser in a soothing tone.

"That hurt, buddy. It's okay, I guess. Maybe this can be payback? Payback for playing the vacuum cleaner right next to you while you were sleeping and scaring you half to death. Or that time I put catnip in your food. Or when I stepped on your tail by accident. Hahaha."

Kingdom couldn't help but laugh softly, remembering all the mischievous things he used to do to his dog. He was babbling, trying to reach the friend he knew was still in there.

Slowly, almost without thinking, his other hand reached out and began to gently pet Chaser's head.

The deep growl coming from Chaser began to fade, then stopped completely. Kingdom even noticed that the bright, harsh red of Chaser's eyes seemed to soften just a little. It felt like Chaser was calming down.

Ding!

[Congratulations on Taming a Demonic Beast! You are the first in your world to accomplish this feat. Reward: 2 Levels and a Weapon!]

While Kingdom was stunned, staring at the message floating before his eyes, Chaser began to lick the hand he had just bitten, a guilty whine in his throat.

Seeing this, Kingdom let out a light, relieved laugh. "It's okay, champ. We're even now on the mischief front."

Chaser nuzzled his head against Kingdom's leg, still looking guilty for what he had done.

On the ground beside Chaser, a sword slowly materialized out of thin air. Kingdom stared in amazement. It was about 70 centimeters long with a straight, single-edged blade. It looked simple, lethal, and deadly. He picked it up, and its stats appeared.

---

Basic Sword

+2 STR

+2 DEX

+1 AGI

Remark: Upgradable

---

This is a good addition to my strength, Kingdom thought. Killing goblins shouldn't be as much of a struggle now.

He found the sword's sheath on the ground nearby. He tied it around his waist like he'd seen in movies and slid the sword home.

Taking a deep breath, Kingdom tried to steady himself. More had happened in the last twenty minutes than in his entire life. It was overwhelming. Letting out a long sigh, he finally made his way into his house.

His family was on vacation in the mountains, so the house was empty. Looking at a family picture on the wall, a sharp worry shot through him.

The mountains were full of wild animals. If they had mutated too... his family would be in serious danger.

"Wait," he said to himself, the tension easing a bit. "Why am I so worried? Dad is with them."

His father, Graham, was an extremely dependable man. He was skilled in kickboxing, boxing, hand-to-hand combat, and a dozen other things. Kingdom sometimes felt he didn't even know the full extent of what his father could do.

"Thinking about it, Jefferson is probably having the time of his life right now," Kingdom muttered, a smirk forming on his face.

His younger brother, Jefferson, was fifteen and lived for fantasy. He loved the stories, the games, the movies. He was always mimicking moves from them, dreaming of being inside one. Now that his dream was a reality, that kid would be the happiest person on Earth.

Shaking his head, Kingdom went to the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit. He sat down at the kitchen table and tried to bandage his mangled hand using only his other hand.

The task was nearly impossible. Frustrated, he threw the bandage roll on the floor. He looked at his hand. It was bad. Bones were broken and poking against the skin. He felt like crying.

Did this mean he would have to cut it off?

There was no one here to treat it. He couldn't go to a town or a hospital—not in this chaos. And who would even still be at a hospital? Especially since his town, like all cities, was densely populated. Monsters and zombies would have taken over those places first.

Feeling lost, he did the only thing he could think to do. He pulled up his status screen again.

---

Name: Kingdom Graham

Level: 5

Vitality (VIT): 5

Strength (STR): 6

Dexterity (DEX): 5

Agility (AGI): 7

Intelligence (INT): 5

Wisdom (WIS): 4

Unassigned Points: 5

Skills: None

Tamed Beasts:

Chaser (click to see info)

---

Looking at his stats, an idea suddenly clicked.

"Add two points to my Vitality," he commanded.

A warm, soothing feeling spread throughout his body the moment he gave the order. Looking at his injured hand, he saw the broken skin begin to slowly knit itself together. It would probably still take days to fully heal, but the relief was instant. He wasn't going to be a cripple.

"I almost forgot," he muttered to himself. "Vitality helps you heal. At a high level, it can even regenerate lost body parts. Let me add one more point to it... and one point to Dexterity."

He chose Dexterity because being able to react to attacks felt vital to him, especially since he had almost no real combat skills.

That familiar warmth washed over him again. He checked his updated stats.

---

Name: Kingdom Graham

Level: 5

Vitality (VIT): 8

Strength (STR): 6

Dexterity (DEX): 7

Agility (AGI): 7

Intelligence (INT): 5

Wisdom (WIS): 4

Unassigned Points: 0

Skills: None

Tamed Beasts:

Chaser (click to see info)

---

"Wait, when did Chaser's name get added to my stats?"

With the immediate crisis of his hand managed, Kingdom's focus finally landed on the new tab in his status. His curiosity was instantly piqued.

"Show me," he said, and mentally clicked on Chaser's name.