There was a lot of new System text floating in my eyes for me to process. A lot more than usual, more than I had ever received at once.

[System Notification: Congratulations, Alec Benoit Foster! You've Expanded Your Pack!]

[Look at you, collecting pradavarian femmes like they're rare dungeon loot. The System is reluctantly impressed by your ability to not die while surrounded by claws, fangs, and questionable life choices. Your pack now officially includes:

Candace Rhinehart

(Silver Fox, Binder Extraordinaire, Currently High on Topaz)

Adelle Sylvia Dallia

(Orange Cheetah, Punch-First-Ask-Questions-Never, Food Coma Enthusiast)

Krysanthea Strand

(Emerald-Violet Raptor, Easily Ruffled, Cursed during your last attempt at life. Secretly a Softie.)

Nessy Whitepaw

(Black-and-White Husky, Riffweld Bard, Scrutimancer, Forevermore Dreaming About You)]

[New Skill Unlocked: Pack Leader!]

[Effect: You can now issue commands to your pack with a 25% increased chance of them actually listening, particularly when facing opposing Charmchain magic. Boosts pack morale and coordination by 10%. Warning: Does not prevent overall bickering, flirting, or attempts to feed you soup.]

[Achievement Unlocked: Harem Protagonist Starter Pack! The System would like to remind you that managing four pradavarian femmes is a full-time job. Maybe invest in some knee pads? (+5 Charisma Bonus!)]

I blinked the notification away, my face heating up at its jabs. "Really, System? That's what you're going with?" I muttered under my breath, sitting on the couch next to Candace.

I glanced at the line that described Kristi.

Cursed during my last attempt? What?

"What's it say?" Candace wiggled slightly and opened a single gray eye.

"Uh, just… pack stuff," I said, clearing my throat. "It's official now. You're all listed in my stats. And I got a new skill, [Pack Leader]."

"Oooh, fancy!" Adelle grinned.

"You got enough XP to level up now, yeah?" Adelle asked.

"Yeah." I nodded. "It's going to knock me out for eight hours."

"What?" the gray eye from the silver fluff stared at me. "That ain't right. Nobody passes out for that long."

"I'm special," I shrugged.

"Sounds like another one of your weird quirks," Adelle said, stretching her arms above her head, her robe riding up to show a flash of toned orange thigh with black dots.

"That's not normal, Alec," Nessy said, her brow furrowed with concern. "Most delvers are out for a few minutes at most, maybe an hour or two for really high-level jumps."

"You sure you're not secretly an alien?" Candace asked.

"What?" I blinked at her.

"One of them spoopy extradimensional invaders," Candace commented, wiggling her ears. "The prevalent theory is that they stole all top prad positions and that most of our government is made entirely from cheeky reptiloids from another Earth. You ain't a secret invasion reptiloid, riiiiight?"

"I don't think so," I laughed and then glanced at Kristi who snorted.

"Not raptors," the fox eye blinked at the raptor girl. "The word in the Astral is that the Strand family are just figureheads. I'm talking 'bout Cryptids!"

"Calm your fox tits. The government is not made from cryptids, Loops," Adelle commented.

"Says you." the foxball huffed, the eye closing. "Don't come crying to me when it turns out to be the truth."

"Anyyyyways," I redirected the conversation away from cryptid conspiracy back to my issue. "It's a long blackout, so I should probably do it soon, get it over with so I don't sleep through school tomorrow."

"School is for tools," the Candace-ball huffed.

"You're not doing it alone," Kristi suddenly declared, crossing her arms, feathers ruffling.

"Not doing what alone?" I blinked.

"If you're out for eight hours, someone needs to keep an eye on you. What if you stop breathing or something?"

"I'm not gonna stop breathing," I protested. "It's just leveling up. I'll be fine."

"Famous last words," the fox ball said.

"We should take turns watching over you," Nessy suggested. "Mmmm… Just in case there are complications."

"That's really not necessary," I protested. "I'll just be asleep."

"Levelling for eight hours?" Candace-ball pointed out with a yawn. "That's not gonna be regular sleep, that's some kind of whack magical restructuring. Whaaaack."

"Like what if you start floating or glowing or something cool? We'd miss it!" Adelle laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I won't be floating," I said dryly.

"You don't know that," Adelle countered. "Maybe leveling up unlocks your hidden anti-gravity powers!"

"What?" I chortled. "I'm not a gravity mage!"

"Look Alec," Kristi interjected, "unusual level-up durations often indicate… some kind of complications. We should monitor you, period."

"It's what a good pack would do," Nessy added softly. "Let us take care of you, Alec."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Surrounded by very determined pradavarians, I knew when I was beaten. "Fine," I sighed. "But you all need sleep too. Don't stay up all night staring at me like creeps."

Kristi's cheeks flashed violet. Maybe that was her plan all along.

"I'll do it," she declared, her voice firm. "I'm the most responsible!"

"Excuse you?" Candace's tail bristled. "I'm the one who just bound us together. I've got the highest level Identify senses for monitoring vitals. Plus, I'm cuddlier. Look at all this fluff!"

"Cuddly isn't the goal," Kristi snapped, her claws flexing. "Reliability is. You'd probably get distracted, or look too deep at him in the Astral and will have to get high to destress again or something."

"Low blow, bird!" the Candace-ball growled, but there was a playful edge to it. "I'd be mega-focused. Alec's my Alpha, after all."

"I should do it," Nessy said quietly. "I… I owe him. For saving me. For believing in my dreams when even I didn't." Her blue eyes met mine, and I felt my chest tighten at the sincerity there.

The room erupted into a flurry of arguments, each girl insisting she was the best choice to "watch" me, except for Addie who didn't seem interested in watching me sleep.

"Slayer, stop fighting or I'll subtract so many points from all of you," I commented. "You were doing so well playing at cooperation today."

"Fine! We can take shifts," Kristi declared. "Two hours each should cover it."

"I'll take the first watch," Nessy volunteered quickly.

"Second," Candace called.

"Third," Adelle yawned, stretching her arms above her head. "By then I'll be done digesting this feast."

"I'll take the last shift then," Kristi concluded. "Now that that's settled, you should go level up in the main bedroom so you're comfortable."

Before I could protest further, I was pulled from the couch and herded toward the suite's master bedroom.

Seemingly threatened by point subtraction, the girls fussed around me extra hard, fluffing pillows and tucking me in like I was a kid with the flu. Candace even tried to slip a paw under the blanket to "check my bod' temperature," but I swatted her away, earning a playful pout.

"Alright," I said. "Here goes nothing. Level up!"

[Level Up Confirmed] [Beginning reconfiguration process...] [Estimated duration: 8.1 hours] [Entering chrysalis stasis...]

The world began to fade around me, my vision tunneling as consciousness slipped away. The last thing I saw was four pradavarian faces watching me with various degrees of concern.

. . .

I drifted through something that wasn't quite sleep.

Fragments of memories that didn't feel like my own flashed through my mind—dancing with Kristi at the spring formal; carving a Dagaz rune into my hand and clasping hands with a younger Nessy as rain poured and a thunderstorm flashed outside the small cavern; running with Nessy and the Strand sisters through endless aisles of a store that seemed to stretch forever; a silver RV parked in an aisle with a slightly older Vivianne staring at me with sad, desperate eyes; a black and white husky whom I lost and found again; fighting giant staple spiders with a two dimensional sword while wearing a blue vest; holding a blood-spattered "Maxima Pawsome" Superstore employee tag.

There was pain too—not physical, but the deep ache of loss, of something precious torn away over and over again. I felt myself reaching through a vast emptiness, branches extending across an infinite void, searching for something I couldn't name but desperately needed to find.

Through it all, I sensed a presence—no, four presences—anchoring me, keeping me from drifting too far into that strange not-sleep. Warm hands on mine, soft voices murmuring reassurances, the gentle weight of someone's head on my chest.

I woke to warmth. Not just the ordinary warmth of blankets, but the encompassing, living warmth of bodies pressed against mine from all sides. Opening my eyes, I found myself in a nest of fur and feathers.

Nessy was curled against my right side, her black and white head resting on my shoulder, one paw draped across my chest. The Candace-ball had somehow wedged herself at the base of the bed, her silver tail wrapped around my leg.

Kristi was on my left side, a scaled, violet hand entwined with mine.

Adelle's snore resounded from somewhere beside the bed.

I tried to move, but Candace's tail tightened around me, and Nessy let out a small, contented whimper, nuzzling closer. Kristi's claws flexed, grazing my arm just enough to remind me she was there.

All four of them were fast asleep, their synchronized breathing creating a soothing rhythm in the quiet room. Early morning light filtered through the curtains, warm glow across our improvised pack nest.

I should have felt uncomfortable, crowded by their presence. Instead, I felt... safe. Relaxed. Protected. Like I belonged exactly where I was.

"So much for you all taking shifts," I murmured, careful not to wake them. I noted that the healing bracelet we made had relocated from Addie's hand to my own wrist.

I wiggled my right hand slightly. It wasn't even slightly numb. There were no pins and needles, no expected discomfort of being trapped under Nessy's head and chest.

Weird. Maybe the healing bracelet eliminated transient paresthesia?

Nessy stirred slightly at my motion, her ears twitching before she settled again with a soft, contented sigh. Her paw tightened almost imperceptibly on my chest, as if making sure I was still there.

I checked my stats, curious about what had changed with my level-up:

| Name: Alec Benoit Foster

| Species: Human | Level: 4 | Core Affinity: Reconstitution | Health: 100/100% | Reconstitution: 100/100% | Depictomancy: 100/100% | Syntropic Fusion: 100/100% | Alpha Authority: 100/100%

| Strength: 17 | Agility: 7 | Dexterity: 14 | Vitality: 40 | Charisma: 11 (+5) | Foresight: 5 | Intelligence: 40 | Wisdom: 33

| Skills: [Reconstitution], [Depictomancy], [Syntropic Fusion], [Pack Leader] | Bonuses: Bound Armor (currently not on), Alpha (+5 Charisma) | Dagaz-bound Pack: Candace Rhinehart, Adelle Dallia, Nessy Whitepaw, Krysanthea Strand

| Available Stat Points to Allocate: 20

"Slayer," I uttered. "Finally! Yessss, I'm so fucking back!"

My declaration woke up Nessy. She wiggled her mane against my side and then offered me a cheek lick. "Morninnnnnnn, Alec!"

The husky's voice woke up the others. The pradavarian pile around me stirred in every direction. The foxball unfurled into Candace who stretched languidly, completely shameless about the fact that she wasn't wearing anything.

"Morning, Alpha," she purred, clearly noticing that I was staring at her assets. "Someone looks refreshed!" She grinned, jiggling aforementioned assets. "How was your overnight magical coma?"

"Invigorating," I outputted. "Many weird dreams though."

"How about some inspiration for the day then?" She suddenly darted forward. Before I could process the sight of her looming over me, she leaned in, her gray eyes glinting with mischief, and planted a quick, warm kiss on my lips.

"Candace!" Kristi growled, her emerald-violet feathers fluffing up as she sat up, her own robe barely clinging to her shoulders. "Keep your paws off him! Also, put some clothes on, you menace!"

"How am I supposed to seduce him with clothes on?" The fox laughed, flitting off the bed faster than raptor claws could swat at her.

She tripped over Addie on the floor.

"Ha! Caught me a sneaky fox!" Adelle grabbed hold of Candace and squeezed her, making her squeak.

"Noooo," Candace fake-cried, burrowing into the cheetah and then swinging left, making them both roll around the floor. "Am captured by an orange cling-beast. What a terrible fate! Save me, Alec!"

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