216th Episode
Vargan and his party returned to their guest room.
He had three familiars contracted to him.
—Myaong.
First was Elliot, the cat who divided down to the molecular level.
Vargan stroked Elliot’s chin with his finger.
Seemingly enjoying it, the little guy closed his eyes and purred before Vargan turned his attention to the next.
Like the soldier summoned by Spirit Summoner Francesca, the familiar Ganggo was made entirely of bones.
What set it apart was its high-density skeletal structure and its ability to change form quickly and diversely.
For instance, like this.
—Chwak!
The skeletal mass folded on Ganggo’s shoulder blades spread wide.
Giant, hand-shaped wings.
What had been rounded bones resembling human bones became sharp as soon as mana was infused.
Vargan touched the sharpest part of the bone.
Just a light touch made his finger bleed with a drop of red blood.
‘It is specialized for combat. Well, this guy must have the strongest offensive power among the familiars the professor kept.’
Even though it could not manifest and ultimately perished while transforming into Altife.
Had the professor had enough strength left to unveil the spell, Ganggo could have proven quite troublesome.
Additionally, Ganggo could reassemble its bones into various forms like a dog, cat, lion…
After confirming a few more forms, Vargan placed his hand on Ganggo’s bones and attempted the Summoning Magic.
‘Will this actually work…?’
Elliot, the Ragdoll cat, was incapable of being summoned.
It would have been a cheat if it could divide down to the molecular level and ignore all physical forces, but apparently, that much was not permitted.
So what about this guy?
If it worked, it would be interesting to see how the Summoning Magic manifested and how much it could transform.
“Oh, young master. Is that guy going to wear it? But I wonder if it’ll inadvertently turn into a skeletal form.”
The curious Spirit Naias leaned in to ask.
Standing next to her was Arcane, who pretended not to be interested but was sneaking glances, showing that he also had a fair amount of curiosity.
“Naias. It’s rare for you to say something right.”
“Eh? What? Are you complimenting me now?”
“Yeah, you’re right. There’s no need to take unnecessary risks. We have an excellent experimental spirit right here.”
“Um…?”
Naias sensed something ominous but it was already too late.
Before confirming whether Summoning Magic was possible, Vargan fused Naias and Ganggo together to test the risks.
It had already been verified through the Dark One that spirits could indeed fuse.
I confirmed that it’s possible through the shadow.
It’s bothersome that if the attributes don’t match, it might not be possible.
“Ah, no…! I don’t want to merge with such a skeleton…!”
“Calm down, Naias. At this rate, it won’t happen.”
“Ugh. I feel like throwing up. Young Master, can I throw up here? I’m going to throw up?!”
Amidst the haze created by the dual fusion, a panicking Naias was complaining about her nausea.
What a troublesome spirit. Disliking this and that. If it looks a bit ugly, she goes off the rails like this, even though she’s not human…
In the end, the dual fusion failed.
There was no point in forcing it any further; both would just end up broken, so they decided to stop and call it a day.
“Tsk. What a useless thing.”
“…Ugh, yeek. I still feel queasy.”
“Here, take this and get lost.”
“Thank you, Young Master… Hm? But is this a dog bowl…?”
“Next is Arcane. It’s your turn.”
Vargan pointed to the next spirit.
Having already seen Naias’s reaction, Arcane seemed startled but complied since there was no other option.
“Shouldn’t you prepare a bowl just in case?”
“No, thank you.”
I’m different from such a trivial spirit.
Arcane mumbled the words quietly, showing a somewhat tense expression while trying to remain calm.
Certainly, compared to the spirit who had no strength left to even gag over a dog bowl, Arcane looked significantly more composed.
“Arcane, no need to be nervous. Naias is just loud and finicky; there’s not much difference from the shadow.”
“Yes, I’m ready, so you can proceed anytime.”
Vargan nodded and immediately summoned the mana.
The haze that blurred shapes began to rise chaotically, starting to merge the two beings into one.
There was no counteraction taking place.
Arcane showed no particular signs of rejection either.
As the haze began to disperse, the results appeared before them.
Vargan observed it closely and smiled with satisfaction.
“Success.”
“……”
Arcane slowly examined her appearance.
At first glance, it seemed like there were no changes.
However, something white protruding from her tailbone stretched down to the ground.
“I have a tail made of bones.”
“It seems that way. Any other changes?”
In response to Vargan’s question, Arcane began to manipulate her mana and tried various things.
The tail moved freely, and it could be elongated or shortened. Its speed and power seemed threatening enough to be used for piercing enemies.
“It appears that this is also possible.”
Thud—.
Arcane forcibly dislocated her shoulder.
Even for a spirit, it should have hurt, yet Arcane didn’t flinch and proceeded to show an astonishing phenomenon.
Her dislocated arm floated up, revealing a long chain of bones connected by several cartilages.
At the end hung her detached arm.
Additionally, the dark spirit showcased other abilities.
“It can also be used for revenge.”
Tada—.
From the already grotesquely transformed area, a somewhat unpleasant sound echoed as bone stems burst out like tree roots.
After trying to merge them into one and moving each bone joint, Arcane put her arm back in after exhibiting all her abilities.
The corners of her mouth subtly lifted; she seemed quite pleased.
The corners of her mouth subtly turned up, looking quite pleased.
“Ugh! So gross! What even is that, not like Altife.”
Meanwhile, Naias frowned, saying it was an eyesore.
At those words, Arcane narrowed her eyes, expressing displeasure, but Naias couldn’t care less.
“Let’s keep the bickering to a minimum. I’ve seen your abilities. It doesn’t seem like any issues have arisen. Good job, Arcane.”
“Yes.”
After realizing that the sturdy one could perform summoning magic, Vargan moved on to the next familiar.
The third familiar was a child in the form of a hawk.
It had a very simple ability: excellent eyesight.
With vision 10, it could clearly see the mana circuits and blood vessels of others, making it quite useful when summoning magic was employed.
Of course, it had been confirmed for its summoning magic potential first before the contract was made.
Otherwise, it would be too ambiguous in usage.
…However, the problem was that I couldn’t utilize it right now.
For now, since summoning was possible, let’s use Hawk after all trials are completed.
“That should be enough.”
“Young Master, is it over now?”
“Yeah. Seeing that you seem pretty lively, it looks like a feeding bowl isn’t needed after all.”
“Yeah! But next time, give me something different, not this. No matter how comfy it is, this is a bit much.”
“I’ll think about it when the time comes.”
Vargan leaned back onto the plush leather chair, resting his weary body. Without much time to enjoy his break, he immediately picked up the egg placed on the tea table.
It was called the mysterious egg.
Until he knew it contained one of the Twelve Divine Beasts, it had just been a treasure left amidst a pile.
Naias rested her chin on the chair’s head and stared at the egg intently.
“Young Master, does this egg have a name?”
“It does.”
“What is it?”
“Egg.”
“…I’ve thought this for a while, but Young Master, your naming sense is really terrible.”
“I wanted to call it ‘Eggy,’ but it was hard to pronounce, so I settled on ‘egg.’ Anyway, once it hatches, it’ll be called something else, so what’s the big deal?”
“That’s true… Phew, I’m just glad I have a name. Otherwise, I would’ve been called something weird too.”
For once, Arcane seemed to agree with Naias.
Unfazed, Vargan chuckled and turned his attention back to the egg.
No matter what the name was, the fact that this egg was the seed of one of the Twelve Divine Beasts remained unchanged, so he had to assist in its hatching.
“But Young Master, shouldn’t we keep an egg warm? If left like this, it might die.”
“What it needs isn’t affection.”
“Then what?”
“This one grows by specially absorbing mana. Even now, if you look closely, it’s subtly sucking in the mana particles from the air.”
“Huh? Now that you mention it, that’s right?”
Naias leaned close to the egg.
It was sucking up such a minuscule amount of mana from the air that one wouldn’t notice unless seen up close.
Vargan added an explanation.
“Right now, it’s growing naturally and is very leisurely undergoing cell division, but if we add some nutrients, it will be a different story.”
“Nutrients? Oh, I see. You mean adding your mana, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Um… but is that okay? What if it dies from overconsumption?”
“As long as you give it a proper amount, it won’t be a problem. Just don’t give too much at once.”
Besides, even if it did receive too much, it wouldn’t die.
Moreover, even if there was an overdose, it wouldn’t die.
It’s absurd for an egg of the Twelve Divine Beasts to just die from that.
I placed my hand on the egg and slowly pulled out my mana.
Suuuu—
Immediately, the egg responded.
“Oh, it’s really soaking it up. Must have been hungry?”
“It seems to react well since it’s high-quality mana.”
After all, it’s an extraordinary amount of mana.
It’s like the highest quality baby food that only exists in two forms in the world.
It can’t help but be delicious.
Naias blinked in wonder. It was a strange sight for a spirit that had been sealed away for so long.
“I had no idea familiars’ eggs could consume mana.”
“Not all of them do. It’s just some.”
“I see.”
In the original story, it wasn’t until later when the egg naturally grew that they realized it was an egg of the Twelve Divine Beasts and began to put in mana.
I remember the scene where they monitored the process and went about their business then.
There wasn’t a precise amount recorded — but adjusting the mana while checking the condition wasn’t that difficult.
“I hope it hatches soon. Preferably into a cute one!”
Naias smiled brightly and hummed a tune.
Vargan hadn’t disclosed the egg’s secret to those around them yet.
If that fact got out, the Central Church would likely seize it under the pretense of protection.
“Well… that’s true.”
Vargan responded casually while lifting the corners of his mouth.
*
The night before the finals.
Arterion was in his room, concentrating with a sword in hand.
The razor-sharp aura seemed like it could slice through with just the energy it gave off.
The aura resembled blue moonlight, then turned red.
It fragmented and scattered into the air.
Small shards of aura sparkled like pieces of glass.
They produced a beauty that could captivate anyone’s soul, yet they held the terrible power to easily take life.
‘Is it longing…?’
Just as I thought I had forgotten, the thought reestablished itself in the corner of my mind.
During the second semester, Arterion had trained with Alicia, and the vast room felt lonely.
A feeling of emotion he had never known until now.
The reality of being alone brought forth loneliness.
‘…That seems to be it.’
Arterion finally realized that his feelings for Alicia were love.
He felt a sense of inexplicable frustration at the smile and shyness that only Vargan could see.
Spending time with Alicia filled him with a warm sense of happiness from within.
This is the feeling of infatuation.
He felt he understood it now. He had barely grasped its form.
Zuuu—.
The sword responded to Arterion’s emotions, vibrating.
That tremor helped clear his mind of thoughts filled with Alicia and allowed him to concentrate on the sword once more.
Tomorrow.
The long-awaited battle with Vargan.
Two defeats are enough.
He must achieve victory.
That resolve briefly softened the prince’s heart regarding Alicia.
He had eagerly awaited this moment.
He mustn’t let his guard down to ensure everything goes smoothly.
The floating shards of aura glowed. The cluster of lights, which may have resembled autumn leaves at a glance, lazily hovered around Arterion.
With his eyes closed, Arterion calmly observed and tuned into that energy.
The night before the finals.
He quietly sharpened his sword with unusual stillness.
