Chapter 14: Familiars

“Mornin’ kid. Got a good night of sleep?”

“Yeah, I feel better than yesterday, that's for sure. I’m going to go for a run around the campus, is that fine?”

“Sure, you can go ahead. Quite early for a run though, you usually get up at this time?”

“It’s a habit.” I nod towards him and continued towards the door, “See you later Mike!” I hear Mike’s signature grunt of affirmation before going out of the door.

*inhale* *exhale*

“Alright, time for a run. Stein! Kern! Fels! You can come out, but make sure no one sees you, okay?” Feelings of confirmation pulse through our connections before they went off their own ways, excited in exploring the immediate area. Except for Kern of course, who just goes back to his bracer form and latches on my left arm. *sigh* I feel like a parent with one extremely introverted kid.

I run randomly on the campus, exploring the place more thoroughly and planning my future routes of exercise. There are surprisingly few people out, I would’ve thought exercise would be something that’s normal here. Then again we are all pre-teens… maybe I’m the weird one?

I notice a few people walking around this early have pets with them. Well, ‘pets’. They’re not cute Pomeranians or chihuahuas, they’re essentially walking around with monsters. Giant black wolves, six-legged gators, giant pythons, and the like.

Coming back to the dorm after the run and cleaning up in the showers, I laid down on the bed and opened my phone to look at the app sent to me by the old lady in the yesterday.

“Ah, so this is the ‘pamphlet’ they were all talking about It’s literally an app called Pamphlet…. it looks like forums can be accessed here too. What else? Schedules, clubs, guilds, lectures and… tasks? Why do I already have tasks... oh. I have to get a uniform and basic equipment. Maybe I should make a list.”

I open a sticky-notes app and typed out a to-do list. “So, get a uniform and some basic equipment. Register at the dorm? Done with that. Read rules and regulations… I’ll do that later. Find a guide, check. Oh? I need to register for lectures, huh, I can probably ask Mike how to do it. Or maybe message Kat... but I’d rather not.“ I shiver at the thought of getting dragged along on Kat’s antics.

“I can register familiars or pets!” I remember the people walking their pets around earlier, then I look at my three familiars floating around the room playing with each other. “I suppose it’s worth a try, I won’t have to hide them all the time, then.”

After adding it on the list, I took some time to think about what else I want to do. “Maybe I’ll look for smiths to work under, or maybe an alchemist. Although Linds might hate me, so I guess smithing it is.” Enchanting wasn’t an option because trainee level enchantments are usually worthless and are put in a discount bill. Smithing is slightly better since people still need basic tools. I mean I won’t be making any legendary weapons anytime soon but I should still be able to make a decent one. I can also probably make ammo, but it’s too tedious...

“Rocks! Almost forgot, I need a rock supplier. Hopefully, there’s one in town, delivery from the main city is expensive ugh…” Sitting up and calling back my familiars, I stretched and got ready for the day. “Ohhhkay let’s start the… ah.” I forgot about my luggage, which is still stacked up in the corner of the room. I sighed and just put it in the todo list.

Putting on the watch and the hoodie Uncle Robert gave to me back then, I tidied my bed for a bit before going outside. Getting to the lobby, I see Mike busy with a new fresher so I sit on the side to wait before asking him about the stuff I need to do. Which reminds me, I’m going to have a roommate huh. I might not be able to hide those three so I guess registering them is the best way...

“Hey, you a fresher?”, someone calls out to me. I look over and a red-haired kid is nodding towards me. He dresses like a lazy person, with long-sleeved baggy clothes and sweatpants, but his eyes are just like his hair, fierce and wild.

“Yeah?”

“I’m Kent,” he says as he approaches me offering a handshake.

“Cas, nice to meet you.” I shake his hand firmly and was surprised by the rock plates on the back of his hand. “Oh! You’re a D’varf?”

Name: Kent

Race: D'varf

Title: ???

Classes: ???

Dangerous, proceed with caution.

“Half, yeah.” He nods, “Nice to see another one of us around here. There aren’t many D’varfs in the Arkos dorm so it’s good to have you here.” His rock pattern was different from mine, it was mostly hidden by his baggy clothes, but looking closely, I can see impressions of it through the fabric. “Most other D’varfs go for smithing and other crafting classes so they’re generally in the non-combatant dorms.”

“Dorms are separated by classes?” That’s new information. But what about multi-classers?

“Not necessarily classes, just by profession. Whether they’re combat-oriented or not. Did you get your tour yet? I can be your guide if you want.”

Kat… “Thanks, but I already got the tour. My ‘guide’ might have forgotten that tidbit of information.”

He raises his brows and continues, “No harm done, at least you know now. Anyway, you probably have figured it out but our Arkos dorm is a combatant dorm, although we still get ‘grey’ classes here and there. What’s your class?”

Grey classes huh, that’s pretty rare as a basic class. Gray classes are classes that can’t be classified as a combatant or non-combatant, as they usually belong in both worlds. Trappers and Bards are considered grey classes.

“I’m a warrior main, you?”

“I’m a warrior too. It’s nothing surprising really, you can usually expect other D’varfs to be warriors since our aptitude for other classes basically suck. Not saying there aren’t any ranger or mage D’varfs out there, but just saying they’re rare.”

“I see.” I notice the fresher that was talking to Mike finally going away so I bid goodbye to Kent. “I gotta go, nice meeting you, Kent.”

He nods and I approached Mike with a question. “Hey Mike, can I ask you something?”

He grunts and signals me to continue. “Where do I get my uniform and basic equipment? Also, where do I register my lectures and my pets?”

Mike raises his brow before answering, “You should really read the rulebook thoroughly kid.” I scratch my head in embarrassment. “Anyway, you can register everything using the app or in the administration building, but for pets, you have to go there personally with them.” He taps on his computer and an image of the map appears on his desk. He points to one of the buildings, “This is the Armament Hall, you can get your stuff there, just show them your plate.”

“Okay, thanks, Mike!” I hear his grunt once more as I went towards the door and headed out to the Armament Hall. On the way there I browsed through the different lectures and found out that I’m already registered with a few basic ones and I can choose two or three extra lectures. I’ll decide later, classes don’t start till next week anyway.

Inside the building, I head towards the man sitting at the front desk and greeted, “Hello, can I get my uniform and basic equipment here?”

“Ye’, gimme yer plate,” the man at the counter said with a gruff voice. I handed him my phone, which has my plate inside, and he just put it on his table and typed away on his computer. “Shield, huh? That’s unusual, no other weapons?” I shake my head towards his question and he continues, I’m afraid the only shields we have are bucklers, heaters, and towers so if you use a specific one you’re out of luck.”

“Oh I have my own weapon, it’s fine.”

“Well, academy rules are that you need to be issued with one even if that’s the case. These have particular enchantments on them that’s required by the Union. So unless you’re willing to have your shield enchanted, you’ll have to use this.”

Huh, I never thought of trying to enchant my familiars, if that’s even possible. I should ask Uncle Robert. “I’ll get the tower shield then. Though, is it possible to have my shield enchanted if I change my mind later?”

“Sure, fresher, you’ll have to return the academy provided shield and pay for the enchantments later if that’s the case.”

I nod in understanding and he asks a bunch of other questions about my classes, the equipment or weapons I use with them, the non-combatant classes I had that I plan to take lectures in, and other stuff to determine what I need.

“Wow, well that’s quite a bit of equipment. Remember any damages outside of academic use is going to be billed to you or your parents.” In total, I got issued a shield, a shotgun, a handgun, and an assortment of crafting equipment.

Curious about the rule, I asked. “So it’s fine if it breaks while having a lesson?”

“Yeah that’s fine, we can replace it here anytime. I know it’s kinda stupid but that’s the rule.” He hands me a container with the equipment, along with a bunch of uniforms. “I don’t need to get fitted for this?”

“What? They still do that nowadays? Huh. Well, we have genius enchanting trainees here in the Union, so you can expect stuff like this to be the norm here.”

Well… I guess the public perception of enchanting is that it’s really expensive, but in actuality, it’s a bit more affordable than what they think. Although having self-fitting enchantments on all your clothes would be a bit overkill.

“Well then, that’s about it, fresher. Here’s your phone back.” He hands me my phone and I use to pick up my equipment and head out towards the next building.

The admin building is the most populated building I’ve seen so far, presumably because all students have to take care of their schedules. I’m here to register the familiars though, which reminds me…

I look around to see if anyone’s looking at me. After confirming that the coast is clear, I all out my familiars. Stein! Kern! Fels! The three sneakily came out of my heart plate and rested on my shoulder. “Hopefully I can get you guys registered.”

The only reason I was scared of showing them out before was because of the kidnappings at the time. Although that did almost happen anyway...

After queuing up for an ungodly amount of time, roughly 24 minutes, I finally got to the front desk. “Hello, I’d like to register my familiars.”

“Sure, can I have your plate please.” We go through the usual dance of me giving my phone and them typing away at a computer. “Head towards the room on the left and show them your familiar,” the receptionist says as she hands me my phone back.

I go to the room and it heads towards an open yard area. A girl is sleeping on a chair hugging a giant egg. She was snoring really loudly so I tapped on her arm to wake her up, “Umm, excuse me?”

“*snort* wha- Oh! Uhh hey, I was just… uhh... Just making sure this egg was warm! I totally wasn’t slacking off!” She got flustered and was vigorously shaking her head from side to side.

“Suuree… I’m here to register my familiars.”

She suddenly perked up and pressed something on the wall next to her. A screen lit up on the wall and a keyboard popped out of it. She typed something in that made my profile appear on it. “Mr Newton? Okay! Show me them!”

“Uhh, they’re already out.” My three familiars floated from my shoulder and circled around me. I point to each one and introduced them to the girl, “That’s Stein, with the red glow. That’s Kern, the yellow one. And that green one’s Fels.”

“Oh! OH! What are they? I thought they were weird accessories at first!”

Actually… what are they? I know I got them from the rites and that they’re a part of me, somewhat. “I don’t really know what they are? The closest thing to them would be golems or living stones I guess.”

“An unknown familiar! I don’t remember anything like them in any of the textbooks I’ve read! Can I research them, can I?!” She sticks her face way too close for comfort into mine so I back away before replying.

“Uhh, I’ll think about it.” I am curious, but I’m not risking that. “Can I register them now?”

“Oh! Uhh sorry. I get a bit excited with familiars and pets…” She backs off and scratches her head, flustered once again. “Yeah, you can register them here. Just one moment…”

A circle of light glows in the middle of the yard as she types something on the keyboard. “Just get them to float in the middle of the circle one by one, okay?”

We go through the procedures of having them registered, with the girl trying to get my permission to experiment on them. I register what they’re capable of, well at least some of what they’re capable of, and we arbitrarily named their species as golems. “Okay, that’s all then. Remember, anything they get up to is your responsibility now okay? A-are you sure you won’t let me experiment on them? I’ll take good care of them! I swear!”

“... I’m sure. I’ll come back if I ever change my mind.” I answer with exasperation. I am interested too, but I don’t really trust anyone with experimenting with them. They are virtually unkillable though so I’ll probably consider it later.

Her eyes brightened up and we exchanged phone numbers while she drills into my head the advantages of her experimentations and how it’s going to help science. Her name’s Aria, and she’s not a lecturer or an employee. The Union apparently lets seniors work for credits in their spare time.

I leave the building and tell my familiars to roam around as they please, but maintain a safe distance from me. As per usual the other two explored and Kern stayed with me, sitting on my shoulder in his turtle form. I patted him lightly, which elicited a pulse of contentment from our connection and went on forward towards the town.

Ah, wait, I should probably drop off my equipment first...

[An hour later]

“*burp* ahhh, that hit the spot.” I patted my belly after eating lunch from a rock supplier I found. Looking up at the sun I thought about what to do next since I’ve already done most of what was on the list.

“That smithy took me in quite quickly though just because I’m a D’varf. Are we really that good?” Talking to myself while walking around the town to become more familiar with it, I get lost in my thoughts just thinking about random stuff before I sense one of my familiars tugging at our connection along with a dangerous sense of urgency.

! I rush towards the direction I felt the connection at and ordered my other familiar to rush there as well. I navigate a maze of alleyways eventually ending up in a rundown apartment building.

I spot a red glint from a bird arriving and circling around and surveying a compound. So it was Fels that sent the signal since Stein is up there. I kept sensing my connection with Fels while going through the apartments as silently as I can.

*whisper* I hear a sound as I came up another floor so I redoubled my efforts on keeping silent as I carefully came closer bit by bit. As I crouch-walked over to the end of the hall the muffled whispers became more audible and understandable.

“-ell this thing to the collector, he might be interested enough to buy it.” I hear a gruff voice that made me freeze in my tracks. Breathe, Cas. I closed my eyes and focused on eavesdropping on the conversation.

“A picture? Sure, I’ll send it, just wait a bit.” *click* “Got it? Yeah I know it looks like a rock, I’m not a moron. Why the f##k would I pick up a rock to sell to the collector? THE Collector.” He’s talking on the phone… . Time slowed down and I felt a significant drain to my stamina as I quickly peeked my head into the room to check it out. It looks like a large storage room with a few windows opposite the door. A man is wearing casual attire, white shirt and brown jeans, leaning out the middle window holding a phone to his ear with his other hand grabbing Fels.

Name: ???

Race: ???

Title: ???

Classes: ???

Minor danger, do not ignore

I tug on my connection with Fels to see if he’s okay, and he was so I quickly pulled my head back and deactivated my skill, making my perception of time go back to normal. I can take him, huh. That’s weird… he looks and feels dangerous?

“Yeah yeah, anyway go prepare an anti-magic container for this thing, I’ll be there in a- *clack* Who’s there?”

F##k, stupid f##king rock body… ugh. Breathe, Cas. Kern readies himself and transforms into a heater shield while I mentally told Stein to get ready as backup. I chose a premade disguise from the watch Uncle Robert gave me back then and long, dirty blonde hair came down from my head and my skin changed colour. There’s a huge drain in my magic as I activate the voice changing function along with the disguise.

“Come out now eavesdropper, I know you haven’t left yet.” He spoke once again as I made sure everything’s ready before steeling myself and stepping out of the corner. Just… act natural… here we go.

“Hey!” I high pitched, effeminate voice comes out of my throat as I point at Fels. “That’s mine! Give it back!”

“Abi- no… who are you?” He was taken aback for a moment before continuing, “This is yours? I don’t think so, kid. Just scoot along before you get- f##k!” I activated my as I rushed him with my shield in front.

He manages to roll out of the way while simultaneously throwing a few knives in my direction. One of them almost hit me but my hoodie deflected the knife and I quickly blocked the others with my shield. I increased and ran at him again while activating to cast s around him. Or at least I tried to, the spell did not activate and he dodged once again in the same manner, but this time I was able to graze him slightly.

“How are you this fast without skills?!” Huh? But I did use a skill? “Kid, you better f##k off before I get angry. Aghk!”

Stein, in bird form, flies through the window behind him and hits him straight in his back. He turns around and I use this chance to get close to him and bash him on the side with a shield as hard as I could, turning even higher in the process, launching him through the wall sending dust and debris everywhere.

I tried to follow him in but I noticed a blue glint inside the debris that slowly floated up and flew towards me. “Fels! I’m glad you’re fine, bud. We have something to worry about for now so get ready. Stein!” I had Stein merge with Kern into my shield, adding blades and spikes on it, and effectively transforming it to a tower shield.

Breathe, Cas. You can handle this. I wait nervously for the dust to settle. After and an ungodly amount of time, I’m greeted with an empty room on the other side of the hole. “Huh?” I go through it, still hiding behind my shield. I survey the room, finding it unoccupied.

Looking out the window of the room, I spot the silhouette of a man running away from the apartment through the rooftops and eventually disappearing into the alleyways. He’s gone…

*thud* I finally collapsed on the floor and breathed heavily from exhaustion. I deactivated everything that was draining my energy, the camouflage illusion and my . My three familiars snuggle up to me, trying to comfort me as I processed what just happened. I hugged all three of them, “I almost ran out of magic, that disguise drains so much ugh. Next time we should probably be more careful with wandering around.”

I need to get out of here, he might be grabbing backup… I stood up and hurried back towards campus.

[POV ???]

What the h#ll was that little girl?! F##k! I almost got done in by someone half my age! S##t! F##k! I ran through the alleyways, trying to lose any possible tail I had before coming back to the hideout in the other end of the town.

“Took you long enough, wait…why are you hurt? Did you bump into some Duty elite? You weren’t followed were you?” A melodious voice greets me as I sat on the couch.

“Fawn, just… I don’t want to talk about it. And no, I haven’t survived so near the Union only to be followed back like some f##king amateur.”

A purple-haired girl with deer horns stepped out from the darkness, wearing a sundress and sporting a bright smile. Her entire image exudes innocence and virtuousness if you didn’t know how conniving and shrewd this vixen actually was. She pouts at me, “Language! Anyway, where’s the rock? I got a cage ready in the back.”

“I dropped it, just leave it okay? I’m going to get some shut-eye.” I laid down on the couch and tried not to think about the throbbing pain on my side. Little sh#t got me good. She must have had a unique skill if she could move like that without Magic or Aura. That should've been good money.

“Ugh… wasting my time I could’ve spent stealing money from those freshers…” I tuned out her voice before slowly falling asleep thinking about that little girl. She looked so much like her…