Previously, Atlas had agreed to Fable's offer to train him personally.

[Atlas Pov]

It's been a few days since I agreed on Fable's offer to make me stronger.

After I had accepted, I immediately got sent back to my room. Fable wants to keep this on a low profile.

When I reached my room, I could hear the laughter of Atelie inside. I wonder what their doing, I must've missed out on a lot of training.

"Hey guys... I'm back. I had to go deal with some stuff so-" As I entered the room, I saw Archer and Diana's heads detached and put on a plate.

"Ah- Brother Atlas! We've been waiting for you!" Faith had grabbed my robe and shook me, she seems distressed about something.

"Lady Atelie wouldn't stop crying after Ms Vera laid her down in bed, the only thing that would stop her crying is Diana and Archer doing weird shenanigans. If they stopped, she would start bawling again!" Ah~ I see... I should calm Atelie down then.

"Hello Lady Atelie, sorry for leaving you just now... I'm here right now." I picked up Atelie and started to sway her while she was wrapped in her silk cloth, Its good that there's this cloth to protect her from the sharp parts of our bones.

"Gah! Atlash!" My name is the only word she can say, I should teach her more soon. At least she stopped crying, I want her to sleep already.

"Ehh~ How is Brother Atlas so good at calming Lady Atelie... Teach Us!" Your too loud! Atelie might cry again Diana!

"Diana be softer... You might make Lady Atelie cry..." Well done Faith, now I can out Atelie back down to her bed.

"You need to sway her gently and carefully caress her head, she'll fall asleep almost instantly." That's the way my mother used to do it for me, I mean... that's what she told me.

"Besides that... What'd you guys learn today from Ms Vera?" I'm curious, Ms Vera must've done something basic.

"Hm... We did Lauthari, it was super hard to do!" Lauthari? In Daradian, that means... Ah! Sharing but what were they sharing?"

"We shared Mana!" Ohh! Mana Sharing! Ms Vera did say we could share Mana because we're soul-bounded!

"Could you give me a demonstration?" I'd like to see it as long as it doesn't wake Atelie up.

"Gladly!" Diana and Archer were the ones to show me, Faith and I stood back and watched.

"Alright... Let's do this Diana!" Archer seemed quite hyped to do this, Diana is also equally excited.

I should be able to sense the feint movement of mana within the two, I just need to adjust my senses.

I could see a bright glow coming from within both Archer and Diana, it was from their Vel Cores.

Archer had lesser mana flowing through him, I could see Diana's mana transferring to Archer. Amazing... This would come in handy if any of us need more magic or suffer from mana exhaustion.

"Did you see that!" Diana had a smug face while Archer was quite happy to have his mana restored.

"Mhm! I saw it ! Good job you two!" It was good everyone was getting stronger, we'll be needing that strength for the Escape Plan.

"Alright... We should rest and recover our mana. I'll put Lady Atelie between us." Faith carefully picked up Atelie and placed her on our bed, we all surrounded her and rested.

The next evening...

Since making the deal, I've been heading to Fable's room after dinner so that he can teach me about all his discoveries in Black Vel Cores.

Only skeletons or undead monsters are able to obtain a Black Vel Core, other races like demons don't need to use Vel Cores to chant magic so they're able to use necromancy without a Black Vel Core.

As for skeletons and other undead, they need to have a Black Vel Core to be able to use necromancy as they need to put a soul into the empty bodies of the dead. Now I understood why I only produced bones but no sentient skeleton from my magic, Fable's explanations were really easy to grasp and understand.

Though other races could use necromancy, they have a limit to how many skeletons they can raise.

With that thought in mind, necromancers willingly killed themselves to be brought back by another necromancer to do their Vel Cores. Many weren't able to achieve the sought after Black Vel cores and only got partially Black Vel Cores that still had a limit, only a few were able to achieve it and those were from the Dark Ages.

So when they said to be able to get a Black Core Vel naturally is highly unlikely, especially when done fusing souls together.

With the amount of power that a Black Vel Core had it was understandable why people would want to obtain it, you could absorb other Vel Cores from monsters who had Vel Cores and virtually had almost no limit to how many undead you could raise.

"Did you understand everything I just said?" I mostly had to listen to Fable but it was interesting to know about this, I want to be able to do that kind of stuff if I can.

"Yeah... May I ask something Mister Fable?"

"Sure... Go ahead."

"When you said you were being corrupted by another Necromancer, what do you mean by that?" From what I understood, you could obtain partially Black Vel Cores from failing to get a pure Black Vel Core.

"There is another power that Black Vel Cores have, it is to directly affect other Vel Cores and bring them under their control." So basically mind-control... That's pretty overpowered.

"Its written in some of the private archives that it takes very long for Black Vel Cores to fully mature and gain those abilities, even if one could absorb Vel Cores every day it would take about 200 years." 200 years? Then those Necromancer from the Dark Ages must've been around for at least 300 years, its scary that I met one of those and survived.

"With enough time, demons like Master Savien are able to master the output and absorption of magic from even the environment. If you have enough magic, you'll be able to summon multiple strong undead though it would be hard to maintain."

Hmm... That means Savien must have been living or perfecting his magic capacity and techniques for a long time, I should ask him for tips when he's finally free to teach me magic.

"How long do you think it would take me to reach that level of mastery?" Judging by how I'm from another world maybe i'll also be an exception, 200 years is a very long time.

"Hmm... If I'm being generous... About 300 to 400 years, along that line." Ehh~ That long...

"The Necromancers back in the dark ages were geniuses, they had such a high intellect that most people couldn't understand the ideas and techniques they came up with." Were they that smart? I wish they weren't so scary like the one I met in that weird dimension.

"With my help, you'll be able to do it maybe... 50 years earlier!" Not much compared to how long the whole thing is but that's good.

"Alright! Enough talk, this will be you're second Vel Core that you'll be absorbing." Fable passed me a red Vel Core, it had a few black blemishes.

As soon as I put the Vel Core near my mouth, it started to get absorbed and I could feel my body burning up.

"Kuh! Ah! Hah Hah-" It was different from the other Vel Core I had before, it had more of a spicy feeling and it made my head spin.

"Hm... Interesting... There's different reactions to different Vel Cores, Its good that I can observe this first-hand." This- He's just watching me while I take this, at least I'm not in any real pain but still... damn it why does it feel so hot.

"Hah- I'm done absorbing it completely." Fable wrote down his observations and went to tend to me.

"We'll proceed with the adjustment to you're growing Vel Core." Adjustment? Oh... Its because my Vel Core is growing at a rapid race, I'll need to be able to control its output of power.

"Make sure to concentrate!" Fable whacked me with a thin stick, I wish he wouldn't do that.

"Visualize a waterfall... All that water is being streamed out, contain all of the water with a massive pot. Make sure that not a single drop escapes, that pot is your Vel Core containing your magic and soul. If you let it out so much, you waste unnecessary magic just by moving." Hm... I see, I understood the analogy that Fable was giving.

The 'Pot' is my Vel Core which contained all the water which is my 'Magic and Soul'.

If I don't properly contain my magic, I'd waste it as if it spilled out of my Vel Core. Alright I understand the concept, I'll give it a try then.

Waterfall... Contain it... Contain my magic...

[Fable Pov]

During the times when I was still with my comrades, I would think we were the strongest around.

All that changed when we were attacked by the Ancient Lichs, they had Black Vel Cores that could corrupt and absorb other Vel Cores.

The burning hatred I had hasn't been put out but to think I'm raising a Black Vel Core Lich myself, its exciting to have found the perfect person to do this.

His Vel Core is adjusting more than expected, I can see why Ms Vera and Master Savien sees so much potential in Atlas.

He hasn't complained about anything so far, if this proceeds as planned then in about a few months he'll be able to manage his own training for progressing his Black Vel Core.

"Alright that's enough Atlas, this is good enough. You can head back to your room." I should send him back before anyone gets suspicious, its been about 2 hours but I feel like we're close to being caught.

"Eh- But I haven-" Ugh just go already, why do you have to hesitate.

"No buts- Go now." I was finally able to get Atlas out of here, I can finally do some work in peace-

"Hello Fable..." Vera- Why's she here in my room.

"Oh hello Lady Ve-" Wait when did she come in here!

"Lady Vera what- I mean why are you here..." I have to hide the Vel Cores and my notes, shit its too late.

"Don't give me that crap Fable... I know what you and Atlas have been doing." Ah~ Can this day get any worse.

"You've been using these Vel Cores to get Atlas abnormally stronger, you think I wouldn't notice the rapid increase of power and size of Atlas's Vel Core? I know what Black Vel Cores can do and I chose not to tell him, yet you told him everything and making him absorb Vel Cores." How did she know all of that, I was sure that I put up a barrie-

"Thanks to this little guy, I was able to listen into your conversations." A summon? Its a little skeleton lizard, it also has a small invisibility cloak.

"Tsk- So are you going to tell Master Savien about this?" I wanted to keep this a secret but if I can convince Master Savien then just maybe it'll work.

"Oh... Master Savien already knows." Lady Vera had a clear smile on her face, she looks so smug right now its making me pissed off.

"Wait- Did you just say that Master Savien knows?" I must've misheard her...

"Yes she did my dear Fable, you didn't hear wrong." Master Savien! Why's everyone just invading my privacy for my room!

"Master Savien! I thought you were busy with administrative papers..." Shit shit, I didn't think that he'd come down to my room.

"I was able to finish earlier than expected thanks to Atlas's new recipes for dinner." The atmosphere's tense, the pressure could make me fall to my knees.

"So... You've been taking advantage of Atlas for your own benefit Fable? Even though Aerilyn helped you, you return her the favor by using her own daughter's protector as your own tool for revenge?" No! I just- It benefitted us both! Atlas could get stronger while if he ever meets one of those Ancient Lichs, he can kill them!

"Fable I know what you're thinking, I know how badly you want to kill those Ancient Lichs. You finally found someone who got into contact with one of them, that doesn't mean you should use them for your revenge." Damnit I just-

"Fable... Next time... You need to tell me, we've been there for each other for the longest time." Am I being let off the hook that easily?

"Oh and I'll be telling your mother about this~" Wait what-

"Eh?-" Wait! Not my mother!

"You thought you could be let off the hook that easily? Hehe~" Damnit that Vera, I don't want to deal with mother when she's angry!

"Agh~ Damnit! I'll never keep anything from them again."

The next morning...

[Atlas Pov]

"Alright everyone... This is Fable, he'll be teaching you all what you need to know about undead creatures and . We'll be taking turns every two days to teach you all, today will be Fable's turn." What the- Why is Fable here... He never told me he'd be teaching us today, don't tell me he got caught.

"Ah! Its that crazy skeleton that attacked us!" Diana pointed at Fable, did she really have to say it that loudly...

"Why you-" Fable was about to get angry when Ms Vera grabbed his shoulder and whispered something to him, I didn't know what she said but Fable instantly backed down.

"Tsk, I'll be teaching you about these." Fable drew a magic circle using a chalk-like substance.

"Heid evd chenm." I think he said 'Heed my call', what came out of the magic circle was a small skeleton dog.

"Woof!" Woah, its pretty cute.

"This is summoning magic, I used a magic circle to summon a unbonded creature." Summoning magic... That's pretty handy when you need an extra hand in battle or work.

"Take these cards, channel your mana into it from your Vel Core." Fable tossed us one card for each of us, we were spaced out because a summon could vary in size.

"Alright you may begin on your on time..." Simultaneously, All four of us channeled our mana into our summoning cards. It felt like a gacha game, we could get anything from these cards.

"Eh-" All the cards started to fly and orbit me, it had some dark miasma covering the cards.

My Vel Core started to shake, did something react with it?

"This is! Everyone stand back from Atlas!" Fable grabbed everyone and made a small earth wall with magic.

What happened next... I wasn't sure, I think I had blacked out but when I came to I was on the ground and had made a large crater on the floor.

"Bro- Brother Atlas! Are you okay? Get up!" Faith? What's happening... What! What is that!?

When I could finally see, I saw a huge ghost like person battling Fable.

"Tsk! Is Atlas awake yet? Tell him to cancel his summon already!" What? That's my summon? What about the others, don't they have their summon to help- Oh yeah... The cards all flew to my direction, the cards must've fused or something.

"KRAHHHH!" The ghost gave out a loud screech that broke all the windows near the vicinity.

The ghost seemed to head towards the room's exit, Fable had been using some salt-like substance to ward it off and distract it while Faith grabbed my body and the others were to get Ms Vera.

"Atlas! Cancel the summon! Stop putting mana into the card!" I hadn't noticed but I was still holding onto a small silver card that my mana was being absorbed by it, I immediately let go of it and the ghost finally stopped in its tracks.

"Phew~ Alright it should disappear any second now..." Fable was wielding a small dagger, his clothes had a few dirt marks and scratches.

"Hm... That weird... Its not-" Before Fable could finish his sentence, Ms Vera came bursting into the room.

"What happened here!" Fable was now on her knees getting lectured by Ms Vera while we observed the ghost.

"This is a banshee... the banshee is a female spirit said to appear preceding the death of a loved one. She will wail or shriek to warn family members of the coming disaster. Physically, descriptions of the banshee vary, from a one-foot tall old woman to a young woman in the family who died at a young age."

Death of a loved one... Wait doesn't this mean! Its- Before I could tell Ms Vera, she had already stared at the ghost and turned pale.

"It- It can't be, she died after Lady Atelie was born. Fable! Get Master Savien now!" I knew it... Its Savien's wife, Aerilyn.

"Ms Vera... Its her isn't it." I knew but I just had to confirm it with Ms Vera so I really wasn't mistaken.

"Yes... Its Lady Aerilyn..." Master Savien had came rushing in and saw the familiar figure of his deceased wife, he stuttered as he walked towards the banshee.

The sight of her face made Savien start to cry, you could hear the feint sniffles under that plague-like doctor mask.

"Aerilyn... Can you hear me? Its me... Savien..." There was no response, maybe it had the appearance of Aerilyn but it really wasn't her.

"Atlas... reactivate the summoning card." What? But- It'll start attacking everyone.

"Don't worry, I'm already here. If anything happens, I'll be able to handle it." If Savien wants me to do it, I have no choice.

When I started to put mana onto the summoning card the banshee, she directly went towards Savien.

"Yes! Aerilyn its me! I knew you would recognize me!" It was a pity that in reality Aerilyn just phased through her own husband, she had escaped through the door that Savien was in front of.

I had an uneasy feeling since Ms Vera mentioned that Aerilyn died after Atelie had been born, that and its sudden escape out of the door that led to the main castle.

"Ms Vera! I'll be going to Lady Atelie!" Though I didn't want to endanger Atelie, I wanted to see if what I was guessing was correct. I didn't stop putting my mana into the summoning card, I quickly rushed from outside the castle near the window to our room where Atelie was.

The rest were following behind but I was slightly quicker, there should be a skeleton there guarding the room.

"Lady Atelie! I'm here!" By the time I crashed into the window, the skeleton guard was all but a pile of bones.

"Kya! Mama! Hehe~" I was right... Aerilyn just wanted to see Atelie, its my first time hearing Atelie say something other than my name.

When she looked at Atelie, she had such a soft and gentle expression almost as if she was smiling.

"At- Atel- Atelie..." The ghostly form of Aerilyn struggled to say her own child's name, that's when she turned around to look at me.

"KRAHH!" Shit! She's going to attack me! I was about to dodge when Atelie said something that stopped Aerilyn.

"At- Atlash! Kya! Hehe~" Aerilyn stopped in her tracks, it seems that she won't attack me if she recognizes me as family.

I'd like to speak with Lady Aerilyn, I want to know more about the past.

I could hear hurried footsteps approaching to the door, if they come in here now... Aerilyn will attack and put Atelie in danger.

Alright let's put an earth wall first so that no one can come in, I'll contact Faith so that she can tell them of the situation right now.

I conjured an earth wall that covered and blocked the entrance of the room, Faith should've explained the whole situation to Master Savien and Ms Vera. I need some help to be able to talk with my familiar, I'm not sure about the procedures to be able to communicate with it.

"Atlas can you hear me?" Oh, its Ms Vera.

"Yes Ms Vera... I need some help with communicating between a familiar, is there any way I could do that like establishing a connection or bond?" I need some sort of way quickly.

"If you need to communicate with a familiar, you should press the summoning card against the familiar." Alright, I'll do it then.

"Lady Aerilyn... I don't know if you can hear me but please just stay still." I grabbed the summoning card and pressed it against her belly, what came next was I woke up in a room of pure white.

"Hello... may I ask who you are?" Aerilyn... She appeared in a pure white dress, she seemed lost and also in a state of emptiness.

"I'm..." Shit... I don't know what to identify to her, should I fake myself as a relative?

"Ngyah! Hehe~" Huh is that- Atelie? Why's she here.

"Hehe~ My baby is so cute..." The woman looked at me again as she gently swayed Atelie in her arms, it was such a tranquil sight to see.

"So who are you..." I should give an honest answer , no lies or façade.

"I'm that baby's caretaker... I'm here to take her back, to where she lives." This place... I'm not sure of where it was, maybe it was similar to that pitch black dimension with that Ancient Lich or whatever.

"Oh... I was wondering where she came from... She reminds me of myself when I was younger, she's a very cute baby!" I don't know what I'm supposed to say in this situation, I'm getting emotional but I'm not sure why.

"She seems quite attached to me, I was thinking if someone abandoned her!"

"I see..." This is an uncomfortable situation to find myself in.

"Oh sorry! Here you go, you can be on your way now." Aerilyn passed me Atelie, something didn't sit right with me.

I didn't know which direction to set to but I just went forwards, that's when Aerilyn stopped me to ask one final thing.

"What's the name of the baby!" She doesn't remember Atelie, I guess there's no harm in telling her the name.

"Her name is Atelie..." The women fell silent... she gave me a big smile and waved goodbye.

"Thank you Atlas..." Wait what! How did she- Before I could turn back to ask Aerilyn how she knew my name, I was already back in my room with Aerilyn's Banshee form.

"Atlas! Are you alright? What happened? Did you get to speak to Aerilyn?" It seems like I had collapsed, Savien was shaking me to get me to wake up.

"I was- I was able to talk to her, how is Lady Atelie?" I got up to see Aerilyn gently caressing Atelie, Ms Vera was beside her as she did so. Aerilyn must've calmed down, does she know identify me and everyone else as family now?

"When we got into the room, you were in her arms and gently put down. She didn't make any sudden movements, she slightly bowed to us and went to Lady Atelie right away." Ms Vera spoke to me while observing Aerilyn in her ghostly Banshee form, I feel like Ms Vera was reminiscing about Aerilyn.

"We should tidy up and arrange the castle, its quite messy right now..." Savien got up and attended to the other skeleton servants, he directed them to clean and fix a lot of the damage that Aerilyn caused. I most probably had to explain everything later when everyone's alright, I'm glad no one got seriously injured.

"Ate- Atelie..." I wonder if I should use the name Aerilyn or just describe her as Banshee... I guess i'll just use Aerilyn. I wonder where the rest were, maybe they're helping the other skeletons.

Well... Aerilyn was calling Atelie's name repeatedly, Ms Vera had a calming aura as she watched them.

"Lady Aerilyn please come here..." I wanted to see if she listened to my commands now.

As I ordered, Aerilyn came to me slowly as she reluctantly left Atelie's side.

"Thank you for calming down, I hope you can protect and warn us in the future of any disasters threatening the family. I'll be counting on you..." I wanted to at least show some appreciation and acknowledgment so that she knows she's part of the family, I went in for a hug though I didn't expect any response.

"Than- Thank you... At- Atlas..." She gave out a stuttering reply but what surprised me more was that she gently rubbed my skull and hugged me back, I forgot how warm a hug was though ironic that I am hugging a ghost-like person.

"Atlas..." Ms Vera came up to me, I wonder if she was going to scold me since I put myself or Atelie in danger. She hasn't scolded me before, I think I might've pushed my luck today though.

"I'm glad you're safe..." Eh- I swear I- This is good too... Ms Vera was hugging me surprisingly.

"Let's help clean up first..." Ms Vera got off me and proceeded to go outside to help, Aerilyn went back to take care of Atelie while I went to pick up the glass pieces I broke from the window.

It was evening by the time everyone was done cleaning, I should try to be more careful with stuff that involves my Vel Core. I wonder if Fable got scolded again by Master Savien, most probably Ms Vera did it.

"Alright... Tell us everything from the start Atlas." Master Savien, Ms Vera, Fable and all of us were gathered in our room.

"I'll do my best to tell it clearly." As usual, I gave a concise summary of what happened today. From what happened to the summoning cards, to the meeting with Aerilyn.

"I see... Thank you Atlas, you're always a big help." In under 30 minutes I was able to explain everything, Master Savien was in deep thought about what I told them.

"The woman that you met in that weird dream place... That wasn't Aerilyn." Eh- That wasn't her?

"You said she had pure white hair.. She only had black hair." Eh then where does Atelie's white hair come from?

"Her white hair comes from me..." Savien took off his hat which covered his pure white hair, the group and I was surprised.

"Eh- White hair-" Faith seemed quite shocked from the discovery of Master Savien's hair.

"So that woman who seemed to be Aerilyn must've actually been someone else..." Everyone was lost after Savien brought that possibility up.

"Master Savien... I'll check Atlas's memories to see whether it was Lady Aerilyn or not." Ms Vera had came up with a solution, luckily she was the one checking my memories so that my secret of coming from another world was hidden.

"That's a good idea... Get back to us soon." Ms Vera and I entered another room and proceeded with the memory reading.

"Since you're not a direct servant of Master Savien, we have to use other means to read your memory." Ms Vera took out a big needle and stabbed it through my skull, it went smoother than I expected.

"Just relax... It'll be over in a moment." Alright... I guess it'll take a min-

"All done... I've confirmed it, that was indeed not Lady Aerilyn." So who was it I saw...

"Master Savien we're back..." The room fell silent as we entered, I dislike tense atmospheres but I'm able to handle it.

"The woman Atlas saw was not Lady Aerilyn, the face structure and her way of speaking didn't match those of Lady Aerilyn." I couldn't tell from the mask, Savien probably had a grim expression.

"Do you have any idea who it was? Any noticeable features? It could've been an Ancient Lich in disguise, maybe the same one Atlas faced." Fable spoke up, he seemed quite interested if it was concerning an Ancient Lich.

"No... It wasn't an Ancient Lich, it was a Banshee. It might be a more powerful Banshee type, when looking at the familiar now... It fits the description of a Banshee." If Ms Vera confirmed it, there's no denying it already.

"Then let's test it out!" Savien radiated bloodlust, it made Faith, Archer, Diana and I fall to the ground. The pressure from his bloodlust was enough to make me tremble.

"KRAH!" My Banshee was active the whole time and it started to scream even before Savien activated his bloodlust, It did not however attack Savien. My Banshee only shielded Atelie and blocked direct eyesight between the two.

"Hm... I guess it is a Banshee." Savien stopped releasing his bloodlust and returned to normal.

My Banshee also stopped screaming and returned to playing with Atelie, when it goes into berserk mode it changes to a ragged beast-like person compared to its calm state where it only has a faint human shape and you can't visibly see its face.

"This is a useful familiar for you Atlas... Perfect for a caretaker, try to make it able to attack on command and follow your orders. This meeting is concluded!" Savien disappeared as soon as he ended the meeting, Fable went out the door while Ms Vera stayed behind to observe the Banshee.

To be honest, this familiar is perfect for me so I can predict enemies or at least prevent any accidents. However... I need to see if my Banshee identifies at least the four of us and Ms Vera as family members.

"Ms Vera could you try hitting all four of us?" Ms Vera agreed and we left the room to the repaired training hall, its amazing how quickly it was fixed. Atelie was left in the care of another skeleton caretaker while the rest watched Ms Vera and I.

"Alright I'll attack you now." Before Ms Vera could activate her bloodlust, my Banshee already had started screaming.

"Okay... That means I'm part of the family." We repeated the experiment with Faith, Diana and Archer. We ended with the same result, we even made sure to give some time before Ms Vera attacked us.

"For the final test... Ms Vera i'll attack you." I wasn't sure how to activate my bloodlust but this was a test anyways to see whether or not Ms Vera was considered as a family member.

I hadn't even had a thought of attacking Ms Vera but my Banshee started to go wild, it screamed even louder than before.

"What the- Cancel summon!" I cancelled my Banshee and it went back into my summoning card, I wonder what happened.

"The stronger the killing intent or evil thoughts, the stronger the reaction of the Banshee..." Ms Vera came up to me as she spoke, I wonder if she suspicious of me now.

"I- I didn't even..." I stuttered as she came closer, she slowly patted my head and headed to the door.

"Tomorrow you guys can have a break from training, you may do anything except for going outside the castle." Ms Vera left the training hall and nothing more happened, for a few days I feel quite stressed from what's been happening since I've been doing lots of work.

"Brother Atlas! Can we test the combat ability of the Banshee?" Archer and Diana came up to me excitedly, it seems like this is no time to feel stressed or tensed... I'll do my best to help my group for the escape plan.

"Alright... I'm actually not sure how to make it attack you though, Its dangerous to let you guys fight it for now." I'll try and change the topic to doing something else, maybe some-

"Ah guys! I have to meet Fable! I have a lesson with him soon, you guys take care!" I completely forgot that my lessons with Fable were still active, he didn't say anything about cancelling them and its past dinner time.

"Take care Brother Atlas!" Maybe the rest knew what I was doing but didn't bother to ask, I guess they just trust me.

I was finally at Fable's room and entered, I wonder if he'd be mad.

"Late! 20 minutes late!" Fable sat on his chair like the final boss of a videogame, he had a book in hand which he placed down.

"I had to manage some stuff with Ms Vera, should I ask her to come here?" The moment I mentioned Ms Vera, Fable dropped his sly smile and turned his back on me.

"No No... That's not needed- 20 Minutes is not THAT long. Perfect amount of time for me to organize my stuff!" This guy... He's pretty scared of Ms Vera now that I think about it, I should use that to my advantage.

"Alright! To the lesson I'm teaching you about... its about familiars today as well." Will he teach me how to control my Banshee properly?

"Pass me your summoning card for your banshee." I took out my card and handed it over to Fable, he examined the card and placed it on a book.

"Sit there and watch." Fable pulled out a chair from the corner of his room and placed it beside him, I sat down as he told me and watched closely.

He held a small pen that had a red ink... Maybe it was blood from the smell, he wrote something on my card and imbued mana onto it.

"You can manipulate your bones right? Open up your ribcage, I need some space." It felt weird moving my ribcage and showing it to Fable, it felt like the equivalent of being naked.

He stuck the summoning card into my Vel Core and it absorbed it-

"Wait! Why would you do that!" I pulled his arm out and closed my ribcage.

"Let me explain first! Impatient brat!" Impat- You should tell me what your going to do first!

"That was to bond your familiar to your Vel Core, you'll be able to summon your Banshee without having to physically take out the summoning card and you'll be able to cancel the summon easily." Oh... He should've told me that first before making me absorb the card.

"Now just think of your Banshee, summon it here." I began thinking of my banshee and summoning it here, it instantly came out and bowed to me.

"If you don't want it there then you can just cancel the summoning." I cancelled the summon and it was absorbed back into my Vel Core.

"If you just used your summoning card, once you lost it there's no way to summon your banshee. With this even if your Banshee gets destroyed, it'll be able to revive as long as your Vel Core is intact." Hm... Alright I understand, its a good benefit.

"Come with me... We'll practice using your familiar." We headed to the training hall again, Faith and the rest must've left already.

"Oi Archer! Your slowing down!" Diana and Archer were sparring in close quarters combat, Faith was chanting and practicing magic from multiple books as she used different magics at the same time.

"Brother Atlas! Oh and..." Diana still seemed to dislike Fable, she always gave a 'Don't come close to me' aura when he came near her.

"We're going to practice using my familiar, we should practice sparring together later." Maybe we should try to attack Fable together as an exercise, that'll be fun hehe~

"Its the same concept of summoning your familiar, just think of it and your familiar will do as ordered." So it'll attack if I think about it? That's simple...

I summoned my Banshee and a practice doll was put up, I was given a book to study about Banshees by Fable.

Banshees have two main abilities, a piercing scream attack that can deafen enemies ear and telekinesis.

I guess I won't be using the piercing scream, telekinesis is a good ability but to what extent can it be used for.

"Attack the target, use any ability that your familiar can use." Fable set up a chair and sat in it while watching me.

Alright... Telekinesis, my banshee can move objects and people without physical touch.

"Hm?" When I looked up to the target that Fable set up, it was completely crushed into a compressed ball.

My Banshee came up to me and put her arms wide open, was she asking for a hug?

I hugged my banshee and she seemed delighted, she went to wonder around and go to Faith, Diana and Archer.

"Good good... Your Banshee is able to attack a target, your chances of protecting Lady Atelie have increased dramatically." Fable was pleased with the result, he reformed the target into something smaller in the shape of the baby.

"All of you come here..." Fable gathered all of us and gave Faith the baby, is it what I'm thinking.

"We'll do a training session together, I will aim for that baby and you guys will protect it." Wait so suddenly? I think we shoul-

Before we could agree, Fable appeared in front of us with two daggers facing Archer and Diana.

"Both of you come!" I was able to command my Banshee to pull Archer and Diana to safety, now I just needed a weapon.

"Faith! Distract Fable while I get us weapons!" We'll keep communications via telepathy for battle uses, will Fable even let me out of the training hall?

"Brother Atlas! There's some weapons behind that door!" Diana pointed to a door near the exit, there mut be weapons in there.

"You think I'll let you!" Fable came rushing at me in full speed, I won't be able to block it so I need to redirect him.

"What the-" I was able to redirect Fable using my Banshee's telekinesis, if its that strong then it'll definitely come in handy in the future.

"Archer! Diana! Faith! Catch these!" I got a pair of gauntlets for Diana, A bow and a quiver for Archer and a magic staff for Faith.

"Alright now we're talking!" Fable seemed riled up and started to attack me first, he doesn't now how to hold back!

First think! His speed, his strength, his reaction speed, he outmatches us in every aspect. I want to scare him and stop him from moving for just a second, I need that pressure like what Savien had... I need it to be contained into a strike when he's restricted.

My Banshee should be able to go toe-to-toe with Fable... I remember Fable battling with my Banshee, I think I shouldn't do that. If I do make my Banshee attack Fable at full power, I'm unsure whether I could calm it down again.

Faith, Diana and Archer should know what I'm thinking about, we've made sure that all our ideas or tactics would be laid out so that we could execute it in almost an instant in good coordination.

Though it felt weird, our sense of time as we thought was much faster than in real-world time. This meant we could take time to process and come up with tactics, though it might not work against really fast opponents like Fable.

I'll use my Banshee to restrict Fable while I make a smokescreen, with the giant cloud of smoke I can go in for a strike.

"That was a good try but remember you won't be able to see me moving too unless you have a real good way to stop me from moving~"

What the- Before I could react, Fable kicked me on my left side and I went flying. I swear my Banshee should've been able to stop him, even just for a few seconds.

"Brother Atlas!" Diana grabbed me while avoiding Fable's strikes, this bastard... Isn't this supposed to be just training! Hold back a little!

"You guys aren't guarding the target~" Fable headed straight to Faith who was holding the target, I need to send my Banshee-

"Piercing Scream!" I have no choice but to go all out too, hopefully this won't disorientate the others too... I'll tell them to lower the sensitivity of their hearing to the lowest.

"KRAHH!" My Banshee gave a deafening scream in Fable's direction, it also had a shockwave that pushed him away from Faith and the target.

This feeling- my mana, my Vel Core- It feels different, I can do it... I just need to land one hit.

"HAH! That was a good attack~ But you should do-"

[Fable Pov]

They won't be able to take me down today... they lack the abilities and power but they have good potential. That piercing scream attack was good, my head feels more light-headed.

I can see their shadows moving around, they must have a plan to attack me and corner me but that won't-

"AHHH!" Atlas! Recklessly charging into me! I might have overestimated you, how will that stop me? I'll let him land a hit and face the despair of an overwhelming opponent!

"KAH!" What the hell? He hit me in my ribcage? It shouldn't hurt but how-

"I realized that Master Savien and that weird skeleton could make me feel pain, I didn't know how but I wanted to learn that too! Now I know! Its the Vel Core! Vel Cores can affect each other HAHA!" This bastard- How was he able to- I guess playtime is over now.

"Alright all of you... Let's end this now." I'll end it quick, using Ice Magic.

"Black Bone Arts: Reigning Ice Mist!" Whew~ There all done... Everyone's frozen in Ice, so... they failed to protect the target.

"Hah~ You bastard- Don't you know... how to hold back..." What the- How did Atlas avoid my attack... I see... He rapidly casted fire magic and tanked my attack.

"Black Bone Arts- What is that..." Atlas is tired so I guess I'll give him a summary before finishing him off.

"Black Bone arts is the use of the dark magic arts, you'll have to master the control of your Vel Core to a very high degree... I just fused some Black Bone Arts with my magic."

"Are there any variations or... derivatives?" Ugh so many questions... I want to finish this quickly~

"There are the Bone Arts which is manipulating your bones to an extent, almost every skeleton warrior should be able to use it. Though there are users that can bring it to the next level." Are you finally done asking questions?

"Oh then I might be able to use that..." What? Wait a minute- His aura's changed, it feels like the calm before the storm.

As I observed Atlas, his hand formed into a blade. It was like from the time he tried to stab me but its... Its abnormally sharper, he shouldn't have been able to master Bone Arts to this degree yet.

"I'm coming now." I knew he was coming and I'm confident he can't take me down... I just felt the uneasiness crawl through my bones.

"Wha-" My feet! That Atlas! He stretched his bones all the way here! I'm stuck!

"Eh- Atlas?" Before he could pull off his attack, he fell unconscious.

"Shit Atlas!" I'll undo my magic and free everyone, I need them to help me right now.

"Brother Atlas!" I need to bring him to Mother, he shouldn't be able to use Bone Arts to this degree yet... It'll kill him if he doesn't have a mastery over it, there must be a heavy strain on his body and his Vel Core.

I felt the blade he formed, if I pressed my finger any harder on the blade it would cut me.

"Let's go... Carry him and follow me." Mother might get mad at me... Hang in there Atlas.

[To be Continued...]