Galizé is a weird animal...

With each passing day it becomes more obvious how weird he is compared to other spiritual animals.

Especially after he started to reject the foods that normal Gallinus eat and just eat the same as me.

He’s really a Gallinus, right? ...Well, it doesn’t matter, since he is my animal.

- Even if Galizé is a little different, I will make him strong to accompany me. - I mumble while I’m changing.

Today will be the day when I will be able to register at the Tower of Challenges.

This will be the last event to take place in that tower, so I can’t miss it!

There are a lot of people at the entrance and it took some time to register, but I managed to register and go for the first exam.

It was a simple exam, which I had to cross a seemingly ordinary corridor, but with a lot of water element in the air.

Even though this is my element, I could barely stand to walk with so much pressure from it...

When I came back to pick up my Gallinus, the thought that only this makes me difficult to walk occurred to me.

But as soon as I saw Galizé looking at me calmly, I managed to calm down.

- ... That was really difficult, but I did it, Galizé! - I say excitedly.

Yes, what matters is that I made it through and now I can enter the tower.

[...]

I have been training Galizé for some time now.

He still doesn’t seem to like it very much, but I can always convince him.

Today, my mom looks tired and I’m a little worried, but the time is short before we go up to the tower.

When I was thinking about starting my daily training with my Gallinus, Gabel appears at the door.

He looked like he came to my house just for a rematch of the fight we had a few days ago.

Of course, I agreed to fight him again, but because of his skill, we were expelled from my house and had to go to the woods.

This time, I let Gabel finish using his ability before punching his armor and then retreating.

- It is really hard... - I mumbled while feeling a slight pain in my wrist.

- Already gave up? I thought you could do more than that! - He says, seeing me with difficulty.

- I’m just seeing the hardness of that armor. - I say, before I take my position seriously. - Now let’s start the serious fight.

But, as soon as I was thinking of ways to attack him, Galizé entered the field and went to Gabel.

What he is doing!? This is dangerous!!

- Hey, Galizé! Don’t enter the field like that! - I try to call him, but he ignores me.

Watching him, my suspicion of Galizé is an intelligent animal has finally been confirmed.

After he heard some words from Gabel, my Gallinus simply climbed over the rocks and used the breathing opening in Gabel’s armor to attack him.

Not only that, but he attacked three times while dodging Gabel’s attacks.

Why didn’t he run away just like the time he fought Utta?

But after a brief moment of watching, that’s when I noticed the reason.

Galizé seemed to know Gabel would not have the speed to attack him and used that to his advantage.

But... Why did Gabel become so slow?

I’m not sure why, but now I know his weakness, I can defeat him easily.

Taking advantage of the moment when my Gallinus fled Utta and climbed a tree, I walked over to Gabel calmly.

- What is it? Won’t you try to attack me again? - He speaks with a smile.

- ...Actually, why don’t you attack me? - I asked, also smiling.

At that moment, he was silent as he tried to move his limbs a little.

It was easy to see he had difficulty moving them freely.

- ...You are afraid of my defense! Since you can’t hurt me! - Gabel speaks, trying to provoke me.

- Fine, so I’m going to attack...

I keep walking until reach Gabel, who is still smiling confidently, and push him.

Not expecting this, he tries to use his hands to support himself, but his movements were very slow and a slight crash is made on the ground.

The grass absorbed the impact, but some dirt still flew and made a small cloud of dust.

- ... I was distracted! - He says, while getting up with difficulty.

After that, I continued pushing him while paying attention to Galizé from time to time.

He climbed a tree and took advantage of the branch to bring down Utta...

This only further confirms about my Gallinus has intelligence, but one thing is still strange.

... If he has that much intelligence, why doesn’t he use any of his skills?

Usually, spiritual animals have some abilities according to their race and element, but Galizé seems to have none... Neither skill nor element.

Perhaps Galizé is not a Gallinus, but a similar animal?

But if that were the case, the contract collar wouldn’t have worked.

If it weren’t for this feeling of being connected, I would have thought the contract didn’t work...

Galizé has many mysteries and I hope to find out more about it over time.

Returning my focus to the “fight” with Gabel, I ended up hearing someone call me. She is Maria, a friend of mine who lives in the neighborhood.

Because of her work, she usually spends a lot of time busy and as I was training, I was unable to visit her.

Maria is always a friendly girl with those who are close to her, but it is very difficult to befriend her.

Mainly because of the communication problem she has, which she can only talk to others through selling.

Gabel said that Maria is like that because of something happened in the past...

Maria seems to have come from a place where the pronunciation of some words sounded strange here, so she ended up isolating herself and only talking to he parent’s clients.

But well, as she is a secondary character, her story is not very deep.

And Gabel is just a very spoiled boy.

Anyway, while we were talking, the two of them started to question me about the way I am training Galizé.

Is my way of teaching wrong? So what should I teach!

Not even Galizé seems to find training effective...

Seeing I’m trapped, Maria changes the subject.

Looking at Maria, I realize she was wearing her work clothes and brought us some popcorn.

I wanted to eat mine alone, but my Gallinus demanded a little. He is usually expressionless, but when he wants something, Galizé uses force to achieve it.

Perhaps the training has borne fruits? His peck is stronger than before...

Even Gabel and Maria started to think it was weird and certainly anyone who saw us whould think so too. They may even begin to think Galizé is some kind of Gallinus variation.

I just wanted him to obey me correctly, like any other animal...

[...]

Ah... I knew that day would come, but... Why did it have to come so fast?

This is weird, why did it happen so suddenly!? Wasn’t mom okay yesterday?!

- It seems that this moment came faster than I expected… - My mother murmurs.

- No, you can’t go now!! - I say bitterly. - I want you to see me complete the tower!

Watching my mother, lying on her bed, I couldn’t hold back my tears.

Why is this happening?1 Why doesn’t my mom explain why?

My mother told me this was going to happen two years ago, but she never explained why.

What’s the point of hiding it from me?!

By that time, my mother had already started to shine with an essence similar to water.

Just seeing that, I already knew it was no longer possible for her to stay.

My mother asks me to get a glass of water and, while I search the house, there was no sign of water.

The water is over? But I think I can create a little...

Although I am not very good with my cultivation, I still manage to create some water.

So as soon as I return to the room, before entering, I see my mother talking to Galizé.

- I just want her to have a normal life. - My mother speaks with difficulty. - I said she’ll be able to do what she wants, but that must be impossible… No, I wish it never happens.

...Hã? My mom... Do you want me to become a normal person?

At that moment, a certain memory came to my mind.

A memory from two years ago, when my mother told me that she was going to disappear.

- Don’t worry, Suzy, as long as you become strong, we can see each other again. - She spaeks calmly. - I will support you and I’m sure you will succeed.

I don’t remember what I said, but I was certainly in despair.

Did she... lie to me? Or did my mom never think I could become strong?

While the word impossible resonated in my mind, I went to my mother and hugged her.

What do I do?!

I didn’t know what to think anymore and just kept hugging until the moment came.

In the moonlight, my mother began to shatter and disappear.

...Ah, now I understand.

As I cried for not knowing what else I should do, a brief thought came to my mind.

My mother was never here... She was just a being created by the essence of cultivation.

When I thought about it, my mind reached its limit and I blacked out.

[...]

The next day I wake up and look vaguely at the bed I’m lying on.

That really happened...

Getting up from the bed, I go to the kitchen and sit on a chair.

My mind is confused and I feel great sadness in my chest.

This sadness was not just because of my mother’s disappearance, but because she was never here, just her clone.

Furthermore, the only person who supported me and kept me training said it was impossible for me to become stronger.

The tears are no longer flowing... I feel empty.

I don’t know how long I’ve been standing there, but I smell a slight burning smell and end up looking at the plate in front of me.

What is it?

On the plate were a few burnt slices of bread with nothing to go with.

Who put this here?

Looking around, I see Galizé leaving the house while carrying a glass of water.

As soon as I follow him, I discover he is watering the flowers in the garden.

The flowers my mom liked...

She always took care of them and when they bloomed, she called me to see.

I feel sad again and, looking for a way to change my mind, I ask Galizé what to do.

He looked at me a little weirdly, but then decided to guide me to the village.

[...]

After walking around for a while and talking to some friends and acquaintances, I started thinking about the tower to divert my attention.

Yes, I just have to think about the tower...

I stopped training Galizé and just try to cultivate with the tower in mind.

Even so, deep down, I had already given up on everything and knew I would not succeed.

And then the day came...

[...]

I’m inside the tower with a large group of people.

Just watching them, my body starts to shake.

There are many... And they seem to be strong...

After delivering my ticket to the attendant, I go up some stairs and arrive at the first challenge.

In this challenge, I must find a way to escape this floor, but I have no idea how to do this.

Even Maria and Gabel, whom I met by chance, don’t know what to do.

So we decided to look for some way, but only Maria managed to get to the next floor.

Then that’s it? Will I lose on the first floor?

I decide to run across the floor to see if I can find anything, but soon Galizé stops me, clutching his claws on my shoulder.

After that, Galizé jumps off my shoulder and walks to a hole. I walk over to him and look into the hole, but I couldn’t see its bottom.

At that moment, a drunk person appears and jumps into the hole.

Just before he starts to fall, he disappears.

It was then I discovered why my Gallinus brought me there.

He knows?! Does he really know how to go to the next floor?!

As soon as Galizé replies to me that he can find the passage to the second floor, I feel a littler relieved.

My Gallinus can take me to the next floor! I will not lose on the first floor!

I finally started to have confidence... Not in me, but in my spiritual animal.

But that was short-lived, because in the next moment, Galizé said we needed to split up.

Since my Gallinus can’t stand being under water, he needs to find another way to get to the second floor.

If I were strong as Maria, I could protect him and take him into the water...

Because of my own weakness, I had to accept the fact that we split and ended up going to the second floor alone.

[...]

As soon as I passed the place Galizé pointed out, I went up to the water’s surface and discovered I was in a swamp.

Looking around, I could only see extremely dark water, making me anxious for what could be inside it.

So, as soon as I saw some trees coming out of the water, I went to them and used their roots as protection while swimming over them.

What should I do? Is there no explanation?

As I swam near the trees, I hear the sound of something breaking. When I look back, I see a wavelet that was getting bigger and bigger.

Gradually, a large snake rises from the bottom of the swamp while a boy was on top of its head.

The boy seems to be 12 years old and was looking at me coldly, together with his snake.

- ...Come on, she’s just another weakling.

As soon as it heard the boy, the snake changed its direction and the two left.

I remained there, frozen for some time.

Is it against people like this I will have to compete?

I no longer have any confidence.

Should I give up?

While I think about it, I decide to go back to swimming and soon arrive in a forest.

Yup, enough, I will just find Galizé and give up.

As I spent a lot of time in the swamp, the sky had already darkened and my body getting more and more tired.

I cannot call Galizé, or I may have problems with other participants.

For that reason, I kept looking silently until my energy ran out.

... Should I leave Galizé and return?

In that tower, if a person calls one of the moderators, he can leave while he is disqualified. So, I can leave at any time.

Go back alone... Live alone...

I’m afraid of that.

- “Haa... How complicated it is to drag this bag...”

In this moment, I hear a voice from behind some trees.

Is anyone approaching?!

I quickly hide and watch the person approaching.

But what came up was something I really didn’t expect.

That was Galizé, carrying a bag with one of his feet.

- G-Galizé? - I asked, while I stopped hiding.

- “Hm? Ah, girl, you are here.”

Galizé... Are you talking!? ...No, he’s not even opening his beak in the first place.

I cover my ears with my hands, but i can still hear clearly what my Gallinus says.

- “What is it, Suzy? Come and help me with this soon!” - He says as he approaches me.

His appearance remains the same, without expressing emotions, while his speech carried a strong tone.

- Ga-Galizé, desde quando você sabe falar?! - I exclaim.

- “Me? Speak? What do you mean... Wait, are you listening to me!?”

For the first time, after so much time with my Gallinus, I could see some emotion in his behavior.

The surprise he had seemed to be even greater than mine.

While he was stunned, I sat next to him to watch him.

Is he really talking? Does a spiritual animal that can speak exist?

I’m beginning to feel excited about this news, but that feeling soon disappears because of Galizé’s next lines.

- “I see, so you can hear me... Can you her my thoughts... After all this time, I can finally talk to someone...”

- ...Galizé? - I ask, a little anxious.

My Gallinus starts to approach me and climbs on my shoulder as he speaks.

- “Suzy, do you know how confused I am? How many things did you say to me and never explain to me what they were? Well...”

Galizé put a branch on my throat while looking seriously at me.

- “You will answer aaaaaall my questions, ok?”

The pressure from him is something more terrifying than the snake I found in the swamp.

Mom, my Gallinus is threatening me with a stick...