Dante paced through the motions the system had taught him for this spell.

Slowly he added materials to the fire burning in the brazier.

About 10 minutes into the casting the flames flickered and changed.

The writhing of the flames became more docile, stable. Slowly shapes began to appear in the flames. The scene that laid before him in the brazier seemed to be a small forest. The branches of the trees dancing in unfelt winds. Scampering about the forest floor he saw several creatures. A cat, a rabbit, and a weasel to name just a few of the many creatures.

Among the branches he saw a large spider spinning its webs.

A small bird flew above the tree's only to be chased by a hawk.

The entire scene was a sight to behold as everything was made from the fire and the smoke created by the burning materials. Everything appeared so frail that a small breeze might bring it all to ruin.

The scene depicted in the flames shifted again.

The flames rose up until they appeared to run into some invisible barrier that held them in. The flames rose until they had formed a dome of blue flames.

There in the flames, small shapes formed and began to swim through the flames as if it were water.

A crab scuttled across the sea floor moving from one flaming rock to the next. Above it a seahorse galloped through the water before it was seized upon by several tentacles. Briefly the body of an octopus could be seen as it devoured its prey.

Once more the scene shifted this time to a cave but by this time he had already gotten the picture.

The spell was cycling through the many options he could choose from.

He smiled as the flames flickered back to the forest. There above the fiery trees he saw what he was looking for.

An owl flew over the trees scanning the ground for prey.

He was nearing the 50 minute mark when something sprang from the tree tops after the several flying creatures.

He looked on in confusion at what he was seeing before he realized what it was.

"...Is that a flying monkey?" He asked no one in particular.

"Flying monkey?!" His father asked, snapping to attention at its mention.

He couldn't help but smile at that. His dad did love the wizard of Oz after all.

After several minutes of teeth clenching irritation from his fathers small obsession with flying monkeys he had promised to help him learn the spell so he could have his very own flying monkey.

With that out of the way he could resume his own thoughts again. His body running through the spell near mechanically through the entire endeavor.

It wasn't even that he didn't like flying monkeys. He loved the idea of having a flying monkey.

You could give him a little vest and hat and he could be your adorable butler. It was just how his dad kept pushing him to choose it so that he could play with it.

It reminded him of how a child might fixate on something.

He let go of those thoughts and made his choice.

"Owl."

In the moment he made his choice the small world inside the brazier crumbled and reformed into the shape of an owl.

The smoke and flames, the ash of materials expended, all for this.

At the 1 hour mark, the spell had reached its climax. For a moment as the spell completed the small dome of magic created by the spell flared.

He had made his choice on the owls creature type and he spoke it now.

"Fey."

There within the dome of light something else could be seen.

A forest equal in its wonder and strangeness.

Plants with leaves and bark of every color. Strange fruits and even stranger insects.

It was not like it had been before. Now it was as if they were looking through a window to somewhere else.

There was motion in the distance he could see. Figures moving strangely.

They moved with grace unlike anything he had seen before. They were each like the wind given life.

Something dived through this window and soared into the sky, a sight to behold.

He felt the spell complete and fall apart as the materials ran out. It had served its purpose, his familiar had been summoned.

But where was it?

He looked up and found nothing.

He felt the connection and so he gave his first order.

"To me." He said simply as he raised his right arm for the bird to perch upon.

There was no sound, simply the sudden weight upon his arm.

The owl shuddered as it pulled in its wings, ruffling its feathers, the glamor that had hid it fading.

The crowd collectively gasped, cheered, and applauded as they saw the owl.

There upon Dante's arm was a 2 foot tall owl with prismatic feathers that almost seemed to shine as they caught the light.

He stood with the owl still on his arm and asked the owl a question.

"How did you vanish?" he asked curiously how it had done that.

Its only reply was to spread its wings once more.

As it did so the glamor that had hid it from sight returned. Its feathers caught the light such that it blended perfectly into its surroundings.

He doubted people could find it even if it was moving.

He looked to his father who had his arms crossed, trying hard not to look impressed.

"Now that's impressive."

-------------

Dante and his parents strode down the street led by Califa. It had taken them several minutes to get away from the crowd of people asking him where he had learned the spell. So he had simply told them to go to the mages guild to learn it or buy the spell from the system store. This was a surprise to many who swiftly began looking up the spell he had cast and others.

Above him silently flew his familiar, hidden from sight by its own glamor camouflage.

It truly was an interesting thing to watch the world from above.

Califa mainly was guiding his parents to weapon and supply shops.

Even a smithy.

As they walked the streets and checked out the shops he was experimenting.

He had discovered something about his connection to his familiar.

It might even be as valuable as its ability to hide in plain sight.

He looked down upon the road, and saw himself walking. A truly mind bending experience to say the least but that wasn't what he had discovered.

Skill, Cartography has leveled up! Lvl. 12->15...

Skill, Student of Magic has leveled up! Lvl. 15...

So long as he was looking through its eyes he could use it to map a much larger area than he could on the ground.

He had gained 3 levels in the skill just by walking around and watching through his familiar about a hundred feet above him.

A level in Student of Magic was just icing on the cake.

As they stopped by yet another shop his parents went in and he decided to sit on the bench out front.

He would need to be sitting for what he was about to do.

Something that it...he, at least he thought it was a he, could accomplish very quickly.

He would have to settle on a name later. His mind began to wander for a moment.

'Names have power. Will something happen like what happened to Virgil when I gave him a name? Probably not exactly as such but something similar?' he shook his head casting away the thoughts for another time. Dante closed his eyes for the moment and looked through the eyes of his familiar.

"Sweep the streets at chest level. Needless to say, avoid hitting anyone or anything." he spoke to the air eliciting looks of confusion and suspicion from passerby's. Not that he could see or hear anything around his own body.

For a moment he felt confusion from the owl through the connection. Taking a breath he understood the confusion. For a few seconds he imagined the owl flying down each of the streets. Its turning its head and eyes to scan the streets, the shops, even alleyways as he passed.

Understanding flowed back through the connection.

Quickly the owl began to sweep and scan the streets at chest height as he had been instructed. Th owl glided downward until it was about chest level with the people walking the streets and gently flapped its wings to maintain its height. Unheard, unseen, the owl made its way through the streets.

After a few minutes he felt a hand upon his shoulder.

Skill, Cartography has leveled up! Lvl. 16...

Switching back to his own eyes he saw an unremarkable man in armor looking at him with one hand on his shoulder and another on his sheathed sword.

"Can you hear me now sir?" The guard asked eliciting a nod from Dante.

"Good...We have received reports from several pedestrians as to a suspicious individual. What were you doing a moment ago?" The man asked and he felt something wash over him. He narrowed his eyes but when he saw three more guardsmen he took a breath and relaxed a bit.

"I was using my familiar to grind out levels in my Cartography skill." he stated plainly to the guardsman. The guardsman nodded but raised an eyebrow.

"A familiar? What kind would it happen to be? I would assume you are able to perceive through it if you are grinding the cartography skill?" He asked intrigued.

"An owl and that's correct. Will you need to see my familiar sir?" Dante asked respectfully as he stood up to stretch.

"Yes, we must insist on confirming what your familiar is. Also..." the guardsman paused as he rubbed his chin then resumed.

"...Would you happen to be the one that got permission to run a small spell over in Green Meadow park? Something about smoke from burning materials?" The guard asked curiosity getting the better of him.

"Yeah I was. I had just learned the spell so it was my first time casting it. The system gave me quite a lot of information about the spell but not on certain parts, like if the ritual stopped the burning materials from smoking. So I just assumed they would."

"Fair. We also received reports from guardsmen in the area about a large crowd that had gathered to watch that spell. As nothing untoward happened that we saw, we didn't intercede. Many people reported seeing something they described as a portal to another world. After we received that report we began searching for you." The guardsman said his hand never leaving the sword at his side.

"It did look like that I suppose. Anyway I don't know anything about that. All I know is that...Ah here he is." Dante said as he raised an arm setting the guard a bit on edge. Which was only slightly alleviated when the bird faded into sight perched there on his arm.

There was a collective gasp from the crowd that had gathered before and during his conversation with the guard. Now it was that he saw a guard speaking with his parents. His mother making small gestures as she spoke, while his dad stood straight and unwavering with...

'Did dad buy a pair of shades?' he thought with a bit of confusion though he could see the logic of it.

"So sir this is your familiar? Is it a spell or skill of yours allowing it to hide from sight."

"Neither. It seems to be an effect he can invoke himself. The moment he arrived I only caught a glimpse of him coming through before he was gone. Had to command him to come to me before he showed himself. I think he has the ability because he is a fey." He said as he began to rub his chin in contemplation.

"Fey? Be that as it may, this will be the final question if your answer is acceptable. Have you now, or in the past any intentions of harming this town?" The guard asked sternly.

He felt that same feeling from earlier return. It was a skill, it had to be.

"No, of course not." He replied with a slightly concerned expression.

The guard relaxed ever so slightly, his expression returning to one or mild amusement.

"I have confirmed your words as the truth. Thank you for your time and please enjoy your day in our fair town. My name is Herald Ishka and I thank you for answering my questions today." the guardsman spoke almost as if it were scripted. It probably was something he was supposed to say to people now that he thought about it.

No sooner had the guardsman stepped away, did his parents rush over and embrace him asking many question.

"I'm ok, I'm OK!"