“Well… that’s something different.” Shaun’s words were putting it lightly as he and the members of Einherjar stared at the desk in front of them.

It was the twenty fifth of February, two days since the fight against the second Demon Lord, Willow, and after taking one day off for resting, today Einherjar returned to the Guild…

Coming with them, was their spoils of war from the battle against Willow.

Each of the team leaders received something for their efforts, Sheikh received a pair of (wooden) gauntlets, Jade some (wooden) greaves, Loyiso a (wooden) shield, Ichiro a (wooden) chest-plate.

They all got armour pieces which they could use to some extent, thankfully… the odd ones out were Albert and Arthur.

Albert was apparently awarded for his contributions with a new skill, Forest Guardian, a Unique Skill similar to Arthur’s Lightning Elemental, just a bit better given the ranking.

It destroyed the view of ‘get the last hit’ but it did reinforce the idea of ‘kill the Demon Lord and the most suitable person would get a Unique Skill’.

Most likely it was limited to people who were fighting the Demon Lord, and what kind of Skill probably depended on the enemy, seeing as Albert could now do the long-range stake shot skill.

As for Arthur, his reward was a bit stranger, even when considering the Unique Skill.

“Congratulations, you’re going to be a father.” Dante piped in with his own comment, staring at the egg on the table with fascination.

Indeed, Arthur’s reward was an egg.

Name: Familiar Egg

Requirements:

Arthur Clive only

Hatches into a Familiar, a monster that grows alongside its owner, the Familiar will be decided based on its owner.

Well, it also detracted from the idea that someone could steal the egg, but there was still the question of what would appear from the egg…

“What if something huge comes out?” Alice asked, getting a shake of the head from John.

“That’s not likely, we wouldn’t get something ‘game-breaking’ so early.” Arthur wasn’t quite sure on that given that he had two Unique Skills… and he doubted this is what that being meant when it said ‘seed’.

“Yeah, I doubt it’s going to be huge, not to mention that it will definitely obey me so we’re safe.” Arthur said, reaching out to touch the egg and hatch the Familiar.

Touching the egg, Arthur felt Soul Sight activate sub-consciously as he witnessed a sort of… string, of some kind, connecting from his chest towards the egg… connecting from his soul.

The once empty egg began to form a soul of some kind, shaping itself in front of Arthur’s eyes as it wriggled and writhed…

And then the egg cracked open peacefully, revealing the form of Arthur’s Familiar.

“It’s a cat. Cat’s don’t come out of eggs.” Shaun complained from the back as the small kitten looked up to Arthur, and Arthur began to feel a presence in his mind.

Master… owner… comrade.

It was vague feelings, but recognizing them as the feelings of the cat in front of him, Arthur smiled, reaching out with a hand as the tiny black fur ball of a kitten rubbed its cheek against his finger.

“Aw, that’s so cute!” Emilia and Alice could both be heard cooing over the kitten, and Matt and Michael could both agree it was adorable.

“It’s satan incarnate… besides, I’m the black guy on this team!” John complained, making the kitten stare at him for a moment before it seemed to hiccup, a small blast of fire heading for John making the healer dodge out the way.

“Well, that’s interesting.” Arthur’s voice definitely showed his intrigue as he stared at the kitten, wobbling out of the egg where its rear was finally revealed, showing two tails instead of the usual one.

“Huh… a two-tailed cat? Then it’s definitely a monster of some kind…” Matt said as Shaun spoke out.

“There are quite a few variations on cat-monsters, especially those with two tails, but the most notable cat stories would be the Nekomata which have a tail that splits as they grow old.”

Staring at the agent, Shaun shrugged.

“I enjoy mythology. Disregarding the Nekomata, there was also the Bakeneko, but those were more like normal cats that somehow got magic… that kitten might be a Nekomata, though you might want to see if using that podium in the Dungeon Entrance room would let you see its stats.” That was an interesting idea, and as one the group of eight plus the kitten moved towards the Dungeon Entrance, getting a glance or two for carrying a cat into the room.

Placing the kitten by the podium, words began to appear on it for Arthur.

Familiar Registered: Nekomata

Name your Familiar

Well, seeing as he couldn’t call the cat ‘Nekomata’ Arthur began to consider a name as he noticed a white spot on its chest.

“Huh… a black cat with a white spot on its chest… disregarding the two tails, she looks like a Cait Sith… got it.” Turning to the podium, Arthur entered her name.

Sidhe.

Familiar named: Sidhe

As you increase in rank, your Familiar will change to accommodate your growth, meaning it will always be the same level as you, your Familiar may change races as it grows.

That last bit was some interesting information, as Sidhe’s stat sheet came up afterwards.

Sidhe (Owner: Arthur Clive)

Level: 36 (D-Rank)

Race: Nekomata- Grants an extra Element and one point in Intelligence per level

Elements:

Fire

Wind

Stats (35)

Strength: 2

Dexterity: 2

Intelligence: 37

Wisdom: 2

Endurance: 2

Vitality: 2

Unlike humans, it seemed that Sidhe would only earn one stat point per level disregarding the one point to Intelligence gained from her Race…

Not only that, but Sidhe possessed no Skills and her base stats weren’t five but two.

This might change as she grew, but most likely she’d never reach Arthur in pure stats or Skills.

Assigning her points, Sidhe’s stats now appeared:

Sidhe (Owner: Arthur Clive)

Level: 36 (D-Rank)

Race: Nekomata- Grants an extra Element and one point in Intelligence per level

Elements:

Fire

Wind

Stats

Strength: 5

Dexterity: 5

Intelligence: 37

Wisdom: 25

Endurance: 5

Vitality: 5

It was extreme, but Arthur wanted to let Sidhe be a magic-user for now, taking into consideration her low stats and already high Intelligence.

Showing her information to everyone else in the room, everyone began to have their own thoughts.

“Familiars will probably become important later on if you’re lucky enough to get one…” Shaun considered, staring at the little cat with undisguised interest.

“Still, she’s really weak as she is right now, so how is she going to be of much use to us in the Dungeon?” Michael asked as Arthur summoned his Cloak over his shoulders, then looked at the hood he occasionally used…

“…You think I can carry a kitten in that hood?” Arthur asked, as he got Sidhe from Emilia and Alice who were petting the little two-tailed Familiar.

Placing the cat in his hood, Arthur found the weight negligible as Sidhe mewled cutely.

“So… she’s basically like an extra magic user for our group, at least for now…” Michael said contemplatively while Arthur moved a bit, checking how well Sidhe was placed.

She seemed to be clutching to the hood, understanding Arthur’s intentions instinctively.

“Yeah, plus I can send instructions to her mentally… it’s like heavily focusing on a single thought, then Sidhe can follow through with it. For example…” Arthur paused, closing his eyes as Sidhe meowed twice, three times, and then let loose a burp of fire facing towards John.

The fire went out before it could hit the healer obviously, but John was still surprised.

“Huh, so you basically have a portable turret with you. What happens if you use Spark Step while Sidhe is in your hood though?” Alice asked, looking at the little kitten with worry.

Activating Spark Step, Sidhe simply blinked and tilted her head.

“So, it seems that she doesn’t get the boost but she also wouldn’t be hurt even if she touched the sparks going off of me.” Arthur explained finally as Shaun nodded.

“Good, we saw what a Familiar does, and it probably changes depending on the person. Awesome, now go into the Dungeon already, I got paperwork.” Shaun waved them off as he walked away with Dante following him.

“So… how was the response to the second Demon Lord being defeated?” Dante asked as Shaun looked back to his second-in-command.

“Not good. While there was some sentiment that Adventurers aren’t all that bad, it didn’t have an immediate effect… the only thing we can do is hope that the bad news of that serial killer dies down.” Shaun admitted as he stepped into his office, looking at the desk… and immediately a scowl appeared on his face.

“What are you doing here, Cardinal?” Shaun’s question didn’t even move the man on his seat.

The man was nicknamed after the predominant colour he wore, cardinal. If you told him it was red, he’d get angry…

The man finally seemed to take note of Shaun, blinking at his appearance before he stood up.

The Cardinal wore a suit, apparently crafted by a blacksmith as the man wore it into the Dungeon, claiming he chose the colour to hide blood.

Raising his hands as if gesturing grandly towards the heavens, the man spoke.

“Praise be unto the divine monkey and his army of baked potatoes, for I have finally appeared in person, I, the amazing, Cardinal Geo- wait. That name was already taken by that other anime character… well, Cardinal Clements works okay.” The eccentric Guild Leader of the U.K said with a bow towards his fellow Guild Leader.

“…We’ve met before. Remember, back in the U.N Blue Beret’s? I was your superior officer, and we worked with Albert against some terrorism in Russia?” Shaun had to make sure that Clements hadn’t suddenly lost all memory of that time.

“What, of course I know that, but the audience didn’t, now you have an even more strange background.” Shaun figured that he’d just sigh in annoyance before getting back to his question.

“Hey, you won’t change the subject, why are you here? All the Adventurers returned, so why are you here?” Shaun’s question got a sigh from George.

“Well, I’m here to talk to you… and to look for Felicity. One of my men had to stand in for her during the Demon Lord fight, hence why she wasn’t with her sister.” Shaun had wondered about that, having known that Jade Ainsworth’s sister, Felicity Ainsworth, was George’s romantic partner.

Though they refused to call each other ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ or anything but ‘Cardinal’ and ‘High Priestess’.

Shaun was pretty sure the Church had their share of annoyances with George.

“Now that’s a rude thought. Do you know how hard it is to deal with the Pope demanding I renounce my title of Cardinal? I did not pick this colour to only be called ‘red’ after all!” George’s insanity was strange, and Shaun felt himself wondering at his colleagues personality change.

George used to be quite the angry guy, well working and serious at times, but he was, in his own way normal.

Now he was replaced with this insane jester who could somehow see the future.

“I like that term, insane jester… might keep it. Anyway, let’s get serious for a moment, I’m here to be a walking plot device after all.” George’s jolly expression did not change, despite his tone shifting, another sign of his insanity.

“I am here to talk about that serial killer, that one you fought and the cause of this sudden weariness of Adventurers.” Shaun was intrigued, nodding to show he was listening.

“Firstly, you should by now understand that the man is from Pennhurst, the latest and final patient twenty three. The man is important.” George walked out from behind Shaun’s desk to talk in the middle of the room.

“You know me as a Seer. You know that I see the future, but there are actual rules to said future. I cannot change everything, and certain things I am allowed, such as telling you that the serial killer doesn’t look like that.” George pointed at the picture on the wall, getting a raised eyebrow from Shaun, a question.

“The serial killer’s class allows for him to manipulate his facial appearance, as well as hair colour. What he showed you was just one of many ‘faces’ the man possesses.” Shaun froze a bit at that, scowling as he walked over to the picture and tearing it down.

“George, is it possible for that man to copy anyone’s face?” Shaun asked, George looking confused for a moment.

“I’m quite certain that there is someone with a similar face in existence, the world is like that after all, but if you are asking if he can infiltrate your Guild, that’s an impossibility.”

Shaun’s sigh of relief was palpable in the room as George stretched with a mocking smile on his face.

“Besides, that serial killers destiny isn’t to be caught, let alone die at your hand… he’s an important being.” George’s expression finally changed, glaring at Shaun.

“Listen monster. You are not to hunt down that man. Between the two of you, he is more necessary to the defeat of Chronos.” Shaun glared at the ‘cardinal’ for his words, but before he could even complain George began to speak.

“Shaun, I know you don’t buy into the whole ‘seeing the future’ thing, I get it… but that serial killer is vital to the defeat of Chronos.” Being called by his actual name had Shaun calm down slightly as he stared at George.

George always referred to him as Fife or Shaun, it was only once the man gained the ability to see the future that he began to call Shaun a monster.

“…Will that serial killer take out Chronos?” Shaun asked, much calmer than he was just a moment ago.

“It’s a possibility… I see three futures.” George admitted, making Shaun wonder how seeing the future worked, all Seers and Oracles claimed to intake the information differently, such as Felicity Ainsworth who claimed to see moments in time, but not how those moments would occur.

She also saw her wedding to George apparently. And while she questioned the presence of monkeys and penguins, she accepted it as is.

Shaun had to wonder how George, the (willingly) accepted head of all Seers and Oracles in the world, saw the future.

“The first future is the one in which Chronos wins. Chronos goes on to devour all of humanity and getting bored about the futile resistance he faces. The last thing I saw in this timeline was you killing Chronos as he appears on Earth, at least after Chronos stabs me through the heart.” George’s admittance that there was a future where Shaun would kill Chronos was intriguing but worrying.

“The second future is the one in which the serial killer gets Chronos. That serial killer decides to continue Chronos’ mission and destroy the Earth due to circumstances, and with his strength from killing Chronos, faces no opposition other than you.” A second future in which Shaun would kill ‘evil’.

And the third future is where someone else kills Chronos. This future has you and this person work together to further the human race on a dimensional level… So can you see why I call you a monster?” Shaun could, begrudgingly at least, understand.

Three possible futures… and Shaun was actually an important part of all three? Shaun wasn’t one to exaggerate his own abilities, but he didn’t think he was that important to the timeline of Earth.

“That third time-line… who is it, who kills Chronos?” Shaun asked, thinking to a certain Chosen who was currently in the Dungeon.

“It’s not who you’re thinking of… The champion of that path is a unique being that can only appear under certain circumstances. That third path is what I am aiming for.” Shaun rolled his eyes.

“George, if you are trying to ensure the third path, why not eliminate the serial killer, it would increase the possibility of the third isn’t it?” Shaun asked, getting a shake of the head from the crazy Seer.

“It isn’t that simple. The first path will take place the moment we erase one of the other two. Think about it like this, the only way to prevent the first path is to ensure the second and third can occur.” George explained, making Shaun confused at how that worked.

“Okay, the only way we can kill Chronos inside the Dungeon is if the serial killer and the other one are both alive… but at the same time, we want to try and make that ‘champion’ the killer of Chronos. How do we let that ‘champion’ win?” Shaun asked, getting a mocking wag of the finger from the cardinal Seer.

“No, no, no, Shaun, you are not entitled to that information, despite your importance. It’s one of those plans, those ones that only work because the audience doesn’t know about it?” George’s words got Shaun a bit more annoyed once more…

Really, why would a plan only work so long as only one person knew of its existence? Wait…

“What about the other Seers, the other Oracles, do they know about this?” Shaun’s question was left floating in the air as the door had a knock, opening to reveal the other reason George was here.

“Dear, I got the banana, blindfold, paddle, rope, and candles. We can talk about your safe word later.” Felicity was a curious one, Shaun thought, having met the woman only once before.

Felicity wore glasses, partially covering her bluish green eyes, and had fiery red hair, much brighter than the auburn of her younger sister, and quite frankly the woman appeared like the stereotypical hot secretary/librarian.

The issue came when one realized that no matter how intellectual they might appear, all Oracles and Seers were insane to some extent, and were hardly understandable.

“Yes dear, don’t forget to find the racoon we used last time.” George responded with nary a gap, leaving Dante and Shaun to both feel a bit squeamish as what kind of picture George and Felicity were painting for them.

Shaun honestly considered it a waste of a truly beautiful woman… he was married though.

“Oh, and to answer your question, mister Fife, all Seers and Oracles know the three path prophesy, though most of us find it difficult to get the same information dear possesses.” Felicity admitted, fixing her glasses onto her face, somehow creating that glare…

That had to have been done with the woman’s Light magic. It had to.

“Oh, and Felicity and I were referring to our blind table tennis date. The bananas are lunch, we play while blind and the candles support ambiance. The racoon was the judge.” Somehow that was even stranger than the alternative.

“And the rope?” Dante dared to ask, Shaun looking to his second in command as if Dante had just shot them both in the foot.

“Oh that’s for when we role-play fifty shades.” The shiver was most certainly involuntary, but Shaun was sure he’d do the action willingly too.

“Okay, too much information… Is that all, George, Felicity? Are you two leaving now?” Shaun asked the strange couple getting a nod from both as they looked to some unseen thing.

“For one last message from the supreme typewriter in the sky, this book is complete with seventeen chapters and its prologue, look out for the ‘deleted scenes’ chapter called ‘Bonus Book one’ coming up next before the start of book two.” Shaun blinked at the words, wondering who the heck the two were talking to.

“With that, we bid you adieu until book two, in three…”

“Two…”

“Who the heck are you two talking-”

“One!”