A lot happened after that.

  For starters, following that bizarre encounter between Adam, Rune, Zin, and that knight, I couldn’t help but notice something was off about Arthur. His usual composure was gone, and it was replaced by this uneasy stiffness in his shoulders and a distant look in his eyes. When I asked what was wrong, he just brushed it off with a shaky smile.

  After Zin’s departure, Gabno finally stepped forward to announce that the preliminary rounds had officially come to an end. He listed the eight who would move on from the original sixteen: Me, Noll, Corven, Zin, Nyra, Kaelyn, Mayern, and Rune.

  I know. You’re probably confused.

  Didn’t Tristan win his match? And didn’t Corven forfeit against Kaelyn?

  Well, turns out, that’s not how it really went down.

  Apparently, Tristan’s actual opponent was Kaelyn, while Corven’s first explosion had already taken out his opponent, the poor guy Tristan had been standing over. From what I saw, it looked like Tristan forfeited early and drew Kaelyn’s focus toward the chaos Corven had caused, which probably ignited something within Kaelyn as she quickly started chasing him, even though they weren’t even opponents.

  Something like how a predator would rather pursue a whimpering and fragile prey rather than one who’s already given up. A predator like this usually prefers the hunt itself rather than the prize, or whatever. I never finished those nature documentaries.

  Then again, maybe the author just messed up.

  Anyway, after the surviving eight were announced, Gabno declared the tournament over for the day. The crowd began to stir immediately, cheers fading into chatter as people filed out of the stands and spilled into the streets to enjoy the rest of the festival. The smell of roasted meat and sweet pastries already drifted through the air.

  I rose with my family and the others, half-listening as they started discussing what to do next.

  “I’m feeling famished,” Elder Alric said with a long yawn.

  “I could eat!” Arthur added eagerly.

  “I heard they’re selling all kinds of roasted birds near the plaza,” Cedric pointed out, already scanning the streets as if he could smell it from here.

  “The one near the fountains?” Merilda asked.

  “Bah, that one?” Volk scoffed. “They overprice their food too much.”

  Their conversation carried on, but as I tilted my head up toward the sun beginning to dip, I knew I couldn’t linger much longer.

  “Uh, hey?” I spoke up, cutting into their chatter.

  They all turned to look at me.

  “Can I go to the library?”

  “What for?” Elder Liora asked.

  I hesitated for a second, but my mind was already racing. I needed more knowledge about this world, to know exactly how similar or different it was from Earth. I needed to understand how everything worked here, from the science of it all to the magic that I could master.

  “I just want to do some quick studying before my next match,” I said finally.

  The festival would last five days in total. The first three were devoted to the tournament rounds, the fourth as a day of rest, and the fifth reserved for the grand finale: the final clash between the two who made it all the way to the end.

  In other words, I did not have the time to wait and listen to them ramble on about where to eat, though, I am kinda hung-

  Focus up.

  “For studying?” Elder Walden began, his brow slightly raised. “What do you need to study?”

  I cleared my throat. “I want to know more about this world and the magic I can use. If I study both, I think I can master the way I fight.”

  Elder Walden gave me a long, thoughtful look. “I see.”

  “You’re not hungry?” Dad asked.

  “I am,” I admitted, “but this is important. I feel like if I don’t do it right now, I might end up forgetting everything I’ve been thinking about.”

  It felt like a storm of thoughts was swirling in my head, barely contained within its borders: my soul magic, my summons, Zarvendia’s similarities to Earth, the other competitors and their Forms, and my own. It was a lot to think about.

  Mom studied me quietly before smiling. “Well, if you really have to go, we’ll save some food for you, okay?”

  Dad reached into his pocket. “Here’s some money for food.” He handed me a few copper coins.

  Mom then pulled out a few more from a small bag she carried. “In that case, I don’t know if it’ll be enough, but—”

  “Ah, that’s nowhere near enough!” Elder Alric laughed heartily. “Beric’s a growing boy; he needs all the food he can get!” He grinned and slipped me a few silver coins.

  “Don’t forget to buy some drinks,” Elder Liora added with a gentle smile, pressing a single silver coin into my hand. “A good cup of water is better than whatever nonsense they sell here.”

  “So you do have money—” Volk started.

  “That reminds me,” Elder Walden interjected, pulling out a small handful of copper coins. “The library charges a set fee of three copper coins just to enter and read. You’ll need more if you plan on buying anything.”

  “Sorry, Beric,” Cedric said with an embarrassed smile. “I’m kind of broke.”

  Merilda simply turned her face away, pretending not to hear.

  Volk snorted. “Ah well, if you end up winning the whole thing, I’ll give you an Artifact myself. That is, if you can.” He grinned slyly.

  “Uhh, where did I put—” Arthur muttered, patting his pockets. “Ahah!” He pulled out a few dusty copper coins. “There’s some cool gadgets they sell around here. None of them are as good as that slingshot I made you, but still, pretty neat stuff.” He shot me a cheeky smile as he handed them over.

  Elaine followed up, offering a few clean copper coins of her own. “Eat as much as you want, Beric. You deserve it.”

  I stood there for a moment, stunned, clutching all the coins tightly in my hands.

  The currency system here had five tiers: Copper, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Star. Copper coins were used for food and lodging, silver for weapons and gear, gold served as the main income for adventurers and merchants, platinum was for nobles, and Star coins were reserved for kings and queens.

  Each coin was worth a tenth of the tier above it, so what I had wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but—

  “Thank you all.”

  It was enough.

  “You’d best be on your way,” Elder Walden said. “The library doesn’t stay open long past sunfall.”

  “Oh, okay!” I nodded, quickly tucking the coins into my pocket before turning to leave.

  “Be careful!” Mom called out after me.

  “I will! I’ll keep the coins safe!” I shouted back over my shoulder.

  Far beyond what I could hear, Mom sighed. “That’s not what I meant—”

  Dad rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be fine.”

  Elder Alric chuckled. “For someone who came out of nowhere and beat the one infamous for being the strongest, it’d be surprising if he didn’t gain both fans and haters.”

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

  I was well on my way back to the library, or at least I was trying to, when I almost ran into a group of adults.

  “Oh, sorry-” I started.

  “It’s Beric!” One man yelled.

  “Uh, yeah I am. What’s-”

  Out of nowhere, even more people joined the crowd.

  I was instantly bombarded by questions.

  “How did you beat Malo?”

  “Where did you train?”

  “Are you really only 10?”

  “Did you cheat?”

  I tried to back up to try to sneak away, but they really weren’t giving me any room to work with.

  I see now why nobles like Zin had knights to serve as bodyguards. I kind of want one now actually-

  Here’s where I come in.

  Sys then spawned in a whistle and blew into it, making a shrill noise that of course, nobody but me could hear.

  Back up! Give him some air!

  When Sys moved in to create a barrier, a sudden wild arm flung out, punching Sys, flying him into a wall.

  Call in backup.

  Anyway, I don’t really want to force my way out of here, so I’ll just do this.

  They’re all focused on me because of my sudden victory against Malo, so I’ve become a sort of celebrity.

  All I need to do is direct them to a bigger celebrity.

  I pointed behind them. “Is that Mayern?”

  Every head instinctually turned around to find Mayern.

  In that brief instant, I summoned Shade and got on his back.

  “Where to?”

  “The library.”

  Just as the crowd realized Mayern wasn’t there, they all turned their heads back, only to see dust and no trace of me having ever been there.

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

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Obviously, riding a wolf through a large city like this was bound to draw some weird looks. People stared, some pointing, others whispering, but I ignored them. After a relatively quick ride, I finally arrived at the library.

  Recalling Shade back into my soul, I took a bite from the roasted bird skewer I’d picked up along the way before stepping inside.

  “Take what you want, leave the money here, and return when you want to. Have a good day.”

  The same librarian from before repeated the exact same line without so much as glancing up from her desk.

  “Hello,” I greeted.

  That finally made her look up. “What?”

  I held out a few copper coins. “I’m looking for books on magic: Elemental, Soul-Taming, Arcane, and Cursed.”

  She wordlessly pointed toward a corner of the library.

  “What about science? Like, how the world itself works?”

  Another lazy point at a different corner.

  “Uh, swordsmanship and other weapons too?”

  With a little more attitude this time, she pointed toward a final corner, clearly done with me already.

  “Thanks.” I placed the three copper coins on the counter and made my way toward the shelves.

  Alright, what exactly are we looking at here?

  Sys asked, his faintly glowing form hovering beside me as we scanned the rows of books.

  “Anything about how the world works, from physics, laws, chemistry, whatever passes for science here,” I muttered. “It’d also be nice to find something that really dives deep into Elemental, Arcane, or Soul-Bonding magic.”

  Soul-Bonding could still be useful. Even if I only had Sprite, it shared similarities with my Soul magic, close enough that I could use it as a comparison, maybe to even uncover a few new tricks of my own.

  But as I scanned the towering shelves filled with hundreds of thick, dusty tomes, I knew there was no way I’d have time to read through everything. Even skimming them all would be impossible. I needed to narrow it down fast.

  I glanced around. The place was practically empty, with no other visitors, just the faint scratching of the librarian’s quill as she wrote at her desk.

  “Hey, Rogue?” I whispered.

  “Yeah, Boss?” came the small voice as Rogue peeked his head out from inside my shirt.

  “Do me a favor and skim through some of these books. Let me know if any of them go in-depth on magic or cover basic science.”

  “Okay.”

  And with that, the three of us — me, Sys, and Rogue — began quietly rummaging through the shelves, doing our best to move quickly and keep the noise down as we searched for anything truly useful.

  Finally, we settled on six books: Science Rocks, The Basics of Elemental Magic, The Magic of the Other Races, Cursed Magic: Origins, What Is Arcane Magic, and The Way of The Sword.

  Hm.

  Sys hovered over the books.

  There’s no way you’re reading all of this.

  “I know, which is why I’m not.” I pulled out a few more coins and placed them on the table. “I’m buying all five of them.” My eyes drifted to the last two books on the table. “As for the races one, I just need to skim it and read about elves.”

  I opened the book on other races and flipped through its thick, uneven pages.

  “Elves, elves, elves……..ah, here.” My finger stopped on the entry. “Okay, magic…....page 267.”

  I quickly flipped to the page, scanning through the text as my eyes darted across each line at a near blur.

  ‘Soul-Bonding magic is the evolved form of Taming magic, both being greatly related to elvenkind……It is the reinforced connection blah blah blah……When the souls are bonded—’

  Here it is.

  ‘—and strengthened, the connection can be weaponized. Bond Resonance is a spell where both the user and summon synchronize their power, dramatically increasing their combined combat ability.’

  Don’t Sprite and I already do that?

  ‘Soul Infusion is a spell where the user can draw upon the elemental affinity of their summon.’

  Huh?

  ‘For example, if the summon were a direwolf of the fire element, the user could wield a flaming sword.’

  Oh, that’s actually pretty dope, wielding a flaming sword, though, wouldn’t the sword burn? Well, I guess the flames would be controlled, right?

  Still, I’m kind of regretting that deal with Death now.

  “A flaming sword?” Rogue asked, leaning over to look at the page. His eyes gleamed with excitement. “That’s awesome! Boss, you think I’d look good with one?”

  “I can’t really picture you wielding a sword.”

  “Yeah, I guess, but what if Pickle did?”

  “Pickle?”

  “He’s got hands, right? Couldn’t he wield a flaming sword?”

  “Nah, he can’t—”

  I stopped mid-sentence.

  He can’t? Wait, why not?

  Actually, isn’t he capable of doing that?

  I flipped through the pages, scanning for anything that would help me fully realize what the new thoughts running around in my head meant.

  What are you looking for?

  “Sys, you know how incredibly smart my summons are, right?”

  Yeah?

  “It’s due to me, or rather the inheritance of human intelligence, that my summons are much smarter than their living counterparts, correct?”

  Uh huh?

  I kept flipping.

  “What if intelligence isn’t the only thing they can inherit?”

  What are you-

  Sys’ eyes widened in surprise.

  Oh.

  Finally, I found a page with exactly what I’d been searching for.

  “The Soul-Bonded summons grow alongside the user due to their shared connection. This means that, along with shared pain, they also share growth.”

  My summons grow when I do.

  That’s why they’re so much smarter. Why they’re stronger, faster, and more instinctive than their living counterparts. Why, with every level I gain and every spell I master, they seem more alive.

  The deal was that my system would grow with me.

  And my summons are part of that system.

  But besides boosted intelligence, strength, and speed, what else could they learn? What could they inherit?

  How else could they evolve?

  Wait—wait, wait—

  “Sprite, are you there?”

  No answer.

  She’s probably asleep.

  Okay, fine. Whatever.

  “Sys, due to my deal, I’m completely unable to use elemental magic. Is this true?”

  It is.

  Because of that deal, I have to rely on Sprite for any elemental spells.

  “Sys, Sprite is my Soul-Bond summon, but I can’t directly use her magic or even emulate it.”

  I swallowed hard.

  “My summons are part of my Soul magic, which is completely different from Soul-Bonding magic.”

  I paused, thinking.

  “But they both share one thing in common. They’re both directly tied to my soul.”

  Sys stayed silent.

  “Would it be possible,” I continued, “for me to not only teach my bipedal summons swordsmanship, but also somehow have all my summons capable of emulating Sprite’s magic?”

  As long as you were Soul-Bonded, you would be capable of using your summon’s magic.

  I wasn’t. But my summons were part of my soul.

  Wouldn’t that mean they could?

  Sys went quiet for a long moment, clearly thinking.

  Beric.

  “Yeah?”

  I don’t have a clear answer right now. But regarding the possibility, yes, it could be possible.

  “Yes!”

  I couldn’t help blurting it out. The librarian immediately hushed me, and Rogue darted for cover inside my shirt.

  Still, I couldn’t stop grinning. This was good, really good. I was learning more about what not only I could do, but what my summons could achieve as well.

  What other uses can you think of?

  Other uses……..

  Wait, I got it.

  I remember how I read some webcomics of people using Necromancy magic. Thinking about it now, my Soul magic is similar to them.

  There was this specific one that I loved. I mean, when it eventually became animated, people hated on it for being carried by its art and hype moments, but it was still good-

  Okay, anyway, the protagonist used Necromancy magic. He could convert his dead enemies into his own shadow soldiers, he and his soldiers leveled up both from their joint efforts, and he could recall them just as I do.

  And he looked cool throughout the entire thing.

  Uh, what else could he do with them-

  “Teleport!”

  I apologized to the librarian again.

  Teleport?

  “Yeah, in this webcomic I read with the protagonist using necromancy magic, he was able to teleport in the place of his summon.”

  Sys scrunched his eyes.

  I don’t know what the range could be, but since you are capable of sharing your senses with your summons, it wouldn’t be ridiculous to think teleporting to be possible.

  I silently cheered.

  The only problem is how you would go about learning it. For now, all the spells you have learned have been from simply leveling up. For a spell like this, that isn’t even guaranteed, how would you learn it on your own? That goes for the rest of your future ideas.

  “.........Isn’t that your job to tell me?”

  That’s a cool tree out there.

  Though, Sys is right. It’ll be weird trying to learn these spells without any foundation to work with. But that’s fine. Right now, it’s time for me to at least think of ideas. Executing them comes later.

  What else could I do?

  Think, Beric, all those times you spent in your room on that phone. How else did they use Necromancy magic?

  I snapped my fingers. “Soul fusion.”

  Soul fusion you say?

  “The process of combining souls for a stronger summon.”

  It’s different from the webcomics with the process of having your summons naturally evolve. For soul fusion, it’s basically forcing your summons to evolve, at least, if you meet the requirements. I think that’s a normal condition.

  About soul fusion-

  “Yes?”

  Correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s the process of fusing weaker souls for a stronger summon.

  “Right.”

  It can either be an evolved form or simply a stronger version of the creature if duplicated?

  “That sounds about right.”

  Beric, wouldn’t this solve your question of Sprite’s magic being inherited by your summons?

  I stared right at Sys.

  “You’re so flipping right.”

  What’s up with the sudden censoring-

  But how do I do it then? Like Sys said earlier, it’s probably another spell I’ll have to manually learn.

  The only question is how I even do that.

  “Hey, Boss?”

  I looked at Rogue, whose nose sniffed furiously at the book of Arcane magic.

  “What is it?”

  “You’re a creative guy.”

  “Uh, thanks?”

  “With this soul magic, and the way you fight, it’s very unique and fun.”

  “Thanks again?”

  “So, then tell me, why are you so boring with Arcane magic?”

  “What?”

  Rogue then went to my hand and directed my gaze to the book.

  “Read it.”

  I did as Rogue asked.

  “Arcane magic is the act of manipulating raw mana into any form or structure. Due to its flexible nature, it is capable of forming practically anything from offensive attacks, to defensive spells, and even simple utility spells to help with mobility, perception, and storage.”

  “Do you get it?”

  “I don’t think so?”

  Rogue sighed.

  “Boss, the book says into any form or structure.”

  I nodded.

  “Then, why do you settle with setting up a straight up barrier and firing predictable missiles? Can’t you do something cooler?”

  ………Oh.

  “There you go, Boss.”

  That’s a nice look on your face.

  “Thank you, Rogue.”

  Recalling Rogue and picking up all of the books, I headed straight to the librarian, paid for the books, and rushed outside.

  Calling Shade once more, I rode to the plaza.

  I need to talk to the Elders.