"Now, let's talk about Familiars."
Inside the conference room of Asgard, Chloee stood on top of the table with a smile on her face.
William was seated in front of her and listened to her speech. On his right side, a pink-haired girl's head rested on his chest with her eyes closed.
She had decided to stick beside William and learn a little bit about this unique profession.
Chloee was in a very good mood, so she didn't mind that William brought an extra to her class. Although she would teach at the academy as a substitute to Celeste from time to time, this was not her forte.
Claire was the one who was more proficient in teaching, but since the latter didn't want to feel attached to William, the duty of teaching him fell on Chloee's shoulder.
"Familiars are different from Beast Companions," Chloee explained. "When you plan to have a Beast Companion, all you need to do is form an agreement, a pact, or a contract with them. Of course, you can also force them to submission by beating them up!"
As if to make her point, the little Familiar raised her little fist and shook it in the air. She was someone that liked to beat up things, so she would always promote violence over a peaceful negotiation.
"However, Familiars are different," Chloee continued her explanation. "There are two kinds of Familiars. Those that you can summon from the world, or different planes, and the ones that you give life using a part of your existence.
"I will explain more about this in a while. Frankly, it is too troublesome to do this, but since you are now my Disciple, I will make sure that you understand how summoning a Familiar works!"
William gave his 6th Master a brief nod to tell her that he was paying attention to her.
"Claire, if you please," Chloee called out to her twin sister who was seated not far from her.
Claire nodded her head and green flames erupted from her fingertips. The flames formed into words and hovered above Chloee's head like the writings seen on a whiteboard.
"The two types of Familiars have their advantages and disadvantages," Chloee stated. "Those that you can summon from planes of existence vary in power. Some are incredibly weak, while some are incredibly strong. These Familiars would bind themselves to you with an agreement or contract.
"Some will ask for a few years of your life, while some would require you to do things… like killing all the citizens of a city in a day. The stronger the Familiar, the stronger its requirements."
Chloee paused to let William digest the meaning of her words. The little Familiar then glanced at Celeste who was seated at the corner of the conference room. As Chloee's owner, she was there to support Chloee as she taught her very first Disciple.
Although the current arrangement was a bit complicated, Celeste didn't mind as long as William received proper education about the path of a Familiamancer.
Celeste smiled and nodded her head at Chloee to tell her that she was doing well with her explanation.
After getting her Master's encouragement, Chloee resumed her lesson.
"The second type is purely creation," Chloee said. "The power of the Familiar depends on the kind of ritual you choose. In this ritual, you can choose to summon a Familiar using an artifact, your blood, or your soul. Claire, I can't explain this part well. Take over for me!"
A groan answered Chloee's statement. Clearly, Claire wasn't in the mood to explain things. However, before she could reject, her twin had already grabbed onto her and dragged her onto the top of the table.
Claire sighed before looking at Chloee with a disgruntled face. The latter only smiled and encouraged her twin sister to take charge of the troublesome explanation.
"Like my sister mentioned, there are two types of Familiars," Claire said lazily. "My sister and I are born through creation.
"If you choose to summon a familiar using this method, the Familiar will forever be loyal to you. Although those that are summoned from other Planes of Existence could do the same, some of them may leave you if they feel that their lives are threatened. This is the difference between a summoned Familiar and a Familiar born from creation.
"If I were you, I'd just choose the Creation method so we can all go home and call it a day," Claire stated, completely devoid of motivation.
William's liver itched due to Claire's complete lack of interest in teaching him things about Familiars. Although Chloee was quite troublesome, her approach to teaching was a hundred times better than Claire's.
"Claire, explain this properly, or else he might just randomly summon a Familiar without fully understanding their difference."
"It's too troublesome. Just let him summon one so we can go back to the Academy. I missed reading books in the library."
"Okay! If you don't teach him properly, I will wreck the library when we return to the academy!"
Claire blinked once then twice while looking at her twin who had a big smile on her face. Chloee was not someone who made threats lightly. Whenever she declared something, she would do it without fail, which made Claire feel annoyed.
"… How many times do I need to tell you that violence is not the answer?" Claire stared daggers at William.
The corner of the Half-Elf's lips twitched when he received Claire's hostile glare.
Um? It was your sister that said that she would destroy your academy's library. Why are you looking at me like that?
William always had a good impression of Claire because of her calming effect. However, right now, the small Familiar was not in the mood to cooperate and explain. For some reason, after his battle with Chloee, William felt that Claire had become a little hostile to him.
What he didn't know was that his hunch was spot on. As Chloee's twin sister, she got angry at William after seeing Chloee's severely injured state at the end of their battle. Of course, Claire knew that getting hurt was only natural in a duel, but she was the type that got mad at those that hurt Chloee and Celeste.
Although she, herself, understood that what she was doing was childish, there was nothing she could do about it. If William's family and lovers were his reverse scale, then Chloee and Celeste were Claire's.
After a sigh, she faced William and decided to explain properly.
"… I'll only say this once so listen up." Claire finally compromised. "Familiamancers and their Familiars grow hand in hand. Like I said earlier, Creating a Familiar is much better than summoning one.
"Since I don't want to bother explaining the summoning method, I'll teach you the creation method. There are three types of creation methods. The first method is called the Micah Class."
Claire waved her hand and green flames hovered above her head forming rows of words that gave the information about the Micah Class.
—–
< Micah Class – A miracle was born >
Summons a Familiar using an emblem, artifact, or an item, obtained from a dungeon, temple, kingdom, holy lands, and other places that have a high concentration of magic.
The shape, size, form, race, age, gender, and other characteristics of the Familiar are completely random.
Familiars can be commanded to do your bidding, but they are intelligent creatures and can think for themselves.
—–
"As you can see, this method is the easiest way because all you need is a catalyst," Claire stated. "Once the creation is completed, the catalyst will be destroyed. If you have the horns of a dragon, or any parts of legendary beasts, there is a 10% chance that you will be able to create the same creature using this method.
"Take note that you can only summon a Familiar once. If ever you want to summon a different Familiar, the Familiar you summoned first using this method will cease to exist…"
Claire's tone suddenly became very serious. For her, summoning another Familiar just because you didn't like what you got was akin to murder.
William somewhat understood what Claire was trying to say, so he nodded his head, and waited for her to continue her explanation.
Claire eyed him for a few seconds before resuming her explanation.
The words above her head changed, and she introduced the second way to create a Familiar.
—–
< Argonaut Class – Heroes are Made, Not Born >
This method summons a Familiar using the Master's bloodline.
The shape, size, form, race, age, gender, and other characteristics of the Familiar are completely random.
Familiars can be commanded to do your bidding, but they are intelligent creatures and can think for themselves.
—–
"This is almost the same as the Micah Class, but instead of a catalyst, you will use your blood to summon your Familiar." Claire smiled. "This method is ideal if you have a unique ability that is exclusive in your bloodline.
"The Influential Families in this world have powerful bloodlines that have allowed them to become local warlords in their own territories. If your family belongs to this category, choosing this is quite ideal."
Claire once again waved her hand and the words above her head rearranged themselves for the last time.
—–
< Lazarus Class – God Has Helped >
Summons a Familiar using the Master's bloodline and a piece of their soul.
The shape, size, form, race, age, gender, and other characteristics of the Familiar are completely random.
Familiars can be commanded to do your bidding, but they are intelligent creatures and can think for themselves.
—–
"The last class is the Lazarus Class," Claire pointed a finger to her chest, before shifting it to her sister, Chloee. "Chloee and I were born using this method. This requires you to use your blood, and a piece of your soul to give birth to a Familiar."
"Take note that if you use this method, the piece of your soul that you used to summon a Familiar will never again return to you. Also, don't use Chloee and I as standards. We are Familiars born from the Progenitor of this Profession. Naturally, we are stronger than the average Familiar."
"Summoning a Familiar also requires luck. Regardless of what method you use, the result may not be as you expected. A Familiar summoned using the Lazarus Method might be weaker than a Micah Class summon. So, don't complain to us if the Familiar you summon turns out to be weak."
Claire didn't wait for William's reply and left the room by flying through the window. She had already done her part, and hurriedly left before her sister could drag her back to do something else.
Right now, she didn't want to be around William because she was afraid.
Afraid that she might not be able to control her emotions, and burn the handsome Half-Elf, until only his ashes remained.
