[Ding! Gamer Naoto has called out his Familiar. EP has been consumed. Please Meditate or Rest to recover EP. Current EP: 6,075/7,075.]
"Aperio.", I chanted softly as I listened to a Gamer Notification reach my mind. Every time I call my Familiar out, it requires a one-time consumption of my EP. It goes along with my simple incantation I learned from Roselia, 'Aperio'. It isn't listed on my Spells considering it has no use in battle. I've learned some incantations like that. I've also learned more about how EP works, since there is no AT Delay or Craft Points (CP) in this life of mine.
EP is basically the cost of everything. Want to use Crafts? It costs EP. Want to cast a Spell? It costs EP. Want to use Arts? It will cost EP. The only thing EP won't be used for are basic attacks. Not every attack has to rely on your EP. If I just swing out with Glistening Moonlight, it'd trigger a normal attack, which just inflicts 100% of my STR.
And my Mana is linked to my EP. Likely because of the Gamer System. So every time I use 'Aperio', it requires 1000 EP. Not a bad cost, considering I have thousands of EP at this point. Now that I compare myself to other characters in the Trailsverse, I'm much more stacked than they are. Perhaps three or four times as much. If I were a normal Lv23, I'd only have around 200-300 in my Stats, but most are now at a whopping 1500. Talk about crazy, right? I'm more like a Level 80-100 while being Level 23, haha!
After a small magic circle appeared on the floor beside my chair that was currently seated in, a small shadow swiftly dashed out of it.
"Kyuu!", A little voice said, appearing out of the magic circle. Even though I was seated right now, I felt the shadow tackle me hard, and gave me a hug. Shortly after, I saw two white furry ears pop out from my chest, causing me to smile.
The voice belonged to a very small silvery-white fox, no bigger than one or two feet. It was born a couple years ago, courtesy of my Master, Roselia. This fox is indeed one of those mana constructs. Created by Roselia's Mana. As to whether I'll create my own in the future, that remains to be seen. I've already got my hands full with this cute little guy. Or girl, in this case. This silver fox is female.
Roselia created this fox for me two years ago, back in S1190. We've been at each other's sides for a good two years now. That was when I was spending time with my friends and family. I did not bring her out much when my friends were over, apart from Emma. When Roselia created my Familiar, both Emma and Vita were there with me.
Another twist on the original story that took shape. Emma and Vita were granted their Familiars respectively, but now, a third Familiar came into existence because I'm here!
Emma received a black cat, who she named Celine. Every so often while we played on our own, Emma would call out Celine to play with my Familiar. Right underneath my parents' noses, of course. They couldn't learn about these two. Perhaps in the future, but not now.
As for Vita, she received an azure nightingale, who she named Grianos. She kept Grianos more secretive than Emma and I did with our Familiars.
And while Roselia created our Familiars, something big happened on the continent as a whole. Something that should stir Zemuria to mimic more and more of my previous life. It isn't a war or anything. That hasn't taken place yet. Care to take a guess as to what this is?
It was the announcement of the Orbal Network! It will still be some years before it truly shapes into something and is only in its infancy right now. But just like how it went down in my previous life, the information age is soon upon us.
This is fantasy internet!
Zemuria isn't like other fantasy stories. Its technology mirrors my previous life quite a bit, actually. It even expands on it by creating powerful military machines and robots in the coming future. Mechs.
But that means I will be able to access this version of the internet in the coming years, and I can't wait. It was a popular topic while I hung out with my friends and family during these couple of years.
While we got used to our new Familiars, I was able to formally meet the rest of Eryn Village during this time, which included Emma's blood mother, Isola Millstein. It did not take that long for Emma and I to become friends. It happened as quickly as I became friends with Elie and the Imperial Family. She especially liked the fact that I was there to learn Magic from Roselia, who is still their village leader. It was only a handful of people that I met overall. Ten to twenty. Their size has dwindled over the long centuries to what it once was. But that didn't stop me from learning Magic.
It reached a point where Roselia created three Familiars for us inside her personal atelier. Vita came and went during these couple of years. I spent more time with Emma than I did with Vita, unfortunately. She's much older than Emma is, and was already trying to become what are called 'Wandering Witches', which allow them to see the outside world for themselves. Emma and I remained in Eryn Village while that happened, or spent time back at my own villa. Vita couldn't even make it to our group photo, haha!
So yeah, all of that happened, which was a blast. I said that Emma received Celine, as Vita received Grianos. Since I was given a silver fox, it is only appropriate to name her Tamamo!
Back to the present, I saw the silvery fox nestling her head into my lap. Sensing my gaze, she looked up at me, eyes full of curiosity. She couldn't exactly speak the human tongue yet, but she knows how to express her intent, and would always let out cute yelps, just like how a normal fox would. Later on, Familiars do get special abilities. One of them allows them to transform into a human. Celine does it with Emma, so I'm very interested to see what Tamamo will look like later on.
Right now, Tamamo is just a little silver fox.
"Kyuu?", Tamamo asked, tilting her head my way. Seeing her react like this caused me to smile again.
"I bet you want a little snack don't you, Tama? You aren't like normal pets. You don't need to consume meat to recover energy. Taking care of you isn't a difficult task.", I happily said to her. Reaching out my hand, I channeled some of my Mana.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has formed a Mana Sphere. -500 EP. Current EP: 5,575/7,075.]
The moment a crystal blue surge of Mana started condensing into a ball above my palm, I saw Tamamo's ears perk right up. She immediately pounced on the sphere of Mana. It wasn't a spell or anything. Just condensing my Mana into a construct called Mana Sphere. It's the basis of my sphere Spells. Just this simple Spell alone is enough to satiate Tamamo's hunger. Unlike normal pets or monsters, all she requires is Mana consumption.
"Kyuu Kyuu", Tamamo happily chirped, and landed right on the small blue sphere, beginning to nibble away at it. This didn't periodically drain my EP. Once the sphere was formed, that was it. Easier to keep track of my EP spending like this.
Besides, during free time such as now, I could simply Meditate, and recover all the way back up in mere seconds. I did not sit idle as far as Meditate goes. That Skill is one of my highest leveled Skills right now.
As Tamamo nibbled on the Mana I created, she tilted her head slightly, realizing I had gone silent.
"Kyuu?", Tamamo asked, likely wondering what I was thinking about. I let out a laugh, and patted her head. Her ears twitched, just like a cat's.
"Haha, sorry about that Tama. Just been thinking over what happened these past couple of years. I'm going to miss this place. It's still too early for you, since you can't talk yet and all, but some things are about to take place that will cause quite a stir.", I said to Tamamo. I've already started giving her a nickname, 'Tama'.
"Kyuu...", Tamamo replied. I saw her ears swoop downward, acting like she really did know what I was talking about here. I only had a couple more months to enjoy what I currently had after all. There's no stopping the Hundred Days War.
"You are still just a baby, Tama. I'm still young myself. I have another decade or so before I come of age. I did learn that nobles debut in high society when they turn sixteen, unless there are special circumstances involved. All depends on the hierarchy of nobles, where Imperial or Royal Families sit at the very top. They're the ones who make the rules after all. We just follow.", I uttered. "But at this point, will I even have my debut?"
"Kyuu?", Tamamo responded, tilting her head this time. Oh, and did I mention how big and fluffy her tail is? I could ruffle through it all day long. Just kidding~
Still, the Gamer System called Tamamo a Silver Nine-Tailed Fox. All puns aside, she only has one tail right now. Will she be gaining more in the future? Perhaps depending on how much Tamamo grows?
While Tamamo happily chomped away at the Mana Sphere, I decided to have a look at Tama's Stat Preview. Just like my own 'Character' and 'Growth Equipment', Tamamo has her own stat growths, as will any other person I come across and invite into a Party. Since I have Tamamo always with me now, I decided to create her own Stat Preview.
One thing to point out was that Tamamo is directly linked to my soul. That means she's linked to the same Gamer System I have. She shares the same Level as me!
[Tamamo The Silver Nine-Tailed Fox]
Name: Tamamo
Race: Silver Nine-Tailed Fox
Tails: 1
Level: 23 (57,600/59,800)
Next EXP: 2,200
Total EXP: 522,000
[STAT GROWTH]
HP: 125 EP: 200 STR: 5 ATS: 15 DEF: 5 ADF: 10 SPD: 3 DEX: 2
HP: 2,875 EP: 4,600
STR: 115 DEF: 115
ATS: 345 ADF: 230
DEX: 46 SPD: 69
CRAFTS:
Mana Bite (D), Icicle Lance (M) (B), Cloaked Strike (C), Absolute Barrier (-)
'Tamamo was just recently created, but she's looking nice already.', I said, praising Tamamo.
"Kyuu~", Tamamo happily replied, still chomping away at my Mana.
Yet little did I know at the time that Tamamo's power would grow exponentially once she started to develop her tails...