Reincarnated as a Familiar Volume 3 (Light Novel)

by D. S. Craig

  “No, it’s alright. I’m sorry. I made you uncomfortable.” Seeing just how much she struggled to maintain eye contact with me, I decided to drop the subject. “I hope that you can learn to trust me in due time, but for now, let’s get this mess cleaned up.”

  We spent the rest of the afternoon getting the garden back in order. Honestly, it wouldn’t have taken that long, but Lesti refused to let us use magic. She reasoned that if Rose did all of the work without magic, then using magic to fix it wouldn’t be fair. I couldn’t say that I agreed with her logic there, but I didn’t complain. After all, it was the perfect chance to observe Rose’s ability up close.

  In the end, she never ended up using that ability. No matter how often I checked, no magic flowed into the earth that she worked. I considered the possibility that she was hiding it from us but quickly realized that that didn’t make sense. She didn’t know that I could see magical energy, and had no reason to hide it from us. It seemed far more likely that she was just nervous being around Fang and me. The entire time we were working, she intentionally kept her distance and barely let us out of her sight, glancing over every few minutes.

  We finished up our work just as the sun was beginning to set on the horizon, casting a warm orange glow across the garden. Lesti invited Rose to join us for dinner, but she declined, saying she was tired. So, the group decided to grab some food from the dining hall and then head to our usual classroom for evening training.

  * * *

  “Found you!” Elliot’s voice rang out from the doorway as he stood there, grinning at us like he had won some sort of game. It was later that evening, and we had all just begun our personal training sessions. I was working with Aurelia on sensing her magical energy. Meanwhile, Lesti was pouring over her books and scrolls, studying magical runes, and Fang was doing what Aurelia called tracking training.

  She had spread hidden some objects around the room with a particular scent on them, along with some treats. Fang was supposed to use that scent to find them. So, he was currently wandering around the room with his nose to the ground, sniffing about. He didn’t even react when Elliot walked into the room, other than to briefly glance up at him. Honestly, the power of treats was terrifying.

  “Elliot, what are you doing here?” Lesti asked, looking up from her book.

  “I went to ask Malkael for his permission to join your training session, and while I was there, he mentioned that you usually trained in this unused classroom late into the night.” Elliot paused to look at us skeptically, “Although, besides Lesti, it doesn’t look like the rest of you are doing any real training.”

  I glared at him, my tail swishing back and forth in irritation. “Just because we’re not bashing each other’s heads in doesn’t mean we’re not training.”

  He shrugged. “That’s true, I suppose. Anyway, did you give any thought to what special training I could do?”

  I shook my head. “Sorry. I haven’t had time. We spent all afternoon helping a first-year named Rose fix up her garden.”

  “Rose?” Elliot’s brow furrowed, “You mean the first year with pink hair? That Rose?”

  “Yeah. That’s the one,” I replied, cocking my head to the side. “Do you know her or something?”

  “You could say that. She’s sponsored by one of the lesser nobles in my father’s territory. He apparently discovered her when he made an order at her family’s apothecary business.” Elliot furrowed his brow. “Says she has a hidden talent or something. Though he won’t tell us what it is.”

  Hidden talent? Could they be talking about her ability to infuse things with magical energy? If that’s the case then it would mean that they have some way to see magic, like me. Still, I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. The ability they’re talking about could be something else.

  “A lesser noble is hiding something like that from your father?” Lesti looked at Elliot with a puzzled expression on her face. “What’s Lord Gambriel thinking, allowing such a thing?”

  Elliot shrugged his shoulders, “At the time, we had more important things to worry about. The last intrusion by the kingdom took a pretty heavy toll on our territory. My father was still dealing with the political fallout.” He paused for a moment, his expression growing more serious. “Still, a word of warning. Be careful about getting too involved with that girl. Something about her situation doesn’t feel right.”

  “Sorry, but that’s not going to happen.” Lesti smiled fearlessly back at him. “I’ve taken quite an interest in her myself.”

  “Haha. I figured you would say that. Still, don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” Elliot turned his gaze to me. “At any rate, if you don’t have any training figured out for me, can I just join in whatever Aurelia is doing for now?”

  “I’m not sure if it’ll do you any good. Even Aurelia hasn’t made any major progress on it yet, but I don’t mind.” I looked over at Aurelia, who was still sitting on the floor. “Do you mind?”

  “Mmm. It’s fine.” She stood and brushed herself off, looking around the room. “I just need to check on Fang first. Give me a second.”

  “Sure, I’ll fill Elliot in on what we’re doing in the meantime.” I shifted my attention back to the young man as Aurelia went to the back of the classroom looking for Fang. I started to explain my own power, as well as what I was having Aurelia do. But just as I was getting into it, a shout came from the back of the classroom.

  “Fang?! What’s wrong?”

  I turned and saw Aurelia pick up Fang from the ground. Even from here, I could tell his breathing was labored and his eyes were screwed shut as if he were in intense pain. Everyone quickly abandoned what we were doing and rushed over to check on the situation.

  I was the first to arrive, leaping onto the desk nearby. “Aurelia, what’s wrong? What happened to Fang?”

  “I don’t know. When I found him, he was just lying on the floor like this. He’s burning up.”

  I stepped closer and brushed up against the pup. Just like she had said, it felt like he had an extreme fever. Still, what could have happened while we weren’t watching? Just a few minutes ago, he had been happily doing his training like nothing was wrong.

  “At any rate, we’re not going to figure anything out while standing around here. We should take him to the infirmary.” While the rest of us were trying to figure out what had happened, Elliot made a sound suggestion. “I’ll go and find the headmistress. The usual staff members aren’t here this late, but I’m sure she can find someone to help.”

  Lesti took a deep breath to calm herself and nodded. “That’s a good idea. We’ll meet you there. In the meantime, we’ll see if we can figure out what’s happening.”

  With a plan decided on, we all rushed out of the room, trying our best to suppress our fears.

  Fever and Progress

  Aurelia sat on a bed in the infirmary, dipping a rag into a basin of water that Lesti had filled with magic. We still had no idea what was happening with Fang, so we were trying our best to cool him off. Lesti and I were discussing ideas, but neither of us knew enough about familiars to guess at what was happening. I was kicking myself for not asking Skell more questions when I had the chance.

  Just as I was thinking about the massive black dragon, Elliot burst into the room with the headmistress hot on his heels. “I’ve brought Headmistress Rena with me. How’s he doing?”

  Aurelia looked up at the headmistress, panic written on her face. “We’ve managed to cool him down a bit, but he still isn’t responding to anything I say.”

  “May I see him?” The headmistress stepped around Elliot. Aurelia nodded and moved aside so that she could reach Fang, who was lying on the bed. Reaching out, she gently placed the back of her hand on his forehead. “Strange.”

  “Do you have any idea what’s wrong with him?” Lesti hesitantly asked as the headmistress stared at Fang with a furrowed brow. “I wish I could say that I did, but I’ve never seen anything like this before. Still, I think we can eliminate normal illne
ss.”

  “What makes you say that?” I asked from my spot at the end of the bed.

  “In all my years, I’ve never once heard of a familiar getting sick.” The headmistress looked over at me, meeting my gaze squarely. “No one is sure why, but it seems like you’re all resistant to disease for some reason. I can’t rule out the possibility entirely, but I think it’s the last thing we should look at. Have you checked his magical energy flow, Astria?”

  “No, I haven’t, but why?”

  “It’s just a theory, but this might have something to do with him absorbing Thel’al’s magic.” The headmistress reached over and gently stroked the purple fur on Fang’s flank. “According to what you’ve told me, an elemental hound would normally absorb its magic from nature. If that’s the case, then our friend here is quite different, and we don’t know how that might be affecting him.”

  She was right. My tail twitched about in agitation as I berated myself mentally for not considering that possibility. I had been so caught up in the idea that Fang must be sick that I hadn’t considered that magic might be the cause. Still, now wasn’t the time to be getting down on myself. Setting my irritation aside, I closed my eyes and let the world of magic expand around me.

  I could see the others’ magical energy flowing through their bodies and dissipating into the air around us, but one member of our group stood out far more than the others. Fang’s little body was filled to the brim with magical energy, and he was generating more at an accelerated rate. In a way, it reminded me of Alex.

  However, there was one massive difference between the two. Alex’s magic dissipated far more quickly than Fang’s. That’s what always gave him that overwhelming aura. On the other hand, Fang didn’t seem to release his magic nearly as fast as he could produce it. He was like a magical balloon in danger of bursting, the energy inside him roiling about as it searched for release.

  Opening my eyes, I found the others staring at me anxiously. “It looks like Fang has somehow started to produce more magical energy than he can release naturally. Since he doesn’t know how to use his magic yet, he can’t drain it on his own.” I turned my gaze to Aurelia. “As his master, you’re going to have to drain the magic from him and use it to cast a spell.”

  Aurelia nodded with a determined look on her face. “Okay. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

  I paused for a moment before looking over at Lesti. “Well, actually. I don’t know how to do it either, do you?”

  Lesti shook her head briefly before turning her gaze toward the headmistress. “I’m not sure how it works either. I’ve never had a reason to use Astria’s energy before, so I never learned how.”

  “I suppose that makes sense. This is normally something that you wouldn’t be taught until you’re third years, so I guess I’ll explain.” The headmistress took a deep breath and straightened her posture before beginning her lecture. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a bit rusty. I haven’t given a lecture in nearly a decade.”

  “First, we don’t fully understand how drawing the magical energy from a familiar works.” She gestured toward me. “Although, after learning about Astria’s ability to sense magical energy, I suspect that it requires a lower-level version of that.”

  “You mean, you have to be able to sense magical energy to draw it out from your familiar?” I asked.

  “Correct. However, most students can’t do that. Actively sensing and manipulating your own magical energy is a skill that has to be built up over many, many years. Only someone like you who can see and feel magical energy could master it so quickly.”

  “Wait, so what are we supposed to do then?” Lesti practically jumped out of her seat. “We don’t have years for Auri to learn how to do this. She has to do it now!”

  “Calm yourself, Ms. Vilia.” The headmistress held up her hand, signaling for Lesti to stop her rant. “There is a shortcut that we use to bypass this limitation and allow anyone to use their familiar’s energy. It’s rather simple, too. Although it comes with its own set of limitations.”

  Aurelia continued to stare straight at the headmistress, clearly growing impatient. “It doesn’t matter. As long as it’ll save Fang, I don’t care if it’s limited.”

  “Right, I suppose we are short on time, so let me get to the point. All you need to do is use an image-based spell and include a visual of the power for the spell coming from Fang instead of you.”

  A long moment of silence stretched out after the headmistress’s statement until I finally broke it. “Wait, that’s all?”

  “Yes. That’s it. Simple, isn’t it?”

  “It’s super simple, so why didn’t you just tell us that in the first place?!” I stared at the headmistress, dumbfounded. Fang was lying on the bed in critical condition, and we had no idea how much time we had to save him. Yet, here she was, giving us a bunch of information we didn’t need. What was she thinking?

  “Now, calm down. I didn’t tell you all of that for nothing.” She turned her gaze back to Aurelia, her expression growing serious. “Aurelia, when you cast your spell, I want you to remember what I told you about sensing and manipulating magical energy. The more you understand the principles behind the magic you’re trying to cast, the better you can communicate that in your vision. Make sure to clearly show what you want to be accomplished and how you want it done in your mind’s eye.”

  Aurelia gave a quick nod before turning around to face Fang. “Mm. I’ll try my best.”

  With one last deep breath, she closed her eyes and I saw her magical energy begin to take shape—but instead of forming her spell, it reached out towards Fang. The tendrils of golden light reached out and gently made contact with him. When they did, his magical energy exploded into life, and Aurelia began her chant.

  “Oh, spirits of the forest, offer me your power, so I might hunt my enemies unseen. Blind my foes with your gentle embrace. Secret Mist!”

  As her brief chant ended, more and more of Fang’s magical energy poured out of his body, reaching about the room and even beyond. Not only was the reach impressive, but so was the speed at which the spell was completed. If I hadn’t seen this before, I might have panicked based on the massive amount of magic dumped into it. However, I knew this spell was harmless as long as you didn’t try to run around inside its effect.

  The spell finished casting a moment later. A massive wave of fog exploded out from where Aurelia was standing, filling the room and the hallway beyond. Lesti and Elliot let out surprised yells while the headmistress warned them not to move. Meanwhile, I closed my eyes and got to work inspecting Fang.

  Thankfully, it looked like Aurelia’s spell had done the trick. The amount of magical energy inside his body had been significantly reduced, though there was still quite a bit left. With some of it gone now, I could easily see just how much magical energy he was generating. It was nearly on par with what Alex produced. Even so, it wasn’t so bad that he’d have to have it continuously drained. As long as he used some spells regularly or Aurelia used his excess magical energy for him, he’d be fine.

  What I was nervous about was his physical condition. His fever had been extremely high. I could only hope that it hadn’t caused any lasting damage. Despite the fog still obscuring the room, I used my magic sense to carefully edge my way across the bed toward Fang. Meanwhile, I could see Aurelia, who had been standing the closest to him, reach out and run her hand across his flank.

  Her movements were surprisingly smooth despite the fog. She might have been close enough to see Fang through it, or perhaps she had simply reached out to where he had been before. Either way, I decided to check with her and see how he was doing, rather than interrupt. “Has his fever gone down?”

  “Mm. His breathing is more relaxed too. With some rest, I think he should be fine.”

  From within the fog, I heard a sigh of relief followed by Lesti’s voice. “That’s great news, but can you do something about this fog, Auri? I can’t see a thing.”

  �
�Oh, right. Sorry.”

  I felt Aurelia’s magic begin to gather and pull energy from Fang’s body once again. Watching it the second time, I began to realize some of the flaws that the headmistress had mentioned. Mainly, you wouldn’t be able to use this technique if you were low on magical energy yourself. Since you were essentially casting a spell to tap into your familiar’s magic, it required some power to fuel it until the connection was established. If you didn’t have enough magical energy left for that, then you’d be out of luck.

  Soon, her spell finished, and a gentle wind began to slowly guide the fog out of the building. After a few moments, the room was clear except for the lingering dampness that seemed to cling to everything. Lesti and the others, finally free to move around without worrying about running into each other, came over to check on Fang.

  The pup’s breathing had returned to normal, just as Aurelia had said. Seeing him sleeping peacefully, I felt all of the tension drain from my body as the fear and anxiety that had been weighing me down were lifted. “Thank goodness he’s alright. That nearly gave me a heart attack.”

  “Gave you a heart attack?” The headmistress glared over at Elliot. “Imagine my dismay when Mr. Gambriel came bursting into my office, yelling that something terrible had happened.”

  We all turned to stare at Elliot, who scratched his cheek awkwardly. “Sorry. I guess I got a little too worked up.”

  “It’s fine.” Lesti let out an exhausted sigh before smiling up at him. “Thanks for going to get help, Elliot.”

  Elliot puffed out his chest and grinned ear to ear. “No problem. It’s what anyone would do.”

  Aurelia then turned to the headmistress. “Thank you so much as well, headmistress. Without your guidance, I wouldn’t have been able to save Fang.”

  “No need to thank me. Guiding students through their growth and studies is the whole reason I’m here.” The headmistress smiled softly for a moment before returning to her usual stern expression. “At any rate, you should all be getting to bed, should you not? It’s rather late, and you’ve already had quite an exciting evening.”