Chapter 90 - Marthicoras

“Have you stayed here for hundreds of years? All alone?”

Azriel peeked inside of the open door behind the beast. It was quiet. There was no sign of other beasts. “How did you find food? Have you been living off of mana only?”

Familiar spirits could live off of mana without food. It would be far behind what its master would provide, but it could last for quite a time with the mana in the air. This beast was not yet a familiar spirit, but as a creature made to become a familiar spirit, it seemed that it could sustain its life with mana though staying alive would have been its best at most. Looking closely, its stomach was thin. Its fur droopped down without shine as well. Azriel approached it boldly and held out her hand near its mouth. “You must be hungry.”

She was about to ball her mana, but the beast opened its mouth big and tried to bite her hand off. She quickly withdrew her hand. Then, she balled mana beforehand on her palm and held it out. “Here.”

The mana was so pure and densely gathered that it was visible to the eye. The eyes of the beast narrowed seeing a lump of subtle golden light. Azriel softly spoke. “Try it. Everyone said my mana is tasty.”

[Grrr.]

The beast growled in a low voice and then began sniffing. Slowly taking back the magic that was pressing the beast, Azriel stretched out her arm even more. “It’s okay. Alright?”

The beast slightly stuck out its tongue instead of attacking her again. Its tongue touched the lump of mana. […!]

The eyes of the beast widened as big as a tray. Each strand of its fur and feathers stood and trembled. Then, it flared its nostrils severely and buried its head in the lump of mana. The beast bolted down the mana in no time.

“Do you like it?” Azriel asked.

The beast stared at her. Its bright red eyes seemed to have faded a little.

“Do you want more?” she added.

The beast nodded. Azriel balled more mana and held it out. The beast swallowed it like a pig. As if it was satisfied, its tail swayed slowly.

“If you like it, would you be my familiar spirit?”

Its swelled wings drooped down below. The beast thrusted its nose to her. Not avoiding it, Azriel straightened her upper body. The beast sniffed her smell. It examined her closely, walking around her with its huge body, and tapped her with its front paw.

“Argh!” she yelled.

The beast only tapped her, but Azriel almost fell. Thankfully, she did not get hurt since she was maintaining the protective barrier. The beast tilted its head. Its eyes seemed to wonder why her body was so weak when her barrier was so sturdy and strong.

“I am a human wizard, so I don’t have a strong body like you. So, I’d like a strong animal like you to my familiar spirit,” she said.

Azriel placed her hand on the beast’s nose. It was moist and soft. The beast stared at her hand for a while and sniffed a few times before closing its eyes relaxedly.

“Will you be my familiar spirit?” Its big tongue licked her hand. Azriel smiled. “Thank you. What’s your name?”

The beast opened its eyes and raised its body. As it approached her with its mouth wide open like a cave, Azriel flinched. “What?”

As she waited, not avoiding it, the beast held the hem of her robe and lifted her up. Then, it lightly threw her back over the nape of its neck.

“Eek!” Azriel narrowly managed to hold on, hanging on to its feathers. She almost slipped and fell. “Please lift me up gently. I said I’m not as strong as you! By the way… where are you going?”

The beast entered the door. Azriel could finally see the interior of the ruins. Centered around the round hall, cages were attached to the walls. There were broken furniture pieces like stone shelves and desks neglected in the middle of the hall. Old burned books or broken pieces of glass were scattered around in a mess. Beyond the halfway flopped down dest, there were stairs leading to the basement. Inside the cages at the outskirts of the hall were only bones and traces of living things. There was only one cage with its bars dented. The beast sat down on its belly in front of it.

“Did you live here?” Azriel slid down holding on to a feather and stood on the floor. The beast poked the nameplate inside the cage with dented bars with its tail with a poisonous sting.

“Marthi… coras. Marthicoras?” as she read ancient Lemm letters, the beast replied with a growl. “Your name must be Marthicoras. Come here. Let’s make a contract.”

The beast came close to Azriel. Leaning on its furry head, she kissed its forehead. Putting one’s lips was a primal act of connecting the passage of mana. Her mana and Manthicoras’s mana touched. “Esthera, Manthicoras.”

After connecting each other’s mana just like how she would communicate, she connected their mana delicately. She twisted each other’s mana so that its connection would not break. Since it was her first time contracting with a familiar spirit, it took some time. Making the connection, she recited the promise. “I am Esthera. I will give you intelligence, language, and mana. Therefore, be my servant who won’t betray me, Manthicoras.”

The promise was recited. Manthicoras obediently lowered its head. As the familiar spirit agreed, the connection was fixed. Then, a tremendous amount of mana began to flow out through the connection.

‘This is more output than making a spirit. Urgh, I feel dizzy… You said it will take less mana than a spirit, Rhema!’