More New Friends
Everyone watched closely as the circle completely formed and Volt jumped out.
I had informed him of what was happening before I summoned him so he remained calm when he saw so many people.
Everyone including Terra, who had met him before, was awestruck by his appearance.
A few sparks of lighting surrounded him as he left the circle. His blue and yellow fur looked soft and shiny, but beep yellow eyes had a hint of wisdom and a strong presence as we observed everyone here.
Araki stared, wide-eyed, as if he couldn't believe what they were seeing.
"Whoa," he whispered, leaning forward slightly to get a better look. "That's... incredible."
Orin and Zek, who had entered just moments earlier, froze mid-step. Orin's eyes narrowed in cautious curiosity, while Zek's jaw dropped, revealing sharp kobold teeth.
Volt turned his gaze to me and said
I stiffened slightly at his words but kept my composure. I had heard enough of Volt's cryptic prophecies to know it was something that could change or even save their lives.
"Everyone," I said, gesturing to Volt, "This is Volt, A lightning Tiger Spirit I made a contract with a long time ago."
Volt stepped forward, his form almost gliding. He gave a subtle nod, acknowledging the group without arrogance.
"Hi, Volt!" Araki said with a wide grin, though his tone held a mix of excitement and nervousness. "You're... uh... amazing. How does it feel being, you know, a spirit and all?"
Volt's glowing eyes fixed on Araki, and though he didn't respond aloud, I caught his telepathic reply meant solely for me.
"Volt doesn't talk out loud," I explained, trying to soften Araki's sudden look of confusion. "He communicates with me through telepathy. And to answer your question, he'd probably say it's just who he is. Spirits don't think about their existence the way we do."
"Oh, right," Araki said, scratching the back of his neck.
Terra stepped forward, her smile warm and familiar. "It's been a long time, Volt."
Volt gave a slight bow toward her. It had been a long time since they had seen each other so it was nice to see their friendship was as strong as ever. Though I said nothing about it.
"You two know each other?" Ark asked, his voice quieter than usual.
Terra nodded. "Volt has been with Jack ever since he became a summoner."
I smiled at her "Are you not going to tell them?" I teased
She gave me a death glare while the others looked at me in curiosity.
"Don't you dare!" she growled
I dared.
"Volt liked to stay with me when I was young after I moved to the Rondo Estate."
"Terra would sometimes sneak into my room while I was asleep and try to bring Volt to her room. She failed every time so instead, she just slept next to him." I said as I fended off attacks from an embarrassed and angry Terra.
Everyone laughed hearing that but quickly shut up when she glared at them.
After a few seconds of silence, Zek asked. "Sorry but did I hear you say 'moved to the Rondo Estate,' Isn't that a noble house?"
I nodded and we all proceeded to introduce ourselves again.
Ark was a little more comfortable this time but was still shy with Orin and Zek here as they were new people.
I noticed Zek flinched when he heard Araki mention the dragon that protected his village. I figured it was because he was a Kobold and Dragons are known to use Kobolds as slaves and don't treat them well.
After Arks introduced himself Volt's stared at him holding it for a while longer than anyone else. The room grew noticeably quieter as Ark fidgeted under the weight of the spirit's attention.
I could feel Volt tense while seeing Ark's fate and I was getting a little worried.
Volt turned to me and said
Volt didn't respond.
Seeing he wouldn't continue I coughed breaking the tense situation and said "Sorry about that. Volt just sensed something strange about you Ark. He was starting to figure out what it was."
"Is something wrong?" he asked worriedly.
I shook my head "No, it's perfectly fine. We went over it and agreed it won't be a problem for a long time and don't worry it's an easy fix. I can finish in a few weeks if need be. We can talk about it another time. We could also be wrong and it could make you stronger, we will figure it out."
I partially lied trying to keep everyone from panicking while also letting Ark know I was there to help him.
I had an idea what Volt was hinting at and I wasn't happy about it but did my best to hide my mood.
We all stayed silent for a bit. Some people were curious but understood that it wasn't something that should be talked about in public.
"Okay," Orin said, breaking the silence with a clap of his hands. "Back to the conversation before introductions. I've gotta ask, how does summoning a spirit like that even work? I mean, I've heard stories, but seeing it in person? That's something else."
I smiled "Well what you have heard is usually Spirit slavery not summoning."
Zek, Ark and Orin were all surprised by my answer while Terra and Araki already knew about it. Terra from me telling her years ago and Araki from his father who knew about it and was of the same opinion as me.
"What do you mean slavery?" Zek asked
"True Spirit summoners can summon, or in other words, teleport spirits they have contracts with to their location while slavers have to bring the spirits with them."
"Mages like Zek could try and summon a Spirit with a Ritual with a 10% success rate that takes an entire month and requires specific resources to be used or it won't work and the spirit you summon will be completely random."
"I can do the same ritual with a 90% success rate in an hour with very few resources and I can select what kind of spirit I get."
Everyone stared at me in amazement hearing about my power compared to others.
"Why call them 'Slavers' though?" Ark asked worried about the answer.
I sighed. "Those that call themselves Spirit Masters are those who imprison Spitits, force them into contracts and trap them in objects and cages. They force the spirits to fight and it isn't uncommon for several spirits to die while under a Spirit Masters's control."
I leaned back and finished with "When I graduate I intend to break down this system and build up one where spirits can be free once again."
"That's... a lot... Sounds intense." Orin said, nodding thoughtfully.
He gestured to Volt and said, "Still, pretty impressive though."
I chuckled and they asked a few more questions about how summoners work. After some time Terra decided to ask. "So, what about you two? We introduced ourselves earlier but you didn't talk about yourselves. What are your stories?"
Orin rubbed the back of his neck, clearly caught off guard. "Well... where do I start?"
"How about with why you came to the academy?" Araki suggested, leaning forward eagerly.
Orin chuckled, though he sounded a little bitter. "Fair enough. I came here to get stronger. My mom and I ran from the orc tribe I grew up in about... ten years ago, after my father, who was the chief, disappeared. He left on some mission, and we never saw him again."
The room fell silent, the weight of his words sinking in.
"I don't know what happened to him," Orin continued, his tone steady but distant. "But I'm hoping that if I can grow stronger, maybe I can go and find out. Maybe I can even find him."
Terra nodded sympathetically. "That's a noble goal. I hope you find the answers you're looking for."
"Thanks," Orin said, managing a small smile.
Volt continues to give me cryptic prophecies and never makes them easy to understand.
I was confused by this one and asked
He didn't respond
"What about you, Zek?" I asked, shifting the focus of the group and bringing me back to reality.
Zek's tail twitched, and he looked down for a moment before speaking. "I came from a Kobold colony that served a red dragon. It was... not an easy life."
We all paused and let him continue as we all know how Dragons treat Kobolds, well everyone except Ark who had never heard of a Kobold before but got the point.
He paused, his claws gripping his arms tightly. "When the dragon got angry, it would take it out on us. My older brother... he gave his life to help me escape and I ran away."
Ark's eyes widened, and even Araki looked sombre.
"I wandered for a while," Zek continued, his voice quiet. "Eventually, a powerful mage found me. They took me in as their apprentice and taught me magic. He gave me a place to belong, but... they disappeared last year. No warning, no explanation, just gone."
"I came here hoping to learn more about magic, to get stronger, find links to their past as they came here, and maybe find them again."
The room grew heavy with unspoken understanding.
Orin spoke up first. "well little buddy we-"
"Don't call me little!" Zek shouted while punching Orin in the leg, scaring everyone Orin
Araki and I tried to hold back our laughter.
After a few seconds, Orin managed to compose himself and tried again "Sorry..."
*ahem* "Well Zek, we have similar goals, to find someone that went missing. Working with people with the same goals can help in training so if you ever need a sparing partner or help testing spells feel free to ask me." he offered
Zek nodded
"We've all got our reasons for being here," Terra spoke up, her gaze sweeping over the group.
"Training always works better in a group, if you all work together I don't know if any group in the school would beat you."
We all nodded and agreed.
"You're not wrong. Working as a group and helping each other with our goals can help us grow as people and help us each get stronger." I said remembering how adventurers grow thanks to their parties.
Our words hung in the air, a quiet promise between newfound friends.