What the f...duck

Adonis stared.

Mia stared.

Even the half-step King-Class summoner blinked twice, leaned forward, and adjusted his glasses — just to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

There, waddling through the sacred circle of freshly awakened magical beast eggs, was a duck.

A small, white, chubby duck.

It waddled toward Adonis like it owned the shop, tilted its head up to look him in the eye, then reached into the Eclipse robe — which didn't even resist — and pulled out a snack it had absolutely no right to possess.

It quacked once.

And began to eat.

Audibly.

Munching.

Chewing.

Crunching.

"...I got a fricking duck," Adonis whispered, dead inside.

"Quack," said the duck.

The summoner slowly knelt beside the egg shell remains and muttered a detection incantation, hands glowing faintly. A moment later, his brow furrowed.

"This is... odd. No elemental affinity, but... mana density within its core is incredibly high."

"That thing has a core?" Adonis asked, stunned.

The summoner nodded, completely serious now. "Not only that — this familiar hatched in less than three seconds after you injected mana. That sort of reaction time is usually reserved for rare-tier beasts."

"Quack." The duck blinked innocently.

Mia gently turned toward Adonis, her expression unreadable. "Congratulations."

"...Are you kidding me?."

"No need to feel ashamed," the summoner said, still examining the duck. "Sometimes the most unassuming creatures are hiding potential beyond our understanding. This... may be one of those cases."

"Or it's just a duck," Adonis replied flatly. He had expectations of dragon but fate had slapped him with a duck.

The duck finished its stolen snack, looked up, and... burped.

Then it jumped right into Adonis's arms and nestled in his chest like it belonged there all along. Eclipse robe wrapped around it protectively — clearly approving of the new companion.

"You're serious about this?" Adonis asked his robe.

"Uwuuwuuu," Eclipse cooed, nuzzling the duck.

"...I hate this."

"I think it suits you," Mia added, the corners of her lips almost twitching.

Adonis sighed as the summoner handed him a scroll.

"This is your summoning mark. It's already attuned. Just name the familiar, and the bond will be complete."

Adonis looked down at the duck, now snuggling into his lap with blissful ignorance.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Fine. I'll call you... Quackner."

The duck quacked in approval — loudly and proudly.

"Great," Adonis mumbled. "Now I'm bonded to a snack-stealing duck... named Quackner."

Mia gave him a side glance. "It could be worse."

"How?"

She didn't answer. The duck, however, jumped up onto his head like a crown and flapped its tiny wings proudly.

Quackner had chosen his throne.

And Adonis… could only accept his fate.