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n“Once the Gate is opened, Familiars will pour out and swarm the area. Do not worry, none shall harm you.” Damien began explaining the ceremony.

nNo student dared zoning out at this critical juncture.

n“Special Magic has been placed around that prevents them from being hostile. Besides, they are Familiars, and all seek satisfactory hosts. None of them will attack potential candidates.”

nOur supervisor continued his explanation, telling us about the time frame for selecting a Familiar. The ceremony started at exactly 12:00 and a period of three hours was provided for every student to get a Familiar.

nFor the Inepts, they would all be given artificial Mana Cores—Mana Stones, to form contracts with their Familiars.

nSince the ceremony was sacred, disturbances were not allowed, so all the staff would steer clear from the forest, though observational Magic would be used to watch us.

nOnce a contract was made, the student would exit the forest and meet the Supervisor and Lectures waiting at the entrance of the forest and give his

/her report.

nThis allowed for registration, grading, and future assessments.

n“Since this is a non-biased Ceremony, we will not interfere. The same kind of artificial Mana Cores will be given to all Inepts, and as for the rest who possess Mana Cores, it all depends on your ability and affinity with the Familiars.”

nDamien Lawcroft said that, but I wondered if he actually meant it.

nEven if this ceremony was meant to be fair, reality made it hard for that to be possible. Talent and skill played a huge part in scoring a good Familiar, something we as Lower-Class students lacked a great deal.

nVery little avenue for growth was provided for us, so there was no way we would be superior to those in the higher Classes. This ensured that they would obtain the better Familiars and we would be stuck with the less impressive ones.

n‘A Familiar is said to be one’s bond for life… though that is not strictly so. It is possible to sever one’s bond with a Familiar, but the method is very rare and costly. I doubt Lower-Class graduates would be able to afford it even after they become fully-fledged Mages, Martial Artists, or Scholars.

n‘Well, the rich ones probably can… but what about people like Edward?’

nIt would be difficult to change one’s Familiar if such a person didn’t have the means to. Also, it wasn’t possible for an individual to have more than one Familiar at once.

n‘The Mana Core is the house… and Familiars don’t like to share…’

nOne could argue that a person could bypass the rule by contracting with many Familiars and storing them in artificial Mana Cores, but in all fairness, the Familiars who would subject themselves to such a method were very rare and also extremely weak.

nNo one in their right mind would resort to such a high-cost method only to contract with weak Familiars.

nThe better the core and potential talent, the better the Familiar one could score. Artificial Cores weren’t that appealing.

nThe only reason they were being used was to give Inepts a chance to get Familiars, though it was obvious their Familiars would be very weak.

nNo one cared, though. Scholars weren’t meant to fight, anyway. They belonged in the realm of studies and strategies. If a Scholar was lucky and ended up with a wise Familiar to aid in his research, then that would be better for them than having powerhouses instead.

nThe same rule applied to Inept Scholars, though. Even though their Mana Cores were artificial, the ‘Bond’ contract still applied to them.

nA Familiar’s contract differed depending on the type of soul it had. The Host and Familiar would deliberate and agree on the terms stipulated. Once they reached a consensus and the Bond was made, it was permanent!

nSo, even Inepts with Artificial Cores were bound by the agreement. Breaking such a contract that was made by two souls came with extreme repercussions.

nIn essence, anyone who ended up picking the wrong Familiar ran the risk of being stuck with it for the rest of their life.

n“Huu… thinking in this line, anyone would get nervous,” I whispered to myself.

n“Now, then… we shall leave you to relax or prepare yourselves. Those who are inept should see the Lecturers in charge of their Classes and obtain their Artificial Mana Cores.” Damien Lawcroft spoke in finality.

nHis face moved slightly as he appeared to be scanning through the students. I assumed he was looking at those he deemed to be extremely talented candidates.

nSuddenly, as he glanced around and I looked at him, his eyes came to me and our line of vision connected.

nInstantly, a glare formed and a look of disgust was shown.

n‘Immature’, would be the best description for this man. I often wondered if he was an adult due to his philosophy.

n‘Is he still upset about what happened at the Assembly back then?’

nI shook off my distracted thoughts and ignored him, focusing more on resuming the formation of my Core. If only I could concentrate more, the external mana that saturated the area would aid in my cultivation.

nBut, with so many eyes around—including professionals, I couldn’t risk being noticed.

nFortunately, I only had to be patient for a bit. Damien and the rest of the Lectures would be exiting the forest soon, giving us some time to prepare, and once it was noon, we would begin.

n“Alright everyone, you may relax and move to your respective spots where you will remain for the ceremony,” Damien said after the Artificial Mana Cores had been provided for all the Inepts.

nFollowing this, all the adults left us to ourselves as the students each looked for locations in the vast grassy plains where it would be most comfortable or strategic in attracting the Familiars.

nOur straight lines broke as everyone began scouring for areas most profitable to them.

n“What should we do, Jared?” Edward asked, drawing closer to me.

nAnabelle also came nearer, appearing happy that we had all been reunited. A glint of the conflicted expression she had back in the classroom remained, though.

n‘Is she still thinking about that?’

n“While waiting, you can continue meditating to strengthen your Cores. Every second counts.” I addressed everyone, getting obedient nods in return.

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