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nNeron took me to the backyard of the Staff Area—a vast plain where the breeze blew over us in a calm, soothing manner.

nThe outdoors seemed pleasant, a perfect day for training. I wondered if it was because of what I had just learnt from Neron, or perhaps the weather was actually so pleasant. In any case, I was excited for what would come next.

n‘It’s weird for an old man like me to be this pumped up, but…’

nI couldn’t help it!

n“You’re already pretty established in Mana Control. Your use of Spells is also very impressive, plus you have no problem using Spells of varying degrees.” Neron began his explanation.

nIt was all correct.

nFrankly speaking, there was hardly anything Lecturers could teach me about Spells. I mean, I was interested in modern Magic, but I could figure it out on my own after some time. The reason I desired a Master specifically was because it was Neron Kaelid that would be teaching me.

nIf it was him… I expected something different!

n“There are three things I can possibly teach you now… but considering our time, you’ll have to pick between them.” He stated.

nMy eyes bulged a little, surprised that he had so many options in his approach as my personal tutor. I could feel myself getting excited.

n“One, I could teach you Mage Mode. Second, Original Magic. As for the third… your multiple Familiars… I could teach you the optimal way to use them.”

nI smiled, ruminating on the options he set before me.

n“Make your pick.”

nThe wind gently whooshed, causing my hair and attire to flow in its direction. My mind sorted through the information I had as I focused on choosing the best choice. Rather, the one I really needed at this juncture.

n“Mage Mode can wait; I have Elemental Chamber for now…” My thoughts translated to words.

n“Original Magic is taxing, but since you mentioned it… that means it’s feasible. Still…”

nI didn’t want to settle for a rushed Original Magic formation. The idea of my Original Magic was far too profound to be created at this juncture. With that understanding, it wasn’t even an option for me!

nThe final option seemed to be the most reasonable, and I had a feeling Neron thought so as well… considering he saved it for last.

n“I’ll go with training my multiple Familiars.” My resolute voice sounded.

nI watched my Lecturer’s expression.

nHe smiled and nodded.

n“Good choice. Can I ask why you chose that, though?”

nI knew this was coming.

n“Well, for one, it’s rare for a person to have multiple Familiars. Familiars hate sharing space, especially the stronger ones; so a Mage usually has only one Familiar because they have one Mana Core.”

nBut, Neron and I were exceptions. With my Multiple Cores and his Sun-Cores, we could have as Many Familiars as we desired. It was because of his experience in this department that he was most suited to teach me.

n‘I have very little knowledge and experience when it comes to Familiars. Since it’s a more recent concept, I can’t call myself an expert…’

nIt was even worse on me because I had more than one!

nTo effectively use everything in my arsenal; that included my Familiars; I needed to be in complete control! No other person could bring me up to speed as well as Neron could. I explained all this to the Lecturer who listened attentively.

n“That’s a very good rationale. I believe so too.”

n‘It appears we have an agreement… whew! If you intended to teach me this from the start, why did you give me three options?’

n“By the way, how many Familiars do you think I have?” Neron suddenly asked.

nHis question caught me off-guard a little, but since he got three in the Familiar Selection Ceremony during his days as a student I had to assume he had at least a hundred of them now.

n“Five hundred, maybe.” I retorted, mentioning a random amount.

nAccording to my calculations, that was impossible, but… this was Neron I was talking about.

n“Pfft. That’s a funny number.” He seemed to laugh in slight amusement.

nOf course, I knew the number was absurdly high, but it just went to show how highly I placed this man.

n“I have nine hundred thousand Familiars, Jared. What do you think? Pretty neat, right?

nSilence…

nThere was absolutely no way I could leak out a sound after hearing the absurd statement that came out of Neron’s mouth as if he was just counting grains of sand.

n‘T-that’s impossible, right? T-thousand…? Hundred thousand…? Nine hundred thousand?!’

n“THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” I shrieked, unable to take any more of Neron’s bad joke.

n“Oh? But it’s true. I mean, why would I lie? Well, not all of them are strong, but… I have a few Trump Cards…” Neron muttered, once again talking about it so casually.

nI felt like I was having a heart attack.

nThe old man in me wanted to spank this youth to correct him.

nNeron barely looked twenty-five, yet he was spouting such nonsense!

nEven if he graduated from Ainzlark at fifteen years of age and became a Mage at sixteen… that meant he only had nine years of service in his record. There was no way it would be possible to get that many Familiars in such a short while!

n‘Since it’s Neron, he won’t even be interested in the small fries…’

nIf I used that logic, his definition of ‘not strong’ would probably be the Imperial Class… and the Trump Cards would be…

n>GULP<

nI couldn’t bear to think about his words anymore. When he put it that way, it made me feel stupid for my pride in collecting a bunch of Wisps.

n“I-I see… that’s good for you, Neron…” I strained a calm smile.

nHe seemed to be enjoying my pain as he laughed casually, creating some distance between us.

n“Alright, Jared. You’ll be bringing out your four Wisps out now. Since I understand how you were able to contract with them, this should be easier.” He smiled, once again returning the mood to a serious one.

n“What exactly will we be doing?” Curiosity got the better of me, so I asked.

nNeron made a face that told me it would be quite exciting… and intense!

n“I’ll be teaching you ‘Bond’ Magic and ‘Fusion Form’. By the end of these five days, you should be able to use it for; not only one, but; all of your Familiars… and you should be able to combine your multiple Bonds and Fusions to create an entirely new state!”

nHis smile widened, and as it did, I grinned in response.

n“You’ll have the power of all your cores and all your Familiars… how sweet is that?”

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