Book 2 Chapter 22 (Patreon)

“Are mages truly complete without a familiar? They’re more than servants and battle companions. A well-raised and bonded familiar reduces the mental load and strains of spell-casting. A familiar with a planet is essentially immortal. They plant a fragment of their being inside the mage’s mana system, giving them the freedom to undertake dangerous tasks or act as conduits for dangerous, suicidal spells. If the materialized body is destroyed, the mage can resummon their familiar given enough time and mana.”

—Elgin Thorpe, Master Summoner, Dean of War Magic

Nox was exhausted when the semester finally started. When he registered for Introduction to Summoning and Familiars, he was excited to learn how to grow and improve Otis without Pudge’s guidance. However, Sixthday’s sales caused word to spread about the new store, and the shop was busy from the second they unlocked the doors at the tenth bell.

Leanna’s snacks and drinks proved essential. They kept waiting clients occupied and entertained while they waited. Nox wondered about the validity of continuing a lesser version of it every weekend when they’d likely get the most foot traffic. Nox believed a third of their clients would’ve walked out because of the long wait. He didn’t expect the issue to persist, but a cup of tea, cookies, or mini-cakes would make the shopping experience more pleasurable. Regular costs would increase, but given the sales, Nox believed he could afford it.

The second day of sales was significantly greater than the first. They ended up selling almost half of their pre-opening cosmetics stocks and virtually all of the contraceptives Nox had brewed. Sales on Allen’s end of the shop doubled, too. They sold the same volume of recovery products but double the number of empowering products as the day before. The shop made just over two thousand gold, solving staffing costs for the coming month and recouping all material costs thus far. The shop made a thousand in profits. He owed Annabelle a part of the money, and the city would expect payment in a couple of months, too.

Nox worried the performance was anomalous, thanks to unsustainable marketing. His friends claimed Ratra’s Knightly Brews had made a positive public impression with his openings, and he was being pessimistic. They believed he wouldn’t make as much going forward but a consistently lesser amount. For the business to turn a profit worth the effort, Nox wanted at least five thousand gold coming in a month. Perhaps a little more to compensate for the time between semesters when business would inevitably slow down. The amount would keep staff, taxes, and suppliers paid. He’d have enough to pay tuition fees, fund research, and delving.

As Nox sat through the course introduction, he brainstormed means of drawing in delvers and war mages. While it was true that his products had uses for non-combatant practitioners, too, they didn’t need recovery on empowering concoctions as often, and their financial priorities lay elsewhere. Nox hadn’t made many friends outside of his party in the dungeon studies or war magic departments. Contacts would prove necessary if he wanted that to change.

“Summons and familiars can come from a variety of sources.” The lecture had brought Nox to the war mage department. Summon and familiar use was more widespread among them than among delvers. Professor Wolfhammer taught a more specialized course titled Summons and Dungeons, but Nox needed to fill a long list of prerequisites before qualifying for it. “We’ll explore the sources, the means of contracting them and nurturing spirits over the source of the course.

“Spirits. Primordial entities. Friendly dungeon dwellers. Inhabitants of stable neighboring dimensions—”

“Like djinn?” A familiar voice asked.

“Yes, Mr. Joey—” The professor paused, checking her attendance record. “—Greengrass. Djinn are inhabitants of stable neighboring dimensions. Dean Woodson explained your circumstances, but I’d appreciate it if you just didn’t shout out answers or questions during lectures. If you have something to say, raise your hand and wait until I call on you.”

“Yes, ma’am. Won’t happen again.”

It was the thief Kris had employed to liberate relics and artifacts from the now-fallen Smythe house. Nox didn’t expect to see the young man in classes. He wondered whether the professor had taken on Joey as his new project. The floating spearhead that accompanied him intrigued Nox. Unfortunately, Kris refused to discuss the curious artifact or the young man. It made sense now. The professor was sponsoring Joey just as she had done for Nox the previous semester.

A pair of Imperium students sitting behind Nox sniggered. He heard a crude imitation of Joey’s accent and jibed at his poor etiquette and unruly hair. Nox ignored them and focused on the ongoing lecture.

“Individuals looking for assistants, servants, or similar companions most often settle for lesser spirits,” the professor continued. Her eyes scanned the crowd. The introductory lecture had a hundred students in attendance, if not more. “I sense a few of you have already contracted gremlins, sprites, and similar existences. Unless the mage has dedicated a planet to their contracted companion, such companions aren’t permanent, and mages often upgrade to more powerful entities later in their careers. This is not always a good idea. Can anyone tell me why?”

Several hands near the front of the lecture hall shot up.

“Because a spirit’s strength can grow as their relationship with the mage improves,” the picked student replied. “Bonds forged through battle, hardship, and longevity can often trump the benefits of terminating an old contract for something new.”

“Is that all?” The professor waited for the student to continue, but she didn’t. So, she pointed at another eager mage.

“Lesser spirits often have a lot of room to grow. Primordials are already powerful beyond our imagination. They’re gods of their realm. The same can be said for sympathetic dungeon dwellers or lords. However, spirits are independent arcane entities just like us. Training, consumption, and experiences can help them grow and evolve to higher stages of existence. My grandmother contracted a water sprite when she was a girl. It evolved into a river nymph in her twenties. By the time she died, it was an elemental guardian.”

“I’d call the final evolution an extreme, anomalous example. But, yes. You’re correct. The benefit of these lesser spirits is their almost endless growth potential.” The professor turned to Joey. “Inhabitants of neighboring dimensions enjoy similar benefits but to a lesser extent. If you were to contract one from a chaos realm, they could very well become a djinn someday.”

The topic moved to more combat-focused summons and the benefits of working with friendly dungeon lords. Apparently, several cult leaders contracted with their worshipped deity and benefitted greatly from it. Summons born from a former god’s essence could turn the tides of battle, change the weather, or bring back life to land devastated by drought or floods.

Nox didn’t expect Otis to grow into a guardian spirit or directly take part in combat, but abilities beyond threat detection and finding escape routes would certainly make his life easier. Their relationship was still young, and Nox wondered about the possibility of finding an entity more potent during a future spirit walk. The turtle spirit, Bi Xi, intrigued him. Crystallize Essence excelled at blocking arcane and energy attacks, but his defenses against physical attacks were still too expensive and weak. Bi Xi could potentially help him overcome the issue. However, the damaged shell and the critters crawling through them concerned Nox. He worried the entity carried corruption—otherworldly, dungeon-born, or Void.

The professor listed the course’s contents as the lecture eventually came to a close:

• Contractable entities
• Basic contracting spells, rituals, and risks
• Summoning or Familiar planet creation
• Judging whether a dedicated planet is necessary

While everyone filed out of the lecture hall, the professor asked Joey to stay behind. It was unfortunate since Nox wanted to speak to the former thief, but his grumbling stomach demanded that Nox leave the task for a later date.

The majority of students in Introduction to Summoning and Familiars appeared significantly younger than Nox. Many appeared within the age range of sixteen and nineteen—adult-in-name but not done growing. He felt a hint of envy as he thought about where he’d be as a mage if he started on his journey toward magehood at the same time as them. The Gedges had limited his access to resources and teachers for far too long.

“Don’t be stupid,” Nox whispered to himself. Two decades of hardship turned him into the mage, alchemist, and businessman he is today. He had true friends and a life he was enjoying. If not for the limitations he faced, Nox likely wouldn’t have bothered with alchemy or ended up with a core spell as unique or potent as Crystallize Essence. He’d likely end up with Freeze or something similar.

Nox still recalled his father wielding Ratra’s Bow to fire ice arrows. They ripped through thick hide and froze monsters from the inside. As far as he knew, Pallav Ratra was only an adept mage. Nox never got the opportunity to witness his father in proper combat, where he released his full arcane potential. However, the little Nox saw was still amazing.

“Idle thoughts will get you nowhere,” he mumbled to himself, weaving through the crowds. The war mage department had more students than all of the university’s other branches combined. Nox didn’t know the exact numbers, but the delvers and researchers tied them for numbers. Meanwhile, production had the least number of full-time students.

Once out, Nox raced to the pauper’s cafeteria. He found the party waiting for him. They engaged in a light lunch before making their way to the delving departments’ roof. None of them wanted to risk Advanced Dungeon Combat while feeling heavy or lethargic.