I stood there stunned. Unable to move, embracing the glares from the audience. I was trying to grasp at what just happened. As I calculated every part of the duel, as if it was some sort of calculus equation, a familiar voice began to call out to me.
"Soren! Soren! I can't believe it, that was amazing!"
Kora came running up from behind, leaping on to my back, wrapping her arms around me. This was enough to snap me out of my trance, bringing me back to reality.
"Kora... I- I actually won!"
"I know, I was watching the whole time! That jerk finally got put in his place."
After I managed to break free of her grip, there was a pause. A bit too long if you ask me. It started to get real awkward before she finally spoke.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friends."
"What?"
I moved to look behind me. Standing there were two dragons. One white and one black. Except, instead of the large, full size ones that were summoned in my spell, now, they were about the size of a mere puppy. Is this why everyone in the audience was staring at me so intently? How long have they been there?
"Uh... Kora, what are they doing here?"
"Shouldn't that be my question? You're the one that summoned them here."
I had a dumbfounded expression plastered on my face as I pointed at myself.
"Me?"
"Well, yeah. After that extravagant move of yours, these two little ones appeared next to you once the smoke cleared."
I turned back to the two dragons.
"Uh... Hi."
As I stood, looking at these two creatures that were before me, I started to tune in the chatter of the audience.
"Are those familiars?"
"How was he able to summon familiars? Is he really that powerful?
"Alexis didn't even stand a chance out there."
As they bantered about the duel, Headmaster Yo came over the microphone.
"This is incredible! It would seem that young Soren managed to summon familiars! Usually this is done in a specific class but, it would seem someone is ahead of the game."
Familiars? I read about this in one of the books I read earlier. Spirits summoned from a different realm that take shape into specific forms depending on the mages attributes and mana reserve, while also taking into consideration the mage's personality. They are usually summoned to aid and protect their caster. And it just so happens mine are these two dragons.
I went up to the dragons and in the black one's mouth was some sort of bracelet. It motioned as if it wanted me to take it. Who was I to refuse? I took the bracelet and clamped it on to my left wrist. As soon as I did, the dragons manifested into spirits and vanished into the bracelet. I turned back to Kora who now had a pouty face on.
"How come you were already able to summon familiars! I want one too!"
"I'm sure you'll get one soon. Don't we have a class meant for this anyway?"
"Yeah but, that's not for another two months! I want one now!"
As I listened to her rant on and on, I caught a glimpse of a girl standing next to the Headmaster. Was she there the whole time? Why didn't I see her before? I'll never forget how serious her expression was. And that long silver hair. I got a chill just looking at her. Who was she? As I questioned her existence, Kora came up to me, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"That's Elise Chauvellet."
"Who?"
"You're telling me you never heard of her?"
"Was I supposed to?"
"What!? She's the daughter of the king of this country himself! Not only that but, she is a prodigy student. She studies at a prestigious school in the capital. A true genius of the fire attribute, just like her father."
She's a princess!? Not only that but, a prodigy too! Also, I'm getting real tired of these overly complicated names. What was it again? Elise Shoelace? Whatever, the real question is, what is she doing here? As I pondered the thought, I was interrupted by the Headmaster.
"That concludes the duel. All students and staff may now return to their classrooms to continue their lessons."
After this announcement, all the students flocked back to their classrooms and Alexis was carried to the infirmary. As my classmates and I all settled back in, Headmaster Yo came over the loudspeaker.
"Soren, can you come to my office?"
I sighed as I reluctantly stood up. Can't I just have a break? As I walked into his office, he pulled off one of those reveal type spins in the chair that you see in the movies.
"I've always, wanted to try that."
Glad to see the Headmaster is still as eccentric as ever.
"That was quite the display you put out there, Soren. Who would have thought you'd be able to pull off a summoning spell of that caliber?"
"What do you mean, sir."
"that summoning spell was a tier two spell. For a first year to pull it off, and as a dual cast too, its certainly remarkable! Not to mention the amount of mana it must have cost."
That spell was a tier two? When I learned it, I must have not looked at what tier level it was. But, it's good to know that I am capable of casting tier two spells.
"Not only that but, those familiars of yours are what really peak my interest. Why don't you go ahead and bring them out so I can get a closer look at them."
I did as he said. Focusing my mana on the bracelet, releasing both of the dragons from it. After I summoned them, Headmaster Yo began to inspect them before grabbing my wrist and analyzing the bracelet.
"As I expected. This is utterly amazing"
"What is it?"
"You see, when a familiar is summoned, they come with a piece of magical equipment. This equipment, whatever it may be, is where the familiars reside in spirit form. However, the grades of the equipment, is determined by the power of the familiar. In total, there are five grades of magical equipment. Common, uncommon , rare, legendary, and epic. What you have here, is an epic grade equipment."
"So this bracelet is epic grade. But, I would expect that that high a grade of equipment would come from a higher tier spell, not a mere tier two."
"I thought the same thing at first, until now, since I was able to get a better look. Let me try something."
He went over to his cabinet and pulled out a vial filled with some kind of smokey substance. He opened it and put it near my bracelet. In an instant, the bracelet started to glow and absorbed the substance.
"What was that?"
"That was spirit essence."
"Spirit essence?"
"Spirit essence is the soul of a killed monster. In this world, there are multiple different types of monsters, ranging from E rank to S rank, with S rank being the most difficult to deal with. These monsters all have spirit essence that, based on the rank of the monster, will strengthen your bracelet and familiars. The higher the rank, the stronger the spirit essence. As your familiars are now, they seem to only be C-rank. However, with the help of spirit essence, it is possible to make them even stronger, hence why the bracelet is such a high grade."
"So in order to make my familiars stronger, I have to slay monsters and collect their spirit essence?"
"Mostly, however, just collecting spirit essence alone will only strengthen them so far. Their is more to strengthening your familiars than just that."
"Huh?"
"The power of a familiar is not just from simply collecting spirit essence, but also, their strength is based on the bond they share with the caster. And the best way to begin this bond, is to start with a name."
I looked at both of the dragons. A name, huh? I should probably think of something cool like Nightwing and Windshear. Something that really grasps people's attention.
"Remember, when naming them, it should be what most resembles them. The name should feel natural, almost as if they were naming themselves."
I feel as if he read my mind and was mocking the names I thought of. I guess, they were pretty bad names but, they were the first that came to mind. Okay, let's try this again. Names that resemble them the most. As I studied the two of them, suddenly two names popped in my head. It's obvious what I should name these two. I mean, what else would you name a black and white dragon pair. These two names felt perfect for them.
"Yin and Yang."