"Hee hee, the contract magic formation! I know about this one. It can turn a familiar's body into elemental form and bind it to the master in a symbiotic relationship. They say it was invented by one of the founding members of our Sage Council!"
Judith commented with great interest. Overall, beast tamer was a rather niche profession on the continent, as practitioners not only required decent elemental affinity, but also had to meet certain standards in martial arts and physical abilities.
Don't be fooled by Brennan mostly using fist and foot martial skills in combat - he was essentially a true dual cultivator of magic and martial arts. The beast tamer profession was naturally far less widespread than mainstream adventurer jobs like mages and warriors.
"Turning the familiar's body into elemental form - you mean materializing the actual elements?" I asked curiously. Whether it was Nicola's Condensation Sword, my Water Abyss Sword, or Beluto and Saint Angel Cyra summoning weapons from thin air, those were typical examples of materializing pure, singular elements. But going the other way around and elementalizing an already existing physical body was new to me.
"Correct. Only by becoming elemental can the familiar establish a symbiotic bond with the innate magic power within the tamer's body," Judith elaborated knowledgeably. "Everything in this world is formed by the six great elemental substances, differing only in the varying composition ratios."
"Since Brennan only has fire elemental affinity, his magic power is of the fire attribute. So when the familiar's body is elementalized, out of the six great elements composing its body, only the fire element can resonate and connect with Brennan's magic power on both spiritual and physical levels. The higher the fire element ratio, the deeper this connection - known as the compatibility."
"Once the symbiotic relationship is established successfully, the familiar's spirit will reside within the host, feeding off the host's magic power and able to materialize for combat at the host's will. A more compatible familiar can utilize the host's magic power more efficiently, growing faster in strength. Moreover, as the tamer's own magic power continues increasing, so will the familiar's - potentially without limit."
I understood now why Cysper thought the phoenix was so suitable for Brennan. As a highly fire-elemental being, its body would be composed of a very high fire element ratio, meaning extreme compatibility with Brennan's fire affinity. Coupled with the innate skills and bonuses of a mythical beast, securing a phoenix was akin to finding a celestial weapon.
Conversely, if a being had absolutely no fire element like angels or vampires, establishing a contract with Brennan would render it utterly stagnant regardless of power, being an utter burden due to zero compatibility.
Of course, that's an extreme scenario. Angels and vampires weren't naturally occurring species anyway. Even in the natural world, creatures like fish had at least 10% fire elemental composition in their bodies.
"It's starting!"
The contract process was simple. As the magic formation activated, Brennan stood in the center while the newly hatched phoenix chick was placed elsewhere within the formation.
After a blinding blue flash, the chick vanished, while an intricate tiny formation pattern appeared on Brennan's arm alongside two existing ones - meaning he now had three familiars bound to him.
"For a long time, you won't be able to contract any new magical beasts, or your body won't be able to take it!" Yulanda walked over concernedly to remind Brennan. One could imagine having three familiars residing within would heavily tax his magic power reserves daily.
"I know. With the phoenix's help, I basically don't need any more familiars anyway!" Brennan nodded, wiping sweat from his brow. Theoretically, the phoenix could be considered the ultimate, most powerful fire-elemental familiar for a tamer. Even if stronger beings existed in this world, none compared in value for cultivation.
"Congratulations!" Just then, Cysper suddenly came from behind, clapping, with Mike the chief Star Glory Knights beside him. As the Pope's guardian knight, with Ron away escorting Vivianne, Mike solely shouldered this duty.
"Pity you're late, the ritual's over!" Cyra spread her hands, somewhat regretfully.
"No matter, as a former Pope for so many years, what rituals haven't I seen? Though rare on the continent, there are still some tamers in the Holy Capital."
Cysper's goal wasn't about the ritual itself. He approached Brennan and Yulanda. "If I'm not mistaken, you two were planning to return to the royal capital?"
"Yes, is there a problem?" Brennan and Yulanda exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of his intent.
"I just received a report that a rebellion has erupted in the southeastern border city of Parristol in the Astralrealm Kingdom these past few days. The border is completely sealed, so that route is likely impassable! Do you have any other plans?"
"Ah?" The young couple was dumbstruck, never expecting such a huge change in circumstances.
"What do we do then?"
"As is well known..." Cysper sat leisurely on a nearby bench and reminded them.
"According to the 'Continental Safety Guide', safely crossing the Dona Mountain Range requires at least sixth-tier strength. Even with the newly contracted phoenix, you two lack the power to overcome that in the short term. But taking the northern route through the Holy Capital Jethrobaines back is also far too distant, costly and time-consuming..."
"Could this old Pope just get to the point?" An impatient Judith rudely interjected.
"Ahem!" Cysper coughed from the interruption before continuing. "If Brennan is willing to join our Church, not only can I have Mike escort you two back like Ron, I can also specially promote you to premium tenth-level membership - a million Silver salary annually..."
Ah, so he's just trying to recruit talent under the pretext of informing them!
I was originally going to notify Brennan and the others, but this guy hijacked the conversation midway. These True Church folks are all so talented, with the leader Cysper being no exception! I really misjudged them earlier.
However, what Cysper didn't know was that Brennan had no good feelings towards True Church, dooming his ploy to fail.
"No interest! As for getting home, we'll find another way, no rush." As expected, Brennan's face darkened as he promptly turned to leave with Yulanda in tow.
"Heh heh, serves you right!" Judith looked utterly gratified at Cysper's rebuffed expression, though her grievances with True Church remained unclear.
"Then what about you? Though we share the same destination of Sage Council's Crescent City, reports say it's become quite unsafe there, with potential risks," I considered before asking her.
"What do you mean? How is the Parristol unrest my concern?" Judith looked utterly bewildered. "Even if it's the birthplace of the Sage Council under the Loren family's rule, it's still an independent nation. No matter how much infighting goes on within their own family, it has nothing to do with us!"
An independent nation? That seemed a bit off...
"Wait, I recall you're from over a hundred years ago, right?" Cyra suddenly realized the root issue. Parristol had only been annexed by the Astralrealm Kingdom in recent years. Back in Judith's era, it was an independent nation ruled by the local royal family. No wonder the discrepancy!
"What? Parristol was annexed by Astralrealm?" Judith exclaimed in shock upon learning the truth. "That was a buffer zone between several major powers! If it just disappears like that, it could trigger war!"
"That risk currently exists, though not instigated by any neighboring nations..." I rubbed my ears, her excitable nature getting to me.
"It's only been a few years, but the locals seem unwilling to accept Astralrealm's rule."
Cysper leisurely sat, unperturbed by Judith's rudeness as he casually added, "I recall there's an underground group called the 'Parristol Liberation Front' with a complex background. Though their chances are slim, they frequently attempt assassinating King Galahad and his royal relatives, aiming to expand their influence across the continent. They want to pressure Astralrealm through public opinion while seeking international support for their resistance."
He's probably referring to Carl! Perhaps not just him alone - the Astralrealm Kingdom suffering repeated assassin attacks in recent years is an open secret. No matter how much the king orders secrecy, there are no walls that don't leak information in this world. News always finds a way to slip out.
"Galahad...isn't he the young son of the Astralrealm king? I remember he was just born, only a few months old..."
Judith's mind was still stuck 120 years ago. For the current King Galahad from the royal family living in abundance, living over a hundred years was quite normal. I couldn't help but recall that "extremely unfit" fat guy again.
"What about the Loren family then, the former Parristol royals? Would the Council really just sit by while Astralrealm did something so excessive?"
It was obvious to all of us now - Judith was absolutely partial towards Parristol and vehemently opposed Astralrealm's actions.
"Actually, after Parristol's fall, the Sage Council truly made no substantial aid efforts, only verbally condemning and protesting."
Cysper shrugged helplessly in explanation. "Perhaps circumstances didn't permit it! A few years ago, the southern Ilandra Dominion Empire had just fallen into chaos itself, self-occupied with no thoughts to spare for other nations' affairs. As for our Cresthaven Papal Dominion, you know as the center of the Church, we must remain neutral unless facing monsters!"
Of course, there was an important reason Cysper didn't state. Despite existing for several hundred years with dozens of cities under its control across the continent, the High Tower Sage Council was fundamentally still just an association of local mages organized together. If on Earth, its nature would be akin to a labor union, a far cry from a sovereign nation-state.
Even as the Sage Council gradually gained immense influence and prestige over time in Crescent City and other regions, directly controlling those areas, strictly speaking it was not their sovereign territory. The area south of Cresthaven Papal Dominion, around Crescent City, ultimately fell under the empire's sphere of influence. But due to their long amicable relationship with close cooperation, the Empire had always turned a blind eye without repercussions.
So regarding the complex internal Parristol annexation strife between humans, if the Sage Council involved itself too much, it would actually struggle to take action, potentially not even possessing a true military force.