I leaned my head against the car window listlessly as we started the journey home.
I stared at the ever-changing scenery outside.
What kind of creature is that? Why did it appear in front of me?
I didn't even have the energy to contemplate the strange experience I had that night.
Everything I can do is only try to forget it all as a 'strange' incident.
This is too strange for me to think about.
Hm, if you think about it, System and Saint, then my ability to look into the future is also things that are too strange to be true.
I just feel more familiar with such things because I have been baptized by popular novels now.
Now I think about it... Is this world really going to end? But... why? What is the cause? Then... Is there a way to prevent it?
My mind was completely chaotic.
All kinds of questions came up and kept weighing on my brain.
My strange behavior even made Sistiamika and the others notice.
"Rona... What happened?" Sistiamika asked.
"Since last night, you've been daydreaming and haven't said anything..."
I finally came to my senses after hearing Sistiamika's words.
I answered it after composing the answer that it didn't seem to make them worry any more.
"It's okay. I just had trouble sleeping before because I wasn't used to sleeping in a tent. I'll be fine after I've been asleep all day in my room!"
Sistiamika and the others looked hesitant, but still accepted my answer.
"Alright, then, after we come back and manage to summon our respective Mystic Beasts, Rona should really rest, okay!" Sistiamika said.
I could only smile in response.
The Fragment of White Tiger had actually disappeared somewhere after I threw it away that night.
It seemed that the creature had taken it.
Hm, then, I can only summon a Mystic Beast Rank C+...
When I thought of such things, Sistiamika held my left palm.
"Rona, this ring..."
"Huh?"
I saw Sistiamika carefully staring at the silver ring that had been attached to the ring finger of my left hand for some time.
"Ring? Wait, what ring is this!"
I remember that I didn't wear any accessories like this ring before!
I tried to remove it, but for some reason, the Ring was clinging tightly to my finger and it didn't seem to be able to be removed no matter what.
Sistiamika even helped me, but the ring still stuck firmly to my finger.
"Wait, don't tell me..."
A terrible conclusion popped into my head when I saw how strange this ring was!
Could it be that black creature gave me this ring?
In many stories, an indetachable ring like this is usually a cursed ring.
I... Cursed!
"No way..."
When I was almost completely desperate, System appeared once again.
[Analysis completed...]
[Mystic Beast Fragment was successfully found...]
"Huh?"
Just above the ring attached to my finger, a transparent panel appeared.
[Fragment of (???) 1/1000]
[(???)]
[Rank: A+]
"Rank A+!"
I really didn't expect that this strange ring turned out to be a Mystic Beast Fragment.
However, what kind of Mystic Beast is a possessed this Ring?
I was really curious, but even System couldn't seem to give a detailed explanation about it, so I could only give up.
An idea popped into my mind.
Should I summon this Mystic Beast?
***
If this was a Mystic Beast Fragment that I found normally, I would probably prefer to have Sistiamika summon it.
However, I got this Mystic Beast Fragment from that strange creature, so it might be dangerous.
I can't put the future Saint in danger.
However, I was still curious about what kind of Mystic Beast I could summon using this Mystic Beast Fragment.
So, even though I was hesitant, I still decided to summon a Mystic Beast using this ring.
After all, it was a Mystic Beast Rank A+, so it should be a powerful and cool creature, right? Like Dragon, Angel, or something like that.
Right after we made it back to the residential complex where we had left, we were immediately summoned to the Saint Institute's office.
This was decided a long time ago after we told them about the Quest this time.
The process of summoning these unknown creatures would be closely supervised by the Saint Institute.
That is the provision that we managed to make before.
None of the Saint Saint candidates refused.
There were some who felt embarrassed to draw some strange symbols on the floor and cast long spells, but overall, no one objected.
Me and Sistiamika were taken by our escorts to the field available in front of the Saint Institute building.
Several other Saint candidates were still there and had begun their attempts to summon their respective Mystic Beasts.
We were ordered to line up and queue among the other Saint candidates and wait for our turn.
I checked the Quest timeout.
[Time limit: 26 hours, 45 minutes, 12 seconds.]
"Hm, there's still a lot of time."
I was a little surprised.
I was a little worried at first that we wouldn't have enough time with only 98 hours to find the powerful Mystic Beast Fragment, but surprisingly, we managed quite quickly.
Well, the sooner it's done the better, I guess.
I turned my attention back to the field.
A girl was now casting her spell in the middle of a magic circle that she drew using chalk that had been mixed with some special ingredients.
A white pearl floated in the middle of the magic circle as the girl cast her spell.
A faint light rose from the magic circle.
However, after a while, nothing happened.
She failed in her summoning attempt.
"Is she... Doesn't have a match with the Mystic Beast she is trying to summon?" Sistiamika asked.
I nodded at the question.
"Yes, I think so. But, she should have another Mystic Beast Fragment, so that's fine."
"That's right."
We once again looked at the girl.
As I expected, she took out another Mystic Beast Fragment just now.
And, on this second attempt, she succeeded.
A 1-meter-sized bluish bird appeared above the magic circle.
The bird chirped happily and flew around the field before descending and perched on the girl's shoulder.
It was amazing! Scenes that I could only see in movies or anime were now able to be seen directly in the real world.
Will the moment I summon my Mystic Beast, will I also inflict a similar effect?
Sistiamika and I began to imagine how we would later summon our respective Mystic Beasts while the other Saint candidates took turns starting to summon their respective Mystic Beasts.
Keisya and Nulli... I don't see them here.
Have they completed their summoning attempt?
I looked around, but there were no familiar faces among them.
Or maybe they haven't come back yet?
While I was thinking about other things, when the sky started to get dark, Sistiamika's turn finally arrived.
"Do it quickly, Sisti! I want to take a shower right away!"
I uttered some jokes mixed with reality to cheer up this future Saint aspiration.
Sistiamika smiled shyly at me before stepped forward.
Once the summoning was made, the magic circle previously used by the other Saint candidates would disappear without a trace, so Sistiamika had to draw it once more before starting to summon her Mystic Beast.
I watched in silence as Sistiamika received a special chalk that had been formed with the addition of some ingredients.
Sistiamika squatted down, then began to draw a magic circle according to the example in the [Summon Book].
I started to feel nervous even if all I was doing was watching her from afar.
I mean, this girl will become a Saint in the future!
She had to succeed in summoning her Mystic Beast Rank B+. Otherwise, I guess her life would be quite difficult as she would only end up relying on a C+ Rank Mystic Beast.
Come on, fight for it, Sisti!
Clenching my fists tightly, I encouraged the figure of Sistiamika who began to cast a summoning spell.
It didn't take long for Sistiamika to complete her spell.
Then, right at that moment, when everyone's eyes were focused on the light that was starting to dim from the magic circle...
Unbeknownst to anyone, a beetle 2 meters high and 4 meters long appeared in front of Sistiamika.
The beetle is very large and has horns that resemble the horns of a rhinoceros beetle.
However, that is not what everyone is concerned about.
I smiled happily when I saw the flames that enveloped the beetle's body.
Infernal Beetle!
As expected, this beetle really had a powerful fire element!
With this, Sistiamika's future as a Saint should be fine to some extent!
Then, finally, my turn came.
This ring, a Mystic Beast Rank A+... I wonder what kind of creature I'll summon later?