Familiar of Zero, Tristaine
He opened his eyes and stared at the cave wall. What should he do next? The academy would discover Louise's body soon enough. Maybe they already had. Either way, he couldn't stay in this forest forever.
The capital seemed like his best option. He remembered bits and pieces about it from the remnant memories of the anime and whatever random facts he had absorbed. A magic-absorbing sword in some sword shop. Unknown items related to Void Magic and Brimir. A princess who would end up leading during some kind of war.
He needed information. Real, concrete details rather than these vague fragments floating around in his head.
Adrian stretched his limbs one by one, working out the stiffness from lying still so long. The plan formed in his mind as he moved:
Find the main road. Look for travelers he could question about directions. Make his way to the capital. Track down that sword shop. And most importantly, learn everything he could about Void Magic and the Founder's items.
Simple enough in theory. But this world ran on different rules than Minecraft. Actions had permanent consequences here. If he got caught...
Adrian shook his head. No point dwelling on that. He'd already killed Louise, there was no going back now. Besides, he refused to regret defending himself. Being treated like property, threatened with whips and shock collars?
Never again.
He peered out through the branches. The sky had begun to lighten in the east, so dawn wasn't far off.
Perfect timing to start moving, most travelers would be setting out for the day soon.
Adrian carefully pushed aside the branches covering his cave entrance. Cool air filled his lungs as he took a careful look around his surroundings.
Now... which direction had he come from? He turned in a slow circle, scenting the air. Faint traces of smoke from the academy's chimneys wafted into his nose.
The main road would have to run somewhere between here and there.
oo0ooOoo0oo
Professor Jean Colbert walked through the quiet halls of the academy, a thick book tucked under his arm. His research last night had kept him awake for a long time. The familiar runes he'd seen on Louise's summon... they matched perfectly with ancient texts describing the legendary Gandálfr.
But that should be impossible.
He needed to speak with Old Osmond immediately. The implications were too significant to ignore.
Colbert reached the large wooden door to the Headmaster's office and knocked twice.
"Enter," came Osmond's voice from inside.
The office smelled of tobacco smoke, as usual. Old Osmond sat behind his desk, pipe in hand, while Miss Longueville organized papers nearby.
"Ah, Professor Colbert. What brings you here so early?" Osmond asked.
Colbert placed the book on Osmond's desk and opened it to the marked page. "Headmaster, I've been researching the runes that appeared on Miss Vallière's familiar yesterday."
"And?"
"They match exactly with historical records of Gandálfr, the Left Hand of God." Colbert pointed to the ancient text. "These symbols haven't been seen in many years."
Osmond's eyes narrowed. He set down his pipe and took the book to study the runes. "Are you certain?"
"Without doubt. And given that Miss Vallière summoned him..."
"The lost element," Osmond muttered. "The Void."
Miss Longueville stopped sorting papers, watching them with sharp interest.
"Headmaster, if Louise truly has the power of Void magic-"
"This information cannot leave this room." Osmond rubbed his mouse familiar's head in thought. "The political implications alone could destabilize the entire kingdom. Miss Longueville, you understand the need for absolute secrecy?"
She nodded quickly. "Of course, Headmaster."
"Professor Colbert, I want you to continue your research quietly. Document everything, but tell no one else what you've discovered. We must be absolutely certain before-"
The door burst open with a crash. A servant stumbled in, face pale and hands shaking.
"Headmaster! There's been a murder! Miss Vallière... she's... she's dead!"
Colbert's blood ran cold. "What did you say?"
"In her room... blood everywhere..." The servant's legs gave out and he slumped against the doorframe.
"Miss Longueville, get the guards," Osmond ordered, already standing up from behind his desk. "Professor Colbert, with me."
They ran through the halls, students peeking out of doorways as they passed. News traveled fast in the academy.
Whispers and frightened faces followed them up the stairs.
Colbert saw the crowd before they reached Louise's room. Students packed the hallway, craning their necks to see inside. Many wore their nightclothes, drawn out of bed by the commotion.
"Everyone back to your rooms!" Colbert raised his staff. "Now!"
The students scattered, leaving only Kirche and Tabitha standing near the door. Tabitha gripped her staff tight while Kirche's face had lost all color.
"Professor..." Kirche started.
"Go. Please."
They left without argument. Colbert stepped into the room and froze.
Blood covered the wall in long streaks. Shattered glass from the window littered the floor. But what turned Colbert's stomach was the complete absence of Louise's body. Only dark stains remained where she should have been.
"Founder preserve us." Osmond moved to examine the wall. "These holes... something pierced straight through the stone."
Colbert touched one of the holes. Clean edges, as if drilled through the rock. "Some kind of earth magic?"
"But where is her body?"
Colbert's eyes caught something dark and wet in the corner. He stepped closer, holding up his staff for light.
"Founder..." The word came out as barely a whisper.
Bits of flesh lay scattered across the floor. A piece that might have been lung tissue. Something pink and grey that made him turn away. The copper smell of blood filled the room.
"Headmaster." Colbert pointed to a silver object near the bed. "That's a familiar's restraining collar."
Osmond picked up the collar, running a finger over the runes. Next to it lay a spiked whip.
"She was going to discipline her familiar." Colbert closed his eyes.
How many times had he seen noble children treat their familiars like property? Like tools to be beaten into submission? It was a valid approach for unruly beasts, but…
"It fought back."
"Familiars turning on their masters is rare," Osmond said. "But not unheard of. Especially if the familiar possesses intelligence close to human levels."
"The runes should have prevented this." Colbert examined the blood-stained wall again. "Unless... unless Louise truly got unlucky with her familiar's temperament."
Miss Longueville walked into the room with two guards. She covered her mouth at the sight. "I've sent a pigeon to the capital. They'll dispatch riders to inform the Vallière family."
The blood drained from Colbert's face. "Karin..."
"The Heavy Wind." Osmond gripped his staff tighter. "When she learns what happened to her daughter..."
Colbert remembered stories of Karin's wrath. The duchess who could level entire armies with wind magic. Who earned her title through countless battles.
And now her youngest daughter lay in small pieces across her bedroom.
"We must find this creature," Osmond declared. "Before Karin arrives. If we can present her with her daughter's killer already dealt with..."
A glint of broken glass caught Colbert's eye before he could respond. He stepped toward the shattered window, careful to avoid the larger shards scattered across the floor.
The academy grounds were below. Fresh dew sparkled on the grass, but something wasn't right about the way it lay flattened in one spot.
"Headmaster." Colbert pointed down. "Look at this depression in the ground."
Osmond joined him at the window. Three stories below, deep claw marks tore through the grass and soil. Whatever made them had landed hard before sprinting toward the outer wall.
"Those aren't human tracks," Miss Longueville whispered.
"No." Colbert gripped the window frame. "The familiar must have reverted to its true form after... after killing her."
The guards shifted uncomfortably behind them. One whispered a prayer to the Founder.
Osmond placed a hand on Colbert's shoulder. "Jean. I need someone I can trust to track this creature down. The students are frightened, and rumors will spread fast. I must stay here to maintain order and prepare for Karin's arrival."
Colbert turned to face Osmond. "Yes… I'll need permission to use lethal force when I find it."
"Granted." Osmond's eyes hardened. "But be careful, old friend. We don't know what else this beast is capable of."
"I'll take two griffin knights with me," Colbert said. "We'll start at the wall and work our way out. It can't have gotten too far since last night."
Unless it could still change forms. A human-shaped killer would blend in easily with travelers on the road. Colbert pushed that thought aside. He needed to focus on tracking the monster's traces first.
"I'll send word if we find anything." He headed for the door, then paused. "Headmaster... what should we tell the students about Louise?"
Osmond sighed heavily. "The truth. That her familiar turned violent and killed her. They need to understand the danger. Miss Longueville, please inform the staff to keep all students inside the academy walls until further notice."
Colbert left the blood-stained room behind him. He had a beast to hunt.
oo0ooOoo0oo
"So you've never seen Albion?" The old merchant asked, adjusting his position on the wooden seat of the caravan.
Adrian shook his head. "No, sir. I've barely left my village before now." He kept his voice humble, playing the role of an ignorant commoner. "A floating island sounds impossible."
"Ha! That's what everyone says at first." The merchant's eyes lit up. "But it's the windstones, you see. Massive deposits under the whole landmass. Keeps the entire country floating in the sky."
"Windstones?" Adrian raised an eyebrow at that.
"Magic rocks that float. Worth a fortune if you can mine them." The merchant waved his hand. "But that's nothing compared to Germania. Now there's a country that'll surprise you."
"What's Germania like?"
"Biggest military in Halkeginia. But barbaric!" The merchant spat off the side of the caravan. "No proper manners like we have in Tristain. They let anyone buy noble titles with gold! Can you imagine?"
Adrian made an appropriately scandalized face. "That's terrible."
"Better than Gallia these days. Fifteen million people living under a mad king." The merchant shook his head. "At least the Holy Empire of Romalia keeps some order in the south."
"The holy empire..." Adrian pretended to remember something told to him by Louise. "That's where the Pope lives, right? The first emperor was Brimir's apprentice?"
"Good to see a young man who knows his faith!" The merchant smiled. "The first Emperor was Brimir's Gravekeeper too."
Adrian nodded along. The merchant seemed happy to talk, and Adrian was happy to listen. Every bit of information could be useful later.
The horses pulled the caravan over a hill, and Adrian saw the capital not far away. Stone walls surrounded the city, but the gates stood wide open. Merchants and travelers flowed in and out without any guards checking papers or collecting tolls.
"Well, this is where I get off." Adrian stood up and bowed to the merchant. "Thank you for the ride and the conversation."
"May Brimir guide your path, young man."
Adrian waved goodbye and joined the crowd entering the city. No one gave him a second glance. Just another commoner come to seek his fortune in the capital.
He walked down the busy street, thinking about his next move. The magic-absorbing sword had to be somewhere in this city. Finding it would be easy enough once he asked for directions, but obtaining it...
Stealing it during daylight hours was going to attract attention. He needed money first. Real money.
An empty alley caught his eye. Adrian slipped between two buildings and found a secluded spot behind some wooden crates. He sat down and concentrated on his Crystalline Minecraft Pearl.
A diamond appeared in his palm. The perfectly cubic shape would raise questions immediately. No jeweler would believe it was natural. He made it disappear and pulled out Louise's wand instead. The wooden stick appeared, but now it too had become cubic, conforming to Minecraft's rigid rules.
"So anything I put in becomes Minecraft-like," Adrian muttered. "But can I reverse it?"
He focused on the diamond again. The Crystalline Minecraft Pearl wasn't just storage, it could craft items too. Maybe if he treated the conversion process like crafting...
Adrian placed the diamond back into storage, then concentrated on "uncrafting" it.
Nothing happened.
He tried visualizing the diamond being broken down into raw materials. Still nothing.
Wait. What if...
The Crystalline Minecraft Pearl worked like a crafting table. Nine slots, arranged in a square. Each slot could hold one item at a time.
But what would happen if he tried to put the same item in all nine slots simultaneously?
Adrian visualized the crafting grid, focusing on placing the single diamond into every slot at once.
Pain shot through his head. The Pearl resisted, trying to follow Minecraft's rules while Adrian forced it to break them.
His nose started bleeding.
The diamond flickered between slots, existing in multiple places at once. The paradox grew stronger as Adrian pushed harder.
Blood vessels burst in his left eye.
The Pearl couldn't handle it. Minecraft's rigid system demanded order, but Adrian kept forcing chaos into it.
Something had to give.
With a mental snap that felt like getting stabbed in the brain, the diamond shot out of the Pearl. It landed in Adrian's palm, no longer cubic. The edges were smooth, the faces naturally formed. A real diamond.
Adrian's vision blurred as he slumped against the wall, blood trickling from his nose and eye
"That... hurt..." He wiped his face with a sleeve. "But it worked."
He turned the diamond over in his hand. Any jeweler would accept this as genuine now. But converting more would have to wait until he recovered.
The headache felt like someone had driven spikes into his skull. His left eye wouldn't focus properly.
Adrian closed his eyes and focused on healing. The regeneration would take time, but at least he had proof of concept.
He could turn Minecraft items back into their real-world equivalents. It just came with a cost.
Worth it.
Now he just needed to rest until the bleeding stopped. Then he could find a jeweler and get some proper money.
After that... time to look for that sword shop.