The Arcane Emperor

Chapter 53 A New Arrival

Chapter 53 A New Arrival

"I'm sorry," Elru's voice rang amidst the spinning sphere of Arcane-Wind that carried the group.

Rainer shook his head.

"It isn't your fault at all. Don't worry."

Elru referred to Maya who she had placed a Runic seal on. Until a day passed and the seal naturally started fading, forcibly removing it could cause significant damage. Interrogation would serve no purpose if she wasn't even able to speak anymore.

While one strong enough could easily overpower the seal, and come out unharmed, level 20 tier 1 Maya could not overcome dual efforts of Elru and Furtak in the slightest.

Rainer suddenly thought of the palace that had been sealed. He imagined the World Tree wouldn't leave any Fae to their deaths within. And too had the Fairy Ring, that was an actual ring, gone inert. The item would teleport one directly into the Palace.

"Elru, what happens to anyone inside when the Palace is sealed?"

"I was not around when last a Ruler of Fae fell, but I've read a journal entry of one of the palace servants. He had been dusting a shelf when suddenly he felt a strange and massive power come over him. And before he knew it, he stood outside of the palace quite a distance away. If Quera was inside, then she would have been expelled."

"What do you think the courts will do with those expelled?"

"Question them…but it would take a long time. They are slow in such matters, and it is difficult to say for certain whether one was just a servant of the World Tree or there to serve Yulia."

"While we head there how about explaining anything offensive to Fae I shouldn't do?"

They continued speaking as the rest of the party listened. Luna sat as a silver bird on Rainer's shoulder, though she would have to return to his coat once they were there.

Towards the end, Rainer asked his own questions. Similar to Wolfkin, references to other creatures resembling them were considered to be at the top of the list of offensive remarks. Things like flies or bugs, or even butterflies contained within them the greatest of insults.

"What about using [Appraisal] or taking them out of their Glamour?"

"It is customary to lower one's guard to [Appraisal] in a negotiation, as children were taught to constantly use [Appraisal]. It is almost second nature to use it, and it would not be an insult at all."

"Thank you. It couldn't have been easy," Rainer said. He gained a new appreciation for Elru for not appraising Luna.

"It was not," Elru responded.

"It is impolite in the first place to use Glamour for anything but fun or benign purpose in the presence of another Fae."

"Fun?" Rainer asked.

Elru shimmered to reveal her original form before her hair started taking on a variety of colors. Something akin to eyeshadow appeared beneath her eyes matching her hair color. Her original blue eyes too changed as well.

Rainer then wondered what kind of trust issues could be developed in the Fae dating scene before realizing that even with his improved Charisma, Fae seemed to still outpace him in appearance.

"Hey, Elru…are there ugly Fae?" Rainer asked. Life was relative and what may still be beautiful by human standards may not be for others.

"No?" Elru responded confused.

"Children use it to play games of hiding as well." She then said continuing the conversation.

"So, I should be fine shoving any Fae around me out of their Glamours."

"If you wish for an advantage in negotiations, I would even suggest it," Elru responded.

They continued their flight until they reached the Fairy Ring.

Wearing a dark enchanted leather armor, a brown-haired Fae stood in front of a group of seated Fae, and one in particular. Elder Taramath. His blue hair which has lost its shine did not detract too much from his Fae beauty.

His brows furrowed as the Court Assassin in front of him conveyed his discoveries. At a great distance, he followed the [Archon] out of the Fae Ring and witnessed the end of the battle the [Archon] had been embroiled in.

Many one-time use Body enchantments were consumed in the failed attempt to keep up with the [Archon].

He entered the scene just in time to see the [Devil King] and the [Archon]'s actions against him. At the mention of the [Devil King] whispers erupted between the court members.

They couldn't fathom what relation Yulia had to the appearance of [Devil]s. But they now believed they had a greater understanding as to how Yulia managed to attract the attention of an [Archon].

Seeing their looks as if they solved something, Laneth struggled to keep his laughter to himself.

Sitting at a circular table that grew from the wooden ground beneath it were other high-ranking members of the four Fae Courts.

"Was the Wolven Demon a familiar of the [Archon]?" Taramath asked.

"I did not sense a connection between them, but I cannot be sure."

"Yes…there are other means of connection to a familiar…you may go," Taramath waved him off.

"It seems you made the correct decision, son," A similarly golden haired Fae spoke to Laneth seated beside him. At this mention, many gave pointed looks at the duo but said nothing else. They held quite a bit of jealousy toward the Prince who gained such a relationship with the [Archon]. But with Laneth's disinterest in politics, they weren't too worried about it.

Taramath, who had been one of those to try and block the [Archon]s path, knew now how close he might have come to death. As a group, they, of course, had confidence in dealing with a single level 19 2nd Tier individual. While he knew, he likely would have died on his own.

And given the description of the magic used on the [Devil King] the confidence in dealing with him even as a group lessened significantly. Yet his known action in teleporting directly to the Fae Realm left them without any options in trying to prevent him from coming here.

"What are we to say to the populace?"

While hated amongst the Fae courts for their deaths she caused, the majority of Fae, in fact, liked her. The Queen or King of Fae had several powers to influence the Fae realm one of which included the manipulation of world energy density.

An ability that was kept secret.

In the capital city, closest to the Palace, the density had been higher than anywhere else. This improved the general quality of life of Fae living there. Many animals and plants raised by the Fae in order to harvest their Mana for consumption had their quality, and taste of their Mana improved.

But with Yulia, such a situation changed. She spread the world energy equally across the Fae settlements and revealed to the populace their leader always had such an ability. She then threatened the court she would remove it entirely if her agents were stopped from leaving.

Were Yulia stopped from leaving, they would simply kill her rather than just stop her. So, she did not even bother with such a condition.

They had been hesitant before to stop any who served the World Tree by working at the palace, and this had cemented that hesitation.

"I see no reason to claim she was killed in the Palace. It is best we say we do not know and that she had left. I imagine you've all already spoken with those present at the scene to keep quiet in any case?" A white-haired Fae answered.

"What about shifting the blame to the [Archon]?" One asked.

"Blaming the [Archon] as an evil Queenslayer will only make us look incompetent. And if he returns who volunteers to detain him for his crimes?"

Following a few private conversations, no one said any word of dissent.

"If or when he returns, then, how are we to treat him?"

"We'll reward him in private as we try to understand the organization behind him. My own searches in the archives proved fruitless…"

They were several grumbles in agreement.

"Then we can-"

"The [Archon] has arrived!"

A voice suddenly yelled into the meeting room.

"This should be entertaining," Laneth whispered to his father.

His father only gave him an annoyed glance. While his son's actions proved to give their own court the greatest relationship with the [Archon] as well as a possible aid for the soon coming trial, he knew a large part of his motivation wasn't for such a purpose.

Inviting outsiders was usually not an option, nor was there even a point. In single combat, the Fae thought their enchanted warriors and powerful mages as unmatched. But given the possible rewards and status that may be bestowed upon their Queenslayer, even if publicly for a different reason, he would no longer be an outsider.

And his strength in killing Yulia shown above their belief in their own strength.

Whether it was his fallen brother or to anger the Fae elders, Prince Yaf couldn't be sure of his son's motivations.

Rainer's group entered through the Fairy Ring and appeared to the shock of several guards at it.

He stood there waiting but kept [Arcane Awakening] at low power in case of combat. The rest of his party entered. And the guards [Appraisal] forced a variety of expressions across their faces as they took in the whole group.

"Tell my father, Lord Winmere of the Winter Court, I have returned," Elru spoke.

As quite well known amongst the Fae, Elru shocked the guard quite a bit. To see her traveling with the [Archon] brought about a large confusion.

"Right away Maiden Elru," He ran off while the others went to warn the courts. Lord Winmere was not one to often participate in politics and wasn't at the meeting currently going on.

Using [Arcane sight] from the start, Rainer was aware why they had seemingly left him alone. A strong Fae in Glamour stood off to the side.

[Fairy, Male, Runic Fae Assassin(2nd) lvl 7, Runic Knight lvl 14]

Rainer focused an [Arcane Presence] to expel the Fae from the Glamour while he pretended to not care about him anymore. In truth, everyone stood on guard.

He knew sooner or later he'd have to reveal whatever Fae they sent to watch him while he was here; he'd rather get that out of the way now. And more importantly, show his earlier acts of forcing them out of their Glamour as intentional.

Being caught the Fae just continued standing there in the same manner. Trained since a young age, his experiences covered what to do on the rare chances of their Glamour being broken.

But none of the practice scenarios included an opponent who broke your Glamour and then just ignored you. Even the well-trained Fae could only awkwardly stand there not understanding what he should do or even say.

Rainer continued his waiting. According to Elru, it was best to wait for a Fae to come to escort them.

To both his surprise and relief it was Prince Laneth who arrived first.

"Earlier than expected," He spoke before his eye were drawn toward Elru. He couldn't help but smile seeing how much more entertaining the situation had just become.

"Thanks for coming to get me, but we are in a bit of a rush," Rainer quickly turned serious.

Laneth only nodded before waving Rainer to follow him.

"I'm looking for a Fae. Her name is Quera and she served in the Palace. I have no idea where she is though or if she's even alive. But I need to find her. The matter is important."

"Let us go to the Watcher first. Then I can take you where we are keeping those expelled from the Palace," Laneth responded.

He was supposed to guide the [Archon] to meet with the courts, but he knew trying to force him wasn't an ideal thing. But, he still said his concerns.

"The Court will not take it well that you are ignoring to meet with them first," Laneth advised.

"I agree, Rainer," Theodore added, "Not that you'll change your mind." Unlike Laneth, Theodore knew the reason for him cutting down Divinity itself was the same for his goal coming here now. Luna.

And offending the Courts isn't even on the same level for Rainer as Luna. And more importantly, the one who saved and let him meet her in the first place.

"Then off to the Watcher," Laneth said.

"Watcher?" Rainer asked.

It was Elru who spoke up, unintentionally reminding Laneth of how strange her presence her was.

"As you know, our bodies disappear on death. So many years ago, a system was put in place. At birth, we have a token that is magically tied to us. Upon death, it changes from gold to black and can be used by the family as a memory. Otherwise, we may never know when any of us are no longer here."

They moved through the air at Laneth's direction. Seeing the magical constructs that held Rainer's enchanted overcoat together, he grew confused.

"Might I ask why you haven't repaired your coat?"

"I haven't had time to seek out a Magic Crafter," Rainer said, "I'd like to find one here if possible."

Chuckling Laneth spoke again.

"why don't you just repair it with Mana?"

Rainer looked at him confused.

"It has a Self-Repair enchantment on it as well you know. All you have to do is flow a bit of Mana into it."

"Elru, can you do it?" Rainer asked. His Mana wasn't exactly suited to be flowed into enchanted items. It was how he destroyed them instead.

Elru nodded with a slight blush on her face. Having appraised his coat quite a while ago she had forgotten about its repair function in her more explained description of it.

Dissipating her constructs, she placed a hand on his back. But nothing changed.

"It's rejecting it…" Elru said.

Rainer thought for a moment before just deciding to try it. With the smallest amount of Mana he could muster, he found the coat quickly began repairing its holes. Just a few points of Mana and the black overcoat with faint Runic lines of violet returned to its old form.

"How'd you know?" Rainer asked.

"I appraised it. I imagine traveling with Maiden Elru, you would know about it," Laneth grinned causing Elru to look away.

Rainer only laughed before his expression turned serious.

They were not here on vacation.

The city itself was a mix of white stone and wood that seemed to be naturally grown from the ground. Appearing as if a wealthy district the houses were quite large and extravagant. Expensive looking cloths hung from the windows, and some of the white stone was instead painted in various colors.

Entering a large building at the edge of the city Prince Laneth guided the group past any guards.

"I'm afraid your friend Quera Mileah is no longer here," The Watcher spoke. He held the rectangular token in his hand, as in truth, he could only hand it over to any of her family. He looked at the Human strangely but in the end, the older looking Fae didn't seem to pay them any mind beyond that.

"What about any family?"

"I'll find out for you, do you think-"

"Wait a moment," Rainer interrupted as he felt his familiar bond with Luna shudder, "I need some time to myself."

He looked toward his group members, and no one objected. Theodore nodded before nudging his head toward the two Glamoured Fae. With his high-leveled [Soul Detection] he managed to notice them.

They started tailing the group as soon as they entered the city. Many Fae seeing the strange Human and even odder companions gawked and stared. But with Prince Laneth nearby, none in the city said anything.

With news spreading of Yulia's demise a mix of mourning and hidden celebration spread. Many did not leave their house often at such a time. The Courts could not hide the death of the Queen herself, only the means.

"There aren't any others but those two," Rainer quietly confirmed.

Rainer quickly left the large stone building and flew straight into the sky. The blue sky which lacked any star lighting it. Its light that covered the horizon did not seem to have a source.

One of Glamoured Court Assassins took flight to follow him, but an Arcane-Infused yell sent his ears ringing and him barreling back into the ground. He just barely managed to avoid a damaging fall.

"Back off," Rainer growled as he ascended upwards.

High enough so they could no longer be seen, Luna exited Rainer's jacket. She returned to full size before immediately hugging Rainer.

Rainer heard her sobs as he held her, not yet knowing what to say. And so, he only floated quietly.

"She died because of me, Rainer…" she mumbled into his shoulder.

As Rainer thought what to say he recalled their first meeting. Quera had helped Luna escape and bought her time, but it could a question as to whether she truly accomplished anything. Were it not for Rainer's Mana covering the two from tracking Magic, eventually Luna would just be recaptured.

Even with such low chances, she still tried to help her…

He returned her hug a bit harder. With Yulia dead he lacked any place to aim his anger at such a thing, and could only lament his inability to help Quera in time. He wondered now if she had family or anyone she cared for. For that was all he could do now.

And so, he found the words to speak to Luna.

"Luna. It was her choice to make. She had to have known how low the odds were. Not only of her own survival but of actually getting away. Of you truly escaping Yulia even if you did manage to leave the palace. And yet she still made the choice. She still chose you. Be happy of that."

One hand wrapped around her and the other patted her head.

"The only thing you can do for Quera now is to treasure the gift she gave you. We can look for any family of hers as well. Even if we were too late to help Quera, I'm sure she would appreciate it wherever she may be now."

"Rainer…Quera talked about her mother….do you think…"

"We'll find her soon," Rainer responded. He too wished he could thank Quera for bringing Luna into his life. And if he couldn't thank the person themselves he would help those they cared for. He thought to the [Fruit of the World Tree] in his possession and made a decision.

The two stayed in the sky for several minutes longer before she returned to his pocket and they flew back down.

Just as Laneth was about to leave to find information on Quera's mother, a timer appeared with a message for Rainer. He stopped Laneth from leaving as he now had another thing to ask of him.

[04:00:00]

[Egg] prepared to hatch. Within time limit remove [Egg] from Incubation Ring or it will be forcibly expelled to protect the life of the inhabitant.]

"We need to leave," Rainer spoke. Risking the hatching of such a thing was not in Rainer's mind.

But as he still needed to come back for Quera's mother and anyone else, he couldn't leave things as is with the Courts. He decided to have Laneth deliver the gift he earlier prepared.

And as it was now, there was still much he wished to learn from the Fae. Leaving too poor of an impression would affect future plans. Regardless of his power, or the supposed power backing him, it could not give him everything he wanted.

"Ah wait, Rainer. The Courts were quite insistent I bring you to a meeting with them. They are all already waiting for some time."

"I have an apology prepared, if you are willing to deliver it?" Rainer offered as he handed Yulia's Spatial Ring to Laneth. As they took off in flight back toward the Fairy Ring Rainer explained the gifts and message to Laneth.

Rainer viewed Laneth as the one who let him leave in time to help his companions against the [Devil King] and possibly worse things if the spatial tears expanded further. Trusting him to deliver the gifts was a matter of course.

[Mana Reading] didn't hurt the situation either.

One of the Court Assassins following them, now no longer pointlessly hiding in Glamour had tried to stop them, but it was too late.

"Should we continue following them?"

"Go on. But from afar. I'll go tell the Court of what happened before then hopefully Laneth returns with a proper explanation…."

An hour later Laneth by himself came to the meeting. With the news of the [Archon]s departure already given many looked at him sharply but given it was the [Archon]'s choice no one could truly fault Laneth.

But with the added resentment many held toward the Prince for taking the lead in building relations with this [Archon] they did not look at him favorably already.

He explained the [Archon] goal this time, that he needed to speak with a Fae who served under Yulia, but she was already dead.

One could see their faces darken as their attempt to meet with the [Archon] was blatantly ignored. He was an unknown element of an unknown power moving as he pleased within their city.

"Are we to just let him leave and ignore us like common rabble?!" One of the Fae exclaimed.

The Court then devolved into a shouting match as they questioned whether they should send an armed response. Those who had family killed by Yulia favored not yet acting whereas other's pride got in the way. But Taramath's voice silenced them.

"Or perhaps to the Arcane Order, our power only amounts to common rabble?"

The mood did not improve, but his sobering words caused the actions against the [Archon] to be shelved for the time being.

"Did he say when he might return?" Laneth's father asked.

"Within a day," Laneth said then taking out Yulia's Spatial Ring, "But he left a gift. A single Fruit of the World Tree], a large amount of gold and some Fairy Dust. He said he retrieved it from Yulia. Along with some rings for Wind Magic. He also said some business related to the other problems caused by Yulia came up once more."

Laneth said before throwing the ring on the table. Discussion immediately broke out.

"And for you, and to Fae kind, an official gift from the Arcane Order. A formula and explanation for a Rune that uses Aura to fuel Body Enchantments," Laneth grinned as he watched the frozen expression of Elder Taramath.

"This…" He took the paper and immediately rushed out of the room. While surprised by the second gift, the rest of the Court was still far more interested in the first. In the end, they decided to give it to the next King or Queen with the portion of the Gold and dust not going to the summer court as they received the rings which affected Wind Magic.

"So, a bribe?" A Fae sneered. He was the blue haired Prince of the Summer Court, who first yelled out against the [Archon].

"If the gift given by this Arcane Order to Taramath proves true perhaps Taramath's earlier words are as well," One of the heavier supports for action against the [Archon] from before, however, took a far different tone.

While feelings weren't improved toward the [Archon], the meeting went on to other affairs, and they decided to only wait for the [Archon]'s return. Though, the presence of Court Assassins at the Fairy Rings would be increased.

They then discussed the existence of this Arcane Order and what Yulia had done to earn their ire. Some talked about locking the Fairy Rings for the time being but were soon reminded about the [Archon]'s original accomplishment of teleporting directly to their realm.

The Fae who suggested a lock down grew embarrassed after that revelation.

Some hoped he would never return. But with the gift, his actions of leaving them softened their attitudes towards the otherwise disrespectful actions. In the end, it was the prospect of the Arcane Order that kept away any violent thoughts.

The Court's topic of discussion switched to what action the future Ruler should take in regards to the energy concentration. Already assuming, only a member of their courts would be King or Queen, just as it was in the past and since the founding of their society.

In truth, with almost all the 2nd Tier experts either coming from the Courts or marrying into them, the populace presented a smaller concern than for other nations. At most, the populace could refuse to go about their daily business.

But a true revolt was impossible in their eyes.

Laneth's father took his son aside after the meeting.

"Will he aid you in taking the Trial?"

"I didn't ask," Laneth said before walking away. He did not even give his father a chance to say otherwise. Neither he nor his deceased brother wished for the throne, yet their father pressured Laneth's brother into taking the trial with Laneth as an aid.

While illogical, he couldn't help but still have resentment toward the Trial and a bit toward his Father's desires.

Laneth walked off to find information on Quera's relatives.

The timer had 2 hours remaining when the party returned to Furtak's city. Asking for a room everyone, Furtak and Delilah included entered after checking on the unconscious Fae.

"What exactly are we doing?" Furtak asked. The discussion on the way back had been filled with Rainer asking questions to Elru on how he could get one of the Courts Fae Enchanters to teach him. This left little room for Furtak to question what exactly they were rushing back for. That and his own amazement over viewing the Fae Realm.

Rainer's thoughts went toward his fake Arcane Order. Before he knew it, he already developed just exactly what its goals were, and realized that perhaps it shouldn't be fake any longer. Numerous ideas distracted him so that he didn't even hear Furtak's question.

Have I been wrong, in hiding my class? Would Yarik had so brazenly come after me were he to know I was an [Archon]? That I had an order behind me where I was an Adept rather than leader?

His initial thoughts on the Arachne was to build a more amicable relationship and then after gathering other mages and preparing the backing for his academy to gain their alliance as well. But now he had thoughts of how he could leverage both the fact he was an [Archon] and convince them the Arcane Order is a real thing as he brings it to reality simultaneously.

"Rainer?" Kara waved her hand in front of his face snapping him back to the situation at hand.

"Preparing for the hatching of a Scaled-Wyvern," Kara then answered Furtak.

The Druidic tongue left Delilah's mouth as she posed a question.

"And the egg is where?" Furtak too was quite curious as he translated.

"In an Incubation Ring," Rainer answered.

Both looked strangely toward him as they didn't understand. Rainer then explained the reward from a dungeon, though left out the part of it being a dungeon on another world.

Theodore and Gunthar both worked to prepare for the hatching.

"What's that on the ground?" Rainer asked.

A similar pattern to the one used to extract Draconic essence was being carved in another ruined table of Furtak's. Seeing Theodore breaking another one had caused the Goblin some grief.

In the center was a place for the egg.

"For making it your Familiar. I guess this shall answer whether you can have more than one without the class and without them being special cases. At worst, Luna will be asked to be removed as your Familiar. But that can be redone at any time should you wish and with a Summoner type class."

"Luna will remove you…" She said as she gave a fake glare at Theodore while her small form sat on Rainer's shoulder. Rainer had told Luna of his plan to give Quera's mother a Fruit causing the Fairy's mood to brighten.

"Wait, I'd rather it be Kara's."

"She would need Mana for such a thing," Theodore responded.

"How much?"

"Any amount should do so long as you assist in guiding the Draconic Essence but how are…"

Rainer took out a fist-sized bag of dust from his spatial ring. He guessed there was enough dust in there for roughly 20 doses.

"Courtesy of Yulia."

Rainer talked with Elru before deciding on the gift to give the Courts. Rainer found too that she did not mind him keeping the dust in the slightest, as it already existed it was far different using that and stealing from Fairy.

"Rainer, are you sure?" Kara asked.

"For your Trial. You said you didn't want to take a Fruit, and I did not bring it up again. In the end, it's your decision to make, not mine. And I'm not any different. But I'm not budging on this. I don't care if I'm unreasonable. Your Trial may be far harder than mine."

"Thank you," Kara smiled.

After several more minutes of preparation, only Kara and Rainer sat on the wooden board that was once the top of a table. Something Furtak reminded them once more as he grumbled in the background.

"Use the ring to place the Egg in the center, Kara. Once it begins hatching, Rainer, use your Mana to charge the Draconic Essence with the same slight amount you used to extract it. Kara, drip your own blood into there."

Kara nodded as she then took two doses of [Fairy Dust]. Her eyes opened wide as she stared into nothingness for a few seconds before a long breath escaped her.

She put a hand on her stomach feeling the strange new energy now within her. But without any talent for magic doing anything useful with the Mana would take considerable time.

"The Familiar bond I know of requires two things. One, Mana. Two, an [Incubation Ring]. The problem with this, however, were that [Incubation Ring]s would no longer work after hatching a single egg. And [Incubation Ring]s were more difficult to make then even [Spatial Ring]s. Only the highest members of our society had a chance to make their Wyverns their Familiars. "

Pricking her finger with a dagger, she let drops of blood flow into the two vials of [Draconic Essence] they were using.

"Add your blood across the ring as well," Theodore spoke. With this method, the ring would assist in the connection from Kara's Mana pool to the Wyvern. It required no action from here and would happen automatically.

Kara held her hand with the ring over the basket covered with blankets.

"Take the Egg out," Theodore spoke with barely contained excitement. He along with Gunthar, who looked on in silent anticipation, watched carefully.

A black egg with a reddish hue appeared from thin air. Violet lines covered the egg as they pulsed with power. Following Theodore's previous instructions Rainer placed one hand on the egg and the other he began pouring [Draconic Essence] onto it.

The egg itself was smaller than he expected given the size of a grown wyvern. It was only 6 inches tall.

Manipulating his Mana, he influenced the [Draconic Essence], and it naturally began seeping into the egg. However, a change occurred.

Rainer felt a presence call out to him. And then he felt a small tug on his Mana Pool. He knew he could resist it with ease but allowed the Mana to flow out.

Rainer's body slightly lurched as Mana began rapidly flowing out of him. But it was not only Mana the Egg took, but Arcane Power as well. In the meantime, Rainer appraised the egg as he converted part of his Mana to Arcane Power.

[Draconic Egg, Female]

"A Draconic Egg…." Rainer said.

"Kara place your hand as well," He said. He wondered if there was a need to make up for the days spent when they weren't feeding the Egg. Too questioning, if it naturally absorbed the Arcane Energy in the place he had been.

Kara's looked on shocked as she felt her Aura quickly leave her. One of her eyes turned Red as she allowed her Demonic Aura to be absorbed.

No one paid attention to the single eye of Kara's being crimson. Above all else, Elru's focus was distracted by her [Appraisal] of the egg. Kara already returned to have only two golden eyes before anyone truly noticed anything strange about her having only a single demonic eye.

Both Gunthar and Theodore had no response as they watched with rapt attention.

The egg cracked after consuming nearly all of Rainer's Mana Pool. He was now quite glad to not be in such a state in the Fae Realm even with a private residence.

Eating a piece of the shell a small head could be seen.

[Dragon, Female, Eldritch Dragonling lvl 1]

The little dragon had pitch-black scales, slightly tinted red. With far darker red eyes than Kara's. Occasionally, a flare of power emanated from violet lines across her tiny body.

[Familiar contract initiated, Make [Eldritch Dragonling] your Familiar? Y/N]

"Kara, did you get a message?" Rainer asked confused.

"I did, I just accepted."

"Theodore can a Familiar bond affect two people?" But both Theodore and Gunthar only stood in awe of the little baby dragon that had hatched. It took them only a moment to identify that the [Scaled-Wyvern] had instead brought out of the full power of its bloodline.

Never in their wildest imagination could they have imagined such a change to occur.

"They can…." Theodore eventually responded as Rainer then selected yes as well.

[Familiar Gained: Unnamed]

[Title Gained: Draconic Contractor]

[Familiar: Unnamed]

[Eldritch Dragonling lvl 1]

[Current Shared Skill: None]

[Familiar Skills: None]

[Experience Gained: Deferred]

Both him and Kara stared at one another and back at the little dragon eating the rest of the egg shell. No one said a word as its tiny clawed hands broke apart the shell and slowly ate it. Finishing the egg, the little Dragon looked around confused before staring up at Rainer and Kara.

Its slit pupils stared at the two it connected with.

Rainer reached out to the small dragon before holding it in his arms. Taking another vial of [Draconic Essence] from his Spatial Ring, he infused it with Mana before feeding the small dragon. She carefully licked the essence from the small vial as he made sure it didn't spill.

"Rainer, what race is it?" Theodore whispered with quiet excitement. His words carefully controlled as if afraid to startle the two winged and four-legged creature within Rainer's arms.

"Eldritch Dragonling."

Theodore said nothing more, but his thoughts spun. He already assumed it was a Dragon, but he had not a clue as to what the word in front of Dragonling entailed.

Seemingly pleased, the small dragon nestled into Rainer's arms before falling asleep immediately. He was amazed by how strangely soft the scales felt, though with a lack of knowledge on young Dragons he could only assume it was because of her being recently born.

Luna overlooking on Rainer's shoulder mumbled displeased, "She better not be taking Luna's pocket…"

Following Luna's mumble, a strange sound could be heard.

"Gunthar…did you just squeal…" Rainer asked as Gunthar looked over at the sleeping Dragon.

"Did what, Sorcerer?" Gunthar asked.

"Did you just squeal?"

"D-did what, Sorcerer?"

Gunthar's embarrassed response caused the tense atmosphere to turn to laughter. But in the end, for any other than Rainer and Luna, the presence of a creature of legend in his arms was not such a normal thing.