Blake's familiar

Lifting the veil of the tent as Lucius stepped outside the tent for the first time after his captivity, he was met with a serene night sky where the moon hung high in the sky, casting a silver sheen over the darkened landscape. 

Even though he wasn't locked up inside an underground prison, for some reason he had found it quite suffocating inside the tent.

But right now, being able to breathe in the fresh air, he felt quite rejuvenated.

Both those guards who were stationed outside upon seeing him with those two important figures shot gazes full of disdain and envy as they grunted in silence.

Lucius however, completely ignored them and continued to tail Blake and Marcius from behind, maintaining a close distance from them while also analyzing his surroundings. 

But all of a sudden Blake came to an abrupt stop. Lifting his palm, he stood still at his place.

What's happening?

Lucius couldn't figure out the meaning behind Blake's abrupt pause.

But Captain Marcius who was walking in front of him slowly retracted his steps as if he understood Blake's intentions telepathically.

Seriously, what's happening right now?

Lucius thought as he tried to understand his situation. But even so, despite being ignorant of their unusual behavior, he followed suit and retracted his steps.

'What is he going to do?' dazedly staring at Blake with curiosity glistening in his eyes, Lucius pondered as he stood still at a certain distance away from Blake.

Blake then took out a few shiny jewels which by the looks of them appeared as magic stones and began to place them on the ground. Soon a pattern emerged as he placed those jewels on the ground. 

Based on his actions, Lucius felt like he was constructing a magic circle. But he couldn't be sure as he neither drew any magic symbols nor did it appear as any regular magic circles he had seen before. 

Just the shape of those jewels placed on the ground resembled a circle.

Then as he finished placing those jewels on the ground, he took out a small parchment of paper with a magic circle drawn. 

Placing the parchment in the middle of the circle, Blake then began to chant. 

As he spoke the incantation, the air around him began to shimmer and glow with a soft golden light.

Suddenly, a bright light shot forth as that parchment got burnt into ashes while in turn blinding Lucius and Captain Marcius's vision for split seconds.

Then out of nowhere, a majestic creature shot toward heaven from within the circle.

It was a creature of pure beauty and grace, with the head of a lion and a pair of majestic wings with iridescent feathers that glowed with fierce intensity growing out its back. 

About 5 meters tall, it was humongous.

Mesmerized by the majesticity of this ethereal creature, Lucius was left speechless.

Meanwhile, a prideful smile had blossomed on Blake's face. 

"Welcome, my dear friend," Blake whispered, reaching out his hands to stroke the creature's furry mane as he tried to pet it.

The creature in turn let out a soft purr as it responded to Blake's call by lowering its head and acting cute; the opposite of its ferocious appearance. 

"Let me introduce you to my familiar Gloo" Blake spoke, his tone full of pride and affection. 

'Who names such a ferocious beast in such a cute way?' Lucius couldn't help but sneer at Blake's naming sense.

And by the looks of it, Captain Marcius shared his sentiments as well. 

"Boy come in front and greet him. After all, he'll be your mount who'll be taking you to the capital" Blake continued in a rather aloof tone.

Couldn't he get a normal-looking creature instead?

Although he didn't show it on his face, Lucius didn't fancy the thought of riding this humongous creature. Instead, he'd have preferred a rather normal-looking animal like a horse or something else as a mound. 

"I'll be riding this?" Lucius questioned, his tone laced with terror and hesitation.

It would have been rather suspicious if he hadn't shown any fear on his face after encountering such a creature. Thus, even though, he wasn't afraid of it, he still acted as if he was scared. 

"Don't worry. He's harmless," Blake tried to assure him before whispering, "as long as you don't piss him off or I don't order him"

Appearing somewhat hesitant and scared, Lucius then trod forward, closing in towards the familiar summoned by Blake.

"Go on, try to pet him" Blake urged him to get more closer. 

Albeit a bit hesitantly, Lucius did as told and stretched his arm towards the summoned creature. At this moment, Blake slightly nodded his head as if he was giving his approval. 

Gloo then lowered his head towards him and allowed him to pet him. 

The moment his hand touched its head, a notification rang in his head. 

[Would you like to see it's status?]

It was a notification from the system asking if he'd like to see the status of this massive creature. 

Having been curious about this creature for sometime, Lucius immediately agreed to its suggestion without any delay. 

[Griffin]

[Class: Elder]

[HP: 1000/1000]

[Attributes]

Strength: 103

Agility: 245

Defence: 200

Intelligence: 1.2

Mana: 303

[Description: A monster from legend, extremely skilled in land and air combat, can strike fear in the heart of being with weak mental fortitude with one single roar, proficient in air and fire magic]

When comparing its stat with his, he could tell that not even 10 of them could take down one of these creatures down. Not that he ever thought of fighting it though.

But he still couldn't refrain from thinking such absurd things.

And the mana it possessed was truly astronomical. Well given the fact that it was a magical being that much was to be expected. 

'It surpasses the monster I had summoned back then in almost every aspect except intelligence. Well considering its ability to create an illusion, I guess it was right for it to have higher intelligence stat than this behemoth' 

Going through the stats, Lucius tried to compare its stats with the monster he had summoned before.