1 The Summoning

"Attention, students. Please stand at your designated place and draw the appropriate magic circle. Remember, don't activate it until I have explained to you the method," a pretty woman in a white uniform and red-rimmed glasses said. Standing close by were three others, two in similar white uniform while another, a man in his sixties, wore a gray decorated robe. In front of the group was a line of about forty students, all of whom looked to be in their late teens and all wearing matching black uniforms. The students were busily drawing large magic circles on the shiny floor of the grand room. Two students finished earlier than the rest.

"Kaius, I bet I can summon a stronger familiar than you!" Said a boy excitedly. His hair was the color of amber and his eyes dark grey. He had on a confident smirk as he looked at the boy next to him.

"..." The boy, presumably Kaius, said nothing as he looked straight ahead with a calm expression. He was about the same age as his fellow classmates. His shiny platinum blonde hair was tied in a long ponytail, with two pointy ears peeking out from the sides of his face. Deep blue eyes singly focused on the magic circle. His handsome features, coupled with his tall, lean frame, made him looked like a beautiful youth straight out of a painting. Others seemed to think the same as the girls in the class occasionally stole glances at him with pink staining their cheeks.

"Hey! I'm talking to you here!" The other yelled, anger showed on his visage, "or are you scared of losing to me?" His eyes changed to a smug, challenging gleam.

"Rilche, I have no interest in competing with you. Plus, it's not like you ever win anyway," Kaius replied with disinterest.

"Why you-"

"Rilche, pay attention! I'm about to give instructions to the class. If you don't stop your idle chatter right now you'll be seeing me after class," The female teacher warned.

Rilche snapped his mouth shut, a sulky expression settled on his visage. Kaius let out a small snicker that nobody can hear, except Rilche. The latter sent a glare to his rival before turning to the teacher.

"Now, class, focus on what I'm about to say. Today is an important day for you. This will be the first time you attempt to summon a familiar. As you know, summoning is extremely difficult and there are many things that can go wrong during the process, so you'll have to be very careful. As such, the familiars that you summon today will stay with you and assist in your training until graduation."

"Okay, let's begin. First, please stand before your magic circle and place your hands on the outer rim of it. Then, focus your magic into your hands and channel it to the circle. Remember, the more magic you put in, the more powerful your summoned familiar will be but the longer it will take to summon. You should make sure that you don't drain all your magic power and pass out before the summoning is complete. Finally, close your eyes and call out to the familiar. You will have to concentrate your mind in this step. The summoning will be completed when the a familiar appears on the magic circle. Any questions?"

The students stayed silent, indicating that there was no question to be asked. The female teacher nodded and proceeded,

"Professor Finn and Professor Tios, along with myself, will assist you in the process should you have any difficulty," she indicated to the two men in white uniforms, "and the headmaster will observe your work," she turned to the old man in gray and nodded to him. He nodded back with a smile.

"You may begin."

At this, the students began to kneel and placed their hands on the circles before them. The circles glowed softly from the magic being channeled inside.

After thirty minutes, most of the class had finished their summoning and stood with their familiars. The familiars ranged from small imps the size of a large dog to large beasts slightly taller than an average human. Several students, however, still closed their eyes in focus as they attempted to summon powerful familiars.

Fifty minutes, all were done saved for one. Kaius still kneeled in concentration as the students looked on with interest and amazement. Whispers could be heard around him as his fellow classmates talked among themselves.

"Amazing! His magic is still going strong after all this time!"

"I bet his familiar will be so large and powerful it'll shock even the teachers!"

"Since it's Kaius we're talking about, I have no doubt he will get good results."

"He's so handsome~"

"Do you think his magic is about to run out? It's been a long time after all."

"Nah, he's a genius, remember? I doubt he would ever run out of magic."

"Hah! He's just showing off! I'm sure he takes so long because he fails at summoning!" Rilche exclaimed loudly. Behind him, a large beast about ten feet tall towered above the rest.

Sixty five minutes, the circle began to shine in a blinding bright light. All those present shielded their eyes from the blast of white light as Kaius stood up. All waited with bated breath as the light gradually died down, expecting a giant monster to appear.

Much to the audience's surprise, as well as Kaius' own, a figure covered by a white cloak stood in the circle. He (or she) looked around, letting out a confused "...what...?" as his/her eyes took in the surroundings.

Gasps resounded the room as everyone was too stunned to move. Whispers of "What happened?" "Is that a familiar?" "No way!" echoed from the group of students as the adults remained silent, disbelief in their eyes.

Kaius could not control the shock that he felt upon this unexpected event. He quickly regained his senses and ran toward the figure in hood.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get here!?" He snapped at the figure, taking hold of his/her arm so he/she can't run away.

"Let me go!" A feminine voice rang out, struggling to get out of Kaius' grip. This went on for several seconds, neither yielding, until Kaius, in his anger, grabbed hold of her hood and pulled down. For a second, he was stunned as her face was not what he expected. Blood red eyes widened and her mouth slightly ajar at the surprise attack. Long silver hair framed her pale skin and disappeared into her cloak. The strange girl, in response, slapped Kaius' hand away before backing away with a guarded expression.

The students were watching this in stunned silence, none knew what to do. The professors and headmaster immediately try to control the situation.

"Class dismissed! Return to your dorm." They herded the students out of the classroom, most of whom were reluctant to leave before finding out what was going on.

The headmaster came towards the pair, still in a glaring standoff, and cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Ahem! Kaius and... this young lady, would you please follow me to my office, there is something we need to discuss," he said in a calm voice, his wisdom-filled eyes gazed at them in a way that seemed to warrant trust.

Kaius slowly nodded, seeming to realize there was no other choice. The girl took a moment to ponder before giving a nod of her own, although her expression were still one of confusion and wariness.