Crimson Flurry

"In the fullness of time? Are you trying to make me feel better?" Rey smiled at his Familiar.

"Well, there's that…"

Rey shook his head and chuckled. Ater was also grinning, but it wasn't at all in amusement at all.

It was excitement.

"But there's more as well. Master, your power is incredible. I'm sure if you keep up your grpwth, you'll be able to tame a Divine Beast before the year runs out."

Rey didn't know what to say in response to that.

'A year seems pretty long…'

It had only been about three months—most likely even less—since he and his classmates arrived in this world, and yet he was already this powerful.

'Will it really take a year before I can get a Divine-Tier Beast as my Familiar?' Rey wanted it to merely be an underestimation, or a way for the Familiar to attempt stalling for time, but he knew how unrealistic that was.

Ater was bonded to him, and they shared a connection that made it impossible for the former to lie to him.

As a result, Ater always spoke the truth.

'It must be an accurate evealuation of my current state and growth rate.' Rey sighed.

He didn't allow himself to despair, though.

'I should just be content with my current state and summon what I can… for now, at least.'

Rey stared at the Status Window in front of him and picked the obvious choice—[Absolute Tier (S)].

The moment he did so, a Magic Circle appeared before him, and bursts of light and energy began to manifest from within it.

Rey had previously activated [Divine Power Ascension], a Buff Skill that granted him an immense boost in his Stats… especially Mana.

This was to prepare for summining a Divine-Tier Beast. However, since he settled for a Tier lower, he didn't even feel any strain of Mana on him.

~FSHIIIIII!~

The bright light that emanated from within the Magic Circle was blazing red, and the walls of the 99th Floor radiated the bright crimson power that surged from within the limited space.

'This should be good!' Rey found his heart pounding with excitement as he watched the magic happen right before his eyes.

Despite his initial disappointment, he was super invested in what was emerging.

Ater, on the hand, rolled his eyes and shook his head. He even leaked out a tired sigh as he watched the whole thing play out.

It felt like he was impatiently waiting for it to be over.

Fortunately for him—and for the expectant Rey—the swirling crimson lights began to converge on a single position.

It revealed the identity of the newly summoned Absolute Beast.

"T-that is…!" Rey's eyes bulged, his eyes nearly popping out of his sockets as he gazed upon the mighty thing that appeared.

His lips trembled at the sight.

"Oh…?" Even Ater leaked out a little voice.

Neither had expected this outcome, so it was clearly a surprise—albeit an unpleasant one.

"... What the fuck is this?!"

Sitting at the center of the Magic Circle was an egg.

It looked just a bit larger than a chicken egg, but it had the same shape and a simlar-looking texture. The only difference was that this egg was bright red, which made it appear more plastic than authentic.

It looked like one of those toy eggs he used to play with as a kid.

"An egg…? That's my Familiar?" Rey muttered in disbelief.

"Technically, it's not yet your Familiar. You have to—"

"Yeah, I know. Thanks for reminding me, Ater." Rey dryly replied, making a wry smile in the process.

"You're welcome, Master."

Rey felt his veins nearly pop when he heard that. It was either that Ater didn't recognize sarcasm when he heard it, or he knew what Rey meant and chose to also give his own sarcastic reply.

Either way, Rey found himself to be the loser.

'I can feel it. Ater is happy right now!' He frowned his face as he stared at his Familiar, who was busy looking at the egg.

'This guy…'

Ater was most likely rejoicing that he ended up with a cheap looking egg and not some ultra-rare Overpowered Absolute Beast.

'Oh well… I can't judge a book by its cover.' Rey sighed, finally recovering from the disappointment that echoed within him.

'Absolute Appraisal'

[System Information]

~A crimson egg~

[End Of Information]

'E-eh…?'

Rey couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the only details that his [Absolute Appraisal] gave.

'H-hold on, this could mean either of two things.'

It could either mean that the egg was too strong for [Absolute Appraisal] to properly identify it.

If that was the case, then Rey felt like he had hit a jackpot.

'But if that's the case, shouldn't it have shown no information at all? Maybe it would have shown something like [Error] or something…' An intrusive thought entered Rey's head, but he quickly shrugged it off.

He didn't want to have to consider the second possibility.

—A chance that the egg was a bust.

'Logically speaking, it's more likely that its a special egg that [Absolute Appraisal] can't properly detect.'

After all, Skills were supposed to deliver according to their functions, so it would be a big problem if his Divine-Tier Skill made such a silly mistake like this.

'Besides, both Alicia and I have used it to summon Beasts before, so I know its legit.'

Rey couldn't properly detect how much energy the egg had, but when it was summoned, the immense crimson energy that appeared told him that it had to be somewhat powerful.

'It had an intense Mana, after all.'

After piecing all of this together, Rey abandoned his disappointment and stepped forward to use his [Absolute Dominion] on the thing.

[Dominion Successful]

[Congratulations! You have acquired a Familiar, and a secure 'Bond' has been established between the two of you. The Familiar will forever be subject to you, and will be molded according to your will]

[Unfortunately, the Familiar is in a suspended state. Please wait patiently for the suspended state to be over]

"Haa.. and how long will that take?" Rey wondered aloud, his thoughts nearly a mess.

[3 Weeks, 5 Days, and 11 Hours from now]

Once Rey saw this, his face deflated and he had no choice but to croak his response.

"U-understood…"