Unexpected Incident

"Alisha… Sorry, is it appropriate to call you by your name?" Nathan scratched the back of his head. 

"You can call me or other familiars by our names unless there's an agreement between you and the said familiar." Alisha explained. Her voice sounded soothing.

"Is that so? Then, Alisha. Is there a marriage between a human and a familiar?" Nathan asked.

"There are. It's just that there won't be any child due to the difference in our races."

"Oh!" Nathan didn't know whether he had to be disappointed or not. He looked away while explaining, "Sorry, it must be an inappropriate question. I couldn't help but ask it when I saw such a beautiful woman."

"Fufu, thank you." Alisha chuckled, somehow the atmosphere brightening around her. "Still, I'm surprised that Mistress Vivian chose to get a disciple. There are numerous people who want to be her disciples, but she has never accepted anyone. Of course, this is a compliment. You must have a quality that she treasures dearly. Please don't look down on yourself. At the same time, don't be too complacent. If you want others to respect you, you have to earn it. It's not given just because you're Mistress Vivian's student. Understood?"

"Yes." Nathan nodded with a solemn expression. "In that case, do you mind if I ask you a few more questions?"

"Sure. I'll answer it to the best of my ability."

Nathan started asking a few trivial questions. He couldn't be too direct and gave away his identity as a transmigrator. At the same time, he was gradually learning about this world. 

…

In the school's main entrance, Selena Ashton was reading a book underneath a tree. She was the same student who ended up sitting next to Nathan during the test. 

Her focus was on the book when all of a sudden, a familiar voice distracted her. 

"So that's how it is."

She couldn't help but raise her head, looking at the source of that voice and finding Nathan walking with an elf. 

'Is that the person who summoned a wolf during the test?' She asked inwardly, her face remaining expressionless. 'But the one walking with him is an elf.'

She couldn't help but remember what happened a while ago. She was waiting for the test result in this same spot, so she witnessed how the teacher actually came to Nathan and brought him somewhere. 

To her surprise, the same student suddenly came out with an elf. What was it supposed to mean? 

'Did he manage to enroll in this academy? If his talent is bad, does that mean he is smart enough to be enrolled?' 

As they passed by, she couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"By the way, what is your familiar's quality?"

"Quality?" Nathan tilted his head in confusion. He could only think of one thing, which Alisha confirmed.

"Yep. Once you become a summoner, you should be able to see a blue screen giving information about your own familiars. There should be name, level, race, and quality."

"Oh! Can you explain it a bit more about them?"

"Let's see. Name and race should be obvious, and we only need them for record. However, level is meant for us to become stronger. Mistress should have told you about the reason why we heed your calls, right?"

"Yes. It's to become stronger. How do you even increase your level?"

"It's by defeating an enemy and absorbing their core. Half of the world is currently occupied by aliens. These aliens, while weird, have cores inside of them. It's filled with Ena. By absorbing the ena inside that core, we're able to increase our level. 

"The second way is to evolve. Take me as an example. I can become a high elf as an evolution. This is what the mistress mentioned earlier regarding requiring a huge amount of resources."

"So cores are for levels while evolution is for race?"

"Yes. You're smart." She smiled. "As for the last one, Quality. It's basically the talent measurement for familiars. It's divided into four categories. They are Basic, Good, Excellent, and Perfect, which are further divided into low, mid, and high tiers. The higher the quality, the more efficient they are in absorbing the cores."

"Hmm…" Nathan looked down, contemplating. 'Fenrir is a divine beast, but right now, he has the lowest quality. Does that mean Fenrir is not the one I know? Does Fenrir have to evolve? Wait. If it's all related to the amount of Ena, can I sacrifice more Ena for Fenrir? Will he grow stronger that way?'

Nathan couldn't help but ask, "Alisha. Is it possible if I sacrifice more Ena for a familiar? Will it grow stronger?"

"That's a good question. The theory shows a possibility, but no one has ever succeeded yet."

"Is that so?" Nathan looked dejected. It might not work, but it might be different for Fenrir since he was a divine beast instead of a humanoid familiar. "Well, he has low-tier basic quality." 

"Ah!" Alisha smiled wryly. "I believe that you will grow stronger."

"Thank you." Nathan smiled back. He added inwardly, 'Well, he is a divine beast, so I believe I'll get stronger. Besides, I have gotten a safe place for my early development. Since this is my new reality, I'll be bold but careful at the same time. I don't want to die in a stupid way again.

'Let's see. Based on my experiences in reading novels, the academy arc will usually start with a practical lesson, bullying from upperclassmen, or a brain-rot young master syndrome challenge.' 

Nathan had to prepare for those three possibilities within a week, while hoping he wouldn't be the target. 

That was what he thought until Alisha's expression turned grim.

"!!!" Alisha turned her head to the academy's gate, finding more than twenty people suddenly barging into the academy. Each of them was covered in black, leaving only their eyes. 

"Stop!" The guards summoned their familiars, which were an orc and a kobold.

However, both the guards and their relatives were suddenly slashed by several people, instantly killing them. 

"Students in sight!"

"Capture them!"

Alisha stepped forth as if trying to cover Nathan. She noticed a spider mark on the neck of one of them. "Stand back. They are terrorists." 

Nathan was taken aback, his heart felt like it stopped for a second. Just after thinking that the situation would be calm for one week, it turned out everything began with a terrorist attack. 

'I almost forgot that not a single day has passed. This is my unluckiest day, isn't it?'