Artificial Fantasy

Chapter 127: Encouragement

I wait for Soma to respond. I've had to use Mom's words to encourage him. But I don't know if it has the same effect as it did on me and Kazu. Having a [Familiar] with no quirks that would undermine his growth might be good and all. But after recalling the conversation regarding [Gaia Live], I can see Soma is no mere [Familiar] from his shyness alone. Then, my thoughts suddenly break when I see him coming out from my shadow and tackling me in a hug.

[Thank you, Windy. You are the nicest brother I ever had!]

Well, you were born a few hours ago, so I doubt I can consider myself the "nicest brother".

[FAMILIAR CHECK]

[Soma felt relieved from hearing your kind words.]

[Because you recognized his natural abilities, [Dark Mastery] has been unlocked for your [Familiar].]

Huh? "Unlocked", not "gained"? So there are natural [Masteries] that [Familiars] already have from the start. Depending on your bond, you can unlock them early if you recognize their species' abilities. Well, whatever the mechanics behind this [Familiar] gameplay, they don't affect me. As long as Soma is happy, then I'm happy, too.

-----

Another hour has passed and we leave the plains once the training is done for today. Thanks to Soma's [Shadow Doppelganger] abilities, he's currently inside my shadow as I head over to the <Tested Wilds>. Hopefully, with him out of the public eye literally, I can pass by other players without a worry of being outed as the master of a rare [Familiar]. This time, I take the time to search around the chat window beforehand to see if there's any [World Notice] related to our contract. Thankfully, it seems like only [Hidden Quests] related to a worldwide event in [Isekai] were the only ones it could report at the moment. So I'm safe for now.

Speaking of which, Kazu hasn't called me during Soma's training at all. Was he also busy with his own [Familiar]? I wouldn't be surprised if he also ended up unlucky with his pull otherwise. Yeah, it's not like we're gonna run into the same situation at the same time.

"Yo, Wind! We're over here!"

I sigh as soon as I hear a familiar voice from afar. I turn to see Razul and Arthur waiting at the entrance as promised.

"Hey, guys. Sorry I'm late for the rendezvous," I apologize while catching my breath. "I almost lost track of time from training."

"At least you're lucky to farm some EXP. We just got our [Familiars] while you're going off on your own adventures." Arthur then backs away and a wolf with red fur that seems to be made of flames approaches me. "<Flame>, meet Wind. Wind, meet my new partner, Flame."

The wolf seems to be growling as soon as it sees me. From its glowing golden yellow eyes glaring at me like daggers, I have a feeling it doesn't like me very much.

"Hehe... Nice to meet you, Flame..." I decided to shift my eyes away from the wolf for a blue-green hawk perched on Razul's shoulder. "And who's the mighty hawk, Raz?"

"<Zoro>. I named him after my pet bird in real life." Razul gingerly scratches under his hawk's beak, much to its delight. "There is no way I can replace him. But he's here to carry on his memories."

I'm glad to hear. Zoro was Damon's pet bird before he passed away during our first year in high school. I remember how whenever we visited his home, Zac and I took turns feeding and playing with Zoro. Zac got the brunt of his pecks and I have a feeling this Zoro might do the same if he doesn't keep his mouth shut.