"That's wonderful," Pete said with a beaming smile. "I'm extremely curious about your results, but that will unfortunately need to wait until tomorrow morning. You can join the other students that passed today for the orientation."

"Oh. Um. Okay?" Lily agreed, although still a little confused.

"Just come to my house tomorrow morning, and you'll be escorted to the school grounds. We don't want to ruin the test for any of the other children," he answered. This also gives you a chance to say goodbye to any parents or guardians who might've stuck around."

Lily nodded again and thanked him before heading to the inn. She was a little curious about why he didn't mention her Familiar. When she arrived at the inn, she immediately sought out Oz to tell him the good news and found him sitting at the bar while flirting with one of the waitresses.

"Oz! I passed!" Lily said excitedly.

Oz had been entirely distracted and nearly fell from his barstool, causing the waitress to giggle.

"Well done! You'll be the first bunny mage in Regarth," she said enthusiastically.

"You passed?" Oz asked, after recovering his nerves and seat. "That's excellent! Margit and Camilla will be so proud!"

Lily energetically nodded.

"Apparently, I'm going to the school tomorrow morning. So this will have to be our farewell dinner," she explained.

"If you're going in the morning, won't tomorrow be the farewell?" Oz asked curiously.

Lily giggled, "Oz, I don't think you've woken up early even once since we've arrived."

The waitress also chuckled and gently poked him in the shoulder, "Looks like you've been caught."

Oz blushed furiously, "Okay. I get it. Well, if this is our last time together, then we should have a small feast to celebrate—dinner and dessert! Two desserts even!"

Lily's stomach agreed, "Sorry… I skipped lunch."

"Now, we can't have that," the waitress said sternly. "A growing girl like you must eat three square meals daily. You better not think of skipping breakfast tomorrow either; trust me, you'll need it to survive the day!"

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Lily quickly agreed.

And so they had a celebratory meal. Lily polished off her plate and even got a piece of cake for dessert, ensuring she saved the strawberry on top for last, which she savored delightfully. Finally, she said goodbye to Oz, who looked like he would remain up much later into the night.

"Thank you for escorting me and for everything, Oz. Plus the herb garden, introducing me to Camilla, everything," Lily said and hugged him.

"Oh, course! Anything for a fellow orphan. You and Rose gotta graduate with flying colors and grow its positive reputation," Oz replied.

"Alright, but then you've got to make captain! No more low-rank city guard," Lily demanded.

Oz winced, "You're really pulling my leg here. But alright, I'll work on my promotion. I can't let you two youngsters steal all the spotlight. Maybe by the time you graduate, I'll be running Ceedale!"

Lily couldn't help but laugh and smile at his declaration. She wondered how much the city would change during her stay at Regarth. She swore in her heart that it would be her first stop after graduating.

After extending the goodbye a little longer, Lily eventually left and returned to her room. The first thing she did was release Arakil from the confines of her pocket. He immediately floated up and changed from notepad to diary size.

[Well done again Lily]

"Thanks, Arakil. I couldn't have done it without you. And sorry about keeping you cooped up in my pocket while we had dinner."

[Well, it's not like I could eat anyway. But I assume once we are in Regarth, I will be a little more free with my appearance.]

"Speaking of which… why did they not mention you? I would have thought they'd ask to see you or even ask me to hide you to prevent the other students from seeing."

[Their standard Familiar ritual desummons the creature after binding it. A very brief meet and greet before it's returned. During your orientation, I assume they will explain how you are to resummon or dismiss me.]

"And what. You're just going to flip the switch on your levitation and pretend to be summoned?"

[That was precisely my idea. The book would stay in this world since it originated here, but as a poltergeist, I must inhabit it to function. I think it will work out rather conveniently.]

"Sounds good to me. I wonder what Rose summoned. Or the other kids, for that matter."

[I could make some reasonable guesses based on my observations of the ritual and supplied components, but I won't spoil the surprise as I'm sure Rose wishes to show you herself.]

"And brag about it, I bet."

[Well, she is a dragon. Speaking of which, I'll finally get to see her and put a face to the source of all that teenage angst.]

Lily laughed heartily. They continued to chat for a bit into the evening before Lily ran out of steam and needed to retire.

"Goodnight Arakil."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from NovelBin. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

[Goodnight, Lily. See you tomorrow.]

***

The next day, Lily woke up excited and ready. She was startled when she awoke to be greeted by the talking Arakil. Part of her had almost written off the previous day's events as some sort of dream, but no, it happened, and the floating book was proof.

After she did her morning Mana cycling, she packed Arakil's book away, as he'd need to be "summoned" according to his predictions. Then, she cleaned up and went down to eat breakfast.

Lily excitedly walked towards Pete's house. As soon as she arrived, she wasted no time in knocking energetically on the door. The door opened itself again, and she entered. Heading to the room, she spotted Pete, who was busy reading a book while nursing a cup of coffee.

"Ah, Lily! Looks like you're the first one to arrive," he said.

"Hi," Lily greeted in return. "I woke up bright and early and rushed over. Sorry if I was too excited."

"Heavens, no, I perfectly understand. I was in your footsteps myself years ago," he chuckled while waving it off. "Can I interest you in a warm beverage while we wait for the other two to arrive? Tea? Coffee? Cocoa?"

"Cocoa, please!"

While Pete was in the middle of making Lily her drink, another student arrived. It was a human boy, a little on the short side. When he saw Lily, a bunny, sitting happily at the table, he struggled to hide his surprise.

"Ah, Thomas. Tea, coffee, or cocoa?"

"Coffee?" he replied curiously.

"We're just waiting for one more. This is Lily. She also passed her test yesterday."

"But…" he stammered.

"Yes, she is a Lagia, and yes, she does have magic," Pete replied.

Lily raised a finger, with a tiny star sitting atop it.

"I think I'm going to have to do a lot of explaining this year," she joked.

"Oh, definitely," Thomas agreed. "Sorry if I offended you. You just really surprised me. So you have light magic?"

"I'm honestly used to it at this point. Hopefully, after a month or two, I can just blend into the background," Lily sighed. "It's, umm… star magic."

"Star magic? Really?" he asked with surprise.

"Until someone gives me a more appropriate name, that's just what my previous teacher and I called it," Lily replied.

"I'm sure one of the teachers will be willing to workshop a name for you," Pete replied as he put Lily's drink in front of her. "You'll definitely want something more awe-inspiring."

"Yeah, no offense, but star magic sounds a little… childish," Thomas agreed.

Lily blushed while staring deep into her mug of cocoa.

It's actually Astral magic! But I can't say that!

A third knock was at the door, and the final student entered. It was another boy who appeared to be of Aviania lineage. Judging by his few feathers, Lily guessed some sort of falcon.

At least it's not a hawk…

"And there's Arthur. Beverage?" Pete offered as he handed Thomas his coffee.

"Tea, please, if you have any?" he replied, looking curiously at Lily.

Lily still had the star sitting atop her finger, so she gestured to it with a sigh. Arthur glanced at it, and his eyes went wide.

"Maybe you should get a sign for the first few months," Thomas joked.

"I could go around wearing my cloak…" Lily muttered.

"Um… did I do something wrong?" Arthur asked curiously as he glanced between Thomas and Lily.

"No," Lily sighed. "Sorry, Arthur. I'm Lily."

Thomas raised his hand, "And I'm Thomas. Nice to meet you, Arthur. And Lily here is probably just upset because I also gave her the stink eye when I first arrived."

"I see… sorry; it's just a big surprise. Also, please don't go with the sign idea; it could very well make people think you just want the attention."

"I'd never do that," Lily quickly protested. "I'd much rather blend into the background."

"Good luck," Arthur and Thomas said together, causing Lily to sigh again.

When Pete gave Arthur his drink, he sat down at the table and looked at the prospective three students.

"So. Congratulations to you three for passing. I hope it wasn't too much trouble?"

"First try," Thomas said confidently. "I'm glad I read the book multiple times before attempting it, even if it took me longer."

"Got it on my second try," Arthur sighed. "I rushed it the first time and screwed up big time."

"Second try," Lily replied. "I chose the wrong offerings, and nothing came out."

"Which is pretty remarkable considering I don't think that has ever happened before," Pete stated. "I'm honestly dying to see what all three of you summoned. It's always interesting to see the variety of Familiars."

"Familiars?" Arthur asked.

"Is that what we summoned?" Thomas added.

"Yes, and it is something unique to Regarth. You could honestly think of it as a signing bonus for qualifying to attend. We are the only school that gives each and every student a Familiar, and it's a closely guarded secret."

"Why, though?" Lily asked.

Arthur and Thomas nodded in agreement to Lily's question; it must have also been burning in their minds.

"A good question, and pretty much the first question every student asks," Pete replied. "The reason is simple—the Familiar is both a source of great strength and a big weakness to all of you. We don't want anyone else knowing about it so that it cannot be used against you."

"It's a weakness?" Thomas asked, scratching his head.

"Let me explain the primary benefit of a Familiar first. Otherwise, the disadvantage won't make much sense," Pete responded, and all three students nodded.

"Right, so by having a Familiar, you can increase your maximum Mana to far beyond your normal limits. This is accomplished by having your Familiar store a portion of your Mana, and you could almost think of it as having a reserve tank of Mana. Although one that you must keep topping up as your Familiar will slowly eat away at the stored Mana as per your binding contract."

The two boys seemed deeply impressed, and Lily could understand why. Usually, it was challenging to increase your Mana capacity, as even growing by hunting monsters had its limits. Lily, of course, avoided this problem by having a Mana Core that she could continually strengthen.

"The amount of Mana your Familiar can store depends on how close your bond with it is. This is both a blessing and a curse, as this only furthers the downside."

Lily and the two boys were on the edge of their seats, wondering about the drawback and why there was a need for all the secrecy.

"If your Familiar dies, you not only lose all the Mana it stored but also a directly proportional amount of your own," he paused and quickly raised his hand to silence anyone from interrupting him.

"Now, before you say anything, your Familiar is not dead permanently and can be resummoned, which is why you receive the backlash of Mana. This is the amount required to save the life of your Familiar. Think of it like an insurance payment."

Pete smiled, "Of course, splitting your Mana is not the only benefit you'll receive. You will also have a companion to talk to, and I truly hope you will bond with your Familiar, as it is the key to unlocking even more advantages. Your teachers will pay close attention to your bonds; you'll be offered advanced classes if you meet the conditions. So, any questions?"

"How do we summon our Familiar?" Arthur asked.

Looks like Arakil was right again.

"That will be the first thing you'll learn at the orientation and where I'll get to finally see what the three of you summoned. No spoilers!" Pete said with a cheeky wink.

"Are the other advantages in addition to what its form could normally do? Or are those what you are referring to?" Thomas asked.

"Ah… I think I understand what you mean," Pete chuckled. "They are in addition. Whatever your Familiar is naturally capable of is something unique only to the two of you. Well, unless someone else summoned the exact same type of Familiar. Semantics!"

The three turned to Lily to see if she had any questions. She giggled and shook her head, "When can we go?"

Thomas and Arthur grinned and nodded in agreement.

"Well, let's head to your new home away from home!" Pete said as he drained the last of his coffee in a single gulp.