Ch.88. Animal Friend (1)

On the day I first took charge of the Thunder Bird’s egg.

Naturally, despite being only 7 years old, I couldn’t help but feel confused about suddenly having to care for an egg.

The intention behind bringing me this egg—which could be called a kind of miraculous opportunity—was easy enough to understand, and having received a brief lecture on the Thunder Bird’s power, I could see that this would certainly bring me tremendous benefits, but…

“Um… Master, how am I supposed to take care of this?”

Just because I had become the caretaker of a Thunder Bird overnight didn’t mean I knew how to raise this magical beast that was closer to a spirit.

“I’ll help you, so don’t worry too much. And Thunder Birds are close to Spirits, so caring for it won’t be as difficult as you might think. Such magical beasts are naturally intelligent from birth.”

“I… see. Yes, I understand.”

“Good. It will probably hatch on its own after about a month.”

Thanks to my master’s confident promise to help me directly, I was able to set aside some of my burden and focus on receiving my druid education.

And so, that one-month period passed much faster than I expected.

During that month, I learned the knowledge and basic common sense needed for a druid, while continuing to train in harmonizing myself with the mysteries of nature, deepening my connection. I also didn’t neglect training in using and applying magic.

Especially, as if to prove my master’s words that I was born with exceptional talent for wild magic, unlike other types of magic where I remained at a basic level, I was able to master wild magic to the level of an adept.

And in this process, I learned about the concept of power balance that applies in this world.

“Gregory, the strength of all beings in this world is broadly divided into three levels: lower, middle, and upper.”

“…All beings?”

“Yes. Even beings from other worlds like the demon realm or spirit realm can be classified this way. …Perhaps this is how the gods worshipped by those tiresome temple priests created it.”

According to my master, who unusually showed signs of discomfort while explaining, with few exceptions, most beings in this world are classified into upper, middle, and lower ranks, and this is considered an almost absolute standard.

For example, take warriors. Warriors who have awakened their aura are all treated as middle-rank regardless of their previous strength, and if they can change the nature of their aura by themselves, they are considered upper-rank.

For magic users, although the criteria are somewhat ambiguous, there are four walls that must be overcome in the process of studying magic, and if you overcome two walls, you’re a middle-rank magic user. If you overcome all four, you’re an upper-rank magic user.

My master, who also explained that there are races classified as middle or upper rank from birth, told me that the ranking of druids, which I was truly curious about, wasn’t much different from that of wizards.

The only difference was that druids were ranked according to how completely they could harmonize with the mysteries.

“Gregory, right now you’re a lower-rank druid. Without you realizing it, your wild magic has already crossed one wall, but your celestial and nature magic haven’t yet. You know how different magic becomes once it crosses a wall, right?”

“…Yes, Master.”

Crossing a wall in any magic brings clear rewards, commensurate with the high difficulty of achieving it.

In the case of wild magic, which I had crossed a wall without even realizing it, despite my shallow depth of harmonizing my soul with the mysteries, unlike the other two types of magic, it was already practical enough to be used in real situations.

That’s why I took my master’s words deeply to heart, while striving every day to harmonize myself with the mysteries of nature to meet the conditions for becoming a middle-rank druid.

Anyway, while I spent time studying the common knowledge of the world for a month…

Finally… the baby Thunder Bird hatched from the egg I had been cherishing in my room.

※ ※ ※

When I first saw the baby Thunder Bird struggling between the eggshells, I was completely captivated by this cute and adorable baby bird.

“…Peep?”

Bright, sparkling eyes. A tiny beak. A round body shape like a mix between a chick and an owl. Golden down feathers and a peeping cry.

Perhaps it had an imprinting habit? After hatching, it approached my outstretched hand—the first thing it saw—and nuzzled against it. There was no reason to dislike this adorable little creature.

“Nice to meet you… Corin.”

“…Peep?”

So I named this small life form Corin, turned its hatching crate into a home, provided fresh water and food every day, and took care of the baby Thunder Bird as if it were my deceased younger sibling…

“SQUAAAWK! SQUAAAWK!!!”

“I’m bringing it, so be quiet! How did I tell you to make requests? I’ll listen if you just ask once.”

“…Peep peep (I’m sorry).”

In just a few days, the baby Thunder Bird Corin, who had developed intelligence comparable to a young child rather than a normal bird, became a part of my daily life, even if it was sometimes annoying.

Fortunately, despite having the self-awareness of a child, Corin was a magical beast close to a spirit, so in just a few days, it acquired language ability through mental waves and reached a stable level of mental growth.

Corin had a fundamental nature of taking responsibility for its mistakes. When you consider how few humans sincerely regret and reflect on their wrongdoings, you can see how good-natured this child was.

So raising Corin, who acknowledged when it did something wrong, couldn’t possibly be difficult.

Thus, my daily life fell into a pattern at some point.

Every day, I fed Corin and played with it, while receiving theoretical lessons from Master Dalia about various creatures—animals and plants—that could be used in magic, and training in druid magic.

In addition to learning the essential knowledge needed to live as a druid in this world… time flew by incredibly quickly.

A full three months passed in the blink of an eye, and nothing particularly special happened during that time.

“Gregory. The essence of nature magic is using what already exists.”

“Yes, Master.”

I learned how to handle nature and celestial magic, which I was relatively weak in, by listening to my master’s know-how. Especially useful was my master’s expertise in celestial magic, which she had built up through sheer effort.

My master’s advice, infused with trial and error, was also extremely useful in mastering wild magic.

Apart from innate talent, my master’s applications of wild magic were remarkable, and thanks to this, I was able to master wild magic at the lower-rank druid level in a relatively short time.

…Even to the level where I could form an Animal Friend contract.

Over these three months, Thunder Bird Corin grew from looking like a chick to roughly the size of a chicken.

“(Good morning, master! Did you sleep well?)”

“Yes. Good morning to you too, Corin.”

The once round and cute appearance now began to show lines characteristic of birds of prey. The down feathers fell out and were replaced by proper feathers, and its wings grew large enough to fly without problems.

Its magical abilities also grew rapidly, allowing it to send something like telepathy without making vocal sounds, and while it couldn’t manipulate weather yet, it could create sparks using its internal generator.

According to my master, Corin had grown to a level that could be classified as a lower-rank magical beast, which meant that Corin was also ready to form an Animal Friend contract with me.

Moving beyond our current relationship to become Animal Friends—mutual companions of fate—was enough to make me hesitate, but… the moment of decision eventually arrived.

“Hey, Corin. I have something to ask you.”

“(What is it, master?)”

“Actually…”

So with a trembling heart full of tension, I carefully broached the subject of forming an Animal Friend contract with Corin…

“(Animal Friend? Yes, I’ll do it!)”

“…Huh?”

Without even asking what an Animal Friend was, let alone a moment’s hesitation, Corin gave an immediate answer, leaving me bewildered. Instead, Corin questioned me.

“(Master, I don’t call you ‘master’ for nothing. You’re more than qualified to be my master!)”

“I see. …Thank you.”

“(Oh, there’s no need to thank me.)”

Though brief, Corin’s response was enough to comfort me and make me smile with joy, as I had been harboring some anxiety.

“Then… I’ll begin. Corin, I’m counting on you from now on.”

“(Yes, me too!)”

The moment the response was finished, the ‘contract’ began, with branches extending from our souls, connecting and intertwining to form a single connection.

The soul contract established a new spiritual relationship between us. I… connected with Corin.

In the spiritual space where I had been alone, my connection with Corin took its place, and the mystery within my soul became even more abundant.

And only then… did I realize.

Why druids specialized in wild magic are given opportunities to make more Animal Friends.

And the immense value inherent in this unique magical structure called Animal Friend.