The path towards his bedroom felt unusually long, as if the hallway stretched on purpose.
Noa was sure that the system was playing with him.
There was no way the familiar he had been promised was going to be a cute, obedient dog he could take on walks.
If he made a guess, it could easily be an untad hound.
Or maybe even a giant capable of destroying his room.
Still, no matter what it was, Noa had to et it first and then think about how to ta it.
When he pushed open the door, his steps halted.
His breathing was already quickened, and for a mont, his heart seed to stop.
Imdiately, his eyes landed on a being, or rather an egg, resting on his bed: a tiny, almost living thing that glowed faintly.
"What’s that?" he asked, his eyes refusing to close.
[Can’t you see? It’s an egg. You have to wait for it to hatch and then raise it like your child,] the system answered sarcastically.
"I can see it very clearly, but... why is it so small?"
[That’s for you to find out. What’s the point of spoiling it? I hope you both like each other and allow to see formidable companionship.]
Noa sighed.
He smiled faintly.
The sight before him was straight out of fairy tales.
Yes, he had already witnessed countless unbelievable scenes before, but nothing could co close to it.
"So you are my familiar," he muttered. "Now I feel like I am in a beast-taming webnovel, and I am waiting for my awakening ceremony."
Curiosity flashed across his eyes as he stepped closer.
"Well, buddy, how do I make you hatch?" he asked, poking it cautiously.
There was no instruction manual or guide from the system—just him and an unknown egg to deal with.
Then he rembered sothing.
Knowledge from the novels he had been reading for as long as he could rember surfaced in his mind.
Blood was always the key.
Protagonists would cut their fingers to sar blood on the egg.
It would trigger so kind of magical reaction, and the pact would be completed.
There was nothing difficult about that.
Except for cutting his finger.
Still, Noa was determined to et whatever lay inside, and he would do whatever it took, even enduring the pain.
He quickly found a sharp pin to slice his skin off.
’This is gonna be tough,’ he thought, letting the sharp edge of the tal cut his finger.
However, his movents were more precise than he expected.
The stinging pain lasted only a second, and though the wound was shallow, he could see the blood trying to seep out.
’This wasn’t that bad. Were these protagonists overreacting, or were they simply not careful enough?’ he considered before putting his finger on the egg.
The blood dropped.
Slowly but surely, the egg was painted red.
Just then, its glowing runes wavered only for a second, just to settle back as if it was unimpressed by his attempt.
Ti went on, but nothing happened.
There was no magical glow.
Nor did the egg show any signs of cracks forming on its surface.
"Seriously?" Noa mumbled, cleaning his finger. He then leaned closer and knocked softly, feeling its tough shell. "I gave you my blood. What more do you need?"
Silence.
The egg seed stubborn.
’It is already giving a headache,’ Noa thought, glaring at it after crossing his arms.
Not knowing what to do, he sat down next to it, even cleaning its dirtied shell to better examine it.
Occasional low vibrations rippled through its tiny fra.
It was almost small enough to fit in the palm of Noa’s hand, but its surface was emitting so kind of foreign energy Noa wasn’t used to.
Mana!
The very foundation of magic.
The essence that shaped countless worlds and dinsions alike.
It was a type of energy Noa had dreams of harnessing to gain powers beyond human comprehension.
But alas, he knew it wouldn’t be that easy.
[You know it,] the system destroyed his dreams before they could even begin. [Be it qi, mana, aether, or anything else—you can’t use them until you buy the rights.]
Disappointnt couldn’t reach Noa.
He had already expected this, but to actually find mana in this Xianxia-like world put a grin on his face.
’It ans whatever is waiting to be hatched can use mana. I think it will be unique and strange to this world... just like .’
But there was one more implication Noa didn’t miss.
Having a familiar that could use mana ant that he would gain products that would be based on mana.
Which, in turn, would allow him to sell even more bizarre and valuable items.
Especially for locals from this world who had no previous knowledge about this foreign energy and knew nothing about it.
Possibilities were endless.
And he would use every single one of them.
But—
Before that, Noa had to witness how the egg hatched and et his familiar.
Yet no matter what he did, the tiny thing refused to leave its house.
"Fine," Noa said, a mischievous grin appearing on his face as he tapped the egg. "I will wait. But when you co out, we are setting so rules you will have to follow."
Suddenly, its shell cracked.
Noa jerked himself, his hands trembling and his eyes widening. "What the..." his voice also got cut by his surprise.
However, the egg’s tough surface started to rip apart, only to nd itself instantly.
It looked like a challenge, as if mocking Noa.
He wanted to curse, but after thinking about it, he quite liked its terrible attitude.
His familiar had more intellect than he gave credit for, and instead of wasting more ti than he already had, Noa sighed.
"You can do it by yourself. I rember you liking this room, so as a good master, I would gladly allow you to rest here as long as you want," he said, and glanced at the final mission reward.
It was a talisman.
An item that glowed with unseen power and rested on his desk.
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