Chapter 1
"Hey did you hear?"
The boys voice rung out across the room as he rose from being splayed out across the single bed.
She turned as she brushed her amber locks and gave the boy an inquisitive look.
"Did I hear what?"
"About the summoning festival?"
"Oh. That." She turned back and kept brushing her hair as she sighed. "I don't really care about that."
She could hear the boys gasp and rolled her eyes at the overreaction.
"Y-you don't care? But it's the most important event for us second years! You can't just not care!"
"Mm." She replied with a hum that expressed how much she really cared. "I just don't see the point of having a beast as a servant. We have the maids and butler's for that. Why get more?"
"Because you could get a dragon! A dragon! "
"I heard you the first time..." She shook her head with a hint of amusement. "Besides. No one's summoned a dragon for at least a hundred years."
"There's a rumor that the prodigy from Lowee might try-"
The boy froze when he felt the familiar cold sensation of the girl's killing intent.
"We do not talk about her. At all."
He let out an awkward laugh and moved the topic along... was she about to snap her hairbrush?
"Okay... your anger to the new kid aside... what do you want from the summon?"
She let out a sigh and looked at him as she put her brush down.
"I don't know... Why don't I get a human or something horribly mundane like that?"
"...I'm sensing a lot of sarcasm here... I get the feeling you don't appreciate my enthusiasm."
"Of course I don't enjoy your enthusiasm! If I summon something ordinary then I bring shame to the entire Chevalier lineage. Do you know how worrying that is?"
He gave her blank look and held his head in hand.
"Fran. You are second ranked in the class and have one of the highest pools of mana in this entire school... you won't get something boring."
"Your just saying that... against her... She already has all the boys wrapped around her finger..."
He found himself laughing quietly as she glared at him.
"I can say this with confidence. I. Wont. Leave. We've been together for what? 7 years. I don't really see why everyone likes her. She's cute sure but I can say the same about you. You've also got a better rack and among other things I think I prefer your personality better. "
Her face was red and he didn't know whether that was from anger or embarrassment.
"Y-you... my... s-shut up!"
He held up a hand in defeat and shrugged as he went over to the door.
"When you've got your little emotional breakdown and inferiority complex over with I'll be waiting outside."
He stepped out and waited as the time ticked by. Ten minutes went by and the door opened. Her hair was tied up neatly into a bun. The green and gold of the academy uniform melded with her perfect skin and warm orange eyes. Her slender legs covered in stockings made from expensive looking material were tipped with a pair of white heels.
She turned her head to the side as he looked her up and down and then she sighed.
"Done ogling me?"
"Hang on... yeah now I'm done."
She sighed and smiled as she walked. The large halls had ceilings that were made for giants. The entire hallway was wide enough to accommodate the usual hustle and bustle of a school with at least a few thousand students. He hadn't really counted.
Each marble pillar that held up the roof was engraved with small patterns made of gold and glyphs made of black metal weaved and coiled around each pillar.
The floors were made from magically enhanced marble that cleaned itself while also being strong enough to support hundreds of people at once without the slightest strain.
It essence the school was rather mundane for a magical academy. The capital had a far larger and more prestigious school that was even more lavish then this one. He couldn't wait to get there.
"So how do I look?"
"Hmm?... The clothing on your chest seems a little tight but other then that I'd say you look as bewitching as always."
A hint of red settled on her cheeks once again and he felt a smile settle on his face as he entered the classroom.
Chapter 1 - Man, Bear thing...
He was surrounded by white. White walls. White air. White eyes. All looking at him with interest . He shivered at feeling.
Why was he here?
Where was here?
"Heyo!"
Why was there a little girl looking at him and waving?
"Hey I said hello. You should say so too."
This place hurt his head... his head! He reached around his neck and felt the fleshy sensation around it. He quickly looked down and made sure all his body parts were attached and when he was sure he stared at his hands.
They seemed younger. Less damaged. More pure... didn't he have claws before?
He found normal looking nails and healthy skin instead of the alabaster covering that made up his normal body. This body was more normal. A hint of a tan... He was also naked... He felt like he should have been more worried about the issue.
When he thought about that a set of clothes in a design he'd never seen before appeared.
Names appeared when he wondered what they were.
A silver shirt with a green outlined collar. Black dress pants. A belt with a strange logo. A pair of swords weaved around one another into a ring with an eight pointed star in the center. Inside the star was a glowing blue crystal.
He looked at his attire and felt the softness of the fabric as his hand traced it's surface. The smooth feel of the crystal on his belt.
"Hey!"
The girls shout had a strange amount of force to it. Enough to break him from his stupor and make him take a step back.
When did she get that close?
He looked for a moment and then grabbed her with both hands before placing her a meter away and moving back to where he was standing. He opened his mouth and felt words flowing out.
"I...i...hi?"
... He could talk!
It was as odd sensation. Though he supposed the surprise made sense... wasn't he a bear before this?
He blinked a couple times as the realisation set in and when it did he moved to sit down.
"Hmm... A little slower then you should be... Let's boost that a little bit."
He felt an odd glow surround him and when it vanished he felt... smarter... He supposed that was the right word. Like someone had injected his brain with knowledge. He knew languages he couldn't even begin to pronounce previously and small pieces of information filtered through his head at a rapid pace.
He looked at the girl who was playing with some of her hair as she waited.
"What... what The hell is going On? Where am I? Who am i?"
"Calm down. You're safe here. Nothing can hurt you."
He stared at the girl and felt a frown cover his face.
"I was told that once... someone beheaded me then... i think I was beheaded... I don't know anymore... man it feels wierd to talk... ugh."
The girl laughed and he though he heard a small reverb behind it.
"You're funny. This place is completely safe... except for the occasional demon ah but they're killed before they move."
He kept his eye on her and mimicked a look of surprise he'd seen a human pull off once. She laughed harder and he guessed that the surprise was probably a little too exaggerated
"You're getting better at that. At this rate you'll be able to mimic human emotions perfectly in a few hours. But that won't do."
She twitched her hand as he felt various images appear in her head. They were emotions... they felt odd. Not weird but odd.
He felt something like a smile settle on his face followed by a more appropriate look of surprise. The girl let out a bright smile that made him feel happy. Ugh emotions were confusing. He already preferred being a bear. All you had to do was sleep, kill things or sleep and kill things. It was such an easy life. Now he had to deal with emotions and facials structures... what the hell were facial structures?
He shook his head and girl spoke again.
"Come on. Let's sit down. There's a lot to explain and not much time... well there's infinite time but I want to see what you can do quickly."
She made a motion with her hand and he felt a compulsion to sit down. He did so and something hard called a chair met him as he did so.
She summoned a circular piece of wood called a table and put out small pieces of ceramic called teacups... this seemed fancy if that was the right word. She poured tea which was apparently water and other substances and offered him the cup. He tentatively held the handle like she did and he felt the warmth of the ceramic. He mimicked her action of drinking and a strange flavour entered his mouth. It was fruity. Like the forest... He liked it.
Her expression changed as she talked about various subjects to him. Mainly about the way humans acted and lived. She then began to explain about something called mana. He held up his hand a bit into her one-sided conversation.
"So... what you are saying is that this 'mana' gives humans the ability to do anything they want?"
She let out a quiet hum and then answered as she looked up.
"Within reason. They can't completely destroy the world or anything apocalyptic like that just yet... well not by themselves. A few entities exist that tempt and corrupt humans but they're rare to find... I still need to give you your buff to even you out with the world don't i?"
The buff she had been explaining to him apparently let him disassemble spells... She had called spells the equivalent of magic scripts used to create a giant web or network or something like that... he'd felt a strange headache when she had mentioned something called programming... He still had no idea what that was but he'd felt something similar to familiarity with it...
Ugh humans were weird.
He nodded once he'd broken out of his mental meandering and she smiled as she stood up.
He followed her action and also stood up. A flash of light caused the table and chair to vanish. She held her hand out towards him and a strange formation of light appeared. Lines of gold light formed themselves into eight small shapes like Pentagon's and he saw small word in them. The Pentagon's spun rapidly and in moments they seemed to shatter. He felt more knowledge enter his mind and he saw letters and numbers arranged in different orders. He then saw small words that lined up with the combinations and he saw different shapes all joining together. His head was hurting again and he blinked a few times and he let out a deep breath. The girl smiled at him and he opened his mouth to talk.
"Who exactly are you?"
She giggled happily and he saw a strange weapon appear in her hands. It looked like a scythe. A black one the seemed to absorb all the light around it.
"The goddess of death and equilibrium. Cëräte at your service. You Desmond. Are a very lucky man."
"So I'm here because I died?"
She shook her head and his eyebrows furrowed.
"You're here because of all the creatures you've killed. The ones not for self defense or food. If my count was right then... 40 humans, 200 demons, 100 possessed beings and over three hundred smaller animals."
He looked at the metaphorical blood staining his hands... paws and nodded slightly.
"That seems right... Though I think I killed more demons then that."
"If you think so... All this evil nonsense has gathered you a large sum of evil and as the goddess of equilibrium it is my job to equalise that evil with good... but I was never told who to give the good too... so I chose you."
He stared for a moment and moved his head to the side.
"Doesn't that mean that you'll break this system. I did all that pointless death and now you're rewarding me?"
"Well there is a little catch... you don't get to go back here... i made a deal with a different goddess. You get to go over to her place and enjoy yourself there."
"Um... okay... yay?"
"Some more enthusiasm please. I had to plant the soul of a demon bear inside of a human body, then teach it to speak and act like a human all in a few hours. Now I have to intercept a summoning signal the size of a pin between two dimensional gaps. "
He blinked and let out a quiet laugh.
"Well... i hope you succeed."
She smiled again and he saw a giant magic formation appear above her. It took the shape of a octagon and if what his mind had been taught was right, the stongest formation was known as a decagon. He saw various words appear as she formed the spell.
Transfer, teleport, power, range, power, range, maximise, barrier.
The formation radiated power and he felt a shockwave of mana when the spell finished forming. She looked back at him and he could feel her amusement. She snapped her fingers and he felt one last piece of knowledge enter his head.
Mana, absorption, steal.
He looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she told him to move into the center of the formation as she explained.
"When you arrive at the summon location your body will need some time to adjust before it can begin freely absorbing mana. So this spell will let you take it from others. Just make sure to ask people before you take their mana."
He nodded and waited as the mana being drawn into the formation increased dramatically. He felt a large force pressing down on his shoulders and he struggled to stand as the force increased. He felt himself fall to his knees and he had to use his hands to stop his face from hitting the floor.
He managed to look up and the girl waved before she clapped her hands. A sound like thunder exploded through his ear drums and his vision went white as the pressure disappeared.