An Extra's POV

Chapter 571  The Plan For Submission

Beasts came from another world, and unlike Monsters who had flesh as their bodies and Mana Cores as hearts, or Elementals who were primarily composed of natural elemental attributes and had some kind of core that functioned as a stabilizer, the Beasts were fully composed of Mana—flesh, core, and all.

They might seem like physical bodies, but ultimately they were simply Mana given form.

Casting Magic to control them wouldn't work at all.

"I guess this is where the difference between Skills and Magic come into play once again…" Rey chuckled as he heard Ater's explanation.

"Precisely!"

With Skills that specifically allow control, as long as the action fell under the purview of the Tier, there really was no limit.

But, with Rey losing the perks of having Control Skills, he could only use Magic to achieve that end. And, as established already, controlling Beasts through Magic was quite impossible.

"If I'm to guess, the laws of this world just differ from the one they're coming from. As such, the kind of Control Magic that can be made using the Magic of this world would prove ineffective on them." Rey rubbed his chin as he analyzed the situation.

Ater shrugged and gave a casual smile.

"Those details are unnecessary, Master. The good news is that we have a nice alternative." Ater once again caused Rey's attention to fall on the shards of the Dyubbuk.

They were slowly closing in on one another, though Ater still had the core in his hands.

"How exactly do we go about it? It's an item for cursing and establishing binding vows, right?" Rey asked this partly because he was curious about how he would control his new familiar, but also because he wanted to see if the Dyubbuk's function would enable him to somehow bring Alicia back.

Ater hadn't mentioned the possibility yet, but Rey didn't want to give up hope just yet.

"It's simple. We force the creature to enter a binding vow with you, so it will be enforced by this item. Once it is done, a curse will be inflicted on the two of you. Fortunately for you, Master, you are immune to curses, so you aren't bound to your agreement…"

"But the Beast will be bound to theirs… Ater you're a genius!" Rey's eyes widened as he nearly jumped to his feet with a brilliant smile.

"Master, you are too kind. This is just basic logic."

Ater shook his head, almost as if he didn't want the compliment, but the way he squirmed after hearing Rey's praise made it clear that he enjoyed it.

He probably even wanted more.

"Okay, okay."

"May I continue, then?"

"Yes. Go on, Ater." Rey said, now excitedly waiting for Ater to unpack everything he had planned for the process.

The brief summary of it was thus:

Rey and Ater would have to move to a relatively remote location, where the Beast Summon would be brought out. The former and the beast would enter the binding vow right there and then. Prior to that, though, Rey would have set up a special Barrier as a Magic Circle where the Beast was to appear, so it wouldn't be able to escape or attack him or anyone.

Once the binding vow was complete, Rey would reveal his immunity to the Familiar and establish dominance over it. The Familiar would be tempted to also break the agreement, but would learn the hard way that it isn't possible.

Plus, with Rey and Ater being stronger than the Beast summoned, they could also bully it and subject it into further servitude if it decided to be stubborn.

"Isn't that a bit extreme…?" Rey found himself laughing with slight discomfort as he went over the plan with Ater.

"Any fool who doesn't see Master's great ought to be beaten over and over again until the truth sinks into their mind." Once Rey heard this, he couldn't argue any further.

'I still have no idea why Ater sees me in such high regard, but it's best I leave things like this. I mean, there's a lot I don't know about him… but it seems there's a lot he doesn't know about himself either.' When Rey reasoned about things that way, he had a certain train of thought.

'Could the same apply to me?'

Perhaps, hidden within him, was a part of himself that he didn't know about.

"So, are you ready for the Binding Vow with your Beast, Master?" Ater's voice interrupted Rey's thought, so he suspended it for the moment.

Instead, he gave Ater a probing smile and chuckled lightly.

"I thought you didn't want me getting another Familiar. Are you finally admitting that I need another servant apart from you?"

"..." For a moment, Ater said nothing.

He looked a bit serious as he stared at Rey. A complicated mix of surprise and slight hesitation, mixed with other things, roamed all over his demeanor.

Then—

"While I am of the stance that my competence will far exceed any Familiar you would summon, I also have to admit that I most likely won't always be by your side."

"Ater…"

"There are a lot of things in the works at the moment. In order to properly secure your protection, meat shields that can hold the fort until my arrival are necessary."

"... You…"

"That is why I consider this Familiar necessary. It will be a waste not to use something as rare and interesting as the Beast in question." Ater's smile was charming, and it oozed concern for his Master.

But that wasn't all that Rey saw.

'To think I was already thinking he would get along with the new Familiar. He only considers it as a meat shield.'

In Ater's eyes, he would always be the only legitimate Familiar for Rey. Whether or not the boy agreed with that or not was worth deliberation.

"Besides, I personally desire to test out this Dyubbuk and see its effects with my very eyes. I still need to hold off on removing the curse on the Alliance until certain conditions are met, which means this is the only viable option at the moment."

"I see…" Rey leaked out an amused smile as he rose to his feet.

As expected of Ater, there always had to be some sort of caveat—certain hidden intentions—behind his every move.

This quality of his still scared Rey, even though he was the Master.

"So, do you have any place in mind?" Ater asked, referring to where they would perform the entire operation. Despite the question being so sudden, Rey already had a place in mind.

"The Grand Calamity Class Dungeon." Within a moment, space around him and Ater warped, transporting them to the dreary hall that was the Dungeon's ground floor.

The overwhelmingly large expanse greeted them, and they both looked around; as if staring back.

"This place would be really good as a fortress…" Ater murmured, to which Rey's eyes beamed in response.

'Seems I wasn't the only one who thought about it!'

With the two being settled, and the preparations underway, a certain thought suddenly struck Rey.

'I no longer have my Inventory Skill, so… how exactly am I going to get the Familiar?'