Alex finally realized what had just happened, his body transforming into his new form. He hadn't realized how extensive the change had been, as he felt all the weakness in his wings flee. His mana flowed like quicksilver, rushing and moving with the grace of the sea and speed of lightning.

"Wow... and to think that that makes me a "tier zero". What does that mean, anyway?"

A mechanical voice, like an old man's, came into Alex's mind.

System prompt: query.

System recognized user, information approved. The tier system is a logarithmic scale to tier 5, before intervals change. At tier 0 the average creature is as powerful as a mortal human adult without weapons. Tier 3 is as powerful as an archmage, and tier 5 is as powerful as a dragon roughly 200 feet long with the fire power to kill about 370,000 humans in a fight. As a tier 0 creature you are as poweful as an ordinary mortal, however in the plane you currently reside you would need to be ~5 times more powerful to defeat the average mortal. Most mortals are nearly tier 1, so most confronation should be avoided.

"Fascinating... I have so much room to grow! I wonder what I should do next. Oh wait, I still haven't learned coagulate!"

Alex began to cast the glyph, over and over until it finally stayed. It glowed a deep red, but parts of it flashed gold. He tried to only leave the gold parts behind, and a new prompt appeared,

Skill recognized: Solidify Blood (glyph, semi optimized, safeties removed)

After he figured out both variations of the glyph, Alex flew outside to search for Enfer. He made it to a large building when suddenly a massive hand of brimstone wrapped around his body. He couldn't move, but managed to speak,

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

"S-stop! I'm not going to do anything! I'm searching for my summoner, don't squish me!"

A man, with similar black sclera and pink skin to Enfer appeared. They had different colored pupils, though. This man had deep red flames in his eyes where enfer had twisting golden ones.

"What is the name of your summoner, nascent child?"

"Enfer! His name's Enfer! Listen, he's a student so he should be easy to find!"

"All right then. Lets go find this Enfer,"

A smile had crossed the man's face like he recognized the name, but it vanished as quickly as it came. Alex took a good look around and noticed a few things. The sky was shifting colors, but primarily red and purple. Eyes occasionally appeared in the sky, but spells were launched into them each time and they flickered out of existence. There was a massive glowing white pillar in the center of the city, stretching up as far as he could see. The pillar had no scratches or marks, as though it was entirely invulnerable. Everything else had seemingly been corroded or affected by the infernal energy, but the pillar was perfection. Alex could nearly feel the sheer volume of divine energy in the pillar, a stark contrast to everything else. Alex's observation was cut short when they finally passed through the last gate.

"I'll take you to Enfer. I know him personally. Hes in the second year companion summoning class right now, and if we hurry we'll catch him before the bell rings,"

The mage darted through the halls, embroiled in a deep infernal energy. In only a couple of minutes they were at another gate, but now the mage had a caustic grin. He knocked twice, and he was allowed in. Alex noticed Enfer writing notes while the professor gave a lecture on "eldritch marks". Enfer's face dropped when he looked up, although he was a bit excited about Alex's evolution.

"Hello, little brother. I've come to drop off your pet,"

Enfer merely mumbled in response,

"Hello. Thanks, brother,"

As he walked to the front of the class his brother leveled an intense glare, and the flame in his eyes made it nearly sickening. Enfer picked Alex up under his arm and walked to his seat. After Enfer's brother had left, Alex whispered,

"What was that? Why are you so worried?"

"That was my elder brother. He's a real piece of work, and I wouldn't want him to hurt you. Next time, I'll just take you with me instead of leaving you at home,"

Alex nodded, and after a few minutes he fell asleep, boredom quickly overtaking any avarice for knowledge he felt.