The warm light streamed brightly through the window, illuminating the classroom where students sat quietly, their arms moving swiftly as they scribbled notes. Heads bobbed back and forth from the board to their notebooks.

"And that is how elemental spells and attributes interact through mana," the professor stated, gesturing to the board covered in drawings depicting each elemental attribute's interactions, weaknesses, and nuances.

Davis and his peers wore puzzled expressions as they tried to decipher the information on the board. "Are you getting any of this?" Davis muttered, his hand still scribbling furiously.

Receiving no response, Davis turned to K, only to find that he had fallen asleep long ago. Curled up into a giant black fur ball, K, in his cat form, slept without a care in the world.

"K? K? Wake up!" Davis whispered, but K remained unresponsive. "K? Wake up, for goodness' sake! I have something to tell you," Davis said urgently, his eyes darting from K to his notes and then back to the board.

Davis grew tired of whispering and, with a swift motion, pulled K’s tail, startling him awake. K awoke with a comical screech, twisting left and right to find the culprit who had pulled his tail.

K’s abrupt awakening startles everyone, "Sorry, everyone, he had a nightmare!" Davis apologized for K’s screech with a knowing smile.

"Davis, if your pet is unwell, you might want to take him for a checkup," the professor suggested.

"Thank you for your concern, Sir. I'll take him there after class," Davis replied, smiling and nodding at the professor before turning to see K glaring at him, one eye twitching, "Never pull my tail again," K's angry voice echoed in Davis’s mind.

K began stretching like a cat.

"K, I forgot to tell you yesterday, but you're going to have to act as my spirit animal for my next class," Davis informed K casually as he continued taking notes.

"Sure, whatever—" K replied, his words trailing off as his gaze landed on the magic system the professor had written on the board. "What in the dragon city bullshit is that?" K exclaimed, shaking his head as he read through the explanation.

The board was filled with an overly complex description of how elemental attributes interact with one another, detailing how one element can react critically when combined with another spell.

"What class are we in right now?" K asked, his voice tired and uninterested.

"It's elemental magic and spells casting class," Davis answered before closing his notebook.

K dat drowsily on Davis’s table for the entire duration of class not bothered by the professor teaching.

The bell rang, and the professor dismissed the class. Students left the room in unison, their chatter and laughter growing louder in the hallway.

Davis packed up and stood, and right on cue, K leaped onto Davis’s shoulder. "Why don’t you just turn into a crow?" Davis asked, tilting slightly under K's weight. "You’re a lot lighter in that form!"

"Are you calling me fat?" K gasped dramatically. "Shame on you for commenting on my weight! Someone should teach you some manners" K continued his exaggerated act.

A vein popped on Davis’s forehead, "This son of a—" he muttered, seriously contemplating whether he should strangle this annoying creature then and there.

But before he could do anything, Rachel approached him.

"Davis, shall we go to the spirit class together?" Rachel asked, her eyes fixed on Davis's newest pet. Having a soft spot for cute creatures, she couldn’t resist asking the most important question, "What an adorable cat… can I hold him for a bit?" she asked hesitantly.

Davis thought for a moment, "Actually, would you mind holding him until we reach our next class?" he replied, smiling with a sinister plot forming in his mind.

Handing K over with glee, Davis watched as K turned to him with a blank expression. "Eh?" K managed to utter.

"Actually he is K… pet." Davis almost told her the truth, “Yeah he is K’s cat. I’m just looking after him for now" He continued

Rachel gently cradled K like a newborn child and patted him softly. "I would be glad to look after him for you," she said, to which K again said, "Eh?"

K tried to refuse Rachel's embrace, his words coming out so fast it sounded almost like rapping, but to everyone except Davis, it just sounded like frantic meowing.

K bombarded Davis with angry thoughts, demanding to be freed but Davis only scoffed in amusement at his helplessness.

K saw himself as a gentleman of standard. For him, being held like a child by a maiden like Rachel let alone getting patted and stroked was unacceptable.

He tried to break free, but Rachel, being a martial artist, held him firmly, and he failed. He resigned and allowed her to pat him.

They walked together through the hallway as everyone glared at them surprisingly, whispered and rumors spread slowly.

Ever since the incident Davis and Rachel have been seen with each other a lot making others speculate.

K, whose head had been petted by Rachel ever since they left the room, unconsciously purred with squinted eyes.

A mocking laugh came from Davis as he spoke to K through his mind, "Someone seems comfortable," Davis thought.

"Shut up!" K retorted but didn’t deny Davis's words.

K's transformation came with a small side effect: whatever animal he turned into, he unconsciously mimicked some of their behaviors, the problem with it is sometimes the instinct kicked in and K's mind went blank for a bit.

Right now, K was no different from a domesticated cat being petted by his owner, his purring happening involuntarily.

"How was your spiritual familiar bonding, Miss Rachel?" Davis inquired.

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Rachel shook her head in response and answered curtly, "The flame spirit seems to be doing well, but my soul and the spirit need more time to connect, it doesn't fully trust me yet."

"It's rather surprising that a Flame spirit chose you!" Davis continued with his compliment. Rachel humbly rejected his words, saying, "Mr. Srityr has already bonded with his frost dragon."

"Really?" Davis was surprised. "That is very impressive!" he exclaimed.

Both Rachel and Srityr had been given their spirit animals by their families, and whether they could form a contract depended on their abilities.

Other students, however, were assigned spirits recommended by the Academy, ranging from low-tier to high-tier.

Spirits like Phoenixes and Dragons are exceptionally rare and categorized as Special grade, while creatures like Wyverns and elemental spirits, such as Rachel’s, are considered Unique, a grade below Special.

Davis, however, thanks to K's mark on his soul, is deemed very unwelcoming to spirits ranging from low to high tiers. Interestingly, this mark doesn't seem to deter the three highest-grade familiars much but rather makes him a marked target to avoid.

They entered the class along with many others. K snapped out of his comfortable sleeping position and jumped back on to Davis.

"I hope you'll do well in your lesson today, Miss Rachel," Davis said with a bow before heading to his seat.

Their classroom was an open area similar to a garden, designed to help the spirits feel more comfortable.

"Hello, everyone," Professor Hilda beamed as she arrived. "Today, we will continue our lesson from last time. I'll do my best to help you connect with your familiar."

The class began with everyone learning to connect with their spirits. They were given simple instructions and commands to help both owner and familiar get accustomed to each other.

Among everyone in the room, two students stood out the most. Srityr, with his exceptional command over his dragon, had forged a nearly unbreakable bond as they soared through the sky.

The other standout was Davis but for all the wrong reasons. K deliberately avoided every command and instruction Davis gave, doing the opposite instead.

"Get up, you bastard!" Davis yelled as K remained sprawled on the ground.

Srityr watched from above with a wry smile, "You may be good in other fields, but in my arena, Davis Edwelt…" Srityr thought, chuckling at the notion.

Like Kane, Srityr came from the Magic Tower, but his life had always been overshadowed by comparisons to Kane, who seemed to win every competition between them.

If Srityr could somehow defeat or even humiliate Davis and his cat, he hoped people would finally see him in a new light. No longer will he be Kane's shadow, but perhaps even surpassing him.

Davis sat defeated, with K opposite him, watching with a mocking smirk that fueled his annoyance further.

"Please don't worry about it too much, Davis," Rachel comforted him. Davis lifted his head and noticed Rachel's flame spirit hovering around her.

"This annoying bastard just wouldn’t move!" Davis said as he glared at K. Seeing his glare K did something to pissed him off more.

He rubbed his body on Rachel’s feet and does everything she said, making it look like Davis is the incompetent one.

Rachel petted K delightfully not knowing that her Flame spirit didn’t dare come close to K at all.

Which is odd, Spirit tend to come to each other like an animal checking one another but something about K make the spirit not wanting to come near.

"And they called you a rising star of magic?" Srityr chimed in, his words dripping with mockery, "From what I can see, you're a pathetic excuse for a magician." His animosity seemed to come out of nowhere, surprising Davis.

Rachel turned around, defending K, "He's a genius in magic, not spiritual taming," she asserted.

"I'm not talking to you, princess!" Srityr retorted dismissively as he walked past her and got right in front of Davis's face.

"Then again, judging by how close you two are… maybe the rumor isn't that far from the truth," Srityr remarked, mentioning a rumor that neither Rachel nor Davis knew about.

"A rumor?" Davis raised an eyebrow.

Srityr chuckled, "Nothing much, just that Her Highness is supposedly under a love spell from a country bumpkin who used to sell bread for a living." Srityr turned to gauge Rachel's reaction, but she didn't even flinch.

Davis thought to himself, "How did—Rily?" He frowned, while K chuckled, "Looks like your childhood rivalry has surfaced once again."

"Mr. Srityr, do you realize that slander is a crime?" Rachel spoke with a seriousness that Davis had never seen before. K whistled playfully, "Someone's getting angry…" He turned to watch the drama unfold.

"Princess, it's not slander if I didn't start it," Srityr replied confidently.

"True, but aiding in spreading baseless rumors to a larger audience could still be considered a conspiracy against the royal family," Rachel retorted.

The two continued to argue, neither backing down. Their heated conversation attracted the attention of others, including Professor Hilda. Srityr smiled smugly at the gathered crowd.

"Yeah, yeah, that aside, I'm not here for you, Princess," Srityr said, then turned to Davis. "I came hoping that Mr. Davis Edwelt, the great rising star in the magic world, would be so kind as to accept my request for a friendly duel."

He continued with a fake smile, "A magician to another. You and me and your—" Srityr condescendingly remarked, "pet versus my little Wizzie," gesturing to his familiar dragon.

Little Wizzie he mention was larger than Davis himself, let alone K the cat. He mimicked his owner, Srityr, and confronted K face-to-face. Wizzie leaned down and did the same.

"Huh?" K raised an eyebrow as he looked at the lizard before him. Its hot breath inadvertently sparked on K's feline fur, causing smoke to appear.

Sniff* Sniff*

K sniffed the air, detecting a burning smell. After a moment, he realized it was his head.

His cat instincts unexpectedly kicked in as he darted up to Davis's body, accidentally kicking him in the face as he jumped off.

The crowd erupted into laughter as K and Davis tumbled to the ground. Srityr strutted away triumphantly as if he had already claimed victory.

"That bastard!" Davis and K exclaimed simultaneously, turning to each other and nodding in silent agreement to accept Srityr's challenge.

"Fine by me, let's do it" Davis growled. His words didn't enrage Srityr; they only widened his smile. The entire spectacle was observed by Professor Hilda, who chose not to intervene, intrigued to see how things would unfold.

The first to go head to toe was K and Wizzie.

Wizzie saw K in his cat form and giggled mockingly, which infuriated K deeply. "This stupid lizard is mocking me?" K hadn't been this angry in a long while.

With a signal from Srityr, signaling the start, Wizzie was ordered not to hold back. Srityr's intention was clear: obliterate the cat. Wizzie rushed in at full force but stopped in its tracks.

Wizzie stared at K's unmoving form with a terror that no one else could see — the terror of prey cornered by a predator.

K's crimson aura, directed towards Wizzie, made the lizard shake in horror at K's primordial lineage.

To Wizzie, a dragon of royal descent, K wasn't just a monster but the embodiment of fear itself. The crimson energy emanating from K formed a spectral demon hovering over him, daring the lizard to come closer.

K's voice thundered in Wizzie's mind, "An insect like you dares to bare its fangs at me?" Wizzie felt the grip of death around its neck. "Fuck off, worm," K uttered, his voice echoing in Wizzie's consciousness.

The spectral demon expanded, taking the shape of a colossal serpent with a mouth wider than a mountain, its hundreds of crimson pupils glaring into the lizard's soul. Overwhelmed with terror, Wizzie couldn't withstand the fright and collapsed unconscious, foam dripping from its mouth.

The entire crowd stood stunned as the prized dragon lay unconscious, its body trembling and twitching from fear even after it had lost consciousness. K walked away triumphantly.