VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne-Chapter 99: Jumping at Shadows

Belladonna sat back in her chair, kicking her feet idly as she waited. She had been directed to a small room that reminded her of the many Doctor’s offices that she had been in. The only difference was that the table in the middle was wooden instead of metal.

She idly played with a silver ring, as it hovered above her palm and turned slowly. It was formed of a metal that felt alive to Belladonna’s senses, for lack of a better term. It wasn’t actually alive, it was just a hunk of metal formed into a nice ring.

But to her senses, which were becoming more tuned to metal as the days went on thanks to her bloodline, this material was like no other. It was like she was holding a miniature storm in her palm, as it rumbled and flashed yet didn’t quite strike with lightning.

It was the feeling of potential. Magical potential, more specifically. You see, while the ring was styled like a flat signet ring, meaning that it had a flat and circular side that faced upwards, this flat side was completely blank.

Where there would usually be some kind of faction marking or even gem embedded, there was nothing. But she could feel the ring waiting for something to be put there. Magic flowed through its material, eagerly accepting and purifying the ambient mana in the air before pushing it back out like a tree cycling oxygen and carbon dioxide.

That breathing is what made her feel like it was alive, and even like it was calling to her, to get her to make use of its potential. She just wasn’t sure what to do with it yet.

The door to the examination room suddenly swung open and the ring launched from Belladonna’s palm and flew onto her middle finger, where it slipped down and settled comfortably.

Following the dramatic opening of the door, a man in flowing robes and carrying a clipboard strolled in as he flipped through the pages, engrossed by their contents so much that he didn’t bother looking at Belladonna. However that didn’t stop him talking to her,

"So, let’s see... A new member’s familiar examination. I truly hope this is not another Tri-horned Toad. A man can only look at so many Tri-horned Toads in one week and tell them that... Where is it?" 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

He finally looked up at his papers and glanced at the table in front of him, frowning in slightly confusion, before looking at his papers again.

"I’m sorry Miss, I might have the wrong information. Were you wanting to perform the ritual and have it examined before the bond? If so we will have to move to a different room that is set up for ritual casting."

Belladonna laughed softly, rising to her feet and leaning on the table.

"No, I already have one. He’s just being shy. Come on Beans, stop being a scaredy cat and say hello to the nice man." She said as she held her arm over the table, casting a shadow across its length.

The man frowned again, glancing upwards as if he was expecting some kind of bird to descend and land on her arm, before allowing his eyes to trail down to the shadow just in time for it to wiggle slightly.

His frown deepened, showing hints of concern as he leaned closer, examining the shadow of her arm closely as it shifted slightly, growing deeper and darker. He was almost pressing his face into the shadow, when a pair of slitted, emerald eyes appeared within the darkness.

The man immediately leapt backwards, until his back slammed against the wall, as he let out a shrill and panicked scream.

Beans slowly manifested from the shadows, keeping his head held high with an almost condescending and smug look on his face as he strode to the edge of the table. All the while the examiner was filled with terror.

He scrambled backwards, clutching his clipboard to his chest as he stared at Beans, not daring to take his eyes off of the kitten for a single second.

The adorable and harmless cat sat at the edge of the table, his tail swishing with amusement as he looked down his nose at the fearful examiner. One was full of pride, the other full of fear, leaving Belladonna to be full of nothing but absolute confusion.

What the hell was going on? Sure, Beans gave him a little fright, but wasn’t this just a little over-dramatic?

"Um... Sir? Is everything okay? Do you need a hand or-"

"Please!" He interrupted with a panicked shout, pointing a trembling finger towards Beans while keeping his hand close to his chest, in case his finger got bitten off.

"Please tell me you didn’t name that thing!"

"Uh... Yeah, This is Beans. My familiar... Is something wrong with that?" She muttered with a still baffled expression, reaching down to gently scratch between Beans’ ears, causing him to let out low, rumbling purrs.

The man paled at the basic revelation, looking like he was ready to pass out, before finally reasserting himself. He slowly rose to his feet, abandoning the near fetal position he had taken on when he retreated to the corner.

He shuffled around the room, making sure to keep close to the walls and away from Beans, until he was a more comfortable distance away from the cat and closer to Belladonna herself.

"That familiar... is impossible. Do you even know what it is that you’ve bonded with?!"

"No... That’s why I’m here. Doing this." She stated matter-of-factly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Because it really was. She was genuinely starting to question whether this man was all there in the head.

"That... thing is a Shadow Demon. In all of my years of expertise, I have never once seen anyone bond with a Shadow Demon. I don’t even know how you summoned such a thing!

Most encounters with those demons, are known to result in death. The few that lived, did so merely out of luck, or at great cost to their lives."

Belladonna frowned, glancing over to Beans, who was still purring at her scritches. The adorable little kitten tilted his head, looking up at her before giving her a cute, innocent smile.