Chapter 158: Main Quest One Completed?!

On the continent of Halkeginia, although the magical system comprises five elements—water, fire, earth, wind, and Void—mages possessing the Void attribute had not appeared for centuries. Consequently, mages referred to "Void" as the "Lost System."

"Where... is this?" After an unknown passage of time, Sikong Xu finally regained consciousness. At this moment, his whole body ached and he felt completely devoid of strength, likely because his injuries had only just been healed.

Sikong Xu sat up and found himself in a rather luxurious room. To the right stood a bed so large one could roll around on it freely, directly ahead was an oversized wardrobe, and scattered about were various seats and decorative ornaments. In short, both the furniture and the decorations appeared extremely precious.

"Well, are you finally awake?"

Following the direction of the voice, Sikong Xu saw a girl with peach-pink hair and a delicate, pretty face standing beside him, looking down at him with an expression that combined disgust and helplessness.

"You... Louise?" Sikong Xu recognized the identity of this beautiful maiden at a glance.

"Oh? I only mentioned my name during the contract, and you actually managed to remember it. Truly worthy of praise. Although this is a vexing accident, there's no help for it; I suppose I'll just have to make do with you as my familiar. You should feel honored." Louise still looked at Sikong Xu with a face full of disdain.

"I never expected things to turn out like this either..." Sikong Xu said with a depressed look, simultaneously raising his left hand. On the back of his hand was a row of bizarrely shaped carved characters.

"Is this... the Left Hand of God, Gandalfr?"

Sikong Xu recognized these characters; they were runes, a type of script that had long since vanished from the world, though they frequently appeared in fictional works as magical text.

The most representative example was Cu Chulainn from the Fate universe, who possessed not only masterful spear techniques but also the ability to use rune magic, the foundation of which was the carving of runes.

Familiar with the original story, Sikong Xu knew that the petite maiden standing before him was a mage possessing the Void system. It was precisely for this reason that the imprint of Gandalfr had appeared on the back of his left hand, though she herself was entirely unaware of it.

"In that case..." Sikong Xu suddenly started, realizing something. He immediately raised the back of his right hand, bearing the exclusive imprint of a Morning Glow Academy student, and projected a panel visible only to himself, checking the mission information displayed upon it.

Fantasy World: The Familiar of Zero
Difficulty: Three and a half stars
Main Quest One: Become one of the Void Familiars. Reward: 500 Credits. (Completed)
Main Quest Two: Save Tristain from the crisis of national ruin. Reward: 1500 Credits and the Four Divine Abilities of the Void Familiar (Note: This main quest is optional. If selected, the quest difficulty increases to four and a half stars.)

...

Will student Sikong Xu accept Main Quest Two? (Note: Once Main Quest Two is accepted, the option to return to reality for Main Quest One will be invalidated.)
...

Indeed! Sikong Xu instantly realized that he had already completed Main Quest One of the trial mission. Moreover, due to the special nature of this trial, upon completing Main Quest One, he could immediately choose to return to reality. However, a single option at the very bottom of the imprinted projection made him pause.

Connecting this with the other main quests, Sikong Xu's mind suddenly cleared. He had been wondering why Ye Fei would assign him such a bizarre trial mission, and now he had his answer.

Ye Fei's true purpose lay in the rewards obtained after completing all the main quests!

Whether it was the abilities of the four Void familiars or their fused form, the "Divine Body," Sikong Xu believed these abilities would be immensely helpful to him. Ye Fei was using this method to let him choose whether or not he wanted to take on extremely difficult tasks in order to acquire these powers.

"But why didn't he just grant me these abilities directly..." At the same time, such a question arose deep within Sikong Xu's heart. Since Ye Fei had the power to issue quests for him to complete and thus earn abilities, could he not simply bestow them upon him outright?

He believed Ye Fei was certainly capable of directly granting abilities, especially since Sikong Xu had just been bestowed the "Traveler" talent by him.

"Could it be because of some sort of law?" During his conversation with Ye Fei, Sikong Xu had heard him briefly mention it, though the other party had used the excuse of his strength being still too low to prevent him from delving deeper.

"Forget it, never mind all that. He probably doesn't harbor any intentions of harming me. As for Main Quest Two... of course I accept!" Sikong Xu muttered to himself.

While Sikong Xu was lost in thought, Louise had already started speaking from the side.

"Hey! What's your name?"
"Sikong Xu."
"Sikong Xu? What a strange name... Then tell me, what abilities do you have?" Louise's eyebrows twitched slightly, her entire demeanor exuding a temperament that could only be described as arrogance.

"Abilities?" Hearing them reach this topic, Sikong Xu smiled. "I'm very strong, you know."
"Strong?" Louise looked Sikong Xu up and down, her cat-like eyes giving off a rather cute impression. "You don't look very reliable... Oh well, since you say you're strong, you must at least have the ability to protect your master. Now, your master is going to sleep, so stand guard around me."

Louise tossed her long pink hair and yawned. The events of the entire day had thoroughly exhausted her. Then, to Sikong Xu's astonishment, she slowly began to untie the buttons of her dress.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Sikong Xu's eyes widened. Although Louise's petite figure lacked curves, what kind of man would pass up a free show?

"What am I doing? It's time to sleep, so changing into nightwear is perfectly normal, isn't it?" Louise paused for a moment, then continued changing her clothes.

"I mean... I'm a guy, you know... For you to just..."
"What guy? You're merely a familiar. There's no big deal in being seen."

Louise's words displeased Sikong Xu somewhat. What does "merely a familiar" mean? Did she regard him as some stray cat or dog?

"Louise, let's get one thing straight. Although I was summoned by you and became your familiar, that doesn't mean I lack the respect I deserve!" Sikong Xu stepped in front of Louise. Standing at nearly one hundred and eighty centimeters tall, compared to Louise who barely reached one hundred and fifty centimeters, he certainly appeared towering.

"Louise? You seem to be a bit confused about the rules. Familiars are not permitted to address their master directly by name. You should call me 'Master'!" Louise raised her head with an arrogant expression.

"Heh." Sikong Xu gave Louise a sidelong glance; her young-lady temperament had no effect on him. "Suit yourself, I'm going to sleep."

With that, Sikong Xu threw himself onto the soft, oversized bed in the room.

"You mere familiar, who gave you the audacity to sleep on your master's bed! Get up!" Seeing that Sikong Xu had audaciously usurped her bed, Louise puffed out her cheeks in fury. Unfortunately, being so petite, she lacked the strength to pull Sikong Xu down from the mattress.

"As a familiar, you can only sleep on the floor! Get up right now!"

No matter how fiercely Louise shouted, Sikong Xu completely ignored her... After a prolonged tug-of-war, the exhausted Louise finally gave up.

She had no choice but to lie down on the other side of the bed. Fortunately, the bed was spacious enough that even with the two of them sharing it, plenty of empty space remained.

"Hmph, rude familiar, I'll deal with you tomorrow!"

And thus, Sikong Xu's first night as a familiar passed peacefully.