Marlon was crouched down next to the Master of the Pets, who was having a hard time with it at the moment. He had fainted when he discovered Loki's nature but had not yet woken up from his syncope and one of the guards was fanning him with a large sheet of paper, shaking his head at Marlon as if to apologize to his client.

"He gets way too excited when something interesting comes his way. Don't worry, he should wake up in a few minutes."

"If he ever wants to cut your head off and frame it when he wakes up, please don't forget to run!"

The adventurer suppressed a smile at Loki's reply and took it in stride, understanding that the mention of "God" might shake someone up. It was as if he'd picked up a legendary weapon in a video game and was showing it to noobs who'd just logged on for the first time.

While waiting for Kelnos to open his eyes, Marlon glanced at the various gems arranged in the wall frames, and although they were all shiny and precious, he didn't see what they were doing in a similar shop.

Perhaps they had a purpose he didn't know about? He had no idea, so he simply walked around the room when he heard a muffled groan, a sign that the store's manager was finally recovering from his emotions and coming out of his syncope.

Turning to him, he waited patiently for the two bodyguards to help him up, the first thing Kelnos did was to look frantically for Marlon.

When he looked at it, his pupils dilated and he froze like a statue before raising his left hand and...hitting his cheek violently, his monocle flying to the ground under the impact and a beautiful red hand mark starting to appear on his battered skin.

"Ho...I...I thought I was in the middle of a dream, and I didn't have any alcohol, or smoke anything that could cause this..."

He looked at the two men who were standing by to support him if he failed again and asked them in a desperate tone:

"Drian, Talki, there is a young man and a chimera in my store, right? I haven't gone crazy or died, have I?"

The two men looked at each other, a gleam of disbelief in their eyes, before confirming to their employer that he was indeed alive and that yes, his client was real.

Kelnos immediately sat down at his desk and pulled a glass bottle containing a yellow liquid from a drawer, along with crystal glass, before filling it copiously and emptying it in one gulp. The grimace that followed and the plaintive moan made Marlon think that it wasn't apple juice he had just ingested.

"Please excuse me, young man. What you showed me shook me up, and I thought I had gone mad for a moment. Please sit down."

When he was sitting in front of Kelnos, Luna coming to curl up at his feet, he allowed himself a reflection to the Master.

"I'm sorry to have...shocked you like that, but you'll understand why I came to see you and not someone else."

He had engaged his flattery mode, the one that had been so effective at Akranio, feeling that he could get a lot of information from this man if he played it finely.

Besides, Kelnos immediately started nodding frantically, refilling another glass which he drank just as quickly before offering one to his client, who politely refused with a nod.

"Sure, sure, and be sure I'm flattered! I understand you don't know much about pets, perhaps I can help you? Drian, could you close the door? I do not wish to be disturbed."

The man complied, locking the door of the store, and Marlon made like a fish the pet master.

"I have been through a lot of hardships to acquire these Pets, and I almost lost my life many times. But I don't know anything about them, so you'll have to explain everything to me from the beginning. How do the pets work? How do they evolve? Why did you react the way you did? My information is too incomplete, and that could be detrimental to me..."

Marlon's eloquence made his interlocutor's eyes shine and he nodded at each question as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He continued to nod even after he had shut up and was waiting for an answer.

"Well...well...the subject is vast and it would take us hours to go through it all. I will try to explain the main principles in a simple way. If I'm not precise enough or on the contrary a little too pointed and you don't understand me, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?"

It was the young man's turn to nod, and Kelnos took a deep breath before launching into his explanation.

"First of all, you should know that the Pets are divided into three main families. There are of course special cases, but these are the exceptions. These three major families are the Chimeric Pets, the Spiritual Pets, and the Invoked Spirituals. Your Chimeric Pet has been invoked, of course, but he will always remain in this plane of existence. A sacrifice has been offered so that his life will be intertwined with this reality, and it will always remain so, even if he dies. You cannot bring him back to life. And I'm not talking about the animals that some people have by their side and call Pets. Those are companions, not real pets!"

Kelnos caught his breath, gathering his energy to continue the long but very interesting explanation he was giving to Marlon.

"The Spiritual Pets are consciousnesses that can communicate with us. They come from a different reality, although we are not sure how they appear since the War of the Magi. Often people were thought to be crazy, until we understood that they were inhabited by one of these pets. These are the most numerous and the most frequently encountered. We place these pets in specific gems, which allows the two entities to be physically dissociated, and many times the possessor receives skills related to the Pet."

Marlon's eyes widened at the mention of the gems. He already had a much better understanding of the shop's wall decoration, and more importantly, he could gain skills from Loki!

"I always knew you were a venal person!"

The AI was joking, but he could feel that she was as interested as he was in what they were discovering. Kelnos continued his speech without interrupting himself, passionate about his subject.

"Summoned Pets, on the other hand, make a contract with their master, being summoned for a limited period of time before returning to their plane of existence. If they are killed, they can be summoned again at will. But as long as they are present in our reality, the master must spend his mana to keep them here. So there are a lot of disadvantages to keeping them in our plane for the long term. Especially since the contract is usually a disincentive to do so...but we hardly ever see them anymore. Summoning circles have never been the specialty of the human race and even the Nessos, who were the masters of this kind of magic, have lost the appropriate spells. The emigrants, at least. For the natives, we haven't seen any in hundreds of years...but I digress."

Marlon raised a hand, interrupting the old man at the right moment, this one catching his breath in a big rattle, the red complexion to have spoken so much without taking a pause, and hardly two or three breaths. Nice oratory exercise, if it was.

"When you say that a sacrifice must be made to obtain a Chimeric Pet, what are we talking about?"

The man rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, your pet looks very much like a Mantis, very dangerous felines residing deep in the Silver Mountains. To summon a specimen of this species, you would have to have captured the essence of an adult Mantis, and in a state of great rage to make the soul imprint even stronger. And this does not guarantee the success of the ritual. But it is a mandatory step, and one of the reasons why we don't see this kind of beas...pets. People don't risk the lives of thirty people anymore just for a one in four chance of getting a pet. "

Drevos, that sneaky bastard. He must have captured the essence of the Mantis after Marlon had shot it. Not that he was complaining, but he had to acknowledge the genius of the wacky scientist he'd met at Akranio. He'd have a word with him if he went back to the area one of these days.

"And...can a Pet evolve?"

Kelnos' eyes flashed, his breath came in short gasps, and Marlon almost feared another episode of syncope. Drian and Talki must have been thinking the same thing because they subtly moved closer to their employer, looking worried.

"Yes, of course! But it's rare enough not to be encountered every day! And I think the term evolution is a bad choice, it's more of a specialization. Let's imagine that your chimera evolves, which would surprise me given the potential already existing, then it would not change drastically. It would perhaps gain an affinity with an element, such as lightning or fire, which could unlock incredibly powerful abilities, and slight physical changes such as coat color or size."

Given Kelnos' comment on evolution, his magic monocle must not have allowed him to see the same information as Marlon, who avoided mentioning the possible evolution not only of Luna, but also of Loki. He could kill him with that information. A heart attack or something like that.

"So I come back to my last question...what do the God and Transcendental qualities of my Spiritual Pet mean? While I understand the literal meaning of the former, what does it imply technically speaking?"

"A lot of things! It's like...like comparing the sun and a candle flame! I've never personally seen one, but many stories have been circulating in my family for generations, stories that I used to take as myths, falsehoods that convinced the younger ones to continue in the same line of work...my forefathers, forgive me!"

"And...what exactly did those stories say?" insisted Marlon gently.

"Eu...understand that these are myths that have surely been distorted over the centuries. But when a Pet has this quality, it has no limits. It can directly influence its owner, override the limitations of potential that pets usually have, possess infinite evolutions when normally the limit is two. They also speak of abilities that surpass those of the best mages, and even of Divine Pets who can create matter! But that's impossible, it's against the very principle of Pets...as for the other one..."

"The other? You mean the Transcendental side?"

"Yes...this quality is rare, though documented in the archives, unlike the divine side. Every pet has an element of choice, be it darkness, lightning, water, et cetera. But a pet with the Transcendental quality is comfortable with all elements, absolutely all. It's...dangerous, and also incredibly versatile..."

Kelnos thought intensely, holding his head in his hands for a few seconds, and when he looked at Marlon again, it was with an intensity that the young man had not seen before.

"I am a passionate person, and I have no interest in harming you, but I implore you, do not tell anyone about your pet. Some people would slit your throat without hesitation to possess what you have, they would burn the city if they had to, and all its inhabitants with it. A Diamond level Master would not hesitate to sacrifice this part of the continent if he had even a hint!"

Marlon was well aware of the danger of spreading such information. He had even prepared himself mentally to fight his way out of the store when he realized the interest that this could have in some people. Fortunately, Kelnos was not one of them and his bodyguards seemed to be devoted only to their work.

"I won't mention it, rest assured. One question that still nags at me. How do we unlock qualities in our pets?"

Kelnos shook his head in disbelief.

"You won't get anymore with the spiritual pet. For your chimera though...you have to let it grow up. I don't know if you've seen a Mantis, but she's still a long way from her adult size, and it's usually when they reach maturity that the qualities appear. When they arrive, you'll know it. Chimeras like to show off their growth in a pretty exuberant way in general."

"And speaking of growth...Luna is only three months old and most of hers were done while I was on a quest..."

Kelnos nodded with a knowing look and explained to the young man the reason for this sudden growth.

"Chimerical Pets grow in tandem with their master. So they grow when you kill creatures or gain experience. If she grew that much...well you must have killed a hell of a lot of monsters!"

Responding to this statement only with a nod, Marlon saw the two bodyguards tense up slightly. They had only seen him as a customer, not as someone who could threaten their boss, but that had just changed. Not that he wanted to hurt Kelnos, quite the contrary, but he could do so.

"And you were telling me about the gems earlier. Can you explain the principle to me?"

"It is very simple. Our mind does not allow the pet embedded in it to develop its full potential. A brain is fine, but not at all suited to the mana manipulation that a Spiritual Pet can perform. Centuries ago, if not longer, we discovered that gems allowed them to freely manipulate mana and thus fully exploit their abilities as well as their full potential."

"And could you do that for L...my pet?"

A fiery gleam passed through Kelnos' eyes and he nodded again frantically, worry gone and passion burning again, his fingers beating a frantic beat on his desk.

"It would be a real honor to be able to do this for you. However, you need a special gem that is strong and can circulate a large amount of mana, and can also hide its status from anyone who tries to decipher it. It would be a shame not to fully exploit your Pet."

He raised a finger in warning to Marlon.

"I offer you the gem, but a gold Amecareth will be required for the transfer. Please understand, you are offering me the opportunity of a lifetime, but I cannot sell out my skills. If word of this gets out, I will be the laughing stock of Delia."

Marlon nodded and pulled a gold coin from his purse, placing it on the desk and sliding it toward Kelnos.

"Perfect! I'll go get the gem!"

Kelnos got up and rushed into an adjoining room, Marlon hearing him rummaging around and swearing repeatedly. One of the guards leaned over to Marlon and spoke to him respectfully.

"Thank you. He was getting firmly bored, and even though you almost finished him off, it's nice to see him so passionate again. Just avoid letting him in on another secret, he's had enough excitement for the next year."

It was Talki who had just spoken, it seemed, and the other man, Drian, nodded with a laughing face. These two seemed to be more than just bodyguards for Kelnos, and Marlon was glad to have been able to do a service, however small. And it had to be said that it was in his best interest.

Kelnos returned a few minutes later, holding a small, dusty-looking wooden box that looked as if it had not been opened in many years.

He placed it gently on the desk and opened it with equal care, revealing a dark jewel, like a black hole, seemingly sucking in the outside light like a hungry vortex.

"This is a Sombrelune bequeathed from generation to generation in my family for a work that would deserve such a jewel. It has never come along until now. You have paid for my work, so I will do my best..."

A feverish smile had taken over Kelnos' face and Marlon almost felt as if he was looking in a mirror when he was seized with murderous thirst. It was the face of consuming passion, something that shook your soul.

Kelnos glanced at his guards and asked them to prepare the desk. Without protest, they cleared the cabinet of all the small gadgets and scrolls that sat on it, making a clean sweep before the jeweler placed the black gem in the center of the desk with delicate and measured gestures.

Marlon said nothing and watched as he began to draw runic circles around the jewel. It was incredibly precise, some patterns only a few millimeters in circumference, others larger and intertwined with each other. It took a long time, maybe an hour, but Kelnos' concentration was so infectious. The young man did not see the time passing and was surprised to find similarities between the runes drawn and some he had seen on the artifacts he had seen so far.

Could the runes be a universal magical language, useful in more than just spellcasting, as Marlon had previously thought? Could he too manage to do what the man in front of him was doing with enough experience and more knowledge?

He shook off his thoughts as Kelnos put down the magic quill he had used for the tracings and asked him to place his hand on the gem, without touching the design.

Marlon paid attention and followed the man's instructions without hesitation. After all, if the latter had wanted to cheat him, he would have already done it and would certainly not have taken all this trouble to simply cheat him afterward.

"I will now activate the circle of separation and transfusion. It's not going to be pleasant at all, you'll almost feel like you're being torn in half, but hold on. It will only last a few seconds."

The young man nodded and indicated to Kelnos that he was ready. Without waiting, Kelnos began to incant in a language that Marlon did not recognize, and he did not have time to study it, as an abominable pain took possession of every square inch of his body.

A black tornado formed above his hand on the gem and he felt his soul being sucked into it, or at least part of it. He couldn't hold back a scream that echoed through the room, which had no furniture except the desk, as the jeweler continued to incant for a few more seconds.

Then it was all over. As quickly and violently as it had begun, the black wind disappeared and the pain faded away completely, leaving Marlon stunned.

Kelnos was out of breath, and his complexion had paled considerably. He gave Marlon a gem hunt and a necklace to tie it together.

"Go ahead and put it together. Normally your pet should be able to converse with you as usual. Improvements will come gradually as it adjusts to the continuous flow of mana and the environment of the gem. The Sombrelune is mysterious, even to me, but it will only bring benefits, that's for sure."

Marlon thus hurried to assemble the necklace and the gem, passing the whole around his neck before attaching it and camouflaging it under his clothes for more discretion.

"Are you...are you still there?"

A voice resounded in the whole room as if amplified by a loudspeaker camouflaged in the walls, powerful, authoritative, twisted, exactly the one he was used to.

"YES, I AM...I am still here! And it is amazing! I never thought I would be able to regain this level of consciousness...thank you Kelnos, I am infinitely in your debt!"

"This is an honor! And if you don't mind," he said to Marlon, "I'd like you to come by in a few weeks to see how your pet's abilities have changed and how it will affect you. "

"Of course, it will be my pleasure, Kelnos. Many thanks."

Marlon didn't necessarily intend to keep his promise, but he didn't want to hold the jeweler up if he ever needed him in the future.

The jeweler seemed exhausted, so the young man did not linger, letting him rest and especially recover from the many emotions he had gone through.

They exchanged a few more words of thanks and promises to visit, Marlon telling the man to come to the Arena tournament if he wanted to see his skills in action. He also thanked the two guards who shook his hand warmly and finally he slipped out of the store, going out into the street.

The sun had finished to set, to the great surprise of the young man, and the streets had emptied, only a few carioles and passers-by still parading on the commercial avenue.

"So you really feel such a big difference?"

The voice echoed in Marlon's head this time, mischievous and full of perceptible joy.

"You have no idea how much. Dear Marlon, you will literally LOVE what I am now able to do!"

Loki's laughter echoed in his head as he made his way to his inn, eager to fill his belly and discover Loki's new abilities.