The foundations were nothing new.
Bone lattice. Reinforced stone anchors. A double-ridge vault designed to store volatile energy safely.
But what made this project different was its function.
"Mana Refinement Core?" Milo asked, watching as Iden adjusted the stabilizers.
"It'll help us refine the raw essence pulled from beast cores," Iden replied, sweat on his brow. "We've been wasting nearly 40% of what we gather. That ends now."
"Non-combat infrastructure," Milo said with a smirk. "Your quest?"
Iden didn't answer—but the moment the final socketed crystal slotted in, the system responded.
[Mana Refinement Nexus Complete – Resource Efficiency Upgrade Unlocked]
[Quest: "Shape the Flame, Bear the Stone" – Complete]
Second Class Awakened: [Warden Architect]
→ A hybrid support-combat class that enhances structures, empowers allies within range, and applies command-based battlefield effects.→ Gains exclusive access to "Core-Linked Sigils" and "Passive Territory Buffs"→ Skill Unlocked: Foundational Pulse – Restores durability and grants minor regen in fortified zones
Bonus Perk: Allies within structures you helped build gain +10% efficiency and resistance.
Iden stood silently for a moment as the notification faded.
He clenched his gloved fist.
"This… this is what we needed. To not just summon. But to sustain."
And just like that—he was no longer just a summoner.
He was a builder of legacies.
It was supposed to be a basic perimeter scan.
Nyra led the way, eyes sharp, bow strung. Rael kept close, her Sanctum aura faint but active for early detection.
But then the ground pulsed—rhythmic, focused. Not hostile.
"Rael," Nyra said, halting. "We're not alone."
Two figures emerged from the thickets, graceful and eerily silent.
Both were female—humanoid in shape, but unmistakably otherworldly.
One had hair made of twisting silver vines and eyes like moonlit glass.
The other wore a living carapace across her limbs, and her fingers glowed with firelight sigils.
They didn't speak.
They challenged.
It wasn't bloodshed.
It was precision, instinct, and raw power.
Rael's pulses met radiant vines midair. Nyra's arrows were deflected by shifting heat waves. The enemies danced, but never struck to kill.
And slowly, the intent shifted.
It wasn't an attack.
It was an invitation.
"They're testing us," Rael breathed."To see if we're worth binding," Nyra replied, lips curling.
Together, they pressed forward—not to dominate, but to meet the rhythm.
They matched spell with spell, strike with sidestep.
Until finally—
[Familiar Pact Triggered – Class Sync Detected]
→ Rael has formed a contract with Aetherweaver Eline.→ Nyra has formed a contract with Flame-Huntress Veyra.
Familiar Contracts Established.
Rael stood beside Eline, who now hovered gently behind her shoulder, glyphs spinning like orbiting moons.
Nyra wiped her blade and glanced back at Veyra, who had returned to spirit-form and hung like a coiled flame above her shadow.
"We're stronger together," Rael said, smiling."And we've barely started," Nyra added.
That evening, as Iden reviewed the new system changes and watched the Mana Refinement Core pulse, he received the report.
"Familiar Contracts?" he said aloud. "Both of them?"
He smiled—just a little.
"Looks like I'm not the only one evolving."