Contract, Summoning, and Cards

"The wind on this snowy mountain... is really something else. It's freezing too. No wonder no one wants to take commissions around here."

The three of them moved through the wind and snow. Cana led the way while Aibo clung to Erza's back, silently releasing a Fire Magic aura that raised the temperature, so they did not feel too cold.

Increasing the level of elemental magic also provided a certain degree of elemental resistance. For example, a high Ice Magic level granted resistance to low temperatures. However, Aibo's Ice Magic had remained at LV1, so his cold resistance was barely better than nothing.

"I hear them. Turn right ahead. There's a cave three hundred meters away, and I can hear magical beasts inside. They should be the snow apes we're looking for. There are... four of them."

"Good! Erza, let's have a competition! Let's see who defeats more!"

"I won't lose to you."

The two sped up. Even with Aibo on her back, Erza's movements were hardly affected.

As they approached the cave, Aibo floated down. He flicked out a ball of light, illuminating the cave's interior. It was indeed a Balkan nest.

"Card Magic: Binding! Card Magic: Fireball!"

"Requip: Flame Armor!"

The Balkans had been sleeping peacefully when the sudden magical attack caught them completely off guard. They barely had a chance to fight back.

Aibo stayed on the edge, watching the battle. Every so often, he threw out a spell to stop the Balkans from escaping, and the fight was over before long.

Though Cana and Erza were only twelve and thirteen, they were both exceptionally gifted wizards. These snow monkeys were only physically stronger than average and were no match for them at all.

"All four are tied up. What do we do next?"

Aibo took out a magic card with a blank face and poured magic power into it. The card glowed blue, projecting a "contract" into the air.

"This is a Soul Contract Book. It allows the signing party to unconditionally offer up their soul for your use. It's an extremely strict compulsory contract. We just need to inject magic power into Party A's position beforehand, then find a way to hold this big guy down and make him leave magic power in Party B's position..."

Before Aibo could finish, the snow monkey in front of him began shaking its head furiously, wearing the expression of someone ready to die rather than submit.

[Eugh! I'd rather die than serve a man! Gwah!]

"..."

Aibo handed the card to Cana, and the monkey immediately changed its tune. It nodded repeatedly while drooling.

[A pretty girl is fine, though! Gwah!]

"How about we just kill this monkey after all?"

"Don't mess around!"

"...You need to place the card against their foreheads to use it."

Once Cana took over, the Balkans became extremely cooperative. They immediately dropped to their knees and eagerly offered their loyalty.

After all four Balkans left their magic power on the card's contract, four monkeys appeared on the previously blank card face. Then four stars emerged above it, revealing the card's name: [Four-Headed Balkan].

"Limited by the technique and raw materials, the spiritual power a card can hold has a limit. A four-star card is currently the limit of what I can make."

Although creating cards also required multiple forms of combined magic, the skill [Card Magic LV1] had not broken down like Celestial Spirit Magic. It remained intact.

Aibo guessed that this was because card-making was an independent technique. As long as someone had the magic circle Aibo had developed, they could create cards with the same effects.

And that was exactly what Cana wanted. Her card-making skills were superior to Aibo's, so after he taught her this magic, she should be able to make higher-grade cards.

Erza listened with curiosity from the side.

"This card is different from the ones you gave us before, isn't it?"

"Of course it is. The cards I gave you don't have any contracts on them. As for this one... Cana, try using it."

"Okay!"

Cana poured magic power into the card again, activating its effect.

The next instant, the four bound Balkans suddenly began trembling all over. Then, like balloons losing air, they withered away, their expressions dazed and their faces deathly pale.

Meanwhile, four identical Balkans appeared before Cana. They stared at their tied-up "selves," scratched their heads, then gathered around Cana with nods and bows, looking like groveling lackeys waiting for their young mistress's every command.

"Whoa! Did it work? It feels like I can order them to do anything now."

Erza frowned slightly in concern.

"Aibo, does this card involve mind-control magic too? That's magic banned by the Magic Council."

"...Not at all. Soul Magic only prevents them from attacking the contractor. They're just a bunch of simple-minded perverted monkeys who are willing to listen to Cana on their own."

Aibo rubbed his brow.

"I still recommend getting rid of them. I had no idea they were this kind of creature beforehand. Such embarrassing summons could affect Cana's reputation... Wait, Cana, give me the card."

"Here you go~"

Aibo undid the summoning spell, then pulled out a pen. Using magic power, he "hooked" a long string of densely packed magical text from the card and began rewriting the spell on the spot.

"All right. Try summoning them again."

The four Balkans, who had yet to recover, twitched again and collapsed directly onto the ground.

This time, however, Cana summoned four "muscle Barbies" with baby faces, muscular bodies, and little skirts.

"Pfft—Aibo, hahahaha, what are these? Did you turn them all into female monkeys?"

"Gwah! Gwah-gwah!" x4

The four "muscle Barbies" looked horrified, spinning anxiously in circles.

"Hmm... They look much easier on the eyes this way. I added a little Transformation Magic to the card. Even if they act as sleazy as ever, no one will care."

Aibo looked again at the Balkans' original bodies, their faces green with sickness. They had almost no consciousness left and could not move.

After all, these Balkans did not know Soul Magic. The Thought Projections that had been summoned were forcibly extracted by Aibo's magic circle, and nearly all their consciousness had transferred to the projections.

"This magic still has flaws, but it can be considered complete. The downside is obvious, though. Once summoned, their original bodies almost completely lose their fighting ability. If they're killed at that point, the summoned Thought Projections will disappear as well..."

Aibo muttered to himself.

"I think I understand why Celestial Spirit Magic is a top-tier summoning spell. And the flow of time in the Celestial Spirit World definitely differs from that of the human world..."

Erza asked curiously, "Cana, isn't it tiring to support four summons at once?"

"Huh? Now that you mention it, it doesn't feel like my magic power has decreased at all..."

Aibo explained, "That's because the fake Thought Projections draw most of the magic power from their original bodies. The advantage is that summoning costs very little. The disadvantage is that the summons' original bodies can easily die in accidents. But if you want to keep them fighting continuously, it still consumes a lot of magic power."

"Oh my, the summons aren't afraid of dying, but it's their original bodies that need to worry about safety? Why do I suddenly feel a little sorry for contracted summons?"

"Heh heh, otherwise why would we experiment on magical beasts? They're pests that attack towns. There's no need to pity them. If they die, they die. We can just contract a few more as backups."

"Wow! Aibo is so cold-blooded! Big sis likes that too~"

Cana giggled and leaned in again, trying to hug Aibo, but he pushed her away in disgust because she was freezing.

"Aibo, can this magic... contract humans too?"

"It's theoretically possible, but difficult in practice. The one thing humans are born stronger than magical beasts in is the soul. Even an ordinary human soul is stronger than most magical beasts' souls.

"Contract Magic has a hard time fully controlling humans, and summons that can easily lose control are worthless—unless they voluntarily separate a Thought Projection like I did."

Erza thought for a moment.

"I see. I have a feeling... if your magic spreads, Aibo, it might give rise to an entirely new kind of wizard. Magical beasts could be in danger in the future."

"That would be a good thing. I think this world has developed so slowly, and human cities are so few, because there are too many magical beasts.

"Without guild commissions, most powerful wizards are unwilling to go to the trouble of exterminating magical beasts without much reward. It's far too dangerous for ordinary people to survive in the wilderness.

"Most of the Fiore Kingdom's territory is ruled by magical beasts. Naturally, civilization struggles to develop. So giving wizards a reason to actively tame magical beasts might really change the world."

"Aibo is right! I'll definitely make Summoning Card Magic flourish! Future me will be Fiore's Card Queen! Heh heh heh heh!"

"Let's keep going. While we have the chance, let's contract a few more Balkans."

"Let's go, let's go! Magical beasts! Your queen is here!"