"Cana! Hurry and summon the Wind Weasel! It's about to summon mist!"
In a clearing deep within the forest, Aibo and Cana stood before and behind an adorable little deer, surrounding it. It was a [Mist Deer], a magical beast capable of producing a special kind of fog that ordinary wind could not easily disperse.
"Light Make: [Light Protective Sword]!"
With a wave of Aibo's hand, dozens of light swords descended from the sky one after another, forming a circle that trapped the little Mist Deer in place. Frightened, the deer curled into a ball before spewing out an enormous amount of dense fog from its skin.
"Wind Weasel! Use Divine Wind Attack!"
Cana commanded the little weasel beside her to activate its innate wind magic. Ordinary wind could not disperse the Mist Deer's fog, but the Wind Weasel's wind magic was special as well, making it the perfect counter to the Mist Deer.
Once the fog was blown away, the little Mist Deer panicked completely. Trembling, it lowered its head and played ostrich, having utterly lost the will to resist.
Then came the final step...
"Yes! The contract worked! This is actually... a five-star card! Awesome!"
"It worked, meow! Congratulations, Boss Cana, meow! Hello, little deer. I'm Ailu, meow!"
Ailu, the designated mood-maker, flew onto the dejected Mist Deer's head, wanting to make friends with it. Unfortunately, the little deer had no interest in paying her any attention.
Contracted magical beasts only obeyed when they were summoned. Their actual bodies were not all that different from before the contract; if it had not truly been unable to beat them, the little deer would have run away long ago.
Magical beasts had lives of their own when they were not summoned. To extend a card's "shelf life," Cana needed to