12 Partners

The woman stared at Axel, confused about why he suddenly froze up. Axel, on the other hand, was panicking.

Inside his mind, he screamed, "SYSTEM!!! WHY CAN SHE SEE THE SCREEN!!!"

[It's because she's your summon. The taming ritual of this world binds the souls of the user and the target together through a soul contract. Depending on the amount of the soul that gets binded, determines the contract type. If the amount of your soul is between 99% and 80%, it becomes a contract of Absolute Dominance. If the amount of your soul is between 79% and 51%, it becomes a Master-Servant contract. If the amount of your soul is between 49% and 0%, the contract fails. Finally, if the amount of the two souls is a perfect harmony of 50-50, it creates a Partnership contract.]

Axel ignored the woman who was flailing about in front of him and mentally said, "System, ELABORATE!"

The system didn't keep him waiting long, as it quickly said, [A contract of Absolute Dominance means that the tamed creature cannot go against your words. They have their entire being sealed, becoming the most efficient doll.

Next, the Master-servant contract. Basically as it sounds, you become the Master and the tamed creature becomes the servant. The servants still retains free-thought, enabling it to think for it's self.

Next, a failed contract. This happens when too little of your soul is added to the taming ritual, causing it to fail. The backlash because of this is damage to the soul.

Lastly, a Partnership contract. This contract makes both the ritual user and target become equals. This contract allows the soul of the user and target to exist together in harmony.

Please note, that with each contract exists a world law that makes the tamed creature unable to kill the user.]

When the system finished it's explaination, Axel became lost in thought. The woman saw that unlike before, her master was lost in thought and decided to let him think.

After a couple minutes, Axel lifted his head and said, "So… because our souls are in a sort of harmony, she can see the system's screens. Due to the fact she kept flailing about while you were talking, I'm guessing she can't hear you."

[Correct. She can only hear me if you allow her to. However, when you do, I'll forcefully implant a fail-safe into her soul that forbids her to talk about my existence.] Said the system. Axel could feel a shiver run down his spine when he heard the system. He slapped his cheeks and decided to allow her to hear the system.

After asking the system to explain the situation to her, Axel watched the woman's constantly changing expression. She went from alert to surprise to worship. A sparkle glowed in her amber eyes as Axel swore he could see stars in them.

"So, the quest to 'resurrect your summons child' was created because you promised to bring my child back to life and, while the items we have to gain have become… difficult, it removed the hardest condition, which is finding a ten-star to do the ritual." Said the woman as she brushed her long hair out of her face. Axel stared in wonder at both the enchanting movement and the fact that she managed to remember and break-down the quest.

The woman saw that her master had become dazed again and tilted her head. She said, "Master, why are you dazed again?"

Axel broke into a coughing fit as his face turned into a tomato. He quietly straightened his clothes before turning around and walking off. The woman sprung up and followed alongside him. Using his peripheral vision, Axel saw that the woman walked elegantly besides him. He also noticed a certain pair bouncing as they walked.

The woman was walking behind Axel when she noticed him staring at her. She smiled to him and said, "Master?"

Almost tripping on tree root, Axel stood straight and said, "Uh, yes. Do you have a name? Or something I can call you besides 'You'?"

"No, master. I don't have a name. Why don't you give me one?" Said the woman. She stood calmly besides him as the sun shone down on her. A light smile hung on her face.

Axel felt his heart jump as he thought, 'Pretty…' Shaking his head, he went into deep thought for a couple minutes before he said, "How about… Stella?"

Stella's cheeks blushed as she happily said, "Thank you, master. From now on, my name is Stella."

With a quick nod, Axel continued walking to camp. He said, "We're gonna have to train so we can get those items. As you've probably guessed, if we complete this quest, I assume the reward can possibly resurrect your child without the need of a ten-star."

Stella quickly said, "It might not be necessary to train, master."

Axel came to a halt as he said, "Explain."

"If we can barter for old scales from those of the dragon clan, we may be able to get them without fighting. Be prepared because we will need to trade top grade items for the scales. The cores will be hard because they can only be harvested from the dead. We would also need a core harvester because five-star and above can bring their core inside their body." Stella said as she stood besides Axel.

Suddenly, Axel froze as he said, "Harvester?"

Stella looked at Axel in confusion as she wondered why he repeated that part. Axel, on the other hand, spoke to the system.

He said, "System, can my harvesting skill harvest cores?"

[Correct.] Was it's reply.