The Bookkeeper

"I've been meaning to ask," Leo mentioned, joining Raiden for their training session as they stretched and worked on conditioning their bodies.

"How is Ash? Did she grant you the invisibility power?"

Raiden barely looked his way, completely focused on strengthening his ribs and managing the pain. He'd gained some strength in the past two days and was determined to build on it.

"No, she's still unconscious."

Leo paused. "Where did you get it from then?"

Raiden stopped and shot him a lazy look. It should have been obvious, given that Levi was his slave and could turn invisible, but Leo's expression said it all. Somehow, it wasn't obvious to him. He of all people.

"What do you mean?" Raiden asked, trying to read him.

Leo's expression darkened. "I've been thinking about it, and I can't wrap my head around it."

Raiden shifted his gaze away and went back to his strengthening routine.

"Did you somehow manipulate your mana to do that? It's the only thing that makes sense—people in the 5th realm can naturally produce elemental magic once they have the right training and understanding."

He joined Raiden in training. "Even still, you're in the 8th realm, and that's practically impossible, even for you."

At that moment, Raiden knew there was something going on, something he didn't understand yet. Getting an affinity from your contractors clearly wasn't normal. Leo would have known that. 

His mind raced for a moment, and the only logical conclusion he could reach was that he had some kind of advantage over everyone else—probably because of the voice and screen that only he could see. The system.

He didn't answer Leo's question or offer anything to satisfy his curiosity. Instead, he asked a question to test his theory.

"Is it true that summoners can communicate with their familiars? Like actual verbal communication or some kind of internal dialogue…"

"No, who told you that?" Leo muttered. "They're just creatures. Well, I've never seen or heard anything like that."

Raiden just sneered. He was the only one, and once again, this drove his ambition to climb the ranks. Ash might know something, and perhaps, only perhaps, the system could return him to his world.

"Can you feel that?" Leo's words broke through Raiden's daze as he turned to find Leo's eyes scanning the ceiling above.

"I don't know how to explain it, but something's off."

Raiden knew what he was talking about. He had experienced the same sensation the day before and two days ago when he contracted with Freya. It felt like something was moving above them, and worse still, like they were trapped.

"Let's check it out," Raiden said. Without a moment's hesitation, they headed out of the training room.

Just outside in the living room, Freya stood with a bandage around her head and her red phoenix on her shoulder. When she heard their footsteps, she turned toward them.

"Can you feel that?" she asked in Noorian.

Raiden gave her a firm nod and walked past her, and she followed behind them. Once they stepped outside, there was nothing. Without waiting for the others, Raiden took a deep breath and channeled mana into his eyes, activating the new ability he'd gained from Freya: gaze beyond.

Freya followed suit. But none of them saw anything. Raiden's enhanced vision pierced through the forests; even from two miles away, he could see white slimes moving through the trees and, beyond them, a new pack of goblins. Still, nothing unusual.

"I can't see anything…" Freya turned to Raiden. "But I could send my phoenix up for a better view."

Raiden looked at her. "How would you see what he sees?"

"He's my familiar—I can see through his eyes."

Raiden narrowed his eyes slightly before nodding. Something troubled him at that moment. If he had Freya's ability, why couldn't he see through the phoenix's eyes too? His understanding began to fall apart. The same thing had happened with his invisibility—he couldn't replicate everything Levi could do.

What was going on?—he asked himself, perplexed. 

But he knew this wasn't something he could ask Leo to look into for him. Something about him was different from the others. Even though they all existed within the same parameters, he had certain exceptions. With something like that, he couldn't let anyone know. They might discover he wasn't really Raiden after all.

Before long, Freya's familiar returned and landed on her hand. "There's nothing from above."

"I can't shake the feeling that we're being oppressed, like we're trapped in a cage that keeps shrinking," Leo said, his eyes scanning their surroundings as he stood beside Raiden.

Raiden smiled slightly. Leo was right, and thinking about it, that probably explained why his scream two days ago, when he'd been resting on the grass, had echoed the way it did.

"It's fine… you two can head back inside," Raiden told them, his eyes scanning their surroundings cautiously.

But before Freya could leave, he paused her. He needed to know a few things and saw this as an opportunity to build a connection with her, since she was now his slave. "What else can your familiar do?"

She looked confused for a moment, then moved back to her original spot as Leo walked away. She extended her hands, and instantly, flames erupted from her palms.

"Can every phoenix do that?"

She shook her head in response. "Every phoenix can see clearly from great distances. But each one has its own unique abilities too."

"You're a blue crest bearer. Where's your familiar?"

"She's not feeling well right now. She got hurt protecting me." Raiden faced her, maintaining his composed expression. Building trust with Freya was crucial.

"Her name is Ash… and she's a white dragon."

"I'm sorry to hear she's injured." She grinned. "But I like dragons… My phoenix is called Free."

"Good to know."

None of them said anything after that, and Freya's expression showed she was uncertain whether she should leave or stay. But after a while, she broke the silence.

"There are three types of phoenixes, just like dragons: white, black, and red."

She patted Free softly. "Reds are extremely rare… I can't recall much, but Free is probably the only red phoenix I've ever known."

Raiden looked at her. "What makes them rare?"

"White are divine phoenixes, black are chaos phoenixes, and red are hell phoenixes." She took a stick from the floor and ignited it. But the flames suddenly died out.

Raiden's eyes widened in shock as he watched the stick burn from within. It was as if the flames had penetrated inside and were consuming it from the core—before he knew it, nothing remained but ash.

"They're a special breed, and their flames are very unique."

Raiden smirked. "I can tell."

This gave him better insight into his situation. Though he appeared fortunate, it wasn't entirely the case. He could only access the basic version of each slave's abilities. And like how Freya had full access to Free's powers, the only contractor he could completely utilize was Ash, since she was his familiar.

Still, he felt relieved. Even if Ash couldn't return him home, all he needed to do was form more contracts. Maybe he could acquire an ability that would send him back.

But right now, he had to focus on the current situation. Levi still hadn't returned, and he couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was giving them that strange sensation came from either the Dawnbringers or the kingdom, and they would be attacking soon.

"So you're the bookkeeper, and our job is to protect the book at all costs?" Freya asked softly. Clearly, she wasn't entirely sure of their role.

Raiden nodded firmly while giving her a soft smile.

"Why? How important is the book?"

Raiden shrugged.