Absolmi Evolves
Absolmi had grown; Uncle Jong-woo and Grandpa Yong-su huddled together, whispering and glancing at me. It wasn't like they were looking at something strange, but I still felt kinda embarrassed.
Sister Se-eun was frantically searching something on her phone, then ran over to them, showing it off and explaining excitedly. From what I overheard, my mana control spiked to world-rank hunter levels for a moment....
Anyway, I awkwardly flashed a V-sign and stared blankly, and they finally reacted.
"Oh my~ Making a V-sign, Shiro?"
"Hehe... Yeah..."
I figured they'd react right away since everyone was watching, but only Grandpa Yong-su noticed. It felt a bit disappointing, but that just meant my ability was that impressive, right? Honestly, maybe I overdid it a little... I kinda regretted it. Normally, you'd limit the skill to just that orb, but I froze the whole surrounding walls too. The entire room was still chilly with cold air.
"First... let's check the next skill and I'll explain, Miss Shiro."
"Ah, okay."
"The other skill was definitely a summoning type, right?"
Snow Friends (B). A skill a whole rank higher than Breath of the White Night in base grade. From what I knew, even active skills starting at D-rank were supposed to be amazing, so B-rank? I was super curious how it'd turn out later.
The problem was, I had no idea what this skill even did. Breath of the White Night at least felt like controlling snow and ice, but this one? Nothing.
— Psssh! Psssh!
Absolmi chirped like he was about to explain, beak flapping away, but sadly, no magpie language decoder had been invented yet. I opened my mouth glumly.
"Um... whether it's summoning or creating... I really don't know."
"Hmm, then, can you use it right now?"
"Yeah, I think so..."
"Don't worry too much, wanna give it a try? Uncle here can roughly figure out what skill it is."
"Yeah, okay."
How's Uncle Association President gonna figure it out when even the owner doesn't know? It was a total mystery, but I decided to just try it.
'Hmm... winter friends, winter friends...'
I closed my eyes, held out my palm, and felt the surrounding ice and snow. Because I made it? The mana in my body reacted naturally. Thinking back to when I made Absolmi, it seemed like it created snowmen based on my imagination. Compressed from a big golem into a magpie with my mana.
'Ongrap... Ongrap...'
So this time, imagining Ongrap, I activated the skill. Using Breath of the White Night felt like sneezing out the mana inside, but Snow Friends was like peeling clay off my hand? As the skill activated, the snow and ice on the orb and walls floated into the air and spun wildly.
What I didn't expect was Absolmi flying right into the center.
"Huh?!"
— Psssh! Pssssh!
Then the blizzard locked onto the center and spun even fiercer. Especially Sister Se-eun—her hair was whipping everywhere, total chaos.
The storm spinning around Absolmi slowly gathered around that little bird. It felt just like an Alpha evolution in Pokémon.... The scattering snow and ice gradually vanished cleanly, and what appeared was...
— Psssh!
Absolmi, back to his original state.
"Eh."
"Huh?"
For something that built up such huge impact, wasn't this way too anticlimactic? My face burned even hotter with embarrassment. Even Sister Se-eun looked stunned. So mean. No, seriously—it whipped up a blizzard like it was summoning something epic, and out pops one tiny magpie. It was exhausting, my heart was tired.
Like when you're all hyped to show magic to your friends in front of everyone, but it always flops when they're watching even if you nail it alone. I wanted to make excuses, but I didn't even know why it happened, so no excuses possible. Should've just imagined Absolmi's original form. Maybe 'cause I pictured something cute...
"...! That's incredible, Miss Shiro!"
"Ah, no... why are you teasing..."
"Huh? I'm not teasing! It's a really amazing ability!"
"Huh...?"
I didn't get why, but Uncle Jong-woo reacted super intensely. Veins bulging on his neck from excitement, he suddenly called someone—
"Bring a low-grade mana stone, good quality. To H-5 room, as fast as possible."
"Hey, Jong-woo. Explain to Miss Shiro first..."
"Oh, right! Sorry. I got too excited. Miss Shiro, could you and your summon come closer?"
"Yeah...? Okay..."
What could it be...? Anyway, I toddled over with Absolmi like Uncle Jong-woo said. Absolmi felt exactly the same—no change in weight, temperature, or texture. So where'd my skill go?
"Uncle's job is Appraiser. Think of it as a job that reveals all sorts of info just by looking at skills and monsters."
"Whoa."
Ah, that's why he offered to analyze it. Yeah, that'd be super handy. Perfect for someone like me who can't grasp their own skills. No wonder he became association president so young...!
"It's not omnipotent, though. I can't control how much info I get, and I can't see passive skills."
"...Oh, got it."
That was disappointing. I wanted to ask if my body change was definitely from Innocence, and what its exact effects were.
"But you got lucky just now, Miss Shiro—the skill you showed let me get really detailed info."
"Ooh...!"
"After that blizzard—um, the bird?"
"Absolmi."
"Absolmi absorbed it all, but do you know why he didn't change?"
"N-no idea?"
Meanwhile, an association staffer arrived crazy fast with the mana stone. A dull blue crystal sparkled under the lights.
"It's because it used only your mana, no materials. You activated the skill with just the snow you made and your own mana, so no big change."
"Ooh...?"
"So..."
Uncle Jong-woo kept excitedly explaining, then handed me the mana stone. I took it politely with both hands and examined it. Felt like touching glass. As an Awakened, I could sense the mana inside. But it felt totally different from human mana.
"Wanna try the skill again with the mana stone and Absolmi?"
"Uh, sure...!"
This time, as I prepared the skill, the "clay" on my hand felt heavier? Same amount of mana, but different sensation—weird.
No blizzard this time. The mana stone slowly broke down into dust—
And Absolmi went sluuuurp—and drank it all...!
Then his body started growing—from smaller than a cola can to 1.5L PET bottle size. And his form changed from magpie to... actual magpie? No, wait—the black traces from the computer I used at first must've influenced it. But way more white-dominant than a real magpie, with snow-white feathers sparkling transparently. Felt more mystical and pretty than a real one.
— Kyak-kyak!
"Whoa, he, he spoke!"
Not just scattering snow with psssh sounds—proper cries now. Still snowing from his beak, though.
"Miss Shiro's skill makes summons stronger over time using mana stones and special materials. And its limit... isn't fixed."
"That's amazing?"
"All summoning or taming skills have fixed limits. That's why most summoners only handle weak monsters. Even hunters who can keep summons active with minimal mana like you are super rare."
"Ooh... so I'm a total badass anyway!"
"Exactly!"
Whoa, my EX-rank job really is the real deal. Honestly, I was bummed my physical stats wouldn't grow much... but if my skills are this OP, cool. Felt great.
"Heh, so... if we get a high-grade mana stone right away, will Miss Shiro's... Absolmi get even stronger?"
"Yes, but there are two big issues."
"Two?"
"Maintaining Absolmi now takes very little mana. More than you recover in real-time, so infinite upkeep."
"Whoa."
— Kyak!
Absolmi nodded like confirming Uncle Jong-woo's words. He totally knows all about my powers... Too bad he can't talk human.
"Raising a summon's rank too fast could burden you with growth, so I don't recommend it."
"Then the other one...?"
"Absolmi's body is too weak. Right now, it's just your snow and unidentified microplastics, so even high-grade mana stones won't help much."
"More complicated than I thought..."
Sister Se-eun brushed her hair neatly while listening. Weirdly, mine always settled back perfectly on its own, no matter how messy.
"Snow is especially key. Natural snow, or better, from special areas, makes higher-rank summons. From my appraisal, better snow means less mana upkeep."
Aha. So Absolmi's weak body and low-rank mana right now. Even after a low-grade stone...
— Kyak-kyak! Kyak-kyak!
Absolmi spread his wings wide like he could grow anytime. Well, my first friend—can't ditch him like Jin-woo's non-combat pet.
"Hmm... So Jong-woo, in your view, what rank will Shiro's hunter grade start at?"
"Can't say for sure till combat eval, but... probably B-rank to start."
"Eh, B... B-rank?"
Uncle Jong-woo praised me so much, I figured at least A-rank. Felt betrayed.
"Power and mana level say A-rank, but..."
"But...?"
"Physical abilities are the issue. Association policy: for under-16 hunters, we give lower-than-actual ranks for safety."
So, protecting minors—don't give real power unless super strong. Yeah, take A-rank, get cocky, die in high raid.
"Hmm... Then let's do combat eval quick."
"Yes. Follow me, Miss Shiro."
"Eek, okay...!"
I was yawning big listening to Grandpa and Uncle when it was time to move. Combat eval's fighting captured association monsters, I heard.
"S-so nervous..."