Mathew had his arms crossed and waited for the Imp to be healed by Brown. Mathew asked him after the meeting to do so. At first, he was worried if it would even work on Agnox. So far the healing has only been applied to humans, would Infernals, let alone Imps be different. Yet in the end it seemed to have worked.

Summoning Agnox had him appear awake finally, and seeming very very nervous. He hadn’t said a word yet, and almost attacked Brown when he walked into his office. Mathew glanced over at the tea cups that were still there.

Once Brown left, Mathew looked at the Imp. “Well, how do you feel?”

“Better. Thanks for that.” Agnox started to stretch. Looking at him, Mathew could tell he looked a little fatter and uglier somehow. Just like all the other Imps he had fought thus far.

“Sure, I hope we could talk real quick before I go out and do some tasks I need to complete.”

“Eh, do I have to right now?” Agnox asked sheepishly.

“I would rather them be answered now than later.” Mathew pushed.

Agnox sighed, “fine fine.

“I don’t suppose Imps drink tea do they?”

“Unless it’s poisoned with something I can’t have, I think I can. Is it really just a boiled flower?”

Mathew tsk’d, “I had hopes Infernals were better cultured than that. Tea is more than just boiled flower petals or leaves. It’s a drink of the sophisticated. It calms the mind and brings you down to a tranquil state. It’s the drink of nobles, leaders, and of philosophers.”

“Sounds lame, but I might as well try some. Is it sweet by any chance?” Agnox asked, a bit hopeful.

Mathew shook his head, “It’s not a desert, so no.” He prepared two cups of tea. If the shop he planned to open up later actually worked, access to tea was once again available. So he decided to not be stingy with the tea.

“So, do you want me to start, or do you?” Agnox asked. He was sitting on the table with his arms crossed. He was too small to properly sit in a chair.

“Hmmm, I have a small question first. What is your personal goal right now? Is it to eventually betray me? To actually work with me? Maybe stick around until there is a better option?”

Agnox frowned and looked at the table. “Honestly I haven't a clue. Hence why I’m glad we can finally talk. I had a small bit of time to think things over and collect my thoughts. Between now and a couple hours ago, my take on the situation is different. For you, it’s better.”

Mathew nodded and blew across his tea, not yet drinking from it. “And what is your opinion of me?”

“Idiotic, strong, blind, hopeful, and above all, a complete and total dumbass. Firstly, you lied to me. You are an Earthling.”

“I lied? When did I say that?” Mathew asked, silently enjoying this moment.

“Back when we first met! You said, or well you insisted...no wait you.” Agnox grew frustrated as he couldn’t remember Mathew actually claiming he wasn’t a human from Earth. “You still tricked me! You made me think I was joining a young apprentice of some decent family. At least an Adept family head. Maybe even an Expert!”

Mathew shook his head, “I’m just as human as anyone else you see on this base. Granted, I’m a bit special, but still a full human.”

“Tch, tell me about that. Now the big Gonra in the castle, what the fuck did you do to Morthrus? I thought I was going to die! Yet, you resisted her Axiom! Nobody does that! She’s the daughter of the head of our clan. How the hell did you do it? What level are you? What class do you have?”

Mathew thought over his question. “As much as I hate to ask, what is a Gonra?”

“Big giant beast creature from my home system. Dumb as dirt, but physcially strong. We use them as livestock. It is a saying to bring light to the question everyone is obviously having in a conversation.”

“Ah, so an ‘Elephant in the room’.” Mathew clarified for himself.

“Sure...what’s an Elephant?” Agnox asked.

“Same thing as your Gonra, but different. We can figure out the differences later. Back to your question though. I honestly don’t know. It wasn’t what I expected, but the results speak for themselves don’t they?”

“No they do not.” Agnox pointedly said. “I’ve felt Morthrus’s flames. Her Axiom is on the path of domination. A common one for the masters of my clan. You resisted it! I have no clue how strong she was, but you did it. So what is your Axiom? I can’t see your sheet, but that’s the only way you can do that. I didn’t know Earth had any. You didn’t have magic or access to The System before we showed up!”

“You are right we didn’t. As for my Axiom I didn’t have one before we fought. I do have one now.”

“Oh she is going to really hate that. You realized a Glint of Truth by sheer chance! In combat no less. So what is it?”

Mathew stopped and considered telling Agnox the full truth. “How do I know you won't betray me with this knowledge? Also I doubt she will ever find out. She surrendered and left.”

Agnox shrugged, “Outside the fact I really can’t go against you without some repercussions? A little trust. I took a leap of faith joining you. One that I can’t get out of probably ever. A familiar and it’s Master is a unique partnership, nothing else exists like it.” He didn’t seem bothered with the news she ran away.

Agnox was right, and Mathew knew that there would be such a trust to be formed. It was like when he first met Leo and invited him to be his partner. A leap of faith was needed.

“I still don’t feel comfortable sharing such a vital piece of info about me. Maybe later, I want to think over what it even is first.”

Agnox rolled his eyes, “Fine, be like that. But until you start being more truthful with me it will be harder for me to grow.”

“What do you mean by that?” Mathew asked.

Agnox took a deep breath. “Right, you have no clue what a familiar pact really is do you? What sort of spell did you use? There are a dozen ways to form a familiar and master bond.”

“[Bind Familiar] is the name of the spell. An upgrade from one I was supposed to be given when I selected my class.”

“Which is a Summoner. That makes sense, but why that spell?” Agnox looked down at the table in thought. “I’ve heard of that one, but never experienced or know any details. If it’s an upgrade, then it’s powerful. It was strong enough to remove the pact I had with Morthrus.”

“Which, I think I saw that happen.” Mathew said “You were floating, but chains were connected from you to her and myself. It was...weird. It was as if I was seeing something I shouldn’t. When her flames appeared, I was in a bad spot, I won’t lie about that. Do you remember anything?”

Agnox shook his head. “No, I was in a state where only I could feel things. The barbed chains of Morthrus, and the thick and strong chains that came from you. Yet, yours wern’t restrictive, they were like a barrier pushing her chains off of me, and banishing the connection I had with her.”

Mathew took a sip of his tea before asking his next questions. “Were you familiar with anyone else besides her? You mention your past in the plural form.”

Agnox nodded, “You are my third. My first Master was a variant of the summoner class called an Elementalist. I’ll spare you the details, but he was killed and I was given a choice. Death, or be bound to Morthrus. They thought a ffamiliar with experience would be good for her. At first it was, until we arrived here in that Dungeon.”

“And now you are with me.” Mathew stated. Agnox looked at the tea and awkwardly took a sip. He didn’t pick up the cup, he just leaned down to sip at it. Mathew didn’t bother correcting him, since he was small. “Now what can you do? How does a familiar work?”

Agnox sighed, “Be easier to explain if I knew the exact way you bound me. You used that small staff to cast the spell, didn't you?”

“My Rod? Yes. I have a skill that makes spells stronger when cast through a focus like that. Figured it couldn’t hurt, maybe even make you stronger.”

“The Rod have any additional effects?” He emphisiszed the word ‘Rod’ as if it was funny.

“Really? Your people had jokes like that too? Ugh, I’m surrounded by kids.” Mathew groaned.

“I’m pretty sure every species with such parts has those types of jokes.”

“Right. Yes it does. It makes my summons more defensive.”

Agnox snaps his fingers, “Aha! Okay, so that explains that notification, and the new tattoo.” He gestured to the silver mark on his body. “I have a passive ability with no rank. Sucks it takes up a slot, but I won’t complain. It’s hard for Imps to get defensive traits.”

“Wait, so we do have a hard limit on Abiliites, Skills, and even spells?” Mathew asked, slightly worried.

Agnox shook his head, “No clue for humans, but Imps do, yes. Although the higher in level and rank you get, the more you can learn. I don’t know my limits after Beginner rank, but for abilities? I can’t learn more than three of each right now since I’m stuck back at Novice again. I can learn more skills and spells though.”

“What do you mean again?” Mathew questioned.

He shrugged, “If a familiar is lucky enough to not die, but his Master does, he is stuck. He can’t progress until he is familiar again. Once one does so, they start aaaalllll the way back at Level 1. I keep anything that is unique to me. Such as my spell [Fire Bolt], and my natural ability to fly. Which isn’t a skill, but it can be if we want to go down that path.”

“And you can still speak English, why?” Mathew asked. “I thought it was an ability or skill.”

“Another perk of our new friendship!” He said with glee “Familiars know all the languages of their master or any they learned naturally. So I know my clan's tongue, English, and a couple others I remember a few key terms of. Including things you know. Skills don’t translate through the bond. So just because you can understand a language does not mean you know it. So if you understand someone, don’t assume I do okay?”

Mathew found that interesting and very useful. “So how does growing stronger work for you? What about me? Are you an extension of me for the purpose of gaining Experience and Levels? Can you still get classes and professions?”

“Woah, one question at a time please. Plus, when can I ask my own questions?”

Mathew paused, but admitted he mentally admited he has been the one to ask too many questions. “Fair, do you have anything to ask?”

“I do.” Agnox said, but paused to sip at the tea. “What are your plans for me? You are the master in this relationship, but I rather not be a slave with benifits again.”

“As I said, we are partners. Granted, I have a majority say in what I do, and you obviously are stuck with me. However, I won’t just ignore your input. You have outside knowledge. That’s valuable to me.”

Agnox smiled, “Ah, I figured as much. But I meant what is my role. Spy? Bodyguard? Pet? Lover? A Familair can take a myriad of roles, and I prefer to do something that meshes well with your path.”

“My path right now is to survive and eventually thrive in this new magical world.”

Agnox groaned, “No I mean your path of growth! You are a Summoner, but that’s just now. There are 10 steps one takes along their path to Godhood, or whatever it is you wish to do. Heck, even if you want to do a proper Ascension, but I have never heard anyone doing that before in a long time. This is what I mean by idiot, you don’t know your left from your right. A blind, deaf, and limbless person floating in the cosmic sea just getting lucky by sheer chance. You need to figure out what you want now. It’s doubly important since you have no master or teacher to guide you.”

“Why would I want someone to tell me what to do? I’ve done pretty good alone so far.” His mind went to the quest Gaia gave him, but he wanted to keep that secret as well right now.

“The role of that person is because they’ve explored the universe. Made mistakes, seen things, and have that outside knowledge you claimed to value. They won’t tell you what to do, but can answer questions or help you overcome hurdles in your life. For example, how do you plan to become Beginner rank?”

“Just reaching that level, is there something else I have to do?”

“Not if you want to be a weakling. We can go over that later though.”

Mathew nodded. “I see. More questions to ask Di when I build his shop.” He sighed and finished off his tea. “We have plenty of time to finish talking later.”

Mathew rode around the golf cart looking for the perfect spot. Somewhere near the outskirts, but not too close to the walls. He eventually came to an empty spot that seemed just large enough. Agnox was with him, and even spoke up his own opinion.

“Nah, you want enough space to expand. A Galactic store like this will absolutely be able to expand.”

“Wait, so it’s not just a door to go to the shop?”

Agnox shook his head, “Eventually it can have a subspace, but not starting off. Why not replace one of the ruined buildings?”

Mathew nodded, “I didn’t know how it would work, but we can try it.” He pushed a button on his menu and a set of metal poles appeared in his hands. They were only about two feet long and thin. He raised an eyebrow at them. “Uhh, what are these?”

Agnox looked at Mathew like he was an idiot. “How do you not know what Array poles are? Just set them up around the area you want the store to be built. The magic does the rest. If a pole glows green, it’s fine, if it’s red you need to move it. If two poles are red, the space between is too short, too long, or something is in the way.”

Mathew nodded, choosing to not answer how he didn’t know what they were. Agnox seemed to answer for him without further questioning. He was starting to think Agnox figured out he was a human of Earth and not a member of some random space family.

Mathew had twelve poles to work with and didn’t think about asking for help. This was something he wanted to figure out on his own. It took him several tries to get it right. The first time only three poles were green while the rest were red. He realized he needed to mark a larger area.

Eventually every pole glowed green and started to vibrate. Like a vacuum, the air rushed toward the center of the configuration and a glow started to grow. A flash of light later an entire building appeared. A single story, with an angled roof to make it seem taller than it actually was. The style reminded him of a mixture of old English and Egyptian homes. There were open windows and large arched doorways, but the materials were wood and shingles for the roof.

The color scheme was unfamiliar to either style with purples, whites, and blacks appearing with purple being the primary color. A sign materialized outfront called ‘Mongdrool’s Warehouse’. Mathew stood and admired the building, a small crowd gathering to watch the magic happening. Once everything seemed finished the front door opened and a faceless and tall figure walked out.

“Mr. McGondald, you sure act quick when it comes to keeping your end of a bargain. I didn’t expect a shop to be established under your control for at least another month. Again you surprise this humble merchant.”

Mathew smiled, grateful to see Di again. “You underestimated me? For shame Di.” Mathew laughed a bit at his own jab at the merchant. “I do hate to cut our quaint conversation short, but I think you have some customers to take care of.” He gestured to the small crowd behind him. Some people were watching to see what Mathew was doing with the poles, and the light had attracted more people.

Di opened his arms. “I welcome you all to my abode. Please single line. Don't expect the same quantity of items as you all saw in the Tutorial shops, but I have a few new items. As for you Mr. McGonald, please come by my office later. We have some catching up to do.”

Mathew waved and walked off. Agnox was hiding behind him as almost everyone stared daggers at the Imp. One person started to raise their weapon and attack, but Mathew stared at the man with his single eye. His gaze was enough to stop the attack, as he continued to walk back to the golf cart. He needed to get a proper sleep, not a forced one from exhaustion.