After some deliberation, Luo Wei decided to put the magic stones back in the box.

  Whatever. Since she'd taken the stones from the academy, it was best to return them there. Nowhere was safer than the academy.

  Just as she was about to close the lid, her fingertip brushed against a smooth, round bump on the edge of the box.

  A mechanism?

  Luo Wei pulled her hand back and lit her wand. By the flickering light, she examined the raised spot more closely.

  The box was covered in a thick layer of dust. She hadn't wiped it off earlier, afraid of damaging the worn patterns on its surface. But now, her finger had accidentally rubbed away some of the grime.

  Under the light, the bump had a creamy texture. Luo Wei brought the flame closer, and the cream slowly melted, turning transparent.

  "Is this... candle wax?"

  She pulled the wand away, and the cooled wax solidified again into a droplet-shaped lump.

  Luo Wei stared at the wax, and a shadowy figure began to surface in her mind—Wordsworth.

  Could it be him? Was he the one who hid this box in the clock tower?

  Knock, knock, knock—

  "Master, the hot water is ready," Chris's voice called from outside the door.

  "Got it!" Luo Wei quickly stashed the box away.

  An hour later, Luo Wei had finished her bath. Chris helped wring out her hair and picked up a comb to brush it.

  "I can do it myself," Luo Wei said, pressing down on the comb. "Go downstairs and check why the butler isn’t back yet."

  "Yes, Master." Chris obediently left.

  Luo Wei took the comb and walked over to the window, pushing it open.

  A cool breeze rushed into the room, lifting her sleek black hair. Her features, maturing day by day, already hinted at the breathtaking beauty she would become.

  After letting the wind dry her hair, Luo Wei pulled her gaze back from the courtyard, closed the window, and walked to the bedside table to pick up her wand.

  "No spying, no eavesdropping!"

  She cast two spells, then activated the sealing rune. Setting down her wand, she pulled out the two summoning scrolls Professor Tobias had given her from her spatial ring.

  Her bedroom wasn’t big enough to summon a Pegasus, so Luo Wei put that scroll back and kept the one for summoning a magic cat.

  All she had to do was unroll the scroll and channel magic into the rune to summon the creature.

  Luo Wei focused on the parchment and extended her finger, sending her magic toward the center of the rune.

  Summoning runes were advanced-level magic. Activating one required a huge amount of power. She was only a beginner mage apprentice—why had Professor Tobias thought she could pull this off?

  If she hadn’t forcibly boosted her magic to intermediate apprentice level by dismantling the academy’s magic arrays, she’d be completely helpless against this summoning rune.

  Her abundant magic flowed into the parchment like rushing water. As her power drained away, Luo Wei’s heart grew anxious.

  She’d prepared herself to summon nothing but air, but she couldn’t help feeling a flicker of hope.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  What if? What if it actually worked?

  The rune lit up circle by circle as magic flowed through it, glowing with brilliant golden light.

  When the absorbed magic reached its threshold, a powerful gust of wind burst out with a whoosh, forcing Luo Wei to shut her eyes.

  The rune on the parchment spun and expanded, releasing a black vortex perpendicular to the floor—a spatial portal.

  Wind howled. Air currents whipped violently. Luo Wei was forced back several steps, raising her arm to shield her eyes.

  THUD—

  Something heavy suddenly flew out of the vortex and smacked into her arm. She instinctively reached out to catch it. The wind stopped. The room went silent. Her long black hair slid down with her movement.

  "MROWWW—"

  The thing in her arms let out a shrill cat yowl. Its strong hind legs kicked hard against her arm, and it leapt away.

  The kick nearly knocked Luo Wei on her butt. She quickly stepped back with her right foot to steady herself, then looked up.

  The summoning scroll drifted gently to the floor. A yellow blur was racing around the room.

  "A kitten?" Luo Wei cried out in delight. She’d actually summoned a magic cat!

  BONK— The yellow blur slammed headfirst into the window shutters and flopped down like a pancake.

  Luo Wei silently thanked herself for activating the sealing rune beforehand.

  The little yellow cat flipped over and jumped up again. BONK— It crashed into the solid wooden window and fell back down.

  Luo Wei winced. "Stop, kitty! It’s dangerous out there. I won’t hurt you."

  The cat was dazed from the impacts. It struggled to its feet and pressed itself against the wall, trying to squeeze into a corner.

  Luo Wei watched with concern. Was this weak little thing really a magic creature?

  Just imagining it giving her shoulder massages made her feel guilty.

  She watched the stumbling kitten and tried to talk to it. "Kitty, you can understand me, right?"

  The cat froze. One raised paw hung in midair. Its round little head whipped toward her in alarm.

  Luo Wei softened her voice and crouched down. "Don’t worry. I really like cats. I won’t hurt you."

  "If you’re willing to be my summoned beast, you can eat whatever you want from now on. Dried fish, chicken legs—anything. You won’t have to do anything dangerous. Just let me pet you."

  "If you don’t want to, that’s okay too. I’ll figure out a way to send you back."

  The cat went even more rigid. Its tail tucked between its legs. Its amber eyes slowly rotated, staring blankly ahead.

  Luo Wei waited patiently for an answer. While she waited, she quietly studied its appearance.

  It was a small orange cat with fine, glossy fur. Its coat had a gradient—the fur on its back was so orange it was almost red.

  Its four legs were longer than a normal cat’s, and its muscles were more solid. Its almond-shaped eyes were big and bright, rimmed with a circle of brown eyeliner that gave it an innocent, enchanting look.

  Judging by its coloring and proportions, it looked a bit like an Abyssinian cat—one of the noble breeds from the West.

  But Abyssinians were sleek, elegant, and dignified. This cat, by comparison, was... rounder.

  Its proportions were good, but it was chubby. The leg bones were long, but all the meat made them look thick. Its ears were smaller than an Abyssinian’s, and its face was bigger and rounder. For some reason, the fur on top of its head was a mess.

  Overall, it was a little pudgy cat that looked about fifty percent like an Abyssinian—small, cute, and pitiful.

  After looking it over, Luo Wei felt a strange sense of familiarity.

  This cat... it couldn’t be...

  She narrowed her eyes and suddenly called out, "Laura!"

  The kitten jumped. Its tail puffed up. Its amber eyes locked onto her without blinking.

  Luo Wei stood and walked toward the wardrobe. "Sorry. I accidentally summoned you with the magic cat scroll. Hang on, I’ll get you some clothes."

  The cat still didn’t make a sound. It arched its back, its almond eyes tracking her movement.

  Luo Wei opened the wardrobe and pulled out a dress. She turned to look at it. "I’ll put this on the bed. You can change yourself, okay?"

  The cat’s ears flattened into airplane ears. Its eyes stayed glued to her as it backed further into the corner, fur bristling.

  Luo Wei placed the dress on the bed and turned her back. "I’m not looking. Hurry up and change."

  She faced away from the cat and waited for more than ten seconds. The room stayed quiet.

  "Want me to leave?" Luo Wei asked.

  The room got even quieter.

  Luo Wei turned around. The dress on the bed hadn’t moved. The cat by the wall was gone.

  She scanned the room along the baseboards and spotted a small orange tail poking out from under the bedside table—and a pair of amber eyes peeking at her from the shadows.

  She’d tried so hard to trick it, but it hadn’t given itself away. So it really wasn’t Laura.

  Luo Wei’s heart settled back into place. Good, good. At least the summoning scroll hadn’t gone to waste.

  She glanced at the kitten still hiding under the cabinet and crouched down. "Sorry, kitty. I mistook you for someone else."

  The tip of the orange tail twitched, as if it understood her.

  Luo Wei pulled out the mermaid pearl from her ring and held it in her palm. "Kitty, will you be my summoned beast? If you say yes, I’ll give you a delicious chicken leg right now."

  Three seconds passed. A soft, delicate meow came from under the cabinet.

  To Luo Wei’s ears, the sound didn’t change—but her brain immediately understood the meaning of the meow.

  She’s willing.

  This timid little cat was willing to be her summoned beast.

  From now on, she was a cat owner!

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  patreon.com/BZDXG - Unlock a HUGE stash of advance chapters now!

  Dive deeper into the story ahead of everyone else!