Chapter 36: Popularity
"Huh? You were already awake? That's quite uncommon." Martha asked in surprise. It was early morning and she had come out to jog and mover her body a little.
"Oh... I am perfectly capable of waking up early." Sigil replied as he stretched his body. The three familiars tried to copy their master, but failed.
The Rocky Elephant tried to lift up his leg and tried to twist around his body. Before he could register his surroundings, he had already fallen onto the ground while four of his legs turned sideways.
The tiny fierce lion was doing considerably well. She was able to stand on her two legs as she tried to bend sideways. Her belly was covered by soft white fur.
Meanwhile, the dragonfly kept on buzzing around without any aim or motivation. It could not stretch and it simply decided to fly around.
"These are the Adolescent level Familiars?" Martha couldn't help but giggle. Their cute antics were really mood lifting.
"Hmm? You already got the news about the Ancestral Pool?" Sigil asked with a confused expression.
"Yeah, I just heard. By the way, congratulations on such a huge gain." She smiled and joined Sigil in stretching her body.
"Did you know about Ricardo?"
"What?"
"You really are strange. A weak Energy Gates Practitioner ascended to the chakra stage in one day and you still don't know about it?"
"Ricardo? Chakra Stage?"
Sigil was astonished. He couldn't help but think about the path that Ricardo chose. After all, he had already deduced that Ricardo knew about future events. This meant that he could have selected an entirely new path unknown to the continent.
"It's not that surprising actually. Many Elders discussed and formed a theory that Ricardo was able to uncover his potential only after entering the ancestral pool. He may have some kind of extraordinary constitution.
Sigil simply nodded and didn't want to break her illusions. He did not have any evidence that Ricardo was someone from the future. And throwing him under the bus would definitely strain their relationship and he might not be able to utilise him in the near future.
"You guys are just going to do some stretching?" Alicia appeared behind them and tapped on their shoulders.
Behind her, three small Familiars could be seen moving around.
"Cute!" Martha shot towards the piglet in a moment's notice.
Alicia shook her head and looked at Sigil's Familiars as a strange expression took its place.
"What are they doing?" Alicia frowned.
"Stretching." Sigil replied seriously as he looked at the fallen Elephant, a small cub standing on two limbs and dancing around and a dragonfly flying between the four limbs of the elephant as if it is an obstacle course.
Alicia's mouth twitched and stopped asking completely.
"You know that their affection is contagious and will cause you to make incorrect decisions." This time, her expression was sharp and her words made Martha stop in her tracks.
"I didn't command them to do such silly actions. And they are attracted to me, not the other way around." Sigil spoke plainly.
Alicia nodded before continuing with her workout.
As he saw Martha and Alicia performing various poses to exercise, he lost his mood to train himself and sat near the elephant. He leaned his back on the Elephant's body and put his hands behind his head, keeping his gaze on the two girls that gave him a good show.
Slowly, the small cub jumped on his lap and a green dragonfly perched on his head. Meanwhile, a red piglet also sat near Sigil quietly as it looked at its master with a respectful gaze. A small butterfly kept on flying around Alicia and a black rat rushed around here and there.
"What the hell are you staring at? If you wanna work out then join or else, go away." Alicia gritted her teeth as she lost her patience.
Martha simply giggled. Even though they were wearing tight clothes and moved their body, nobody in the family dared to look at them. After all, one was the daughter of the family head while the other was the personal maid of the son of the Family Head.
But the thing that deterred them the most was Sigil. His cruel display of power had already spread around the Family. Many girls even shivered when they heard about Yasmine's fate.
Sigil sighed and stood up. He was too tired. After all, he did not sleep at all.
"Yeah, yeah, just like that. Keep on scaring your fiancé with that cute butt of yours." Sigil waved at them and did not wait for their reply.
***
Besides the mansion, apartment buildings, training area and open ground, the estate had one specific area that was valued very much by the family.
Behind all the constructed areas lay a wide spread of forest. The forest was surrounded by a dome made of mesh walls. The walls itself were made out of strong and precious metals and the gate of the dome was inscribed with a beautiful, red-coloured pattern.
This was the family garden!
Right now, many people could be seen outside the Family garden. Even the family head and the Supreme Elder were present.
"Hmm? I don't see Bethany?" Sigil wondered. This was an important event and she would definitely benefit.
"Yeah, I tried calling her but she didn't pick it up." Alicia spoke out.
"Maybe, she got sick or something." Martha mused.
"Well, I wonder what kind of disease she caught." Jacob besides them wondered.
"Wow, you really think a lot of stupid things." Sigil commented lightly.
Jacob stopped immediately.
"Ahem! For those who are not present today, they will get another chance six months later. Now, Sigil, Alicia, Janice and Kael, come forward." John's word echoed and the whispers of the other family members were stopped.
Many people were present in the crowd. The Elders, members of the younger generation and even the normal humans in the family had gathered together.
Right now, Garthe had a bitter face. After all, his daughter suddenly sent him a text out of nowhere and then disappeared.
"A boyfriend?" Garthe thought as his face darkened.
Four people, two girls and two boys stepped out. They were Alicia, Janice, Sigil and Kael respectively.
"Alright, you four will have the chance to interact with the newborn Familiars that are specially chosen by the Ancestral Familiar. If you don't want to tame any of them, you will be given a chance to step inside the garden with your designated partner and tame one for yourself. Remember, if you chose the second option, you will only be given a day's time before the other members are allowed to explore the forest."
John stated the rules. Most of the family members already knew about the rules but he recited them for formality's sake.
"Sigil Grey, you have contributed the highest to the family's reputation and have achieved the best results among your peers. You have successfully completed your Rite of Witchcraft and received the baptism of a super-sized Ancestral Pool. You are permitted to get the first chance in choosing the desired pet from the selection."
John's voice had turned from kind to serious and deep. His expression was dignified as all the other members listened silently.
"Enter the Familiar Garden and you will be guided."
Sigil nodded and pushed open the gates of the garden before entering the dome.
In the area occupied by Elder Level figures was a conspicuous young man. His dark hair combed neatly and his grey pupils showing a worried and anxious expression.
"Ricardo, what happened? Did you find some troubles during cultivation." A middle-aged woman with a ripe body smiled and chatted with Ricardo.
"Oh, its nothing. I was just thinking about the future and it got me slightly worried." He smiled politely.
"Oh, you. You are still so young and your potential is very good. When we Elders are given our turn to select familiars, I will accompany you to guide you. How about that?"
Ricardo's breakthrough had caused a buzz within the group of Elders. Many single female Elders of the family had also started to chat with him and tried to rope him in. To these 'hungry' man-eaters, Ricardo was a perfect candidate to settle with.
The person interacting with Ricardo was Karla Grey, she was one of the Elders that approached him with some modesty. Unlike some Elders that tried to eat him the moment they met him.
"Oh, my! Karla, you are old enough to be his mother. Don't you feel ashamed? Leave this had Ricardo. How about I accompany you? I can show you a good time, too."
A relatively younger woman walked as she swayed her buttocks. She had light makeup on her face and she looked way better than Karla. She was Mina Grey, one of the Elders that tried to eat him yesterday.
Ricardo's smile stiffened as he wanted to stay away from this woman.
"Um... *gulp*... hehe, I think I will go with Miss Karla this time." Ricardo smiled awkwardly and nodded.
Mina's smile froze as she stomped her leg and went away with a disgruntled expression.
On the other side of the area, the relatively younger Elders like Linda and others were conversing with themselves.
"Hmm? Linda? You look distracted." A bespectacled man smirked.
"Is it because of ~young master Sigil~" His voice turned weird as he said Sigil's name.
Linda looked at him and smiled gently. A silver light flashed from her body as a small Three-tailed Spirit Fox jumped at the man and bit on his chest ferociously.
"Aaahhhhhh...."
"You still haven't tamed any Familiars while he is going to tame his fourth Familiar. So tell me, Mister Outer Elder, should I be thinking about you or him?" Linda spoke as she commanded the fox to return.
The silver fox jumped and landed on Linda's arm.
"Damn, Linda! We have been friends for seven years and yet you treat me this way. You know that a lone Witch can't do much in the taming department. You should be a little kind to me." The man teared and looked pitiful. The surrounding people also looked towards them with interest.
Linda shook her head and walked near him, before kicking him harshly.
"Get up! If you weren't my friend, my fox would be aimed towards the southern part of your body."
The man immediately shivered and got up with creating anymore commotion.
"Let me get my familiar, then I will teach you a lesson."
"You can only get an infant Familiar from the garden while my spirit fox has been nurtured till Adolescent level. Do you really want to compete?"
"Sigh, we will battle after two years then."
He spoke as he sighed in defeat.
***
Sigil had already entered and the members had made different groups as they discussed and chatted around.
Even John and Garthe had started to chat with the older Elders of the family.
"During my previous life, Sigil did not select the Red Demon Wolf because of its weak appearance. According to the plan, I should have waited for the selection of the Familiars before actually ascending, but the emergence of the alliance changed the whole scenario and I had to force my breakthrough. The Devils have also made their moves. I bet she is already collecting materials for me. I also need to find appropriate Familiars resonating with my path."
"Other than that, I have to start finding resources related to Sealing Path to cultivate in future. And then there is the problem of most of my experience locked away in my soul. Alicia's locket is probably the key, but getting it from Sigil may be tough."
"Sigh, too much to do and such a little time. Really, time waits for no one."
Ricardo sighed as he started forming plans. He has already tried to bend according to the situation, but lately, nothing seems to have gone his way.
"Previously, some of the sealing path resources could be gathered from the core region of the Grimoire World. Right now, I need to quickly open my second Chakra point and attune it to a popular path."
But still, his expression remained worried. After all, he really needed that Familiar from the family and he had an uneasy feeling that he was going to be screwed again.
He silently calmed his heart and chatted with Karla.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone