I Contracted a Demon, but It Turned Into My Pet

"Watch closely!" Elvira Sol declared.

In the next moment, an overwhelming magical pressure burst from her body as dozens of intermediate-grade magic circles flared to life behind her.

"She's casting dozens of spells at once? Even if they're just mid-tier spells, that's still insane…" Lysera gasped.

Lucian's eyes widened with excitement as he watched the blazing spells unfold. Without hesitation, he began copying them one by one.

Tier Four — Molten Wave!

Tier Four — Scorching Stream!

Tier Four — Flame Pillar!

Tier Five — Magma Pillar!

Tier Five — Super Flame Whip!

Tier Five — Blazing Roar!

Tier Six — Lionfire Orb!

All fire spells—ranging from Tier Four to Tier Six—each more dazzling than the last. There were so many that Lucian could barely keep up, but he didn't miss a single one.

Ten hours to parse Tier Four, a full day for Tier Five, and three days for Tier Six!

"I've got them all!" Lucian announced.

"That fast?" Elvira Sol raised a brow, slightly surprised.

Lucian grinned. "As long as I've seen it once, I can copy it. Then it's just a matter of time."

With a flick of his wrist, a fiery lion's head materialized above his hand.

Tier Six spell—Lionfire Orb!

Even though he had copied it perfectly, the spell's mana consumption was immense. Just casting it once drained nearly a fifth of his reserves. A normal Tier Four mage wouldn't even come close to sustaining it.

"You little monster," Elvira Sol said with a chuckle. "But that's good. Only a monster could be worthy of me."

Lucian couldn't help but laugh. This big-sister type of woman was bursting with confidence—but not arrogance.

She had the strength to back it up.

"Let's continue," she said casually, raising a hand again.

This time, the magic circles forming behind her were slower, more complex—high-tier spells.

Tier Seven — Flame Overdive!

Tier Seven — Heavenflare Wave!

Tier Eight — Firestorm Descent!

Tier Eight — Breath of the Undying Phoenix!

Tier Nine — Hellfire Prison!

Tier Nine — Inferno Lion!

Tier Ten — Lotusfire Beast!

Parsing time: Tier Seven—10 days. Tier Eight—one month. Tier Nine—two months. Tier Ten—six months!

Lucian's jaw nearly dropped. His eyes lit up with amazement as he quickly committed each one to the system.

Elvira Sol stood there calmly, arms crossed, as if this display was nothing to her.

"All done!" Lucian said with satisfaction.

Elvira Sol nodded, then smiled. "Want to try learning a Sacred Rank spell?"

"Yes!" Lucian answered without hesitation.

But before he could react, Elvira Sol appeared in front of him and knocked him on the head.

Thud!

Sounded good. Too good, actually. With no hair to cushion the blow, the impact echoed clearly.

"Ow!" Lucian crouched down, rubbing his head as he looked up pitifully. "What was that for?!"

Elvira Sol flashed a toothy grin, showing off her sharp canines. "You're not even Tier Nine yet. You don't have any Law Affinity. And you're talking about learning Sacred Rank spells?"

"You trying to get yourself killed by the world's law backlash?"

"What?" Lucian blinked in confusion and quickly asked Lysera in his mind, "Is that true? I can't learn Sacred Rank spells?"

Lysera replied, "Most people can't. But since you have the system, you can parse them—just don't try to cast them."

"Sacred Rank spells aren't ordinary magic. They involve the laws of the world. If you try casting one without mastering Law Affinity, best case you end up with a damaged soul. Worst case? The world erases you."

Lucian gulped. "So serious…?"

He gave Elvira Sol a sheepish smile. "I mean, I could still learn them without casting, right? Just for study…"

She narrowed her eyes. "No. That's not good for your development. You need to fully master what you've already learned before moving on."

"I have mastered it!" Lucian argued.

But Elvira Sol shook her head. "I'm not talking about mastering the spells—I mean mastering how to use them."

"You've got talent, but zero real combat experience. Even if you could instant-cast a hundred spells at once, that won't make you a true mage."

"So now that you've learned all this…"

She grinned.

"It's time to fight."

"Huh?" Lucian blinked. "Wait—fight what?"

Before he could finish, he saw a large shadow flying toward them.

Lucian squinted and nearly screamed.

WTF?

Furious Bear?!

It was the same beast that had chased him like crazy before. But now, it was curled up in fear, trembling, clutched in a giant Scorching Claw. It didn't even dare open its eyes.

"Kept your little pet safe for you," Elvira Sol said, casually peeling Nobu off Lucian's shoulder with another conjured claw and holding the slime-like creature in her palm.

"Gujyu!" Nobu squeaked in fear, instinctively trying to drain her mana. Lucian quickly calmed him down, and Nobu finally quieted.

"Your first real test—defeat it," Elvira Sol said, dropping the bear to the ground with a flick of her hand.

"Defeat that?!" Lucian paled. "That thing's Tier Five! And it fights like a Tier Seven! How the hell am I supposed to beat it?!"

"You won't know until you try." Elvira Sol burst into laughter. "Didn't you say you wanted to be my man? You giving up already?"

Lucian gritted his teeth. "A real man never says he can't! Let's go—I've always been up for a challenge!"

"Nice," Elvira Sol nodded, clearly pleased. "Let the fight begin."

The moment she spoke, her figure vanished—and with her, the claw holding the Furious Bear.

The bear blinked, feeling the terrifying pressure disappear. Slowly, it lifted its head… and locked eyes with Lucian, who was smiling awkwardly.

Lucian swallowed hard.

Maybe he could reason with it? Use the power of friendship?

"Uh… look, your kid's probably reincarnated by now. Maybe go find a mate and start a new family?"

Furious Bear: "…"

"ROOOOAAAR!!!"

"OH COME ON! Why are you still mad?!"

…

Facing the enraged Furious Bear, Lucian couldn't pretend he wasn't afraid.

In fact, fear was pulsing through every inch of his body. His limbs trembled uncontrollably, and his breathing grew short and rapid, almost ragged.

But fear was one thing. Panic was another. And despite how tightly anxiety gripped his chest, Lucian knew one thing:

He had to stand his ground.

The path to true power would never be smooth. If he couldn't even take down a Tier Five Furious Bear, what right did he have to talk about conquering this world—or standing at its peak?

How could he ever expect Elvira Sol to give herself to him if he backed down now?

So even though he was scared, even though every instinct screamed at him to run, Lucian held his ground.

"Stay calm… Stay calm…" he whispered to himself between deep, deliberate breaths, forcing the panic down.

He had one major advantage right now—those advanced spells he'd just copied from Elvira Sol.

He was still at Tier Four and had five active copy slots. Currently slotted were one Tier Four spell, one Tier Six spell, two Tier Sevens, and a single Tier Eight spell.

He hadn't copied any Tier Nine spells on purpose. There was no point. His current mana reserves wouldn't allow him to cast them, and even the Tier Eight spell would nearly drain him dry.

But it would be enough.

With a Tier Eight spell in hand, he had at least a chance of doing real damage to the Furious Bear.

And besides—Elvira Sol may have vanished from sight, but Lucian was certain she was still watching him from the shadows. She wouldn't just stand by and let him die.

Which meant…

What the hell was he afraid of?

Time to fight.

Time to bring out the guts of a man and give it everything he had.