Chapter 91: 91. Sun-Chaser

The White Swan looked at William as if it had just seen a ghost.

Its massive body trembled slightly as its glowing orange pupils remained locked onto the faint traces of stellar fire still lingering around William’s hands.

For a few seconds, neither of them moved. The air was heavy with unresolved hostility and confusion.

Then, unexpectedly, the swan took a sharp step back.

Its wings flared wide as it hurriedly created distance between itself and William, scraping the ground as it retreated.

“What the hell!! Are you out of your mind???” Will shouted as he panted heavily.

His chest rising and falling rapidly from both exhaustion and adrenaline.

He glared at the enormous, stunned Swan standing before him.

Even after everything that had just happened, the creature’s size alone made it intimidating.

Its feathers glowed faintly under the sunlight.

Will steadied his breathing and began walking toward it.

“If you are too prideful to be contracted with me, then go to hell!!” he shouted angrily. “I will just get another spirit.”

His hand lifted slightly, already prepared to wave and cancel the summoning circle entirely. At this point, frustration outweighed curiosity.

“Wait! Wait… My lord, wait!”

The swan moved suddenly and dropped to its knees.

The massive body lowered itself awkwardly, wings folding in as its head bowed deeply toward William. The sight was so unexpected that Will froze mid-step.

“Huh??” William stared at the kneeling Swan in disbelief. “What the hell happened to your tone suddenly?”

The humongous swan remained kneeling, its long neck bent low. Its eyes shifted nervously as if it were desperately searching for the right words.

“This self… did not know that esteemed lord possesses such potent fire,” the Swan finally said; its voice was no longer sharp or hostile but respectful and mature.

William narrowed his eyes but did not interrupt.

“This self is willing to follow my lord,” the Swan continued carefully, “if my lord can help this self save its previous master.”

The Swan said nothing more.

No explanation followed that.

William blinked several times, struggling to process what he was hearing.

“What the hell??” He muttered loudly. “This shitheaded duck attacked me a few moments ago, and now it’s as tame as a sheep?”

He immediately turned his attention inward and called out to the system.

But all he found was silence.

“Oi!! System, why are you silent?” He snapped.

No response came.

“OI!!!” Will raised his voice further, clearly irritated.

A few seconds passed before the system finally responded.

[Spirits don’t lie. That swan must be desperate, so it attacked. It wants to save its previous master.]

The explanation continued.

[I advise you to accept the offer. This spirit is extremely old. Its potential is far beyond anything a level 15 summoning circle should be able to summon.]

William stiffened slightly as he listened.

[It is currently being suppressed to Ascension rank. Its original cultivation is far too vast to be suppressed down to your level by a mere level 15 summoning circle.]

William swallowed.

“Are you serious?” he asked quietly. “What if this spirit had killed me here?”

The system replied without hesitation.

[You never asked this question when you met Tamasya for the first time, and she crushed you.]

William gulped.

The memory resurfaced vividly.

On his first meeting with Tamasya, she had crushed him with overwhelming pressure.

He remembered the helplessness he had felt when she had crushed him without even lifting a hand.

Back then, he had not hesitated to approach Tamasya even after what happened.

He had not feared risking his life.

Now, standing here, he realized something he would rather not admit.

His confidence had wavered with time.

The academy trial incident had shaken him more than he liked to acknowledge. Facing death so close, seeing how fragile things truly were, had left cracks in his certainty.

He hated that feeling.

Taking a slow, deep breath, William straightened his posture. His shoulders squared as he forced himself to steady his thoughts.

Fear would not decide his actions, not now and not in the future.

His gaze returned to the kneeling Swan.

“What is your name?” he asked calmly.

“This self was called the Sunchaser by its previous master,” the Swan replied.

William did not hesitate.

“Mr. Sunchaser,” he said, “will you be my contracted spirit?”

“Yes, my lord,” Sunchaser answered immediately. “This self is fortunate to have you as its master.”

The moment those words left its beak, the summoning circle reacted.

[ding!! Summoning successful… contracting in process…]

The magic circle beneath the Swan glowed brightly.

[ding!! Talent Fatebound (Supreme) is intervening…]

Then a brand-new notification appeared.

[ding!! The host is required to choose one of the following:

– Mark of Servant

– Mark of Comrade]

William looked at the options silently.

Then his eyes shifted back to Sunchaser.

“Mr. Sunchaser,” he asked, “will you return to your old master once I save him?”

The Swan did not hesitate.

“No, my lord,” Sunchaser replied firmly. “This self will serve you from this moment onward. This self only wishes for its old master to be alive and well.”

The sincerity in those words made William smile faintly.

Without delay, he selected the Mark of Comrade.

“You are much older than me, Mr. Sunchaser,” William said softly. “I would rather have you as a guide than a servant.”

For reasons he could not explain, the Swan’s voice carried the weight of long years and profound experience.

The urge to call it “Grandpa” almost slipped out unconsciously.

He had only ever felt that kind of connection once before.

With old man Kaiser, who had always been a father figure for him in this life.

William stepped closer and gently placed his hands on Sunchaser’s head, rubbing the feathers carefully.

——————————

Meanwhile, inside the supreme system’s backend a few minutes earlier…

A shiny white orb-like astral projection flickered frantically from one corner of a small enclosed space to another.

Its movements were erratic, filled with panic.

This was the system’s spirit manifestation that William usually interacted with.

Golden sigils and mysterious symbols floated everywhere around it, forming complex arrays and unreadable scripts. Notifications were blaring around it while it was responding to them systematically.

[ding!! Administrator notification #0346: Talent Beloved of the Universe (Supreme) interfering with the summoning.]

[Do you want to broadcast the notification?] [Y/N]

“Hell no!!” The orb snapped. “Why is she acting up right now??”

“I’m going to report her,” it muttered in fury.

Suddenly, a noise echoed from one of the circular sigils at the corner of the space. The sigil projected an image of William standing before the kneeling Swan.

“What the hell!! This shitheaded duck attacked me a few moments ago, and now it’s as tame as a sheep.”

“Oh shit,” the orb cursed. “So much shit is happening at once.”

“Oi!! System, why are you silent?”

The orb sighed deeply before flickering toward the golden sigil.

“Spirits don’t lie…..that swan must be desperate…..” it replied with its imaginary mouth near the sigil like it was a microphone.

It spoke, carefully maintaining the most neutral tone possible.

It was covering up someone else’s mess, and it hated that.

After responding to William, the orb turned toward another sigil.

[ding!! Administrator notification #0347: Talent Fatebound (Supreme) wants to interfere with the contracting process.]

“Allow Fatebound to intervene,” the orb muttered. “Use the Mark of Servant.”

Before it could proceed further…

[ding!! Administrator notification #0348: Talent Beloved of the Universe (Supreme) is interfering with the contracting process.]

[ding!! Administrator notification #0349: Talent Beloved of the Universe (Supreme) is interacting with Fatebound (Supreme).]

[ding!! Administrator notification #0350:

The host is required to choose one of the following:

– Mark of Servant

– Mark of Comrade]

“What the hell is she doing?!” The orb cried, clutching its imaginary head with imaginary hands. “～(

“Broadcast notification #0347 and #0350,” it said in frustration. “Block the rest.”

The orb flickered violently again. It could not tell William about her.

Not yet.

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