So Many Options
The pen held over five hundred animals of various sizes in a large green pasture, with enough breathing room for each to have twenty feet of space between them. Even though the pen could only be considered above average in size, this still held true, once again showing the versatility of Space enchantments.
Each creature seemed more fantastical than the last.
The first things to catch his attention were the owls, pitch black and almost illusory. Then he noticed the rats, which looked like tumors with legs and a tail, if he was being honest.
Then there were hedgehogs, parrots, turtles, ferrets, cats, and hawks. After these were the more… unique ones.
The least strange were the small balls of fur that rolled around the pen. They had no arms or legs, only big, adorable eyes that matched their fur and a small snout jutting out of their fur.
Serden called them "Kilamoons."
Then there was the Pegasus, a winged horse that looked more like an angel than a common creature. Even in the yellowish light of the glow crystals above, their soft white fur sparkled and shimmered. When one unfurled their wings, Fate couldn't help but gasp in awe.
They were easily the most beautiful of the present options, although Fate was told their temperament could leave something to be desired.
The next were frogs. Or at least, what Fate thought were frogs. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't look directly at them. Any attempts to do so resulted in his head going in the opposite of his intended direction. It was very frustrating.
Then there were the elementals. There were snakes made out of metal, apes made of fire, stony bulls, frogs of condensed light, all shapes and sizes from all Elements. There were also a few that were just spinning streams of water or pillars of solid air.
Fate knew from his studies that elementals were born from the shed blood of dragons, come to life through magical means.
After these were the Dragon Chickens, or Dracoks. While the elementals were literally made from dragon blood, these chickens had such blood flowing through their veins. The color of their feathers denoted which Element they controlled, and Fate could spot a few of each.
The elementals were more powerful from the get-go but were limited by the dragon from whence they came. Meanwhile, a Dracok had the potential to surpass the dragons themselves. In fact, Fate had heard rumors of a few on Ziobrun that had done just that, sitting amongst their draconic ancestors in a place of honor.
That left the two strangest options available for Fate to choose from. The zimdon was a floating sphere of metal, its equator lined by four disturbingly human eyes. Serden informed him that it floated by controlling its own magnetic polarity.
Last but not least was the Void Gremlin. It was a child-sized, humanoid creature that looked to be formed from the night sky. Pinpricks of light floated in the abyss that was its body, and the smooth faces of the creatures stared at Fate without eyes.
Serden gave Fate a short rundown of the capabilities of each of the many options, and told Fate to take his time picking. Fate was more than happy to oblige, putting a hand to his chin as he scanned each creature in turn.
'I don't see how a Pegasus that grows faster with more love could be useful to me. The Persistence Parrot has a mentality I can get behind.'
These parrots were stubborn, more than even dragons were. They never gave up even when their bones were shattered and their flesh was torn. They were similar to the Fox kitsubi in that they wouldn't relent until they were dead and buried, fighting on until either they accomplished their goals or were put down.
'The Rip Rats can't die, but that isn't very useful to me. The elementals look cool, and apparently it is possible to merge with them later on for a dragon bloodline and gain a pseudo-Skill, but the Dracoks are more tangible.'
While such a pseudo-Skill would be very powerful, Fate would lose his Familiar in the process. Well, technically he wouldn't "lose" it, but rather they would become one and the same. But Fate wasn't here purely for power, he was here for a companion.
The Shadow Owls teleported and controlled shadows, which could be useful, but Fate need something more offensive than that. Maybe a Fire Ferret? No, the Kaleido Cats were more powerful attackers.
"I don't know who to pick," Fate admitted honestly.
"Don't worry about it, that's quite common," Serden reassured him. "If ya'd like, I can show you how to let them pick for you."
"That's a thing?" Fate turned his attention to Serden in surprise. That sounded like a good way to go about this.
"It is. There is one downside to this, though. The way it works, once one of these buggers accepts your offer, the bonding process starts. You won't be able to turn them down."
"Hm… Did anyone else do that so far?"
"A few of them." Serden pointed to a few of the students in the corner. The ones he pointed out were happy like the rest, but not overtly so. It was more of a sense of contentment than anything.
"All of those kids did. It isn't all bad, though. This method practically guarantees you'll get a Familiar that suits your personality and maybe even your Facet. It lays your past bare in a way only Magical Beasts can sense, allowing them to judge if you would be a worthy master to them or not."
"Lays my past bare?" Fate grimaced when he heard that. There were a lot of things he'd rather keep hidden.
"Relax, only the beasties can make heads or tails of any of it. And they won't be able to tattle on ya either, the Imprint prevents it. Humans wouldn't be able to make sense of it anyway, it isn't in our language."
"Is it safe?"
"We wouldn't offer it if it wasn't."
"Alright, I'll do it." Fate nodded determinedly. This sounded like the best way to pick one's Familiar.
"Ok, here." Serden pulled a small stone table out a ring hidden under his gloves, handing it to Fate. "Pour your Mana into that and point it at the pen. The beasties will do the rest."
Fate took a deep breath and followed the instructions, sending a steady trickly of Mana into the tablet as he aimed it at the pen of Magical Beasts.