Fay looked at the boy.

His red hair was strange to him; he hadn't seen that color before.

Then again, he wasn't used to seeing many people, and lately, he hadn't even seen humans until he'd been forced to fight the army.

As for the boy's mother, she looked beautiful. Her hair was the same shade of red, and her face was dotted with slight freckles.

The only issue was her expression; it showed clear worry for her son.

"Hey there, we're about the same age…" Fay tried to sound friendly as he extended his hand for a shake. The boy looked a little frightened but didn't seem opposed to the gesture.

"Joan. And my mother is Harriett. Only we were able to come… thanks for helping us."

The boy clearly implied they'd had trouble earlier; trouble Fay had helped clear up with his arrival.

"Thank you, young man. We will do our part to help you in this reconstruction effort."

The boy's mother waved to him; she yawned before having Fay keep talking to her son, seemingly very tired.

The three of them had made a decent first impression, enough to let the conversation continue for a few more seconds.

The only one who seemed bothered by all this was Horin.

She was clearly uncomfortable being near so many humans, especially since her traits were so unique.

The boy and his mother stared at her feet, which resembled paws, and at the tail behind her.

"Sorry, Horin. We just don't have anything but hum-like races in our world…" Fay called out to her so she'd understand.

"It's fine. I just don't like being stared at…"

Horin's words came out more direct than necessary, causing both parent and child to glance at Fay for help.

"Now then, let's start. I kind of want to see if fire works with you, but your temperament seems gentle…"

Trying to get back on track, Fay began to inspect what affinity the boy might resonate with.

He picked out the earth, fire, and water stones, still hoping someone would finally show affinity with the land.

"Here, hold these and tell me if you feel a connection with one."

Fay looked slightly dejected when neither fire nor land worked.

But to his surprise, the Tide Crystal reacted. It even seemed to want to melt into the boy's hand.

"Same as the others, just keep concentrating until you find a beast the bead wants to take the form of…"

As Fay finished instructing the boy, he passed the two unused aether cores to the mother's side.

She didn't seem eager to try at first, but with someone her son's age looking up at her with hope, she couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Wow, fire on the first try. That's a strong element." Fay smiled, seeing the almost instant connection.

The woman looked just as surprised as he did.

"I guess I can try summoning a creature as well…"

She closed her eyes, as if needing focus to imagine it.

Soon, both mother and son began creating their own beasts, an otter-like creature for the boy and a small fire pig for the mother.

Each one looked at their summon with interest and awe.

He had them step aside after, as Fay continued to look for someone who could use the land stones he still had on hand.

There were still more than one hundred people in line, ready to receive their creature.

He still had some hope.

The first ten passed through; only four of them were able to summon something, not that everyone had the intention of bonding with a creature.

It was mostly the younger ones who really strived to get one.

Darkness, another fire, wind, and a rare sound affinity appeared. Each one was unique, none seemingly matching those summoned before them.

The next in line were split; Horin and Bruno helped, dividing teams into three to quicken the pace.

Finally, after half of the group had gone, they had two land users. This gave Fay hope. As they continued, nearly an hour later, they found three more, along with two metal users.

They also had a total of six healers, which was a good sign.

One girl, around fifteen, had an affinity for both sound and light, but she didn't seem able to summon a creature from either.

Fay concluded that she needed a higher-tier crystal, but which element, he didn't know or have.

She was a dark-haired girl, beautiful but seemingly dangerous. She appeared reserved, giving only vague answers.

She was from Earth, but she waited until the end to get her monster.

Fay didn't know if this was because she didn't want one or if it was just her quirky personality.

She went by the name Maria.

The other strange thing was that she kept staring at him, as if waiting for something to happen.

Not admiring or showing any other intent. Just looking.

Horin growled to make her stop.

She obliged and left like that.

Where she went, Fay didn't know, but it seemed like she had taken residence somewhere in the destroyed city.

"Well, that's all of you… a total of thirty-eight. I was hoping for more, but this is still good since we can focus on helping the ones that do have a summoned creature, which won't be easy."

Fay then asked Selra and Bruno to begin helping the others train. He, on the other hand, turned toward the demi-humans. This group was going to be harder to match with creatures.

He wasn't playing favorites; if anything, he intended to give bigger aether cores to those among the demi-humans who showed real promise.

It was far rarer for their kind to form summons, so his strategy was simple: fewer, but stronger.

He called up Korran, the werewolf who had assisted him before, and asked for his help in gathering the demi-humans of all shapes and sizes.

Korran, eager to receive an aether core himself, quickly began explaining what they were doing and why.

The others listened attentively. So far, they had come to view him as their leader, so hearing that they were about to receive larger cores sparked real excitement among them.

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