The Strange Cat from Fuuto

"..."

The white Garuda, silently watched by Miku, froze in place as it tried to get up, its body emitting white smoke.

"Crack!"

A small hand scooped up the white Garuda, removed the ring embedded in its chest, and then the white Garuda's body separated, eventually turning into specks of light that scattered.

"It's getting late, time to get up!"

Serena placed the ring on the table beside her and sat down in her seat, with a cup of freshly brewed black tea next to her.

"Ok!"

Miku, who was shaking his head, could no longer fall asleep, so he simply stretched out of the chair and opened his mouth wide.

"Haa~~~Yawn~~"

A perfectly normal stretching motion caught Serena's attention, simply because a wisp of smoke drifted from Miku's mouth, just like the last wisp of smoke after something has burned out.

"Your mouth is smoking!"

"You know that, so hurry up and get me something to drink. I'm really thirsty right now."

Miku, who wasn't on the same line as Serena, saw the box next to him, flicked his tail and tossed it to Iggy, telling him to take it and play with it.

"Awooo..."

With its claws gripping the gift box, Iggy quickly tore the box to shreds, revealing the magic gem inside.

Miku jumped onto the table, poured himself a cup of black tea, and slowly licked the tea in the cup. As for why he didn't drink it with his mouth, didn't he know that cats' mouths leak air?

"You really have the nerve to use such a precious magic gem for this dog to chew on." Serena's eyes froze as she glanced at Iggy. "This magic gem?"

Disregarding her own decorum, Serena snatched the magic gem from Iggy's mouth and tossed a small ball off the table.

Iggy, who had just been a little annoyed, saw the little ball being thrown out and happily chased after it.

"Is there something wrong with that magic gem, cough cough..."

Miku, who had suddenly started coughing, was stunned. "Why am I coughing?"

"This magic gem is truly a top-quality piece!" After carefully wiping away the drool from the pale yellow, palm-shaped magic gem sent by the White Garuda, Serena's eyes gleamed. "I'm sure I can use this magic gem to make the finest ring!"

"Cough cough..." Miku coughed twice and asked in confusion, "Is there any difference? I don't feel any difference!"

"Cough cough..."

“It’s different!” Serena, her eyes filled with infatuation, slowly caressed the magic gem in her hand. She looked like a lecherous man seeing a beautiful woman, a drunkard seeing Moutai liquor, or Woz seeing King Gates.

I'm about to lose control!

"Cough cough...tell me more carefully." Miku mumbled incoherently, as if he had a lump of phlegm stuck in his throat, but Serena didn't pay much attention.

"The nature of the magic gem determines the magic of the ring it creates. Just like a sculptor, each stone has its own unique shape, and the sculptor's job is to remove the excess parts and reveal the stone's original form."

"We ring makers do the same thing, separating the essence of magic gems from magic gems and activating it. Magic gems like this one, which are naturally unique in shape, have unique magical properties, just like the magic of you magicians, with different characteristics. What I do is to uncover its original form!"

“What’s so strange about it?” After tilting his head and looking at Serena for a while, Miku shook his head and coughed again from his muzzle.

"It's different. With ordinary magic gems, only the very center piece can be used. The rest are just derivatives of magic, used to protect the core. To find the core, you have to constantly locate it, polish it repeatedly, cut it out, and finally make it into a ring!"

"This part is much simpler!"

"I don't understand!"

"Fine, I'll leave it to you. I'll just wait until it's ready to use. Cough cough cough..."

"Leave it to me!"

Holding the magic gem, Serena hurried towards her workshop, her heart itching with anticipation to create it right now.

This is like a gluttonous beast seeing delicious food.

"A strange old woman!"

"cough cough..."

Miku, who couldn't stop coughing, looked puzzled. He carefully examined his body for a moment but found nothing unusual. Apart from a sore throat, everything else seemed perfectly normal.

Why can't I stop coughing?

"cough cough..."

Miku, feeling as if his throat was blocked with a large glob of phlegm, shook his head vigorously. "Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. I'll just go for a walk outside!"

.........

Antique shop, Mianyingtang.

"Haruto, I made it!"

"It's done!"

Wajima Shigeru, clutching two rings in his hand and sporting heavy dark circles under his eyes, walked out of his studio.

"Did you succeed, Uncle Wajima?"

The mage, who was originally taking care of his Garuda, tossed it aside and excitedly headed towards Wajima Shigeru.

Alex caught Garuda and gave the mage a protesting look, somewhat disgruntled.

"After working tirelessly for a day and a night, that magic gem has now become these!" Wajima Shigeru yawned as he presented the two rings to the mage like a treasure, "I should go and rest now!"

Exhausted, Wajima Shigeru went up to the second floor.

The mage slowly examined the two turquoise rings in his hand. One was a ring used to cast spells, with a design on the ring face of a dragon spreading its wings and spewing lightning.

The other ring is for transformation, with a greenish-blue gemstone facet, decorated with a silver band, and a tiny gemstone the size of a grain of rice set in the center.

"It feels great!"

The mage, who had been collecting rings repeatedly, exclaimed in surprise, and Alex also came over.

"It looks different from my previous rings, it gives me a very special feeling!"

"You got a new ring, Wizard!"

Miku's voice suddenly rang out. He was leaning against the shop door in his transformed state. The moment he saw Miku, Alex pouted, looking quite disgusted.

“Well, Uncle Wajima used the magic gems you exchanged with us to create new rings.” The mage waved the two rings in his hand at Miku without noticing Miku’s strange look.

"Does this mean I've disrupted the plot again?"

Miku, who was secretly pondering, thought of the mage in the original story, whose basic form was based on fire and who used different forms when facing different enemies.

The Flame Dragon was also the first Ascendant to appear, but now, thanks to his meddling, the Hurricane has taken the place of the Flame Dragon and become the first Ascendant to appear.

Thinking of this, Miku's lips curled into a wicked smile: "Hey, want to test it out? I'll be your opponent!"

"Hey?"

Alex, who was tilting his head in unison with the mage, couldn't help but ask suspiciously, "Are you really that kind?"

"That's it!"

Miku, who was rubbing his palms together, felt a lump in his throat and coughed again.

"Cough cough cough..."

After patting his chest to make himself feel a little better, Miku couldn't help but urge, "Are you going or not?"

“This…” After exchanging a glance with Alex, the mage nodded and said, “Let’s go then, let’s find a place!”

"Let's go... cough cough cough..."

Another violent coughing fit caused Miku to gag as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Are you OK?"

"It's nothing, just a little sore throat!"

After the mage and Miku went out, Iggy, who looked like a giant wolf, was grinding his teeth at the door while holding a street lamp.

"Your...mount is a bit unusual!"

The mage, who had seen Iggy for the first time, was speechless. The giant wolf before him was not only enormous, but also looked quite imposing. However, its behavior of grinding its teeth against a streetlamp was rather...

Emmmm...I made a fool of myself!

"Ignore him!" Miku, who had just climbed onto the dog, squeezed Iggy's body between his legs, and then another bout of coughing came over him.

Miku waved his hand to indicate that everything was fine and put the matter out of his mind, starting to plan how to persecute the mage.

The mage rode his motorcycle ahead to lead the way, with Miku riding Ichi close behind.

Half an hour later, the two arrived at a deserted open space. This was the outskirts of Torii-zaka, a place where no one usually came.

"Let's do it here!"

The mage, his helmet hanging from the motorcycle handlebars, had his right hand folded at his waist.

"Drive On Please!"

"Well, here I come!"

The mage, having replaced the ring on his left middle finger with a hurricane-shaped ring, transforms into a hurricane-form Wizard. Miku stands not far away opposite the mage, one hand on his hip.

"bring it on!"

Miku beckoned, signaling the mage to attack freely. The mage, having switched rings, slowly placed the middle finger, adorned with the Hurricane Dragon Ring, on his waist.

Full of anticipation, he heard no stirring singing, but instead a completely emotionless chant.

Error!

"Why isn't there any response?"

The mage, who had placed his left hand on his waist again, heard that same merciless chant once more.

Error!

"Looks like you're not ready yet!" Miku drew the Physics Holy Sword from his back, twirled his wrist, and grinned maliciously. "Let me put some pressure on you!"

"Hey, wait!"

The mage, who had his hands in front of him, tried to stop him, but Miku ignored him.

"Don't do it!"