19

Chapter 16:Psychic guide

Cow aunt stopped at waist high stone wall that surrounded the school. She looked at him and said with exasperation.

"Look. I know it all ain't yer fault. But I am still sniffed. So please buy a decent hoot while yer dad comes back."

Simon could only nod in agreement.

"Good."

She said and then dropped the bag on him before continuing.

"Stuff makes no sense in that magic hocus pocus of a school. But ya got yer dad's head and I recon you are gonna do fine."

After that, she unceremoniously started walking away leaving Simon to his own devices.

Simon scratched his cheek as his eyes moved to the entrance which was just a gap in the wall that acted as a suggestion instead of an actual boundary. Funnily enough not a single person or monster girl was outside said boundary, in fact, he could not hear a peep even though he was standing no more than 30 feet away from the crowd inside.

Amy was also looking at the crowd with her canine head tilted, just as confused as him.

"Well. Nothing will happen if I just stand here, so let us get to it." He said to the wolf as he walked passed the stone wall line.

As he did so, there was a moment of vertigo, like every shifted a couple of inches before resetting but after a shake of his head, he felt fine.

Amy did not so much as she started whining and yelping as rapidly shook herself. He put a calming hand on her head which did the trick. She almost immediately pushed her soft furry head into his arms.

"What was that?" Simon asked no one in particular. After he was past the boundary the noise of the crowd directly basted into his ear. The shift from the quiet was slightly jarring but right now that sense of vertigo was of more immediate concern

'A planar shift.'

Simon nearly jumped at the feminine but robotic answer that occurred directly in his head. Amy noticed the shift and pointed her snout directly at him.

'Do not be alarmed for I have no ill intent. I am simply one of the many designated guides who catalog everyone that enter Planar University. A psychic servant who can communicate telepathically with any and every human on campus grounds.'

Simon was still confused as hell but petting Amy was therapeutic.

"Ok?..."

Amy was no longer bothering as she went to her blissed-out phase which was easily achieved if she recently ate or received a good petting. The latter of which was happening to her right now.

'I have also been given the privilege to give a pre-orientation to those who may need and you seem to be rather lost. At least, that is what I believe from a cursory view of you.'

This was a wave of new experiences all at once but for our hero, it was not an overwhelming one. He took a calming breath and said to the air.

"Please."

'Very well. Can I ask you how much you know? Or may I be allowed to deeper dive into your mind?'

The second part of that statement put Simon into another loop, unable to make sense of what was just said to him he replied.

"Just tell me everything."

'Very well. We are the Planar University, an institute of incomprehensible magic created by Merlin, one of the great heroes. He believed that the children of the future needed a safe space to learn and thus our grand institution was born. Using his bottomless knowledge he has shifted this place to be outside of normal space and as such, it can exist in any location as long as the right enchantments are used. At the same time as long as the original location is not breached it remains one of the safest places on the continent. Any being that comes inside is transported back to its 'home' location upon leaving the grounds. Such is the power and wisdom of our headmaster. In his magnanimity, he toiled away to fill our libraries with every scrap of knowledge he could find. If a disaster such as the Great Collapse would happen once more, the generation responsible would be sufficiently armed to take on the threat. We would not need to rely on the blessings of the few instead we have the might of many. To that end, he made it so that for the first ten years of a man's life he may come here and learn at no cost by using our grand facilities. He would be given an exam to gauge his abilities and based on the result given adequate teachings and exercises so that he may a shining beacon of our future. Never again may we be so crippled that such a sacrifice must be committed by such great a man.'

The speech felt like part introduction part worship of the man named Merlin. Simon had never heard or read of Merlin or any 'great hero'. But he assumed they were some great men that did some crazy shit. He thought that would be the end and was about to ask some questions when the voice continued.

'That is the end of the speech. Now for some cursory information that the orientation might not provide. First, to attempt the examination you need to have completely bound a monster girl. If you do not have one, I shall guide you to an area where you may collect a monster girl to bind at your own time and come back once you have done so. Remember the binding gem it shall be housed in is not covered by us and you must either return it within a year or pay for the device. Second, if you have any books, please show them to the library to be scanned. You shall be greatly compensated if you own any we do not still have in our halls. Thirdly, while we do provide lodgings it has costs that can either be paid upfront or recorded to be paid at a later date of up to a maximum of ten years. Fourthly, if you are ever lost or require a guide such as me for any reason in particular, use the words 'I wish for a Planar guide' and I or one of my sisters will be with you shortly. Fifth and finally, the orientation hall runs the program in a perpetual loop and you do not need to be perfectly on time, though I may suggest you hurry if you wish to catch the beginning of the next one, it starts in five minutes.'

The questions running through Simon's head were endless and she did say she was someone whose purpose was to answer the question. But that could wait, for the first time in a week he was given a solid direction on what to do and so he asked.

"Where is the orientation hall?"

Chapter 17:Beginning of school

Simon had come to the directed building with relative ease, the directions were very easy to remember and the disembodied voice had said that she was just a call away if he ever needed anything. If there was any hiccup it was the stares he received, everyone was looking at him, man and monster girl, with a curious stares. For whatever reason, those stares rubbed him the wrong way. Amy felt it as well, and her response was to growl at the offenders as she trotted alongside him. But outside of that, she did relatively little as she too was probably feeling slightly overwhelmed by the army of monster girls traipsing about.

Thankfully, it was uneventful and he reached the building with nothing wacky happening. Given what had happened just this morning, he should be thankful for the little things. Who cares if everyone was looking at him funny, at least he did not turn into a wolf and create a scene so he would take it as a win.

The multitudes of stone archways leading into the building matched the description he was given. Now he just had to figure out what he had to now.

'A new student, I presume.'

As if by prophecy another voice projected directly into his head. It had a similar feminine but robotic timber but had some distinctions from the first. Given this was his second time a disembodied voice speaking to him his response was much more measured.

"Yes."

'Are you on a list?'

An immediate question followed.

"No...?" Simon answered but it came out a bit as a question as he was having a bit of difficulty following what was happening.

'Very well. I give you the designation 7234. Please remember that number till you have been given your student card.'

"Ok..."

'Do you need orientation?'

"Yes." This time Simon could answer with more confidence.

'Understood. The next loop has just begun so I shall direct you to other basic needs that you must meet before attending our classes. Is that acceptable?'

"Sure." Simon was tired of having to give one-word answers but processing all she was saying took time. Time she was not giving him, so he was improvising.

'May I perform a scan to gain the basic data I need? The results of the scan will be immediately deleted upon processing your student identification card. However, the data printed on your student ID shall be recorded.'

"Alright." He had no idea what that entailed, but Simon assumed that this was normal and gave the go-ahead. After all, his father was the one who had directed cow aunt to send him here, there was no way this was a foreboding event. He was not in a novel after all.

Almost immediately the voice replied.

'Scan completed. You have been found to be in a bond with a high-tier monster. Please wait. An escort shall come to assist you shortly.'

That answer gave Simon pause but he was in too deep now and just stood there. His hands automatically travel to Amy to start giving her pets. Amy being the pet she was leaned into him basking in the attention she was receiving, her tails wagging happily.

In under five minutes, he was met with a cat girl. The most popular low-level species across all of Phunine. And he could see why.

She was wearing a white office blouse and black skirt, and Simon understood why the look was so popular in novels. It gave her an authoritative feel that was in sharp contrast to her lithe cute feline features that radiated playfulness. From the sparkle in her green cat eyes to the small playful bounce in her sleek black tail that matched her bubbly stride. Simon had an inexplicable urge to go and pet the cat girl but he resisted, doubling his efforts on Amy to compensate.

"Hello! My name is Bella. Milly told me there was an irregular in front of the orientation so here I am!" To add to her statement she made pumped her fist into her chest which brought to her modest chest. They were probably a handful but not much more.

"I think that is me," Simon said very fascinated with the office cat lady in front of him.

"Of course it is you! I mean do you see anyone else standing in front of the orientation hall not wearing their student uniform." She said with a lot of enthusiasm as she made an exaggerated motion of looking side to side. The black cat ears on the top of her head wiggled in the opposite direction to where her head pointed.

The urge came back twofold and as such Amy fell back on her stomach now panting from the pleasurable abuse she received from Simon. Simon kneeled and started rubbing her belly in reflex but his attention was still on the conversation.

"I suppose not," Simon replied.

"Right! Now come along. You, sir, need special attention!" She said as she waved at him to come with her. Her energy was very infectious and he got up to follow an amused smile on his face. Amy, however, was very annoyed pets fun had ended and she whined in protest.

This made Bella slightly jump back as she said.

"That's ok! We can wait! There is no need to rush!"

Simon could not help himself, he snorted trying to contain his laughter. He replied

"She is just being pissy. Normally heavy pets are followed with feeding time and then a nap. My spoiled companion is just being vocal with her disappointment."

"Easy for you to say... One chomp from that monster and there is no more Bella..."

She mumbled something Simon could not quite hear.

"Excuse me?" Simon asked tilting his head.

"Nothing! Nothing. If sir is sure please come along!" She said as she bounced away a little too quickly.

"Wait!" Simon said as he rushed along followed by a dispirited Amy.

Thus began the first day of school for our hero.

Chapter 18: Special Advising

"Alright! Here we are!" said the Cat girl in her excited gait.

Now that he was no longer in a rush he had taken some time to take in the interior of this school. The vast difference between this and what he had at home excited him.

Unlike his home, the walls of the hallways and dome roof were lined with murals that depicted epic fights and legendary heroes. The floor was made of a solid reflective structure he guessed was marble. Uniformly scattered around were ornate pillars that fit into the atmosphere this interior created. Everything was massive, much larger than what he had assumed from outside the orientation hall, and even though he could see numerous men and monster girls milling about the place felt empty. There was this feeling of freedom from this giant open hallway.

It finally hit him that he was no longer at home and under no one's watchful eye. Heck if he decided to just run away he could and there would be nothing anyone could do to stop him.

Then Bella's word rang through his head and he was brought back to reality. His focus turned to the monster girl as he realized they were in front of a massive wooden door that read 'Special Advising' in giant bold blocky letters. It was only slightly ajar but that was still big enough to fit three of him in. The inside looked like the stereotypical private study except massively scaled up in size. In the center of it, all sat a portly man who seemed too deep in his world reading a book.

Compared to his dad the man looked unimpressive, with his receding hairline and chubby face. But poor physicality aside Simon's instincts screamed at him that this man was extremely dangerous. Next to him stood two monster girls in full plate armor as still as a statue and it was only by Simon's superior senses that he knew that there were monster girls in them. He felt less threatened by the monster girls than the man which was saying something.

She stepped out of the way, notably on the opposite side of Amy with a bit of a leap. Then she slightly bowed and moved her arms in the direction of the door, pointing him to go in.

Simon hesitated for a second, his fear preventing him from taking a step forward.

Bella immediately asked.

"Is everything alright?"

Her voice's bubbly nature was surprisingly soothing on Simon's nerves which also allowed his frontal cortex to get into gear.

His dad was the one who sent him here and he trusted his dad. Taking a calming breath he shook his head and began to move forward. Amy trotted behind him, her tail currently drooped signifying that she was still sad about what happened just earlier that day.

He passed the boundary and that oppressive feeling came on tenfold, especially as the eyes of the man shifted from his book to Simon. Then within a single breath, all of it winked out as though it was never there as the man closed his book and smiled at him.

"Oh! You must be the new hopeful. Please, take a seat." His voice was surprisingly upbeat, clear, and strong despite the perceived age.

Simon did as he was told and sat on one of the two seats that were closest to the desk, his focus entirely on the aged gentleman.

Amy being the spoiled puppy that she was, immediately took the opportunity to jump on his lap and shove her snout into his neck as she started rubbing herself on him. Simon's hands went back to doing their job.

"Comfortable?" He asked pleasantly.

Simon nodded.

"Good. Well with that sorted I believe introductions are in order. The name is Michael Longwing, the third-born son of Dragoon Longwing, the greatest dragon tamer to have ever lived." He bellowed out the latter part of his with pride as if Simon was to be in awe at his statement. It only made him confused.

"Umm... My name is Simon, son of... Victor? A cool farmer and dad?" He said it came out as more of a question as he was unsure of what was going on.

The man looked at him with a raised eyebrow before giving him a look of understanding that was punctuated with a chuckle.

"Ah... I see... No matter, nice to meet you, Simon. Do you know why have been brought to me?" He asked.

Simon shook his head.

"Well. You, my boy, are special. So special that your existence was personally brought to my attention. You may not understand the significance of this but that does not matter. Just know that out of nearly 100000 students that are at this grand establishment there is only eleven other first-year students that are as unique as you."

Simon's eyes widened. He never thought of himself as anything special. Sure, he thought that one day he would become a legend like the ones he read in story books. But that was but a childish dream. To be told outright he was 1 in 10000 on the first day out of his own home was very surreal.

"Do you want to know why that is?" The gentleman gave him a conspiratorial smirk as he asked the question.

Simon still stunned by the initial revelation could only shake his head.

"You, my boy, have bonded to a high-tier monster as your first." He said as if that was some grand reveal.

Simon only tilted his head.

"What is a high-tier monster?"

The gentleman nearly slipped in his chair and for the first time, he heard something come from the statue-like monster girls in complete suits of armor. He was sure that it was a snort.

Chapter 19: The Power of Bonds

Simon received a brief introduction about the hierarchy of monster girls and the bonds they create with human men. He was surprised to know that the "harmless" puppy sitting on his lap was among the top 10% of monster girls. A high-tier monster was the average strength of the monster girls of the students who graduated from Planar University. Although this made Simon stand out among his peers, it wasn't something that surprised him. However, the counselor's excitement about his first tame being a high-tier monster caught him off guard.

Simon learned that monster girls get empowered by the bond they create with their tamer, and vice versa. The bond granted them a sort of lich-like immortality where the tamer became the phylactery, and their pool of power became virtually infinite as they could draw from the bond itself to keep them functioning. While the tamer gained only a portion of the power that the monster girl wielded, a general boost to their essence quality, the entirety of the monster's lifespan, and certain mental characteristics of the monster girl.

However, the first bond was special, and the benefits given to the tamer, which are usually 10% of the monster girl's own, quintupled. This included the essence boost and lifespan, both of which were calculated separately. Simon had effectively gotten five high-tier boosts at the cost of one, and most people bonded to an average of six monster girls throughout their entire lives. This was known as the bond limit, which could be augmented by the bond itself.

Simon's bond limit was directly related to his essence quality, which was normally five. For the limit to increase by even one, a tamer needed to bond to at least five high-tier monsters; any tier below that could not augment the bond in any way. Simon could already bond to a minimum of six, which could be pushed to seven when he bonded with other high-tier monsters. This snowball effect did not stop there because another thing happened at the same time.

To tame elite tier monsters, a step above high-tier and far more powerful, one needed high essence quality. At a minimum, the bond limit needed to be six, reflecting very high essence quality. Usually, tamers can only start pushing their monsters to the elite tier after that, but by then, most choose to retire and settle down. Very few have enough drive left to push further in their path as a tamer. Simon, on the other hand, could push his tames to the elite tier right away.

The counselor was feeling proud of himself. He had flipped the table and shoved all the necessary information to blow Simon's mind. He reasoned that most of it would go above his head, and he would need to explain it back to the newcomer. A small revenge for the earlier injustice.