[A Few Days Later]
As Maria looked out at the chaos unfolding before her, she couldn't help the slight smile that had slowly formed on her lips.
Even for her, it was a rare opportunity to be able to let loose like this without having to worry about the consequences. Sure, having all of her companions out at one time may have been a major drain on her mana reserves. But being able to watch all of them have a bit of mindless fun while trying to coordinate their attacks was truly a joy to watch.
'Thank the universe for all this open space.' The raven-haired woman thought to herself as she observed what was going on from a few dozen feet in the air. 'I should try to do this more often.'
At the moment, Maria was in the middle of another one of her special training sessions. One where she had to try to keep all of her companions organized while attempting to take down some practice dummies and moving targets. She had been at this for the better part of three hours so far. And to be honest, it was a lot more difficult than she originally thought it would be.
In any case, she was genuinely enjoying the chance to do something like this. And she was certainly learning a lot when it came to the kind of things that her companions could do when they all worked together. Especially now that she got to see it with her own eyes.
'They really are a well-rounded group, aren't they?' Maria wondered as she continued to observe her companions strut their stuff.
The first was Asmodeus, the red-crested cobra that's also been with her longer than any of the others. He was her first-ever companion and the one whom she trusted the most. And although he couldn't use any magical attributes, his speed was easily the best among the group. Speed that has on more than one occasion proven to be the deciding factor in many of her previous battles.
The second was Ayala, Maria's blue-finned eel. Her aquatic-type companion, which was able to use 'water magic' at a C-rank level. Maria absolutely loved the creature's pink and blue scale pattern, something that made her just as beautiful as she was dangerous. And the eel's combat capabilities were an asset that she never took for granted.
Third was Ajax, her iron-back python, and the resident tank among the group. Just like Asmodeus, Ajax couldn't use any magical attributes. But what he lacked in special attacks, he more than made up for in strength and durability. And what he lacked in overall intelligence compared to the rest, he more than made up for in tenacity and grit.
Next was Aravin, Maria's black-skinned toxic eel. The creature that was able to produce a special type of poison slime that even S-rank sorcerers had to be wary of. Maria would be the first to admit that she didn't use him as much as she should have. But with how situational and dangerous his abilities were, she had to make sure that she only called upon him when necessary. That being said, with all of the training that she's been doing lately, she was definitely planning on utilizing his skills a lot more in the future.
Fifth was Abzu, her newly acquired rainbow serpent that she got during the events of the fundraiser. Although he may have been the newest addition to the crew, his magical attribute and his elusiveness were certainly a boon that came in handy more times than not. Maria was still learning how best to utilize his 'poison magic' when out on missions, but she already knew that he was going to be one of the workhorses of the group in the not-too-distant future.
Up next was Argo, Maria's youngest companion, and the one who still had a while before he could reach his full potential. Argo was a fire wyrm, a special type of red-scaled cryptid with bright orange eyes that could use 'fire magic' to burn anything around it. Although he was only a little over a year old, the fire wyrm was proving to be quite a valuable addition to their group. And even though he was still relatively small, only about seven feet in length, he made up for his size with how quickly he was able to shoot off his flames to defend himself.
And finally, there was Attuma. The one that was beyond the shadow of a doubt, Maria's strongest companion. Along with being the most unruly of the bunch.
The young woman took a second to direct her gaze over to where the beast was patiently waiting for his turn to attack the target. And she couldn't help but notice how ready he looked to finally get in on the action.
In all honesty, Attuma was just as physically impressive as one would think. His massive, rattlesnake-like body had already grown to over four times the size of an average bus. And his vibrant green, red, and indigo scales shone beautifully in the sunlight. Both sets of his large, bird-like wings were already large enough to block out the sky whenever he extended them fully. And the golden feathers that covered the crown of his head all the way down to the end of his tail truly made him look exactly like how people described the Aztec God, Quetzalcoatl.
Yes, Maria was well aware of the optics, as comical as they may be. A Mexican-born sorcerer in possession of what was basically a god-like entity that used to be one of the patron deities of her people. It was almost as if someone was writing a poorly written manga with her as the protagonist. And the fact that the dragon-type cryptid could wield S-rank level 'wind magic' certainly didn't help things either. But even then, the young woman wasn't about to think any less of his potential.
These were all seven of Maria's companions. The seven creatures that she was tasked with learning how to control to the best of her abilities, while all of them did their best to split her focus in every direction possible.
Needless to say, getting complete control over them was not going to be an easy task, especially for such a large group. But the young woman was determined to make sure that both she and all of them were going to be ready to handle business when the time came to finally get revenge for her father.
"Alright, Abzu, you're up!" Maria shouted to the rainbow serpent as she pushed the button on the remote that was controlling the catapult that shot out the targets.
Abzu simply nodded his head in affirmation before firing off a barrage of purple mana bursts at the target as it flew through the air a few dozen yards in front of him. Much to the woman's surprise, the creature was able to hit the target after only a few seconds of trying. A solid improvement compared to what he had been able to do the day before.
"Good job!" She shouted with a warm smile, earning a soft hiss from the creature in response.
Just then, Maria felt four new mana signatures rapidly approaching her position. Thankfully, the young woman already knew that she was going to have guests show up at some point during her morning training session. So she wasn't the least bit surprised when she turned around and laid eyes on the group flying toward her.
Coming toward the woman were both Sam and Alex riding atop their mounts.
The blonde woman was sitting on her black-furred, blue-eyed pegasus. Soaring through the skies as if it were the most natural thing in the world. In Maria's opinion, the winged horse was just as majestic as she imagined it would be. And its strong body, coupled with its gorgeous wings, showed that it was just as powerful as it was graceful.
The brunette man, however, was casually striding through the air on top of his red-nosed reindeer. Blitz, if Maria remembered the name correctly. From where she was hovering, the raven-haired teen couldn't help but be impressed by the creature's use of its 'light magic'. The way that it managed to perfectly create a bridge of hard light beneath its hooves to run across showed that it was just as skilled as any sorcerer when it came to its magical attribute.
"I didn't know that you could fly." Alex said as soon as the two young Conley family sorcerers got close enough to the woman to speak.
"Sorry, I guess I forgot to mention it." Maria replied in her trademark cool tone of voice.
"Makes sense." Sam then added. "She is under the MacNamara family after all. Of course, they would've given her the enchantment."
"Man…must be nice." The blonde joked.
"Anyways…" Sam looked toward Maria with a smile. "How're you doing out here?"
"Pretty good. It should be another thirty minutes before we run through the rest of the targets."
"Cool, cool."
Alex then directed her gaze toward where Attuma was still lying on the ground. "So, that's your dragon, huh? Damn, that thing is almost as strong as Morning Star. Hard to believe that it's still growing."
"I can only imagine what he's going to be like after he finally matures." Sam then said. "He might be able to give some of our grandfather's companions a run for their money."
"Maybe. But only time will tell."
"Well, if you ever want to go toe-to-toe against the old man, make sure that you invite us!"
Maria simply nodded at the joke as she further inspected the young man before her.
There was something strange about Sam that she couldn't quite put her finger on. Something that even her companions couldn't help but point out after sensing his presence for the first time. In the simplest way that she could put it, the brunette's mana felt different compared to that of other sorcerers. Not in the same way that cryptid mana felt compared to that of humans. But different in a way that was hard not to notice for those with good senses.
From what Asmodeus and Ajax had told the raven-haired woman, the young man's mana felt exactly the same as his mother's. Along with his overall scent. Something that by all rights shouldn't be possible. Even if sorcerers couldn't distinguish individual humans from one another based on mana signature, cryptids with an excellent sense of smell and mana sensing could tell the difference with relative ease. Couple that with the fact that the young man could use the same type of cryptids as his mother, and it certainly painted quite an interesting picture.
Maria had a rather crazy theory as to why this might be the case. But she wasn't about to voice her thoughts out loud, considering how ludicrous the whole idea was.
"So, do you two have something for me to do?" The raven-haired teen asked as she pulled herself out from her musings.
"No, we just came out here to check on you and see if you needed any help." Alex replied.
"Plus, our aunt Miranda, our station's Deputy Chief, is in the middle of another one of her tirades. So…we decided to come out here to avoid getting caught up in the middle of that." Sam joked with a casual shrug.
"Makes sense."
"You mind if we join you for a bit? Chrysler here wanted to get a bit of exercise. And since you're out already here, I thought it would be a good idea for him to test himself against some of your companions." The blonde woman said as she rubbed her hand over the black pegasus's mane.
From down below, Attuma immediately let out a low roar after hearing that. The dragon was starting to get bored with all of these target dummies. And the chance to battle against what seemed to be a worthy opponent sounded like a much more preferable option. And to his credit, Chrysler, Alex's pegasus, appeared to be just as ready to test its mettle against Maria's companion.
All Maria did was give the woman a shrug before nodding her head and accepting. She, too, wanted to give her companions a chance to get some more combat experience, especially Argo and Ayala. So there was no reason for her not to go along with the idea.
"Awesome!" Alex practically cheered in excitement.
"Blitz wants in on the action, too." Sam quickly added. "He's been a bit restless lately, so this is a good chance for him to blow off some steam."
"Sounds good to me."
And just like that, the three sorcerers and the horde of cryptids quickly got to work engaging in a series of mock battles in the middle of the training field. This was exactly the kind of thing that Maria was looking forward to. The chance to test her skills against other sorcerers at her level to help her sharpen her combat abilities. And with all of the training that she had been doing over the last few days, this was what she needed to see where she was at.
'I'm really glad that I came out here.' Maria thought to herself as she got into a fighting position against Sam while standing behind Aravin and Argo. 'This trip was definitely worth it.'
-(o)-
Info Card: Conley Family
One of the nine families that serves as a major faction in American sorcerer society. They are the second-largest sorcerer family in the country with over 500 confirmed members.
The Conley family began with Benjamin Conley, one of the founding members of the DPA, along with his brother and two sisters. Prior to the Great Awakening, they were a simple ranching family living and operating in the state of Texas. However, after they awakened their powers, the family quickly began to expand their business and influence across the Southwestern part of the country. Much of the country's beef and poultry production can be attributed to the Conley family, as they hold roughly 30% of the market in any given year through various companies and subsidiaries.
The Conley family is also the premier group of 'beast magic' users in the United States of America. They run the vast majority of cryptid trading around the country and have a robust collection of rare and exotic cryptids from all over the world under their control. They also control the majority of the American cryptid breeding market, which is said to rake in hundreds of millions of dollars every year.
Currently, there are fifteen recognized branches of the family spread out across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Members of the family can be recognized as Branch Heads if they are either S-rank sorcerers themselves or possess S-rank cryptids under their control. Branch Heads are typically responsible for a certain area under the family's control and often act as middle management for the family's affairs and businesses.
The Conley family owns 90% of the zoos and wildlife preserves in the United States of America. They also run the continent's largest cryptid trading installation, which is based in Guerra, Texas.
The Conley family also owns a large cryptid housing facility known as "The Pit". A massive facility located in New Mexico where they keep all of their most powerful cryptids that still have yet to be claimed by one of their members. Hundreds of cryptids are currently being housed at the location, although the exact number has yet to be confirmed by anyone within the family. Members of the Conley family are only allowed to claim one of the creatures housed in the Pit by direct order from the family head. However, the exact criteria for such a selection are not known to anyone outside of the family.
The facility is currently being managed by Rachel Howell, the youngest daughter of Benjamin Conley.
Notable Members: Dean Conley (Family Head), Harold Conley, Alexander Conley, Samantha Conley, Oliver Conley, Robin Stillwater, Charles Conley-Irwin, Lynn Conley-Braun, Jason Malister, Paige Conley, Rachel Howell (née Conley), Franklin Conley-Watanabe, Darwin Conley, Jacob Conley II, Mario Conley Jr., Christopher Fletcher, Arian Conley, Donald Conley, Keira Conley, Seth Conley, Daryl Conley-Coleman, and Isabella Delgado.
Fun Fact: Robin Stillwater, daughter of DPA Regional Director Harold Conley, was previously offered a position as one of the family's Branch Heads, but turned it down due to unknown reasons.