Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Perhaps it really was just a fleeting inspiration.

Perhaps the first thing Link did upon seeing the giant fire salamander was to give it to Jasmine.

After all, as a beast-taming wizard, Jasmine couldn't possibly accomplish everything with just one "God-Eating Worm".

Even though the "God-Devouring Insects" are the natural enemies of the gods in the world of gods, they are not invincible and also have many weaknesses.

Although the "God-Eating Worm" is indeed very powerful, and can share two major traits and many wonderful abilities with Jasmine, it is not enough to make Jasmine feel completely secure.

Jasmine needs to follow the mainstream approach of Northern Beast Taming Wizards, by contracting and raising a large number of various spirit beasts, and by building a comprehensive and foolproof combat system around her companion spirit beasts.

Only in this way can one gain a foothold in the increasingly turbulent wizarding world and avoid being swept away by the storms in the upcoming great upheaval, the likes of which have not been seen in millennia.

Even without the inspiration from the "beast cage" gifted by Dean Forrest, Link would have realized sooner or later that the giant fire salamander could become Jasmine's contracted spirit beast or a pet spirit beast.

It should be noted that Jasmine still has a Zerg hive seed, which is being continuously modified by "God Eater" larvae.

Once the renovation and cultivation are complete, it can serve as an alternative "beast cage" to house Jasmine's contracted spirit beasts and her pet spirit beasts.

It's not impossible to create a suitable growth environment specifically for giant fire salamanders within the mother nest.

"So, are you interested in making it a contracted spirit beast, or raising it as a spirit beast?"

Seeing that Jasmine hadn't made a move, Link took the initiative to ask her.

"I'd really like to form a contract with it, but how would I feed it? I'm not like you, with a portable 'little world' that can hold and carry anything."

Jasmine retorted, looking at Link as if he were an idiot.

The "Beast Cage," a level 3 magical artifact, is powerful, can be made large or small, and can simulate various environments inside.

However, it also consumes a lot of magic stones.

The cost of miniaturizing the fire salamander and using magic stones to simulate a volcanic lava environment to house such a large fire salamander in this "beast cage" is enormous.

It's okay for a day or two, but how can anyone endure it for a long time?

Jasmine is just a moderately wealthy woman, not a true rich woman like Sandra, whose family actually owns a magic stone mine.

Without going to say much, it would only take a month to bankrupt her.

"No problem! I've already thought of a solution for you."

Since Link brought Jasmine to see the fire salamanders, it was clearly not a whim or something he decided on a whim.

Before entering the real "small world," Link had already realized the problem and come up with a solution.

"How so?"

Upon hearing this, Jasmine immediately became interested.

Whether it's a contract or domestication, a level 3 extraordinary giant fire salamander greatly helps Jasmine improve her strength.

If there really is a way to have the best of both worlds, that would be ideal.

Link laughed and said, "I'll keep it here with me normally, and then I can carry it with me when I need it, isn't that enough?"

"It's possible, but..."

After pondering for a while, Jasmine still had some doubts.

This method is indeed feasible, as it allows one to reap the benefits of the contract without consuming excessive resources.

However, there is only one problem: what can guarantee that the two of them will always be together?

There will always be various reasons and events that cause the two to act separately.

Just like last time, Jasmine received a premonition of the "God-Eating Worm" and was sent into a training realm by Link. Link was attacked and fled to the fairy world, where he later went to be with other girls.

(Iris: Pshaw! Plastic sisterhood! Now I'm some other girl? Don't I even deserve a name?)

It is highly likely that Jasmine will need to use the giant fire salamander, and Link will not be around.

Moreover, this possibility is extremely high; the precognitive properties shared by the "God-Eating Worms" have already alerted Jasmine.

Link thought for a moment and immediately understood Jasmine's concerns. He recalled the premonition of the "God-Eating Worm," but still insisted on his own opinion, saying:

"My advice is to ignore things that haven't happened yet for now."

First, form a contract with the Fire Salamander to gain its shared characteristics and abilities, thereby enhancing your strength and resources.

Then go find a level 4 "beast cage" or cultivate the mother nest seed as soon as possible to solve the problem of carrying the fire salamander.

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Seize the moment, that's the right path!

"Um."

Jasmine thought about it and agreed.

That makes sense, we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, right?

With Link's help, Jasmine quickly set up a contract rune array.

With her own level 2 wizard status and strength, Jasmine was actually capable of forcibly contracting a level 3 extraordinary creature, the Flame Salamander.

Not to mention there is also a high-ranking "God-Devouring Insect" cub in his sea of ​​consciousness, which can suppress it at crucial moments.

"Let's begin."

After helping to set up the contract rune array, Link stepped back to a distance, leaving the space for Jasmine to perform.

With a thought, Link activated his innate sorcery, "Armor," donned the armor, and entered combat mode, ready to support Jasmine at any moment, just in case.

Taking a deep breath, Jasmine stepped into the center of the contract rune array, and gently drew a line on her left palm with her right index finger, creating a cut.

Crimson blood dripped down, spiritual and magical power surged, and the contract rune array was activated.

Jasmine closed her eyes and used the contract magic of a beast tamer to draw the contract rune array.

Two beams of white light rose from the rune array base, surged up Jasmine's body through her feet, then merged into one at the tailbone, traveled up her spine, passed the back of her head, over the top of her head, and finally entered her sea of ​​consciousness at the center of her forehead.

"Contract!"

Jasmine suddenly opened her eyes, shouted, and a complex spherical rune structure shot out from between her eyebrows from her sea of ​​consciousness, flying towards the fire salamander at an incredibly fast speed.

Whether the contract can be successfully completed in one go depends on whether the fire salamander is willing to accept this spherical rune structure.

If the fire salamander resists, Jasmine will have no choice but to resort to a forced contract.

There is no essential difference between a Heart-Strengthening Contract and an Equal Contract, but the contracted spirit beast's autonomy and sense of belonging will be affected.

It is highly likely that the beast tamers will fight tooth and nail, while the contracted spirit beasts will only go through the motions.

Therefore, the mainstream of beast tamers in the North are pursuing equal contracts.

Jasmine's heart tightened slightly, her beautiful eyes fixed on the spherical rune structure, hoping the fire salamander wouldn't resist.

The entire contract process went very smoothly. The lazy, sleeping fire salamander offered no resistance, allowing the spherical rune structure to enter its forehead.

The contract is now complete!

Instantly, Jasmine and the Flame Salamander were both illuminated by a dazzling array of colorful lights.

This is the communication, sharing, and feedback between the beast tamer and the contracted spirit beast after they have reached a contract.

Companion beasts can share all their characteristics and abilities with the beast tamer.

Contracted spirit beasts can share one trait and no more than five abilities.

Raising spirit beasts means you cannot share their traits and abilities.

In return, the Beast Tamer's own characteristics and abilities are randomly shared with their companion spirit beast and contracted spirit beast.

This process is not under the control of the beast tamer, nor is it biased by the type of contracted spirit beast; it is full of uncertainty.

As a fire-attribute extraordinary creature, the Flame Salamander surprisingly shares Jasmine's affinity for water and wood elements, as well as the extraordinary ability "Earthquake Tremor," which is transformed from her innate sorcery combined with the Flame Salamander's characteristics.

The latter is better, as it suits the characteristics of the Flame Salamander's own abilities.

The idea that water and wood elements are compatible seems rather absurd.

When Link heard Jasmine say this, he found it amusing.

Fire is here, water is here, wood is here, is the Flame Salamander going to stew itself?

However, Jasmine had a very good harvest this time.

She gained fire elemental affinity, fire resistance, and a sorcery-like ability called "Flash of Fire" from the fire salamander.

Not only did it complete the elemental affinity skill, further solidifying his wizarding aptitude, but it also...

Even before advancing to the sage level, they can use a similar elemental technique to teleport and move between two or more flames.

"Flame Flash" can be used to dodge attacks or to launch surprise attacks.

It has many uses and excellent effects.

"Moo!"

Even after becoming Jasmine's contracted spirit beast, the lazy, sleeping fire salamander didn't show much interest.

He barely opened his eyes a crack and weakly called out, which was considered a greeting.

It gently rolled over, found a more comfortable position, and continued to sleep soundly.

"Let's go back."

Eager to process what she had just gained, Jasmine didn't want to linger and waste time.

Anyway, with the fire salamander kept here, nothing could possibly go wrong.

Link, of course, wouldn't hold anyone back, and immediately put away his armor.

The two quickly said goodbye to Flandre and Cornelia and returned to the main campus world.

Before entering the real "small world," if Link hadn't applied, he might have been able to force his way out of the academy's main world by relying on the connection and authority between the "realm lord" and the "small world," without the academy intervening.

However, it is absolutely impossible to re-enter the academy's main campus world.

It would never have been as easy as visiting someone's home.

"I'm going back to my room. You can stay by yourself, or you can go find your sister Celine."

With a slightly enigmatic tone, Jasmine left Link with a single sentence before gracefully departing the restaurant and heading upstairs to her bedroom.

Link did something he hadn't done since he transmigrated: he touched his nose and chuckled a few times.

It's good to be jealous; speaking sarcastically is also fine.

This is a sign that you value him too much.

Link asked the smart home assistant to tidy up the dining room, and then went upstairs to the study instead of the bedroom.

What needs to be done today, should be done today. There's still one thing left to do.

Sitting behind his desk, Link took out his personal smart device and sent a communication request to Sandra.

Shortly afterward, the video call was connected.

The figures of Sandra, Lani, and Tiffany appeared on the screen.

The background is a small conference room at the "Freedom to Do Anything" branch office.

"How have you been lately?"

Seeing that Sandra seemed to be about to complain, Link spoke first and asked a question.

Link and Molly had been busy preparing for their second extracurricular activity for a while, and their three-day holiday was taken up by the "Construction" project. They hadn't paid attention to anything from the "Freedom to Do Anything" branch for almost half a month.

This video conference was originally supposed to be chaired by Jasmine, with Link accompanying her.

Jasmine couldn't come because of something, so Link had to step in.

"You still remember that we had this branch?"

Sandra wasn't about to let Link shut her up; she still had to complain, "I thought you'd completely forgotten about us? Or that you didn't value our branch at all?"

"No way! That's not true!"

Link chuckled sheepishly and explained, "I've just been really busy lately and haven't been able to focus for a while."

"Yeah?"

Sandra forced out a word through her nose, her tone growing increasingly dissatisfied, "I didn't care about the time before, but what about these past three days? You have time to run to the fairy world every day, but not a single time to visit the branch office? Even though Jasmine was completely absorbed in the lab, she at least came a few times. And you? Not a single word of concern."

It's true that I didn't do a good job, what can Link do?

All I can do is listen attentively and remain silent.

The atmosphere during the video call was slightly stiff from the start.

Someone is urgently needed to break this atmosphere.

However, Lanny never interrupts or interferes when Sandra is speaking or doing anything.

Especially after advancing to the second level of wizardry and beginning further studies.

She devoted all her energy to improving herself.

Lani's fifth-class wizarding aptitude was indeed genuine, and she made rapid progress during this period.

Seeing this, Tiffany immediately seized the opportunity to increase her presence and smoothly intervened in Link and Sandra's conversation, changing the subject: "The branch's recruitment work is all done today. There's a party for all members to meet in a few days, Link, you must attend."

Then, Tiffany asked in confusion, "By the way, where's Jasmine? Why isn't she here today?"

Molly Kidman is a CEO who is "free to do whatever she wants," and is the top leader in name only.

This video conference was actually arranged by Jasmine to let Link know the branch's work progress and to allow Sandra, Lani, Tiffany and Link to communicate more.

Even if you stay behind the scenes, you still need to maintain a strong presence in front of key members.

Otherwise, it's easy to be completely sidelined.

Link doesn't worry about that; it's Jasmine who has to worry about these things for him.

"She has some urgent business to attend to, so I'll chair today's meeting. If you need anything, let me know first, and I'll relay the meeting's content to her."

Link offered a brief explanation before responding to Tiffany's statement, "As for the all-member meeting, I will definitely attend unless something unexpected happens."

"it is good."

Tiffany nodded and said nothing more.

When it comes to making your presence felt, you need to strike a balance and not be too attention-grabbing.

She was clearly not the main character in this video conference, so there was no need for her to appear on camera too much.

After Tiffany's interruption, Sandra stopped teasing Link and instead answered Link's earlier question, saying:

"As Tiffany just said, the recruitment process is over."

Based on the standards you provided, we strived for excellence and only recruited 20 members in total.

Among them, five are seeking further training in wizardry, most of whom are drawn by your reputation; the majority of the fifteen members from various families within the headquarters are there for me and Gerald.

I believe that the next key task for the branch is to cultivate a sense of belonging among these new members to the "freedom to do whatever they want" environment.

In that sense, I suggest it's time to introduce a comprehensive membership benefits system.

As she spoke, Sandra's eyes were fixed on the camera, her gaze sharp as if she could see through the screen, as she emphasized, "With responsibility comes responsibility. This is very important, and I hope you will take it seriously."

After listening to Sandra's explanation, Link pondered for a moment and said, "Regarding the member welfare system, let's hold an emergency meeting of the decision-making committee tomorrow. You can put forward a specific plan for this part, and we can discuss it together."

The decision-making body, which allows for "freedom of choice," is a seven-member committee.

There are currently four committee members: Link, Molly, Sandra, and Asander.

There are still 3 vacancies, which will be filled later. We will rather have fewer vacancies than accept inferior ones.

"Can."

Sandra did not object.

Since there are rules, then we should follow them.

Unless the system is unreasonable or it affects the organization's development, one can act expediently.

She proposed the need to improve the "freedom to do whatever you want" member welfare system, and made the relevant preparations.

"Is there anything else?"

After finishing one matter, Link continued to ask.

Sandra glanced at Lanny and Tiffany respectively: "I don't have any more, what about you two? It's a meeting, so speak freely."

"have!"

Tiffany then spoke up, showing no self-deprecation despite still being at the first level of wizardry; she appeared neither humble nor arrogant, but poised and graceful.

"you say."

Link turned his head toward Tiffany's direction to indicate that he was listening attentively.

"I recently reviewed the organization's financial records and discovered a problem."

Tiffany said solemnly, "In the past, 'Do Whatever You Want' could be funded and operated by you. Now, I think we must separate the two groups, keeping individuals separate from the organization. It would be best to establish an industry belonging to the 'Do Whatever You Want' collective, striving for self-sufficiency in funds. Only if that's not possible should we rely on donations from members."

"That's a good suggestion."

Link nodded, his mind racing, and then said, "Tiffany, write a report as soon as possible, including your suggestions, reasons, solutions, or ideas. Have Sandra take it to tomorrow's extraordinary meeting of the decision-making committee for discussion."

"No problem, I'll write the report right away."

Tiffany readily agreed.

"Where's Lanny?"

Link turned to Lanny Taylor, who had remained silent, and asked, "Do you have anything to say?"

Many people may have overlooked Lani because of her recent silence.

But Link had no such thoughts whatsoever.

He could sense that Lanny Taylor's personality and way of doing things were actually very similar to his own.

They just made some mistakes that are inevitable in the process of growing up.

Now, there is a growing trend of them getting back on the right track.

Like a dragon lurking in the abyss, it is accumulating its strength and resources, waiting for the opportunity to soar into the sky.

Lanny met Link's gaze through the smart screen and calmly said, "I think the communication between headquarters and the mainland needs to be strengthened in a timely manner. Everything else is fine."

"Well……"

Link turned his gaze to Sandra and asked, "Would this even make a difference?"

Sandra thought for a moment and answered truthfully, "It's not very feasible to have all the members of the mainland headquarters come to the academy's main world. Organizing members from this branch to return to the mainland periodically is feasible, but it's a bit..."

The second half of the sentence was not spoken, but how could Link not understand its meaning?

Before "Freedom to Do Anything" officially announced the relocation of its headquarters from the Wizarding World to the Academy's main world, theoretically, branch members should be going to headquarters for meetings or team building activities.

However, within the Rivosos Academy system, the main campus holds an excessively high position.

Whether it's an individual, a family, or some internal small organizations, the goal is to move into the main campus of the academy.

Moreover, the members of this branch, in terms of background, personal rank, and strength, are actually superior to the members of the local headquarters.

Organizing branch members to return to the local headquarters once or twice is fine.

After repeated occurrences, the problem of weak trunks and strong branches will easily be exposed.

Link didn't have a good solution to this matter at the moment, so he could only say, "Let's put it aside for now and discuss it further."

"Alright."

Sandra replied in this way.

Lanny Taylor then disappeared without a trace, showing no intention of speaking again.

"That's all for now, meeting adjourned."

Link didn't linger and ended the video conference immediately.

After putting down the AI, Link leaned back in his chair and pondered for a while the issue of communication between members of the Wizarding World's home headquarters and the Academy's world branch, a place where "freedom to do whatever you want" is crucial.

Thinking back, I chuckled to myself.

He realized that his train of thought had been led astray by Lanny Taylor and Sandra.

If the headquarters, which offers "freedom to do anything," were to relocate to the main campus world as soon as possible, all problems would cease to be problems.

Why worry about this and that?

Therefore, Linke increased investment in the Brotherhood, the Social Anxiety Group, and the core members of the third echelon.

To help them advance to the level two wizard as soon as possible and come to the main campus of the academy for further studies.

These people are the true inner circle of Link.

With them united around Link, the place where Link is located is the headquarters where "you are free to do whatever you want"!

"I'm so stupid, really!"

Link slapped his forehead as punishment.

Judging that Jasmine had already digested the gains from the contracted Flame Salamander, Link got up and left the study, then knocked on Jasmine's bedroom door.

"What is it?"

The door remained closed, but Jasmine's voice came through, "Can we talk about it tomorrow?"

Jasmine, who was having a great time playing with "Flame Flash" in the small training room attached to her bedroom, was too lazy to pay any attention to Link.

"Alright."

Link, feeling somewhat dejected after being turned away, returned to his study.

Being rejected and not getting the response you want is a really unpleasant experience.

The personal smart device on the desk vibrated at that moment.

A notification from a department of the college appeared on the screen.

Link opened the message and found that it was a summons from a Level 5 Sage he didn't know, which immediately aroused his suspicion.

Who is Fletcher Domingo the Sage?

Why was he suddenly summoned? (End of Chapter)