Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

"Elena, does fusing have an effect on someone's magic? Like, can they improve someone's ability?" I asked.

"Not the ability, per se. Fusing will unlock your mana potential. That being said, higher mana flow and higher affinity with magic usually lead to stronger magic." She explained.

"Ah, so basically mana is like the ingredients in cooking, and our ability is like our cooking technique?" I clapped my hands together as my eyes lit up, thinking I had finally grasped this whole magic thing.

"Like, better quality ingredients will make better dishes if cooked properly, but without proper technique, it's useless. And likewise, proper cooking ability can bring out cheap ingredients' potential," I continued, "I don't really understand affinity, though..."

Elena gave my head some pat-pats proudly, "yes, yes, exactly! Smart kid!" She grinned happily, "affinity is kind of like your familiarity."

"Familiarity? Do you mean experience?" I asked.

"Yes, but not always. Think of it like this. When cooking, there are ingredients you're familiar with, like carrots or potatoes, while there are exotic ingredients you probably haven't heard of, like dried lizard's tail." She explained to me.

"Who even eats lizard tail?" My face scrunched up in disgust.

"But it's broader than that. For example, if you've been working with a certain pot for years, you'd be better at cooking using that pot," she held up a finger while explaining, "so I guess you can say that affinity is a combination of familiarity and experience, but only because experience leads to familiarity."

"That's a whole lot of info to take in, but I think I kinda understand..." My eyes trailed upwards, trying to process the information.

"But in your case, I think it's safe to assume that you're not going down the experience path. So how do you have such high affinity with magic?" Elena stepped forward and approached me closer, until we were just a few centimeters apart.

[Yeah, I would like to know that, too.]

A voice alerted both of us, and we quickly turned around to find a small, white snake with a hint of blue on his tail. His huge, dolly yellow eyes were staring at them intently.

"You--"

"The serpent! How cute!" Elena exclaimed while she put her hands on her cheeks and squealed loudly.

[Yep. That's me. No touching, though.] He slithered around my arm and pushed his chest forward, looking proud.

"Why are you touching me, then?" I wanted to push him away, but I couldn't deny that he was absolutely cute in this form.

[I am allowed to touch you. But you aren't allowed to touch me.]

I ignored his words and scratched his neck, which earned me a soft hiss from him. So much for not touching.

"By the way, serpent, why did you suddenly come out?" Elena asked while extending her arm to pet the smooth little snake.

[My name is not serpent. And I came out because this kid's mana went haywire and she was unconsciously summoning me,] he answered her as he backed away from her arm, [I said, no touching.]

"Aww, not fair, I want to pet you, too!" Elena pouted.

Hmm, so he wouldn't let Elena pet him, but I was allowed. Maybe his favouritism stemmed from my 'animal's beloved' skill?

[No touch. Praises only. Anyway, can you fix your mana problem quickly? I was sleeping on my bed inside you, and I was suddenly kicked out without warning.] He pecked my head a few times.

"That's what you get for not paying rent, you illegal snake." I ignored his advances.

[My name is also not snake.]

"Then who's your name, snakey boy?" Elena grinned.

[I don't have one yet. Hey, kid. You're supposed to give me a name.] He turned at me, and his yellow orbs met mine.

"Uh... I'm kinda bad at names. How about... Luke?" I scratched my head in nervousness.

[Hey, that's not bad. Call me big bro Luke.] He tried to sound like he didn't care, but the apparent blush on his little cheeks gave it away.

"You're okay with that?" I asked again, making sure he was satisfied with his new name.

[Yeah. Why did you name me Luke, by the way? Was it the name of someone you knew? Ooh, maybe a past lover?] He asked eagerly.

"No, it was the name of my pet rat. It died within a week, though." I answered nonchalantly.

[Hey! Then why did you name me after it!?]

I ignored his protests and pretended like I couldn't hear him. Wait, if I got to name him, then did that eel get to name Timmy, too? Oh, poor Timmy, to have received such a name...

'BANG!'

"Yoooo, what's up? Your favourite eel is here, little cub!"

Always on cue. This time, the voice interrupting us didn't belong to a snake, but a particular slippery white eel who had just kicked the door open as if he owned the place.

"The hell are you doing here?" I threw the handcuffs he used on me earlier straight to his face.

"You look healthy, little cub~" he caught the handcuffs easily, "what's this? Do you want me to handcuff you again? Do you like to be handcuffed by me so much?" He grinned slyly.

"I'm losing brain cells talking to you." I launched a pillow to his face using my psychokinesis. This time, he didn't dodge.

"What's your business here?" Elena asked him with a stern face as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"To relax!" He grinned.

"Get out." Elena growled at him.

"...And to relay precious information! Tee-hee!" He added.

"Tch." Elena clicked her tongue before kicking a beanbag towards him, which prompted him to take a seat.

"Thanks for your non-existent hospitality~" He grinned, but I could feel a murderous aura coming off of him.

"What precious info do you have?" I quickly butted in, not wanting to be caught up in a fight between two monstrously skilled people.

"Ah, the first one is regarding your gun. I've bought you a new one. Same model, but I had old man Koji modify it a bit so it can withstand stronger mana and generate stronger firepower." He held out one finger, as if he was counting.

"Hey, thanks. Don't forget to pay the money you still owed me, though." I grinned at him.

"Sure, little cub. I can be your sugar daddy." He teased me, earning a hiss from both me and my new big bro.

"Anyway, the other one is regarding the upcoming raid." He continued, ignoring us.

"Oh, right. There's that orc kingdom raid." Elena said as she leaned back with a sigh.

"No, that one's canceled already. They're planning on raiding the minotaur kingdom now."

"How so?" Elena turned her head in shock.

"The elves have claimed the orc kingdom. They were faster than us. We didn't expect them to take part, too." General Zhang picked his ears.

"Minotaurs? Are they worse than orcs?" I asked while I concentrated on moving a glass slowly and carefully using my skill.

"Obviously. But, the worst part is that their kingdom is basically one huge death maze," he yawned, "by the way, little cub, it's your fault I'm so sleepy. I've looked after you for days, at least give me a massage or something."

I stomped on his feet harshly and said, "there, free foot massage."

"Go prepare for the raid, then. Keep your lazy ass away from my room." Elena clicked her tongue again and chugged a whole bottle of beer.

"No, we won't be participating in this raid."

"We?" I asked as I stomped on his other feet.

"Yeah. You and I, we have another business~"