<h4>Chapter 169: Designing a Mark</h4>


    Nixilei and Kat wasted no time as they headed straight for the mana. Once they arrived Kat felt mostly fine but could tell that her energy reserves weren''t quite doing so well. They''d recovered a small amount during the awards ceremony, and then held mostly steady for the run. But that still left her rtivelycking in energy if she knew a fight was going to happen.


    Nixilei lead Kat inside proudly and dismissed the servants that came to the door as she led Kat down a series of hallways to a new room, on the left side of the house. "Please,e in. This is my own quarters. Though please be aware they get minimal use"


    Nixilei opened the door carefully to reveal what to Kat looked more like the own guest room she''d previously inhabited than a personal abode. There were a few extra bookshelves, and the table had some neatly stacked notes, but otherwise it was a rather bare room with arge bed off to the side andrge windows that let in a soft breeze from the inner courtyard.


    "Why don''t you use this room much?" asked Kat as she took a seat in one of the chairs. It was a little inconvenient as it was one of those chairs that circled the user but had a high back, so Kat had to sit up and drape her wings behind the chair.


    "I use the servants'' quarters adjacent to the room Green sleeps in normally. I am apparently too good for such a room, and as such have my own here, but I''ve made my point rather strongly and they no longer press the issue" said Nixilei


    Kat nodded and tried to getfortable and regenerate some of her demonic energy properly. Nixilei seemed content to go over her stack of papers as Kat rxed.


    *Huh… why did this suddenly get soplicated. I thought the job was done. I thought that maybe, I''d just have a bit more time here to sort out getting summoned again… Well actually, System can I even make a beacon for these guys?*


    User Kat is capable. As Entity Nixilei has stated, for a number of contractual reasons Entity Nixilei, Entity Green, and Entity Gareth are considered Summoner in a number of ways


    *Wait? Shouldn''t there be one more person on that list?*


    No. Entity Kress is not considered to have Summoner privileges. These were waved when Entity Kress broke his agreement on the initial day of User Kat summoning.


    *Um… I thought that wasn''t an official contract or anything.*


    Correct. However, As Entity Kress is not the True Summoner Entity Kress can be easily removed from additional privileges.


    *Well, the more you know.*


    Kat was about to mention this fact to Nixilei when she realised she wasn''t supposed to talk about the system to summoners. *Should I inform Nixilei about this fact?*


    It is unlikely for this information to be relevant to Entity Nixilei. User Kat''s word alone would not have an effect on how the local legal system viewed Entity Kress.


    *Ok… not sure I understand but ok.* Kat tried to rx and lean further back into the chair but found it rather difficult. Ignoring this she continued to think. *Hey, System, do I still need to design a beacon of my own?*


    Correct. User Kat will need to choose a permanent form for User Kat''s beacon.


    *Any suggestions?*


    No.


    *Well aren''t you helpful.* Kat thought of the many things she could potentially have for a beacon, but nothing inspiring really came to the forefront. *Do you have any examples perhaps?*


    This is possible.


    And suddenly the text from D.E.M.O.N.S transformed. It rapidly condensed towards a centre point in front of Kat before it started to spread out again and take shape. It formed into a pair of eyes with bull horns floating nearby.


    Behind that was arge axe that was upside down. The bottom curve of the handle roughly following the shape of the horns in question. The edges of the axe seemed to be lined with minor engravings, but the details weren''t very clear.


    Next to this, a smaller hand sized version of the symbol in question was summoned. A lot of the detail was lost, and the horns became more of an outline on the axe then their own individual things, same with the eyes.


    *Ok, so just using stuff like that is fine. Can I just use a spade shape like my tail?*


    A substantially simr beacon is already in use. User Kat will not be able to im that shape.


    *I guess that is fair. I hadn''t exactly expected it to be free but you never know and I did have to try.*


    Kat thought about what additions she could make to her spade design that would give it a bit of originality. She briefly considered adding a small version of herself representing her demonic fire but quickly dismissed the idea.


    *It''s not really something I want to advertise to people now that I know how strange that is. Plus it seems to be a pretty hidden thing… then again I can also imagine that whoever made the axe one probably uses and axe, and even more likely has an axe shape for their fire.*


    *Then again, perhaps if an axe is such an important part of your fighting style, and you are a demon who defines themselves by their battle prowess then maybe it''s really appropriate and I''m the one being silly.*


    Kat mulled over the idea of adding a fan to her backing. Something like the spade sitting in the centre of the fan at the cross point where all of the metal sheets came together. *It''s not actually that bad looking when I picture it. The issue is, didn''t I just criticise this sort of design choice.*


    *Hmm, but what about a flower instead.* Kat looked down at the flowers on her own outfit, specifically focusing on the bunch at the end of her kimono. Hmm, I mean these do look really nice. Actually wait what about.


    Kat tried to picture a flower, in the style of those on her outfit but with spade ends instead but ended up cringing away. *Nope, nope, that looks pretty bad actually. Hmm but what about a spade with the flower inside instead? *


    Kat picture the design in question. Arge spade with a smaller flower in the centre, but it didn''t feel quite right. Instead she tried picturing three flowers. One at the top and two on the sides.


    *Hmm, that isn''t too bad but I''m still not that happy with it.* Kat imagined it surrounded by fire just forughs and wasn''t overly impressed. Kat''s thoughts drifted back towards her three-flower design. It still wasn''t ideal, but it was the best she''de up with so far.


    *Hey system? What exactly do the beacons look like once they are out in the real world? Surely they aren''t just 2D pictures or slightly 3D fire.*


    Beacons look to be made of some form of crystal in the shape you desire. Normally they are around the same thickness as User Kat''s hand but that can be increased or decreased as desired.


    *Hmm, ok in that case what about.* Kat tried to imagine her current design more in 3D with a me contained within the spade. Whereas the flowers would look to be added to the surface, the me itself could rest underneath in the centre.


    *Hmm, that actually isn''t too bad. Maybe not the best, but I''m not sure I can think of anything better.* Kat mulled over some more designs in her head. Trying a few radical things like just a picture of her face, or her own set of horns and a fan.


    She even tried imagining her kimono itself as the beacon, but nothing really seemed to grab her like the one she''d madebining her flowers, spade and demonic fire.


    *Ok system how do I confirm this look for my beacon?*


    The system transformed into an identical copy of the image in her head. Giving it some dimension and smoothing out the spots that were a little rough in her mind. This design seemed to curve in with a bubble at the centre, making it look like more like someone had made her beacon with ss blowing techniques.


    Kat nodded in appreciation at the design as text appeared.


    Do you wish to confirm this as User Kat''s beacon. This can NEVER be changed.


    *You know what? Yeah I think I do.*


    D.E.M.O.N.S requires secondary confirmation. Do you fully ept that this will be User Kat''s beacon design until such a time that User Kat ceases to exist?


    *Yes. I do.*


    At Kat''s eptance the picture seemed to swirl and warp, in some strange way she couldn''t actually see. The form itself seemed unchanging yet the sense that some great shift was urring couldn''t be ignored.


    After several moments of strangeness. There was a light pop, and then Kat felt the design settle into her mind, before dismissing itself.