"Well first ill talk about Barriers, since you two both seem to want them". Saito let out a small yawn. He seemed to have a few bags beneath his eyes and a small stubble on his usually cleanly shaven chin, implying that he had been staying up late and had yet to shave. "Mages can't really employ defensive techniques like Auras, Energy Blocking, or other such things. They use two different techniques. The first one" he raised up one finger, "is one that you two are familiar with. Shields. A shield acts as a wall, protecting the mage completely from all damage or perhaps giving additional resistance to damage. The problem is that they sometimes require power to maintain and can be broken after taking a certain amount of damage". 

Ren thought of his Aqua Shield spell, which was like the second one. It gave a little damage resistance, but was extremely dangerous if used in the vicinity of lightning users. 

"The second technique is using a Magic Barrier". He raised up two fingers now. "Magic Barriers are more like Armor. They don't protect completely, but instead exist to absorb a brunt of the damage and sometimes employ other unique affects depending upon the form of magic you used to create it. They don't cost power to maintain either, which makes them very nice. The problem is though that if they take a certain amount of damage at one time or are broken through means made to exclusively break Barriers then they take a bit of time to replenish themselves, leaving the mage highly vulnerable. So while they are considered the most powerful among Defensive Techniques in the Abyss... they are also the most risky if your opponent can shatter them. A well experienced and prepared mage though always has means of getting around this fatal flaw, which brings us back to a common Abyss phrase, 'A well prepared mage is like a fortress'". 

While it was a long explanation, Ren seemed to understand for the most part. It seemed there was more to being a mage, or even fighting other Ability Users, then Ren thought. 

"You two, and possibly even your friends, all have plenty of offensive abilities. Its at this time that you should start learning defensive ones as well. Now then... onto your question about Soul Familiars". 

Lucian wouldn't really find anything useful in the first few pages. Those were mostly intro pages on the properties of a Soul Familiar. Even without a proper close read of those pages, he could tell that they weren't what he wanted to hear in terms of tips or advice, but mostly just 'lore' stuff if one could describe it as such. 

"As for tips on Soul Familiars... I haven't seen one made before. People usually keep Soul Familiars private for certain reasons. They are created from your Psyche, so their appearance and personality can usually speak a bit about their master. While they start out weak, they can become very powerful both on their own and as you grow stronger as well. There is... one thing that you need to take note of though". 

Ren raised a brow here in curiosity, but kept quiet and just let Saito talk. 

"A Soul Familiar's life force and mana, or HP and MP I guess in Gamer Terms, are linked to their master's. This essentially means that the HP and MP pool of your Soul Familiar and yourselves will be combined. This means that if your Soul Familiar takes damage, so will you. Of course, I think in the book it states that as your Familiar grows stronger the less you'll take from it take damage, but it is still something to consider when making a Soul Familiar. So as for a tip... try not to use your Soul Familiar against tougher opponents unless its absolutely necessary. Most people keep them secret and use them as trump cards, since the HP and MP linking is permanent and happens regardless of them being summoned, as does their growing since they will grow stronger whenever you grow stronger". 

That was a pretty heavy tip, one that Ren was definitely going to take into consideration when making his Soul Familiar. He still wanted to use it, but now instead thought differently on how he would make it. 

"Any other questions?"

"You mentioned something about Defensive Techniques..." Ren spoke now, his tone curious. 

"Are you interested?" 

Ren gave a nod to Saito's inquiry. 

"Well... I don't know about auras or other defensive techniques... but if anything you guys might be able to perform Energy Blocking, since you know how to handle Energy. I don't really know much about it, but I recommend checking the Auction site on it. Someone may have wrote a book about it in hopes that someone would buy it". Saito's tone sounded a bit 'sarcastic' there, as if he was speaking about some stupid moneymaking scheme that only idiots would fall for. 

Ren's expression was different as he just nodded, taking into consideration falling for this moneymaking scheme since books were far more useful for the Gamers than they were for other people. 

"Any other questions?"