It felt odd, almost like I was back to my days as a summoned being. The contract with Earth didn’t stipulate the exact reasons I’d be summoned, so it would likely be somewhat random, and somewhat random was something I had a lot of experience with. A system prompt appeared, giving a brief overview of what I was being summoned to do, as well as the chance for me to select my minions before I actually arrived.
Your current summoning, and many of those that you’ll encounter over the course of your contract with your home world, has been selected by the system. In this case, you’re being summoned to the nation known as the United Kingdom, and a location called Portsmouth.
Summoning objectives:
- Eliminate the spawning point. An unusually high mana concentration has been detected in this area, and a monster spawning point is activating. Please note, once overall mana levels on Earth increase, such occurrences will be considered normal and will not warrant your attention. In this instance, the threat level is deemed higher than the norm for a pre-integration world and has caused the activation of your contract.
Rewards:
- 10 gold for the successful completion of this summoning.
- One class-related item.
- Continuation of the summoning contract with your home world.
Please select the two minions from your barracks that you wish to accompany you during this summoning contract.
- Mana Slayer Drone.
- Elida Silverbarrow.
- Glem, Glamb, and Glurk, Goblin Kill Team.
It sounded like a simple clearing out of hostile monsters, but the system didn’t bother to give me any indication of the tier and rank of the monsters I’d be facing. I doubted that I would face anything too powerful given that the integration hadn’t occurred yet, but it would have been nice to have had a little heads-up on what I was facing. Then again, the system thought this threat was unusual enough at this stage of integration that it warranted summoning me, so that meant it was probably something worse than a few tier one creepy crawlies running about.
I had to choose which minions I wanted to take with me this time. Going in a bit blind, I decided to go with quantity on this mission, picking the goblin kill team as my first choice. For my second choice, I decided to try out a pure DPS strategy and selected the drone. Elida was going to get a break and sit this one out.
I’d be without a dedicated healer, but I had my spells to heal both me and my minions, as well as a selection of decent potions if things went wrong. Elida was now formidable in her own right, but having three goblins and the drone would hopefully allow me to clear out the threat even faster. Completing the quest quickly was likely possible as the system wouldn’t have sent me here if there was a good chance that this summoning would interfere with my duties at the academy.
You have Chosen the Glem, Glamb, and Glurk, Goblin Kill Team, and the Mana Slayer Drone. Please select a third minion from the following list of options based on your previous summoning contract.
- Fell hound.
- Infernal summoner’s apprentice.
- Teleportation mage.
It looked like the system was mixing things up a bit. I had two choices from my last contract with Zerallia, and then a third from my experience in the tournament. I had plenty of melee strength with the drone and goblins, so I could eliminate the fell hound and choose one of the mage options.
The teleportation mages were deadly, but a bit of a glass cannon. From the ones I faced in the tournament, they had just teleported next to me and hurled their spell. Unless their target was taken out in one shot, the mage was probably toast after the attack was launched. It also sounded like we’d be facing multiple attackers, so the teleportation mage was likely just about as effective as a single use scroll with an attack spell.
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With the infernal summoner’s apprentice, I might get a look at some of the abilities I could face when going up against Gary. It was only an apprentice, so I didn’t expect too much, but it should at least match my tier and rank. In addition, if it could summon minions, I could use them as fodder to protect my team.
You have selected the Infernal Summoner’s Apprentice. This apprentice will arrive with a total of 6 spell slots for casting the following spells.
- Summon Fell Beast. Summon a creature imbued with fell energy. This beast can take on several animal forms.
- Fell Fire Blast. Unleash a blast of fell fire that will unerringly track the intended target at a range of up to 100 feet from the caster.
- Fire Shield. Create a thin layer of flaming energy around the caster, providing them with some protection from both spells and weapons. Any melee attack against the shielded caster will result in minor burning damage to the attacker.
- Life Burn. The apprentice may burn a portion of its life to regain a spell slot. At this Tier and Rank, approximately 25% of the apprentice’s life will be sacrificed with each activation of this ability. The life lost in this way cannot be healed through any means other than natural regeneration at a 50% reduced rate.
About what I’d expected, a summoner with a single offensive and defensive spell to call upon. Sadly, they only had six spell slots, and the apprentice’s only way to recover slots in a fight was to burn part of its life force. I was pretty sure normal rest would replenish spell slots like with most casters, but a long rest during this summoning wasn’t on the agenda.
Summoner’s Gift has activated. Please select an ability you wish to share with your minions.
- Riposte.
- Switch and Replace.
Riposte was always decent but Switch and Replace could help a minion teleport itself to my side if I was in danger.
Minion Switch and Replace is now active. Please note that each minion may only cast this spell once per summoning. Your minions will decide when and where to use this ability.
That warning about the limited use of the spell was new. I didn’t recall the system giving me that warning last time I’d been offered this for my minions. It could probably be chalked up to the system being stingy with information at times.
Summoner’s Share has activated. Choose an ability/spell from one of your minions. This ability/spell will remain active for the duration of this summoning contract.
- Spell Reflect (1).
- Flickering Skewer.
- Fell Fire Blast (3).
The system had shaken up the options a bit, and while I’d miss the plasma beam from my drone, having spell reflect, even with just a single charge could be a lifesaver. Flickering Skewer was Glem’s gap closer, and since I didn’t intend to be in melee, I cut it from the contenders. Fell Fire Blast was interesting as well and would give me a chance to see how a spell I would likely face again worked. Still, with Elida gone, I wanted the extra layer of survivability that Spell Reflect gave me.
You have chosen Spell Reflect as your Summoner’s Share.
With my last choice made, the portal opened before me, and I stepped out onto the front lawn of what looked like an abandoned building. A faded sign offering to lease the space, and several boarded-up windows told the tale of a neglected, and undesirable structure that had probably been vacant for some time. I looked around for any threats as I summoned my team.
All three goblins appeared, ready for a fight. The goblins were followed quickly by the drone, and then the newest temporary addition to the team, my infernal apprentice. Despite the infernal name, the apprentice looked like a normal enough human man. He wore dark robes and had a long, thin dagger sheathed at his side.
I ordered the team into formation, the goblins in the lead, with the apprentice behind them. As far as the drone was concerned, I kept him close by my side until I got a better picture of what we were up against. Remembering my experience in the tournament, I made sure to keep my own Switch and Replace spell ready to go at all times.
It was dark out, but a few streetlamps and a dim light at the perimeter of the building was enough for me to navigate. Behind us was a roadway, and a few cars were rolling past, oblivious to the dangerous situation that was about to unfold here. Given the light traffic, it had to be pretty late, and hopefully I could get this mission completed without putting any civilians in danger.
Ordering the team forward, we crept toward the vacant building. The main entrance was on the side where the nearly empty parking lot was situated. My hopes of clearing out the threat before the locals were harmed proved to be a false one as I spotted a pair of figures next to the only car in the nearly empty parking lot.
The front doors of the car were open, and the soft glow of the interior light revealed that the driver lay sprawled half out of the car. A figure in a huge overcoat stood over the fallen driver and while I couldn’t see what was happening, the chewing and crunching sounds that I heard over the traffic noises in the background told me that I was about to meet the threat that the system wanted me to handle.