You are Summoned

Your summoning parameters are as follows:

You are being summoned by the Sorcerer Duram.

Summoning tier, 0.

Summoning rank, 2.

Rewards level, minuscule.

This summons is combat related. Prepare accordingly.

Forced compliance is active. Limited autonomy is active.

The armory has not been unlocked. A facsimile of your current attire and gear will suffice for the tier and rank of this summons.

I stepped out of the portal and onto the hot sandy floor of an arena. My summoner was a mage in red robes who also had a sword belted to his waist. He was in the process of casting another spell and had ignored me for the moment, giving me a chance to check out my surroundings.

Across the arena, a giant creature fought against three armored figures. The creature took me a minute to place, but the bull-like head, horns, and hooved feet gave it away. It was a minotaur, and it was tearing apart the trio of attackers. Above the small wall that surrounded the arena floor, tall viewing stands were filled with revelers who shouted encouragement or hatred for the combatants inside.

“You there, guard my back, and watch for anyone in stealth,” my summoner commanded as he finished casting another summoning spell. A pair of goblins, both armed with crude wooden spears, appeared near me. Now that I had my orders, I could get to work.

Drawing my dagger, I checked the area around my summoner. The man I was protecting was deep into casting another spell and wasn’t moving around, making my job, and probably the job of any attackers, that much easier. The two goblins, were also alert, looking and sniffing the ground like they were a pack of hounds.

I didn’t have the nose for that sort of thing, but if my summoner was worried about stealthed attackers, I figured watching the sand would be a good way to detect anything creeping up on us. My suspicions paid off when I noticed a pair of footprints appear in the sand, moving closer to the mage that had summoned me.

“Over there, footprints!” I shouted to the pair of goblins as I closed in on our target. It was surprising to be able to speak without a direct command, but the pre-summoning instructions had mentioned I had limited autonomy on this outing.

The goblins probably didn’t speak English, but it looked like they got the gist of what I was saying. Our bond to the summoner likely helped us to convey intent. They moved toward the footprints, and I figured that if I wanted a decent performance rating on this summoning, I should pull out all the stops.

Footprints in the sand moved closer and closer to the summoner, but I charged forward, leading with my dagger held in a firm saber grip. My dagger didn’t hit whatever was stalking us, but my body did crash into something. I went toppling over and heard a grunt from the attacker I had just slammed into.

The previously invisible attacker appeared upon impact. I was a bit shocked to see it was a short woman, only around four feet tall. Bare, hair-covered feet told me that this was a hobbit, halfling, or whatever this world called the species. The halfling looked a lot tougher than her stature would have led me to believe. She was dressed in blackened leather armor and held a shortsword in one hand, and a long dagger in the other. A long scar ran across her face and left the halfling’s mouth in a permanent scowl.

It took me a bit to roll to my feet and by the time I did, the halfling was already back up and charging her way toward my summoner. The goblins reached the summoner before the pint-sized assassin could. Two crude wooden spears were thrust at the attacker, but she moved like the wind and dodged both attacks.

Before the goblins could launch another strike, she brushed past them, her sword opening up the belly of one goblin. The goblin disappeared in a puff of mana vapor, as I finally reached the halfling. She was concentrating on stabbing the second goblin with her dagger and didn’t react quickly enough to stop my clumsy strike.

She was obviously much more skilled than I was, but no matter how skilled she might have been, she didn’t have eyes in the back of her head. My dagger plunged into her back, and while my strike might not have had the precision that the halfling had exhibited, I drove the blade all the way to the hilt. She grunted in pain and stumbled a few more steps before collapsing to the ground, almost in reach of my summoner.

“Nicely done, now get up here and buy me some time,” the summoner demanded. I would have been worried about more stealthy attackers appearing, but the mage that had summoned me must have known the opponents he was facing. If he wasn’t worried about a second assassin appearing from nowhere, I wasn’t going to question him, despite my newfound limited autonomy.

Across the arena, I could see the minotaur finish off the last of the three armored men that it had been fighting. The armored man disappeared in a puff of vapor. It was a summoned being as well, and one that was more than likely a much higher tier and rank than I was.

The summoner finished summoning another creature, this time it was a wolf. He ordered the wolf to attack the minotaur, but I was told to remain nearby and protect him. Magic glowed on my summoner’s hands as he prepared to cast another spell. This summoner had cast far more spells than the previous ones I’d been linked to.

The spell resolved into a single goblin. This one wasn’t even armed with a spear. It reminded me of the first goblin I’d seen and fought alongside when we were attacked by the giant spiders. Showing no fear, the goblin charged toward the towering minotaur that was still dealing with the wolf.

Giving the minotaur a better look, I could see it was severely wounded. Bloody slashes and stabs from the various summoned beings had worn it down. Despite its haggard appearance, the minotaur was still in the fight. The wolf jumped up and bit into the minotaur’s stomach, only to have the half-man, half-bull creature reach down and snap the wolf’s back.

The wolf had left another bleeding wound, and the minotaur stumbled a few steps before recovering its balance and stomping its way toward me and the summoner. On its way, the beast almost casually swatted aside the goblin, which disappeared in a puff of mana vapor. Instead of casting yet another spell, the summoner instead gripped his staff and turned to face the minotaur in melee. He must have been out of mana, as no sane person would want to go toe to toe with an eight-foot-tall minotaur.

“Try and flank him and get a backstab in if you can,” the mage ordered. As the minotaur closed in, I scooted to the right, opening the space between me and my summoner. The minotaur knew the target it wanted, and with some last reserve of strength, it charged forward, lowering its horns to skewer the mage.

Just before impact, the mage touched a bracelet on his wrist and muttered a word that I couldn’t understand, but I could feel the power of. A glowing wall of golden energy appeared in front of the mage. He might have been out of mana, but he wasn’t out of tricks. It looked like magic items were a thing in this world, and people didn’t just have to rely on their own mana pool to cast a spell.

The minotaur roared in defiance as it crashed into the shield. One horn on the beast shattered on impact and then the shield collapsed under the force of the charge. The mage stepped to the side, giving the minotaur a solid blow to the back with his staff as the beast ran past him. I also made my move, running in to stab with my dagger.

I stabbed the minotaur in the back with all my strength, but found the dagger only penetrated a few inches. This thing had some seriously tough hide. It must be the reason all the summoned beings that had been thrown at the monster hadn’t brought it down yet. Faster than I could react, the minotaur spun and reached out toward me. A beefy hand clasped over my entire head and a second later there was intense pressure before I was sent to the void once more.

Your skull has been crushed and you have died. This summoning is now complete.

Your performance rating is calculated as Above Average.

Your rewards will reflect the summoning tier of 0, rank 2, and your performance rating of Above Average.

You have earned 5 experience points.

You have earned 3 summoning points.

Prepare to return to your Personal Space.