You are Summoned

Before activating the dragon, I made sure all my forces were at their best. Duplicate was cast on the most powerful minion, my ghoul, and I added Empower Minion on everything. At my current rank and tier, I’d never have the mana to do all this, but my training center allowed me all the mana I needed for the simulation. With a thought, I activated the dragon figurine.

I wasn’t sure what to expect, and things happened much faster than I could keep track of. The dragon, a large beast with red scales whose head almost scraped against the ceiling, was as terrifying and awesome as I imagined. The moment it was fully formed, it pointed its head toward us and unleashed a blast of fire that filled the training center. Thankfully it was a simulation as there was no way I could survive that blast even if its strength was halved. A system prompt explained my death, but it wasn’t very hard to figure out what had happened.

A dragon’s breath weapon has obliterated your entire party. This foe is very far above your current ability. To maximize the use of your training center, select a challenge that is appropriate to your tier and rank.

Everyone wanted to see a dragon, and I couldn’t resist at least trying it out once. Fun time was over, though, and I had work to do. I tried a variety of different creatures to fight against, learning how each of my summons would react. The ghoul was pure aggression, it hated everything and wanted to eat it, including me.

My hound and the dwarf were stable and steady allies, but just not that effective. The best way to use them was as a roadblock to buy me time to cast a spell or help distract an enemy when I needed to enter melee. The two tier zero, rank zero summons were eager to obey my orders, and I spent some time observing their actions.

“Minerva, can you confirm if the creatures I’m summoning are real beings that are pulled from their lives like I was, or are they truly mana constructs?” I asked. I was so caught up in the new abilities I possessed that I had forgotten about how traumatic the whole experience had been for me. If there was even a chance that Rupert’s life was being disrupted, I’d unsummon him and pick some other creature.

Minerva turned her glowing gaze on me before replying. “These are not like you Rico. The figurines are pure mana constructs, which is why they reserve a portion of your power to exist. I can assure you that you are not inconveniencing a living, thinking being when you summon them. Fitzfazzle, of course, and some consumable figurines are a different story, but for the ones created by your class, you should have no concerns.

I wanted to believe Minerva, but I also wanted to verify for myself to remove any doubt. As I worked, I started to test Rupert. From what I could tell, the dwarf was not a true summoned being like I was.

He wouldn’t speak, even when commanded to, and no matter what I ordered him to do, his expression never changed. He also never seemed to be dragging his feet on a task. I had tested the bounds many times when I was summoned, but this guy just blindly followed orders. It was also the same dwarf every time, in the exact same clothes.

I’d never been summoned by the same mage except for when there was a summoner link. There was no way I would randomly get the same dwarf each time I activated a summoning figurine. Rupert wasn’t real, he was truly a mana construct. From that, I could assume the others were also.

With the mana in the training center limited, I dismissed my current figurines and tested out all of my options. As each one appeared, I tested them against simple foes and used the system to read their information.

Lillia Farwind, elvish militia recruit. Tier 0, rank 5.

Current health, 100%.

Equipment:

Leather vest.

Crude short spear.

Common dagger.

Crude wooden shield.

Attacks/skills/abilities.

Basic weapons training for spear, dagger, and shield.

Lillia Farwind looked like a middle-aged farmer that had been pressed into militia service. She had a simple top and pants that were made of a rough, canvas-like material. The footwear was just a pair of sandals, but a battle-scarred, thick leather vest gave some protection for her upper body. The elf wasn’t bad, about the same as I was at that tier and rank. Unlike me, Lillia Farwind had multiple melee skills. She wasn’t very tanky but could stall a foe and do some damage.

Juvenile cave spider. Tier 0, rank 5.

Current health, 100%.

Attacks/skills/abilities:

Bite.

Venom. A weak toxin that slows the reactions of its victim.

Spiders were creepy, even when I controlled them. This one was a smaller version of the ones I had fought during one of my summonings. It was about as large as the mangy cur, but more agile. Its venom was slow to work, which limited its effectiveness. One bonus was its ability to climb walls and ceilings. I could see this being a great ambusher if I had time to prepare the battlefield.

Simple undead, zombie. Tier 0, rank 5.

Current health, 100%.

Attacks/skills/abilities.

Bite and grab.

Minor resistance to physical damage.

There wasn’t much to say about this creature, and after summoning him, I was locked into this zombie for future summons. I wanted to see if I could also get a skeleton, but it was the same zombie guy every time. The smell coming from the zombie was horrible, and I’d have to keep this creature downwind of me if I used him. The zombie had a simple attack, it would grab onto a foe and bite. To its credit, the zombie could take more damage than Lillia or the spider.

Each of the tier zero, rank five minions were good for different situations. Of the three, Lillia was perhaps the most versatile. When I got around to adjusting my loadout, if I kept a minion in this tier, it would likely be her unless I knew I was going into a situation where the spider or zombie might be the better pick.

Advanced skeleton. Tier 1, rank 0.

Current Health, 100%.

Attacks/skills/abilities.

Basic weapon and armor skills for all equipped items.

Corroded leather armor.

At first, I was a bit disappointed in the skeleton. It had a battered longsword and a crossbow strapped across its back. The skeleton was armored in old, studded leather, and held a round metal shield that was pitted with rust. Once it fought, my attitude changed. It moved quickly and could read its opponent well, staying on defense until it had an opening to strike. It was a competent warrior that could hold the line for me.

Marvin Glum, human warrior. Tier 1, rank 0.

Current health, 100%.

Attacks/skills/abilities.

Basic weapon and armor skills for all equipped items.

Studded leather armor.

Shortsword, dagger, and sling.

Marvin looked like your typical town guard. His gear wasn’t of the best quality, but it appeared to be well cared for. He fought with a dual-wield style using his shortsword and dagger, but when an enemy was at range, he was pretty good with the sling. It was essentially the human version of the advanced skeleton, better equipped, but a bit more fragile.

Cave spinner spider, Tier 1, rank 0.

Health, 100%.

Attacks/skills/abilities:

Bite.

Entrap prey.

Venom. A toxin that slows the reactions of its victim.

Now this one was a real nightmare. It resembled a juvenile spider but came all the way up to my waist. A hard, black exoskeleton gave it camouflage in the dark, and the spider moved with a creepy grace that made it hard to hit.

Once it bit a foe, the venom was more potent than that of the juvenile spider. It could also spray webs from its abdomen and bind up a target. It wasn’t very useful against larger foes, but against anything human-sized or smaller, the spider could tie them up rather quickly. Its downside to this creature was that the exoskeleton on it was thin, and even a glancing blow could easily crack through it. While it lacked staying power in a fight, the cave spinner made a good support unit for the tankier minions I had.

With my current mana limits, I kept the same loadout for now, using the ghoul, hound, and Rupert. When I gained another rank, I might take a look at ditching the tier zero, rank zero summons and go with Lillia and one of my tier one summons. After practicing with the various options, I felt comfortable with my choices and could use them effectively in combat. By the time I had tried everyone out and practiced a few more battles with my chosen team, the mana in my training center was running out.

“It will be some time before the mana replenishes. Might I suggest you adjust your gear in the armory before setting out for Somhagen?” Minerva said.

“That sounds like a plan,” I replied, glad that I had gear and spells worthy of equipping. This time, when I entered the city, I wouldn’t look like some vagabond with little to his name.