You are Summoned

I returned to my personal space, still trying to figure out what had happened. My idea of hiding in plain sight didn’t quite work out how I expected, but at least it did take them some time to find me. What had I just gone through? It was like a training camp for junior assassins or something. Not the most pleasant summoning, but far from the worst.

At least I got to drink a mug of watered-down ale before I was done. My performance was only considered average by the system, and it didn’t seem too far off. I was now only three points away from hitting tier one, rank one and unless I completely choked on my next summoning, I should hit it.

A quick check of my loot revealed that my rewards were, well, average.

Rico’s Loot.

New Inventory.

Copper coins, 64.

Silver coins, 9.

Melvin was halfway across the floor on his way toward the armory, and I gave him a gentle pat as I walked by. He sent me a greeting through our link. It was great to have him here, he didn’t cause any trouble, and was genuinely happy to see me each time I appeared. It was too bad I couldn’t get a gelatinous cube pet back home.

Inside the armory, I tried to add my coin pouch to my loadout which worked without any trouble. I added a handful of copper coins, a dozen silver, and a single piece of gold, just in case. Since the pouch and its contents would reform when my summoning was over, I didn’t have to worry too much about it.

With that finished, I checked on the training center. The mana inside was still low, but I went in and practiced anyway. Pulling a figurine from the second shelf that looked a bit like an assassin, I could tell it was indeed an assassin and was tier one, rank six. Not too far from my own tier and rank, the assassin should prove a difficult opponent. I summoned my squad and activated our foe, curious to see how I’d do against something that had just killed me.

The ghoul, Rupert, and the hound all charged toward a person that was hooded and cloaked in black. I cast Empower Minion on them, starting with the ghoul. While I was casting the first spell, the assassin’s hands flashed forward as he hurled a pair of daggers toward my charging minions.

With the mournful yelp, the hound crashed to the floor before disappearing in a puff of mana vapor. The ghoul was hit with the second dagger, but he seemed to ignore the blade, it was only a minor inconvenience, and the undead monster was completely focused on the delicious flesh of the opponent in front of him.

My Empower Minion spell hit, and the ghoul’s arms and claws elongated. His speed also increased, but right when the ghoul reached the assassin, our foe disappeared in a cloud of smoke. It wasn’t mana vapor, and I knew the assassin was still out there, using some class ability to hide from our sight.

With a howl of rage over missing a meal that had almost been in reach, the ghoul began to frantically sniff around him. Like a dog catching the scent of a rabbit, the ghoul snapped his head toward me. I was moving almost before I realized what had happened. The ghoul began his scuttling run in my direction which could only mean that the assassin was somewhere behind me.

I dropped to the floor and rolled, seeing the assassin appear with his daggers thrusting toward where I had just been standing. Before he could disappear again, I cast Psionic Jolt. He seemed to shake off the spell quickly enough, but the blast of psionic energy kept the assassin from disappearing.

Backpedaling, I kept my eye on the assassin as my two surviving minions closed in. I wasn’t too confident that I could best this foe in melee combat, so I would let my summoned creatures handle it. As I moved, I began to cast Duplicate on the ghoul. Having two of the lightning fast, and rather deadly creatures seemed like a good counter to something like a hidden assassin.

While the ghoul’s sense of smell hadn’t been listed as a special ability, it had proved especially helpful in this type of fight. The assassin managed to disappear again, just as my duplicate completed. The ghouls immediately started to sniff him out, and this time, he either couldn’t teleport again, or made the mistake of not teleporting away.

One of the ghouls, my original summons, lashed out. The clawed hands raked into the invisible assassin, causing our foe to pop into view. Not reacting at all to the damage he had just taken, the assassin began to stab at the ghoul with a short sword in one hand, and a dagger in the other. I had no doubt both blades were coated in something nasty, but ghouls didn’t seem like they’d be susceptible to much in the way of toxins, venom, or poisons.

Receiving an expertly placed stab to the throat, my original ghoul staggered back, and several of his fingers were sliced off by the assassin’s dagger as the ghoul tried to reach again for his meal. The duplicate ghoul managed to hack into the back of the assassin, both claws digging through the target’s cloak. I didn’t know if the assassin was wearing armor, but the grunt of pain from the previously silent foe told me he was hurting.

Not missing a beat, the assassin finished off the first ghoul with another pair of thrusts before turning to face the one that had just hit him. My duplicate ghoul attacked with wild abandon, landing a couple glancing blows before being taken apart by the highly skilled assassin. By the time he finished, I hit the assassin with another psionic jolt, and this time, it seemed to have more effect.

My foe staggered a couple steps before hurrying to close the gap with me. Readying my magic missile wand, I decided instead that I needed more practice with melee weapons than with the wand. I’d had more than enough practice with wands while piloting my mech and fighting alongside the gnomes. The odds were against me, but the purpose of this exercise was to train for these exact kinds of situations.

As the assassin entered into melee range, I swung my hammer and tried to step to the right. Able to read my body movements, the assassin followed me, unfazed by my shift in direction and easily avoiding the hammer blow. To my surprise, the assassin didn’t press the attack and instead spun around, presenting his back to me.

Not wasting the opportunity, I took another swing. This time, my blow hit, and the assassin disappeared in a cloud of mana vapor. When the assassin disappeared, I could see that he hadn’t turned not to offer me a chance at a free hit, but to face Rupert who we’d all forgotten about. The slow and steady pace of the dwarf finally allowed him to reach the fast-moving fight. Not only that, but he had also armed himself with one of the throwing daggers that the assassin had used on his first attack.

“Well done, Rupert, that was some quick thinking to arm yourself,” I told the summoned minion. I knew he wasn’t real, but I couldn’t help talking to my minions when they did something special. Rupert remained unimpressed by my comment and had the same blank expression plastered on his face that he always wore.

The mana inside the training center was now down to its last dregs. There wasn’t enough to start another round of training and I needed time to reflect on what I’d learned. Back to my rocking chair I went, trying to think back to my earlier fight, and the sparring session to see if I could glean any knowledge from them.

Assassins, rogues, and the like were going to be difficult to spot, but with summoned creatures, I had an advantage. My ghoul, and I would bet the hound also, could sniff out hidden foes. Of course, at higher tiers, the hidden creature we fought would likely be using some kind of magical means to mask their presence, but by then, I’d probably have other creatures in my arsenal to counter them.

The trainee assassins I had tried to evade in my last summoning likely had some means to track me down. Without any knowledge of how their abilities worked, there wasn’t much I could do to counter it, other than have minions with generic detection skills. It irked me a bit, as I had to have been close to the end of the summoning when the lucky assassin had found me. If I had been left alone a few more minutes, I might have survived long enough to probably reach at least a good ranking, not to mention I’d have had time for a few more pints with the stone masons who had been really cool to me.

Thinking about the masons, and the brief comradery that I’d experienced with them, I felt my mood darken. I was experiencing something amazing, something that most of humanity couldn’t even fathom. The problem was that I had nobody to share it with. I had no friends, only Melvin and my summoned creatures. While I liked my new pet, I knew that I needed human company as well. Maybe I could strike up some friendships in Somhagen? That place seemed like the most likely spot where I’d meet people who understood and could accept what my life was like.

I was still in a funk when I was summoned once more.

You are Summoned!

Your contracted summoning contract has been activated.

The portal opened and I stepped into it, curious what a real-life dungeon was like.