Summoner Fundamentals with Chae-rin

So, training it is. Han Chae-rin eyed the woman who had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠boldly shown up before her. The black shoulder bag she'd always carried was gone, replaced by a massive backpack strapped to her back. It was me—Yun.

"Cutie, don't tell me what's in there behind you is..."

"Yep, it's Mir-El."

"Pii~!"

As if she'd been summoned by name, Mir-El poked her head out from the backpack. We'd come to the Phoenix Guild HQ.

"Just how many magic stones did you feed her for her to bulk up like this in a matter of days...?"

I'd basically treated them like her staple food...? Come to think of it, Mir-El had eaten more magic stones than meat. No wonder the 20 million won vanished in a flash after I got her those low-grade goblin stones for her to munch on.

Of course, money worries were a thing of the past now. I'd scored a huge sponsor (Tae-hoon)! That didn't mean I planned to leech off him, though. I'd take what was offered, but I'd pull my own weight too.

"Let's head to the training room first. Mina, we're using the training room?"

"Yes, I'll let them know."

Phoenix's vice guild master, Yoo Mina, nodded and headed off to the training room ahead of us.

"Shall we?"

Following Han Chae-rin to the 8th floor of the HQ, we entered a massive training hall. It was already reserved in advance—no one else around.

"Come on out, Mir-El."

At Chae-rin's words, Mir-El peeked out, then slyly slipped out of the bag and landed on the floor.

"Alright, time to start with the basics of being a summoner, right?"

"Basics?"

"Yeah, basics. Cutie, how far along are you with mana manipulation?"

"Hmm... pretty much the same as before. Just sensing and gathering mana?"

I didn't really have much occasion to use mana, after all. Mir-El handled most of the fighting on her own. My involvement in battles was limited to verbal commands.

As if she'd gauged my level from that, Chae-rin summoned her own familiar before explaining.

"Come forth, Phoenix."

—Kkiiiii!

At Chae-rin's call, the Phoenix appeared in a blaze of flames rising from thin air, like a magnificent firework.

"In my case, Phoenix and Sylph are spirit beasts from the spirit realm. I got lucky with a spirit stone and had high spirit affinity, so we contracted. That's why I can call them when needed—Phoenix, sorry, but head back for a sec."

At her request, the Phoenix returned to the spirit realm and came back.

"And send them back like this. Of course, it's not just a simple command. It's a relationship of mutual respect bound by contract."

"Whoa..."

It'd be so convenient to store summons in the spirit realm... Then I wouldn't have to hide Mir-El in my bag like a zoo monkey whenever eyes were on us.

As if reading my mind, Mir-El nudged my ankle.

"Huh?"

"Pii~!"

Then, like she was showing off, she created a black wormhole on the floor, jumped in, reappeared way across the training room, and hopped back out.

"Pii!"

Her expression screamed, Look what I did, praise me!

"Pfft, haha, good girl."

"...What the hell was that just now...?"

Chae-rin was even more shocked than I was.

"No way a summon casts magic like that?!"

"Well... Mir-El can. Right?"

"Pii~"

"R-Really?"

Chae-rin tried to play it cool, but what came next was even more astonishing. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mir-El judged and acted on her own without any orders from me. Summons normally moved by contract. Taming was different, but in a contract relationship, commands and mutual understanding were key—that was common knowledge. And here she was, shattering it entirely.

"Well... I get that your relationship isn't exactly normal."

"That sounds kinda weird when you put it like that."

"Anyway, if you've contracted with Mir-El, you should be able to use her powers too, right?"

As an example, Chae-rin rubbed her thumb and index finger together with a snap! aimed at the air.

Phoenix's flames—hot, pure fire—roared forward in a whoosh!

"I can wield Phoenix's flames. Naturally, I can use Sylph's powers too, and combining them lets me do this..."

She snapped again toward the front. Clean red flames rose once more, but now infused with wind, they swelled like a storm and engulfed a straw dummy far across the room.

"Mixing the two spirits' powers like that."

"I see..."

Come to think of it, I'd gotten 【Dragon Imprint】 before. It wasn't there originally—must've unlocked on level up.

Focusing on 【Dragon Imprint】 via my status window brought up a new screen right before my eyes: Mir-El's skill list.

Obviously, there was only one choice.

A cheat skill that let me use every magic! With this, I'd be a grand mage?!

Brimming with excitement, I willed the copy—

It registered in my status window.

"Ooh..."

But... how do I actually use magic?

I considered asking Mir-El, but—

"Pii?"

No dice on communication. Still cute, though.

"Hmm... something like this?"

I recalled the magic Mir-El had used. A black circle in the air linking to another space—a wormhole connecting points.

Snap! I flicked my fingers like Chae-rin.

A black circle appeared right in front of me, just like Mir-El's.

"Oh...!"

Wondering if it was safe, I jumped in before Mir-El, playing groundhog, could stop me.

"Mir-El!"

"Pii~!"

She'd jumped in after me and popped out in front of the dummy's ashes across the room.

"It works... Ah."

Ziiing—

The magic succeeded, but my head throbbed and vision shook from mana drain. 【Maternal Recovery】 dulled the pain quickly, and the dizziness faded fast.

'Mana spent doesn't recover instantly, even if the physical pain heals...'

Linking spaces seemed to guzzle a ton of mana.

"That... you just cast that?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm... Looks like your summon, Mir-El, is specialized in magic."

Chae-rin clearly didn't suspect she was a dragon—probably thought wyvern mutant or dragon subspecies. Pureblood, actually. But our trust wasn't deep enough to spill that yet.

"But it takes a toll on your body, huh? You're wobbling after one cast."

"Yeah."

My body felt minor pain now, but my internal mana was bone-dry.

Chae-rin handed me a mana recovery potion and continued.

"Then find a mage if you get the chance."

"A mage?"

"Yeah, they're experts on boosting mana. I could help some, but..."

"I'm spirit-affinity focused, so my knowledge is partial."

"Got it."

"Might as well learn proper magic from a real mage, right?"

Sound advice. Maybe ask Arka? She'd know dragon mana handling inside out.

"Guess that leaves me with just a few tips. In human-monster fights, verbal commands work fine, but..."

"Not in human vs. human, right?"

"Exactly."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The old me would've ignored human infighting, but after scraping the bottom of that barrel, I couldn't.

"Say it's a hair-trigger situation. You command like this."

Chae-rin had Phoenix fly high near the ceiling. Then she said nothing.

But—

—Kkiiiii!!

Phoenix plummeted like it heard an order, smashing the ashy dummy.

"My command was 'dive and crush the dummy.' Phoenix got it instantly. How?"

"Hmm..."

Didn't look like any communication.

As I pondered, Chae-rin revealed the answer.

"Mana commands."

"Mana, huh."

"Infuse a bit of mana with your will, threading the connection between you and your summon. Ever played the paper cup phone game as a kid?"

String between cups, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠speak into one, vibrations carry the voice. Easy image. She visibly drew mana from her fingertip—a fiery thread linking her and Phoenix.

Her mouth didn't move, but—

—Kkii~!

Phoenix circled her twice, flipped in the air, and landed.

"See?"

"Whoa..."

"I made the thread visible now, but in real combat, it's invisible. Enables faster, precise communication."

"That's why fighting with a summoner feels like facing two at once."

"I see..."

Now I had a skill to fight alongside Mir-El. Felt good. Mana boost needed first, though.

"After that—"

She taught me various summoner combat styles. I surprised her sharing trivia from my newbie party hunts—and those traffickers.

"Master, it's afternoon schedule time."

"Ah, already? Cutie, you gotta come back! Join our guild—no one treats summoners better!"

"Wha..."

"What's with that lukewarm response?!"

Dodging with silence, Chae-rin whined and thrust her chest out dramatically—until vice master Yoo Mina grabbed her nape and dragged her off.

"Nooo! Don't go anywhere else!!"

"Master, you're being rude. Feel free to use the facilities and return the key when done."

Left alone with Mir-El, we nursed mana potions, tried a few more things, and headed home.