The Water Dragon's Trial

The slope was brutally steep at the top of the cliff, and the ground was littered with rocks of every size, making each step a nightmare.

The only reason I was risking my neck on this dangerous descent was because the upper spirit summoning circle I'd forced Rai to create was waiting down below.

It wasn't far from the academy, it had plenty of water, and it was a spot normal people couldn't easily reach. In other words, it was perfect.

The front side of Varesa Lake saw constant foot traffic, but the back side I was climbing down to now was a hidden pocket that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could only be reached by scaling the cliff.

Thanks to the lake's warped geography, it was completely invisible from the front—making it the ideal canvas for a summoning circle.

“Ouch!”

As expected of a place humans weren't meant to go, the way down was insanely rough. Actually, calling it a path would be generous. There wasn't even a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trail.

A tree branch I'd pushed aside whipped back and smacked me square in the forehead.

I rubbed the stinging spot, lost my footing, and slid. A curse flew out of my mouth before I could stop it.

Splash.

I fell flat on my ass. The sharp pain radiating through my rear kept me pinned to the ground; standing up wasn't an option.

“Tch. Undain!”

I'd wanted to save my mana for the upper spirit summoning, but there was no way my clumsy body could make it down here without help.

Maybe because the lake was so close, water bubbled up with a wet squelch and took the shape of a dolphin before shooting toward me.

The sleek form and transparent body held a deep, beautiful blue. As it drew near, a low sound like a whale's call echoed through the water.

It was Undain, the mid-grade water spirit.

If Undine had a cute, babyish voice, Undain’s was more mature and neutral.

“Carry me the rest of the way down.”

I climbed onto Undain’s back and grabbed the dorsal fin. It was cold and squishy, yet it stuck perfectly to my palm like solid water. Strangely, it didn’t leave me wet.

Undain swam through the air as if it were water. The movement was graceful and fluid as it carried me smoothly down the cliff face.

“Thanks for the ride. You can head back now.”

Using a spirit with such outstanding abilities just for transportation felt like a waste, but since I couldn’t ride Undine, I didn’t have much choice.

When Undain dissolved back into water, the liquid that had formed its body slid across the rocks and returned to the lake.

The lakebed connected to the cliff was nothing but jagged rock—except for the spot where Rai had carved the circle. That area was perfectly smooth and level.

I could picture Rai grumbling the whole time while smoothing it out.

“Right then. Let’s do this!”

I pulled the mana concentrate and fairy powder I’d prepared earlier from my backpack.

The amount of mana concentrate was ridiculous, but that was to be expected. An upper spirit summoning circle was roughly five times larger than a lower one. It was basically the size of a small room.

Filling something that big required a mountain of materials.

Before pouring the solution, I opened the reference book and double-checked that Rai hadn’t messed up any of the lines.

Luckily, since this wasn’t the first or second time I’d made them do it, the result was flawless.

As expected of my number one subordinate!

Moving along the lines and pouring the solution bit by bit quickly became irritating.

I had zero talent for this kind of meticulous, patience-testing work.

Still, this was my third attempt, so I was doing better than before.

The first time I tried to contract an upper spirit was when I was seventeen.

It failed, obviously. The circle didn’t even glow.

The second attempt was last year. I barely caught a glimpse of an upper spirit’s shadow.

Truthfully, being an intermediate spirit master at my age was already an incredible achievement. Seeing that my teacher El Roenin was still stuck at the intermediate level even though he was over thirty, summoning an upper spirit before I turned twenty should have been impossible.

In theory, anyway.

But who was I?

I was the genius of this field who would crush Robenin Pedri beneath my heel.

“Finished.”

I tossed the empty container carelessly over my shoulder and sprinkled the fairy powder with zero restraint, grabbing handfuls and scattering them everywhere.

In the end I even turned the whole pouch upside down and shook it out over the circle.

I’d only used about half this much on my previous attempt, but I didn’t care.

As long as I could summon an upper spirit, nothing else mattered.

Even if these materials cost enough to buy fifty horses, it was worth it.

“Sorry, Master, but I’m going first.”

Before beginning the upper spirit summoning, I thought of my teacher who was working toward the same goal.

My poor teacher, El Roenin, who was probably mentally suffering from having an excessively talented student.

It wasn’t exactly for his mental health, but I’d hidden the fact that I’d contracted an intermediate spirit for about four years. Even if I succeeded with an upper spirit, I planned to keep it completely secret for the time being.

I hated standing out, which was why I was attempting the contract in such a hidden place.

I had no desire to become a famous genius like Robenin Pedri.

I just wanted to restore my pride.

The mana solution and fairy powder blended perfectly and began to emit light. Mana gushed out of my body in heavy chunks.

The light from the spirit circle grew so intense I could barely keep my eyes open. Suddenly a huge wave surged from the lake even though there wasn’t a breath of wind.

I poured every ounce of my will into the wish.

I wished for the owner of that majestic name to come to me. I wished for power strong enough to drain me completely.

Maybe the wish got through.

Or maybe the overflowing water energy from the shining lake helped.

The ground trembled. The lake surged violently, rising and churning.

I planted my feet and braced myself, afraid I’d be sucked into the space between the light and the waves.

I’d only recited the spell, yet more than half my mana was already gone. Before I could even register the emptiness, it appeared before me.

It was a water dragon so enormous it didn’t seem real. At least twenty meters long.

Books usually described Endairon as resembling a sea serpent, but the being before me looked far more like the Eastern dragons from my previous life’s memories.

The moment the deep-blue water dragon that mirrored the sea itself appeared, the transparent lake churned violently. I could only stand there with my mouth hanging open, staring at the dragon head that seemed to touch the sky.

It was the first time I’d heard the voice. That deep, abyssal tone made me feel as if my head had been submerged in the ocean.

“Endairon…”

“It’s me! I called you! Contract with me!”

Information on upper spirits was extremely scarce. Only their general appearance had been passed down.

There were thirteen sword masters and five seventh-circle mages on the continent, yet only one upper spirit master was publicly known. An incredibly small number.

“A test?”

I had no idea what kind of test Endairon was talking about.

Did such a thing even exist? Why the hell don’t spirit masters share information like normal people!

While I was still wondering, Endairon thrust its massive face right in front of me.

Good grief, one eyeball was already the size of my whole body.

What was it planning to do?

My mana was already hitting rock bottom.

There was no time to be picky. I shouted immediately.

“I don’t know what it is, but I’ll do it!”

Just making it this far was already a first for me. I was prepared to do whatever it took.

I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no idea what the test would be, but… wait, why is it opening its mouth so wide?

“Uwaak?”