The Midnight Summoning
“Just one beaker’s worth… I’ll trade you my yellow frill ribbon. What do you say? You liked it, didn’t you?”
“Oh! Really? Wasn’t that a birthday present?”
“My brothers gave it to me, so who cares. They probably picked yellow on purpose because they know I hate it.”
“Hmm… but one beaker is enough for three experiments. What could you possibly need that much for?”
A single beaker of mana concentrate was worth enough to feed someone for months.
“I have a use for it. If you throw in a bit of fairy dust, I’ll give you my pink apron with the ribbon too. I’ve only worn it twice. Deal?”
“Fairy dust… I do have some I’m not using. Uuung.”
Mia rested her chin on her hand, looking genuinely torn. I ground my teeth behind a pleasant smile. This girl always acted like a pushover, but she was a born negotiator.
“Fine! Fine. How about a whole box of candy on top? Still sealed, brand new! If that’s not enough, I’ll just go ask Iruse. She’d probably help.”
“Wait! Not Iruse! Don’t play with Iruse!”
“So you’ll trade?”
“…All right. But the ribbon, the apron, and the candy… you have to give them all, okay?”
“Great. Hand them over now.”
I glanced around quickly like a conspirator and motioned for her to hurry. After Mia made me pinky-promise several times that I would definitely hand everything over, I finally got my hands on the materials.
A satisfied chuckle slipped out before I could stop it. I’ll admit it sounded a little sinister.
“Hehehe.”
History would be made tonight.
I was in the perfect environment—everything I needed was within arm’s reach. Even these precious ingredients were easy to swipe from a friend.
I turned toward my next target.
My plan was simple.
I was going to become a Spirit Master as fast as possible so I could laze around and do nothing all day!
Deep in the night, when everyone else was asleep, I slipped out of bed.
The room I had all to myself was small and sparsely furnished, but it was perfect for me. After curfew, no one was allowed outside the dorms, so this was the only place I could cause trouble.
I lit a candle to brighten the room, then rolled up the rug in the center and propped it against the wall. I could always put it back down after I was done.
After I carved the spirit contract circle into the floor, that is.
“Preparation complete.”
I intended to form a contract with a spirit on my own.
That was the kind of brilliant idea only a true genius would have.
Ignoring—no, surpassing—my teacher’s lessons and forging my own path!
I was going to do things my way!
Teacher Iel would definitely be furious if he found out, but he was the one who’d pushed me this far.
Besides, there were two situations in which he wouldn’t be able to scold me.
First: if I committed the perfect crime. If I tried to form a contract alone and failed without anyone knowing.
Second: if I actually succeeded. In that case, he’d have to praise my genius instead of punishing me.
I planned to use an old-fashioned method that wasn’t commonly used anymore.
After all, the only summoning techniques in the books I could access were the outdated ones—relics of a bygone era.
Teacher Iel must have seen this coming. He was perceptive enough to know my impatient personality would lead to exactly this situation.
Just like you wouldn’t leave dangerous objects where a child could reach them, he’d made sure I couldn’t find any modern summoning scrolls.
He probably figured that if I got frustrated enough, I’d try something on my own.
“You know me too well. And yes, I really am going to do it.”
Old method or new, it didn’t matter.
I just wanted to prove I could form a contract with a spirit.
That I was perfectly capable of doing it myself.
Yeah! I nodded firmly and pulled the magic engraving tool I’d borrowed earlier out from under my pillow.
It was essential for carving the contract circle into the stone floor. As its name suggested, it was enchanted so it could cut through even the hardest materials like tofu.
I’d borrowed it from a classmate who specialized in magic circles. She’d been absent today, so I hadn’t asked permission yet, but I could return it later. I would return it.
Still, I’d left a note behind to ease my conscience.
“Borrowed this.”
Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t written my name on it. Oh well, it didn’t matter.
Next was the summoning circle itself.
I unfolded the paper where I’d copied the ancient spirit summoning formation.
My drawing skills weren’t great, but tracing over oiled paper was something even a kindergartener could do.
I lit the candelabra on the ceiling and hung the copied paper beneath it.
The most important part was adjusting the height so the shadow of the diagram fell on the floor at the right size.
If the circle was too small, there wouldn’t be enough mana flow and the magic wouldn’t activate. Bigger was always better.
It was an extremely outdated method, but its effect was simple and reliable.
“Perfect. I really am a genius.”
A petty, scheming genius.
This much was easy.
Using chalk, I carefully traced the summoning circle where its shadow fell on the floor.
Even missing a single dot would prevent the magic from working properly, so I poured all my focus into it.
If I breathed too hard, the candlelight would flicker and distort the shadow, so I had to breathe carefully too.
This was delicate work. I actually showed some determination for once. For about five minutes.
“I can’t do this anymore!”
I hurled the chalk at the wall. After retrieving it, I crouched down again and finished tracing the circle… but only the outline.
Magic circles were nothing but an endless series of complicated shapes.
Inside the circle were letters, inside those letters more circles, and within them all sorts of curves and patterns that formed precise equations disguised as chaos and disorder.
“This is exactly why I’m not becoming a mage. How could anyone do this for a living?”
I had a very short temper and even less patience.
This kind of spirit-related work didn’t suit me at all. After holding back the urge to quit dozens of times, I finally completed the summoning circle.
Well, just the drawing part.
From here on, I had to carve the stone floor with the engraving tool.
I already wanted to die from how much I hated it, but I’d come too far to give up, and my pride wouldn’t allow it.
More than anything, I desperately wanted to surpass my teacher’s abilities and escape his lessons as soon as possible.
Sometimes even I was surprised by how passionate I was about gaining my freedom.
How long had I been crouched there carving the floor? My legs were going numb and sweat beaded on my forehead.
Measuring every angle of each stroke to carve them perfectly made me feel like a master craftsman.
Maybe I should’ve become a sculptor instead of a Spirit Master? Of course, I wasn’t an official Spirit Master yet since I hadn’t contracted with a spirit.
The reason this summoning method had died out was obvious from how exhausting it was.
Worried I might stray even slightly from the sketch, I lay flat on the floor and carefully carved the patterns with total concentration.
It wasn’t because I was too tired to stay upright. Definitely not.
How much time had passed?
My growling stomach suggested several hours.
“Finished!”
I raised my arms in a tiny, solitary cheer, then fetched the mana concentrate I’d gotten from Mia.
As I carefully poured it into the carved grooves, the corners of my mouth twitched with joy.
Some got on my finger. I considered wiping it on my clothes… then wondered if eating it would increase my mana… but I didn’t want to die young, so I settled for rubbing it into my skin instead.
The mana solution was an unappetizing dark green.
The contract circle gleamed a deep emerald on the stone. After double-checking for mistakes, I sprinkled the fairy dust over it with a flourish.
The golden particles sparkled beautifully as they drifted through the room.
The mana concentrate forming the circle glowed brightly the moment it touched the fairy dust, as if it had been waiting for this.
It was as bright as dozens of candles. That meant I’d drawn the circle correctly. So far, everything matched what I’d read.
Now, if the summoning succeeded, a spirit would appear. If it failed, nothing would happen.
If nothing happened, it would be embarrassing, so I’d have to take this attempt to my grave. After considering the possibility of failure, I took a moment to steel myself, then recited the summoning incantation I’d written down earlier.
It was quite long, so I had to pace my breathing carefully.
“wkdusdml wjddldu, tptkd ahems rjtdml wjddldu, durl rm fuddmf qnffjsorhwk gksek, skdhk rPdirdmf aowdj dudghsdml dkvskfdmf gkaRpgkf wjdfuddldu, so qnfmadp ekqgkdu sk rmeodml wndlsdl ehlfusl rmeo skdml whddl ehldjfk.”
It was a very ancient language.
There were many words I didn’t recognize, so I simply pronounced them as written. Still, I caught a few familiar ones here and there.
Maybe studying with Teacher Iel hadn’t been completely useless after all.
My quiet murmuring echoed through the room.