The Summoner of ■■ (10)

“Ban Taewung’s on the sixth floor, one level up. This is the fifth.”

I figured I should at least correct her in case she’d simply come to the wrong room. Then again, was it even allowed for a girl to stroll into the boys’ dorm like this? Probably fine. She was standing there so boldly, after all. Or maybe she was just looking to get herself disciplined too.

Not my problem either way.

“Ah! No, that’s not it! I already went to see Taewung.”

The blue-haired woman flinched at my words, then finally understood. She shook her head so hard it almost rattled, blue locks whipping left and right.

She’d already visited Ban Taewung? Then why come to me? What did she want? Did she actually have business with me? Letting her into my room was out of the question, so I stepped out into the hallway myself.

“Um, so… please take this!! …Ah…”

Sensing another headache about to coil around me, I gave her a mild glare. The blue-haired girl fidgeted, bit her tongue, flushed scarlet, and ducked her head as she thrust something toward me.

It was a bag of cookies, wrapped in a distinctly feminine gift pouch.

“I heard from Taewung. He said you helped the most with the rescue. I was so flustered back then I never even managed a proper thank-you, and just letting it slide again would be far too shameless… So, truly, thank you.”

“…Ah. That so.”

Thankfully it didn’t seem like anything major.

Probably just one of those classic good-heroine moves. A little virtue signaling to show off her personality in one clean stroke, plus a dash of feminine charm for good measure. Nothing more needed saying.

Given Shin Na-rae’s character, she was clearly set to take up a lot of screen time going forward, so events like this were bound to happen. The fact that she’d stopped by Ban Taewung first only confirmed I was the side character in this little scene.

I don’t need this kind of thing.

I meant it. Honestly, sincerely—I had no use for it. Accepting it wouldn’t mean anything.

I hadn’t even been the one to save her directly back then. I’d just been cleaning up my own mess when Ban Taewung barged in, and I’d wrapped everything up in one go as a side benefit.

“It was nothing, so don’t worry about it. I’ll take the gift.”

I had no real obligation to accept, but inventing some elaborate excuse to refuse would have been even more annoying. I delivered the standard polite line and took the cookie pouch she offered. No brand label, and I’d never seen packaging like it around here—homemade, most likely.

The moment I accepted, Shin Na-rae’s face brightened so obviously that I narrowed my eyes a fraction.

“Anything else?”

“Uh… no. I just wanted to say thank you.”

“That so? You’re the type who goes looking for extra work, huh. Good job.”

With that, I waved her off like I was dusting my hands and turned away. When I opened the door she still looked like she had something left to say, but I saw no reason to indulge it.

Thud.

I thoroughly pretended not to notice, projected pure indifference, and shut the door.

…Step. Step.

Only after a long while, once I confirmed the footsteps had finally left the doorway, did I toss the cookies into a convenient patch of shadow. The carefully decorated wrapping crumpled and a few cookies cracked; I didn’t care.

“Dispose of it.”

“Caw.”

As I flopped onto the bed, Hive poked its head out of the shadow and immediately swallowed the cookies into the darkness.

Thanks to the skill Link, communication with my summons had become seamless—I only needed to will it, no conscious effort required. A neat little trick.

Crunch. Crunch-crunch.

The sound of cookies being devoured drifted up from inside the shadow.

Time passed with no further incident. No dead shadow crows. Thankfully, no poison. The analyzed composition showed nothing unusual either. Just ordinary cookies, nothing more, nothing less.

Or rather—making something on the same level as professionally sold handmade goods was pretty impressive in its own right, wasn’t it?

In this world every confection and baked good was skill-based, so they all tasted exceptional by default.

No biological GPS either. Just in case, I even dismantled the wrapping looking for bugs or listening devices. Nothing.

Most people would call that overkill, but I fundamentally didn’t trust anyone.

Even setting that aside, Shin Na-rae was the sort of person who walked around with a daughter of the Bright family at her side. Even if the two of them really were just friends, no one else would see it that way.

I didn’t either.

She was almost certainly going to become a Saint—or someone of equivalent standing.

And I was the guy Lee Se-rin, the one the Church regarded as extremely dangerous and actively kept in check, had openly marked as her fiancé.

Whatever her true intentions, caution never hurt. If nothing came of it, great. If something did, I’d just pay it back later.

Getting blindsided because I’d gotten complacent was the one thing I refused ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to allow. Seriously.

I checked everything else I could think of. Nothing suspicious turned up.

She really had brought the cookies purely out of gratitude.

Judging by that earnest attitude, she’d given something to Ban Taewung as thanks, heard about me, and then gone and baked a fresh batch just for me.

I knew better than most how close making something by hand came to hard labor. That only made it harder to understand.

“She sure lives the hard way.”

I couldn’t grasp why anyone would go out of their way to take on unnecessary work.

Even in a place packed with flying geniuses, people were still people. The good ones stayed good, the dense ones stayed dense, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the bastards stayed bastards.

And even among the good ones, some weren’t purely good. Obsess over every little detail and you’d age yourself into an early grave.

My life motto was thin and long, so getting tangled in trivialities was just a pain.

I’d prefer never to get involved with her again, but now that she was linked to Ban Taewung we’d cross paths eventually. Reminding myself of that fact, I closed my eyes for real and decided to sleep.

“…I should summon.”

The next morning.

Freed from the noise and having finally slept comfortably for once, a clean thought surfaced in my freshly rested mind.

I’d hit level 30 early somehow, but looking at the results, not much had actually changed.

The second job advancement had been the gods’ attempt to screw me over, yet thanks to some unknown someone I’d managed to slip free of their meddling.

No—things had changed. Skills had shifted, and I’d gained things without even realizing it. Most importantly, I’d learned that someone else in this world besides me hated the gods and this world itself.

I still had no idea who, but there was no way they’d left something like that only for the Summoner class. I needed to check whether the trigger activated for other jobs that weren’t the destined one.

They said the fourth time would strip all authority, right?

Whether that meant the gods or the system itself, it was useful information.

If anyone else had seen the same thing, they probably knew about the fourth as well. Even if no one else did, the intel itself still had value.

“First, the summoning.”

Hitting thirty and completing the second advancement had given me one extra stock even without raising Keres to level 10, bringing the total new summons I could call to two.

Simple math: once I got Keres to ten, another stock would open and I’d be able to bring in three new ones.

With the number of summons starting to grow in earnest, I had to seriously consider how to raise them.

“One of them is locked in as a set with Keres, but…”

The question was whether the new one should stick to existing combinations or aim for something completely different.

I’d already decided what to pair with Keres. I pulled out the Book of Summoning and checked the available list.

The list had grown a lot since last time. I selected the newly unlocked [Insect] sitting next to Centipede.

Flutter.

The page turned and a hologram appeared—a classic beetle. Roughly a bit larger than my thumb, but further customization was possible.

Because the category was the broad “insect,” I could make something with large wings like a butterfly, stretch it long like a caterpillar, or shrink it completely like a flea.

What I wanted was a beetle.

Not just because it had appeared first. A hard shell protected the body, and it could fly. That already made it agile by default, but an insect’s true uniqueness shone brightest once it became a monster.

What I was really eyeing was the skill this specimen possessed.

The basic image people held of insects was creepiness and sheer numbers.

That held true for monsters as well.

Insect-type monsters tended to gather into swarms even if they weren’t the same species. In the process they gradually shifted toward the most numerous or the strongest individual.

The skill Insect Swarm was that trait turned into a skill.

Bugs multiplied anywhere, anytime. No matter how weak a single specimen was, it would increase its numbers and charge. The effect was closer to “proliferation.”

In a way it resembled Hive’s trait Crow Flock. Hive created new shadow crows from mana; Insect Swarm simply multiplied identical individuals.

The difference between separate individuals spawning from a mother body versus an individual proliferating into a colony that replaced ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the whole looked similar at a glance, yet was fundamentally different.

I’d evolve it around the base skill Toxicity and the natural advantages of the insect race—disruption and status ailments as the main damage dealers.

Keres was undead, so she was essentially immune to poison; toxicity wouldn’t pose much risk.

Direction set. I closed the hologram into the book.

“Confirm.”

Sssaaaah—

The instant I confirmed, wind rose around me even though I hadn’t opened a window.

At the same time a crawling, skin-prickling sensation climbed my entire body. It sank deeper, bringing pain with it.

A nauseating feeling like every muscle fiber was being peeled apart and rebuilt, plus a stabbing ache racing up my spine.

It wasn’t simple pain—it was the kind of torment that prioritized suffering, like torture. My breath caught in my throat.

I felt mana drain out and soak into the book. Simultaneously the mana stones Hive had gathered inside the shadow crumbled into motes of light ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that drifted through the air.

Some merged into the book; others simply lingered nearby.

Click.

Once I confirmed something had finished forming inside me, I immediately gathered mana at my fingertips.

The base image was a beetle, but not just any beetle.

The main image was a Hercules beetle. Rather than a horn meant for lifting, I pictured one that felt more like a thin blade or an awl for stabbing.

Snap!

“Bihos.”

Shraaak!! Buuuuuum!!!

At my call a fierce noise like a drone tearing through the air roared out. I opened my hand into empty space and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, a massive form settled onto my arm with a solid thud.

Clack-clack!

What perched there, snapping its powerful mandibles, was a bug clad head-to-toe in jet-black armor.

Its sharp claw-spikes gleamed with something that could have been poison or simply oil, and the black bristles growing from its head and horn gave off a murky crimson tint that felt ominous just to look at.

Born with innate mana, its body was enormous. Even at a glance it looked well over twenty centimeters—top-class size among insects, I was pretty sure. The presence it radiated was no joke either.

“Not bad.”

Honestly, it was a little cool. They say men stay boys no matter how old they get; the fact that something like this still got me a bit excited proved I was still human after all.

I set Bihos aside for a moment and pulled the Book of Summoning out again.

My body had grown used to the summoning pain—I could still handle it. And since I’d already started, finishing both at once would be more convenient later.

“I’ve got physical long-range now, so I should think about magical long-range too.”

Keres could be used both outside and inside, so if I left external magic to Kallion, I needed an internal magical option as well.

Long-range usually meant magic, but among my current summon list few could immediately draw out something magic-like.

I chose the one that interested me most—the one I’d hesitated over alongside the demon last time.

Flutter.

The page turned and the hologram that appeared shaped itself into something like a will-o’-the-wisp: a mass of energy floating while holding a constant form.

“[Lesser Spirit].”

The moment I spoke the name, the page flipped and began displaying the entity’s information.

The displayed information itself wasn’t particularly special.

Immature Existence was literally the foundational skill of the lesser-spirit race. Still only a lump of energy that hadn’t become a full spirit, it could be easily influenced by anything.

Nature Body meant a body close to nature—or one that contained nature itself. The basic effects were double efficiency for all nature-related effects, or conversely the ability to reduce or completely ignore all damage from natural sources.

The empty slot seemed to be the skill that would decide what kind of spirit this one became. Most of the options were basic elemental types—fire, water, and the like.

“…The most versatile is wind.”

Even when ranking magic, wind was considered the most subtle and easiest to use among the elements.

The others each had their own irreplaceable strengths, of course.

Having to pick only one naturally made me hesitate. Every choice had clear pros and cons, so any of them would help.

I finished thinking quickly and decided on wind.

As someone who handled a variety of summons, individual strength mattered, but to leverage the advantage of numbers I had to look at combinations.

Wind could empower arrows or block approaching threats.

A spirit’s body was essentially a mass of energy, so it couldn’t greatly affect matter—and matter couldn’t greatly affect it either.

Unless something magical was added, ordinary physical attacks couldn’t damage a spirit at all.

Used well, that advantage could expand its applications endlessly.

Decision made. I closed the hologram into the book as if pushing it inside.

The system alert appeared as if affirming it. I hesitated for a split second, then nodded.

“Confirm.”

Freeze.

My body locked up. A chilling sensation raced up my spine. At the same time I felt a cold burning. It was as if my organs were twisting and tearing; the sensation rattled my brain.

“Cough…!”

A sudden cough escaped. The metallic, bloody tang and heat filled my mouth. Against my will I spat out a mouthful of blood.

The fallen blood instantly turned into red powder and began floating through the air. After a brief pause, mana stones burst out of the shadow. Among them was a small amber-like gem—I recognized it as the spirit remnant I’d recovered last time.

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, they mixed with the red powder, crumbled, and soaked into the Book of Summoning.

With my vision growing hazy I watched the light gradually fill the book.

The light gathered, making the cover clearer, and a new emblem that hadn’t existed before settled onto its surface.

The moment it finished, the blood that kept surging up finally stopped.

“Ptoo.”

I spat out the remaining blood and exhaled. Every breath reeked of iron, but I managed to hold onto consciousness.

Just like with Bihos earlier, it no longer even asked if I wanted to offer a sacrifice—it simply demanded one as a matter of course.

I’d planned to offer one anyway, but doing it without even asking my opinion was still irritating.

I gathered mana at my fingertips.

The image I called up was drifting clouds. Since I couldn’t picture wind itself, I pictured clouds flowing with the wind.

I decided not to force a fixed form—that would be more advantageous. If anything, I pictured the cool breeze that blew across a grassland.

Snap.

“Haze.”

Whoooosh!!

Wind rose even though I hadn’t opened a window. My bangs whipped wildly and the bedsheets lifted into the air, flying across the room. The thick scent of blood vanished, replaced by a refreshing breeze.

Hoooong—

What floated before my eyes was a translucent fluff of cotton. Tinged with a pale yellow aura and a soft green light, it had no clear body, yet once I perceived it I could clearly feel its presence here.

More than anything, the link connecting summons ran unmistakably from that fluff.

When I slowly reached out, the cotton drifted with a light breeze, tangled around my hand, then slipped free and began circling my body.

Buuuuum!!

Bihos, still beside me, took to the air in response and began circling the empty space. The sound of its wings wasn’t so much an insect’s buzz as the fierce roar of a small propeller.

It was not a sound that soothed the heart.

Even I, on the same team, felt that way—so to an enemy it would be pure nightmare and nothing less.

“Good.”

They seemed to get along well. That was a relief.

I wanted to head straight into a dungeon, but unfortunately two days of disciplinary confinement still remained. Since only I had received the extra two days, Ban Taewung and the others had probably already finished theirs.

Conveniently, two days from now was the weekend.

I looked forward to that day, yet at the same time I couldn’t shake the worry that something might explode at any moment.

I still had the reward I’d obtained to use, but after what happened during the second advancement I was reluctant to just open it.

There was a nagging pressure that whatever came out might be something bad for me.

I debated whether to use it or not, then decided it was better to leave it alone for now.

If I ever get desperate enough, I’ll use it then.

I’d leave that problem to future me. After dismissing Bihos and Haze, I rested my suddenly exhausted body and prepared for whatever was coming next.