The Summoner of ■■ (22)

Whoooosh—

The searing heat that scorched the skin just by lingering nearby was swept aside by the wind Haze stirred up. When Kallion’s magic layered over it, the muggy temperature plummeted in an instant. All that remained was the eye-stinging glare of staring straight into the noonday sun.

I narrowed my eyes halfway against the light and let out a sigh.

“What a pain in the ass…”

Through the slits of my narrowed gaze I could make out the cleverly hidden passage inside the volcano. The reason I was stuck living through this cliché-that-wasn’t-a-cliché was because one of the treasures I’d found had been a clue pointing right here.

“There’s all kinds of crazy stuff, seriously.”

I never imagined they’d go so far as to chain treasures into linked quests.

Thanks to that I snagged some unexpected points, but getting here meant circling the entire island for no good reason. Along the way I only kept finding “treasures” that weren’t treasures at all—just more markers pointing to other treasures—twisting the path into double and triple layers until I finally arrived. I crossed three different wastelands on the way: a cliff so deep you couldn’t see the bottom, the thin-air heights of a high mountain, and even a route that led deep into the underground sea beneath the island. At that point I genuinely wondered if they’d really planted this for cadets to find.

Even if this turned out to be a real treasure, I doubted it would cover the cost of the trouble. Without Kallion and Haze’s help I never would have made it this far.

After putting me through all this, if it turns out to be nothing special… I’ll deliberately set the volcano off myself. The instructors would just clap and call it another excellent test, of course.

This was a non-standard world, so their way of thinking was non-standard too. And that scared me. If they could look at a volcano erupting and lava flowing—the disaster itself—and think “that’s fine,” then just how nightmarish was the catastrophe they kept singing about?

I never want to experience that.

I shook my head hard to scatter the horrible image and stepped forward, squeezing my body into the gap between the rocks where magma bubbled and seethed.

The space inside was empty. At a glance it looked like nothing more than a natural cavern formed where the volcano sat. But through Haze I sensed the surrounding space with the wind, and I could tell this place was alien.

When I stood at the center of the cavern and faced forward, the alien space shifted.

Beeeep!

Something flashed as if scanning me, and a voice came through my device. The Access Permit I’d added to it before coming here was glowing. That permit was the whole reason I’d ended up here in the first place. If authentication had failed, I probably would have forced the door open with raw power.

Clank! Ziiiiing—

Mechanical sounds echoed from a place that had no machines at all, and the sealed rock began to open like an automatic door.

“…Huh?”

The mechanical noises already felt off, but now a secret base was appearing. A strangely advanced research facility on a volcanic island was a cliché in its own right. For the island itself to function like the academy’s arena, there had to be facilities maintaining it. This was probably one of the places managing those functions, or something related.

I stepped inside at once. Following the blinking machine lights, I arrived at a throne. Built of machinery and bundles of cables, it practically screamed science fiction. Seated upon it, as if lost in sleep, was a young girl.

“A machine.”

But I could hear none of the sounds a human body should make—no heartbeat, nothing. Externally she was so lifelike it was hard to tell her apart from a person, yet the sensation I got from looking at her was closer to the Guardians stationed at the academy. She was probably carrying part of the main system that managed this facility.

I swiped the device hologram aside and noticed the somewhat aged-looking box clutched in her hands. It looked for all the world like a king bestowing a gift upon a subject, but to me it felt more like “take this and get lost.”

“Hilarious.”

My eyes drifted instead to the surrounding machinery. That interested me far more. Just from the look of the box, it had clearly been left here for a very long time. Whoever prepared it never imagined a mere cadet would unravel the island’s secrets in only five days and reach this place. Or maybe the weird part was building something like this in a place where people were expected to come at all.

When I held my device up to the console as if it were the most natural thing in the world, the access permit I’d obtained as treasure linked with the login and brought up the display. I poured mana into it as well, pushing my concentration to the absolute limit, and absorbed every scrap of recorded data and information into my head. In my previous life that volume of material would have made me dizzy on sight, but the combination of the skills Observation and Record let me store any amount of information quickly and cleanly.

While I was sorting the data and cross-checking it against what was already stored in my brain, I found the design documents for this research facility. After reading them all, I glanced back at the throne-shaped construct once more. Checking the current and mana flowing through the cables behind it, I finally understood what it was.

“…Yeah. No way something sitting in a place like this would be a simple machine.”

The functional circuits had burned out and it no longer operated, yet the remaining computational capacity alone was enough for that girl’s refined form to cover the entire island.

“Never thought they’d make a machine out of a dungeon boss’s corpse.”

Right. The girl’s appearance was nothing but a shell—efficiency be damned, stuffed full of the creator’s tastes and personal whims. The true essence lay in the core that sat in place of a heart inside her girl-shaped body, and in the chair she occupied. Only the most carefully selected critical parts had been carved out, processed into the shape ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of a heart, and forced into a human form. Everything else was fixed externally in the shape of the chair.

They had deliberately dismantled a once-complete dungeon boss’s body and degraded it into an item. Only when connected through the cables, synchronized, and given additional auxiliary adjustments could it function properly—a defective half-machine even as a machine. And yet even that defective product still held enough power to cover an entire island.

“So this is an A-rank dungeon boss.”

More precisely, an artifact made by treating an entire A-rank dungeon boss’s corpse as raw material.

“…Looking at it like this, I still don’t get it.”

Even with the blueprints I couldn’t fully understand how this form was being maintained. My instincts as a summoner whispered that I should dismantle it right now, but my reason was certain that if it broke, the instructors would hold me responsible and make my life hell. According to the designs, eight identical units were on standby centered around this island, so if one suddenly failed the others would fill the gap. But that was only temporary. The moment I dismantled this thing the exam would be halted and the instructors would come storming in. Best case, property damage. Worst case, they’d attack first and ask questions never.

Besides, I wasn’t even sure I could dismantle it at my current level. Even a quick glance showed more than forty protective spells active. This went beyond overprotection—it was guarded more securely than most national treasures.

In the end, all I could do was stare at it and compare it to the blueprints.

“At least the harvest wasn’t a complete zero, so I guess I should be grateful.”

I’d seen something good. I gave up on dismantling it and opened the treasure box the girl-shaped machine was carefully holding, taking out what lay inside.

“…Hmm?”

Inside was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠piece of metal that fit in one hand. It held a soft vermilion glow, flashing with beautiful luster every time I turned it. It hadn’t been processed; it looked rough, as if a fragment had simply been broken off something enormous. When I lifted the metal, a note inside read only the cryptic phrase “a portion of the original.” Someone who didn’t know better might think it meant the original of this unit.

But thanks to the blueprints I knew exactly what the original was. The note meant this metal was a byproduct taken from the body of the A-rank dungeon boss that had become the original of this unit.

“No wonder the box didn’t have the academy mark. This is the ‘real thing,’ so it doesn’t count for points…”

An A-rank—and a boss monster’s byproduct at that. As a test I poured mana into it. Like a dry sponge drinking water, it greedily absorbed my mana without end. Even when I fed it the mana strengthened by Subjugator, there was no bottom in sight. It gave me a clear sense of just how much of a monster the original owner of this body must have been. Maybe it was only because this was pure mana, but right now I had zero desire to watch a creature that used metal like this as its body start throwing skills around. Catching it would be hard enough; the process itself would be a filthy pain. Leave that kind of thing to guys like Ban Taewung who could interfere with physical phenomena directly regardless of mana.

“Hive.”

“Kaaak!”

At my call, Hive poked its head out of my shadow. I handed it the metal and it accepted it as if that were only natural, then sank back into the darkness.

Nothing more to take here. I’d gotten the points, and there didn’t seem to be any further treasure hints, so it was time to head outside and fill the rest of my score. I’d given it a full day, so Bihos’s side should start showing some kind of reaction around now.

I “recorded” one last image of the machine doll still sitting motionless as if asleep—exactly as it had been when I first arrived—then left the place and headed outside.

“The exit’s different.”

I’d come in by forcing my way through the volcano’s lava, but the moment I stepped into the entrance on the way out I was instantly teleported to the top of some random rocky mountain. I hadn’t even felt mana stir; only the result remained—my body was here. Some skill had activated. Kallion had been waiting above the volcano, but Haze, who had been right beside me, was gone. The designated target was clearly “whoever is carrying the device with the access permit.” Hive had been nestled in my shadow, so it transferred with me.

They simply hadn’t been transferred together; nothing else had happened. Closing my eyes, I could still feel my summons’ situations in real time. While I was at it I roughly checked what the others were doing, then quietly opened my eyes. My score was climbing steeply enough that the instructors’ movements had grown frantic.

Guess it’s about time to move.

Without calling Kallion and Haze separately, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠canceled their summons and immediately re-summoned them to my side.

Snap!

The moment my mana-laden fingers flicked, Kallion and Haze appeared beside me. I climbed onto Kallion’s back at once and soared high into the sky.

KRAAAAAANG!!!!

From the far side a massive explosion roared and a huge pillar of flame erupted. Incredible destructive power. At the same time I spotted the flaming chariot over there and blinked.

“That girl…”

The young woman standing atop the chariot looked familiar. Her vivid red hair, bright as the flames themselves, actually had embers flickering through it. The fire she condensed in her hand shaped itself into a long spear and shot toward the ground like a launched projectile.

KRAAANG!!!

The destructive power was lower than the first strike, but it wasn’t ineffective. The fire she had condensed with enough force to challenge the heavens rose as a pillar of flame high into the sky. The target scrambled to dodge, so the heat packed into it must have been intense as well.

When the classes were reorganized she hadn’t been in S-Class, so I’d figured she’d either given up and dropped out or been expelled for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lack of skill. But she was still in A-Class, and she hadn’t given up. I hadn’t recognized her at first because her impression had changed so drastically. The ponytail that once reached her waist was gone; now her hair was cut short to her shoulders, and she streaked through the air scattering flames. I’d simply had no interest, so I only noticed now. If it hadn’t been for that solar chariot she was driving, I probably never would have thought “oh, there’s a decent cadet after all.”

“Burst! Overflowing flames, swallow and burn the enemies that bar my path! Explosion!!!”

She began raining magical fire and explosive sparks on the instructors disguised as criminals. Even after a considerable amount of flame swallowed the surroundings, not a trace of fatigue showed on her face.

I’d thought it was greedy to expect grit on top of talent among the ones who could already fly and crawl at this stage. But apparently there were people who had both talent and the willingness to work. I needed to revise my opinion. That girl had grit. She also had an unyielding drive to improve. And she knew how to take responsibility for her own fights. At the very least she looked far better than the trash around her who obsessed over whether they were S-Class or A-Class.

Interesting.

I had no desire to do something as unsightly as barging into that fight. But expanding the board a little should be fine, right?

I condensed mana at my fingertips—not to call anyone. I transformed the mana straight into shadow, gathered it in my hand like a lump, and pressed it over my face like a mask.

Fwaaash—

In an instant, clothes of shadow covered my body. The feeling was perfect. Thanks to Bihos, the effect of Subjugator showed no sign of dropping and kept going strong.

I gave Bihos the order.

“Sweep them.”

Instructors, students, monsters—no distinction. Sweep them all. If the enemy blocked an attack, become even harder armor and charge through. If they resisted, spray poison and break their will. If one wasn’t enough, become two; if two weren’t enough, become three, and keep flooding in. Become terror. Overwhelming terror that made them think it could never be stopped.

My current score was 82. Only 18 points left until 100. If I raised enough hell and flipped the board, even the densest idiots would finally realize those people weren’t criminals but part of the instructors’ shady exam.

The atmosphere was gradually ripening. It was only day two, which also meant that from day three—when people would be hungriest—hell would begin. What I had to do from now on was simple. I was going to escape anyway, so I would push the environment of this entire area to the absolute extreme and make instructors and cadets suffer equally. In my current position I couldn’t challenge an instructor to a life-or-death duel, and I had no reason to do something that annoying in the first place. So this was just a little something on the side. They’d forced me into this bothersome playacting, so they could think of it as payback.

Search and destroy. Discover and destroy immediately.

I closed my eyes and poured mana without restraint into the Bihos entities that were beginning to move one by one through the skill Link.

In a way, is this also a test run of Magic Armor?

Might as well kill two birds with one stone.

BUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG!!!!

At the sound of engines roaring as if they were about to explode, I slowly opened my eyes and, ignoring the mana aura that began to pour from my eyeballs like a blast, swept my gaze around. Seeing the dark green-armored forms scatter in every direction, I gave a slight shiver. Even if they were Hercules beetles, watching that many of them at that size charge all at once made me think bugs were still bugs after all. If even their master felt that way, how would everyone else feel? I was a little worried—but more than that, I was already looking forward to the reactions.

“I’d like to get at least two points.”

Then I’d only need to find a few more treasures and I’d be done. Watching the dark-green trails spread out and commit indiscriminate destruction, I quietly raised my mana.

“You really went and did it.”

“…I’m the type who can’t rest until I’ve paid back double what I received.”

Whoom!

A man’s figure appeared beside me before I knew it, and I tilted my head just enough to slip past the fist he threw.

“Clench your teeth.”

While I wondered how many points villain-hunting would actually give, I wrapped Haze’s wind around my shadow gauntlet and drove it forward without hesitation.