Chapter 246 – New Summoner Armors.
Congratulations! You have completed your mission.
There it was, a message in the window telling him his mission was complete, and just in time. He had only one day left before he would have failed due to the time limit.
‘I wonder how many coins I’ll get. I’ve been here for almost a whole month!’
While the elves were still shocked by what had just happened, he was already thinking about his reward. Teral stepped closer, finally with enough mana left to summon several suits of steel armor to prod at what remained of the body. The moment the living armor touched it, the husk crumbled further until nothing was left.
“Don’t breathe in the dust. It could be poison!”
Lethira shouted as the wind carried away the creature’s remains. The other elves quickly stepped back, but Rusty saw no signs of transformation, and no trace of the creature’s mana remained. The battle was over. Now the rest was up to the elves.
“Teral, the time for me to go has come. I’m not sure when you’ll be able to summon me again, so stay safe.”
Rusty walked up to his summoner. The young man was clearly still processing everything that had happened. He had killed the one responsible for his parents’ deaths, yet there was no triumph in his eyes. Instead, he looked hollow and exhausted.
“...Is it really over? What about that creature?”
Teral glanced at his dagger before slowly putting it away, his gaze lingering on the remains of the monster. It was clear he had many questions about what had just happened, and Rusty had them too. If these summoning missions continued, then Teral’s journey had only just begun.
“Teral, listen to me. You need to grow stronger. You’re a summoner. You should be able to call on spirits other than me.”
Rusty’s form began to fade, his body turning transparent. Only then did Teral realize what was happening. He rushed forward, hands trembling as if he were about to lose something precious.
“R-rusty, where are you going? I need you here. I need your help, your guidance. Without you… I…”
“Without me, you are the one who will lead the elves from now on. Take care of your people and protect your village. More humans will come for you eventually, so be ready. Be strong.”
“I…”
The young man seemed on the verge of tears, but he managed to hold himself together. He bit his lower lip and finally took a step back.
“I will.”
“Good. And remember, you are not alone.”
Before fully vanishing, Rusty gestured to the other elves gathered around the human stronghold. They had all come together to defeat the evil baron and his lackeys.
“I’m not alone anymore…”
Teral glanced back and saw Lethira waving him over. They needed help with the injured. When he turned back to where Rusty had been standing, his body had already dissolved into particles of blue light. He was gone now, no longer there to lend his power or offer advice. Though the young elf felt uneasy, he had no time to dwell on it.
“I’m coming.”
He moved forward, but something felt off. His frown was clear, and he found it difficult to focus on his second-in-command, Lethira.
“Teral, are you feeling unwell? Maybe you should sit down. You might be suffering from mana exhaustion.”
“Mana exhaustion? No, I’m fine…”
His voice was weak, and a strange sensation suddenly washed over him. A window from the world system appeared before his eyes, and in an instant, his mood changed.
“Haha… the Great Spirit is truly watching over us.”
He muttered to himself, but Lethira and the other elves heard him.
“The Great Spirit?”
“Indeed. You’re right. We need to secure this area and decide what to do with the humans and their village.”
With renewed vigor, he summoned more of his living armor constructs and turned to lead the group of elven warriors. They had taken some damage, and a few had fallen, but compared to the humans, their losses were minimal.
After the mission ended, Rusty appeared in his usual spot within the summoning chamber. A window appeared before his eyes, congratulating him on his successful mission.
Congratulations on your return. Calculating rewards… please wait…
“I hope I didn’t waste all that time for nothing.”
Now that he was back, he went over everything that had happened. He had left Teral with a few words of advice and encouragement. He knew humanoids were emotional, so it was best to raise their morale in some way.
His thoughts then shifted to the clash with the baron. If he had not prepared the small army of elven warriors, he might not have won so easily. He might even have lost if the knights had still been present when the baron transformed. It was clear that the transformation had increased the difficulty, which meant he would likely receive greater rewards than usual.
Received Medium Experience Talisman x6
Received Small Experience Talisman x5
Received Lesser Piercing Talisman x1
Received Lesser Wind Blade Talisman x1
First came the talismans. He had received more than during his encounter with the necromancer. The medium experience talismans granted three times the experience of the small ones, making it a valuable haul. With them, he could gain at least one new level in the real world and move closer to reaching the peak of regular D-rank.
The enchanted talismans were also intriguing. One seemed to increase the piercing power of weapons or arrows. Since he had been working with elves skilled in archery, this made sense. The other reminded him of the mercenary leader and his enchanted wind saber.
Congratulations. Your synergy with the summoner Teral has reached a new level. You will be rewarded with summoner coins.
For furthering the bonds with the summoner Teral, you will be rewarded with additional summoner coins.
“Now then, for the moment of truth.”
Rusty quickly checked his summoner coins and was not disappointed by the amount he had received.
“So it really is about the time spent with them.”
At last, he had the answer to a question that had been bothering him. Taking his time in these summoned worlds was the best way to gain more resources. However, it was also a double-edged sword. There was a timer he had not noticed before, and by the time he became aware of it, around seventy percent of the allotted time had already passed.
Last time, he had one hundred and one coins after his visit to the necromancer. He spent all of them on unlocking one loadout option and was left with a single coin. Now, after spending a lot of time with Teral, he had gained eighty-seven more, bringing his total to eighty-eight.
“A whole eighty-eight coins. Now what should I spend them on?”
His instincts told him to unlock another summoner slot, since his earlier mistake had locked him out of taking new missions for a while. However, he wondered if he really needed to do it now or if it would be better to wait until the next summoning cycle. If he managed to get a regular mission with one of the three he already had, spending twenty-five coins might feel like a waste.
“Should I just save them and decide later?”
He questioned whether there was any reason to act immediately. It might be wiser to read the new mission description in three days and then decide whether he needed more storage capacity or if unlocking a longer link range with the summoner would be the better choice.
There was, however, something he could spend coins on right away. While he was not fully convinced about the necromancer, Gwen and Teral were summoners he was willing to invest in. Both could be strengthened by improving their stats, but also by upgrading the rarity of the armor he unlocked for them. Spending a few coins to make the elf stronger would likely improve his chances of survival.
“This option was not there before?”
Unlock Enchanted Steel Heavy Warrior - 25 Coins
Unlock Enchanted Steel Light Warrior - 25 Coins
Unlock Enchanted Steel Scout - 25 Coins
An option to choose a D-minus rank summon had appeared for Teral. To make things more complicated, there were three variations, and when he hovered over them with the mouse pointer, a short description of each appeared.
Enchanted Steel Heavy Warrior
These larger living armor constructs possess more mass than the others and are equipped with a tower shield and a large mace. Their defensive capabilities are high, but they suffer from limited speed and reduced maneuverability compared to lighter variants. They are best suited for holding the front line and defensive roles.
Enchanted Steel Light Warrior
A balanced construct equipped with a longsword and a medium shield. These units offer decent mobility and solid defensive capabilities, making them adaptable to most combat situations. They are a reliable choice in general scenarios.
Enchanted Steel Scout
A lighter and faster construct designed for reconnaissance and rapid strikes. Equipped with dual short blades and a longbow, these units excel at flanking and targeting weak points, but they lack durability in prolonged engagements.
Rusty leaned back slightly as he reviewed the options, his metal fingers tapping against his helmet while he considered each choice.
“Three options… each useful in its own way.”
He had enough coins to take all of them, but that felt excessive. Teral could already summon standard steel living armors similar to the light warrior variant being offered. There were also plenty of elves supporting him, so a scout with a bow was hardly something he lacked.
“A strong vanguard to protect him while I’m gone would probably be best… but why does it cost so much?”
Choosing it would cost him a full twenty-five coins. Still, many of the humans were only D rank, and he did not feel comfortable leaving Teral without additional protection. Even if he selected just one option, that did not prevent the elf from summoning multiple heavy warrior variants later.
“Enchanted Steel Heavy Warrior it is. You better thank me when I get back, Teral, for being so generous.”
He made his selection, and the new summon was added to Teral’s repertoire. Out of curiosity, he checked on his other two summoners and found, somewhat surprisingly, that he could grant them the same construct as well.
“Should I give it to Gwen?”
He considered it for a moment, then decided against it. She lived in a relatively peaceful academy. While Teral needed to grow stronger quickly to defend himself against humans, she only needed to attend lectures and steadily improve her abilities.
Then there was the necromancer, whom Rusty cared little about. The man seemed capable of surviving almost anything, and with a powerful mother watching over him, he hardly needed assistance.
“Gwen’s stats have improved since last time. If I give her a new summon, what if she becomes lazy?”
Rusty understood how humans tended to think and behave. Too much help could easily slow their progress. If he wanted to support his first summoner properly, he would need to focus on something else first, perhaps improving her stats so she could summon him more effectively. Compared to the other two, she was still lagging behind, and that seemed like the better path for now.
“They can always learn more summoning spells on their own…”
Thus, after deliberating for a moment, he decided to increase the most important stat for a summoner, which was wisdom, as it directly affected their mana pool and allowed them to summon more powerful beings. With that done, the time was finally up, and he was left with fifty-three coins, enough to buy a slot for a new summoner and perhaps increase storage capacity.
“I’m back, Gleam!”
“(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”
Finally, Rusty returned to his own home. There he was greeted by his best ant friend in the world, Gleam. She instantly jumped onto his shoulder and stretched.
“Have I been gone for long?”
Gleam shook her head, indicating that not much time had passed in this world. The time distortion his soul forge allowed him to use was quite a cheat. Even though he had been gone for almost a whole month, very little time had passed here.
“Now then, come forth, my guides!”
Aburdon and Alexander were quickly summoned.
“You seem rather happy,”
Alexander commented as he appeared first.
“Of course, I’ve finally gotten enough summoning coins for everything. Look at how many experience talismans I’ve gathered, too!”
“(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)”
Gleam wiggled as Rusty’s joy seemed contagious. Soon, Aburdon also appeared to congratulate him on his victory.
“Quite impressive, my dear Rusty. That was quite the strange transformation, though. The magic seemed rather demonic.”
“Oh? Were you two watching?”
The moment he arrived, Aburdon could not help but comment on the grotesque caterpillar-like monster the human baron had transformed into.
“I’m always watching you, my dear Rusty.”
Aburdon replied. Rusty was smart enough to notice the hidden threat within those words, but he still did not believe that this guide could harm him in any way.
“Good. I appreciate the advice you give, but now we need to focus on getting stronger. The faster I evolve, the better.”
With the experience talismans in his hand, it would not take long for him to reach D plus rank. To achieve that, he needed to return to the dungeon, or perhaps hunt bandit camps, or even visit the orc-infested forests.
“I wonder what they will do about the hounds vanishing, once it’s morning, let’s go see Gleam.”
It was still nighttime, so he first spent some time discussing the issue and his recent summoning. Aburdon informed him that the vial with black liquid contained a seed known as a devil flesh seed. It was something that could turn humanoids into powerful devil beings, a lesser form of demons that were still strong but far less intelligent.
When morning came, he headed into the city. To no surprise, the notice board in the city square was filled with requests for mercenaries. There was also one within the adventurer guild, which made him wonder if this was an opportunity he should take.
‘Everything is going as we planned, but will it really be that easy?’
He asked himself as he looked at the paper. People of E and D ranks were asked to report in just two more days. It seemed that an orc attack was approaching, and the settlement found itself without enough mercenaries. If all went well, and he demonstrated his power, he could perhaps become a high-ranking member of the new mercenary organisation.