Every summon has its advantages? What a joke! What kind of advantage could a low-tier summon possibly have against the monstrosities before him?
Standing in a massive arena with an open roof, Godfrey watched from the crowd as two figures faced each other on a wide platform. On one side stood Isolde, her summon at her side: a white-scaled beast. Its leathery wings stretched like the sails of an ancient warship, attached to its forelimbs, while its powerful hind legs and lashing tail made the ground tremble. But it was the head that stole everyone's breath; ferocious, reptilian, with a row of needle-like teeth sharp enough to shred whatever was unlucky enough to fall into its maw.
A White Wyvern. Tier 5.5, potential 7.0. Current tier 6.8!
Facing them stood Dale and his summon: a massive, hunched bull, seven feet tall at the shoulders. Two jagged horns jutted upward, their sharp tips crackling with lightning, while curved spikes of the same lightning hue protruded from its back. Its entire body was covered in black, chitinous plating, natural armor strong enough to deflect bullets.
The Armored Emperor Bull. Tier 5.2, potential 6.2.
Both Isolde and Dale had been bonded to their summons since before they could read properly, blessed early with strong companions.
Dale smirked, confidence shining through, though his usual cockiness was tempered in Isolde's presence. "My bull is already at 6.1 high-tier, with lightning at its command."
"Oh." Isolde's response was curt, almost dismissive. Her wyvern lifted its head and glared down at the bull with cold, intelligent eyes.
Dale's smile faltered, but he clenched his jaw and signaled his bull. The beast charged, each step sending lightning snaking across the stone platform. Sparks built between its horns, condensing into a searing bolt.
Isolde's wyvern growled, its throat rumbling. White mist swirled from its maw, and in an instant the charging bull was frozen mid-stride, encased in ice.
Gasps rippled through the students.
'Her wyvern… it can breathe an element!'
Frost spread across the platform, cracking stone as it raced outward. The frozen bull shattered into shards as lightning ripped through the ice, but the wyvern was already upon it. With a whip of its massive, scaled tail, it struck the bull's neck, sending the armored beast skidding across the arena, blood spilling from its jaws.
Dale's hands trembled as lightning flared weakly along his arms.
"Isolde wins." The combat instructor's voice rang out, stern and final. "Dale, retrieve your summon and let it recover. You treated her as if she were any other opponent. Her summon outclasses yours, but your defeat was sealed by your poor use of its abilities."
Dale grit his teeth, recalling his bull.
Godfrey's gaze lingered on Isolde as she returned to the stands. Every eye followed her with admiration, she wasn't just beautiful, she was talented, her future full of promise. For a brief second, she turned her head, glancing at him.
Godfrey's lips curved faintly. 'Cool summon,' he mouthed, silently.
A prideful smile touched her face as she caught his words.
"Snow wins."
The announcement snapped Godfrey's attention back to the arena. His eyes widened as he saw Snow standing beneath a strangely captivating butterfly the size of a man. Its wings glowed with red glimmer that shimmered like falling starlight.
The glimmer had drifted toward the snake another girl had summoned, instantly turning both summon and summoner to stone.
A stunned silence swept through the arena.
Snow lazily snapped his fingers. His Glimmer-Wing Butterfly flapped once, releasing multicolored glimmer that melted away the petrification. The girl collapsed in tears, shaking, eyes wide with the memory of being trapped inside her own body.
"Go easy next time. They are your classmates," the instructor said sternly.
"I did go easy," Snow replied coolly, descending the platform.
Gasps and whispers spread through the crowd. The Glimmer-Wing Butterfly was no ordinary summon. Tier 6.0, potential 6.5. Deadly in combat, but even more terrifying was its side effect: the longer it was bonded to its master, the more strikingly beautiful its summoner became.
And Snow was already living proof of that.
Before Godfrey could fully process what he'd just witnessed, the instructor's voice rang out again.
"Godfrey Daniels. You're next."
A knot of tension twisted in his chest, but he exhaled slowly, steadying himself. His fists clenched and released as he strode forward. This would be his first true battle as a summoner, the beginning of a fundamental change in his life.
His opponent, a girl with twin ponytails, smirked from across the platform. She was already certain of victory.
Godfrey shut his eyes for a brief moment, recalling the glowing words etched in a stone tablet beside the throne where he found his knight.
Summon: Knight-Captain of the Golden Order
Type: Hybrid
Tier: 3.0
Potential: 6.0
Description: [A Knight-Captain of the Sword and Shield unit – the greatest of them all. Oath-bound soldier of the Golden Order. Alchemically altered to slay monstrous beasts. Wields a 50-pound sword, a 100-pound shield, and armor weighing 150 pounds. In Black-Out State, this knight-captain breaks the limits of his base strength, ascends to greater heights, and mimics the abilities of his foes.]
Godfrey grinned in his soul space. 'A Knight-Captain, huh? Then I'll call you Mountain.'
His eyes snapped open to the real world, where the girl's summon appeared; a hulking Iron-Clawed Crab, its steel pincers gleaming, each snap strong enough to rip through a wall.
'Mountain… It's time. Come out.'
A golden diagram blazed beside him, and the towering knight emerged. Gold and steel glinted under the light, a white cloak trailing behind. A sun was etched upon its cuirass. With heavy metallic steps, Mountain passed Godfrey and raised his great shield, sword poised at the ready.
The girl chuckled. Her crab scuttled forward, claws smashing down with brutal force against Mountain's shield.
The impact rang out but instead of being forced back, the knight's shield flared with glowing runes. The absorbed force surged outward, blasting wounds across the crab's shell. The girl and her summon recoiled in shock.
Mountain lowered his shield and swung his massive blade, cleaving through one of the crab's steel claws.
Gasps erupted as blood spurted across the platform.
But Mountain wasn't done. Hatred radiated from his stance as he slammed his ironclad boot into the crab's chest, sending it tumbling. His sword rose high, poised to end the creature in a single strike.
"Stop!" Godfrey's voice rang out, sharp with shock.
Mountain froze, blade hovering an inch above the crab's head.
The arena was silent. For a heartbeat, even the instructor was stunned. Then, with a barked order, he rushed forward, retrieving the wounded crab and rushing to the school nurse to reattach its severed claw.
All around, students stared at Godfrey with wide eyes.
None of them could believe what they had just witnessed.
....
A/N: I hope you enjoy this novel. Support by adding to your library and giving a power stone or two. Thank you.