At the center of the summoning square, in front of the largest altar, the Holy Knights were busily setting up the Blessing Circle.
Logan stood off to the side, eyes glued to his phone, his mouth stretched to his ears as he saw seven zeros appear in his account.
Owen stood respectfully beside Nancy Priest, his expression filled with irritation as he looked at Logan.
The guild representatives on the scene were all beating their chests and cursing under their breath, grumbling about Logan's luck — what kind of idiot would pay several times the market price for a commoner's unreasonable request?
As the six-pointed blessing circle lit up around the altar, the guild representatives grew even more furious.
At this moment, Nancy Priest slowly stepped forward, her gaze piercing through her mask and landing on Logan.
"God bless the people."
"Mr. Logan, the summoning ritual and the blessing ceremony are all set. Shouldn't our deal begin now?"
Hearing the reminder, Logan quickly closed his phone, grabbed a pen, and signed his name on the familiar transaction contract with a smile.
"Thank you, Miss Nancy."
"Call me Priest." Nancy's expression remained calm, unshaken by Logan's casual address.
Logan, seeing her lack of amusement, found her utterly uninteresting and walked toward the center of the altar.
Meanwhile, Jessica, who had just been patted on the chest by Logan, had just left the familiar trading market.
Behind her, a cute little deer followed — her newly bought C-level familiar, the Golden Deer.
Not only did it have the healing ability [Breeze of Revival], it could also be ridden, significantly boosting Jessica's mobility and ensuring her safety.
"Hmph, I got lucky today. With my tongue of gold, I managed to get a 20% discount from the shopkeeper. Saved ten thousand!"
"Since I was so lucky, I'll just let Logan off the hook. After all, that guy's broke — he can't even afford a meal."
"Wait, I'll just ask him for 500 yuan for a meal. That's enough to forgive him. He can't afford more anyway. Yeah, that's the plan."
As Jessica calculated, she looked toward the center of the summoning square.
It was nearly noon, and the summoning ceremony should have been wrapping up.
There shouldn't have been so many people around.
Curious and confused, Jessica pushed her way through the crowd, and what she overheard was all about Logan.
An angel?
A second summon?
Blessed by a Priest?
Wait! He made five million?
After hearing about Logan's sudden wealth, Jessica regretted it instantly — she wished she could hit herself.
"Logan! My 38D is not free, you bastard!"
With a scream, Jessica felt like she had infinite energy, and she pushed forward with all her might toward the center of the square.
Around the altar, the crowd was in a frenzy.
The Blessing Ceremony began in silence.
Logan stood in the center of the altar, completely immersed in meditation, unaware of Jessica's calls.
Six Holy Knights stood around the six-pointed magic circle, their swords held high as they chanted prayers.
Above them, the Silver-maned Griffins took on their great beast forms, circling the sky, summoning divine light that poured into the center of the ritual circle.
Nancy Priest lifted her gaze toward Logan, letting out a quiet sigh: "Lucky bastard." Then, she raised her staff and channeled the divine light energy at the center of the formation.
"God bless the people!"
"May the gods have mercy on the world, and bring light to Twilight City."
"May the gods bestow their blessings upon Mr. Logan, and guide him out of confusion."
...
As the prayers echoed through the air, the crowd gathered around the ritual looked utterly entranced.
The closer they were to the altar, the more they felt light, refreshed, and full of energy.
The guild representatives standing at the front absorbed most of the Blessing Circle's residual light, and at least they weren't walking away empty-handed. Their expressions relaxed, and they even began to murmur with satisfaction.
The Dragon Hunting Guild representative rushed to Owen's side, asking in a hushed tone:
"Colonel Owen, do you think Logan might summon another unbelievable familiar next?"
"I've heard that most federal noble-born students get light-type familiars as their first, and that's closely related to the Blessing Ceremony, right?"
Owen, however, kept his expression unreadable.
But unable to resist the pressure from the other guild representatives, he finally let out a bit of information, warning them:
"Have you noticed?"
"All around the altar, the light magic energy is thick and overwhelming."
"The Blessing Ceremony is meant to narrow down the summoning range."
"After all, the only familiars that can be summoned under light energy are those that reverence the light."
"This is also one of the ways the Holy Temple maintains its sacred image among the people."
As Owen spoke, a sudden chill ran down his spine.
He turned around and saw, behind Nancy Priest's mask, a pair of cold, piercing eyes staring directly at him.
Realizing he had ventured into a forbidden topic, Owen coughed several times, trying to cover his mistake.
The other guild representatives caught on and quickly changed the subject.
"Hey, what do you think Logan will summon next? I'm betting ten thousand — he might actually get an A-level unicorn."
"If that's the case, I'll bet as well. His luck can't be that good forever — this time, he'll probably get a B-level Silver-maned Griffin."
...
As the bets flew, more and more people joined in.
No matter what level they bet on, almost everyone placed their bets on light-type or light-adjacent familiars.
But just as Owen placed his fifty thousand private funds on a B-level Celestial Horse, a sudden twist happened.
The dense, almost solid light magic energy around the altar suddenly stirred in agitation.
The Silver-maned Griffins circling above began to scream wildly, showing signs of panic and fear.
Nancy Priest's normally calm eyes now showed a flicker of confusion and astonishment:
"What just happened? Why is this happening?"
Before she could finish, the world around them suddenly turned dark.
The Blessing Circle, which had been so blindingly bright, began to split open, revealing cracks in its once-perfect form.
The cracks spread like a spiderweb, and with a thunderous crash, the Blessing Circle shattered into dust.
The formation was destroyed, and the scene at the center of the altar was now fully revealed to everyone.
At that moment, Logan stood at the center, his feet planted on nothing but darkness.
Even the once-clear dimensional portal had become indistinct and unstable.
A strange, chaotic, void-like energy radiated from the spot, sending a shiver of fear and unease through the crowd.
"Darkness energy! How is this possible?" Owen's shout immediately pulled everyone's attention back to the present.
Darkness?
What the hell was that?
A dark-type familiar, summoned under the blessing of a Temple Priest?
That wasn't just insulting the Temple — it was a slap in the face in front of thousands of people.
Thinking about it, the crowd carefully glanced at Nancy Priest, whose fists were clenched tightly, her veins bulging from the force.
Seeing this, everyone stepped back. No one dared to offend the Temple at such a moment.
Meanwhile, Logan, the one who had caused all this, remained lost in meditation.
Under the blessing of the Temple, he had felt something powerful connecting to him through the altar — something unusual, something truly special.
But when he finally opened his eyes, his expression froze in shock.
Before him stood a girl — with two demon wings, horns on her head, and a long tail, her piercing eyes locked onto his.
"Is that... a succubus? And it's even a low-tier one..."
Not only was Logan stunned, but the Holy Knights around him and the crowd were equally speechless.
In the middle of the crowd, some people began to whisper, speculating that the Temple had intentionally suppressed Logan.
Summoning a succubus under the Temple's blessing?
That didn't make sense — unless the Temple deliberately did it.
Nancy Priest, as the one directly involved, was deeply embarrassed.
She had truly given her blessing, and there was no way she could be blamed for this.
"This Logan... he really messed me up."
Nancy knew that explaining would be an excuse.
To protect her image and the Temple's reputation, she exhaled deeply, and shifted the blame onto Logan:
"Mr. Logan, it seems your talent is ordinary, and the gods did not show you mercy a second time."
"A low-tier succubus is barely even C-level. If you don't mind, I can represent the Temple and offer you a B-level Silver-maned Griffin instead."
With that, she gave a signal to the Holy Knights.
Within moments, a knight led out a Silver-maned Griffin toward Logan.
Nancy's position and authority were clear. She first explained the situation, then showed generosity, which helped the crowd believe that Logan had run out of luck.
The Dragon Hunting Guild representative, who had never liked Logan, slammed his fist on the ground, a cruel grin on his face:
"I knew it — that brat couldn't be lucky forever."
"A low-tier succubus, what else can it do besides sleeping with you? A familiar like that isn't even fit to be an intern in our guild!"
Owen, hearing the mockery and insults, looked at Logan with a sigh of regret.
"It's a shame..." he muttered.
...