The morning after I accidentally became chief, Ridgebrook smelled like wet dirt, boiling porridge, and disappointment.
Mostly mine.
I dragged myself off Lira's spare cot, my back aching from a night spent on what felt like a hostile wooden plank pretending to be a bed. Every joint protested. This body was young, but it had clearly been worked hard and rested poorly.
Outside, villagers were already shouting at one another like unpaid debt collectors. Metal rang against metal. A goat screamed in outrage. Someone cursed my name even though I hadn't stepped outside yet.
Leadership was hell.
Lira walked in without knocking, gripping a broom like it doubled as a weapon.
"Morning, Chief. Your problems woke up before you did."
"Fantastic," I muttered. "Tell them to go back to sleep."
She tossed me an apple. It bounced off my shoulder and rolled across the floor.
"You missed," I said.
"You exist," she shot back. "We all have burdens."
I glared. She glared harder.
I lost.
"What's going wrong now?" I asked, rubbing my face.
"A wolf got into the goat pen."
"Okay, manageable—"
"Harven's widow is crying because her roof collapsed."
"Right… also manageable—"
"Borrik wants you to declare a mandatory training day."
"Sure, why not—"
"And a stranger was seen near the forest."
That stopped me cold.
"What kind of stranger?
Lira shrugged. "Tall. Hooded. Suspicious."
The village vocabulary really did peak at potato.
I stepped outside, and Ridgebrook hit me all at once. Smoke curled from chimneys. Chickens strutted around like they owned the place. Villagers stared at me with that hopeful, fearful look people give when they're waiting for leadership to either save them or ruin them.
Then it happened.
A chime.
Sharp. Clean. Electric.
Inside my skull.
I froze.
Another chime.
No one reacted. No one flinched.
Only me.
Then a voice unfolded in my head—cold, mechanical, ancient—like a sealed door being forced open.
[THE SUMMONER'S LEDGER — INITIALIZING]
My breath caught.
No.
No way.
[HOST IDENTIFIED: LIAM RICHARD]
[STATUS: TRANS-MIGRATED]
[ROLE: RIDGEBROOK CHIEF]
[BODY AGE: 18 | MIND AGE: 24]
I slapped a hand to my forehead.
Lira frowned. "Did something bite you?"
"No," I said far too quickly. "Nothing bit anything. Completely normal head behavior."
She did not look convinced.
The voice returned.
[PRIMARY FUNCTION UNLOCKED]
[SUMMON MODULE: ACTIVE]
My pulse thundered.
[You may summon a random historical figure.]
[Summon Cooldown: 30 Days]
[Resurrection Cycle: 7 Days After Death]
[All Summons Start at Rank 1]
[First Summon Available Now]
My mind went blank.
Then exploded.
This was it.
My cheat.
My system.
My unfair advantage.
"Chief!"
I jumped as Borrik stomped toward me like a walking boulder.
"Training day. Now.
"Great," I said, voice cracking. "Love training. Huge fan."
"Meet us in the square."
He turned and left.
The moment he disappeared, I bolted behind the well like a guilty raccoon.
"Alright," I whispered. "Summoner's Ledger. Give me someone strong. Preferably sane. Preferably not—"
The air vibrated.
A dim blue ring formed in front of me, humming like something digital shoved into a medieval world. Wind spiraled outward. The ground cracked beneath it.
Villagers slowed. Turned. Stared.
Lira froze mid-step, broom clenched tight.
"Liam… what are you doing?"
"Stretching," I said. "Very aggressive stretching."
The chime sounded again.
[SUMMONING…]
The blue ring darkened into black mist. The ground shook.
A goat fainted.
A child screamed.
Someone yelled, "THE DEMON WELL IS AWAKENING!"
Then—
A figure stepped through.
Tall. Still. Cold.
He carried the quiet menace of someone who had personally watched battlefields rot. Long black hair framed pale, sharp features. His dark eyes swept across Ridgebrook like it was already a graveyard.
No magic.
No aura.
Just suffocating presence.
He stopped in front of me.
The system didn't need to explain.
[SUMMON SUCCESSFUL]
[VLAD III — VLAD THE IMPALER]
Panic exploded through the village.
Lira dropped her broom.
Children ran.
Adults prayed.
Someone screamed, "HE'S GOING TO EAT US!"
Vlad blinked slowly, absorbing everything with calm, predatory interest. Then his gaze locked onto me.
"You," he said, voice low and heavy with an unfamiliar accent. "You are the one who pulled me here."
I swallowed. "Technically… yes?"
His eyes sharpened.
"Then answer me this."
He stepped closer. Shadows clung to him. The dirt sank beneath his boots.
"Are you my master?"
My brain shut down.
"Yes?" I squeaked.
Vlad smiled.
It was not a friendly smile.
"Good," he said. "Give me a name, and I will build you a forest of bodies."
Behind me, Lira whispered,
"Liam… what did you do?"
"I—" I cleared my throat. "Leadership?"
Vlad tilted his head, amused.
"A dangerous answer," he said softly. "I like it."
Perfect.
I had summoned the medieval world's most enthusiastic impaler.
What could possibly go wrong?
I straightened my shoulders, pretending I wasn't seconds from collapsing.
"Welcome to Ridgebrook," I said.
Vlad's grin widened, sharp and hungry.
"Show me the enemies," he said, "and I will make them scream for you."
And just like that—
My life truly began.
In the worst possible way.
And maybe the best.