It seemed that the number of Summon Points required for a Summon varied depending on its capabilities. While the Haunted Knight only cost 1 Summon Point, Tsukuru figured that was due to how bare bones the Summon was. After all, his Harpie, which had the ability of flight, cost 2 Summon Points. And his Amazon, which possessed enhanced strength, cost 3 Summon Points. Hopefully the Metal Slime having an amorphous body didn't bump up the Summon Point Requirement up too much.
Tsukuru took in a deep breath, bracing himself.
"Open Summons Tab." He replied. Instantly, the System screen appeared. The screen had five squares on the top. In order, they showed the faces of his Haunted Knight, his Harpie, and his Amazoness. Additionally, next to the Amazoness, a new image had appeared. It was the face of a human female, but her long hair looked as though it was melting. Additionally, her whole face was that same metallic-silver color as the "Shapesister" card image. To the immediate right of the new image, the final square of the first row was completely blank.
This was his final unused Racial Slot. On the very bottom of the page, the images of his Hobgoblin and Dark Elf Summon Races could be seen at the very far-right.
Tsukuru exhaled, and pressed the fourth icon. His heart almost jumped when he saw a new System message pop up.
[Would you like to create a Metal Slime Spawn? Costs 3 Summon Points.
[Yes] [No] ]
Tsukuru let out a deep sigh of relief. He didn't even seem to care about the "Spawn" part at the end of the name. At least he could afford to create it.
"Yes." He replied, tapping the "yes" option.
The option lit up brightly, and the System's "confirmation" sound was heard. A moment later, Tsukuru's vision faded to black.
Once again, Tsukuru reappeared in the same strange space where the "Summoning Ritual" took place. He watched as the same animation as always took place. The floating sword spun around in the air, splitting into five. The now five swords then slammed down into the five smaller circles within the larger magic circle. Then, the whole magic circle began to light up from those five points. Once it was fully illuminated, the process began.
He watched, as pixels began to appear, floating above the magic circle at ground level. The pixels built on top of each other like a 3-D printer. However, unlike his previous two Summons, this one was noticeably smaller. Whereas they had been equal in height to Layla, this one was roughly the size of a basketball. There was a bright flash of light, obscuring Tsukuru's vision. When it faded, Tsukuru saw what looked like an oval-shaped blob of liquid metal, being a shiny, metallic-silver color.
In the center of the blob, there was two long, elongated ovals, looking reminiscent of "eyes". Looking at the "blob"instantly brought two different things to Tsukuru's mind. The first was a water balloon. And the second was those old "blob" squishy toys made of silicon rubber and filled with gel. Tsukuru then watched as the creature jumped into the air.
Once it was airborne, its shape began to change. It morphed into a large club, consisting of a large "ball" at the top, and a thin "handle" at the bottom. Both the "ball" and the bottom of the "handle" were covered in sharp spikes jutting out in random directions. The "club" then slammed down into the ground like a swung hammer. A shockwave traveled across the surface of the magic circle. Afterwards, the "club" then turned back into its ovular "blob" shape.
Two thin pieces of the "blob"'s surface stretched out slightly, like two tiny little appendages. It looked like a creature raising its two "arms" in the air in a sign of "victory". The gravely, masculine "announcer voice" could then be heard.
"You have created a Metal Slime Spawn!" The voice announced.
Tsukuru's vision then faded to black once again. When his vision returned, he was standing in front of the training center once again. A System message popped up in front of him.
[You have successfully created a Pawn Grade Metal Slime Spawn. 1 Pawn Grade Metal Slime Spawn has been added to your Video Summon Arsenal.]
Seeing the message, Tsukuru let out a long sigh.
'That's the thirdSummon in a row that hasn't given me anyBeast Gear.' He thought. Neither the Harpie, the Amazon, and now the Metal Slime Spawn had given him a single piece of Beast Gear. Neither a weapon or a piece of armor.
Tsukuru let out a sigh again.
"Oh, well." He muttered. "It's not really important right now, is it?"
Tsukuru's face then hardened. He held his hand out in front of him.
"Summon." He replied, thinking about summoning out his newest Summon. Instantly, the sound of electronic interference could be heard, and pixels began to appear. They appeared on the ground at ground-level, forcing Tsukuru to look down to see them. The pixels clustered together into the oval shape of the basketball-sized Metal Slime Spawn. There was a bright flash of light. When it faded, the Metal Slime Spawn was sitting on the ground in front of him.
The Metal Slime Spawn looked up at him, its narrow, elongated oval-shaped eyes blinking once or twice.
Tsukuru, on the other hand, just stared at the creature.
'Well it did say that it was a 'Metal Slime Spawn'.' Tsukuru thought. The creature did look like the stereotypical "Slime" he had seen in video games and anime. However, judging on the image in the "Summon Races" screen in his Summons Tab, he had expected it to look like a humanoid Slime.
As if interpreting the look on his face as a look of disapproval, the Metal Slime Spawn's eyes began to water. Seeing this, Tsukuru's eyes widened.
'Oh, shit!' Tsukuru thought.
Seeing the state his new Summon was in, Tsukuru suddenly felt an aching pain in his chest. It was as if he had been suddenly stabbedin the chest. Instantly, his shoulders slumped. He hadn't intended to make the creature upset. 'Way to go, Tsukuru!' He chastised himself. 'Not even five seconds after creating it, and you made the poor thing cry!'
Slimes had always been depicted as creatures of significantly lower intellects. And it appeared that this was the case with him as well. As his new Summon seemed to have the mentality of a small child.
'This Summon...' Tsukuru thought, slightly sulking. 'I'm gonna have to be careful with how I act around it.'
It was like having a really sensitive dog as a pet. Like a greyhound, or a border collie. Looking down at the now crying Metal Slime Spawn, Tsukuru put on a gentle smile.
"Hey, hey, now." He said gently, as if trying to calm a crying child. "I never said there was anything wrong with you."
Tsukuru reached down, and grabbed the sides of the Metal Slime Spawn with both hands. As he did, he noticed that the creature had a strange texture. It was slightly cold to the touch, and felt as solid as metal. Almost as if he was holding an iron ball. Yet, at the same time, it was squishy, malleable. It was quite a paradoxical existence, and the cognitive dissonance it was giving Tsukuru was starting to confuse him.
As Tsukuru started lifting the Metal Slime Spawn off of the ground, he suddenly became aware of just how heavy the creature was.
'Holy shit, this thing's got some heft to it.' He thought. It was like lifting a heavy "slam ball", a piece of exercise equipment from the old world. Rubber balls with a thin layer and filledwith sand. These "balls" were designed to be thrown as a form of "strength training". The Metal Slime Spawn was significantlyheavier that those "10 kilo" Glathrium balls Tsukuru sold to the military every week. Twice as heavy, at the very least.
Tsukuru theorized that the only reason he could lift the creature so easily was due to him still wearing his Intermediate-Tier Knight Gauntlets. Due to the Strength boost they granted, he currently had a Strength Stat of 18. If he wasn't wearing them, he probably would have struggled to lift the creature with his base 11 Strength.
Tsukuru brought the Metal Slime Spawn up to his face, looking at it eye-to-eye.
"You're perfect just the way you are." He replied.