As the portal returning me to the academy appeared, I also received notice that I’d hit a new rank.
Congratulations, you have reached Tier 3, Rank 2.
Your minions have become stronger.
Your Mind stat has increased by 1.
One of your class abilities has improved.
- Summoner’s Share now generates options that are only marginally less powerful than those of your minions.
My room at the academy was quiet as I stepped from the portal. Though my body was rebuilt by the system, I still felt the mental strain from having to watch my minions stack up the fallen undead on the pyre. While the contract hadn’t been especially difficult, it was unnerving to see that even a powerful necromancer could be rendered impotent in the face of some unknown threat.
The necromancer Rodnix couldn’t combat the new undead that would infect his own minions, leaving him with few options. It was a warning to me that I needed to always have a backup plan in case something similar were to happen to my minions. For now, I had consumables, basic combat skills, and decent gear, but I had to look for opportunities to bolster my weaknesses, and those of my minions.
I’d never be a powerful one on one combatant against anyone close to my tier and rank, but I could stash a few more aces up my sleeve for when I was caught off guard. Looking out the window of my room, I could see the glow of an imminent sunrise in the distance. Thanks to the whole cleanup component of the contract, the last summoning had taken longer than I’d hoped.
A good night’s sleep didn’t seem to be in the cards for me, and trying to just sleep for an hour or so would only make things worse. I wanted to head into town to collect my rewards at Somhagen Exports, but I doubted there’d be time to do that and make it to class on time. The last thing I needed was to start shirking my responsibilities at the academy and have the headmaster cut off my permission to take on new summoning contracts.
Instead of rushing into town, and potentially being late, I headed down for an early breakfast in the faculty cafeteria. Despite the hour, the staff was already hard at work on filling up the heating trays with today’s offerings. The smells were wonderful, and I found that I had started looking forward to mealtimes here at the academy.
Several of the tables had a few diners already seated, mostly the building staff that had different hours. Running an academy wasn’t a 9-5 job, and I had kind of forgotten that there were staff working all sorts of shifts. At least the academy hadn’t forgotten about them and had plenty of food available whenever a shift change was occurring.
I filled my tray with some familiar options, but I made sure not to forget to try something new when I could. This time, it was a thin, cracker-like bread that had an odd pink color. Giving it a go, my first bite of it was enough for me to quickly set the pink cracker aside. Its color had made me expect a sweet pastry of some sort, but instead, the odd cracker was odorless and flavorless. The only thing it did was ignite my mouth with an intense burning sensation.
Sucking down the glass of milk I had on my tray did little to mitigate the pain, though the cup of coffee I picked up next seemed to do the trick. The pain shifted from a feeling like my tongue was on fire, to a dull ache I could live with. Pink death crackers were off the menu as far as I was concerned, though I knew more than a few people back home that were really into the spicy sauces, and who would love to find some way to incorporate the spicy death cracker into their menu.
“I see you’re not a fan of the Parnfanari wafer,” Professor Dalzrin said as he took a seat across from me at the small table. Once more, I had to tamp down the sudden rush of anger I felt when the professor appeared. Calm returned quickly as my rational mind convinced the rest of me that this wasn’t Gary, just someone from the same species.
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“Yeah, a little too spicy for my liking, though I think it’ll be a big hit on my world,” I said, noticing that while the professor had a normal enough taste in breakfast items, he also had four of the spicy pink crackers on his tray.
“An acquired taste, and before you ask, no, the system does not grant resistances to spicy foods, no matter how much torture you subject your palate to. My species has an innate resistance to this particular type of spice, and to us, it’s just a pleasant tingle,” Professor Dalzrin said.
“Thank you for saving me from trying to chase down a new resistance. Are you ready for the first full day of classes?” I asked.
“Certainly, I’ve been teaching here for a while now, and have developed an effective enough schedule to deal with any initial chaos. Tell me, Rico, how are your preparations coming along for the, well, you know,” Dalzrin asked.
“It’s coming along, and the academy has been rather accommodating with my situation. I can also say that I’m looking forward to more training when the other professors have the free time for it,” I said.
“Perhaps I can help with that. I have some free time over the weekends, and I’d be willing to help you prepare for your encounter, if, in return, you’d be willing to help me with a bit of a challenging situation,” Dalzrin asked.
“I suppose that depends on what you’re asking in return for your assistance,” I said, wondering if I was going to need to summon Tzes’zod for a contract negotiation. Dalzrin must have seen my expression change, as he held up his hands and leaned back in his chair to appear unthreatening.
“Oh, no, don’t get the wrong idea. This is no soul contract I’m talking about. I just wanted to see if you’d be willing to help a friend of mine. She’s one of my former students and has need of some protection. Would you be willing to help her by entering into a summoning contract with her?” Dalzrin asked.
“I’d like some additional details first. Who would I be protecting her from, and why?” I asked. Gone were the days when I was forced to accept whatever summoning the system foisted on me, now I had to be more careful and selective.
“I don’t believe it would be anything too challenging for your particular class, and it would be good practice for what’s ahead of you. You see, she’s in a bind with an infernal that she had collected as her minion. It’s leeching mana and lifeforce from her in greater quantities than their agreement called for. Unfortunately, the system’s response to this sort of thing is simply to allow the wronged party the opportunity to sever the infernal contract,” Dalzrin explained, stopping to shove a few bites into his mouth as he watched to see if I was understanding.
“Why doesn’t she just sever the contract, I’m not seeing where she’d need my help in all this?” I asked.
“Oh, that’s right, you haven’t attended any of my classes yet. You see, when binding into a contract with a lesser infernal, the first thing you negotiate is a clause to prevent the infernal from harming you. This clause remains in place even after the contract expires, otherwise, nobody would ever become an infernal summoner. In this case, the system will sever the contract completely. That would also include severing the protection clause,” Dalzrin said.
“So, you need me to help her fight off whatever infernal she’s contracted with? How powerful of a creature are we talking about?” I asked.
“Zerallia, my former student, is tier four, rank zero. The infernal she’s having a problem with will be several ranks below her. Just like with many of the various summoning classes, Zerallia isn’t powerful on her own, and the act of severing the contract will weaken her for a time. I’d need you to stand with her and dissuade the infernal from attacking her once the contract is severed.
“You’d only need to protect her for a few hours, after that, she will recover and be able to defend herself,” Dalzrin explained.
“I’m not sure I’m powerful enough to handle an infernal that’s probably going to be at least a couple of ranks higher than I am,” I said.
“Your class is more powerful than its tier and rank would suggest. Also, I’ll be supporting you with a few trinkets that should turn the fight in your favor. I expect, with you standing over her, the infernal will simply leave, realizing that it had a fight on its hands and not willing to risk its destruction while facing both you, and a weakened Zerallia,” Dalzrin said.
“Why don’t you help her directly? You have not only the experience, but I assume you are a much higher tier and rank than myself,” I asked. It seemed odd he wanted me for this task, when he could probably just portal in, kill the weaker infernal, and be back before class began.
“There are some extenuating circumstances I’m not at liberty to discuss. Let it suffice to say that eliminating one of my kind, even a lesser creature such as the one that Zerallia is dealing with, would create problems. These problems go away if an outsider, such as yourself, were to deal with the task. It also must be someone close in power level to the infernal, or that might also raise suspicion of my involvement,” Dalzrin said.
I had a choice to make, take up this challenge, which sounded rather risky, or try to play it safe and possibly offend the professor who was probably the one that had the most to teach me about my coming fight with Gary. Of course, I could only reap any rewards if I survived the encounter.