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Chapter 345. Class is in Session.

  Chapter 345. Class is in Session.

  My room at the academy was still dark, and a quick check revealed that less than an hour had passed since I was summoned. I had been worried that I wouldn’t make it back in time for my next day’s work, but it seemed that time between the academy and Earth flowed at pretty much the same rate, and unless I was called on an extended campaign, a normal summoning contract there shouldn’t infringe on my duties here at the academy.

  A system prompt appeared as soon as I got my bearings.

  You have successfully completed your contracted summoning. Additional experience has been awarded for completing your first successful contract as a Contracted Summoner.

  You have been awarded 32 Experience.

  There were no rewards promised for this contract.

  I felt relief as soon as I saw the experience that the contract had awarded, 32 was the equivalent of several successful runs in the guild dungeon. The only question was whether I could find enough contracts to complete before my battle with Gary happened. I would prioritize contracts, but also try to squeeze in any dungeon runs when there was no contract available.

  Outside of my duties here at the academy, I had to make sure I was always working toward becoming stronger. A quick check of my status showed that I was 15 experience away from my next rank. My minions would continue to improve as I gained new ranks, and I expected my class abilities would improve or evolve every 5 ranks, which was similar to what I’d experienced with my other classes.

  I was still a bit amped up from finishing up the battle with Silas and Misty, but I needed to get some rest if I didn’t want to walk around like a zombie tomorrow. Silas would get word to Agent Lopez about my new status, and I hoped that he’d be able to use one of the lower tier and rank summoned beings to arrange contracts for me back in Somhagen.

  Until then, I’d have to check in with Ingrid at Somhagen Exports when I finished with my work at the academy tomorrow. It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when the alarm stone began to hum with an annoying tone. Lethargically, I hit the stone to stop the alarm and dragged myself out of bed.

  The hot shower helped to wake me up as well as the promise of breakfast. That was something I found that I really enjoyed here, the food. It made me wonder what would happen to the restaurants on Earth after the integration. With a shudder of dread, I worried that we’d see multiverse spanning versions of our fast-food chains, though, I think the goblins would give the Earth companies a run for their money.

  “Rico, did you have a rough night?” Melody asked as she joined me at the cafeteria booth I was sitting at. With a mouth full of eggs, I could only grunt in response, which elicited an amused giggle from Melody. She gave me a moment to chew and swallow before I could answer her.

  “Not too bad, I’ll be fine for whatever you have in store for us today,” I replied, trying to look a bit more perky than I felt.

  “Good, because we’re going to be busy today. Headmaster Glorine sent me a message, it looks like I’m going to host my class a day early. Classes were supposed to start tomorrow, but the headmaster wants to test out bringing in the new students a day early for a shorter class in order to get them acclimated. We’ll see if easing them into the academy life will help to bolster their grades,” Melody explained.

  “Got it, what will you need me to do?” I asked.

  “Well, my lesson plan didn’t include you until a few days from now, but why don’t we work you in with some highlights about your experience as a summoned being,” Melody suggested.

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  “Not a problem, just give me a few minutes to get my thoughts in order, and I’ll be good to go as long as you don’t want me to fill up a whole class period with my story,” I said, already thinking about which experiences would be most appropriate to the new students.

  “If you’re done with your food, let’s get started. It’s not a good look for the professor to show up late for her own first day of class,” Melody said. I hustled through the cafeteria, dropping off my plates and silverware in the appropriate spots. The food here was great, and I didn’t want to add any additional work for the staff.

  We moved quickly to Melody’s classroom, and the way there was now familiar to me after several days of working with her. I was still a bit creeped out by her Chixtani species and how they piloted around other sapient beings, but I kept my fears to myself. So far, Melody had proven to be a good friend here, and as long as she was just using summoned creatures for whatever it was that she did, it was none of my business.

  Her classroom was arranged to hold just over thirty students, but Melody mentioned that today wouldn’t be a full class, as some of the new students were still traveling to the school. That brought up a whole new mess of questions I’d have to ask her later. This was all some big crazy multiverse with many worlds, and I was sure they didn’t all wait for someone to summon them individually.

  So far, I’d relied on being summoned everywhere I went, but if portals were possible with magic, I had to assume that permanent transportation locations were a thing. If there was some easier way to travel, maybe my dungeon delving could expand a bit. It wasn’t much, but clearing a dungeon for the first time did seem to grant more experience than consecutive runs granted.

  “Welcome, students, please find a seat and we’ll get started shortly,” Melody said as the first students arrived. They filed in one after the other, and I felt a bit self-conscious standing right beside Melody’s desk. She looked like a professor and was even shuffling through a book like she was checking off attendance.

  The students were a mixed group, and the variety of humanoids and other species was intriguing. They were mostly species I was familiar with, including a half-dozen humans, an elf, a pair of halflings that seemed to know each other, and even a dwarf. Some of the odder additions were a naga, a rather well-dressed gnoll, a couple of goblins, and finally, an honest to goodness dog.

  Resembling a Golden Retriever and Labrador mix, the dog wore robes with a backpack strapped atop them. It reminded me of something those crazy rich ladies would dress their pets in. The dog sat upright in its chair and used some kind of magic ability to manipulate its pack. A notebook and pen drifted from the pack and onto the table, and the intelligent eyes of the dog looked around the room, just like I was doing.

  With the dog’s entrance, it looked like we had everyone that Melody was expecting. She motioned for me to shut the door so she could begin, but one final student shot in at the last minute, a frazzled young man with horns and hooves, he was another satyr like the young woman I’d dueled with on the practice field.

  “Just on time, Mr. Gillips. Please don’t make cutting it close for your class arrival a habit. For now, let me introduce myself. I’m Professor Zaraman and this is Summoning Essentials. If you’re in the wrong class, speak up, it’s completely normal for someone to get turned around here on the first day. Now, for some housekeeping,” Melody said, launching into a spiel that was remarkably familiar to the ones given by my past professors and teachers.

  She described the class rules, which there were few of. Each class was just over an hour long, and the curriculum was fast paced, but interesting. As she finished up with an explanation of her grading scale and homework, I could see the students’ eyes start to glaze over as they reached the limits of their attention spans. Melody noticed this as well and glanced in my direction before continuing.

  “You may have noticed the other professor in the room with me today. He is Adjunct Professor Rico Kline, and his background is a rather intriguing one. Have any of you heard of how the system integrates a new world?” Melody asked. Several hands, and a paw, went up, and to my delight, Melody selected the dog to answer. I was more than curious how the animal would communicate.

  “I believe that these primitive worlds are devoid of mana, and thus, the system must use the summoned being selection process to seed more mana into the world. I’m afraid that is where the extent of my knowledge on the process ends,” the dog said. I was a bit disappointed; it didn’t speak directly or bark so the system could translate. The dog simply wore a small magical amulet that allowed it to project its thoughts into a rather bland sounding voice.

  “Correct, the summoned beings are the key to new world integration. That is a subject that will be covered in greater detail in another class. The reason I brought that up is to tell you that Professor Kline is not just another mage with a summoner class, no, he was also a summoned being until very recently. I wanted him to give you some brief insight into what a summoned being’s life was like. Mr. Kline, the classroom is yours,” Melody said.

  This was it, my debut performance as an actual professor. Hopefully, I didn’t screw things up for Melody.

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