I held up my hand, letting Var’teness and the class know I was thinking for a moment about my answer. A flood of emotions flowed though me as I thought about the earliest summonings I’d taken part in. So much had changed since I’d begun this odd life, and I was a different person now compared to that frightened insurance adjuster the system had selected as a summoned being.
“At first, navigating the worlds I found myself in was a chaotic, and often terrifying, experience. In the beginning, I was still not sure that what I was experiencing was real, and I feared that I might have some kind of medical condition that was causing me to lose my mind. You must remember that magic, and the existence of intelligent species other than humans, were just things relegated to fantasy,” I explained.
“How long did it take you to accept your fate?” Mr. Fluffles asked.
“I’d say after a half dozen summonings or so. It’s hard to remember and place a specific time when I finally accepted that this was something real that was happening to me. Life back home wasn’t exactly easy in those early days, and I was hunted by others that sought out summoned beings,” I said.
“What has your experience as a summoned being taught you about summoning other creatures?" One of the human students asked.
“It was strange, there are many worlds that think all summoned creatures are just mana constructs. With system restrictions, it wasn’t like I could interact all that much, or have extensive conversations with most of my summoners. The experience has taught me the value of selecting the right type of summoning for the situation at hand.
“I have to admit, there were many times when I knew from the start that I wasn’t the right fit for the job I had been called to do,” I explained.
“In a more practical manner, can you tell me how you would choose your summonings? Is your class even summoning focused?” Var’teness asked. Despite her earlier attitude, the young elf woman was engrossed in the conversation. The harshness of her tone seemed to dissipate when she was talking about summoning.
“My class is a summoning class, here, let me bring one of my minions out for you to see,” I told them. While I didn’t necessarily want to give them all the details of how my class functioned, I did summon up the mana slayer drone. It had the most impressive presence compared to my other choices. As he appeared next to me, the students seemed to recoil back as the armored and bladed figure popped into existence.
“This is one of my typical minions. It has some rather formidable combat abilities and is also specialized to deal with magic users of all types. Something like this is a good general choice for a minion when you anticipate having to deal with conflict. As you gain higher tiers, and the number and power of the minions I can call forth improves, and that’s when you need to start concerning yourself with synergy between your minions a bit more,” I said, summoning Elida to join us as well before continuing.
“This is Elida, and her abilities mesh well with the mana slayer drone here. A dangerous foe in melee combat, Elida is also a healer, which helps to keep her allies in the fight for longer. Other creatures I summon, either from my class or through consumables, will each fill a specific role. Think of your minions not just like meat shields to protect you, think of them more as members of an adventuring party.
“Just like adventuring parties in a dungeon, when you put together a strong team of summoned creatures, they can perform better than their tier and rank might imply,” I said.
“What do you do once your minions are summoned? Is it best to take cover and let them handle things?” the satyr, Gillips, asked.
“Some of that will depend on your class specifics, as for me, I realize there is sometimes a need for me to remain out of the fray and support my team with spells and abilities, and there is also a time when I need to get more directly involved,” I said, equipping my shield and lightning javelin, the electricity on the weapon crackled menacingly as I created a, hopefully, imposing figure in my armor and gear.
“Thank you for your time, Professor Kline,” Melody said, taking charge as our class time was running out. “We have time for one final question, and don’t worry, this isn’t the last time you’ll see Professor. Kline in this class,” Melody said. A few hands went up, and I picked the gnoll who had raised his hand for the first time.
“Professor Kline, what was the most dangerous opponent you’ve faced during your various summonings?”
“There were a few that I couldn’t even begin to quantify their power. All I can tell you is that I was very glad I was revived after every summoning. What I will say is that it’s important to remember that the opponent you fear now, will eventually become hardly a more than a nuisance if you keep up your studies and continue to learn and improve.
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“I’ll give you an example. The very first summoning I was called to had me facing off against a single orc warrior. I lasted only as long as it took the orc to swing his axe. Now, that type of foe would pose little danger to me, even without my minions, but back then, defeating it was an insurmountable task.
“Learn, grow, and work hard to make yourselves the best version of your specific class that you can manage, and no matter how difficult an obstacle seems, you’ll eventually overcome it,” I said. The class smiled at me, and a few nodded. I didn’t have any idea if I was getting through to them, or if I was just an amusing distraction from normal schoolwork, but I hoped that what I said would help at least one of them.
“Thank you again, Professor, now, our time is up, and you need to get moving to your next class,” Melody said, shooing the students out. Today, she didn’t have another class after this one, so we had a bit of free time.
“Melody, do you need any help before the next class?” I asked.
“No, I think that does it for today. We’ll get started early tomorrow since we’ll have more than just one partial class to deal with. Take the rest of the day off, if you like. I know you have several things you’re pursuing in your off time,” Melody said, generously cutting me loose for the afternoon.
After stopping at my room to shed the school robe I was wearing, I headed out of the tower and toward town. I had to see if there were any summoning contracts available, and if not, maybe I could get a dungeon run in if the queue wasn’t too out of hand. The guards at the school gate gave me a quick once over and waved me through. It had only been on campus for a few days, but I think they were getting used to seeing me come and go.
I retraced my steps to the Somhagen Exports store. At this point in the afternoon, the shop was doing brisk business, and I waded through the crowd of adventurers trying to spot one of the clerks, or preferably, Ingrid who I’d spoken to before. It turned out that she was the one that spotted me. From behind the counter, she waved me forward, to the annoyance of several other impatient customers.
“Rico, I’m glad you made it back, I assume you’re looking for those contracts we discussed?” she asked.
“You got it, do you have anything for me?” I asked.
“Certainly, please follow me,” she said, leading me past the counter and into the back of the store where a small office was located. It was a bit cramped, and about what you’d expect from the manager’s office of a retail store back on Earth. A wobbly, wooden desk and a filing cabinet were stuffed in the space, leaving little room for the two of us.
“I apologize for the lack of space; we’re still setting things up to handle the influx of students for the new semester. That, and the number of adventurers in town, has put a strain on our staff, and our storage facilities. I’m sure by your next visit, we’ll have a bit more room to operate,” Ingrid said.
“No worries, I’m more concerned about the contracts you may have for me rather than a bit of extra legroom,” I said, trying to keep the conversation on track.
“Certainly, and now that we know you’re willing to accept the extra work, I’ll have a better selection for you on your next visit. For now, you can look at the two we have to offer,” Ingrid said, pulling two scrolls from her desk and sliding them over for me to examine.
The first was written on crisp, new parchment, and the second felt old and weathered, like it would crumble to dust if I wasn’t careful how I handled it. Once I touched the scrolls, a brief description of each job was displayed by the system.
The Household of Zarnir seeks to engage you in a short-term contract. A member of the household has gotten themselves in a bit of trouble and someone not affiliated with the household is needed to extract them from the situation. The terms and conditions are as follows.
- Rescue the “to be later named” family member from their current situation. Once extracted, the family member must be taken to a rendezvous point, at which time, the contract will be considered complete. The total contract time is estimated to be around 4 hours, as long as the contracted employee is efficient.
- Summoning conditions. You will be operating in a temperate environment without any extremes in weather. There is a moderate chance of conflict with enemies around tier two and of various rankings. An opportunity to solve this situation without bloodshed will result in a bonus.
- For successful completion of the contract, you will be offered 50 gold, a minor magic item to be selected by Somhagen Exports, and the favor of House Zarnir. All rewards will be provided directly via the representative at Somhagen Exports.
That sounded like a simple snatch and grab rescue mission, but there was the chance to avoid bloodshed, which meant the situation was probably a bit more nuanced than just kill everything, rescue the hostage, and then leave. Before I made a decision, I opened the old and weathered scroll.
The necromancer Rodnix wishes to engage your services to deal with some troublesome undead. These undead are currently contained, but they require a living being to see that their threat is permanently ended. Once the last of the troublesome undead are dealt with, your contract will be considered complete. The terms and conditions are as follows.
- Destroy 126 minor undead that range from Tier 0, Rank 5, to Tier 1, Rank 8. Additional instructions on the destruction and disposal of the undead will be provided once the contract is accepted. The estimated contract time is 2-5 hours based on the efficiency of your actions.
- Summoning conditions. You will be operating in an environment saturated with necrotic energy. While it will not directly harm you, both mana and health regeneration will occur at a reduced rate. There is perpetual twilight, so plan accordingly with any additional lighting sources you wish to bring.
- For the successful completion of this contract, you will be offered 50 gold, and a reusable summoning item. The rewards have been placed in escrow and will be delivered by the representative at Somhagen Exports.
I had two interesting options, and both seemed short enough that I could complete them in between my other obligations. There was some danger, and a lot of unknowns, but from the opposition both contracts outlined, they seemed like nothing I couldn’t handle.