You are Summoned

Chapter 296. Early Return.

“What just happened?” I asked myself as I returned to my personal space. Something had gone very wrong with that strange figurine, and it freaked me out a bit. I’d probably have had no issues with the process if the thing hadn’t looked exactly like me.

“Sir, may we be of any assistance?” the head butler asked as he offered me a drink and a warm washcloth.

“No, thank you. Just an odd experience is all,” I replied, accepting the items he offered. Melvin sent me annoyed thoughts; he wasn’t all that concerned about the figurine but was more than a little upset that he missed out on another meal in the city.

“Sorry buddy, we’ll get you something good next time,” I replied, glad that he was fed by the mana inside the personal space, and I didn’t have to pay for his meals. A gelatinous cube would eat me out of house and home, despite the money I had.

“Welcome back, Rico, did something happen during your summoning?” Tzes’zod asked from behind his desk. I had been too distracted to scan the room and didn’t even realize that he was there until he spoke.

“Hey, Tzes’zod, no, not a summoning, something odd happened in Somhagen,” I told him.

“Interesting, please explain,” the lich asked.

I gave him a rundown of the events inside the summoned market. After that, Tzes’zod drilled deeper, having me recount the entire visit in detail. He would have made a good interrogator for the police, as he was able to get me to recount details I had almost forgotten about.

“It seems this figurine was something the staff at the market had some knowledge of. As for it taking on your form, I believe it is less to do with some nefarious targeting of you specifically, and more of an attempt blend in and leave that place. Short of visiting there myself and taking the artifact by force, I’m afraid I can’t offer any more insight into it. As long as it’s secured by the summoned market, I believe the danger is past,” Tzes’zod replied.

For a moment I wondered what would happen if the lich tried to storm the summoned market and pilfer the figurine. While I had never seen him in action, I could feel that he was powerful. Thankfully, he was an ally and with his phylactery stored safely inside my reward chest, it was in his best interest to see that both me, and my personal space, were secure.

That brought up another thought. Between Tzes’zod and Gary, I wondered who would come out on top in a fight? An undead lich wizard vs. whatever Gary was would probably sell a whole bunch of tickets on pay per view. Maybe after integration, someone would start arena matches on Earth with those kinds of matchups. Some enterprising goblin was probably already putting plans in motion for something similar once integration was over with.

“Thanks, Tzes’zod, I appreciate your insight. Oh, there was one thing I was interested in getting your opinion on if you have a moment,” I said, heading to my reward chest. Before I perused the rewards that I had been given because my trip to Somhagen had been cut short, I wanted the lich to look at the Elixir of the Parasite.

“An interesting item, a system reward I assume. Let me examine it for a moment,” Tzes’zod said, taking the glass vial that held the greenish-yellow elixir.

He muttered a few spells under his breath, and then pulled out a jeweler’s loupe to look through. How an undead lich with no eyeballs looked through a jeweler loupe was a mystery, but I chalked it up to magic and system shenanigans. After a few moments of examination, he handed the vial back to me before speaking.

“As the description reveals, the elixir is a bit of a mixed bag. Tell me, Rico, how high is your constitution score?” Tzes’zod asked.

“It’s seventeen,” I replied. Normally, you weren’t supposed to disclose that kind of information, but I figured the risk of telling Tzes’zod was minimal.

“That should be sufficient, and usually, the system won’t offer a reward that would harm you. Some, like this elixir, have drawbacks, but the system must have weighed that the benefits outweighed them,” Tzes’zod explained in a tone that reminded me of a college professor giving a lecture to a bored class.

“But should I use it?” I asked, trying to get him focused on my real reason for having him examine it.

“I would say, yes. When you imbibe it, tiny parasites will infest your system, permanently draining a point or two of constitution. These parasites aren’t mindless and won’t seek to destroy the host they live inside. Instead, as the description announced, they will vigorously defend you from any other invasive species.

“Their power will start off rather weak, but the longer they reside inside you, the better able to defend you they’ll become. While encountering parasites that your normal constitution as a summoned being can’t fight off is rather rare, I’m sure you will encounter more powerful dangers at some point. There is also the possibility that the parasites will help against things like rot grubs and the like once the parasites grow in power,” Tzes’zod explained.

“Thank you, give me a minute to think about this?” I told him. Tzes’zod didn’t reply, and instead went back to whatever he was working on at his desk. The elixir I held made me a bit nervous. After weighing the pros and cons, I figured giving up some constitution to protect me from a potentially horrible death was a good trade.

“Welcome to the team, parasites,” I said as I quaffed the potion. It had no taste, for which I was thankful. It was pretty much like drinking a vial of tap water. I stood there for a minute, waiting to see if there was going to be anything catastrophic happening. Other than feeling of lethargy that passed quickly, I didn’t notice any changes.

You have been infected with a parasitic organism. Your constitution has dropped to 15.

You have gained resistance from parasitic infestation. The resistance is considered moderate but will gain in potency over time.

At least losing two constitution points permanently wasn’t painful. The tired feeling was also fading quickly. With the parasites making themselves at home, it was time to check out my loot. When I opened the chest, I selected new items only, and was given a system prompt before my acquisitions were displayed.

Since your visit to Somhagen at Tier 2, Rank 5 was ended prematurely by a system sanctioned facility, all items acquired from the Summoned Market will be enhanced by the system.

Reward Chest.

Class ability scroll. Life Tap.

Ability upgrade scroll. Switch.

Summoner’s Reflection Orb.

Portal of the cackle.

It all sounded good, but I needed to examine each item to see exactly how powerful they were. I went in order, starting with the class ability scroll.

Advanced Life Tap. The Tier and Rank of this ability scale with the caster. This class ability scroll is compatible with all summoner classes. Life Tap allows you to pull the life force from one of your minions, using it to heal yourself. This ability works on all your summoned minions, including those created through consumables or contracts of any sort. The summoner may determine how much life he intends to pull from his minion.

This spell has been upgraded to an advanced form. The advanced version of Life Tap allows you to target any summoned creature, both friendly and hostile. Advanced Life Tap may be resisted by creatures with a higher Tier and Rank than the caster. The greater the gap between the caster and the target, the more likely it will be partially or fully resisted. This ability has a 1-minute cooldown between uses.

That was a nice addition, and with the system bumping it to the advanced version, it was not only an emergency heal for me but was also a way to destroy enemy summoned creatures. I activated the scroll and allowed the knowledge to flow into my mind. Next up was the upgrade scroll which I activated after reading its description.

Your ability, Switch, has evolved into the spell Switch and Replace. The ability no longer requires you to target a minion, instead, you may target any spot within your line of sight. The maximum range of the ability is 100 feet per tier of the caster. When activated, Switch and Replace will instantly teleport you to your targeted location, leaving behind an illusion that matches your movements. This ability can be activated every 5 minutes.

Great, now I didn’t have to place a minion in danger to save myself. It was essentially a short-range teleport, and the illusion might buy me a few extra seconds before the attacker discovered it wasn’t real. The cooldown of five minutes probably made it a one-shot option in most fights. Now it was time to see what the orb thing was.

Summoner’s Reflection Orb. This item may be activated to cast spell reflection on yourself and all your summoned minions. The spell reflection will shift the next harmful spell, ability, or physical attack back on your opponent. This orb can only be used once per day, and when activated, it will return to your reward chest to recharge. Once activated, the orb’s effects will last for 1 minute before the magic dissipates.

The orb can only affect attacks that up to the Tier and Rank of the summoner. Attacks and abilities from a higher Tier and Rank may only have part of the damage or harmful effect reflected or it may bypass the protection entirely.

That was another survival option for me, and I was starting to feel better about my chances when I wasn’t under the protection of the respawn mechanic. Combined with the Cloak of the Minion Master, my summoned creatures would be well protected. The orb itself was a small, marble-sized polished stone. It was grey in color, and I could activate it with a thought, which was good, because if I needed it, I probably didn’t have time to pull it from inventory.

Portal of the Cackle. Tier 0, Rank 5. This portal may be placed anywhere within the line of sight of the summoner. When activated, the portal will begin to spawn gnoll warriors at a rate of 1 warrior every 30 seconds until the charges are expended, or the portal is destroyed. The gnolls will attack the nearest hostile target and will automatically be unsummoned after 1 hour.

The portal starts with 5 charges and slowly gains new charges until the maximum limit of 10 is reached. Should the portal be destroyed, it will gradually rebuild itself inside your reward chest.

This portal was great. It was essentially a free group of lower tier and rank minions that I could place anywhere on the battlefield. They probably would only serve as distractions against more powerful foes, but I’d been in many situations where I needed numbers as much as quality, and the portal would help.

After adding everything to my loadout, it was time to return home. I was a bit disappointed over leaving Somhagen early, but getting free gear from the summoned market was awesome, and it allowed me to stockpile even more summoning points for when I finally made it to the third tier of the city.

Prepare to return to your home world.