You are Summoned

“Your second trial summons has begun. At least three successful trial summoning’s are required to complete the calibration process. You may ask one question at this time,” the voice from the void said.

I was in that weird place once more and the booming voice was as vague as ever. The voice said that I could ask it another question, but what should I ask? Would the voice answer truthfully? Maybe it would be better to ask myself if I was going to answer truthfully given that the voice was more than likely a creation of my mental breakdown.

“Is this real, or am I having a medical emergency,” I asked. Maybe if this was all in my mind, I could somehow reveal it to myself by using the voice in my head.

“This is real. Your question has been answered, prepare for your second activation,” the voice replied. It said this was real, but I was still pretty sure it wasn’t, after all, who trusted mysterious voices in their heads?

Your second calibration summons has begun.

The parameters are as follows:

Queue position: 197.

Summoning tier, 0.

Rewards level, minuscule.

Your summoning is training related and holds a moderate potential for combat. Prepare accordingly.

Forced compliance is active.

No compatible gear has been found in your armory. A facsimile of your current attire will suffice for a tier 0 summoning.

The queue started lower this time, and it didn’t take long before I was on deck and next in line. It looked like whoever or whatever was summoning me would be different from my first experience. In the back of my mind, I had kind of hoped that I would be summoned by that girl again. I wondered if she had survived her battle with the orc.

You are summoned by the apprentice, Wilnax, prepare yourself.

A blue oval signifying the summoning portal appeared and this time, I tried to stay where I was, refusing to enter. I didn’t want a repeat performance of last time. Getting chopped in half by an orc was something that I was fine with not having to live through a second time. A force propelled me forward, taking control of my legs and walking me into the portal. It looked like there was no way to opt out of a summons.

This time, I appeared in bright daylight, my eyes squinting a bit in the sun. Nothing immediately attacked, and I could hear voices murmuring around me. The language was odd and almost musical. The more I listened, the more I understood. Another strange prompt appeared when the words that the others were speaking became as clear as English.

The linguistic adaptation interface has been calibrated with this summoning location. A review of this ability will be granted to you during the next debrief.

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that I was in a small glade or park of some type. There were several stone pillars surrounding the area, and figures in hooded robes were gathered around me in a circle. One stressed-looking young man was standing next to me just inside the circle, trying to concentrate as an older man slowly strolled past us.

“Students, what has Wilnax summoned for us today?” The older man asked.

Looking at the man more closely, I could see that the old man wasn’t exactly human. Were these some kind of cosplayers? No, this looked too real. Pointed ears and oversized eyes gave the man an otherworldly appearance. The word elf stuck in my mind, the man reminding me of the fantasy creatures so common in movies, games, and novels.

“He has summoned a human variant of some sort, but I’m afraid I cannot tell you which subtype this one is,” one of the others answered. So, it looked like I had been summoned into the middle of a school session. That was more than fine with me, I was willing to participate in anything that didn’t end with me getting chopped in half.

“Correct, that is the obvious answer, and I too am unable to tell the subtype of human that this subject is patterned after. From our chapter on humans, you know that the various subtypes are rarely important. Humans are somewhat problematic as a species, but they are also one of the most adaptable. Can anyone tell me more about this particular human,” the old man, who I figured was the class instructor, asked.

Several of the class raised their hands, and I found it interesting that raising your hand seemed to mean the same thing with these elves as it did to people back home. I tried to speak, to reply to the instructor, but I was unable to open my mouth or make a noise of any kind. My limbs were also held firm, and while I could breathe and blink, I couldn’t do much else.

“Briella, you may answer,” the instructor said, pointing at one of the students that was positioned behind me. I couldn’t see her, but when she spoke, it was with a surprisingly pleasant and melodious voice.

“I remember from our chapter on humans, that they can be almost any class and specialty. While most are commoners and the like, some can become surprisingly powerful. Their power potential is especially fascinating given how short their lifespans are.”

“A good recap of our prior instruction, but that isn’t what I was looking for. When facing such a foe, or when summoning one yourself, you will not have time to ponder over your previous instruction. Think quickly and act even more so. One of you, let’s see, hmm, Drellan. Tell me about this human as if he were summoned by an opponent that you were about to do battle with,” the older elf said, pointing toward one of the students at random.

“His strange clothing and lack of armor and weapons suggest that Wilnax has summoned a peasant, shopkeeper, or simple laborer, not a combat-proficient foe. I would say it’s likely a tier zero, rank zero summons which means that his time here should be almost up. If my opponent had summoned him, and I didn’t need to act quickly, I would just wait for the summons to expire and do whatever it was I needed to do,” of the students said.

“Correct, a low tier summons can only last for around a minute per rank of the caster, but I instructed apprentice Wilnax to continuously empower the same spell. When you push mana into an existing spell, it will keep the summoned being here on our plane for an extended time. Each subsequent cast requires a greater expenditure of mana, so it is usually simpler to just let the summons expire and bring in something new,” the instructor said, pausing to let his words sink in.

I didn’t know any of these elves, but, oddly enough, I could feel the connection to the one that had summoned me. When I concentrated on that connection, I could see a bright line of light that linked the two of us together. As I watched, the light began to fade until Wilnax chanted again and the light brightened once more.

“Now, who wishes to challenge Wilnax and his simple human?” The old man asked.

“May I challenge him, master?” A young woman said as she gave both me and the Wilnax guy a nasty look.

“Yes Lacilla, you may. Act quickly, though, Wilnax’s mana won’t last forever,” the instructor said. Lacilla didn’t hesitate and started to chant. Her spell formed a ball of light beside her, from which stepped a large, mangy dog.

“Not fair, master, she used a higher rank summons,” Wilnax whined. Great, I got summoned by the whiney kid in class, and he was being challenged by the try hard.

“Kill that dog!” Wilnax shouted, the strain of maintaining the summons for this long causing the young apprentice to shake and sweat with effort.

My body was once again forcing me into the fight, and I charged the mutt with my fists closed and ready to strike. Wow, the last thing I wanted to do was hurt a dog, but I couldn’t seem to fight the connection to the guy that had summoned me. The dog had no such hesitation and went right at me. Just before the two of us collided, Wilnax collapsed to the ground, and I felt myself drifting away into the void once again.

The mana connection has been severed. Your summons is considered complete and the link to the summoned being has maintained its cohesion. A final trial summons will begin shortly.

Your performance rating is calculated as Pathetic.

Your rewards will reflect the summoning tier of 0, and your performance rating of Pathetic.

The ability viewing system has been unlocked.

Current abilities:

Linguistic adaptation interface. This internal interface is present and active in all summoned beings and is installed sometime between their first and tenth summons. The interface allows the summoned being to understand all spoken and written languages. A short time of acclimatization will be required before comprehension is achieved.

The summoned being will always be able to understand their summoner if the summoner used a spell and not an object to summon the being. If the summoned being was called forth through an item, object, curse, or artifact, they will be subject to a much shorter acclimatization time to learn their summoner’s language. No comprehension of language is necessary for simple commands from your summoner such as “kill him” or “defend me”.

Prepare to return to your world.