Ice-blue magical runes flared across Shade’s palm as she thrust her hand forward.
"Strike the Golem for me, Ice Bolt!"
With a sharp whoosh-bang, a fist-sized chunk of ice blasted across the training field. It slammed directly into the chest of a military training dummy.
The humanoid puppet reeled from the impact, but its high-level defenses kept it standing.
Loki let out a loud whistle. "When you use your magic seriously, you are beautiful, Shade."
A slight blush crept onto Shade’s cheeks, though she tried her best to hide it behind a stern look. "Loki, you are not allowed to flirt on the military base during training. Those are the rules. Now, it is your turn to practice."
Loki smiled. He loved to tease her. Over the last month, Shade had truly opened up to him. She had even been quite affectionate that very morning, but underneath it all, she was still a pure and serious woman.
"Understood, Mage Captain Winter! Taking my turn now," Loki said with a grin.
They were completely alone on the field. Shade had chased away all the Knights so Loki could practice his unique Element Bolt spells without any prying eyes.
"Remember, Loki," Shade advised, her voice softening. "The spell needs a target, or it will just fire wildly in a straight line. If there is no wall or magic shield in the way, a straight-line spell is almost impossible to dodge—unless you are fighting the fastest Knights or monsters."
She looked like she wanted to scold him again for his teasing, but she didn't want to admit defeat.
Loki raised his hand. He extended his index finger and raised his thumb, forming a "finger gun" gesture. Shade watched him, her brow furrowing in deep confusion. On the world of Myst, things like firearms, smoking, contraceptives, formal religion, and space travel simply did not exist.
Loki ignored her confusion. He gathered the magic humming in his blood and pushed it straight toward his heart.
"My wind, shoot freely and strike my target," he called out. "Wind Bolt!"
Bang! Whoosh-bang!
A small, pale-green magic circle flashed at the tip of his finger. A softball-sized mass of spinning, compressed wind shot forward. It struck the Golem squarely in the chest, right where Shade’s ice bolt had landed.
Before Shade could even ask about his strange hand gesture, Loki shifted his mana. He changed his elemental focus to Life-Plant and cast again.
"Golem, burst like a blooming rose," he commanded. "Thorn Bolt!"
Whoosh-bang!
From the same pale-green circle, a six-inch wooden spike launched like a heavy dart, embedding itself into the training dummy.
Shade’s eyes widened. She was amazed that he could cast two entirely different elemental bolts back-to-back. But Loki wasn't done yet. He wanted to try something much stronger.
"Golem, say hello to my little friend," Loki smirked. "Wooden Bullet!"
Swoosh-boom!
This time, the sound was deafening. Shade flinched, instinctively covering her ears as an explosive blast of compressed air shattered the quiet morning.
It wasn't a ball of wind or a simple spike. Loki had fired a small acorn, its tip pointed like a real bullet, wreathed in a terrifying, high-speed spin.
The projectile blurred through the air. The heavy training Golem took the hit, its chest denting deeply as the force knocked it back two full steps.
Shade’s mouth dropped open into a perfect, cute 'O' shape.
The first two spells had barely touched Loki's mana pool, but this last one took half again as much energy to cast. Still, seeing the damage doubled made the cost entirely worth it. Loki couldn't even see the acorn in flight because of its speed. It felt just like an Earth bullet. However, Shade possessed the sharp senses of a 7th Circle mage. Her white hair whipped around as her eyes traced the trajectory.
"Loki, that was so fast and hard! That was amazing!" she gasped.
"Yeah, that’s exactly what Sylvia said to me this morning," Loki joked smoothly.
Shade froze. "Ah?! So you already showed the Duchess your Wooden Bullet magic?"
Loki mentally slapped himself. Damn my mouth, he thought, sighing internally. His Earth memories were completely full of bad jokes and sarcastic comebacks, and his chaotic, impulsive soul didn't have a filter.
"Well, kinda... Anyway, Shade," Loki said, quickly changing the subject. "Can I call my next Summons? I have this terrible feeling that if I don't do it right now, I'm going to regret it."
Shade hesitated. Randomly summoning monsters without heavy backup was incredibly dangerous. She and Duchess Sylvia had agreed to hide the fact that Loki was the Second Summoner, even if the world knew he had magic. She was torn. But looking into Loki's eyes, she could see a mix of genuine worry and deep desire.
"I cannot promise I can protect you if a truly powerful monster answers," Shade said, her voice laced with concern. "It could kill me, you, and anyone else nearby. Sylvia isn't here because of our wedding tonight. Can this really not wait until this evening?"
Loki placed a hand over his heart and looked out toward the rising eastern sun. A deep frown settled on his face. "My heart is racing... I need to do it now. I can't explain it, but it feels like something out there is crying out for help."
Seeing his desperation, Shade made her choice to support her reckless lover.
Buzz! Pale blue light erupted from both of her palms. "Okay! But let me set up a magic barrier first. Warding Magic! Shield Shell!"
Her first spell, Warding Magic, laid down a massive, flexible foundation for security and utility. Her second spell, Shield Shell, erupted into a glowing dome of pure force. When paired together, the two spells locked down the training field completely. No one could get in or out without destroying the barrier first.
Loki didn't just stand there admiring his gorgeous ice goddess. He calmed his breathing and began drawing his own Call Summons magic circle right in the center of her barrier. He drew it massive—large enough to fit a Dragon.
He recalled a trick from the spellbook Sylvia had given him: shrinking a summoning circle limits the size of what can pass through it. If he made it only two feet wide, nothing larger could appear. But a small circle didn't guarantee safety; there were plenty of tiny, city-ending threats in the world.
Technically, performing a first contract outside of a regulated academy or formal setting was a crime due to how unstable the magic could be. But since they were on a military base with a Captain, it fell into a grey area. He wouldn't get thrown in jail... unless he accidentally summoned Tiamat.
Fifteen minutes of intense preparation passed. It was time.
Shade stepped just outside the inner edge of the force-field dome, ready to pour all her mana into defense if something dangerous appeared.
Loki sat cross-legged at the edge of his three-hundred-foot-wide, pale-green summoning circle. The circle featured nine concentric rings, each representing a Circle level of power. A Summoner could technically block out the higher rings to ensure a weaker, safer summon, but Loki thought that was a coward's move. Besides, lighting up all nine rings demanded a massive amount of mana.
Holding his right wrist with his left hand, Loki pointed his open palm toward the center of the array.
Buzz!
The remaining magic in his body drained rapidly, flowing directly into the ground. All nine rings flared with a brilliant, pale-green light. Loki's vision swam with sudden dizziness from the sudden mana loss. He closed his eyes, letting his mind drift into the magical ether.
"Come forth, my fated Summon," Loki whispered into the void. "I want to be with my perfect partner."
Outside the circle, Shade gasped in sheer terror as the outermost 9th Circle ring blazed to life.
Deep in the magical plane, Loki felt his consciousness brush against a massive, majestic soul. It felt far away, located somewhere deep within the Eastern Wastelands. The powerful being looked down at Loki with a sense of mild curiosity and friendliness. But after evaluating Loki’s weak, 1st Circle summoner bond, the entity swiftly and cleanly severed the connection.
It was a cold but fair rejection. If a legendary 9th Circle beast bound itself to a fragile 1st Circle master who could be killed by a stiff breeze, the beast would end up dying tragically a day later.
Because each rank could only be attempted once per ritual, the 9th ring faded into darkness. Shade let out a breath of pure relief. At the very least, a Demon King wasn't about to drop from the sky.
Buzz!
Shade's heart sank right back into her chest as the 8th Circle ring flared next.
Loki felt his soul touch another entity, also residing somewhere in the Eastern Wastelands. This soul felt incredibly gentle, shy, and nurturing. It radiated warmth, charm, and a strange sense of immediate love. It deeply wanted to answer his call. Yet, with a heavy, lingering sadness, it reluctantly broke the connection.
Summons often rejected calls if they were in the middle of something vital that they couldn't abandon. Furthermore, female monsters carrying eggs or young could never establish a contract, ensuring that pregnancy was never a reason for a failed summon.
Buzz!
The 7th Circle ring lit up. Shade braced herself, feeling slightly better. A 7th Circle monster was incredibly dangerous, but it was something she could actually fight and contain if things went sideways.
Loki tracked the magical signature. He almost cursed his Earthly, anime-loving otaku memories because this soul was also located in the Eastern Wastelands. He wondered briefly if this pull was connected to the memory of a blind woman he had loved in his past life.
The moment the 7th Circle soul touched his, an overwhelming wave of pure love, joy, and profound relief crashed into him. The entity didn't hesitate for a single second. It accepted his heart completely.
Buzz!
The remaining seven rings collapsed inward, rushing toward the epicenter of the circle. A brilliant explosion of pale-green light blinded the field. As the glare faded, the silhouette of a medium-to-large creature appeared, resting heavily on the stone floor.
A thick pool of dark red blood was already spreading outward from its body.
Loki's heart dropped. The monster he had just summoned was on the very brink of death.
Suddenly, a splitting headache tore through Loki's skull. An immense, violent rush of foreign memories, skills, and supernatural knowledge flooded straight into his brain. Ignoring the agony, he dropped to his hands and knees and began crawling toward the bleeding form.
As he got closer, he realized the creature looked like a giant black serpent, a lizard, or perhaps a young Eastern Dragon. Loki froze for a fraction of a second. Back on Earth, he had suffered from severe ophidiophobia—he was terrified of snakes, much like Indiana Jones. He couldn't comprehend why his own soul would call forth a creature that triggered his deepest fear.
But looking at the creature's horrific wounds and feeling its desperate emotions, his fear vanished.
Summoners and their beasts shared an empathic bond, trading raw emotions across the soul connection. Right now, the serpent was also receiving a massive backwash of Loki’s knowledge, skills, and his initial spark of fear. Loki didn't have a proper master to teach him, so he had no idea that this mutual, violent flooding of powers and memories was completely unprecedented. No normal summoner had ever experienced anything like this.
Loki reached the coiled, trembling form of the giant black snake. He stopped dead in his tracks as he looked at her face.
"You're a... Lamia?!" he breathed.
Looking back at him was a woman who looked like she belonged in the pages of an Eastern fantasy novel. But her beautiful features were ruined by deep, agonizing pain. Dozens of jagged sword slashes marred her scales and skin, and fresh blood dripped continuously from the corner of her lips.
When her golden eyes locked onto his green ones, they flared with sudden, bright life.
A weak, seductive smile graced her lips—a smile completely unfitting for a dying woman. She spoke, her voice carrying the smooth accents of Eastern Common.
"Masssster~! You really found Shehuang... Mother was right... Hussssband~!"
With the last of her failing strength, she slithered forward and wrapped her arms around him, holding him far too tightly. Her eyes closed as the weight of her injuries and the mental strain claimed her consciousness.
As she collapsed against him, Loki's overloaded mind finally broke under the sheer volume of her memories. The world turned black, and he fainted right beside her.
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