Tyler’s friends searched for him before calling it a night around 4 in the morning. They had no idea where he could be and were absolutely terrified for him.
"People don’t just disappear from pentagrams. That’s sacred demon art or someone activating a demonic ritual. That’s not good." Kass said bluntly.
"Didn’t he mention something about a Land of Summoned Monsters or something?" Adam asked. "I thought he was being weird at first, but maybe there is a different place for summoners."
"Not sure," Amanda shrugged. "Sorry."
"Stop apologizing! None of us know. Who do you think we could possibly trust to actually talk to thought?" Sophie hugged Amanda. "Seriously, it will be ok."
"I think our best bet is our dueling professor. We can talk to him tomorrow morning?" Katy asked.
"Wait, you’re in that class?" Adam asked.
"Kass and I are in the same class but in a different period than your group. Sensei Sanju is well respected. Don’t you know his backstory?" Katy asked, confused.
"No... Can you please explain?" Kass asked politely.
"Did he take an interest in Tyler right away?"
"Yes, he gave him an incredible staff. I’ve never seen a weapon better than mine before and I’ve spent my whole life around high-end weapons. I carry legendary Katanas," Sophie said while tapping her finger on her chin, nervously tapping her foot.
"He had a brother who was born a summoner and gifted the staff by his great-grandparents. I guess the staff was passed down in his family for thousands of years but his brother died at the age of nine. It was tragic." Katy said empathetically, with a frown.
"Woah! How did he die?" Amanda asked sadly.
"An illness that couldn’t be cured. So, our best bet is to talk to Professor Sanju in the morning. In the meantime, I think we should stick together."
The group spent the night in Tyler’s penthouse. Amanda, Sophie and Kass shared Tyler’s bed, Katy and Zain snuggled up on a couch and Adam passed out in a recliner. They were all worried but really tired, so they fell asleep.
*****
Tyler woke up refreshed. He couldn’t explain why, but he felt stronger in this realm, like he was meant to be here. He thanked Esper, who gave them a location of the goblins. It didn’t take them long to start running into beasts. Tyler was grateful his system helped him cast magic. His fire magic improved significantly with Ash’s evolution, and he noticed some of his other spells worked better in the Land Of Eidolans as well.
’Hey system, am I stronger here than I am on Vexarra?’
[You are not physically stronger but you have a larger capacity to summon as well as use magic and mana more effectively and efficiently. If you were to have a great relationship with the King and Queen, you could receive a blessing that could fast-track some of your progress. I do not advise this path, as it would require you to be at least A ranked.]
Tyler noticed the gemstone on his staff grew slightly larger. Shadow and Ash were out killing beasts and he couldn’t keep up with his system notifications.
[200 experience for gold tier kill]
[300 experience for platinum first kill]
[Congratulations, you are now level 7. You have 200/800 experience.]
"You going to do anything or just stand there pretty boy?" Ash mocked Tyler.
Tyler quickly began casting fire magic at some of the goblins he saw. One incinerated which caused Tyler to smile. The other shots missed, but he heard a notification he had been longing to hear.
[50 experience points for silver rank goblin, congratulations on your first kill.]
’Thanks System! Could you please group these more efficiently so I’m not constantly distracted with so many messages at once? Could you consolidate them into a report or something?’
[Certainly. I will still inform you of important changes, such as leveling up, quest completions, rewards, etc.]
"Looks like this group is large but not powerful, I also get a sense someone is watching us. Be on the lookout, Tyler." Ash said while flying through the sky and spewing massive fireballs at the goblins, who didn’t stand a chance.
[You are now level 8. 100/900 experience. Your staff has grown to level 2.]
’This is unbelievable!’ Tyler thought, trying to see what or who could possibly be watching him.
Vivian was invisible, keeping an eye on Tyler’s group. She took an interest in him by the way he was able to avoid any charms. She also noticed Ash and Shadow were both free to leave him at will, which was never the case with Summoners. They always forced their familiars to stay in this realm or inside them unless they commanded them out. They were simply used as a tool for power.
The freedom attracted her to him, not sexually.
’I need to make sure he forms a contract with me before he leaves this place. I’m so sick of being here. I want to see the world again.’ She thought optimistically.
******
Tyler made his way through the goblin village and larger goblins were waiting for them. Some of them had blowdarts, which he assumed were tipped with poison.
’System use fire wall.’
A giant blaze of fire fell from Tyler’s staff and protected him from the incoming darts. Shadow was able to take the opportunity to rip through the group of goblins while Ash soared overhead looking for the leader. He finally spotted him near the back.
"Got him Tyler, do you want me to take him down or do you want to?"
"Just get it done please! I trust you Ash, you do not need to ever ask. Do what you feel is best and if you need me, I’ll be there."
"Sounds good bud! I got this fucker."
The goblin leader looked up and started running away. He knew he stood no chance against a phoenix, let alone Seraphim.
Ash smirked before swooping down and using his beak to snap the goblin’s neck.
"Tyler, get over here, quickly." Ash ordered.
Tyler sprinted to the back of the village, while Shadow protected him. To Shadow’s surprise, Tyler was actively sending spells at the goblins that she couldn’t see to protect her, leaving her unharmed and uninjured. When things got dicey, he forced her to retreat back into him and took the attacks himself. He took a couple of swipes, was bleeding from both arms but blocked the attacks. Shadow jumped out, killed the rest of the goblins, all while Vivian watched in amazement.
[You are at 50/75 HP].
’He’s taking damage so his familiar doesn’t?! This is insanity!’ The succubus thought while watching from a distance. She used some healing magic to patch him up and Tyler didn’t notice.
’When did a summoner arrive and how can a D rank have that pain threshold? He’s over generous with his familiars and he was unbelievably kind to me. This doesn’t make any sense. It’s been so long since my last host and that fucker only used me as a tool and made sure my life was hell.’
Tyler saw the goblin bleeding from the neck and grinned. He sprinted up, swung his staff like a baseball bat, cleanly cutting through the goblin’s neck. At first, he was surprised that his staff and gemstone weren’t damaged.
’Why would a powerful gemstone be damaged by a simple attack? Professor Sanju said this was a gift and my system said it was a mythological staff only made for summoners.’
[Congratulations Tyler. You have gained enough experience to reach level 10. You have 4 unawarded stat points used and your stats remain the same from level 5. You gained an additional 500 points for killing the Master ranked goblin. You are at 900/1100 experience.]
"Thanks for the help Ash, how do I get this heart thingy out?"
"It should be right in his chest, where his heart is Nostradamus. I can use my talons. Give me a moment."
Tyler laughed while watching in amazement as Ash used his claws masterfully to cut open the goblin’s chest and pull out a much more clear heart than he saw from hellhounds. He flung it over to Tyler.
"Thank Ash! Let’s take this back to Esper!"
"Great idea, then we can get some rest. I don’t think you realize this but about 12 hours have passed here."
"Seriously?! So there isn’t a night and day? It just always looks like this?" Tyler asked, confused.
"Also, I leveled up significantly. I’m already level 10... What is with this place?"
"It’s a very unique realm where humans don’t belong." Shadow said calmly, but firmly.
"Summoners are welcomed, but they’re not everyone’s favorite beings. You’re lucky you ran into a friend of Seraphim’s... sorry Ash’s when you did."
"So my friends are worried sick about me and I’m fast track leveling up? Do you think we could make it back in under a week?"
"That all depends. Do you want to or do you want to explore this realm? I’m here, you will be safe." Ash asked.
"Wait...something’s not right. Why was every goblin so easy to kill?" Tyler realized.
"How am I fully healed? I took damage and was bleeding to protect Shadow."
"Thank you for that, Tyler." Shadow said from within.
"I didn’t notice anything strange." She continued.
Ash noticed what was going on with his unique visual prowess.
"Vivian! Where are you dear?" Ash said while landing on Tyler’s shoulder.
"Why hello Seraphim. I didn’t know you were this young man’s familiar until I saw you in action. Are you sure he couldn’t handle me?" She said with a large smile.
She was truly beautiful, with a red tail with a heart at the end, red horns, red eyes and a red ethereal glow that pulsated around her body. Tyler bowed politely.
"Such a gentleman! I think tomorrow after you and your familiars rest, we should have a little chat."
"Ash?"
"Agree to it."
"Sounds great, meet us at Esper’s inn around noon? Does that work for you?"
’Why isn’t he just demanding I’m at this place?!’ Vivian thought. She couldn’t comprehend why a summoner was treating her with such respect. She lost all desire to charm him.
"Sounds great, looking forward to it Tyler," She said with a wink before disappearing.
’Where the heck did she go?’