Chapter 41: The Next Summon[Bonus Chapter]
Chapter 41: The Next Summon[Bonus Chapter]
The Alpha charged again, and Alister met it head-on. He ducked under its swipe, slashing at its belly with all his strength. Blood gushed out from the wound. The claws bit deep, and the wolf yelped, staggering. Alister pressed the attack, landing blow after blow.
The debris around them exploded under the sheer strength as their battle intensified. Alister leaped from one crumbling structure to another, using the terrain to keep the Alpha off balance. He landed a powerful kick to its side, sending it crashing through a wall.
The Alpha rose, blood dripping from its wounds, but its eyes were still full of fight. It howled, the sound echoing through the wilderness. Alister braced himself, his gauntlets ready.
The final clash was a blur of motion. The Alpha's attacks were a whirlwind of claws and teeth, each strike a potential death blow. Alister moved with everything he had, his body a blur as he dodged and countered. He felt a claw slash across his arm, the pain sharp.
[Notice: Blood Healing activated.]
[Notice: Blood Manipulation activated.]
Steam rose from his arm as the wound healed. Alister gritted his teeth, focusing on the wolf. He leaped, his claws aimed at the Alpha's throat. The wolf snapped at him, but he twisted in mid-air, his claws slicing through its neck.
The Alpha staggered, blood pouring from the wound. It let out a final, defiant howl before collapsing to the ground.
Alister landed heavily, his body screaming in pain. He took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving the fallen Alpha. The beast's body lay still, its eyes dimming as life left it.
[Notice! Alpha eliminated!]
[Congrats to the player for completing the quest!]
[The system has begun harvesting all the loot!]
[Reward: Sand draconic summoning conduit acquired!]
[Level Up!]
[Notice! Gentle durability used up, weapon broken!]
As soon as the system gave the notice, the gauntlets rippled with cracks and then instantly shattered to pieces.
'Guess that's it for the gauntlets, but I'm actually really surprised. They held up really well for mere E-rank weapons.'
Alister glanced at the system window, feeling relieved. He turned to Cinder, who had finished off the remaining wolves ages ago and was watching all along with a proud look in her eyes.
"Well done, my lord."
Alister nodded, a weary smile on his face. "Thanks, Cinder. That was tougher than I expected."
He took a moment to catch his breath. Although he was instantly healed due to leveling up, he was still exhausted. There was still steam rising from his skin, a sign of the toll the battle took on him, and perhaps due to his draconic blood.
[Notice! It has been detected that the player has a sand draconic summoning conduit!]
[Does the player wish to summon a dragon?]
Alister let out a sigh, then said, "Yes."
[Now opening mind realm.]
The world faded around him, and Alister found himself standing in his mind realm. With the massive draconic doors standing before him.
But just before the summoning would proceed, the system chimed with another notification.
[Ding!! An overlord takes matters into their own hands!]
[Relying fully on his strength and the strength of his forces!]
[Mini-Quest: The system assisted the player with their first summoning, now the player has to do it with the help of 'Beginner's Guide to Summoning (Rank E).']
'I was wondering when I'd get to open it, was almost starting to think it was going to be absolutely useless,' Alister thought as he placed his hand below his jaw thoughtfully.
The system opened a window, displaying the contents of the "Beginner's Guide to Summoning."
Alister read in his thoughts, 'Dragons are beings of extremes, and sometimes extreme emotions, as creatures who pride themselves in what they are good at they are well aware of what emotion to put at the forefront of their mind. When summoning a dragon, it is important to know what sort of emotion to involve in the summoning, for it would be the cornerstone of the dragon's personality.'
Alister mumbled, "Emotions, huh? Does that really make sense? I don't remember feeling any intense emotion when summoning Cinder."
The guide instructed Alister to grip the summoning conduit tightly and channel his mana and emotion through it, and the summoning would begin.
'It appears to be completely different from regular summoning that needs a circle, although I knew that would be the case, but never expected I would have to hold the conduit in my hand instead.'
Alister then glanced at the massive doors in the cosmic space, as if lost in thought.
"Inventory." Alister called out.
He then dug his hand into his inventory to pull out the sand summoning conduit, it appeared to be some sort of crystalized chunk of golden sand.
"It looks so peculiar one would almost think it was some kind of diamond." Alister mumbled, turning the object around to have a look at it from a different angle.
"Emotion, huh?" Alister wondered, as he did a memory of Miyu smiling flashed before his
eyes.
He began to channel his mana and whatever that emotion was into the conduit. His yellow hued mana flowed through his hand and into the summoning conduit, causing it to slowly
start glowing.
A massive beam shot out from the conduit to the door, and the dragon skulls glowed as the conduit slowly disintegrated until the blast stopped. The massive stone doors took on a golden hue, appearing as if they were made of sand.
And then they slowly creaked open, with the same blinding light seeping through like the first
time.
Suddenly a voice boomed, "To those who wish to call themselves my master," it echoed, "surely a test of intellect should be more than enough to prove your superiority."
The blinding light intensified before fading, revealing the massive doors standing open.
A magnificent dragoon, its scales shimmering like the finest desert gold, emerged from the opening. Its deep blue eyes, seemed vast and filled with wisdom, they seemed to hold the swirling cosmos within their depths.
[Congratulations! You have successfully summoned The SandStorm Dragoon, Terra Von Archi-Void (B-rank).]