Vampire Summoner's Rebirth: Summoning The Vampire Queen At The Start

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"Welcome to the Tower of Trials, Summoner. I've been waiting for you."

Saying that I was startled after hearing that voice would be an understatement, I was shocked. Yet I kept my calm and remained almost unflinching. I had imagined the tower had its inner workings and mechanism, but a voice from within it was different.

It was as if the Tower was… somewhat alive? I just couldn't comprehend it well, for the first time, I couldn't really imagine how this was even made. Did the Ancient Gods even had the power to make this? I don't think so, right?

"You probably have many questions right now, isn't it? Why don't you step inside? The Trial won't begin until you agree to its terms after all. So let's talk, Summoner."

The gate in front of me slowly opened, the interior couldn't be seen, there was just white light at the other side. It was indeed strange.

"The door opened! What happened?" wondered Saphira. "Papa?"

"You didn't hear the voice?" I asked them.

"What voice?" Eleanora wondered.

"I see…" I nodded. "The Tower just talked to me and invited me to get inside. I suppose they just want to… Talk some more? It's confusing but might as well go and see what this is all about."

Without further ado, I stepped inside the tower.

FLASH!

The white light engulfed me, as I found myself within a vast white and gray colored hall, with many windows that led to white light.

"Hm? This place…"

There was no ceiling, only leading to more white light, and aside from the beautiful ceramic, there was a single door at the end of the circular room.

"Is this indie the Tower of Trials?"

"Precisely."

The voice reverberated again, coming from above.

Amidst the white light, something descended, or someone.

It resembled a person; they had the same female voice as before.

Once they reached the floor, their body could be seen completely.

They were made of gray and white light, both colors constantly mixing. They had a single red eye in their head, and their "hair" were a series of long, thick tentacles made of their light bodies.

"Welcome, Summoner. You're one of the few in the World of Spiritias that has reached the necessary threshold to step into this tower and do its trials," she said. "You might be surprised over my appearance. As you can see, despite my voice, I am not human. And also I am not speaking physically, but into your very mind."

"So that's why my spirits can't hear you," I nodded.

"So it's talking again?" Eleanora wondered.

"Oooh, she's bright!" said Saphira.

"Indeed. I am this Tower's Spirit," she explained. "I go by many names. My original given name was 0-10. But you can call me Oten."

"Oten… Such a strange name, why 0-10?" I wondered.

"Fufu, I can see you don't hold back with that sharp tongue of yours," she laughed. "It is a name designated to me by my creators."

"Who made you?" I wondered. "Who made this tower?"

"That is an answer that you may find at another time," she said. "Today you will do this Tower's Trial. And I must first inform you that what it can be."

"Is that so?" I wondered, sighing. "Is it hunting? Finding treasures? A written exam, perhaps? Fighting against someone else?"

"Hahah, I suppose that's the best you could imagine a Trial being," she said. "That's not the case, you will go through a special Scenario, a Fragment of the Past or a Glimpse of the Future of different worlds connected to Spiritias, or of Spiritias itself."

"Worlds connected to Spiritias?" I asked. "You mean the Outer Universe?"

"Yes, the Towers of Trial are connected to the root of Spiritias, which is further connected to something even deeper…" Oten said. "Now, the Trial will have its own small requirements, and also a time limit. If you die within the trial, you will also die in real life, so please be mindful.

If the time limit ends, and you have not accomplished all the requirements to pass, you will be sent back and you may be able to try again after 24 Hours."

"Who is compiling these Scenarios?" I asked.

"I cannot answer that."

"Hm…"

She sure is secretive; can I trust this?

"You are probably overthinking it. People have done my trials before, I bet you know a few people, right? They have all gone through their own personal trials, some more times than others," Oten explained. "You don't need to fear, within the stated rules, the trials are fair, and you will not be taken advantage of."

"But why does this whole system even exist?" I wondered.

"To filter," she said. "The world cannot allow those that are too strong to roam freely and continue growing, it could mean the end of the world. Therefore, Trials are done to filter others. If you can't pass the trial, then you're simply not deserving of continuing to grow stronger. And you will be unable to break your Level Cap or further cultivate your Spirit Orb."

I can still grow stronger on my own through Cultivation and raising my Stats, but indeed, it would be annoying for anybody that wasn't me.

"Fine…" I sighed. "Let's get this started with, if you are not answering any of my questions, I will not waste any more of my time."

"Very well," Oten nodded. "Step into this portal for the Trial to begin. Remember, the Scenarios are Fragments of the Past or Future of Worlds Long Forgotten. Reanimated through the Heavenly Records of the World of Spiritias. Did that answer that question about the Scenarios?"

"Kind of, but I am sure there's a person behind it, who is it? A God? A Demon?" I wondered.

"I cannot answer that~" she giggled. "Now, please step inside the portal."

"Fine."

I stepped inside, as the white light engulfed me once more.

FLASH!

And then I heard a voice once more, this one was much more mechanical and monotone.

[You have entered your {First Rank Up Trial}, in here, you will face a challenge and an event within a Scenario.]

[By fulfilling all conditions, you will be able to complete the Scenario and so the Rank Up Trial.]

And when I finally opened my eyes, I found myself standing in the middle of…

Some sort of spaceship.

"What?"

I looked around, there were many other humans like me, wearing space suits and carrying laser guns and other high-tech weapons I've sometimes seen before.

Aside from that, smaller flying machines were moving everywhere. Some small, made to carry things, and others big, carrying giant weapons and holding humanoid shapes, made for combat.

I noticed my clothes had changed, as I was wearing the same skin-tight space suit as the rest of the humans here, it was of blue and white color, showing golden stars and saying [Star Union of Galactica] with big letters.

When I took out my ID, attached to my suit, it said [Machine Warrior Pilot: Blake Goathorn (Rank F Pilot)].

"Hm…"

And then I noticed something, right behind me, one of such gigantic machines was waiting for me.

It looked older and more worn down than the rest, I was certainly of a lower class than the other pilots.

Then, someone bumped with me and almost made me fall.

I glared at them; it was a blonde man with a cocky smile.

"Watch where your steps, country bumpkin."

"What?"

Before I was to retaliate and cut this man in half, suddenly…

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

[Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress! Sudden Xenoid Raid in Progress!]

[All Pilots please ride your Machine Warriors and prepare for battle.]

[Estimated Time Until Imminent Battle: 73 Seconds]

"This is…?!"

I looked into outer space through the huge spaceship.

There was something approaching, a huge cluster of…

Red flesh and tentacles.

So this is how this Trial is going to be, huh?

Interesting.

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Author's Note: And now it begins! This'll be an amazing new arc full of new things for this novel, so be prepared!