I spent the rest of the day at home. I could have gone back to the forest to grind, but my mind was buzzing with the implications of my new skills. With 2.9 million credits in my account, the financial pressure was off.
But the need to level up was a constant, burning itch. The university exams were in a month, and I planned to be Level 30 long before then, ready to take the advancement quest. Hunting was important.
That evening, I looked at my new, empty summoning skill trees. [Beast-Summoning] and [Spirit-Summoning]. Why hunt myself when I could automate it?
My SP bank was overflowing again, well into the hundreds of millions. "System," I commanded, "Take the [Beast-Summoning] and [Spirit-Summoning] skill trees. Upgrade both of them to their maximum Tier."
[Ding! Queuing upgrades for 2 Skill Trees to T9 (Max).] [Total SP Cost: 328,000,000 SP.] [...Processing... Upgrades will be complete by morning.]
I smiled, my SP count dropping to near zero, already knowing it would be full again by the time I woke up. "Perfect." I went and ate dinner with my family, feeling, for the first time, completely relaxed.
The next morning, I woke to a silent chime in my mind. [Ding! All queued upgrades complete.]
I felt like a kid at Christmas. I got dressed, went to the small, walled-in backyard, and took a deep breath. "Okay, let's see what I've got."
I focused on my [Spirit-Summoning] tree. The T1 had been [Summon Fire Wisp]. The T9 was now [Summon Primal Fire Spirit]. I tried to cast it. [Error: Insufficient Mana (6,000/3,100)].
I frowned. Of course. My mana pool, while huge for a Level 25, was still my bottleneck. "System, what's the highest-tier spirit I can cast?"
[Ding! T7 [Summon Lava Elemental] requires 2,000 Mana.]
"Good enough." "Skill: [Summon Lava Elemental (T7)]."
My mana pool [3,100/3,100] drained, leaving me at [1,100/3,100]. The air in front of me shimmered violently. A 10-foot-tall being of molten rock and, to my delight, blue fire (my system's signature color) materialized. It radiated an intense, dry heat. It turned to me, its blue flames dimming in respect, and bowed.
"Awesome." Now for the beasts. The T1 had been [Summon Wolf]. The T9 was now [Summon Fenrir Twins]. "System, highest-tier beast?"
[Ding! T9 [Summon Fenrir Twins] requires 7,000 Mana.] [...T6 [Summon Thunder-King] requires 2,500 Mana.]
I still didn't have enough. This was frustrating. I was sitting on an arsenal I couldn't even fire. "Fine. Skill: [Summon Dire Wolf (T1)]." The cost was a pathetic 50 Mana.
But the result was anything but. A summoning circle appeared, but it split into two. Out of the portals stepped two wolves, each the size of a large pony. One was sleek, pure silver, with arcs of blue-white lightning crackling from its paws. The other was larger, a midnight-black, with terrifying black-red lightning humming around its claws.
They weren't just [Dire Wolves]. The Transcendent-Grade had evolved the T1 skill itself. These were Lightning Fenrirs.
I looked at my three summons: the 10-foot blue-fire elemental, the silver lightning wolf, and the black lightning wolf. "Heh," I said, a smile breaking out. "I don't know why, but I find them kind of cute."
I walked up. The Lava Elemental leaned down, the intense heat automatically retracting so I wouldn't burn. I patted its rocky, obsidian head. I went to the wolves. The silver one immediately licked my hand, its fur crackling with static. The black one just stared at me with intense, intelligent eyes, but it let me scratch its ear.
"Okay, new plan." I pointed to the two wolves. "You two. Go to the Dark Forest. Hunt everything in Area D and beyond. Don't be seen by people." They yipped, then blurred, vanishing over the fence in streaks of silver and black lightning.
I pointed to the Lava Elemental. "You. Go to the Luminous Forest." (A Level 30-40 area across town). "Same rules. Hunt." The elemental bowed, dissolved into a pool of blue-flamed magma, and sank into the earth.
My mana was already regenerating. My passive hunters were out. I was now gaining EXP and loot, 24/7.
"Right," I said, dusting off my hands. "Time to head to the Upgration Hall. I need to hit Level 30 and see what that advancement task is all about."
I was at my front door, hand on the knob, when I stopped. "Oh, right. I forgot to check their status."
I commanded my system, and the status windows of my distant summons appeared in my vision.
[Summon Status: Lava Elemental (T7)]
Name: Primal Fire Spirit (Host's Summon)
Grade: Transcendent (T7)
Level: 500HP: 2,500,000 / 2,500,000
MP: 500,000 / 500,000
Skills: [Blue Hellfire (Passive)], [Volcanic Eruption], [Magma Armor], [Seek & Destroy]
Note: Level is scaled by Skill Grade and Tier.
[Summon Status: Fenrir (Silver)]
Name: Sköll (Host's Summon)
Grade: Transcendent (T1)
Level: 500HP: 1,800,000 / 1,800,000
MP: 750,000 / 750,000
Skills: [Storm-Lightning Fang], [High-Speed Movement], [Hunter's Mark]
Note: Level is scaled by Skill Grade and Tier.
[Summon Status: Fenrir (Black)]
Name: Hati (Host's Summon)
Grade: Transcendent (T1)
Level: 500HP: 1,800,000 / 1,800,000
MP: 750,000 / 750,000
Skills: [Black-Lightning Fang], [Shadow-Step], [Hunter's Mark]
Note: Level is scaled by Skill Grade and Tier.
I stood frozen, my hand on the doorknob. "Level... five... hundred?"
My Level 120 Golems were already a shock. But I had just summoned two Tier 1 skills, and they were Level 500. My T7 spirit was also Level 500, which must be some kind of baseline cap for Transcendent summons.
I just unleashed three Level 500 monsters on the rookie and intermediate-level forests.
I thought back to the summoners I'd read about. They would need to have at least a Tier 7 or Tier 8 Advanced-Rank skill, and a massive mana pool, just to summon one creature half this strong for a few minutes.
My Tier 1 skill was stronger than their entire life's work. My common sense... it was completely, utterly broken. My low mana pool was the only thing holding me back from summoning the T9 versions... and I shuddered to think what their levels would be.
I shook my head, a grin I couldn't contain spreading across my face. "Level 30. I need to hit Level 30. Now."
A/N: Thanks for reading, and if you like it, plzz add it in your collection.