It took Nikolas a couple of moments to realise the countless stares and whispers around him. When he finally did, he rushed out of the academy building and sat on a nearby bench, lost in thought.
"What am I supposed to do now? I already quit my job at the bakery. Hell, even if I didn't, it doesn't pay anywhere near enough to cover Mom's medical bills… and then there's Mina's tuition fees. How the hell am I supposed to pay for that too?"
Nikolas cursed his luck. There was no ordinary job he could get that would even come close to covering his family's expenses.
He was done for.
No matter how long he sat on that bench, no matter how hard he thought it through, no answer came to his mind. Summoning a decent beast had been his only chance to take care of his family.
And now, that was gone.
Or was it?
Desperate, Nikolas began to wonder…
What if he could get one more chance? Just one more try, it might just work.
No.
It had to work.
"This is the only way," he muttered, as if trying to justify the idea, though he didn't need much convincing. He would take any chance, no matter how reckless, if it gave him even the slightest hope.
"But… how am I going to try again?" he wondered as his gaze drifting toward the academy gates where he saw students beginning to leave. The sun was already setting.
Once a person failed, they could never take part in the summoning ritual again. It hadn't always been that way, but after too many repeated failures wasted the government's time and funds, a rule was made, each person could attempt the ritual only twice.
And Nikolas had already used both chances.
"Don't they say the third time's a charm… or something like that?" he muttered under his breath.
The decision already made in his head.
He was going to break into the academy and perform the summoning ritual on his own.
Well, break in might've been an exaggeration. Most students lived on campus, so the gates were never fully closed. The ceremony hall, however, was another story.
Though Nikolas didn't think that far ahead. Driven by a burning need to act he returned to the academy grounds.
Once there, it didn't take long for him to notice that the remaining students and faculty members were giving him strange looks.
"Why are they all staring at—oh..." He realized he was the only one not wearing a uniform.
"Damn it," he hissed and began moving more cautiously, hiding behind corners and waiting for people to pass before slipping through the corridors.
Luckily for him, the ceremony hall was near the entrance.
The pair of black doors loomed before him. He twisted the doorknob, but of course, it was locked.
Nikolas glanced around to make sure he was alone.
There was no other way in, at least none he could see, so he did the only thing that came to mind.
He kicked the door.
To his surprise, it gave way easily, creaking open into the dimly lit hall.
Nikolas hurried toward the altar and, without wasting a moment, placed his hand on the summoning array.
Instantly, a massive beam of white-golden light shot toward the sky.
"D-did it actually work?" Nikolas' eyes widened.
Each grade had a corresponding color. But this one—this light—was unlike anything he had ever heard of. It looked almost like a Legendary-grade golden radiance, yet paler, almost white.
But before he could dwell on it any longer, a half-translucent window appeared before his eyes—the same kind he'd seen last time, though this one was slightly different.
[Summoning Successful!]
The window vanished as the beam of light faded away.
What appeared next left Nikolas speechless.
A young monkey stood before him. Its fur was brown, its eyes sharp and determined. It wore intricate gold-trimmed armour that seemed a bit too large for its small frame. In one hand, it held a long staff, and though the creature only reached Nikolas' chest in height, its posture radiated fierce energy—an overwhelming pride and confidence that made Nikolas' breath catch.
As he focused on it, a new translucent window appeared in front of the beast.
[Monkey King]
[True Rank: Divine (Locked)]
[Current Rank: Legendary – First Stage]
[Tier: One]
[Attributes: Seven Layers of Immortality, Heavenbreaking Will]
[Skills: Staff of Storms, Stone Skin, Nimbus Step, Ruyi Form (Locked)]
[Locked Condition: Celestial Shackles (3/3)]
[Celestial Shackles Release Requirement: Can only be broken through battle.]