Knox stayed seated on the floor while chaos erupted around him. Numerous elves paced back and forth, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the room.
Not a single one didn't have worry plastered across her face. Knox had no idea what was happening.
He wasn't stupid. Listening to what they'd said earlier, it wasn't hard to figure out that he'd been summoned to this world by them—by mistake.
"Our youngest elf needs to do well at the magic school, it's our only chance to get resources again," an elf with long blonde hair said, sighing, her hand pressed against her chest. "How's she supposed to succeed with a guardian at this level?"
"But sister, maybe it's not worse? You know family guardians are impossible to use that easily. What if this one is a different type of guardian? Maybe this is actually better for us."
All the elves looked at Knox. That made his heart race. He kept his face still—or tried to.
In that magical world of Byrtha, there were two types of summons: personal summons that each mage could invoke—these were unique to each individual, difficult to transfer command to someone else.
You could say they were summons destined from birth, though many powerful families possessed secret techniques to improve their mages' summons.
The second type was the guardian summon. The guardian summon was quite powerful, but its use was more limited. It protected families and also passed down teachings to mages and other summons.
It became the family's elder, and having a powerful guardian summon was extremely important.
All their resources had been used precisely to summon the elven guardian, but Knox appeared instead.
The elves used their magic to test his body, trying to understand what kind of summon he was. Was he a normal summon? A guardian?
He might not be the elven guardian, but he could be another type. That's what they wanted to find out.
Knox was placed in a magic circle—stones glowing faintly at its edges, pulsing with energy. Several elves channeled their magic, speaking aloud to manifest their power.
An ancient scroll appeared in the air, accompanied by a golden quill pen. This pen began writing information it managed to gather from Knox, through the use of that ancient magic.
His current power rank was considered C. Low for a guardian summon, but not bad for a personal summon.
The quill stopped. The scroll glowed. And then—silence.
What made all the elves in that room fall silent, their breathing ragged, unable to comprehend what their eyes were seeing, was the type of summon Knox was.
He wasn't a personal summon, and he wasn't a guardian summon either. In fact, he could act as both at the same time. A different summon that wasn't bound by the contracts that world had created.
"T-This is impossible. How is this possible?" the blonde elf said, her gaze sweeping across all the other elves. "Are you seeing the same thing I am? Are you?"
All the elves present—those who held the highest positions in the family—checked the scroll multiple times, blinking repeatedly, searching for any sign that what stood before them was merely an illusion.
Knox, confused as he was, decided to speak up to break the mounting tension.
"This magic circle is heating up my body quite a bit," he said, shifting his weight. "Can you speed up the process? Or maybe just let me step out for a moment?"
They looked at him again, incredulous.
"How is this guy speaking our elven language so fluently? I thought he was human," the matriarch muttered, her gaze sharp. She stepped closer, narrowing her eyes. "Do you understand the human tongue as well?"
The matriarch, Elowen, was bilingual by necessity. The elves had long ago lost the vast territories they once held, and surviving now meant living on human lands, speaking human words.
She spoke a brief, sharp phrase to him in the human tongue. Knox understood it instantly. Whatever system or deity had dropped him into this world hadn't left him empty-handed; the gift of tongues was his first survival tool.
"Explain this summon classification to me properly," Knox asked, frowning as he scratched his head. "In the end, is this situation good or bad for me?"
Elowen didn't know what to think. This was entirely outside her years of study and leadership.
"On one hand, it is a blessing," she began, her voice trailing off as she studied the scroll. "I can assign you to my daughter, and she'll have a decent Rank C summon for the academy. But the cost... we sacrificed a fortune in resources to summon a legendary Guardian, and you..."
She looked at his frame, her disappointment palpable. "You aren't strong."
She sighed, the golden quill pen hovering near the scroll. "We have the advantage of unprecedented flexibility. You can be our Guardian and a Personal Summon at the same time. However, as it stands, you are far too weak to actually be a Guardian."
That was the biggest problem with their situation. But fortunately, it was a hurdle that wouldn't affect them anytime soon.
The matriarch turned back to the other elves, her attention shifting entirely as she began to ignore Knox once more.
"If we stick to the plan," Elowen said, her gaze lingering momentarily on each elf, "we can hold on for another five years without issue. By then, either he grows strong enough to be a true guardian, or we find a way to summon another and recover the resources we've lost."
The elves nodded in unison. It was a fragile calm, born of the fact that they simply couldn't afford to fail.
Elowen stepped toward the magic circle, deactivating it with a wave of her hand. Knox felt the stifling heat vanish instantly, a wave of relief washing over him.
"Ahh, finally," he said, standing up and stretching his limbs. "That was way too hot."
She looked directly into his eyes, her voice carrying the weight of an absolute command. "You will become the summon of my youngest daughter. Her current summon is... unsatisfactory. You, being Rank C, are more than enough."
Knox didn't flinch. He met Elowen's gaze, and a mischievous smirk played on his lips.
"This daughter of yours... is she pretty? If she's half as beautiful as you, don't worry—I'll be an excellent companion."
A stunned silence gripped the room. None of the elves could believe their ears; it was the first time a summon had dared to be so audacious.