The boy who had glared at Luke earlier—Orion—stood still in the upper rows, his eyes narrowing slightly as the number echoed in his mind. 95.4, he then looked at Quinn covered by the crowd who seemed to not care about anything, that powerless looking guy was now the strongest one in the academy, then what summon would he awaken?
Before he could think further, George's voice cut through the hall again, bringing everyone's attention back. "You will now enter the Rift," he said.
"Focus your mind. Accept the mana. Endure it. Only then will you reach your summon." With a wave of his hand, the single Rift split into six, each one different in size and intensity. "You will be placed according to your capacity."
One by one, the students who were remaining went through the rift of their respective ranks, only Quinn passed through S-rank.
Those with lower mana were sent into weaker Rifts. Those with higher potential… into deeper ones.
Luke stepped forward, and the moment he crossed the boundary with Karl who sneered at him with some others, he felt it immediately. The pressure.
After he went through he didn't see anyone, it felt like they were in different dimensions of one rift so they don't see each other. The mana inside was thick, heavy, almost crushing.
His body lifted slightly off the ground as the force surrounded him. It wasn't just him, everyone who started feeling the energy was floating, suspended in that overwhelming energy.
Pain followed. Sharp. Burning. It felt like the mana was trying to tear through his body, to consume him completely. Some students screamed, unable to endure it. One after another, they were pulled out, disqualified instantly, some fainted some coughed blood.
The numbers dropped fast. From twenty of thousands… to thousands… then hundreds.
In the end, only about a hundred remained. Luke clenched his teeth, his expression tightening as he endured it. But unlike before, his eyes stayed calm. Focused. He didn't resist the mana. He let it flow.
Then, everything changed, the pressure vanished which means he was now in his summons domain. Luke opened his eyes.
He was standing in a white space. Endless. Empty. No sound, no movement, just pure void.
"…Where is this?" he muttered, his voice echoing slightly. Then something appeared.
A screen, it was transparent. Floating in front of him. Luke froze for a second. "…A system? So this is the cause of my transmigration and the mana gauge."
His voice carried disbelief… and excitement. This was something he knew too well from all the novels he had read. Words appeared.
[System Activated]
[Do you accept? YES / NO]
Luke didn't even hesitate. "Yes."
[Identity Verified. Synchronization complete." >
"Greetings, Host. I am the core consciousness bound to your soul.]
[I Am The Primordial Shadow system]
[ New Skill Unlocked]
[Skill Name: Essence Siphon: Shadow Kin]
[Effect: Upon summoning, the Host inherits a permanent 35% attribute resonance from the summon's stat. As the summon grows, so does the Host.]
Then the screen then showed a shadow figure, holding a massive crescent blade carved with ancient patterns, dark energy flowing along its edge like smoke. Its body wasn't solid, it flickered, like it was made of darkness itself, shifting slightly with every movement. Its presence alone felt heavy. Dangerous.
[Shadow Warrior Unlocked]
[Do you wish to summon this shadow? YES / NO]
Luke's eyes lit up slightly. "Yes." The moment he confirmed it, the system then told him to input a name, and he did, naming the shadow Thenatos, it felt ancient and he had seen some writers use it for a very powerful character so it came to his mind, then, everything went dark.
—
Luke's eyes snapped open, he was back. Back in the assembly hall. Students stood around him, each with their own summons already present beasts, spirits, creatures of different shapes and sizes.
For a second, nothing happened, and some started chuckling.
"I pity him, he came back without a summon."
"What a disgrace, they should send him out." Some whispered.
Then, smoke began to gather, it was dark and not like any other smoke, It formed in one spot, swirling slowly as everyone's attention turned toward it.
"What is that…?" someone muttered. The smoke grew heavier, spreading across the ground before rising upward. Then, from within it, something stepped out.
A figure, tall, massive. The shadow warrior emerged fully, standing at about 7 feet 6 inches, its body wrapped in shifting darkness. In its hand was a gigantic crescent blade, easily taller than most people, its curved edge glowing faintly with a cold, dark energy.
Ancient designs ran across the blade, giving it a heavy, ancient feel, like it had existed long before any of them. The air around it felt colder. Heavier. Silence fell. Everyone stared.
"…A shadow?" someone said. "What kind of summon is that?"
"It doesn't even look real…"
Most of them frowned. To them, it looked strange. Useless. Something they had never seen before. Luke said nothing. He just looked at it.
Then the woman beside George, Hannah, spoke, her eyes still on the tablet, her voice clear but slightly tense.
"Summon detected… Tier: Unde…" the device glitched again and she almost read the undefined out, then it stopped at a specific Mana gauge just like how it happened for Luke. "Mana gauge: Mythic... 95.0… Mid stage." she said in a surprised and doubting tone.
"Was he that underestimated and useless," he muttered to himself noticing her surprise.
The hall went silent again, then shock spread like fire.
"Mythic?!"
"That's impossible!"
"He's only A-rank!"
It didn't make sense. Luke himself was only measured around B-rank, yet he had summoned something far beyond his own limit.
All summoners summoned creatures below their mana gauges, if they were to summon ones above, the contract binding wouldn't be strong and the creatures might feel superior to you.
Although this shadow was much greater than Luke but, it still stood as if it was waiting for Luke command, it was abnormal and his summon was mid stage mythic, he had broken another rule.
While the guy named Quinn who summoned a lazy knight just like himself was a mythic level summon and was an early stage, which shocked everyone, because his summon looked useless, just like Holden Valero before Quinn and Luke took his crown.
George's eyes shifted slightly toward Mary, and for a brief moment, the two of them exchanged a look. No words were spoken, but the meaning was clear. This was different this time, anomalies upon anomalies it was actually thrilling and scary.
Orion stood still, his gaze locked onto the lazy knight and the shadow. His expression tightened slightly. "How did that surpass the legendary dragon of Holden's?"
"Impressive, two white haired dethroned Holden, that prideful fool." The crimson haired girl named lethis smiled.
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A/N: After reading leave a review for me to know what you think about the book, don't forget to add to library.