Amidst a bustling marketplace, a young boy strolled, engrossed in reading a book. Passersby cast curious glances at him, puzzled by his appearance, which seemed indistinguishable between masculine and feminine. His pointed ears, stunning blue eyes, and ash-colored, medium-length hair drew the attention of all who crossed his path.
“I see, so for the invocation to succeed, I must use my mind at the critical moment to envision the strongest and clearest image possible to influence the being summoned,” Qiris murmured, disregarding the looks and remarks surrounding him during his stroll. He had grown accustomed to these reactions since arriving in this town a few months ago.
Qiris remembered nothing before his reincarnation, or at least very little. He only knew that he lived in a technological world where magic did not exist. For some reason, he had awakened in the body of the young Qiris, who had died in his sleep due to the stress of his first invocation. He had gone without sleep for several nights and had perished as a result.
“What a stupid death… Oh well, let’s go eat what mom prepared; I need strength for tonight,” thought Qiris as he closed the book and hurried home.
Along the way, he encountered all sorts of monsters and strange creatures in the city, but nothing shocked the inhabitants because a portion of the population had the potential to become summoners.
However, the most striking thing was the immense Tower in the city’s center. Dark blue, it was covered in inscriptions in an unknown language across its surface and must have been about 200 meters high.
Towers were present all over the world and contained subdivided interior spaces. To progress, one had to eliminate all the monsters on each floor until reaching the boss. Once defeated, the tower rewarded the one who had accomplished it, but each tower rewarded only one person who completed it.
In the center of the city stood the Astral Tower, so named because of its color and the spiritual monsters that inhabited it. It was the main source of income for the city, as it charged an entrance fee, and the rewards from the floors won were sold directly in the marketplace, if needed.
Qiris’ house was not far from the marketplace; it was a small two-story house, but it was uninhabited because Qiris’ parents had left for the neighboring Purple Empire, as they were merchants.
Once in his room, Qiris opened the window to let in some air and changed into his pajamas to clean the house.
“Ralls, come help me clean!” called Qiris from the stairs. A dog with completely black fur emerged from the parents’ room and rubbed against Qiris’ leg. It was his father’s summoning at age 16, but he had been injured during a dungeon exploration and was now Qiris’ guardian. Ralls was a demonic dog of rank 2 / 2 stars.
As they cleaned, Qiris reconsidered all the information available about summoning: “There are 12 ranks and 12 qualities. Each rank is subdivided into 4 stages: weak, medium, high, and peak. The quality defines the maximum rank possible for the summoning… Oh, and also, you gain a new summoning option after each higher rank of the summoner, which is itself defined by the rank of their strongest summon… I wonder if I forgot something.”
While talking to himself, Ralls and he cleaned the entire house. Normally, he wouldn’t do this, but here, he was too eager to summon his first summoning. As a reincarnate, he aimed for the best. He had decided to focus on nocturnal beasts skilled in assassination, and since night fell quickly at this time of year, he had to wait a few hours.
After finishing the cleaning, Qiris took out the dishes prepared by his mother two days ago before her departure and heated them. “Oh Ralls, if I summon something powerful and clean the tower, if there’s a chance to be rewarded with something that can cure your problem, I’ll give it to you,” he said, caressing the dog.
Ralls rubbed hard against Qiris’ leg, showing his affection while being careful of his strength, as a rank 2 summoning could accidentally kill Qiris even when sick.
After a good meal, Qiris began to prepare himself mentally. “Ralls, it would be a shame if I got distracted, so you stay downstairs until I’m done,” he said, caressing his companion’s head. “You’ll soon have a new friend.”
Qiris then went up to his room, sat cross-legged on the floor, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. “I, Qiris Valsan, am ready to become a summoner,” he murmured.
At that moment, a strange energy appeared in his mind, shapeless. Outside, on the floor, a meter away from Qiris, a complex circle with a multitude of symbols began to take shape. As the energy grew, it became increasingly difficult to stay focused and think clearly.
He tried to imagine huge beings, but his concentration was disrupted by the sound of a voice coming from the open window.
“Mama, I want frog legs!”
“Stop it, Sofie, I told you we’re invited to your aunt’s for dinner!”
Then, all he heard were the cries of the little girl as she walked away, but in Qiris’ mind, it was something else: “Frog legs sound good; I’d like to try some.”
The form, unable to materialize until now, disappeared from his mind, restoring his mental clarity. Qiris’ face was pale; the effort had demanded a lot of energy, and the last two minutes seemed blurry to him. He watched as the summoning circle stabilized and shone more brightly until a shape appeared within the light.
“This is it, the beginning of my ascent!” exclaimed Qiris, excited, but his face turned suspicious. “Why does it look like a frog… No, it must be something else.”
As if to refute his thoughts, a frog’s croak sounded at the same moment the light dissipated. He then saw a small green frog staring at him blankly without moving, and the summoner’s system dashed his hopes.
———————
Name: –
Species: Frog
Element : Water
Rank: 1 (Beginning)
Quality: 1 star
Abilities: –
———————
Qiris, with a vacant expression, pinned all his hopes on his talent:
———————
Name: Qiris Valsan
Rank: 1
Talent – Potential-less Summoning
Summoning:
– Frog (Unnamed) – 1/1
Skills: –
———————
“…”
