Summoning

"How long until they return to normal?"

The Ghost Maid tilted her head and gestured. If Zheng Yichen had understood her correctly, it would be sometime that afternoon.

Tch. That Illusion was powerful enough to last that long? Once he knew the time, Zheng Yichen went back to practicing magic while he waited. As for Battle Qi, he had pretty much given up hope.

He had trained under increased gravity for ages, but apart from rapidly improving his physique and strength, it had done nothing. He had not even grown the slightest bit bigger.

He did not care much about his size. Size might sometimes go hand in hand with destructive power, but bigger did not always mean stronger. Lolise looked like a little girl, yet even ten of him together would be no match for her.

For now, he would focus on improving his magic. Fixed, general-purpose Magic Array Patterns were convenient, but ever since he had heard about the world beyond the beginner ranks, Zheng Yichen had stopped limiting himself to them.

"Ugh... Where am I?" Petty woke from unconsciousness and looked around in confusion. Their trip to Phantom Forest was a training exercise for the semester. The place was dangerous for ordinary people, but for professionals who came prepared, it was an excellent place to temper their will.

Many students from Olin Academy made the trip. Their exercise had been going smoothly. The power that induced illusions had tormented them for some time, but they had held out. Then, on the last night before they were due to leave, that power had suddenly erupted.

Even with their emergency equipment, they could only slow its effects. If they could not get out of Phantom Forest in time, they would be dragged into endless illusions. On the way back, two of her classmates had succumbed and gone mad...

The rest had been on the verge of collapse when a fearsome dragon's head appeared before them all. As it emerged, she felt as though the entire sky had sunk into endless darkness.

The earth split under the violent forces raging between heaven and earth. Roaring flames burst from the cracks, and countless living creatures wailed in agony beneath the shadow of the dragon's wings.

Faced with such earth-shattering power, they had broken on the spot. Resisting the illusions, helping their classmates—everything went out the window. All that remained was the urge to kill the monsters rampaging in the shadow of those wings and blocking their path, then flee as far as they could!

The nightmare had continued until she woke and realized it had only been a dream. Even then, cold sweat poured off her. Petty sat up and stared at her still-unconscious classmates, her mouth hanging open in shock.

They had fallen into the madness of the illusions, yet they had survived? In Phantom Forest, no less!

"Not bad. You're the best of this batch of newcomers."

An unfamiliar voice sounded behind Petty. She turned in terror. A dragon's head loomed over her, its jaws opening and closing as though they might bite her head off at any moment...

"Ah! Don't eat me!"

"...What?" Zheng Yichen looked down at Petty, who had curled up with her hands over her head like an ostrich. He scratched his head with a claw, sending off a few sparks. "I don't eat people."

"Then please... please don't kill me!"

"I don't kill people either!"

Zheng Yichen sounded a little impatient, but Petty raised her head despite her fear and looked at him again. She rubbed her eyes several times, as though checking whether she was still caught in an illusion.

"Anyway, now that you're awake, wait over there. Once the others wake up, you can leave togeth—hmm?" Zheng Yichen looked at the Ghost Maid floating before him, puzzled. He watched her gestures. "You need to go for a while? You'll be back soon?"

The Ghost Maid nodded slightly and settled back onto the ground. She walked toward the hidden castle, her figure quickly fading from sight.

"Right. Once the others wake up, leave together." Zheng Yichen waved a claw and finished what he had been saying.

Petty looked at him, wanting to speak but holding back. Now that she could see the dragon had no intention of hurting any of them, her pounding heart was gradually calming down. As her fear faded, curiosity took its place.

A real, living dragon stood right in front of her!

Not a dragon she could only see in textbooks. Nearly every Summoner had a dream of forming a contract with a dragon-type creature. Even a Subdragon would be an honor, let alone a true member of the Dragon Race.

Other students might not have learned much about the Dragon Race from their textbooks, but Petty had read every book on the subject she could get her hands on. With all that knowledge, she could tell at a glance that the dragon before her was the real thing, not some Subdragon.

As for what kind... a black dragon, perhaps?

Zheng Yichen's scales were charcoal black, not quite true black, so Petty could not be entirely sure.

"What can you summon?" Bored, Zheng Yichen dispersed the Magic Array Pattern he had traced with magic power in the center of his claw. He glanced at Petty, who had been watching him in secret, and asked. He was curious about Summoners too...

"Well..." Petty hesitated. "I'm a first-year student, so I haven't had a chance to meet any powerful creatures. Ah! But I do have a summon!"

As she spoke, she watched Zheng Yichen's reaction. When he showed none, unease crept in. Had she said too much? She shut her eyes in a fluster, seemingly communicating with some creature. Soon, a Magic Array Pattern appeared before her.

It was not flat but three-dimensional. Dense lines of magic power extended from it, swiftly forming a figure. The figure solidified into... a rabbit!?

Though the rabbit had a physical form, Zheng Yichen could still sense that it was little more than a "projection." Setting its strength aside, it seemed much the same as the original.

The summoned rabbit looked around warily. When it noticed the shadow covering it, it immediately raised its head and found itself face-to-face with Zheng Yichen...