Summoning

"How long will it take them to return to normal?"

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

Tch. That Illusion was powerful enough to last that long. Once he had a definite time, Zheng Yichen went back to practicing magic while he waited. As for Battle Qi, he had all but given up hope.

He had trained under increased gravity for so long, but apart from rapid gains in strength and physical resilience, it had done him no good at all. Even his body hadn't grown in the slightest.

He didn't care much about his size. Size might sometimes go hand in hand with destructive power, but bigger didn't necessarily mean stronger. Lolise looked like a little girl, yet even ten of him put together wouldn't be a match for her.

He might as well raise his magic level first. Standardized Magic Array Patterns were convenient, but ever since he'd heard about the world beyond the entry level, Zheng Yichen had stopped setting his sights solely on entry-level spells.

"Ugh... Where am I?" Petty woke from unconsciousness and looked around in confusion. Their trip to the 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 came here. Their training had been going smoothly. Though the power that caused illusions had tormented them for some time, they had held out. Then, just as they were preparing to spend their final night there before leaving, the power affecting them had suddenly erupted.

Even with their emergency tools, they could only slow its effects. If they couldn't leave the Phantom Forest in time, they would be dragged into endless illusions. On the way back, two classmates had succumbed and gone mad...

Just as the rest of them were on the brink, a savage dragon's head had appeared before them all. The moment it appeared, she had felt the entire sky plunge into endless darkness.

The earth had been torn apart by wild forces raging between heaven and earth. Roaring flames had burst from the cracks, while countless living creatures wailed in agony beneath the shadow of the evil dragon's wings.

Faced with that heaven-shattering sight, they had broken on the spot. Resisting the illusions, helping their classmates—all of it had been thrown to the wind. Their only remaining thought had been to kill the monsters rampaging in their path beneath the dragon's shadow and flee as far away as they could!

The nightmare had gone on until she woke and realized it was only a dream. Even then, cold sweat poured from her body. Petty sat up and stared at her still-unconscious classmates, her little mouth hanging open in shock.

They had fallen into maddening illusions, yet they had survived? In the 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 clutched her head and curled up like an ostrich. He scratched his head with a claw, striking a few tiny sparks. "I don't eat people."

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

"I don't kill people either!"

Hearing the impatience in Zheng Yichen's voice, Petty timidly raised her head and looked at him again. She rubbed her eyes several times, as though checking whether she was still trapped in an Illusion.

"Now that you're awake, wait over there. Once the others wake up, leave together... Hm?" Zheng Yichen looked at the Ghost Maid floating before him in puzzlement, then watched her gestures. "You need to leave 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 here as a group." Zheng Yichen waved a claw and finished what he had been saying.

Petty glanced at Zheng Yichen, wanting to speak but hesitating. Now that she could see the dragon truly meant none of them harm, her pounding heart was gradually calming down. As her fear ebbed, curiosity took its place.

A living, breathing dragon was right in front of her!

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

Others might not know much about the Dragon Race beyond what their textbooks taught them, 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 genuine, not some Subdragon.

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

Zheng Yichen's scales were dark as stone rather than truly black, so Petty couldn't be certain.

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

"Well..." Petty's answer came out haltingly. "I'm a first-year student, so I haven't encountered any powerful creatures yet. Ah! But I do have a summon!"

As she spoke, she watched Zheng Yichen's reaction. When he showed none, unease crept over her. Had she said too much? Flustered, she closed her eyes and seemed to communicate with some creature. Soon, a formation appeared before her.

The formation wasn't flat but three-dimensional. Dense lines of magic extended from it, rapidly building a shape. The shape quickly turned solid, becoming... a rabbit!?

Though it had a physical form, Zheng Yichen could sense that the rabbit was no more than a kind of "projection." Setting aside its strength, it was much the same as the original.

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