Senior Student

"Ha! That was even more thrilling than the last time my senior brought me here." Petty patted her chest, still excited. "Thanks, Connor."

"No big deal," Zheng Yichen said lightly. "You should find some new summons, though. Relying on that rabbit alone leaves you too weak."

"That's... a little difficult." Petty sounded helpless. "Getting started is the hardest part for a Summoner."

Summoners were powerful and fierce once they took off, but few understood how hard it was to get off the ground. There was a reason the profession was rare. It devoured resources, and finding summons was a major problem!

Reasoning with a creature usually did nothing to win its approval. To most of them, the simplest argument was a fist. Win the fight, and everything else could be discussed. "Then what about borrowing someone else's strength?"

"I haven't even reached the threshold of the first rank." Petty looked ashamed.

"..." Zheng Yichen pinched his chin and thought for a while, then tapped a fist into his palm. "I've had a pretty good idea lately. It might help you, if you're willing to try."

"Try?" Petty was puzzled.

"Yeah, something new. If you want to make it work, you may have to learn a few other things." Zheng Yichen was thinking of an idea he'd had after learning about Summoners and making that "permanent" Magic Weapon.

"Like what?"

"Try learning martial techniques ahead of time. Summoners study them eventually, don't they?" Zheng Yichen asked. Summoners did not study only Summoning Spells. Once they reached the first rank and could channel their summons' abilities into themselves, they essentially fought alongside their summons.

Naturally, they had to learn combat techniques. Not the combat arts used by magic warriors, but martial techniques—the sort Battle Qi warriors generally used. Martial techniques relied more on wielding physical strength, rather than circulating magic through the body along a set path to unleash the special power of combat arts.

Summoners used combat arts too! Not all summons favored magic; plenty were physical fighters. By channeling the abilities of a powerful melee summon into themselves, a Summoner could become a tank in close combat.

Without combat skills, they were little different from a child holding a gun: full of power, but unable to use it.

"I... can do that." Petty nodded gently. Learning combat arts early was not necessarily a bad thing for a Summoner. After all, Summoners often needed their own strength to subdue a creature.

Some Summoners captured their summons through their own ability and tempered their bodies much like Battle Qi warriors. Apart from lacking a warrior's power, they were much the same. Petty, however, was clearly not that sort of extreme Summoner. "The academy's annual tournament is in two months, too. I want to give it my best."

Academy tournaments offered Summoners little chance to shine, especially in the lower years. Other professions at least gained some fighting strength as soon as they entered their field. Summoners? Without a strong enough summon, they were little different from ordinary people aside from having magic. They might not even beat a particularly sturdy ordinary person.

And while Summoners at an academy did get field experience, they had not truly left its shelter. They had little experience to draw on and few summons accumulated. That was why Summoners rarely had anything to show for themselves in the annual tournament.

Things were different now. She had contracted with a dragon, after all. She would regret it too much if she did not try.

"Two months, huh? No problem. I'll take care of things on my end as soon as I can. But first, you still have a problem to deal with."

"..." Petty glanced around quickly and picked up her pace. Clearly, someone had been watching her before; now she had become prey. A Black Market was hardly going to be in a respectable location. It was bound to be secluded.

She knew she would be robbed the moment she left. Zheng Yichen could act if there were only a few people, but with a crowd, there was a risk of exposing him. Once she grew stronger, it would not matter if others learned of his existence. In fact, he might make anyone with designs on her think twice.

"Petty?"

The familiar voice behind her made Petty's shoulders jump. She turned and looked delighted to see a red-haired woman in close-fitting leather armor. "Kesha!"

"What are you doing in a place like this alone?" Kesha glanced around and gave a soft snort. Many of the hostile gazes from earlier immediately vanished. She was well known in the Black Market, and the way to make a name for yourself there was simple: fight for it!

Frowning, she took Petty by the arm and led her out of the Black Market. Petty kept her head slightly lowered the whole way, like a child caught by a parent after skipping class to visit an internet café.

"I came to sell something."

"You already sold it?" Kesha asked. When Petty nodded, she did not press further. That was one of the Black Market's rules: before a deal was done, you could name any outrageous price you liked. Once it was done, you could not dispute it, even if you had been cheated. Secret retaliation was another matter, of course, as long as no one caught you.

Kesha was a regular here. As a senior student at Olin Academy, she had few classes left; most of her time went to combat practice and field training. She had plenty of chances to go adventuring and often came back with spoils she needed to sell. Some could only be handled in the Black Market.

"Next time you come, remember to ask me along. It's too dangerous for you to come alone." Kesha glanced behind them and gave another cold snort. To get by in the Black Market, a woman in particular had to act fiercer than the men!

"Um, Kesha... could you teach me some combat arts? I can pay you." After a moment's hesitation, Petty asked. The academy did offer electives in other subjects, but following the normal curriculum would not get her far in combat arts within two months.

Her best option was to find a suitable private teacher. Even then, learning combat arts that were genuinely useful would cost a great deal. Those skills were how people made their living. It was impossible to expect them to teach without getting anything in return.

"Hmm?" Kesha gave Petty a curious look. "What's wrong? Don't think you can keep going as a Summoner?"

Kesha knew a few things about Petty, including the Half-Rabbit she had as a summon. She had no use for such a soft, helpless little thing. What could it do in a fight? At the very least, Petty should have chosen a carnivore like a wolf or lion, or a magic beast!

Petty hurriedly shook her head. "I just want to enter the academy tournament in two months."

"Oh? That's not a bad approach." Kesha nodded gently. If Petty made some progress with combat arts, she could do well in the Summoner division among the first-year students.

"All right. I need to start preparing too, so I won't be going out for a while." Kesha nodded. After leading Petty clear of the Black Market's territory, she waved to her. "Come find me when you're ready."

"She's the senior you mentioned?" Zheng Yichen asked slowly after Kesha left. That red-haired woman was a student? Why did she look like someone from the streets?

"Kesha is a really good person!" Hearing something odd in Zheng Yichen's tone, Petty hurried to explain.

"How did you two meet?"

"I used to copy some books for Kesha. She goes adventuring a lot, so I also helped her identify a few things. We gradually got to know each other."

"You want her to teach you? Is she that good at combat arts?"

"Mm-hmm! Kesha is an amazing Battle Qi warrior!"

A Battle Qi warrior... Were all the women in this world so fierce? Lolise aside, the first Battle Qi warrior I've met is a woman too...