[Summoning]

"My lord! This is a misunderstanding!"

Will-Bukelin shouted in terror.

At that moment, he no longer had any confidence that he could save his sister...

Even the words he had just taught Sally Bukelin to help her save herself seemed hopelessly naive to Will-Bukelin now that death was upon him!

An Kai simply refused to play by the rules...

And his temper was astonishingly volatile...

Will-Bukelin had no doubt that if that Fireball landed, his tier-one, fifth-stage cultivation would not keep him from being crushed to death...

Unfortunately, An Kai ignored his cries, without a trace of reluctance in his eyes.

He had just encountered a tier-two member of the Bounty Tower trying to rob him-and someone Will had brought, at that. Already in a foul mood, why would he possibly hold back...

"Water Curtain!"

At that life-or-death moment, Sally Bukelin suddenly gave a soft cry from within the flames.

A flowing Water Curtain barrier appeared, shielding her and Will-Bukelin from An Kai's Fireball!

After casting that Water Curtain, Sally Bukelin turned pale as paper, blood spilling from her mouth. A scroll radiating magical fluctuations dimmed in her hand.

With her mana sealed, she had paid with her own life essence to cast that lifesaving spell!

The Fireball collided with the Water Curtain with a thunderous roar, and both vanished...

An Kai sneered at the sight and immediately formed another Fireball in his hand.

He wanted to see just how many times she could cast that damned Water Curtain!

Will-Bukelin panicked. He had yet to avenge his royal father.

And his death would drag Sally Bukelin down with him.

With no time to think, Will-Bukelin condensed his Seven-Colored Heart and held it in his hand, shouting earnestly, "My lord! This really is a misunderstanding!"

"I swear on my [Wanderer's Heart]!"

An Kai watched Will-Bukelin, considered for a few seconds, then dispersed the Fireball in his hand.

His identity as the [Wanderer Guide] had resonated when Will-Bukelin spoke.

Will-Bukelin's thoughts appeared in An Kai's mind.

They confirmed that Will-Bukelin was not lying.

Now that he had calmed down...

An Kai thought back and realized he had been overthinking things.

As someone with the [Wanderer] class, Will-Bukelin could not commit this sort of double-cross...

Still...

What was done was done. An Kai would not regret it.

He put away his Fireball without saying anything and motioned for Will-Bukelin to continue explaining.

Meanwhile, Sally Bukelin-the 3,000 gold coins he had tried and failed to dispose of several times-was giving him a headache.

Now that he understood the situation, his flexible bottom line resurfaced...

He had attacked because he thought Will had brought the Bounty Tower to rob him.

Having cleared things up, An Kai no longer had any desire to kill Will...

That was also why An Kai began to hesitate.

Hanks and Dong Lin had often said that anyone who could not control their desires and thoughts would never get far in the Desert.

There was only one end for those in the Desert who were ruled by desire...

They would become nothing more than nameless, withered bones in the Desert...

Holding his Seven-Colored Heart, Will-Bukelin explained with a pale face that he had not arranged for those two fellows from the Bounty Tower to come.

Little did he know that his presence had left An Kai struggling over what to do with Sally Bukelin...

Once Will-Bukelin began speaking, Sally Bukelin fell silent within the flames.

She said nothing, quietly listening to Will-Bukelin.

Sally Bukelin had already abandoned the pleas for survival Will-Bukelin had just taught her.

She knew that when that terrifying Fireball arrived, every plea for survival had become feeble and useless against An Kai.

To An Kai, she was merely a bargaining chip to exchange for resources with the Bounty Tower.

As a princess, Sally Bukelin only grew calmer at moments like this.

Her thoughts raced as she searched for a way to save herself.

Saving herself came down to one thing: resources.

She had already handed her Storage Ring to An Kai. Sally Bukelin was not foolish enough to treat a Storage Ring she had already surrendered as a bargaining chip for her life.

After a moment's thought, Sally Bukelin's eyes lit up. She remembered the leverage she still had!

Something she could teach one last time...

The unranked spell-[Summoning]!

A little later, An Kai nodded, accepting the graceful way out offered by Will-Bukelin's explanation.

His brow, however, remained furrowed.

Sally Bukelin was the reason for his dilemma.

Just then, Sally Bukelin's gentle voice drifted out from within the flames:

"Brave Hanks, I have the unranked spell [Summoning]. May I teach it to you?"

"You travel through the Desert alone. Having a pet for company should soothe your lonely heart..."

Once Sally Bukelin spoke, An Kai understood what she meant.

Was she trying to trade an unranked spell for her freedom?

Truthfully, An Kai was tempted.

Although 3,000 gold coins was a great deal, An Kai did not believe his life would stop there.

Unranked spells, on the other hand, were rare treasures that could not simply be sought out!

They were also precisely what he needed as a mage who could not level up!

So far, An Kai had encountered only three Lv0 or Lv1 spells!

[Meditation], [Fireball], and [Freezing Spell]...

One for cultivation, one for offense, and one for support.

An Kai had also heard of the [Summoning] Sally Bukelin mentioned.

According to that old bastard Dong Lin's records, [Summoning] was a spell capable of summoning legendary creatures such as [Dragons] and [Sacred Beasts]!

In truth, An Kai did not particularly care whether it could summon legendary creatures like [Dragons].

Because the moment Sally Bukelin mentioned the spell, his first thought was:

Summon them and slaughter them-wouldn't that give me an endless supply of skill points?!

The [Typhon Giant] Sally Bukelin had summoned had given him two skill points after he killed it!

At that thought, An Kai was completely sold.

A fixed return of 3,000 gold coins, and one that would be difficult to cash in at that.

Compared with a steady, long-term return, it was like the difference between a fish and knowing how to fish.

Which should he choose?

For An Kai, an immortal being with an endless lifespan, the answer was already clear.

At that very moment, An Kai was even fantasizing about someday summoning a [Dragon], then slaughtering it for a massive haul of skill points.

That sort of life would be downright blissful!

With a thought, An Kai waved away the Fireball imprisoning Sally Bukelin.

He even thoughtfully used Freezing Spell to help Sally Bukelin cool down.

"Thank you for your gift, Your Highness!"

An Kai offered his thanks with a smile, his earlier viciousness nowhere to be seen.

Seeing this, Sally Bukelin let out a long breath of relief.

Pale-faced, with blood at the corner of her mouth, she gave An Kai a sweet smile.

There was a poignant beauty to that smile.

Sally Bukelin wasted no words. Using the [Summoning] spell as the foundation and incorporating her own insights, she began teaching An Kai [Summoning], which she could pass on only one more time!

As for that earlier Fireball, Sally Bukelin, Will-Bukelin, and An Kai all tacitly agreed not to mention it...

As the sky darkened, the three sat beside the lake in the oasis, talking in hushed voices as though they were family or dear friends...

Thanks to Memory No Recollection for the tip, and thanks to Foolish Words, Foolish Speech for the monthly vote.

P.S. One more explanation: everything An Kai does is for resources. Between a long-term return and an uncertain one, the choice should be easy, right?