After the talk was over, we moved out to a small open area in the village. I saw that the villagers were trying their best to salvage anything from the burnt down houses, and even the children tried their best to help.

There were weapons, armour and a pile of random scrolls and items laid on the ground.

I ignored most of the weapons since many didn't pique my interest, only a sword that had a hint of purple.

<<< Report: this sword only contains 15% Mithril and 85% Steel.>>>

It wasn't that great compared to my Mithril Spear; however, I still decided to keep it.

Most of the armour was made of leather and weak metals, so I left them for the villagers.

However, the final pile contained many scrolls and what looks like material from monsters. I was interested in the scrolls, so I gathered them and made a list using Guardian to analyse them.

[Small Physical Barrier] (7x) creates a small barrier that can deflect physical attacks for 15 seconds. 1 use only.

[Clean](5x) Instantly cleans anything. 1 use only.

[Small Fireball](3x) Shoots out a small Fireball. 1 use only.

[Meduim Heal](1x) Instant heals any physical injuries. 1 use only.

I kept the [Clean] and [Small Fireball]. I left the villagers with [Small Physical Barrier] and [Meduim Heal] since I already have [Natural Defence] and the potions already. All of them were 1 use only but didn't require mana so that anyone could use it.

I didn't have any use for those monster materials at the moment; however, I spotted something peculiar—a thin leather-bound book. As I picked it up, Lilliana apparently recognised it and explained to me about the book.

"That's an ancient grimoire you're holding."

"Huh, what's an ancient grimoire?"

"It's a book from the ancient civilisation that gives the user a skill. However, since nobody can read the ancient language, there's no telling if it is a good skill or not."

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

"Ah, thank you very much," I thanked Lilliana for the explanation, and her face turned red before she moved back.

"Hmm... Guardian, can you tell what skill is in this book."

<<>>

"Huh, that sounds cool. Let's go for it."

In an instant, the book began to glow and was sucked into my body.

<<< Report: [Monster Summoning] acquired.>>>

"Wow, that was beautiful. Masato, what skill did you get?"

I turned around and saw Liliana, the Village chief, Rolph, and everyone nearby who saw the bright light was looking at me with curious expressions. I opened the Skills page to confirm.

[Blink] (10MP) Moves the user to a location within 2 metres.

[Energy Ball] (10-30-75MP) A ball of condensed mana that explodes upon contact with a target, the power is adjustable.

[Defence Up] (15 MP) Increases the user's defence by 10% and provides a temporary shield of 20% of total HP.

[Natural Defence] (0MP) Any attacks that are lower than the user's level will be automatically nullified. It has a 10% chance to deflect physical attacks.

[Creation] (0MP) (Requires level 10) Create items using Skill points. The items range from Low, Medium, to High tier. Recipes are acquired by levelling up or using blueprints.

[Spear Creation] (15MP) creates a spear made of any chosen element.

[Intimidation] (0MP) Attracts the attention of nearby enemies, only works on monsters with low intelligence.

[Skill absorbption] (0MP) Has a 5% chance of acquiring skills from defeated enemies.

[Monster Summoning] (0MP) Summons a monster using Skill Points. Rank F(5SP), Rank E(10SP), Rank D(20SP), Rank C(40SP), Rank B(80SP), Rank A(160SP), Rank S(320SP). (Free Rank S for first summoning)

Yup, it's there...Wait, I get a free Rank S for my first time. Sweet!

"Masato?"

"Ahem, sorry. I got a skill called [Monster Summoning]."

"Wow!, that sounds very awesome. Could you show me?"

"You mean use it right now?"

"Uhmm, yes. B-but! it's fine if you don't want to." Lilliana's face turns red, and she apologies. "I'm very sorry for making such a selfish request."

"Please don't worry about it. I do plan on trying out the skill eventually, so why not do it now."

"Really?"

"Yes, but let's do it outside the village and make sure you stand far away. Since I have no idea if it will be tamed or wild."

Lilliana and the village chief nodded in agreement. However, I feel like Rolph was hesitant, but he still went along.

♦ ♦ ♦

The village chief guided us to a massive open field a fair distance away from the village. There were cow-like animals grazing in the distance.

I moved slightly further away from them and activated the summoning skill.

"[Monster Summoning]!"

A massive black magical circle appeared on the ground before me, and I felt something escape from my body and seep into the circle. Black particles started to combine and form into a shape.

After a while, it stopped. There was now a massive figure in front of me. It had a large body, about two meters tall, eight glowing red eyes and eight long armoured legs...I realised what it was.

"Isn't this just a huge ass spider?"