Lina, at 14 years of age was not used to being treated nicely. Which was why even after weeks of being integrated into the Lumont family she still couldn't process most of what was going on.
From the porridge and hard bread at the orphanage to exquisite meals that she could only dream of affording. The Lumonts have treated her with nothing but kindness from the moment she was taken in by them. She was dressed like a noble and the servants of the house treated her like one.
"Lady Lina, the patriarch has summoned you." A butler bowed at the lass.
"Uh..okay. I will be on my way.." She stuttered out a reply.
Lina now wore a yellow dress, her brown hair was tied neatly and no trace of the scruffy child from the auction was present. She bowed and gave her greetings to the patriarch.
She was welcomed to the patriarch's office, who appears to have a few children her age present next to him.
"Have you been well Lina?" The patriarch asked.
She nodded hurriedly in response.
"That is great to hear."
The Lumont family, known for their personal skill [Spirit Summoning] and [Spirit Guardian] have a choice in the elemental properties of their respective summons. To them personal skills that involve spirit summoning is highly sought after, this is to make sure that future generations of their clan can gain abilities that are still under the scope of specialty of their clan.
It was finally time for Lina to know of her role.
"As you may have already heard, my second and third son. The twins you see in front of you are turning 15 soon. An age ripe for marriage." The patriarch started.
"But I'm not so heartless as to force you onto one of them." The old man then motioned for the two boys moved towards her with one on each side.
Small magical circles formed on the palms of the two boys as varying kinds of elemental spirits filled the room.
"Though they are twins, the spirits that follow them are quite different from each other."
"So this is my grace to you young lass, I am giving you the right to choose as to which one you prefer."
With the first born son off in the war against the Orcs of the North, the Lumont Patriarch is looking to invest in his clan's future. The best way to secure this said future was simple in his eyes. He needed more grandchildren and a daughter in law just presented herself right at the opportune time.
Lina was shaking uncontrollably and within just a few seconds, she felt lightheaded.
'I must be dreaming…' She thought as the twins caught her fall.
"Call a priest or a doctor right away, my future daughter appears to be overwhelmed."
---
Hektor's first 2 days of travelling have been a bit hectic to say the least. The forest had monsters but none that were above his level of skill. The common goblin or two posed no threat to him and his minions.
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But what really bothered him was the numbers, for some reason dozens of them were in the area. He was finding them in large groups and usually this would only be a common occurrence up north near the greenskin territories. The only upside that he could think of was the fact that goblins appear to have souls that his ability can consume.
It reached a point where he was forced to use the normal trail with how numerous the goblins are. Each day he had to be extremely aware of his surroundings.
"I can't help but wonder how other travelers are faring in this kind of path, this can't be a normal occurrence." He watched the black-scaled lizard and the insect warrior as they devoured the corpses of the goblins they took out.
"Please don't choke on your food." The rations he prepared was now just meant for him and him alone, as the minions appear to savor the taste of monster meat.
The young spearman finally got used to the behavior of his summons. "I'll be able to summon that Avian Scout tomorrow, after that I'll find out which ones to focus on summoning."
"Now what can I do with all of these souls."
Souls: 43
It seems that goblins have souls that can be collected by his ability. "We'll test it out tomorrow, tonight I just want to lay down."
---
The use of his skill was something that he was slowly getting used to, but he still gagged every time he had to do so. At the cost of 10 more souls and a 2-day seal on his mana, the last of the three initial presets finally appeared in front of him.
Mana Exhaustion was something that he needed to get used to, though normally the spells that he did have were not enough cause this state. This is also one of the many reasons why soldiers generally just focus on one or the other, and in the first place raising one's mana is something that's only for those who grew up with a silver spoon.
While not well-versed when it comes to birds in general, he was familiar with the term avian. Which was why he wasn't surprised about the looks of the minion in front of him. With a large wing span and a red-head, this was something that he has seen before. Said to feed on the remains of abandoned corpses, a high-flying bird that is said to travel long distances like it's nothing.
"A Vulture."
[Congratulations on finishing the first hurdle. More information on the ability Manifest Minion has now been unlocked.]
"Status."
Name: Hektor
Title(s): Young Soldier
Mana: 0/1,500
Aura: 2,300/2,300
Personal Skill: [Manifest Minion]
Skill(s): Markluzian Spear Art, Mana Barrier, Mana Bolt
Souls: 33
He hurriedly clicked on his personal skill to gain this newly unlocked information.
[Manifest Minion]
At the cost of mana and collected souls the user may summon loyal servants that are based off of a particular preset. At the cost of souls, the wielder may gain new presets.
Available presets:
[Terrestrial Predator - Cost: 2,500 Mana, 10 Souls]
[Insect Soldier – Cost: 3,000 Mana, 10 Souls]
[Avian Scout – Cost: 2,000 Mana, 10 Souls]
Note: Suboptimal use of the ability has been detected. Please choose presets with a lower mana cost. Due to the wielder's low mana pool, penalties such as defective summons and sealed mana have been occurring.
[New option available]
[Unlock a preset. Cost: 25 Souls]
There were two fixes to his current mana situation, with the harder option being increasing said mana pool in the first place. And the second one was to check for more affordable minions in the "unlock a preset" feature.
"With the day having just started, I don't see why not."
Upon sending the souls he collected from the goblins a new set of options presented themselves to him.
[Low-Class Minion - Cost: 500 – 1,000 Mana, 5 Souls]
[Mid-Class Minion - Cost: 2,000 – 5,000 Mana, 10 Souls]
[High-Class Minion - Cost: 15,000 Mana, 500 Souls]
A random preset of the chosen class will be available once chosen.
"So all of my presets so far have been in the Middle class range." He took a quick glance at his options.
"A High-Class minion is an impossibility right now, Middle Class exhausts my mana to the point that it's sealed for two days. I can only imagine the backlash if I even try to choose that option."
Souls: 8
[A random Low-Class Minion preset has been unlocked.]
"I'll just hope for the best."