In the gods realm two gods were walking down a long white corridor filled with differently colored doors. Just imagine one of those spaceship long corridors, or maybe a hospital corridor? Or maybe one of those secret underground bases with all the lights, but it is white, with colorful doors. On the left a shining human silhouette as if photons were condensed into living matter. On the right a dark gaseous form containing everything from stale air, noxious gasses and smoke, to poisonous gas, carcinogenic substances and diseases. The gods of light and miasma were on their way to the summoning room.

-…and then he orders a retreat. I’m telling you I realized I lost the game right there and then. The next year of retreat was only prolonging the inevitable defeat of the demon lord army. If the demon lord was a strategist and send a small force on the side the whole army of the humans would have crumbled and sounded the retreat orders. That is why this time I’m summoning a strategist and gifting him with Tactical magic.-

-I agree with you about the retreat orders Miasmar (Yes, that is his name, because… names… and stuff.), but not about summoning a strategist. Now a mastermind might have a chance against my next hero, armed with light magic, but not a strategist.-

-Sure, Lightner, you keep repeating that to yourself if it will make you feel better.-

-What are the two of you up to?-The voice came from nowhere, but was immediately followed by the appearance of a short form materializing from thin air. The newcomer was in the form of a small humanoid child with transparent insect wings on his back. And you already think you know who that is, because of the title and all that, but you are wrong. This is not The Prankster of the story, that is the god of pranks.-Are you going to play Demon lord and Hero again? Can I play too? Pretty please? It is always you two playing together!-He is a little spoiled as you can see.

-Prankstein, you know very well, that we are not playing a game, but betting on who can raise the better follower.-Lightner said the words in such a way, as if believing this time his younger brother would believe them.

-Uh huh. And if you are not playing, but “betting”, why are you using the Play World?-The god of pranks was rising both arms at cheek level with all fingers closed except the index and middle finger, which were only slightly bend while pronouncing the word betting.

-What is that you are doing with your fingers? It looks ridiculous.-Of course Miasmar didn’t know what air quotes were.

-We are using the Play World so no one gets hurt while we resolve our bets of course. We can’t very well wage war on a world where innocents can get slaughtered.-

-Hmm, that sounds like something we will be forbidden from doing. What are you betting this time? Can I also enter your bet?-Prankstein sounded as if he almost believed that the bet was not actualy playing, but wasn’t completely convinced.

-We are betting the house chores of the other between the start and end of our next bet. What else is there to bet with in the Gods Realm?-

-Chores? No thanks. I’m out.-And with these words the little god vanished from their presence instantly. The two left in the corridor continued on their way to the summoning room without further delay.

The god of miasma opened the door all the way and waited 3 seconds before stepping inside. There was a thump on the first second, as a bucket filled with water crashed on the floor and splattered. On the next second there was a splotch as a chalk eraser fell in the water, followed on the third second by, for some strange reason, a bunch of white feathers. The gaseous form lifted one foot at knee level and stepped over the threshold, then lifted the other foot just as high and moving it inside the room. The next moment there was a flicker and a threshold that was at one third knee level appeared.

-Damn prankster magic. Can’t dispel it even if you suspect it is there until it has finished its job.-Miasmar said it as if his brother didn’t already know how prankster magic worked. But you know how exposition works, he isn’t informing his brother, he is saying it for your sakes. Anyway, he snaps his fingers, all the junk disappears, the threshold returns to normal and we continue with the story.

Miasmar closed the door and walked to the big generic summoning magic circle in the middle of the room. He glanced at a small table near it that contained gifts from all the gods in their pantheon, as well as every type of magic was gathered for the times they used the world for its intended purposes. The gifts of the Hero and Demon lord have been returned as well as the ones for healing and fire magic.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

-Let’s see here. Starting race, I am choosing demons from the demon dimension. The ones from the hell dimension are just too wild. Starting profession, here we fill strategist. Special trait, hmm cunning or smart? Let’s go with smart. Next up form of the summoning. Summoning a soul copy in a copied body. Summoning dismissal, at the death of the soul vessel or after asking to be dismised following the death of the hero, the soul copy will return with its memories in the original body. Side effects may include sudden desire to write fiction, dreams of a past life, personality disorders, sudden fears or premonitions of death and doubling of the original body’s mental strengths and weaknesses. Why am I reading the disclaimer out loud?-He is not saying every procedure for the summoning process because the god of pranks is invisible in the corner of the room spying on his brothers to see if his pranks worked and what they are really up to. And not because the god of pranks won’t otherwise be unable to summon The Prankster of the story. It is not even because of exposition, even thought it could work as such. No, he is reading the things out loud, because some people and gods just can’t or won’t read things without hearing their own voice.

The summoning circle lit up and after some time a demonic body materialized followed shortly by a little black wisp that merged with the body. The eyes of the demon opened and he found himself in unfamiliar place, but before he could orient himself better a booming voice spoke to him in the demonic language.

-Demon, you have been summoned to this realm because I, the god of miasma, have a task for you. If you kill the Hero of the humans you may ask me for one thing. If you refuse this task you will die and I will summon a new demon lord in your place.-

The demon didn’t think he had much of a choice. He didn’t know he was a copy that would return to the original upon death, so he chose the only logical solution in his situation. He accepted the offer.

-For your task I gift you with the power of a Demon Lord. The abilities to summon troops from the souls of fallen demons and control all demons. The ability to project the power of your soul as demonic aura that can force the masses to their knees. The creation and control of miasma in the range of your aura. A second transformation that triples all your physical and magical abilities and grants you wings. The second gift for your task is Tactical magic. It contains all the information you need to cast spells that increase the marching speed of troops, helps them stay in perfect formation, ride like a single organism and many others that will help with the command of an army. Now go and fulfill my task.-The god again snapped his fingers and the new Demon lord was transported in the throne room of the completely repaired Demon Lord Castle.

The door to the summoning room opened and the god of light entered while his brother exited the place.

-Brother why do you always choose demons as your starting race? Aren’t there stronger or more magically gifted races out there in the multiverse? What about that Majin race that Magicnia once summoned to play with?

-Demons start with better control over miasma and corruption magic. Also I don’t like the learning curve with other races. Something familiar is always better. Now if you will excuse me I will go to the viewing room to check on my new Demon Lord.-

-Did you remember to refresh the NPS in the castle surroundings?-The god of light looked at his brother and after he saw a positive nod from him, closed the door and went to the magic circle. Next he filled the needed spaces with his specifications and activated the summoning. What stood in the middle of the circle was your typical clichéd hero. Not even going to describe him. And not because I’m a lazy writer, even though I am a lazy writer. I’m not describing him because I want you to use your imaginations. Some stories become better with imagination. Soo… yes. The hero is summoned. He is generic. A white wisp enters the body. Eyes open. Booming voice. The works.

-Hero, from a different world, you have been summoned because a great tragedy has befallen our world and only the Hero foretold by an ancient prophesy can save us. You are that Hero. A Demon Lord with never before seen strength has appeared into our world and has vowed to conquer all the lands and kill all humans. Please rid the world from this evil and save the world. If you succeed one wish of yours shall be granted. Now to help you in your fight I bestow upon you these gifts. The gift of the Hero grants you the abilities to wield a sword and shield at the master level. The ability to heal ten times faster and automatically set bones, expel shrapnel and other stuff detrimental to healing. It grants you an aura of leadership and dignity that can help with your leadership abilities. The ability to temporarily remove the brains limiters for extra power boost. It unlocks your magical potential and increases your physical and magic abilities by three times. The next gift I will bestow upon you is my Light magic. It contains all information for you to conjure illusions, condense or amplify light and many other ways to control its properties. Now go Hero and save the world.-

After the hero was teleported to the human’s continent, into the castle throne room, and the god of light left the room, to go and watch the progression of their bet, the small figure of the god of pranks shimmered into existence in the corner of the room. Yes I already told you he was there, so no big surprise.

-Now what kinds of mischief can I get into with a summoning circle? This will be fun!