The fae raised his hand. Oh. Maybe he would die before the other two got to him. An instant later both the [QUEEN] and [PRINCE] were back inside their summoning circles in a kneeling position.
“That’s enough.”
The [EMPEROR]’s tone matched his expression. If he was truly over it all, then why had he helped?
“Listen here rabbit, do not call me to you unless your enemy is a higher level than the spirit. Do you understand?” he said while briefly pointing to [TITANIA].
The bunny nodded meekly.
After getting confirmation, [FINVARRA] turned to stare down the other two in the tunnel.
“This monster is under my protection. I have left enchantments on him that specifically keeps summons from harming their summoner. You will answer his calls when he needs you. I don’t care about the rest of the time.”
Sensing that he was finished with his instructions the spirit rose before performing a generous curtsey, then remaining there with her head bowed.
“If I may, your excellency, why do you wish to keep this insignificant being alive? He is so far beneath us. What would make him worth the effort?”
Hurtful. The measly [LEVEL 65] rabbit monster felt very slighted in that moment. Even if he could see her point.
The answer was curt and for some reason made him feel avenged even if it had nothing to do with him. “How dense are you?”
Silence. Golden silence that let the monster enjoy the affronted look that crossed her face.
Then the fae continued “We are beings that have been betrayed and sold off to the Nexus by our very own people. We are slaves. Property of the Nexus itself. And to keep its ‘property’ from rampaging through the universe in revenge, it keeps us in stasis somewhere. This might be the first time out for both of you, but its not mine. If our current contract holder dies then we go right back on the shelf for the next contract gifted by the system. I’d much prefer to watch suns rise and set than go back in there again.”
The demon just sat while keeping his mouth shut but the spirit was incensed, “I am a [QUEEN]. I do not wish to be ordered around by a filthy rodent. If you recall, your excellency, summoners that know their summons [TRUE] names can have them follow their every order, just like monsters and demonoids. And since the Nexus gave him our names from the start, he can tell us to do whatever he wants!”
Shock! How dare she?! Summons could be controlled just like monsters? And so could demonoids? [ROGER] was really beginning to feel for poor [ABRAXAS]. Being born a demon and having to try and hide his [TRUE] name his whole life, and probably failing, only to be betrayed by his own people and turned into a summon that a much lower levelled monster could tell what to do from the get go. That must really suck.
With a flick of his finger from his still sitting, but more slouched position, the [EMPEROR] put the spirit back in a kneeling position. “If you’re still not convinced, then I shall regail you of my previous two summoners. The first was [HUMAN] and what I would call a smart idiot. The Nexus hadn’t even gifted him a token. He had managed to evolve his class to [SUMMONER] and decided to try and take from the Nexus itself. He was over [LEVEL 100] and had crafted a perfect summoning circle. Every glyph was correct, every line and circle in place. The ritual was crafted to contract a summon between [LEVEL 50] and [LEVEL 100]. Unfortunately for him, the Nexus doesn’t take kindly to being stolen from, so it switched out the intended target with me. I emerged thinking I had regained freedom and instantly killed the man after getting all the information out of him that I could. Less than a second later, these metal cuff bracelets that we each get glowed green, then I was sucked back into stasis through the void.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.
My second time in a contract was a much more gruelling experience. This time was an [ELF] and she had been gifted a token. I don’t know what level she was but by the time I was summoned my contractor was [LEGENDARY] grade. From the start she was quite unhappy with me. I was extensively lectured about how the token had said a being from [UNIQUE] all the way up to [TRANSCENDENT] grade could have been summoned. She’d been prepared too. She hadn’t wanted to rely on the protections from the Nexus but had instead crafted her own. She boasted that her enchantments might have even been strong enough to contain a low levelled [CELESTIAL]. I don’t know if it was true. I was and still am much too weak to discern that level of power. Due to how weak I was compared to her she treated me like the slave that I am.
I, a once noble [EMPEROR] that had ruled a dynasty which spanned planets, was forced to scrub floors and muck out animal stalls. All because I was too weak. I wasn’t worthy enough to level despite having the ability to do so due to the significant gap. She forbade me from levelling, yet when the command waned in power after a few years, I would sneak out to gain even just one more level. Whenever caught I’d receive her wrath in multiple floggings and then the command would be renewed. Those weren’t the only instances of punishment though, I became one of her favourite ways to vent her frustrations. One spot wasn’t as clean as the rest and she was having a bad day. Flogging. The clothing she wanted to wear wasn’t washed, dried and ready quick enough. Flogging. Her favourite [ALICORN]’s stall wasn’t spotless. Flogging.
Eventually, after a few thousand years, some of her enemies pinned down her location and managed to kill her. Though I did have a nice reprieve in stasis, I wasn’t allowed outside very often by my previous summoner. I do so love the sun and would much prefer to be able to see it. Also, I don’t want to ever have to feel the dread in wondering if I’ll perhaps have a summoner like my Mistress ever again. So, trust me when I say, it is much more preferable to have a weaker master. I would advise not to wish for someone stronger.”
The listeners were speechless. Turning to his current summoner the fae continued “Don’t let this story go to your head young one. As an act of good faith, I will let everyone know that you can call for us mentally. So, ripping out your vocal cords wouldn’t do us any good.”
The monster once again nodded meekly. Then the [UNIQUE] grade being that had survived the unimaginable, vanished.
Now it was just him and the two lower grade summons. The spirit immediately decided to be a copycat. Standing and pointing at the demon she commanded “Don’t call me unless your enemy is a higher level then him.”
After getting the now customary nod of confirmation, she also vanished. Two beings were now sitting in the tunnel.
“Ahhh, Hi. As you know I’m [ABRAXAS]” the [PRINCE] said uncertainly “sorry about before, but in my defence, the last memory I had was of my falsely loyal [DUKE]s taking my father’s head before trying to sacrifice me in a ritual. If the Nexus hadn’t reached out to offer me a slave contract, I’d be dead. I went straight into stasis after that and then I was just ‘here’. My mind was still in life-or-death mode, so can we just move past the previous ‘incident’?”
The bunny blinked in surprise, then just rolled with it.
“Sure, nice to meet you [ABRAXAS]. I’m going to keep my name to myself since I don’t really want anyone spreading it around. You can just call me… ummm…”
“Should I refer to you as ‘My Lord’, since you’re an [EARL]?”
“That works. Would you prefer to be called your name or ‘Your Highness’?”
“Either works for me My Lord.”
“Awesome.”
“Great.”
“Um… Your Highness.”
“Yes My Lord?”
“I don’t mean to be rude, I mean you are welcome to stick around if you want but… Why are you still here? The others left as soon as possible.”
“A few reasons actually. First, I’d like to get my head straight and come to terms with what in my mind is a recent betrayal. Secondly, staying with the person who commands me means I’m unlikely to get betrayed anytime soon. I don’t want to make any friends right now, I’d be too suspicious of them. Hanging out with My Lord will head off any loneliness from that decision. Thirdly, I’m a really lazy demon. I never want to do anything more than absolutely necessary. And finally, exploration's not my thing. I’d much rather stay inside and read a book. I can see you’re travelling right now, but surely you’ll go home at some point. I’ll just create my own space and hunker down there for a while.”
“Okay. That’s fine by me, I guess. My family and I live on the first and second floors of this dungeon so you’ll have to at least be civil with them. Right now I’m trying to clear the dungeon and apparently I’m around halfway there, which is how I got gifted your contract tokens.”
The demon nodded in understanding “Sounds fine. Shall we continue on then My Lord?”